AbeBeast 29 Posted February 3, 2023 (edited) Hi everyone! First post here and has to be about the first RC model I decided to buy when I felt It was time to take a chance at this incredible hobby. What else to say? Well, first of all I need to thank this community and its members for sharing so many ideas and experiences, the forums and the galleries have been such a great inspiration and help in the past years, thank You all. Then I'll proceed introducing this little truck: it's a 2018 chrome ed. Midnight Pumpkin, it's been a great companion and has transitioned countless versions of itself before its present shape; at the moment it sports: - CVAs (longest stroke possibile) - centered servo - front double wishbones (original but modified A arms) - DT02 c-hubs - front strut and ballasts - rear struts - 4link rear suspension, with reversed Gear box - 18t pinion - 13.5t brushless sensored motor - WR02 uprights and rims - foam inserts The front and rear suspensions current geometry and tuning required a lot of trial and error to achieve, but at this stage I'm quite satisfied with the outcome: it squats under acceleration and lifts the front internal wheel when thrusting during turns (adding droop helped increasing front grip), initial cornering is very improved and tipping over only occurs when hitting hard on high traction surfaces at high speed, also turning radius Is reduced considerably. Wheelies are still possible on high traction surfaces yet some oversteer is possible on dirt, jumps and lands quite well yet still the rear axle tends to bounce during hard landing (tips are welcome ). 18t pinion gives some interesting top Speed on tarmac (even on 2s lipos) and increases the chances to power drift on loose surfaces, also helps smoothing braking and avoiding rear hopping. I usually run It in my backyard or in a parking lot nearby since it's not a very popular model where I live (northern Italy) and haven't found any news about local clubs racing them (nor stock or modified), but my kids really enjoy when we take it out for some bashing and that's very satisfying Edited February 20, 2023 by AbeBeast mods list correction 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 3, 2023 In the next future I'm planning on changing c-hubs and uprights to add hexs on front too and try some 1.9" crawler wheels (the small bearing in hex conversion kits always bothered me), we'll see... Also, over the years the original body has seen some serious battering and it's now being kept togheter by glue, hopes and dreams of glory... so a new (but black) one is on its way to take on the burden and keep we all charmed by such an amusing yet beautiful little truck! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 3, 2023 Last but not least, a couple of pictures showing front susp negative camber correction when body roll occurs. Enjoy! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko85 3454 Posted February 4, 2023 This looks great. I love the way you used the flipped gearbox to create a wheelie bar. Your four link looks great, I may try that sometime. My Pumpkin has printed double wishbone fronts and an axle brace on the rear, but four link does look like the ultimate option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 5, 2023 16 hours ago, Nikko85 said: This looks great. I love the way you used the flipped gearbox to create a wheelie bar. Your four link looks great, I may try that sometime. My Pumpkin has printed double wishbone fronts and an axle brace on the rear, but four link does look like the ultimate option. Thanks mate! Had a 3D printed rear brace for a while and really liked it (I think It still there and shows in some pictures), but opted for the 4link solution aiming to get some of the tipical Trophy trucks' squat while retaining a bit of the kit's comical behaviour. Long story short, changed the lower arms pivot from the usuals seen on the net to get closer to the battery tray and as parallel to the ground as possible while being at the sale height of the wheel axis; instead, placing the upper arms on the chassis it's been more of and adjustment process because the further away from the lower pivots the more squat You get... I like mine where the links are almost parallel to each other from a side point of view. Still, I think the pivots position on the gear box is quite odd compared to traditional solid axles... Some space for future developments... For the front sus I have to thank another TC user (can't find any link, sorry...) because I copied it's cheap but very effective solution: I was struggling with the CRP FX10 kit's damper position when this came out of nowhere and it's just brilliant. In the future I think I'll give myself a chance and design some A arms to get them 3D printed, but at the moment there's no hurry since modded originals are just fine. In the next few days I'll try and shoot the truck riding on tarmac and off-road (clay and grass) and then post it here, hoping it can be helpful to anyone planning these mods. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 13, 2023 Sorry for being late on the video release, but I've prefered trying to install the scaler wheels (a hard no right now, both aesthetically and functionally...) and re-building shocks, which were in need forattention. Lenghtened the rear shocks (measure TBD) and used harder oil (probably 500cps, not completely sure... with 3 holes pistons, hard springs) to increase front grip (front shocks are 350cps, 3 holes pistons, hard springs); all pistons have been shimmed to avoid play between the e-clips. Tested briefly on tarmac and It responded and moved nicely, we'll see on clay/grass... Late runs have been hard on the old body, that's making me reconsider it's original positioning on the chassis: the front gets almost no protection from the bumper during crashes (You can hear the body collide...) and that leads to craks and chipping. First thoughts led me to these options: - avoid collisions 😁 - damped body posts - move body about 15mm back (using lunchbox's rear posts, new holes to be drilled on body) What do You think? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 18, 2023 This afternoon I've been out for some tests and try to shoot some vids: first thing I can say Is now the rear shocks are way to hard, next gonna try some 400cps and some Injora alu shocks I've purchased in the past days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 19, 2023 Hi guys! Had the time to film some bashing this afternoon, here's a link to see the results: https://youtu.be/bU15d-MFA20 In this one, rear shocks are Tamiya short CVAs lenghtened to 120mm with 400cps oil and soft spring (added a couple of spacers to match the hard's lenght). Also, I've added dust covers (made with blue nitrile glove's fingers) to every shock to reduce dust infiltrations and try to avoid shaft's premature wear . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 26, 2023 Had the time to make a couple mods this morning: - 350cps oil in rear shocks and 400cps oil in front shocks; will try softer oil in rear shocks as sono as I purchased some 😅 - installed DT02/3 front A-arms in place of original modded ones (see pictures below); used a 72mm long M3 bar as shaft and 2+2x long spacer (X3 part for tamiya 50520 kit). The latter is a mod that's been around in my mind for quite a long time, as something You've "seen" as feasible but never have the courage to try, until some day You come up with the solution and just do it... Feels great.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 26, 2023 Now the wheelbase Is approx. 240mm and the turning radius Is slightly reduced, but seems cornering Is much more stable and predictable. Also landing feels better. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko85 3454 Posted February 26, 2023 How does this change the track width? On 2/13/2023 at 11:51 PM, AbeBeast said: Late runs have been hard on the old body, that's making me reconsider it's original positioning on the chassis: the front gets almost no protection from the bumper during crashes (You can hear the body collide...) and that leads to craks and chipping. First thoughts led me to these options: - avoid collisions 😁 - damped body posts - move body about 15mm back (using lunchbox's rear posts, new holes to be drilled on body) What do You think? I 3D printed small mounts that attached to tamiya body mount extensions which allowed for more flexibility. And no mounts breaking. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted February 26, 2023 50 minutes ago, Nikko85 said: How does this change the track width? I 3D printed small mounts that attached to tamiya body mount extensions which allowed for more flexibility. And no mounts breaking. Track width is the same as previous: slightly increased compared to original, but matches rear width (that has 19mm hex to adopt WR02 wheels) and that's a great goal for me. I think that original width can be obtained using DT02/3 rear A-arms, but then shock installation has to be a little different... Something to think about Great idea!!! Are those on shapeways or You can give us the 3Ds? Later thoughts have led me to indulge into modify some original supports and use them to install some magnets and reduce the damages due to mechanical fastening, but I haven't realised them yet .... Haven't decided yet, but your solution seems very insteresting! Have You tested It already? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikko85 3454 Posted March 1, 2023 On 2/26/2023 at 3:58 PM, AbeBeast said: Great idea!!! Are those on shapeways or You can give us the 3Ds? I can give you the 3Ds. Having had a few tips yesterday they seem to work well. The 3D files are pretty small, so can probably drop them in this chat. You will need Tamiya 54604 Body Mount Extension Set. The main plus for me was that you can also play with the height a little. I lowered the rear and raised the front to level it out some. I am really enjoying mine, handling with double wishbone front is so much better than stock, and if you have a 3D printer pretty much free! I have left the basic shocks as I like the look at to keep all upgrades as close to free as possible. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AbeBeast 29 Posted March 1, 2023 2 hours ago, Nikko85 said: I can give you the 3Ds. Having had a few tips yesterday they seem to work well. The 3D files are pretty small, so can probably drop them in this chat. You will need Tamiya 54604 Body Mount Extension Set. Hi Nikko, thanks for all the info! I'd ask You to post the 3Ds here or to open a new post in the TC Design section, so they can be visible for every member I'll try them as soon as I can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
