Monster Beetle Hop Ups

[dazaa]

Hi i took my monster beetle for its first run today and was amazed at how fast it was but i was wondering what hop ups are availibe for it apart from ball bearings. also im not sure if it will handle a 15 turn motor any ideas.

Thanks

[billg4]

15 is kind of potent for the differential and transmition side[plates to handle

As for hop ups, CRP stuff still can be found easily on e-pay

the chassis supports setup is a good one to have http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=250167657854

If you can find one, a you-g rear sway bar kit is nice too

don't get you-g shocks, they will leak like the exxon valdez

parma and CRP both made stronger steering upright blocks (tamiiya K)

[tamiya monkey]

love the monster beetle, if your thinking of putting a hotter motor in there, you might want to upgrade the outer driver shaft etc with re-re frog or brat parts, as for the gearbox not really sure.

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

billg4 is spot on. CRP parts are great, though be wary of the front shock tower support/rear body mount support as it isn't 100% compatible with the beetle - works well with blackfoot body posts though.

The rear suspension supports are the best hop up in my opinion, as they replace the weak stock brackets and stop the gearbox side plates wearing where the suspension arms pivot.

a 15 turn motor will wreck the differential gears eventually. I'd recommend a 23 turn motor for the truck to be reliable. Make sure you use loads of high quality grease in the diff assembly - i use graphite grease in my ones.

The ultimate hop up for the gears would be a thorp ball differential and spur gear - though these are rare and expensive as they haven't been made since the truck came out.

[dazaa]

dont think i will be able to aford a thorpe diff but will definatly be putting a 23 turn motor in. as tamiya still make parts for the frog,like the rear dog bones ect i think i will be putting a 23 turn motor in, changing the rear axels to dog bones,ball bearings and a chassis stiffener and the best bit is i wont have to worry if anything breaks as tamiya make almost all of the parts for the frog.

if anyone has any more ideas for upgrading the beetle please respond.

Thanks

[Blacque Jacque]

billg4 is spot on. CRP parts are great, though be wary of the front shock tower support/rear body mount support as it isn't 100% compatible with the beetle - works well with blackfoot body posts though.

I think I have a workaround for that issue, I'll post some pics in a few days.

[hoppi05]

what was the work around????

[terry.sc]

Loads of hop ups, just look for parts for the Blackfoot.

It will take a lot of time and money to replicate Shodogs version.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...1634&sid=34

[Blacque Jacque]

what was the work around????

The CRP plates are 4mm thick.

I used a razor saw to take a 4mm thick slice out of each side body post, then solvent welded them back together.

Then I cut some 18mm lengths of sprue which were an interference fit in the slot in the post & solvent welded two pieces in each post.

Once completely dry it's rock solid & doesn't stress the body sides outwards any further than stock.

I also drilled out the mounting holes & replaced the tapping screws with M3 stainless button head screws, washers & nyloc nuts.

I have a few pictures, but I haven't got round to pulling them out of the camera yet, I'll post a proper How-To at some point.

[pearce_jj]

Hello,

For what it's worth I used to have a Brat and a Monster Beetle. I ran both with 'Parma' motors, one was blue and one was yellow. I don't recall the number of turns but I never had a problem with either, and the yellow one was really quick (especially when adjusted into the 'don't use this bit' zone!). It used to cause the rear suspention to bottom out under acceleration on the brat (which had oil shocks).

I personally preferred the blue one though, as it obviously had a much longer run time and the yellow one was a bit rediculous TBH.

Cheers!

[Shodog]

The best hop up for a runner is got to be the thorp diff and outdrives. They are an expensive hop up when the seller knows what they are Sometimes you can find them used in poorly worded auctions or parts lots. That is how I found two of mine.

with a ball diff you don't have to worry about flexing side plates. I am really surprised that tamiya didn't come out with an optional ball diff for their re-re frog and brat.

Thanks Terry for the plug on my blackfoot.

[pearce_jj]

I am really surprised that tamiya didn't come out with an optional ball diff for their re-re frog and brat.

Considering the brat never had a diff at all in the first place they've alreay been rather helpful in including it in the kit! Don't know about the frog though.