My 8.5t Brushless Beetle :d

[mooter]

So I've been working on the Custom Beetle for a while now and the latest addition is an 8.5T brushless Novak combo

Here's the specs so far:

CRP : chassis brace, rear suspension mounts, rear bearing housing, rear wheel hubs, front axle pivots, bushed front control arms, front bumper, rear bumper, rear skid plate

Thorp : diff (brand new, complete in packet) + Counter Gear (used)

JG : front shock tower, front shell mounting point

"HD" steering kit, Tamiya Hi-Torque servo saver, metal gears servo

Yeah Racing 85mm dampers all round

Novak 8.5T SS5800 esc + motor combo (used but in good condition)

HPI Plazma 4000mah LiPo

I've also replaced a lot of the self tap screws with nuts and bots to try and make things a little more secure and I've also added a Frog underguard as its bigger than the original Beetle/Blackfoot design.

So far it's indestructable! I'm charging up the batteries now and I'll be off down the park to test my theory shortly. Pics to follow after, I figure she'll look better with some mud on her I had to set the diff fairly tight to deal with the brushless but it's been good since. Place your bets on the first thing to break now, the winner can have something out of my parts bin!

[TA-Mark]

If you are using a Tamiya alloy pinion... it will be the first failure provided you do not crash or land badly from a large jump.

[Leethal Driver]

I picked up a Thorp 11T pinion on the bay the other week, 'spect Robinson Racing do something steel that would be just the job too.

Failing that, I'm going for the spotlights (if they are fitted) or side body mounts.

Sounds barking mad by the way

[mooter]

The wheel came off! No spare bits on me meant end of play

As you can see, it was pretty muddy out! On some nice short firm grass she will pull a constant wheelie at full throttle Stupidly fast but surprisingly controlable. She did take a good few barrel rolls though but seemingly shrugged it all off. I'll have to wait until it's dry before I can have a good look but I think all is intact, minus a shiny gold wheel nut.

[chris350z]

i think the shell mounts or steering knuckles will break first.

[mooter]

I just remembered, you can also see the latest hopup to be added in the shot above in the form of a nice alloy motor mount, thanks to 'karooha MB' - cheers mate! Am very impressed, 'tis a nice bit of engineering, the fit is excellent and I don't think it'll be breaking any time soon. Good job too now that I added the brushless combo! If you've not got yourself one yet drop him a line, well worth it in my opinion.

[karooha MB]

Cheers Mooter, glad your happy with the Aluminium Motor Mount. You'll need it with that 8.5T! Scary.

[Leethal Driver]

Am getting the urge reading this...keep thinking that there must be something better than letting mine sit on the shelf...

[teamnomad]

what bodyshell have you used?

[karooha MB]

It looks like a Kamtec shell to me. And yes, I agree, If you only have one Monster Beetle it should be run, if you have two, or more then a shelfer is nice.

[mooter]

The shell came from Australia - it's by a firm called Body Worx, or something similar. It's a lexan jobby of course (or again, something similar) and it came with overspray film attached. I noticed the weak points are around the rear mounts so I have strengthened them up with the VW stickers - they are actually thick, plastic type "stickers" and should serve to stop the lexan tearing. A bit of gaffa tape on the inside might not go amiss either.

It's SO much fun. Really. I can't wait for the weekend to come so I can clean her off and then get her all muddy again

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww

[SteelRat]

Really enjoyed reading this thread mooter. Good to see you toughening up the MBs weak spot (it's rear end), stuffing a stupidly fast motor in there and giving it a right royal spanking.

Hats off to you sir!

[NJhopper]

Love the project! Im doing the same with my blackfoot Im waitng for my EZ run to come in the mail look for the thread in the monster truck forum!

[mooter]

Ok, so after finally finding the camera I give you some shots that are at least in focus. Wearing this seasons latest in Blitzer Beetle ABS shells and sporting some simply stunning hopups, I bring you...

Just need to get the wires from the motor to the ESC lengthend as I don't really like having it strapped to the G1 and she's about done, I think.

Roll on the weekend when I get the chance to annoy old ladies and chase small to medium sized dogs.

[Jonsini]

Ah nice!

I spy with my little eye, various hopups I want!

Nice work

[NJhopper]

Hey mooter, HOw do you keep your diff tight? I put a kink in mine to stay together but it loosened.

[mooter]

Erm, it's not come loose yet! If it did, I wouldn't be bending bits. I reckon a spot of liquid thread lock on the bolt that tightens it would do, no?

AFAIK, it's not meant to work in the same way as the original diff. It's designed for off-road only and allows you to put the power down, as opposed to just wheel spinning and/or popping a wheelie every time you hit the throttle. It does this by slipping a bit, almost like how the clutch transfers power to the wheels in a 1:1. The original diff is just there to spin one wheel up if the other is stuck solid and stop everything from grinding to a halt.

I'm willing to be corrected on all of this, it's just my interpretation!

[NJhopper]

Erm, it's not come loose yet! If it did, I wouldn't be bending bits. I reckon a spot of liquid thread lock on the bolt that tightens it would do, no?

AFAIK, it's not meant to work in the same way as the original diff. It's designed for off-road only and allows you to put the power down, as opposed to just wheel spinning and/or popping a wheelie every time you hit the throttle. It does this by slipping a bit, almost like how the clutch transfers power to the wheels in a 1:1. The original diff is just there to spin one wheel up if the other is stuck solid and stop everything from grinding to a halt.

I'm willing to be corrected on all of this, it's just my interpretation!

I might have to find a bit to stab on there to see how it goes.. And yes as far as i know that is how the thorp works since it is a ball diff.. My thorp manual agrees with that if im not mistaken.

[Leethal Driver]

Crikey that thing looks potent

[mooter]

It is!

I've got to take the gearbox apart at some point to see how the thorp diff has bedded in. I think I've shredded the alu counter gear I've got in there, the alu is just too soft and it's worn the teeth massively already. Sounds fine going forwards but really nasty in reverse. I guess the teeth have worn in favour of it going forwards for obvious reasons! Hopefully the thorp counter gear that I have will last a little longer, if not I'll just get a bulk load of original plastic ones The steel 10T pinion is still with Mr Postman at the moment.

If the weather is half decent tomorrow I might see if I can go chase some Deer at the local park and get some video up, my mini-cam might come in useful!

[chris350z]

my monster beetle is stanard with new gears and sound funny going backwards.

[NJhopper]

It is!

I've got to take the gearbox apart at some point to see how the thorp diff has bedded in. I think I've shredded the alu counter gear I've got in there, the alu is just too soft and it's worn the teeth massively already. Sounds fine going forwards but really nasty in reverse. I guess the teeth have worn in favour of it going forwards for obvious reasons! Hopefully the thorp counter gear that I have will last a little longer, if not I'll just get a bulk load of original plastic ones The steel 10T pinion is still with Mr Postman at the moment.

If the weather is half decent tomorrow I might see if I can go chase some Deer at the local park and get some video up, my mini-cam might come in useful!

That is what exactly happend to mine. I am soooooo angry becasue I can not get proper mesh and that gear just shred up so much I tried putting in the stock counter gear and it wount work right with it. I just can't catch a break with this thing

[mooter]

So you're saying the stock counter gear doesn't work with the Thorp diff? To be fair, I've not tried, I just assumed it would.

However I can confirm that the alu counter gear was really badly worn after just one run. I notice the seller stopped flogging them a while ago, I guess we know why! It's a shame, he could have just used a higher quality metal and they might have lasted longer. As it was the inside of my gearbox was covered in silver speckles and flakes of alu, the teeth are flat on top, not symmetrical and have burrs on one end. Nasty!

Stuck the Thorp counter gear in and my car is silent now lol! Literally, it makes almost no noise at all. Should last a little longer too.

[mooter]

Just a quick update in case any one is interested lol!

I ran it with the 8.5T on the standard 10T pinion for a while but the thermal cutout on the ESC began to kick in I guess the FDR is way out, I've never bothered to learn and calculate it! I tried gearing it a bit with a 13T pinion but that didn't really help all that much, if anything it made matters worse. Perhaps because it required more power at the lower end to get moving?

Anyway, I stuck my Losi Xcelorin 10.5 system in and she's running happy again I also used rubber bands around the wheel rims for the tires to grip to (the hubs would spin inside the tires no matter what glue I used) and it now has the traction I've been missing all along - pulling a wheelie when cruising along at 15mph is no problem haha!

I've decided to stick with 10.5 as the maximum, it doesn't upset the thorp diff, it's plenty quick enough with the 13T pinion but still has masses of torque at the low end when needed. In fact, stopping it from ending up on its roof backwards is the next mission, think I need a better wheelie bar, more in the style of a lunchie.

I can't wait to get it out down the park again - the Beetle Basher is so much fun!

[Jonsini]

I also used rubber bands around the wheel rims for the tires to grip to (the hubs would spin inside the tires no matter what glue I used) and it now has the traction I've been missing all along

Good to hear another update! That sounds like a pretty good idea with the rubber bands. I've used a couple of types of glue and they have all failed after short runs. I'll give that a try. I've got a few new bits for my MB so will post an update shortly.