MST- CFX

[Nicadraus 6626]

21 hours ago, Carmine A said:

Always good future options!! MST has a surprising amount aftermarket support.

Yes they do. The nice thing about crawlers is a lot of parts can be used for other brands. If they don't fit perfectly, then modifying and retrofitting is the answer which isn't really hard to do.

I think every RC enthusiast should at least know some modding or finding a way to improve or alter things when needed. Because I see and know a lot who are still dependent on manuals, people doing for them or maybe just to lazy to learn.

[Carmine A 3090]

Absolutely!! My Axial Rigs have bits on them from Vaterra, RC4WD, TRAXXASS, CrossRC and MST. 😉

[Nicadraus 6626]

Got new 1.9 beadlock wheels and tires for Mr. Jimny. $30 for the wheels and $20 for the tires. I love the finish on this one. Looks like sand-blasted finish.

This beadlock mounting tool works great. Mounting beadlock wheels really takes a lot of time and effort. Usually, 15-20 minutes to mount per wheel. But with the help of this tool, five minutes per wheel only.

Mounted. Looks great!

This set even comes with center caps.

Love it!

[Carmine A 3090]

Those look GREAT! But that TOOL!!! 😳😁😊  Where has that been my whole life?

[Nicadraus 6626]

Night shots...

[Carmine A 3090]

So awesome! Wish I could afford one... You really did this one right! 👏👏👏👏

[Nicadraus 6626]

On 11/20/2020 at 2:03 PM, Carmine A said:

So awesome! Wish I could afford one... You really did this one right! 👏👏👏👏

 

"Oh soon, get you will. Bring you this Christmas, Santa will."

[ChrisRx718 4707]

I love it but... I'm not really sure on those wheels. They look a little on the large size. The MST Jimny is more like 1/9 scale, so those wheels are a scale 18" rim. On a JB23 my work colleague reckons nothing bigger than a 16" will even fit 

I reckon some sweet 1.55 tyres would work better visually...

[Carmine A 3090]

On 11/20/2020 at 12:31 AM, Nicadraus said:

 

"Oh soon, get you will. Bring you this Christmas, Santa will."

Thanks Yoda!! 😂  I certainly hope so.

[Nicadraus 6626]

20 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

I love it but... I'm not really sure on those wheels. They look a little on the large size. The MST Jimny is more like 1/9 scale, so those wheels are a scale 18" rim. On a JB23 my work colleague reckons nothing bigger than a 16" will even fit 

I reckon some sweet 1.55 tyres would work better visually...

Unfortunately there are no smaller beadlock wheels in diameter. They're all standard. Also I was previously using narrower tires. They're ok but I'm not liking the way it looks. But I'll be switching the wheel/tires set depending on the terrain and application.

I think of the three wheels, I like the newest better.

[Nicadraus 6626]

CFX's first outdoor trail at our friend's place. We drove about 130km down south.

I'm very impressed with this little one and keeping up with the 313mm brothers was not a problem at all. I'm glad that aside from looking good, the upgrades are worth it.

[Carmine A 3090]

I've heard people saying that short Wheelbase doesn't work... but they never say why! 😜

Perhaps this opinion is a leftover from the days when short Wheelbase meant CC01...😳

You really did a great job on that Jimny. Glad you're outside enjoying it!!

[Nicadraus 6626]

22 hours ago, Carmine A said:

I've heard people saying that short Wheelbase doesn't work... but they never say why! 😜

Perhaps this opinion is a leftover from the days when short Wheelbase meant CC01...😳

You really did a great job on that Jimny. Glad you're outside enjoying it!!

Thanks! Actually the advantage of short wheelbase is they are not prone to scraping the under-chassis and suspension links. Especially during crawling. I'm really impressed with this one as it is definitely not left out in trail and light crawling by the bigger ones.

[JennyMo 3625]

23 hours ago, Carmine A said:

I've heard people saying that short Wheelbase doesn't work... but they never say why! 😜

 

It's to do with reach and weight distribution... in certain conditions, a SWB vehicle is preferable, however, when rock crawling - too short a wheelbase (and even something like a 2 door Jeep is touch and go) and unless you have some serious axle articulation, you end up with the issue that you're either lifting wheels (making the rig unstable) and/or all four wheels are on the hazard section - for example climbing a step: it's preferable to have one pair of wheels at the top of the climb where they can grip fully and help to haul the rest of the vehicle up, rather than have all four scrabbling for traction on the face of the climb, particularly if it is uneven at all.

The other issue is weight distribution - a 1:1 4x4 is generally nose heavy, and similarly the trend these days is for RC crawlers to have a forward weight to help climbing. Conversely, when going downhill, all the weight is then concentrated on the front wheels, leading to a potential forward roll. Even though some RC crawlers do have the battery towards the rear to help overall weight distribution, generally speaking the are proportionally much lighter than a real vehicle, and correspondingly more top heavy - leading to further roll-over issues. Having a longer wheelbase helps to distribute that weight over a larger footprint - and similarly to climbing, one hopes that the front wheels are down the steps before the rear wheels start to overtake them.

Hope that helps to explain things!

Jenny x

[Nicadraus 6626]

7 hours ago, JennyMo said:

It's to do with reach and weight distribution... in certain conditions, a SWB vehicle is preferable, however, when rock crawling - too short a wheelbase (and even something like a 2 door Jeep is touch and go) and unless you have some serious axle articulation, you end up with the issue that you're either lifting wheels (making the rig unstable) and/or all four wheels are on the hazard section - for example climbing a step: it's preferable to have one pair of wheels at the top of the climb where they can grip fully and help to haul the rest of the vehicle up, rather than have all four scrabbling for traction on the face of the climb, particularly if it is uneven at all.

The other issue is weight distribution - a 1:1 4x4 is generally nose heavy, and similarly the trend these days is for RC crawlers to have a forward weight to help climbing. Conversely, when going downhill, all the weight is then concentrated on the front wheels, leading to a potential forward roll. Even though some RC crawlers do have the battery towards the rear to help overall weight distribution, generally speaking the are proportionally much lighter than a real vehicle, and correspondingly more top heavy - leading to further roll-over issues. Having a longer wheelbase helps to distribute that weight over a larger footprint - and similarly to climbing, one hopes that the front wheels are down the steps before the rear wheels start to overtake them.

Hope that helps to explain things!

Jenny x

Very well explained Jenny. Thanks!

[Carmine A 3090]

16 hours ago, JennyMo said:

It's to do with reach and weight distribution... in certain conditions, a SWB vehicle is preferable, however, when rock crawling - too short a wheelbase (and even something like a 2 door Jeep is touch and go) and unless you have some serious axle articulation, you end up with the issue that you're either lifting wheels (making the rig unstable) and/or all four wheels are on the hazard section - for example climbing a step: it's preferable to have one pair of wheels at the top of the climb where they can grip fully and help to haul the rest of the vehicle up, rather than have all four scrabbling for traction on the face of the climb, particularly if it is uneven at all.

The other issue is weight distribution - a 1:1 4x4 is generally nose heavy, and similarly the trend these days is for RC crawlers to have a forward weight to help climbing. Conversely, when going downhill, all the weight is then concentrated on the front wheels, leading to a potential forward roll. Even though some RC crawlers do have the battery towards the rear to help overall weight distribution, generally speaking the are proportionally much lighter than a real vehicle, and correspondingly more top heavy - leading to further roll-over issues. Having a longer wheelbase helps to distribute that weight over a larger footprint - and similarly to climbing, one hopes that the front wheels are down the steps before the rear wheels start to overtake them.

Hope that helps to explain things!

Jenny x

Agreed!! Very well said Jenny! That much I knew.... I used to Off-Road with a Jeep CJ-7 and a 1974 Bronco (not BELIEVING how much People think they're worth today!!!)😖 I've also been out with a Ford F-250, and except for the chance of high centering, was EASIER to manage. Though the short Rigs were obviously much better in tight quarters.

I'm sure it's the same as here in the U.S., where in RC, the trend has been for more and more forward weight bias. That has created an issue when it's time to head back down!! 😳 

A couple of years ago, I fell into the trend here, and got as bad as a 75/25 bias! It did create more problems than it solved. I now go my own way, and stick closer to 60/40... 

The KEY has always been keeping the weight LOW in the Chassis. Many of us realise that, some still don't.

But to my original point, it was as bad as at two of the Axialfests I went to, it was the overwhelming opinion that a 255-270mm Crawler had no purpose being out there! That's just flat WRONG. 

@Nicadraus your Jimny is living proof! I do hope I can afford one at some point.

[Nicadraus 6626]

4 hours ago, Carmine A said:

 

@Nicadraus your Jimny is living proof! I do hope I can afford one at some point.

Use your instincts. Trust in the force. 

 

[Nicadraus 6626]

Since this build is finished (I think), I thought I'd list the parts of upgrades I've installed for reference in case someone might be interested.

• Yeah Racing (YR) aluminum thread pipe (40mm - upper) (50mm lower) suspension links
• GRC aluminum shock towers ( 2 sets)
• GRC stainless steel sliders
• GRC 3D printed mud guards
• GRC center skid plate guard
• TP axle steel plate guards
• MST steel drive shaft
• Xtraspeed aluminum center skid plate
• Aluminum servo mount
• Steel drive center shafts (front & rear)
• Aluminum bumper mount (for SCX10), retrofitted
• Carbon fiber with aluminum rails battery plate
• 80mm aluminum dampers
• Aluminum servo horn
• full ball bearings
• Sammix Stainless steel flange balls (5.8mm)
• Metal bead lock wheels - 3 sets
• Aluminum front bumper (custom fit)
• Power coated steel rear bumper (custom fit)
• Aluminum steering rod
• Magnetic body mounts (custom fit)
• Aluminum RX box

Electronics:

• Hobbywing Quicrun 1080
• SPT 5425LV (25kg) servo
• AFRC RXS2482 receiver
• Austar 55t brushed modified motor
• Full lighting kits
• two light switches

[Carmine A 3090]

Thanks for that! I do hope to do a couple of these to replace my CC-01s... 

And get a MST CFX-W FJ40 - because it's just COOL 😎

[Nicadraus 6626]

19 minutes ago, Carmine A said:

Thanks for that! I do hope to do a couple of these to replace my CC-01s... 

And get a MST CFX-W FJ40 - because it's just COOL 😎

Honestly during and after building this one, I lost interest in the CC-01 by 50%. Although I'm done with both builds, the CFX is just way much better than the CC-01 and 02. My friend has the CC-02 and it's not near the level of the MST.

[Carmine A 3090]

On 12/13/2020 at 3:38 AM, Nicadraus said:

Honestly during and after building this one, I lost interest in the CC-01 by 50%. Although I'm done with both builds, the CFX is just way much better than the CC-01 and 02. My friend has the CC-02 and it's not near the level of the MST.

That is just the sad truth of it.... 

The CFX/CMX has been out for years. You'd THINK that Tamiya would have gotten a hint at least - especially since they were originally offering licenced Bodies to MST for these Chassis.

[Nicadraus 6626]

8 hours ago, Carmine A said:

That is just the sad truth of it.... 

The CFX/CMX has been out for years. You'd THINK that Tamiya would have gotten a hint at least - especially since they were originally offering licenced Bodies to MST for these Chassis.

Tamiya made the CC-02 but still kept it in a mid-level type of trail/crawler. They should have stepped up by making it more competitive.

If the CC-01 wasn't my late father's, I probably would have kept it only as a runner and not spend time and money in making it a better kit. I would have bought the MST right away. But it's there already and so far I'm pretty happy how the CC-01 turned out. But of course, can't be compared to the MST.

[87lc2 2853]

Really nice CFX, the bumpers are just awesome.  Agreed on the MST making the CC-01 seem downright bad by comparison.  I had a CC-01 at one point, but after building my CFX I quickly moved on from it.  It's actually one of the few RCs I've ever sold because I just had zero interest when compared to modern crawler/trail vehicles.

[Carmine A 3090]

On 12/15/2020 at 8:30 AM, Nicadraus said:

Tamiya made the CC-02 but still kept it in a mid-level type of trail/crawler. They should have stepped up by making it more competitive.

If the CC-01 wasn't my late father's, I probably would have kept it only as a runner and not spend time and money in making it a better kit. I would have bought the MST right away. But it's there already and so far I'm pretty happy how the CC-01 turned out. But of course, can't be compared to the MST.

The CC-02 has its high points... But like the CC-01, would require nearly TWICE what you paid for it, to make it barely Competitive. 

Now, the CFX/CMX are fantastic, but aren't Champion Rigs either.... However, they're much easier to be made to keep up with the big Boys, for a lot less money. 

They're just even HARDER to find in the U.S. lately, than any other Trail Rig. 😞

[Nicadraus 6626]

16 hours ago, Carmine A said:

The CC-02 has its high points... But like the CC-01, would require nearly TWICE what you paid for it, to make it barely Competitive. 

Now, the CFX/CMX are fantastic, but aren't Champion Rigs either.... However, they're much easier to be made to keep up with the big Boys, for a lot less money. 

They're just even HARDER to find in the U.S. lately, than any other Trail Rig. 😞

For my next crawler, it'll be more serious. Not saying that the MST isn't serious and definitely capable. But a 313mm crawler build from different parts mostly aluminum and steel.