steelo
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Posts posted by steelo
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I thought about installing a brushless motor in my HOR, but trust me you don't want this thing to go too fast. As far as an ESC, I went with an Eflight 10 amp micro esc and hitech micro servo...so far, it works great (although I found out that the ESC doesn't have brakes)
The biggest problem I had was finding a battery. Do NOT go with a 2/3 sized nimh unless you don't mind soldering thinner gauge wires! I tried a Venom 2/3 nimh and it is virtually impossible to fit the battery and properly route the battery wires...I went with a 1200mah 2s lipo, which fits beautifully and I haven't noticed any COG issues with the reduced weight. As an added bonus, the lipo provides better speed and acceleration without it being too fast. I get around 20-25 minute run times with a 1200 mah battery.
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On 3/23/2018 at 3:43 PM, Saito2 said:
The 13.5 I'm considering as a motor for my vintage 4wds (Boomerang, etc.). Hopefully its something along the line of a Tamiya Superstock motor. If its noticeably quicker than a silvercan the 17.5 would go in my re-re Bruiser. I know I'm going to get screams and cries to put a crawler motor in that, but I want my re-re to approach the speed and power of the old 750 powered original Bruiser. The current one is geared waaay lower than the original. Its a delicate balance as I want to speed the truck up a bit, but not over power it as its not designed for true high speed.
I used a Radient Reaktor 13.5T brushless motor in my re re Optima and with the stock gearing, it is nearly the perfect balance of acceleration and top end speed. The top end is a touch slow but the motor barely gets warm after every run so I could probably go up a tooth or two on the pinion.
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I have a re-re Sand Scorcher that was hardly ever ran because it just didn’t handle well on any surface. A few weeks ago, I got bored and decided to ‘convert’ it into a street rod. This involved tearing the entire car apart, including the gearbox and cleaning it up the best I could. I decided to double up the fragile fiberglass chassis plate with a carbon fiber one and bought some new wheels and tires for the front and wide slicks to use on the rear. Another issue I had was with the terrible stock steering. I eliminated the clunky mechanism altogether and opted to use direct servo steering. I found a servo saver off of ebay that worked to prevent damage to the servo after I inevitably crash it.
I was hoping that the wider rear wheel stance would improve stability, but the first run on asphalt was not pretty. The car would roll over in dramatic fashion if I turned the wheel while going over 5 mph, it seemed like the slicks were gripping too much, causing traction rollovers. To remedy this, I adjusted the camber of the rear wheels so that mainly the inside of the tires are making contact with the ground. Unfortunately, this involved some tweaking of the shock mounts to allow this but it seems to work. I was very pleased with the handling afterwards, no more traction roll tip overs unless I drive it stupidly. The steering is now about as good as any other RC car I own and the car finally tracks in a straight line. I’ve also noticed the gearbox doesn’t sound like it’s grinding and the top speed is quite a bit quicker, which is probably due to the oversized rear wheels. Before these mods, I’d probably rate it a 3/10 in handling, after these modifications, it is a solid 7/10…I finally have a Sand Scorcher that is a blast to run on asphalt =)
Here are some pictures of the disgusting gearbox before it was thoroughly cleaned and the car after the modifications.
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Pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the silver can motor. I’ve used a Neewer 13.5T motor/TBLE-02 combo in a Tamiya M-05 and also in an Arrma Granite truck…both move like scalded rats and the TBLE-02 seems to handle it pretty well. I've had it overheat in the truck a few times, but that is a pretty heavy model and it usually was when I was running it through tall grass. I probably wouldn't go any "hotter" than a 13.5T motor with that ESC
I highly recommend the Neewer 13.5T brushless motor, it seems to be pretty bullet proof.
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Hi guys,
After weeks of assembling and painting, I now have a working 1/8 scale Kyosho motorcycle. I’ve assembled plenty of buggies but never a motorcycle, needless to say, this kit was quite challenging. The parts are tiny, the directions caused a few “What the heck” moments and the painting/decals can be quite difficult. I decided not follow the box art and make it more like the paint scheme of the my favorite RC car of all time, the Optima =)
Tower hobbies calls for the 2/3 size venom nimh battery pack. I can tell you after days of frustration, this battery with the usual thickness wires simply will NOT fit. After giving up on that battery, I opted to buy a tiny 1200 mah lipo probably meant for an electric plane and soldered a lipo mini connector to the ESC. It fits beautifully and any excess wires can be tucked into the hole where the ESC wires protrude out of.
This thing is an absolute blast to drive around, it’s not fast compared to most rc cars and I’m sure it would be outperformed by every modern RC motorcycle with fancy gyros and better suspension, but it’s become one of my favorite models to run. I like to run it right in front of my house on the street and I find maneuvering slow figure 8’s more satisfying than speeding down the street in a straight line. The leaning rider is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, especially since it also serves a purpose in functionality. Although I spent days painting every individual mold, after crashing it about 2 dozen times the fairings and rider are fairly beat up. That’s okay though, I bought this to run the heck out of, not stare at on a shelf =) I may purchase another just for show though.
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Thanks, I hope this corrects the issue. I didn’t run it yesterday but after I fixed the toe-in issue I noticed the front steering mechanism felt pretty 'sloppy' and loose by hand. I’ll have to go over it again tonight and make sure all the nuts and screws are tight. Parts definitely shouldn’t be worn out yet, it gets run maybe once every 2-3 months…
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I was looking at the rear toe-in 'blocks' on the rear of the car as I think I had one installed incorrectly. One wheel seemed straight (0 degrees toe in) while the other had ~2 degrees toe-in. I removed and reinstalled both of them. My confusion was that both ends of the blocks had hash marks. So, I was unsure if it mattered which way they went in as long as when looking at them from the front of the car the hashes face inwards towards the chassis.
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Ok, I might be an idiot but the blocks have hash marks on both ends. I forget does it matter which way the block goes in so long as the hash marks face inward facing the front of the car?
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Thanks guys, I'll check the blocks and the hubs!
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I have a re re Optima and noticed today that the car tends to 'wander' when you steer it left or right. After you exit a turn and let go of the steering, it just wants to keep turning that direction. It's like the front wheels aren't centering after a turn. It doesn't appear anything is binding and I'm using a pretty new high torque servo which 'seems' to center okay. The tires are pretty bald now since it's mainly only seen use on the asphalt. Any ideas?
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Hey everyone,
I am considering buying a Kyosho 'Hang on racer' motorcycle kit when we get our tax return. I've never owned a RC motorcycle but am wanting to change things up a bit. I've heard they can be quite challenging to build. That really shouldn't be a problem because we have another 1-2 months of winter nastiness here. My question is, how enjoyable are they to run? They don't look extremely fast, but judging from the youtube videos they look quite interesting to run around...
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Over the weekend, I played around with the rear suspension to improve the ridiculous ‘chicken wing’ stance of the rear suspension. I ended up moving up the rear upper suspension mounts up about ½”, which created negative camber on the rear wheels. This seemed to work pretty well and the car was MUCH more stable turning. On turns, the rear just skipped with the lack of a rear diff but no rollovers. Of course, it was pretty cold outside so the tires may not have been gripping as well. I had to grind down the nubs on the mount and tighten the mount down more than I would like so they wouldn’t slide down the bar. This, of course further limits the suspension travel but since this is primarily going to be a parking lot ‘hot rod’, it should hopefully be alright.
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Thanks guys, I will try the olive oil and 'squashing' the suspension before I run so it isn't running on the outer edge of the tires.
As far as the suspension, I’m using the stock shocks with RC4WD internal springs and heavier weight oil. The rear is still pretty soft but I think the front may be set up too stiff as it's using the torsion springs and the modified shocks. I may try raising the upper shock mount in the rear somehow which should eliminate the ridiculous (chicken wing) camber of the rear wheels...
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Please help!
Does anybody know if there are any compatible differentials that would work in the Sand Scorcher....maybe one that's from another Tamiya kit? I know Tamiya was releasing them for a limited time. However, they now sell for $100 USD on eby…I’ve also read on here that one can make their own diff but I don’t believe I have the tools, skills or patience to do that. I drove my Scorcher on tarmac yesterday and it was just about undriveable with street tires. I could not go over 5mph and turn without it making a dramatic roll over. It’s kind of strange because I ran it about a week ago on the same pavement and it did okay… I’d like to keep it the way it is because it looks like a street rod, but I’d like it to be driveable
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The Arrma Granite was a pretty tough truck. I did break a steering rod on an awkward jump but it was also about 14 degrees outside…
I replaced the 15T brushed motor with a 13.5T brushless and used a 2s lipo…the truck wheelied every time I gunned it. It was only 2WD but with the large wheels pretty much went over everything. I really didn’t like the truss chassis as it made it much more difficult to replace the steering mechanism that it should have been. Also, a 2s lipo BARELY fits…I felt like I was straining the battery wires jamming them into the tiny compartment.
Overall, it was fun for a while but I got bored of it after a few weeks because it just felt like a hunk of plastic built on an assembly line. I have way more fun running my Tamiya's and Kyosho's, even if they aren't exactly race ready models =)
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Good point…and the Mad Crusher would cost over $400 USD for the electric and just under $400 for the nitro.
I’ll just have to see how good our tax return is this year 😉
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I’ve seen some of those and would absolutely love to own one…unfortunately I’m too poor…LOL
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Thanks guys for the detailed response. I believe you’re right as far as choosing a truck with a solid axle. I really don’t ‘beat the crap’ out of any of my cars…it’s mainly running in the parking lot and around a dirt baseball field. I may make a jump or two, but nothing like what you see in some youtube videos showing people jumping cars and houses.
You’re absolutely correct in saying that the Traxxas’ CAN take a beating, but in the end they’re just soulless hunks of plastic marketed by a greedy company. My friend has a TMaxx and I laugh at the insane money he’s spent on nothing more than ‘bling’ for it…
Another thing I forgot to mention…I’d (kind of) like a nitro, they sound and smell awesome. However, I have had very bad experiences with nitro’s in the past with everything from clutches prematurely wearing, every screw coming loose and motor tie rods breaking. I don’t know if I want to spend $3-400 on another one…I’d be running it with my friends truck (T Maxx) and would like to get something that can at least hold its own against him 😉
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Here is a pic of my Optima...it brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. My dad had one when I was growing up in the 80'-90's and I absolutely cherished watching it run, so it brings back a lot of great memories! Lots of hard work went into it! (btw, my wife thought it would complete the 80's nostalgia by adding gummi bear figurines...LOL. They're 'bouncing here and there and everywhere' =)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R1gmH7kAhMDsQpcF5LyK5inJ5PFn5epq/view?usp=sharing
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I have a buddy who keeps telling me, “Get a traxxas, get a traxxas”
I’m sorry, but I just can’t justify paying 3-$400 for a hunk of plastic that can go 40-50 mph. I already see myself getting bored with it because it looks like something a bunch of marketing people thought of in 15 minutes to sell to 12 year olds.
I’d rather build something that I can put on the shelf after I’m done bashing and be proud of. I also have a re re Optima which took me a few weeks to build and around 10 hours to paint to match the box art (man, what a pain it was to paint!)...it brings a smile to my face every time I look at it =)
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I’m thinking too that after buying a set of 8 shocks for the Clodbuster and upgrading the chassis parts, it will be as much as a nitro Mad Crusher anyways…
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Excellent, thanks for the info!
I think it's between the Clod and the Kyosho Mad Crusher.
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I do love the Clod =) Do they have Lexan bodies for it? I would have to install hop up oil shocks…the ‘pogo sticks’ aren’t going to cut it!
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Agreed. After the initial, “oooooh’s and aaaaahs” I’ll probably grow bored with it. The traxxas’ really aren’t much to look at. They just look like very generic monster trucks….
Can I run 2 motors on one ESC?
in All things electric...
Posted
I believe you can run a dual motor set up on 1 ESC if you use motors that are double the turn rating. For example, if the ESC is rated for 13 turns or more, you can run 2 26T motors with it. I'd definitely make sure it has proper ventilation though.