Meobromon 35 Posted September 13, 2020 (edited) Bit of an intro: 13 years ago I begged my parents for an RC car for my birthday. My dream car was E-Maxx & E-Zilla after I spent countless hours on RC forums. There was just something about Tamiya though, and after stumbling on rcdaggerweb I decided on the Double Blaze (price was also 1/3 of the other 2 lol). I was happy for a while, then the body mounts, ball connectors broke and the 11 year old me had no idea how to repair/replace those. Ordering parts online was not possible at the time for me and so in the storage it went. At some point I managed to get some alloy arms, knuckles & c-hubs but the car continued collecting dust. Last month I was cleaning my house and was not sure what to do with the car, then I discovered tamiyaclub and long story short I went all out and splurged a bunch on the car with the target of making it run as well as an RTR Stampede. I will be posting lots of pics as I usually enjoy these type of threads the most. Will also note cost estimations for each (is this healthy?) Before the build: Cracked decals & poorly cut body Not sure if dust or insect eggs 2 Broken long ball connectors inside the knuckle, so I got 5 new ones from Tony (free shipping to SEA!!) Build Part 1: Replaced cheap no-name brushed ESC with Quicrun 860, FM radio with RC4GS, got a new NiMh 3000mah pack, CNC'ed shock towers (designed after GPM), ebay special 100mm shocks, shock oil as these did not come pre-filled, PowerHD 6001MG servo, 2 silver can 550's (unsure of specs), new wheels & 15mm hex extenders (not advised as seen later). Also fitted metal bearings throughout. Total cost so far about $215. All electronics, shocks & extended towers put together New wheels compared to stock Was too excited to see the car run so I quickly concocted something for body mounts using chopsticks, zip ties and earphones plugs (???) This part 1 was about 3 weeks ago and since then a few things have been added or were purchased for further mods. So far I wouldn't consider most of these to be actual upgrades - alloy parts are mostly for bling, wheels & hex extenders turned out to be disastrous for wheel axles, chopsticks are chopsticks, 550 motors are torquey but heavy & slow (also suspect they have advanced timing, front motor heats up less than rear one). ESC & shock towers are the only upgrades I think, and radio kind of goes without saying (ESC wouldn't auto-calibrate with old FM Futabas..) Thanks for reading! I have a few questions as well, but will post along with part 2 of the build (already completed) EDIT: Wow these pictures are huge! How does one resize them? I used imgur BBcode to link these Edited September 22, 2020 by Meobromon Resized pictures 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mman2005 443 Posted September 13, 2020 Great first thread 👍 thanks for posting. Great trucks these. My lad has one and it is so capable. After having a thunder dragon for years as my first and only, I have since bought tons of spares for it and done the same with my lads WT01. Think he is now sorted for the next 40 years 😅 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACCEL 2014 Posted September 13, 2020 10 hours ago, Meobromon said: (is this healthy?) keeps one self from destruction. i'd say yes it's very healthy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) Build Part 2 (almost up to date, lots of pics) So not sure if these pictures are super large for everyone else, please let me know if they are too big and even better if someone could advise on resizing them. Starting with lessons learned: As noted previously, the bigger wheels (2.8 inch with less offset, wider & taller tire) required hex extensions as they rubbed on the body when turning or jumping. A slow crash (10-13km/hr) against the sidewalk and the front axle snapped. Don't use hex extensions for bashing, reserve for speed runs only. Replace nyloc wheel nuts or you risk losing hex/pins like me! Wheel came off few times no matter how tight the nut was on initially. In Part 1 all the upgrades were either custom (CNC shock towers) or universal (ESC, radio..) so I decided to get some direct hop-ups and spare parts. Also wanted to see what LiPo is all about so I got a 2S stick pack and charger. Other than the sadly fake B6 charger & lipo bag, everything pictured/listed was from rcmart: 2*20T M0.6 alloy pinions, 2 rear camber sets ($0.99 for each set!), Hi-Torque Servo saver, 10 ball nuts, 10 ball connectors, 8 rod ends (so weird that they call these ball connectors as well), 1 set of spare gears, 4 wheel axles, 2 sets of hard gear joints, 73mm long turnbuckles to replace steering rods, stepscrews, 4000mah stick shaped 2S LiPo, fake B6 AC/DC charger & a small 2S LiPo for RC4GS specifically. Total cost was $155 shipping included - quite costly, but having spares is nice... Adjusting the steering was a hassle as I was removing rod ends from the ball connectors each time, and the stock servo saver had worn splines as seen below. So first I replaced steering rods with titanium turnbluckes (really nice quality!! for 13 bucks lol) and hi-torque servo saver. Apparently 11yr old me super glued the saver to the horn so will have to use acetone if the stock servo horn was to be re-used. The new horn is slightly shorter so the left steering rod doesn't align completely with indent on the gearbox, hopefully won't cause any issues. Stock steering rods were also slightly bent The chopsticks for rear body mounts in previous post were obviously not a solution, I just wanted the maiden run asap so they did serve that purpose ok. I found some CAD files online for TL01 body posts and 3D printed them using PLA material. They work ok albeit less support compared to stock. Seeing that the wheels I had were no good with the hex extensions, I sold them at slight loss and got these exact replicas of Monster Pin Spike tires that came stock with the WT/WR-01 chassis. $15 for set of 4, come with rims (slightly less offset) & foams inside! This cool-looking LiPo battery did not fit in the stock chassis as the corners were not 'round' enough so I hand-filed the battery compartment to fit, took me 1.5 hours for whatever reason. I ran it in the grass once and the lipo was super hard to take out due to the random bits filling the gaps. Need to file a little more. Someone was selling this semi-hobby grade 1/10 body for $8 so I grabbed one, to be re-painted/designed at some point. The unbranded 550 motors are too slow at 20-21kmh so I ordered a couple of Team Raffee 21T motors, with total of 4 extra (free) brushes for $25 shipping included from AsiaTees. They seem to have advanced timing, but there also timing marks so likely can be adjusted. I was looking at Hackmoto 17T motors from RCmart, but I think the 860 ESC would likely fail If I were to run 3S on them (which is my plan once I CNC custom chassis). I emailed Yeah Racing and got a confirmation from them that timing is neutral & adjustable on their motors. But if so, why would the motor sticker show rotation direction? Rounding up the total cost so far: Part 1 - $210 Part 2 - $170 I ordered some universal M3 & M4 nyloc nuts, wondering how they would compare to flanged/serrated nuts? I am planning on using a washer between the wheel and the nut, and maybe even reversing the nut for better nyloc grip. The stock rims seem quite thin where the axle goes through, did anyone have issues with serrated nuts? Some say the rim would fail before the serrated nut can cause damage, would be good if someone could verify. Edited September 22, 2020 by Meobromon Resized pictures 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) Think so far the build was more about having a trouble-free running experience. After 1 month of waiting, this carbon chassis finally arrived, which is my first unique (ish) upgrade. Should also tighten the sloppy steering significantly with this servo mount design. I also have an ongoing chassis design project to fit dual LiPo battery (as opposed to oval NiMh as seen in the chassis I have). Shout out to Andy who is helping do the actual CAD work on this file! Looks like I will need to buy another runner (or two) as will soon have a total of 3 chassis lol Edited September 22, 2020 by Meobromon Resized pictures 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted September 22, 2020 Carbon chassis So I put together the carbon chassis and it seems barely used, pretty much zero scuffs. The aluminum spacers & threaded rods to hold the chassis together were quite difficult to put together as I haven't figured out a way to hold one nut while tightening the other. Somehow I managed to put it all together though. Battery holder setup (will replace with TL-01 quick release setup once they are available on RCmart).. Carbon cuts are really clean & there is an extra plate for batteries (total 6mm) Side by side with the stock chassis ------------------------- I was running alloy lower arms & stock upper arms, which created this negative camber - not sure how many degrees, but it looked quite significant & wore the tires on the inner half only. Apparently alloy lower arms are slightly longer than stock. I got 2 sets of rear cambers from rcmart, for 99c each and finally put them on to fix the camber (this truck is not a performance machine, just wanted to wear the tire evenly ). These were not exactly a precision fit so I used a bolt + nut (no nyloc) and finally a nyloc nut - with the provided bolts the arms would bind up. While cleaning the suspensions bits I noticed that the shocks could be mounted on the back of the shock towers like so. Would this have similar effect to few degrees of kick-up, as the WR/WT chassis have none in stock form? Way I understand it should help with jumping (not sure how exactly), would appreciate if someone could help explain what effect this would have. Think I also finally figured out how to resize photos. Will try to resize previously posted pics when I have time. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted September 24, 2020 Got another set of bigger tires from 'asian amazon' that will be put on the stock rims: While waiting for these to arrive I had two 20 minute runs on tarmac with the spike tires, which already wore quite a bit. Will reserve these for grass and 'stock pictures'. These cheap rims (I now have 2 sets, blue & red) are quite nice but offset is not enough & don't think they could be used without hex wideners.. what should I do with them? ---------- I have a 100cm*100cm roll of 2mm thick rubber laying around so I cut few pieces and stuck to the bottom of the gearbox. Ugly but we will see if they will protect the gearbox. So here is how the car sits. Most of the gearboxes' mounting points are either cracked & glued or bent and waiting to crack soon as the self tapper screws will be inserted. I ordered 2 sets of white gearcases ($20 shipped), hope it was the pre-teen me that was rough with the gearboxes and not the poor design. I am thinking of drilling these mounting holes and fitting long 50mm (or longer?) M3 rods/screws through them (attaching to chassis via a lock nut). Question is how to hold the gearbox in place while drilling? I don't have much experience with drilling and am afraid it won't go through straight, or worse crack the rest of the chassis. Also, what drill bit should I use? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfdogstinkus 1893 Posted September 24, 2020 Is there room to screw 2 nuts on one end and lock them together?, Then use the locked nuts to screw on the other side. You already figured it out, but it might help.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted September 25, 2020 14 hours ago, wolfdogstinkus said: Is there room to screw 2 nuts on one end and lock them together?, Then use the locked nuts to screw on the other side. You already figured it out, but it might help.. I will replace these hollow spacers + rods with solid standoffs (same as spacers, but have M3 thread through them) and will use screws on the sides instead, but think I get your suggestion. I saw in your 6x6 thread that you ran a rod through the gearboxes to mount on the chassis, which is actually exactly what I was planning. Did you just drill the holes, or tapped them as well? Also, would you advise doing it on brand new gearcases? Not sure if I should wait until mounting points crack and only then apply the 'bolt + nut technique' or better to just do it from the beginning. Here is a picture I found on facebook (in this case it was only drilled) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfdogstinkus 1893 Posted September 25, 2020 I only did that because the plastic snapped, but it should prevent it cracking.. I just drilled through.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisRx718 4470 Posted September 25, 2020 Carbon chassis is really cool I notice you have drawings - could they be adapted for a single battery tray do you think? Fibre-Lyte in the UK are very good for custom carbon parts. If you have the original CAD files, I would love to have a fiddle! My WT01 is my most-used chassis (RWD, rear gearbox only version) but I'm midway through building a twin-gearbox, dual-steering, narrow track version (will probably regret the narrow arms...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted October 14, 2020 Been busy with work & out of city business trips so just a few updates: Had a few runs with the carbon chassis, wheel nuts keep flying off (hexes are 7mm instead of stock 6mm), maybe that 1mm makes a big difference as the axle does not 'stick out' enough from the nut. It is basically flat with the nut. Will try reversing the nut, removing the washer (between the nut & rim), or buying 6mm hexes (least preferred). With the carbon chassis, steering is slightly improved, but the car still tends to stray left/right with no specific pattern, I spent a lot of time trying to adjust the toe in & trim, gave up for now. Pics with and without the body: I recently picked up a drone (DJI Mavic Air 2) so played around a little trying to film the car, then I figured that I would need 5 hands to do this lol I went easy on first 2 packs, mostly running on tarmac, just going straight and testing turn radius etc. Then on third pack I took it up the hill, and after bit of tumbling quite a few things came apart: broke 70% of both gearbox mounts, servo horn. The carbon chassis is thicker than stock plastic, so re-using self-tapping screws was not a good idea. Bought an alloy servo saver + horn for $5, seems nearly identical to the stock one (pictured is the horn from hi-torque servo saver set). For now I put on the shorter servo horn that was also in the set. Then I drilled the geabox mounts to 3mm so that M3 machine screws could slot right through - the screws are 50mm long, since the gearbox + 2 chassis plates are 46mm thick total. I drilled using a dremel tool, I think the speed was set too high so the plastic kept melting, and it was not exactly a straight hole. A press drill would be much better. Had some time to visit a carbon workshop to cut another version of the carbon chassis with rectangular battery compartments. The workshop owner cut the chassis out of plexiglass first (for free!) to help me double check the gearbox mounting holes and motor clearance. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to wait out the cutting process, so will have to see the final result in a few weeks when I am back in the city. Lastly I got those 21T motors that came with 4 free brushes, and it looks like they are neutral timing despite the 'rotation direction arrow' on the sticker. Would appreciate it if someone could verify via the picture below, I tried to do by ear and they sound similar to me at full throttle. Also it was the first time soldering for me, turned out not great visually, but would probably work for now. @ChrisRx718 On 9/25/2020 at 4:24 PM, ChrisRx718 said: Carbon chassis is really cool I notice you have drawings - could they be adapted for a single battery tray do you think? Fibre-Lyte in the UK are very good for custom carbon parts. If you have the original CAD files, I would love to have a fiddle! My WT01 is my most-used chassis (RWD, rear gearbox only version) but I'm midway through building a twin-gearbox, dual-steering, narrow track version (will probably regret the narrow arms...) Definitely could be adapted, or you could just leave the top battery compartment empty and use the lower one (which is what I will be doing as well, at least for now). It should help with lower center of gravity. The CAD file is an ongoing project with Andy, I will check with him before sharing, but I am pretty sure it is ok! Anyway I would also like to make it a final product before sharing the file, to make sure everything is tested and fits perfectly. Andy has actually asked Fibre-lyte about producing a chassis based on a drawing and he said the cost was too high. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted November 19, 2020 So the car has been in bits since the last post. It's actually my only RC car at the moment so I have been binge watching Youtube RC videos and it was not healthy at all. Reason is I was waiting for the custom carbon chassis & mounting bits to arrive and put the gearboxes on. Well, everything is finally ready and I am way too anxious to find out how everything is going to go together. Some pics of the chassis next to my current Nimh-style chassis. The battery compartment is 48*30mm so should fit some hardcase 3S Lipo. Can't wait lol Servo mount (should be indestructible) View from underneath. Should probably add some lock nuts here. ESC & Receiver mounting plates. The CAD file missed 1 mounting hole on side plate, so I used a regular (orange) standoff and just ziptied the center plate to it for now. Other than screws, this is what a complete chassis set looks like unassembled. Orange standoffs go between body posts. Car should be ready to run this weekend. I will also be putting on 21T 540 motors with 20T pinions. Should be a huge step-up from 27T 550 motors and 18T pinions, I think top speed on 2S should be about 28kmh (absolutely random guess). 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted November 21, 2020 Finished putting on body posts and stock battery holderm A quick release set would complement it nicely, it's next on my list when I order more from RCmart. 80% complete, now to attach gearbox, esc/receiver, servo and the toe links. Taking me too long because I keep stopping to look at the chassis 😆 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy pants 4485 Posted November 21, 2020 Superb thread 💥 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted November 21, 2020 3 hours ago, Grumpy pants said: Superb thread 💥 Thanks! Some pics still show really large for me, are you experiencing the same? They are supposed to be 800*600 resized by imgur. Shows too large on PC, fine on phone though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy pants 4485 Posted November 21, 2020 2 minutes ago, Meobromon said: Thanks! Some pics still show really large for me, are you experiencing the same? They are supposed to be 800*600 resized by imgur. Shows too large on PC, fine on phone though. Everything is dandy imo. Good text, interesting read and lots of nice clear photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted November 21, 2020 One of my fears was that the servo/gearbox mounting holes wouldn't align, whether due to CAD file or CNC machining. Just put the servo and 1 gearbox on. Both fit perfectly!!! Hopefully I can finisj and get the car running tomorrow. Will be my first RC action in over a month. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted November 25, 2020 So this happened!!! This is my childhood dream come (or more like made) true, to own over 1 custom chassis for this truck. Even better now that are carbon. Times of reminiscing about rcdaggerweb are over.. The 550 cans stay on for now, due to short motor wires the ESC is not in optimal location (should be at the back next to receiver). The tires are amazing find for $25 shipped, I am amazed at them nearly as much as at the chassis lol. I have finalized CAD drawings of both the chassis and shock towers, meaning anyone interested I can help produce more. Meanwhile I will have to source different carbon material (better weave & quality) and find another CNC shop. These guys take too long lol. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badcrumble 4204 Posted November 25, 2020 Fantastic work. I'd better not let my son see this, he'd want a chassis for his Dual Hunter! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) Quick update after some speed runs, top speed below: 1. 27T 550 motors w/ 18T pinions on 2S: 20kmh 2. 21T 540 motors w/ 18T pinions on 2S: 26kmh 3. 21T 540 motors w/ 18T pinions on 3S: 34kmh at 3/5 throttle!! I'm guessing it will be over 40kmh at full throttle. Stock silver cans w/ 18T pinions on 2s should be about 20kmh. I will be content when I can consistently run at 40kmh (double of stock) without breaking and overheating things. Currently steering is still all over the place : ( Edited December 4, 2020 by Meobromon 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meobromon 35 Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) So I updated my radio from Radiolink RC4GS to Flysky Noble (about 4 times the price), got another Hi-Torque Servo Saver, replaced all rod ends with new dust-proof Tamiya ones and my steering issues are SOLVED. The car now tracks straight as an arrow! With the upgrades that just came in the mail, I am relieved and sad at the same time. The car is now at the point where short of dual brushless system, it is the endgame for me. There is nothing else to mod or upgrade...hmm... Here is the list of mods/changes I have done, roughly in the importance order. I will soon calculate the total cost, but I believe it is in $800 range.. 1. Quicrun 860 ESC, 15kg 0.08s MG servo, Hi-Torque servo saver, XT60 connectors 2. Carbon chassis fitting dual Lipo including 3s (and 1 dual Nimh version) 3. Ball bearings everywhere 4. Dual 21T 540 motors adjustable timing 5. Lunsford 3*73mm turnbuckles 6. M3 longer screws + brass sleeves + locknuts on all suspension parts to replace shoulder screws 7. Gearbox mounting holes drilled to 3mm. M3*50mm screws + lock nuts are used throughout (Bulletproof) 8. GPM alloy knuckles & hubs, custom 7075 alloy CNC shock towers, alloy rear upper arms. 9. ebay special 100mm full alloy oil shocks 10. 20T Yeah Racing pinions (18T is ok but on 3s too many wheelies) 12. Hardened 3racing stub axles 13. HSP 77mm dogbones (4mm thick vs ~2.7MM stock) 14. 150mm tall ebay special monster tires mounted on stock 2.2' rims 15. Dust-proof Tamiya rod ends everywhere 16. 7mm thick alloy hexes 17. Serrated nyloc nuts for wheels 18. 3D printed body posts (90% PLA, super strong) 19. 2mm rubber mats on bottom of geaboxes 20. Blue loctite on all metal to metal parts + to add: quick battery release, countersunk king pins, suspension shafts w/ e-clips. I will hold off on putting these on as it will be a glorious yet sad day when I am done.. Now onto developing dualbrushlesssytemphobia... Edited December 28, 2020 by Meobromon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites