Should i buy mip diff for blackfoot?

[Super ally]

I want to get a blackfoot and know about the problems with the diff in the gearbox,but the mip diff that a lot of others say you need to fix this is very expensive.I have bought a shim from a seller on ebay that says this will fix it.Will this work or will i still need to get the mip diff.Thanks for any help in advance.

[Nikko85]

Someone else here has designed a 3D printed fix for this that massively reinforces the gearbox, meaning you don't need the diff. Was it @Problemchild or did I completely make that up.

 

[Super ally]

10 minutes ago, Nikko85 said:

Someone else here has designed a 3D printed fix for this that massively reinforces the gearbox, meaning you don't need the diff. Was it @Problemchild or did I completely make that up.

 

I think i saw that before but dont know if they still do it.

[Kowalski86]

14 minutes ago, Super ally said:

I think i saw that before but dont know if they still do it.

They still make those braces, I have one on the way for my Frog. I'd get one of those and stick with a more modest brushed motor.

Afaik its easier to install than the MIP differential, and as a side bonus it helps protect your transmission case.

[Super ally]

7 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

They still make those braces, I have one on the way for my Frog. I'd get one of those and stick with a more modest brushed motor.

Afaik its easier to install than the MIP differential, and as a side bonus it helps protect your transmission case.

So do you think the shim is a waste of time.

[moffman]

The MiP diff is very good for the orv chassis vehicles I got one in my monster beetle with 10.5 brushless and 2s and other that destroying the body because I had the diff tightened up to much it was and still is absolutely faultless the downside is it’s quite expensive for what it is TBH! but then all this type of miniature engineering can be expensive I did try all the different things people recommended to have a smooth gearbox and with the likes of motors like the sport tuned etc they did work fine but if your after something that’s probably more robust then you can’t really go past the MiP diff if funds permit?

[Super ally]

6 minutes ago, moffman said:

The MiP diff is very good for the orv chassis vehicles I got one in my monster beetle with 10.5 brushless and 2s and other that destroying the body because I had the diff tightened up to much it was and still is absolutely faultless the downside is it’s quite expensive for what it is TBH! but then all this type of miniature engineering can be expensive I did try all the different things people recommended to have a smooth gearbox and with the likes of motors like the sport tuned etc they did work fine but if your after something that’s probably more robust then you can’t really go past the MiP diff if funds permit?

I would only be using the stock motor so i thought the shim might be ok.

[Kowalski86]

1 hour ago, Super ally said:

So do you think the shim is a waste of time.

Not at all, I'd say to try it before going for the MIP diff or anything else. I wouldn't go for the diff until the orignal part goes out (if it goes out), just throw in the shim and enjoy your truck 

[moffman]

1 hour ago, Super ally said:

I would only be using the stock motor so i thought the shim might be ok.

 

1 hour ago, Super ally said:

I would only be using the stock motor so i thought the shim might be ok.

Yeah definitely even if you decide to use a little hotter motor like said tamiya sport tuned I think the shim will be fine 

[Super ally]

Thanks for your replies,i will see how the shim works first.

[Pablo68]

The MIP diff is a nice bit of gear, and it does solve any issues with the power train in the Frog/MB/BF cars.
It might be best used with the dogbone shaft and cups as I couldn't get it to run smoothly on my MB with the CV shafts.

[moffman]

27 minutes ago, Pablo68 said:

The MIP diff is a nice bit of gear, and it does solve any issues with the power train in the Frog/MB/BF cars.
It might be best used with the dogbone shaft and cups as I couldn't get it to run smoothly on my MB with the CV shafts.

Sorry @Super ally I forgot @Pablo68 is right I changed the cv drive shafts because of the intense vibrations and I couldn’t for the life of me see what was wrong and what was causing it I put the dog bones in from the Subaru brat and it cured it!

[Saito2]

1 hour ago, moffman said:

Sorry @Super ally I forgot @Pablo68 is right I changed the cv drive shafts because of the intense vibrations and I couldn’t for the life of me see what was wrong and what was causing it I put the dog bones in from the Subaru brat and it cured it!

I believe it was discovered the re-re Monster Beetle's dogbone ends of the unis were turned the wrong way to cancel out vibrations. Tamiya fixed this with the later Blackfoot re-re by turning the dogbone ends 90 degrees which did cancel the vibrations. I think you can see it in the manuals. I went to straight Frog/Brat dogbones myself, because the unis presented other problems beside vibrations.

[Kol__]

Yep, having fitted the MIP diff, I myself recently changed the UJ's from the Frog/MB ones to the Blackfoot ones and all vibration was eliminated. Thanks for forum members for that advice🙌

The MIP diff is the best solution for no hassles, peace of mind running with anything more that a stock silver can imo. The gearbox braces worked for a while for me, but when I fitted a Torque Tuned motor the gears stared clicking.

[moffman]

4 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I believe it was discovered the re-re Monster Beetle's dogbone ends of the unis were turned the wrong way to cancel out vibrations. Tamiya fixed this with the later Blackfoot re-re by turning the dogbone ends 90 degrees which did cancel the vibrations. I think you can see it in the manuals. I went to straight Frog/Brat dogbones myself, because the unis presented other problems beside vibrations.

R that’s interesting was it something to do with weight balance? 
i can’t tell you how many times i stripped that gearbox apart because i thought it was me not building it correctly but I’d built many of them before

[El Gecko]

3 hours ago, moffman said:

i can’t tell you how many times i stripped that gearbox apart because i thought it was me not building it correctly but I’d built many of them before

An ORV gearbox is very sensitive and some of them need more finesse than others to get running properly. I definitely have to rebuild my gearboxes 3 or 4 times each time I take them apart. The side plates can be tweaked in a way to help the diff stay together without shims or braces. The only shims really needed are bumpstops to keep the trailing arms from drooping too much. The severe driveshaft angle destroys the driveshafts and pulls the side plates apart, so limiting the droop can fix a lot of the problems.

[Saito2]

6 hours ago, moffman said:

R that’s interesting was it something to do with weight balance? 

It has to do with phasing, much in the same way a 1:1 car's driveshaft works.

[Snappy1]

I run the MIP ball diff in my Blackfoot, I was so impressed with the build quality that I bought a pair for my Bigwig

 

[moffman]

57 minutes ago, Snappy1 said:

I run the MIP ball diff in my Blackfoot, I was so impressed with the build quality that I bought a pair for my Bigwig

 

What are they like for your bigwig? I was going to invest in them for my super shot because my biggest bugbear with those gearboxes is they are so noisy which to me means vibrations I upgraded the centre drive shaft (which is quite easy because it’s only a bit of coat hanger wire)but still to noisy for my liking!

[Snappy1]

Great question, I fitted front and rear MIP diffs and also upgraded the centre shaft to re re Hotshot, it is smooth but then it constantly threw the front and rear driveshafts, you know the special hardened ones from MIP, I ended up testing with vintage Top Force UJs all round and it’s fantastic.

[No Slack]

You may want to contact Xeostar on TC. He makes very good gearbox braces. They mount in minutes and look good. With a search on TC you will find many happy users of the gearbox brace.

[Busdriver]

5 hours ago, No Slack said:

You may want to contact Xeostar on TC. He makes very good gearbox braces. They mount in minutes and look good. With a search on TC you will find many happy users of the gearbox brace.

I’m one👍

[moffman]

12 hours ago, Snappy1 said:

Great question, I fitted front and rear MIP diffs and also upgraded the centre shaft to re re Hotshot, it is smooth but then it constantly threw the front and rear driveshafts, you know the special hardened ones from MIP, I ended up testing with vintage Top Force UJs all round and it’s fantastic.

Excellent that very handy to know the top force uj’s fit!