GPZ1000RX

Hi there Virus, Have a look at the replies to "oh no not again" in general discussions, you'll probably find that most of your question is answered there. The only ideas I can add are:- Be very careful with carbon parts, they conduct eletricity!!!! Some say that mounting the RX on it,s side cuts down interference (but check the other things first) DON'T shorten or bundle up the RX aerial in any way! It's length is critical to good range/interference rejection. Good Luck. Paul.

Stop it guys, I might just have to get my first ever Action Man/GI Joe dolls complete with 1/6 scale tank for them to crew!!!!!!! Problem is, it will probably result in my lovely wife of 22 years looking for a divorce (again!) Those 1/6 Tigers are incredible, specially so close to the D Day anniversary.

Most ESCs seem to make some sort of noise when driving gently, this varies from a low buzz to a high pitched variable beep. It isn't usually the ESC that makes the noise tho!!! it's the motor windings resonating at the switching frequency of the ESC. Budget ESCs switch at about 50Hz (the buzz) while better ones operate at higher frequency, often about 2000Hz (the beep). Top spec ones use variable frequency up to about 7000Hz to optimize the power/current characteristics (the variable beep). My MRT pro instructions are quite specific about the motor having to be connected to set up or program the speedo as it transmitts beeps via the motor to enable you to know what you're doing.

Make absolutely sure that you CAN actually fit one to a Dirt Thrasher before you spend the money!!!

Your number one suspect is the connector, change to powerpoles or similar. No 2 is the gearing, change the pinion for the smallest that will actually mesh properly. Don't forget the motor maintenance, 11Turns is close to a F1 spec 1/1 scale and they are just about worn out after one one meeting! A lot of racing guys service their motors before the final qualifier at every race meet, they bring a comm lathe with them for that purpose So the motor gets its maintenance every 5 runs or about 25mins run time. Fail to do this for couple of meetings and the arcing and current draw go sky high and, if you're lucky, the ESC shuts down before major damage occurs!

Nothing, including the motor, should be getting hot enough to melt anything! Use quality wire and connectors (NOT Tamiya!) for motor/battery/esc connections and keep it all as short as possible. No wires, including the motor wires, should be up against the motor can, where they might melt if the motor does overheat. The radio wires should be kept well away from the motor/battery/esc and their wires. The RX aerial must be kept as far away from all other electrical things as possible and it must not be shortened or coiled up tightly. It's not easy in the tight confines of some cars but follow the basics above and keep it all neat, tidy and secure and you shouldn't have any problems. Two questions arise about your overheating (assuming a Tamiya connector hasn't melted) An 11T motor MUST be geared very low or it will overheat. (if this isn't possible then don't run it in that car) If the gearing is OK then a low turn motor MUST be serviced every 10 runs (more frequently if racing), including comm skim and new brushes, if you don't do this it will overheat! Keep on allowing any motor to get too hot and it will be ruined sooner or later and it may well take other things with it. Many Tamiyas aren't meant to use such powerful motors and extensive modifications have to be made to do so. They weren't meant to handle the resulting speed either!!!!!!!! To repeat myself, in most basic Tamiya cars, a 27T stock motor is plenty and they bolt straight in, don't need expensive batts,ESC, different gearing......blady, blady, blady....................blah!! Hope all this helps.

How are things getting hot enough to melt wires?, and what things are getting so hot?.

You need gearing lower than a low thing that's being extra specially low today to run a 10 turn motor, particularly in anything heavy. All the aluminium heatsinking/ventilation you can provide won't stop the arm blowing if you overgear a 10 turn!

The reason for your disappointment is that brushless motors are a lot more eficient and powerful than brushed ones, you may now be addicted to brushless!!!! In this context you need to gear lower, 8 to 1 is lower than 5 to 1, the higher the number the lower the gearing. I think you will have difficulty matching the performance of the brushless set tho!

Hobby shops tend to suffer from the same problem as other "speciality" stores, (hi fi and cycle shops spring to mind) They tend to be staffed by enthusiastic and opinionated young males who often don't have the life experience to empathise with anyone who isn't on exactly the same wavelength as themselves, they also don't have the necessary depth of subject knowledge and no historical knowledge at all! This tends to lead to a defensive "the customer is wrong" atitude when asked for anything beyond their experience. Their mouths say "sorry we don't stock them sir" while their eyes say "what's this moron going on about?" My local RC car shop was a slightly unpleasant place to visit 10yrs ago but now it's quite good! The reason is that they still have the same staff, who are now 10yrs older and have largely aquired the relevant people skills and trade experience. Consequently they are now very busy even mid week now. If you find a store that you can build a good relationship with they are worth paying a little more to for your gear as they will often go the extra mile for you when you really do have a problem.

How much "cruising" would an MSC take? and how slow could a MSC equipped Sand Scorcher (etc etc) actually go? The closest thing I have to a shelf queen is the full options Tiger 1' everything else is very much a runner.

Electric motors like to spin fast, to get the best from them allow them to spin. If your motor is getting very hot on the grass then it is bogging down! This means it is over geared for the grass, you must either lower the gearing or use a torquier motor. Try a 19t stock motor, that should give you lots more torque. It's horses for courses tho. Persist on the grass with your 15double and there's a good chance you'll cook something!

You can't have "grunt" and "revs", you have to choose or compromise! Of course by adding more money you can have more of both (in theory)! In practise, for more grunt you need MORE turns and/or FEWER windings ie. 19X1 17x2 27X1 15X1 Or far more cheaply, LOWER gearing (smaller pinion and/or larger spur) This multiplies the torque that actually gets to the drive wheels, lower gearing = more torque. Try a few teeth smaller pinion, cost about £3 UK Either of these options will cost you some flat out speed but you will gain acceleration and runtime!

Further to the above, in the UK apexmodels.com have the full range of Trinity stock motors + Reedy + Orion + Phantom including the P2K for sale, on line, at prices between £25 and £28

siv429 old chap, Back to the original subject, a high rev motor will not be as suitable for your (relatively heavy) TB01 chassis as a high torque one. It's the torque that accelerates the car not revs. You will also pay the price for revs in battery run time, motor heat and higher maintenance expenditure/time. Unless you can afford a hand wound full house modified motor (£50+ UK) plus all the necessary high spec ESC, batts, charger etc. plus the maintenance (comm skims etc) you really are better off with a P2K. If you've been using a kit motor till now the extra acceleration AND higher top speed will surprise you.

My first electric RC car was an ID Electronics Spectron It's chassis was a flat sheet of thick lexan and they came complete with an forward/brake only ESC. Cost me £75 without radio in 1977! (I think)

There you go, Jimmy's got the gen, the P2k is a torquey stock, not a revver, even better for bolting it straight in on standard gears.

I could be wrong but I don't remember an RC March 6 wheeler. Scalextric definately did a 1/32 slot car model tho, if you don't mind a small one with a guide flag you could look for one of those on Ebay.

My sons don't remember the racing breakages either, probably because I bought all the parts and did all the spannering!!!

Should be OK with the same size pinion as the kit motor. Just keep an eye on the temp for the first few runs, you MAY need to drop a pinion size but I doupt it. That's the beauty of the 24deg stock, you can just stick em straight in and go, no need to change anything else, just lots more power.

It fits any of the F101/102/103 chassis cars and their derivatives. Sorry I can't be any more specific, I'm sure that the info can be gleaned if you "knive and fork" thro the models listing on this site tho.

If getting low enough gearing for a multi wind is a problem then try a single. If the group c cars are much like the F10X series F1 cars, I would have thought that a rebuildable 24deg stock would be plenty fast enough if you don't plan on racing it?

Mines the model name given by Kawasaki to my two wheeled, 167mph monster tucked up in my garage!

My Schumaker SST has one thats adjustable from full freewheel to solid, It cost over £40 some time ago and is usually in the solid position! So that'll be expensive extra weight which isn't all that useful DOH!

Mechanically, a one way works like a bicycle freewheel hub. On a RC car it gives drive to the front wheels when the motor is driving and allows them to freewheel when you lift off. This has the effect of giving more steering as you turn in and less as you power out. It's an expensive hop up which most of the time isn't much use if you are not racing.