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Jonathon Gillham

Lunchbox questions

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23 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Costs are never-ending though, just had to order another rx for it.  Going to try a Futaba compatible one from Banggood, see how that goes.  Half the price of a real one, and the Das Mikro Sanwa clones seem to work pretty well.

It’ll be interesting to see how that goes, never used banggood myself but from reading between the lines of what others say it seems like a numbers game of most things work but some don’t in a mass produced gamble. 

 

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On 7/8/2020 at 7:23 PM, berman said:

80-85mm is the length you want to build them to. Get the Ampro brace as the gearbox springs will snap eventually (sooner than later).

I know you love racing, so dont expect any sort of handling, and don't go out of your way to try and make it something it isn't. If you can overlook the poor handling and lack of steering, it is actually a very fun rc to try and keep on its wheels.

Get some alloy body mounts too.

I used Traxxas ultra-shocks all around - built to the correct length they are more than adequate.  

I disagree about the alloy body mounts - the plastic ones are weak, but alloy ones will either snap the chassis or crack the body. I just reinforce the stock ones with a hot-glue gun - works a treat.

I recommend bracing the shock towers (esp. at the front) and order a new wheelie bar - the stock one is a joke. Mine was ordered 5 months ago, it's still sitting in HK. :-(

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4 hours ago, lsear2905 said:

I disagree about the alloy body mounts - the plastic ones are weak, but alloy ones will either snap the chassis or crack the body. I just reinforce the stock ones with a hot-glue gun - works a treat.

I disagree with your disagreement. I have broken three chassis where you mentioned, all due to doing stupid stuff on brushless. I can break plastic mounts on silvercans, alloy ones are fine with brushed motors. It is when you go fast and do epic cartwheels and stupid high jumps and land directly on the roof you snap around the mount on a chassis. Not sure where you are reinforcing plastic mounts as mine always shear straight at the thin end of the mount.

 

Polycarbonate bodies stop the chassis breaking, but take the impact and get the brunt of the damage.

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On 7/14/2020 at 7:58 PM, berman said:

I disagree with your disagreement. I have broken three chassis where you mentioned, all due to doing stupid stuff on brushless. I can break plastic mounts on silvercans, alloy ones are fine with brushed motors. It is when you go fast and do epic cartwheels and stupid high jumps and land directly on the roof you snap around the mount on a chassis. Not sure where you are reinforcing plastic mounts as mine always shear straight at the thin end of the mount.

 

Polycarbonate bodies stop the chassis breaking, but take the impact and get the brunt of the damage.

Hmmm, so brushless motors in a lunchbox don't work?! 🤣🤣

Will see how long the plastic ones last, and then look at alloy. This one will run the silvercan for a while yet

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I really love the Lunchbox in all forms.

When I first got back into RC a few years back (last stuff I had were toy grades as a kid), the first hobby grade I got was a Grasshopper and although it's beautiful and great fun on the right surfaces, I was somewhat disappointed by how badly it coped on some terrains such as gravel and hard soil that was bumpy, it has the suspension of a house brick and would easily leave the ground and land facing in a totally different direction or flip over entirely.

Because of that, I avoided the Lunchbox for quite a long time because I was worried it would be more of the same but those big tyres make a heck of a difference to how it copes with surface imperfections even though the rear suspension is all but immobile just like the Grasshopper. 

I honestly find the Lunchbox to be a better driver than the Grasshopper overall, especially if you stray from the tarmac. It has a reputation for tipping over but even in totally stock configuration, I didn't suffer near as many roll overs with the LB as I did with the GH. I spent a lot less time walking over to the LB to put it back on it's wheels. How it manages to be more stable despite having the same basic layout and being twice as tall is a real mystery!

Aside from the mandatory bearings, the first upgrade I made was the CVA dampers which certainly made the front end more compliant (rear end not so much lol) I also did the rear brace although the fishing string mod is just as good IMO. Neither really help the suspension to work when you use the throttle though, it's just that way by design.

I could have left mine like that and I would have been perfectly happy but the more I saw people say "no point trying to upgrade them" "waste of time hopping them up" the more it irked me because you could literally say that about any RC except for the very best racing ones. Most people don't upgrade their RCs to make them world class racers, they do it because they enjoy it and they find the improvements rewarding even if you just go from something nasty to something a bit less nasty! 

So over time I ended up fitting DT02 front suspension using @ThunderDragonCy's adapter and then some time later I worked with member Marks on a 4-link rear end using 3d printed parts.

The DT02 conversion had a happy side effect of increasing the front track by a few cm which helped to increase stability.

The 4 link at the back means it now squats under throttle when launching instead if the rear end rising and the suspension locking solid. The rear suspension now works even when using throttle and the back end is a lot more compliant over rough terrain although the large unsprung mass means the rear end is still awful at landing jumps.

I even went off the beaten track with the power plant. I'm using a 4400KV outrunner motor meant for a helicopter. It doesn't really give any advantage over a conventional motor but it sounds unique and gives a nice compromise between power and battery life using the standard gearing (10t pinion)

It's probably my favourite RC out of all of them. It's still unmistakably a Lunchbox, it still has the turning circle of a barge but it hardly ever tips over unless I'm doing something dumb and it's fun to drive over any surface pretty much. It's a lot more composed than stock but it's still a wallowy mess compared to a racing buggy. It's in the weet spot between good and bad lol.

Anyway, sorry for the life story!

But I'm sure you will love it no matter what you do with it. I have throughly enjoyed mine at every stage in it's life! I have probably used it more than the rest of my RCs combined!

tGaTvgI.jpg

3mJkSGV.jpg

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13 hours ago, nowinaminute said:

Most people don't upgrade their RCs to make them world class racers, they do it because they enjoy it and they find the improvements rewarding even if you just go from something nasty to something a bit less nasty!

Dude this :D spot on.

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On 7/16/2020 at 5:37 PM, Jonathon Gillham said:

Hmmm, so brushless motors in a lunchbox don't work?! 🤣🤣

Will see how long the plastic ones last, and then look at alloy. This one will run the silvercan for a while yet

Absolutely they do, the best thing is, is that they somehow know you are going for a better power to weight ratio, and start dieting all by themselves! 😁

fnrti93.jpg

 

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I find my one handles quite nicely - I agree that the large tires do a lot of the suspension work! If you think about it, it's akin to a Formula 1 car with the sidewalls doing the bulk of the work (and it's rear wheel drive, but that's where the similarities end).

2S + a Traxxas 12T brushed motor is plenty of power for the chassis (and me) but I have been tempted to put in a nice sensored brushless system (I think the finer throttle control of brushed/sensored brushless) makes a HUGE difference to not landing upside down. My concern is that the sensor cable would be awfully close to the rear wheel...

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On 7/18/2020 at 12:31 AM, berman said:

Absolutely they do, the best thing is, is that they somehow know you are going for a better power to weight ratio, and start dieting all by themselves! 😁

fnrti93.jpg

 

My son broke his LB body the same way, right at the A-pillar. I tried some heavy duty epoxy to repair it, but it quickly failed again. I wonder if anyone has tried to strengthen the stock body? Maybe something like a reinforcing mesh they use in automotive repairs. 

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So we've run this a few times now, built stock except bearings. Unfortunately lost a nut and bolt on a front shock on the last run so need to replace that, but thinking about swapping to CVAs.

I can see the attraction of the Lunchbox, and really want to like it. The Monster Beetle runs rungs around it though. Steering is average at best, and even harder with the front wheels in the air. Right now this works quite well as the performance difference means that my son and I are evenly matched in backyard races. I can still comfortably win races with any other combo though, even his HB D413 vs me with TT02B or Fox

I found a MB for about NZ$60 more than the LB and could've bought that. Of course it needs the diff fix which is about USD50, but overall a much better option I think. I can't see any amount of mods making the LB on par with the MB.

Monster trucks are fun and now we have 2. We can play monster truck football with them (I need to sort out reverse!) 

Still, it worked, he built it and had a great time, and it makes a nice pair with the MB. Looks pretty cool too

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i used a ftx surge oil shock as the 5th one and dad done the same on the pumpkin, not perfect but much better than the daft side springs lol

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On 8/14/2020 at 11:03 AM, Jonathon Gillham said:

Steering is average at best, and even harder with the front wheels in the air

The steering can be somewhat improved with servo centreing and front chassis braceing etc . I have a brushless motor in one of my LB runners and I have weighted the front of the tub with a mold putty to keep the nose down a bit and fitted a larger wheelie bar . I fitted oil shocks , Stabilizer bars F&R and an AmPro trans brace which helps a lot and braced the rear shelf of the tub to stiffen the whole tub . Foam inserts in the tyres helps a bit too

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On 7/21/2020 at 3:29 AM, Room335 said:

I wonder if anyone has tried to strengthen the stock body? 

I have thought about making a front 'roll bar' from flat aluminium bolted to the front panel between the grill and the front wheel arch - up to the roof ,inside of the glass area , and bolted just behind the windscreen mount turrets on the flat part of the roof all in one continuous length . The LB seems to be weak at those points . It may also need a bar bolted across the top of the fron wheel arch to keep the front end connected the the body behind the wheels arch which may prevent or at least minimalise this sort of disintegration

fnrti93.jpg

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On 8/14/2020 at 10:03 PM, Jonathon Gillham said:

So we've run this a few times now, built stock except bearings. Unfortunately lost a nut and bolt on a front shock on the last run so need to replace that, but thinking about swapping to CVAs.

I can see the attraction of the Lunchbox, and really want to like it. The Monster Beetle runs rungs around it though. Steering is average at best, and even harder with the front wheels in the air. Right now this works quite well as the performance difference means that my son and I are evenly matched in backyard races. I can still comfortably win races with any other combo though, even his HB D413 vs me with TT02B or Fox

I found a MB for about NZ$60 more than the LB and could've bought that. Of course it needs the diff fix which is about USD50, but overall a much better option I think. I can't see any amount of mods making the LB on par with the MB.

Monster trucks are fun and now we have 2. We can play monster truck football with them (I need to sort out reverse!) 

Still, it worked, he built it and had a great time, and it makes a nice pair with the MB. Looks pretty cool too

Yep that's the exact reaction I expected. 

Sorry to say, but I knew you would be dissapointed with the way it drives and handles. 

If it's the bottom shock eyelet screw and nut, there is a plastic nut on one of the parts trees that is meant to be used and acts as a nylon locknut.

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On 8/16/2020 at 8:51 AM, berman said:

Yep that's the exact reaction I expected. 

Sorry to say, but I knew you would be dissapointed with the way it drives and handles. 

If it's the bottom shock eyelet screw and nut, there is a plastic nut on one of the parts trees that is meant to be used and acts as a nylon locknut.

So it is growing one, it just looks so silly bouncing around.  I keep expecting it to be broken but nope, it just bounces a lot.  I didn't even really notice when the front shock came loose, it more looked funny than drove funny.

My son is now comfortably faster than me with his Monster Beetle when I have the Lunchbox, which is a good thing.  Being back in lockdown means we are spending over half an hour a day racing.  After the last lockdown I had to buy new batteries as my old NiMH gave up, so now we run lipo in both and he's easily running at full speed in a relatively small space. 

I need to dig out the CVA's from the Top Force box and build them.  I'm guessing light oil in them?  Maybe add a notch or 2 on the piston rod since they are the fixed type?

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1 hour ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

So it is growing one, it just looks so silly bouncing around.  I keep expecting it to be broken but nope, it just bounces a lot.  I didn't even really notice when the front shock came loose, it more looked funny than drove funny.

My son is now comfortably faster than me with his Monster Beetle when I have the Lunchbox, which is a good thing.  Being back in lockdown means we are spending over half an hour a day racing.  After the last lockdown I had to buy new batteries as my old NiMH gave up, so now we run lipo in both and he's easily running at full speed in a relatively small space. 

I need to dig out the CVA's from the Top Force box and build them.  I'm guessing light oil in them?  Maybe add a notch or 2 on the piston rod since they are the fixed type?

They do look silly, and they behave silly, but it's quite entertaining trying to keep it rubber side down. I am unaware what the top force CVAs will be like in a lunchbox. I run the old yellow CVAs, I run 50wt in the front and 20wt in the rear. It's pretty rigid, but controllable. 

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1 hour ago, berman said:

They do look silly, and they behave silly, but it's quite entertaining trying to keep it rubber side down. I am unaware what the top force CVAs will be like in a lunchbox. I run the old yellow CVAs, I run 50wt in the front and 20wt in the rear. It's pretty rigid, but controllable. 

Ok thats a lot firmer in the front than i expected. I am only saying Top Force cos I have them, my Top Force has hicaps. Actually i have Super Astute dampers too (that has hicaps too) so those rears may have the proper pistons not the rod things. I should know since I built them...but they would be better on the end that needs lighter shocks

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20 hours ago, berman said:

They do look silly, and they behave silly, but it's quite entertaining trying to keep it rubber side down. I am unaware what the top force CVAs will be like in a lunchbox. I run the old yellow CVAs, I run 50wt in the front and 20wt in the rear. It's pretty rigid, but controllable. 

thats what i love about mine in the garden, just so bouncy and even does some forward full flips now after switching to 2s lipo on the stock motor, handles like a joke but that is what makes it so much fun :D

i love the hopper as well for the same reasons on the stock 380 in the rough garden, the back end can just hop in the air and instant 180, i also have a 20kg spektrum servo in the hopper lol  :)

 

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