necronomicon

Thanks for all replies (cheers for the offer of some Ryck!), now have some from a maplins down the road. All soldered in, just got to wait for the rain to stop to try them out! thanks again Neil

Hi all Just started us ing a budget Mtroniks big-lix 17x2T motor with my TL-01. Problem is i suddenly seem to have a lot of interference compared to the 23T superstock tamiya i was running before. Having read about having 3 caps attached to the motor, it seems mine only has the one on it. Cant seem to find anywhere who sells these little caps though! any help much appreciated cheers Neil

Thanks Ryck, that does clarify things a lot. Will try out the different combinations and monitor motor temperature/ performance. Thought there was maybe a ,standard' combination for the TL-01 and a 17 turn motor. cheers Neil

Hi guys, Could i trouble you all for suggestions as to the best overall,mostly bashing, informal racing, gearing for a TL-01. currently it is a 21T pinion on standard gears. Tried speed tuned, but found this overgeared. Should I go for a 23T pinion, or stick to the 21 (or even drop to the 19T) - motor is a Mtronik budget big liks 17x2T, ESC is Mtronik tempo11, car is fully raced, alu propshaft, oil shocks. cheers for suggestions!- gearing confuses me! Neil

Oil shocks are a great upgrade and really do make a difference, you'll go from bouncy, ,bouncy grasshopper to nicely damped. Dunno about prices but the Tamiya brand ones will be more expensive than a lot of other brand aftermarket equivalents.

The heatsinks you have on computer processors often blow cool air down ONTO the heatsink, rather than try to suck the hot air away from them, so I would say the opposite to tamiya learner as an ESC heatsink is basically trying to do the same thing!

Thats a very generous offer, I know how time consuming editing can be!

Depends what you want to do with it afterwards, you can paint on the outside, its just more difficult and wont last as long if a regular runner. you could try epoxy resin to repair cracks etc, or fibreglass real car body repair paste. Shell needs to be well sanded around the repair area first to allow epoxy or fibreglass to fix to it. Stripping all the paint off to go back to a clear shell is the other way to go, and is good if the shell is otherwise in good condition. There are several threads with suggestiosn on what to use here, it depends what the shell is currently painted with. I've just stripped back a shell painted with enamel spray, using Mr. Muscle oven cleaner.

P.S If you are used to painting model planes etc with brushes and enamel pots, DONT use a brush paint on large areas of a car, unless you are really good at it- you will likely see the brush marks!- spray can is the way to go (or airbrush if you're posh!)

I would use car acrylic spray paint (millions of colours), and gloss laquer over the top. More expensive are the tamiya range 'TS' colours- these are excellent. I wouldnt advise using Humbrol type enamels- you can, but they will likely come off soon!- Dont use water based colours or 'artists type 'paints, unless you are experienced in their use, and seal well. Remember to wash bodyshell well first to remove moulding residue, then lightly snad or scuff the surface as a key for the new paint. Several light coats are much better than one thick coat. cheers Neil

P.S. Humbrol do a clear varnish spray which is listed as being for plastic and polycarbonate, but in my experience the cheap large cans of acrylic laquer for real cars is just the ticket!

You sure can. The green BMW in my show room was an example of a 'rescue' shell which was a write- off really when i first got it- its painted on outside with acrylic car paint. Obviously it wont be as crash proof as painting a new shell from the inside. I use acrylic real car paint. you can get plastic primer paint which prepares the surface first for a coat of acrylic or polycarb paint, and finish with a couple light coats of gloss acrylic laquer. Make sure shell has been thoroughly washed and keyed with a light sanding/ wire wool/ brillo pad. Several light coats better than one thick coat! Repairs could be done with fibreglass body repair paste onto a well sanded inside shell. Small repairs with 2 part epoxy resin are also an alternative. Suppose it depends if you are going for a shelf queen or a runner. Of course the more fibreglass matting/ filer you use, the heavier the shell will be!! hope that helped Neil

Great video, seems like he got a very long range on that transmitter tho!!!! My Blackfoot would have ended up under the wheels of that truck!

sorry for the ignorance, but wouldn't the extra weight sort of negate the cooling effect, or even with the weight of the system, the overall power increase is more?- certainly looks the business!- awesome!

Hi there, a 540 motor will be much faster than a 380 kit supplied job. Just bought a hopper myself and replaced motor. you will also need the 18 tooth pinion gear for it to work (part number 3515006, about £3.00, hornet pinion gear, NOT 18T AV pinion gear from touring cars). A few suggestions for you to think about!! Hornet rear shocks are oil filled and higher performance (given the rigid rear axle of the grasshopper) Full ball bearings are a must have before other hop-ups and are available quite cheaply now. ESC to replace mechanical speed controller if that is what you were supplied with (although I think the re- releases all have TEU type tamiya ESCs) you might consider another bodyshell or 2, perhaps a hornet lexan one, or the 'sand scorcher' type shells can be made to fit the Grasshopper for a budget sand scorcher look. Rear spiked tyres, again from a hornet, will give differing performance than the 'paddle' kit supplied tyres, should give better grip on some surfaces. A higher capacity NiMH battery or 2 to give longer run times. dont think there are really that many hop ups for a grasshopper, certainly not compared to TT-01/ TL-01 type tourers etc... hope that helped Neil

Nice looking cars, great photos mate, looks like you had a good (if windy) day!

Great thread and some very interesting reading guys, thanks.

Thanks for the advice guys, I wasn't going to go below a 23/25 turn so sound slike it should be OK as long as I dont do a lot of half-throttel driving. thanks Neil

The tank battles look well cool, pity about the limitations when the batteries get low, as you say. Great actions shots, have you done a movie too, i think you should there will be a lot of iterest i think!

I would like to see the 1/10h scale classic british cars or just bodyshells- e.g: Ford Capri, Cortina, Escort MK1/2, Vauxhall Viva, Astra MK1/2 etc

On the plus side, running electric RC cars in the cold, is it true to say the motor and battery run cooler, so more power?- thought I'd throw that one in. i agree, seeing RC cars running in snow is cool and there arn't many videos / pictures showing this. chers Neil

i would say generally its a real gamble. If the packs have been well looked after and charged/ discharged properly and they are quality packs to begin with then go for it. Budget packs in novice hands , forget it.

Good advice from the shopkeeper, no need for a full strip down as he says. Personally I would go for the slightly longer screws.

hey, sweet, that looks like a really good scale replica shell- good luck with the build.

The 'cement' they refer to is, as stated above , super glue which is technically known as cyanoacrylate or 'CA' glue.- Be careful with this stuff, it bonds skin in seconds. Dont buy the Tamiya stuff, its too expensive, but in my experience also dont buy the really cheap stuff which works fine but the tube its in gets stuck real fast and you cant get the stuff out. As stated above you can get debonders which unstick the super glue.