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Mad Ax

Hopup vs Homebrew - a CC01 project thread

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Fitted up and pressed against the plastic moulding

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Links installed.  I thought I would need some shorter bolts for the mounting screw but they don't interfere with the links when fitted.  These were the only ones I had that would fit.

PA180120.jpg

And all mounted up:

PA180121.jpg

 

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Shell installed:

PA180124.jpg

That back-high stance is a result of my shock mounts being in slightly the wrong place.  I measured everything accurately before I cut the axle mount plates, but I had to guestimate how much I would lose when bending the sheet metal.  I lost less than I expected so the rear is quite high.  However the rear is also quite firm, so I moved the shocks to the outer mounting point and removed the adjustable collars completely.  Now it sits more level:

PA180126.jpg

I also adjusted the link lengths a bit, as the axle plates bring the link mount forward a bit.

So, what next?  Well, I need to take both rigs for a test-drive.  The weather here is a bit poor and I'm stuck in a "work all day then get stuck straight into housework" phase of life right now, so it's hard to get out for a lunchtime run.  But tomorrow is another day, so I might be able to get out for an hour, if it stops raining (or if I don't mind getting a bit damp)

I think it's fairly clear who the winner will be here.  My homebrew setup has way more ground clearance and now has better lower links too.  There's still a slight issue with my hardware (I'm using a full-size hex head for my link mount) which might get hung up, I need to invest in some longer countersunk screws and an aluminium countersink drill so I can really hide it away.

The Junfac skid plate might come into its own over some terrain - the truck should slide over obstacles instead of catch on them - but that assumes it still has some forward momentum or traction.  If your wheel aren't touching the ground, you aren't going anywhere.

I also noticed a lot of grinding from Homebrew's transmission while rolling it along the workbench last night.  I haven't had it open since I fitted this 55T motor, but there was a fair bit of grit in there.  I've removed all the gears and blown them out with an airline but it still doesn't sound great, the damage may be done.  I installed the motor without the cardboard plate, which I suppose acts as a gasket to keep the grit out.  If the gearbox fails then I'll have to replace it.  Ho-hum, these things happen.

Also looks like I'm using an aluminium pinion :o which surprises me, I thought I fitted steel in both rigs before I started this crazy project.  I'm pretty sure I bought a Tamiya hop-up pinion set thinking it would be steel, but I guess it isn't.  So that's another thing to do.

Also the aftermarket steering kit on both rigs is giving me trouble.  Homebrew will be staying true to its name and getting a homebrew steering installation of some sort, so Hopup should probably get a new steering kit to match.  Apparently Hot Racing is the best.

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I also finally got around to printing off my custom stickers.  My laser printer chewed up two expensive white vinyl sheets so I gave up and printed on sticky paper.  The print quality is better (my dumb waste-of-money printer doesn't like vinyl) but it isn't waterproof, so a few wet runs and it'll probably look awful.  Not sure if I should save up for a better printer or just stick with getting MCI to do all my graphics.

PA180128.jpg

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PA180135.jpg

So - what next?

Well, the problem I have now is that I've run out of hop-ups for Hop-Up.  I should keep a few in stock so I've always got something to move on to, but I've got so many projects vying for my cash (and I keep wasting it on useless things like laser printers that won't print on vinyl) that it's hard to justify.  That said, November starts soon and there's still loads of aftermarket parts that I could add to Hop-Up.

Next mod will probably be suspension.  Of course, Tamiya offers their own exceptionally good dampers and springs specifically for the CC01, so it would be rude not to install those, but I can't make my own set of shocks for Homebrew.  But no matter - plans are afoot!  Watch this space :)

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On 10/22/2020 at 1:54 AM, Mad Ax said:

I also finally got around to printing off my custom stickers.  My laser printer chewed up two expensive white vinyl sheets so I gave up and printed on sticky paper.  The print quality is better (my dumb waste-of-money printer doesn't like vinyl) but it isn't waterproof, so a few wet runs and it'll probably look awful.  Not sure if I should save up for a better printer or just stick with getting MCI to do all my graphics.

PA180128.jpg

I'm loving this build thread! Keep it up, its giving me lots of ideas for whenever I can get back to mine.

For your stickers, years ago when I used to have to print stickers, but didn't have any water proof ink, so I'd cut them out and spray lacquer them before applying. Usually 2 or 3 coats good coats did the trick.

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18 hours ago, yogi-bear said:

I'm loving this build thread! Keep it up, its giving me lots of ideas for whenever I can get back to mine.

For your stickers, years ago when I used to have to print stickers, but didn't have any water proof ink, so I'd cut them out and spray lacquer them before applying. Usually 2 or 3 coats good coats did the trick.

The reason I went with a laser printer is that it's supposed to bypass all these problems.  Toner should be waterproof anyway, especially if printed on vinyl.

I could get better results for cheaper if I went with an inkjet and applied lacquer, but I chose this route because it should have given me a longer-lasting and more resilient print.  The drawback of an inkjet is 3 months of disuse and the heads clog and no amount of cleaning runs will fix it.  We already have a pretty good inkjet printer (the last in a long line of pretty good inkjer printers) which no longer prints properly.  New cartridges didn't help, multiple head cleaning runs didn't help.  It broken, just like all the other inkjets we had.

Besides, no amount of lacquer will make paper waterproof.  When these stickers get wet the paper will turn to mulch and come off, leaving a sticky residue behind that muggins here will have to scrape off :lol:

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19 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

The reason I went with a laser printer is that it's supposed to bypass all these problems.  Toner should be waterproof anyway, especially if printed on vinyl.

yeah, toner is definitely better

19 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

I could get better results for cheaper if I went with an inkjet and applied lacquer, but I chose this route because it should have given me a longer-lasting and more resilient print.  The drawback of an inkjet is 3 months of disuse and the heads clog and no amount of cleaning runs will fix it.  We already have a pretty good inkjet printer (the last in a long line of pretty good inkjer printers) which no longer prints properly.  New cartridges didn't help, multiple head cleaning runs didn't help.  It broken, just like all the other inkjets we had.

yeah, been there many times, which is probably why I no longer bother with them. I also use to have a die sublimation printer, same setup, but the inks clog more easily (it could even be a couple of days of non use :mellow:) and they are crazy expensive. 

19 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Besides, no amount of lacquer will make paper waterproof.  When these stickers get wet the paper will turn to mulch and come off, leaving a sticky residue behind that muggins here will have to scrape off :lol:

well, I think you aren't trying hard enough :D  I once had to do a van for a film shoot, and the only stickers I could do were water based inks. And it was going to rain. So I spray lacquered the prints and applied. Next day I got a call and all the ink had washed off :mellow: So I had to redo and I think I used about 3 cans more than I needed to get those stickers to be waterproof, no amount of water was going to ruin this next print! The kicker, the van ended up being almost out of shot anyway.

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Quick update to this thread - Monday lunchtime was dry, so I took the CC01s out to the local woods for a quick comparison crawl.  We'd had a heavy storm over the weekend (by English standards, at any rate) and the trail was thick with wet leaves and twigs.  Not really ideal for comparing CC01 mods, but I figured at least I'd see which truck got hung up first.

I have to say, the Junfac skid plate on Hop-Up really is very good.  It does exactly what it says on the tin.  It rides over almost anything, then slides off it again.  As long as a wheel has a little bit of purchase, it can get itself off.  Generally this seems to help the axle stay clear, too - the plate is low enough that it lifts the truck over obstacles, so the axle isn't down in their path and it too can glide over.  While this doesn't make it very 'scale', it does keep it moving where a stock CC01 might get stuck.

I picked out a route over a muddy bank - the soil there is a very thick and heavy clay which provides a lot of grip when it's wet, and even on basic tyres the truck scrabbled up and over the bank, bounced over some tree routes and up the hill on the far side with no problem.  Back down and onto the leaf-strewn lane, then down the hill into the woods, it went over some mountain bike ramps with no issues and did some more climbs.

Unfortunately there's not much in the way of rocks here, so it was hard to really test the skid plate.

Then I got out Homebrew.  That gearbox really does have a problem - it makes a terrible noise.  I guess I'll have to replace it.  Next month's budget comes into play on Sunday so I'll probably place an order for some new gears and pinions.

Anyway - the new raised link mounts went well, geometry seems OK and the truck rode over obstacles that Hop-Up was sliding across.  However it did get hung up more.  This surprised me a little, but it wasn't the belly getting hung it, it was the axle.  As I said above, the Hop-Up skid plate lifts the truck up; my high belly keeps the axle on the ground, where it gets hung up.  Partly this is probably the tall-head screws on my link mounts - I have some new countersinks but no countersunk screws - that's a problem I can resolve.  Partly this is just CC01 axle clearance, and there's not much can be done about it.  Sure, I could fit a skid plate onto Homebrew too, but it feels like the wrong way to go about it.

A better solution would be bigger tyres.  In fairness I've stuck with these ones throughout the challenge because they are cheap and I already had one set.  At some point soon I'm going to have to take suggestions for a good all-round set to take these trucks to the next level.

So - what's next?  Well, I had some October money left over so I ordered a bunch of suspension hop-ups for Hop-Up.  Both rigs are still on stock dampers and springs, so it makes sense to see where we can go with that.  I didn't buy any new dampers for Homebrew as all the new dampers I buy seem to be sprung for buggy racing (or, in some cases, carrying 100Kg weights around, or so it seems - what's with the solid granite springs??), but I do have some very soft dampers that came with my very first CC01 over a decade ago, and which was the inspiration for this challenge.

I doubt I'll take delivery before the weekend, and (further restrictions notwithstanding) I'm racing at Stafford on the 8th, so it could be a few weeks before there's another update on this project.  But at least there's a plan :)

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https://store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Dick-Cepek-Fun-Country-155-Scale-Tires_p_4052.html

I’ve had a lot of success with these tyres, the combo of lug size and compound. Under a heavy truck it looks like you’ve got flat tyres but it gives a very big footprint that has huge grip on loose/slippery or wet surfaces, the truck is nearly unstoppable. They are about 10-15mm bigger than stock Tamiya tyres (so about 5-7.5mm more clearance) they fit under most Tamiya shells with very little trimming. 
 

they are out of stock at rc4wd, but there is still sellers about with stock.  I think they may be discontinuing them. 

The one thing you don’t want is huge big lugs in the tread, as that stiffens the whole carcass and prevents the tyre conforming to the terrain and ultimately equals less traction in almost every scenario. 
 

another tyre they make that is similar and more modern but slightly shorter and narrower is this model. 
 

https://store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Falken-Wildpeak-AT3W-155-Scale-Tires_p_7001.html

Or for similar size and width

https://store.rc4wd.com/Compass-MT-155-Scale-Tires_p_7757.html

There is few if any 1.9” high quality crawler tyres under 100mm so generally they don’t work on tamiyas unless your happy with the monster truck look. 

I have a lot of crawler tyres, I’ve tried many small crawler tyres that will fit under our cc01/2’s and I can’t find anything better than a 1.55” x2ss compound rc4wd models. Yes they are crazy expensive. But I’ve never worn a set out (or even 1% tread loss for that matter). 
 

Recently I grabbed a set of the Austar 1.55” tyres and wheels off eBay, they are good looking and really nice for the money but the tyre compound is fairly hard and the carcass has been reinforced so it could be used as a 1/14 scale truck tyre carrying a heavy load. The reinforcing is such I’m considering them for my Dakar rally rig as they have the right proportions and will work at 40-50km/h (something a crawler tyre should not be able to do) the wheels are quite thin and very lightweight. Great for speed but bad for a crawler. They are however still a upgrade over stock Tamiya efforts. I think they’d be great on a trailer as the carcass will carry a decent amount of weight while still looking the part. 
 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-55-Wheel-Rim-Tire-Tyre-for-1-10-RC-D90-TF2-CC01-LC70-MST-Axial-90069-JIMNY/133364330635?hash=item1f0d22308b:g:Ia4AAOSwAJhecbZs

I also played with the mst soft compound 1.9” crawler tyre and they are good value, but are really just about oem Traxxas level, not high end but way way better than stock Tamiya. A good option for a basic budget upgrade on a stock plastic rim. 

https://www.rcmart.com/mst-30x90mm-1-9inch-km-30degree-soft-crawler-rubber-tire-2-pcs-for-1-10-rc-crawler-831006-00082838
 

I have some pit bull xtreme rock beast 1.55” on the way, be interesting to compare to the myriad of other brands I’ve tried. 
 

as for your cc01 shocks, it’s hard to beat the genuine cc01 alloy damper. It has about 20-25% more stroke than the stock CVA mini. Springs wise the trf501x front spring kits are very soft, next firmest is the trf201 front spring kit. Both fit straight onto the CC01 alloy damper. The stock front springs are heavier than anything included in the trf201 set, but the stock cc01 rears are about the softest in the 201 set or firmest in the 501 set.  Of course there is also the cc01 barrel spring set. I have them but I don’t use them. 

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Thanks @Juls1 for that advice - I've got some new shock and spring components on the way for Hop-up but I'll have to come up with something new for Homebrew.  @Carmine A gave me some great inspiration in another thread.  Tyres will probably make a whole world of difference but it's a budget I can't really spend right now - will have to see what December / January brings.  I might have to scale back my spending in the next month or two which might put the brakes on projects like this (which will be something of a bummer if we have more lockdowns).

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It's been a while since I last updated this thread!  These trucks have been in storage for quite some time, partly because I've been busy with other projects and events but mostly because the hop-up steering solutions installed on both rigs have worn out to the point of uselessness, despite both trucks having absolute minimal use (literally, the only use they've had is doing back-to-back tests for this thread).  The cam shapes on the end of the steering shaft have ovalled off in the cranks at both ends, causing loads of slop.  I've had half an eye out for some Square Racing hop-ups, as apparently these are the best of the bunch, but alas they don't seem to be around any more, and the only off-the-shelf alternative to the Tamiya solution is the ones I have, which are made of cheese.

I had a couple of spare hours last night, so I decided I'd drag the rigs down and work out what to do about it.

Here's hop-up, as it came out of the box, still wearing mud from nearly 3 years ago.

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Here's how much the steering turns on in one direction

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and this is how much slop there is in the other direction

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In other words, absolutely useless

 

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It's not easy to see (my focus was a bit off) but the flatted ends start to round off when (not if) the securing screws come loose.  Once this problem starts, it just gets worse.

sm_P7260019.jpg

What it needed, I figured, was something to pack it out so it wouldn't slip any more (or, alternatively, a slot cut in both parts and a woodruff key fitting, but that's beyond my skills, especially at this scale).

I found some Araldite in my glues and adhesives drawer.  It's probably a decade old but should be fine once mixed.

sm_P7260021.jpg

I pushed it into the recess in the crank, then squidged in the shaft.  This end needs to fit through a bearing, so it will need thoroughly cleaning before it sets.

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I also used a stronger stainless screw with a bigger hex end (2.5mm) as these can be torqued up tighter.  There was some Araldite on the thread so this will act as threadlock.  I doubt this will ever come apart again!

sm_P7260023.jpg

all wiped up for installation

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installed

sm_P7260025.jpg

now the tricky part - the top crank needs to be installed with the tube in place, so any fallout from the recess is going to go in the bearing.  Not much I can do about that besides be careful how I fit the crank and make sure most of the fallout goes up through the screw hole.

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just like that

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chonky screw installed

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just for good measure, I drilled an access hole into the lower suspension mount plate so that I can tighten up the bottom screw without having to pull the front end apart.  I doubt the screw will come loose, but if the part wears and more at least I can torque it down harder.

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4 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

just for good measure, I drilled an access hole into the lower suspension mount plate so that I can tighten up the bottom screw without having to pull the front end apart.  I doubt the screw will come loose, but if the part wears and more at least I can torque it down harder.

Good move sir... I too have a "GPM hole" 

20230501-112038-SM.jpg

I've coated the entire lower screw and hole with red threadlock - it helps, but still eventually works loose. Hot Racing makes a steering set that is much, much better. Costs more, but it's worth it. 

Just went back and read from the beginning, I love the concept. Great thread as always!

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Naturally, if Hopup is getting repairs to its broken steering, then Homebrew should get the same.  The long-term plan was always to add a homebrew steering setup to Homebrew, but the question is, what?  There are mods that use the stock steering stem with some bearings to improve the standard steering experience, or there is the oft-tried but rarely-perfected direct-servo steering, which was on my very first CC01 that I bought used and very-much abused.

I didn't have time to start work on a full steering system, but I did get some ideas.

Here's what we have to work with: Homebrew, with its front bash plate (that is now looking way more bashed than it has any right to):

sm_P7260029.jpg

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I have to be totally honest, I'm not 100% happy with this front end - I made a much better skid plate for my old F150 CC01 project years ago, this was supposed to be a direct copy but never looked quite as good.

Recently I made a skid plate / boxart-style-ish bumper for my SRB out of brass, so I'm thinking a similar affair might have to be made here.  That way I can incorporate the skid plate with the servo mounts, by brazing on some brackets.

So, how will we make this work?  Well, to start with, the steering must come from the front.  This means flipping the hubs, and that means the shocks are in the way, so they need to be relocated.

There is a long-term plan to replace all the shocks on Hopup and Homebrew, which is going to be a fairly big job in itself.  I had planned to do it next, but in some ways I'm glad I didn't, as I probably would have stuck with the stock location for the shocks if I hadn't found this issue with the steering first.  Then I'd have had to make the new shock setup all over again.

sm_P7260031.jpg

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With the front-end stripped down, we can see just how tight all this is.  Ideally, the steering arms need to be mostly on the same angle as the suspension arms, but if we're going with a direct-to-servo steering setup then there's going to be some fun with the swing angle, depending on how we install the servo, to chances are, it'll never be perfect.

The other option is to cut even more of that front end away to make space for a proper crank setup, borrowing parts from (for e.g.) a Top Force.  Or, pretty much anything else that uses that kind of setup.  Then we can keep the servo back out of the way (M05 style) and make an all-new front end from brass plate reinforced with rod.

sm_P7260033.jpg

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Well, that's my final update on this for now.  I'm leaving for Revival at around 8am tomorrow and won't be home until late Sunday evening, then (shock to the system, after 2 weeks off!) back to work on Monday, then my wife is away the following weekend so I'm on childcare duties all weekend - that means no updates to this rig.  So we'll be well into August before I've got time to work on this project, and then the Southern Scale Trail will be looming on the horizon and I'll be digging all the scale rigs out and going over all the little problems I ignored at the last big meet and listing out the parts I'll need to get them where I want them to be - so, perhaps this one will go back in the box until SST is over.  Time will tell.

Still, this is a good fun winter project and gives me a reason to get out to the woods before the sun goes down to compare the latest round of changes and pit the trucks against each other, so I'm kinda excited that this is sort of back on the radar right now :) 

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On 7/27/2023 at 8:11 PM, OldSchoolRC1 said:

Good move sir... I too have a "GPM hole" 

20230501-112038-SM.jpg

I've coated the entire lower screw and hole with red threadlock - it helps, but still eventually works loose. Hot Racing makes a steering set that is much, much better. Costs more, but it's worth it. 

Very true. I've tried the GPM, Xtraspeed and Hot Racing. HR is the best. GPM is just crappy. Xtraspeed is just an aluminum version of the stock plastic which doesn't improve the steering issue of the CC-01. HR solved it.

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