Super Speed Grasshopper

[NYDriver]

The Beast lives again. I have to trash the runner body as it was broken to pieces, I replaced it with a Lexan GH runner body it great condition. I removed the wheelie bar as it seemed to do more harm than good. I installed a brand new vintage Pro-Track rear bumper. I also put on the stock nerf bars and a yellow front bumper, not sure of maker. I thinkg these will help protect the car better in case of crashes. I also replaced the stock shocks with oil dampered fronts and rears, not sure of maker but I think You-Gee or Parma. Last I replaced the stock steering linkage with a heavy duty set-up. I switched the front foam tires with nice rubber ones but left the rear foams on, I am open to suggestions for the rear tires. I still plan to configure an eight cell pack (or maybe even ten cells) to fit in the car.

[freak]

kool grasshopper whats it top speed?

[NYDriver]

The fastest top speed I was able to record was 34MPH. But that was with less than optimal running surface conditions and size, and only using a 6 cell pack. I plan to fit in an 8 cell pack and am shooting for 40-50MPH.

[freak]

good luck!!! lol

[NYDriver]

Just pickep up a vintage anti-sway bar set for this monster, cost me over $30 on Ebay, but you dont see those sets too much so I went for it. I will try anything to improve performance enough to achieve my goal speeds.

[vintageracer]

i have a speedracer hornet with a 10x3 12 cells beefed up msc , redrilled motor mount to accept 20 tooth pinion and sand tyres that turn into bagels when you floor it , will post pics soon and video with speedgun proof , i guarantee it will do 70mph, lets get some aussie/USA competition going for bragging rights , lol[][][]

[vintageracer]

maybe a tamiyaclub hornet/grasshopper world speed title????

[Mastermind]

Guys, check out this heavily modified Grasshopper http://www.tam.ne.jp/nic/ Just click on the word PROJECT G on the left !

[NYDriver]

Vintageracer: I would really like to see pics of that car, sounds really cool. A competition is interesting, but its really, really cold out her right now, it might be a while before I get to track test her again, but I will kepp you posted. BTW, how the badword do you get 12 cells in a grasshopper, I am still trying to figure out how to get 8 in there.

Mastermind: Thats an awesome Grasshopper(whats left of it, anyway), thanks for sharing that site with us.

[vintageracer]

3 on each side down the chassis rails and 6 in the bottom , it aint pretty , but as you know , voltage=horsepower i will post pics tomorrow , in the middle of fitting some aftermarket 2.2 inch rims with foam tyres at the moment + i have to organise to use the airstrip on the base i work at for the crazy speed run, ill keep you posted[][][][]

[NYDriver]

I put in the Parma Anti-Roll bar today, I really am not sure how this increases handling but it looks pretty cool, but now I have to modify any body I would put on her so they can fit.

[NYDriver]

Well, recently I have purchased a Panda Cyclone on Ebay, really just a Grasshopper clone but with all the hop-ups I have been spending big money to put on my Grasshopper. Upon recieving it, I see that I installed the anti-sway bar completly wrong, so I cut out rear portions of the black hopper body for no reason. Anyway, at least now I have blue aluminum nerf bars for my grasshopper, wont make it go faster or handle better but looks good. They came stock on the Cyclone, so it must have been a really good performer back in the day.I also bought a Marui Manx, which is the same exact car as the Cyclone, comes with front and rear anodized aluminum shocks, anodized rear anti-sway bar, anodized aluminum nerf bars, front camber links and more. Interestingly, enough, I only paid $30 and $20 for these cars, and they both came RTR, yet I paid $30 alone for my NIP anti-sway kit, what a dumbass I am. I cant wait for the snow to melt for another speed test. I will be posting pics of all of these cars soon.

[SubaruBrattJunkie]

I love this, when that rear end finally melts it is going to be spectacular.There are plenty of cars that will do 40+ without all the hassle. They are called road cars and a lot of them, if not most are 4wd. My 415 with anything under 13 turns will do it, as will my EVO 3, my X-ray. my hopped up TA04 an a couple of others. I would suggest selling all the really nice GH hop-ups before they are trashed and buying a car meant to go and STEER that fast. Even a Yokomo YR-4 will do it with ease and they are not that expensive used. Well ok they are, but they will do the job.[8D]

[DJTheo]

Of course there much faster cars, but I think people do it for the challenge, like racing down slopes in boxes, shopping carts etc [][]

[NYDriver]

Thats right, buying a car that can go that fast "out of the box" is too easy and no fun!!!

[NYDriver]

I just installed a set of blue aluminum nerf bars I got MIP on Ebay for almost nothing. I also fixed the anti-sway bar installation. I swapped bodies, this time using a vintage Parma body, should add more downforce. Funny thing is, recently, I picked up two Grasshopper clones on Ebay, a Varicom Cyclone and a Mugen manx, they are both identical to the GH and already have ALL the expensive aluminum hop-ups that I have been adding(except the rear bumper), and they came that way stock.They both even have an ajustable camber the GH does not. Boy, di I do all this work for nothing. If anyone wants to see pics of those cars, let me know and I will post them, for now, here a more pics of the Beast. I cant wait until spring!!!

[The Dodge]

Hey,

love all the development of this car! Hope you get the handling under control, wouldn't want to see it totalled. This is giving me ideas, i've got a 6 single flatliner doing nothing. It was going to go in a tenth technologies predator buggy as bit of fun but now am thinking maybe it should go in a something totally un-suitable. 60mph Striker anyone? How long do you think the plastic dogbones would last!! Answers in feet or seconds! If i can pick up an old runner for cheap i'll give it a go.

Seriously tho, handling aside, the hopper chassis is a great choice. Anything 4wd just has way to many small gears and parts. Something is goin to give. Plus if you do have a total strip out the drive train is totally independant of the chassis and can be swapped in minutes.

This is what the hobby is all about, good work mate!

[NYDriver]

Thanks alot, its been alot of fun doing it, the car has seen some transformation over time and there is more to come. I am also thinking about pulling the front steering blocks off of one of the clones so that I can have adjustable camber on the GH. The weather is starting to warm up here somewhat so it wont be long before I can get in another speed run. I have a Sonic Fighter which is the same as the Striker, and by looking at the car, I dont think it can hold up to even half the speed that you mentioned, but hey, like you said, thats what the hobby is all about. I chose the Grasshopper for a few different reasons, thats its very light, easy to get parts for, and its bulletproof drivetrain. Keep in touch.

[mud4fun]

Great work, I also ignore people who tell me that you can buy something that goes this quick out of the box. At the end of the day a big part of the hobby for me is the building and modification of the cars. Modifying something to perform as well as or better than something else is very satisfying. After all the same argument could be said of custom cars, street rods etc, etc - why do people spend lots of time and effort building a custom car when they can get a Ford Mondeo that will go just as quick with better economy and more comfort? of if they have the money they can buy a maclaren F1 and win any race.

I'm afraid I'm suffering from the same mentality of those guys that take a battered old morris minor, stuff a jag rear end on it and a mighty supercharged V8 under the bonnet, leaving the car in some rusty, primer grey just to add insult to injury when you leave the ferrari next to you standing at the lights......[8D][][]

I have also messed around with higher voltages with some success. I built this last year:

It is a terra scorcher, the front gearbox internals and propshaft have been removed making it 2WD(RWD), modified battery retainers to allow the 9.6v 8 cell pack to fit. It uses a no limit ESC and a Dyna Run super touring motor (13t). On tarmac with a 17t pinion it has been clocked repeatedly at 40+mph (Max 43). Even with a smaller pinion for off road use it achieves over 30mph. It handles just like any 2WD car with lots of weight at the back - it spins out easily! The power this thing generates has twisted the metal dogbones into nice shapes and it wheelies quite easily. The front bumper adds weight to keep the nose down and allows it to absorb 30mph impacts into walls.

I have since reverted back to 4WD for off road use and it handles really well but motor tends to overheat after 4 or 5 mins.

I was lucky though that the terra scorcher chassis already mounts the battery quite low down which helps handling. I also run the suspension setup low down for tarmac so that the bottom of the chassis is almost on the ground.

I'll bet your handling was 'interesting' with the battery mounted so high as in those first runs? []

[NYDriver]

The handling was for $#!t with the 8 cell in that position, but the car was fast as badword. I am still trying to figure out a way to shoehorn one in. Thats a great car you got, offroad is the best! I still no not own a working 4WD offroader, unless you count my Playtron Lynx which is stuck on the shelf.

[SonicCJ5]

I agree the transmission in the grasshopper can not be broken. Have you thought about maybe a set of tires from a monster truck? I have a midnight pumkin that I ran a 7cell battery with a reedy silver dot(old school racing motor) the thing flew. I could not tunr at all. But my point is with larger diameter tire your top speed will be much higher. I would like to see the grasshooper hit 60mph you seem to already be near 50 so lets make things interesting

[NYDriver]

Sonic, interesting idea, I havent thought of that,I am going to look into my tire bin (which is huge), for something I can use.

[mud4fun]

LOL, I noticed the same thing with my daughters Mad Bull, the large tyres make it a lot quicker than you'd imagine it should go even with a stock 540.

I guess the problem here is that our motors are already stretched to the limit pulling super high gearing to achieve that current high top speed. Stick larger wheels on and the poor motor will go up in smoke!

I can only run my 9.6v terra scorcher for a few minutes, generally doing 'quarter mile' runs up a straight bit of tarmac and allowing it to cool after each run. I'll also try the larger wheels but I think I'm going to have to drop a pinion size or two to save the motor, not sure if there will be any gains overall?

I'm also planning on stretching my wheelbase to a much longer 13" or 14" from the current 10" because the short wheelbase is just to unstable and difficult to control at high speeds. I think (I may be wrong) that the longer the wheelbase the more stable it should be?

[SonicCJ5]

Yes if you extend the wheel base you should get better control. Look at real drag cars they are really long.

When I used to race back in the 80's our races wre only 4mins long and then later only 3 mins long.

I have a old home built onroard I might dust off and try for a high speed run.

Ok I decided I will try setup a onroad speed run. I will use my hyper drive(belt drive) setup and as Many batterys as I can fit.Will post picts when I start building it.

[NYDriver]

Just scored an aluminum front upper shock mount setup, look for new pics soon.