My first Tamiya build - Mad Bull

[Silver-Can 402]

You're welcome. Your obvious enthusiasm and interest is to your credit and the end result looks ace 👏. I think it's fair to say most of us are still learning new tips and tricks along the way (I'd never thought of using the rubber o rings on the shock mounts before).

I notice on the main forum page you've asked about custom decals for someone's purple madbull. They're from MCIracing who are based in Canada. They do great decals and variants  - I recently got a set for my madcap and, although the red was a little more orange than the original tamiya set, the actual print and sticker quality were great 👍.

Hope you have fun with your bull and mx5 and be sure to let us know how you get on with both.

[TurnipJF 9192]

3 hours ago, B.RAD said:

some of the sharper memories out there might recall the purchase of some shorter steering arms and buggy wheels and tyres...😁

Indeed - I look forward to seeing them fitted, and finding out what you think of the car with them on. It is looking great so far!

[B.RAD 240]

Got out for a play this afternoon! Brilliant fun. This car is fantastic! Even just running up and down our unpaved road was such a hoot, and even better, I took Mini Rad out in the sling carrier with me. He absolutely loved watching the car hurtle up and down, and as a bonus, getting Mrs Rad a well deserved 15 minute break from baby wrangling put another big ol' tick in the "is this a good hobby?" box! Winning!

The car is now coated in a suitable level of muck to give it that excellent used look. It runs like a dream, really was fun. The motor seemed to get really hot though, and the forward/reverse kept stopping (steering was still ok). Turned it off and on again and it would work fine. Anything to worry about?

Reminding myself how to drift, j-turn, donut and handbrake turn was a real blast. Can't wait to take it somewhere more open and more importantly, hit some jumps! 🤙

[TurnipJF 9192]

16 hours ago, B.RAD said:

The car is now coated in a suitable level of muck to give it that excellent used look. It runs like a dream, really was fun. The motor seemed to get really hot though, and the forward/reverse kept stopping (steering was still ok). Turned it off and on again and it would work fine. Anything to worry about?

One of the quirks of the Mad Bull is that it has a very long rollout due to the large tyre diameter, so the motor will get hotter than usual and will be drawing more amps through the ESC, potentially triggering the thermal shutdown if you are doing a lot of hard acceleration. The issue should go away when your standard buggy wheels and tyres are fitted though, and your acceleration off the line will improve too.

[B.RAD 240]

Perfect, thanks @TurnipJF! Much appreciated. It was getting a very hard time, constant hard acceleration, handbrake turn and then hard acceleration again 😊 Another good run out tomorrow hopefully 🤞

[Carmine A 2046]

You've mended that well!! 👍👍  Good attitude, making it a practice Body. You gain experience - and you've got a Basher Body where, if you drive it into a Fence... won't be nearly as upsetting!! 😜

[B.RAD 240]

12 minutes ago, Carmine A said:

You've mended that well!! 👍👍  Good attitude, making it a practice Body. You gain experience - and you've got a Basher Body where, if you drive it into a Fence... won't be nearly as upsetting!! 😜

Thanks, that's very kind! Yes that's absolutely my mentality, really not worried what happens to that shell, can always rub it down and respray it again in the future too 😊

[B.RAD 240]

Took the Bull to a local spot for some fun in the woods. It. Was. AWESOME! The car is so much fun. A little wild and crazy but full of character and I was smiling from ear to ear throughout. Jumps great, handles well, took a bashing and came back for more. It's probably my ideal RC car! Great to have @Bunty there with his mega Midnight Pumpkin too! 

Only issue I had was the thermal cut off triggering again, repeatedly. It came about 10 mins in, but was then persistent to the point I couldn't use it. Quite frustrating. So, on the back of @TurnipJF's advice, I've made a change. Spot the difference...!

I hope this cures it! Can't wait to try it like this 😁

[B.RAD 240]

Quick update - had a short run out in the garden to see what the buggy wheels are like, and they're great! Handles completely differently now. I had also installed stiffer rear springs to try and reduce the rearward weight transfer and keep some traction on the front, but with these wheels I don't think that's necessary and it just made the back end too bouncy, so I've gone back to the soft ones. It's flippin awesome how quickly you can make changes like that!! So much fun playing with the set up.

Next up is to get back to the woods and send it again! Hopefully the motor won't get so hot now.

And, in other news, the thread for the M06 build has begun here:

Your input and guidance will once again be most appreciated! ☺️

Oh, and in other, other news, I made a purchase last night.... and you might not like it! Given the inevitable bashing and abuse these cars will take, both from me and Mini Rad, I bought a Traxxas Stampede assembly kit. I had one when I was young and it was awesome fun, so I couldn't resist giving another one a go 😊 

Normal Tamiya service will resume shortly as I'm investigating a jacked up Neo Scorcher on monster truck wheels 😍

[B.RAD 240]

Took the Mad Bull up to the woods today, running on a very sandy lane that runs up through the forest.  The new wheels and tyres are AWESOME!! Sand rooster tails everywhere, so much more grip and so much easier to drive, as well as being significantly faster. No thermal issues and ran brilliantly for as long as we could play. And I can thoroughly support the claims that this is one tough buggy - I wasn't exactly kind to it, sending it off 3 or 4 foot drops, lots of flips, tumbles and crashes and it just soaked them all up.  I was beaming from ear to ear!! This is such a great hobby!

I shall have to try and take some photos/video next time.

[B.RAD 240]

Well a quick update - this buggy is AWESOME!! I'm loving it so much. After a good session on the MTB's we've taken to wandering up the sandy lane with the RC cars and have a play about. My friend runs my other car, a 4wd FTX Surge MT 1/12 scale truck, which is surprisingly competent. It climbs really, really well! Compared to my Mad Bull, which is epicly quick but slightly erratic to control, the Surge is just very planted. It helps that it has adjustable coilover shocks so I have been able to dial them in. The Bull is a bit more rudimentary and suffers from a lot of understeer. I'll do some reading up on that, but I think some nose weights could help. Otherwise, it's just such a blast to drive! The tyres kick up roost everywhere!! I managed to get a quick video, link below, and a couple of snaps...

https://youtu.be/2r-jv2jfyyM

As you can see, I'm not easy on it! But it just laps up the abuse. It's really a wonderful thing. Can't wait for the next play!

[B.RAD 240]

As much as I love the Bull on buggy wheels (and I really, really do!) the lower ground clearance causes quite a few issues on that sandy woodland terrain. A bit of eBay research and perhaps more than a few beers led me to a purchase of some new wheels and tyres...

...shown here in the middle and in comparison to the buggy wheels and the original Bull wheels and tyres. They were super cheap, but the quality of these is awful - the tyres are marginally bigger than the rims, even gluing them on hasn't inspired confidence. But they do look to be a really good rolling diameter at 96mm, sitting almost bang in the middle of the two other options, and much slimmer so I'm hoping the strain on the motor won't be so bad as on the original wheels and tyres. Fingers crossed! Could perhaps go slightly bigger still for more clearance but these were so cheap it was worth a test.

Photo of the rears attached and in comparison to the fronts. I'm waiting for some bearing to 12mm hex adaptors to arrive before I can fit the front wheels and take it for a test.

Will keep you all posted! 😊

[B.RAD 240]

Bit of help needed please - the front wheels foul on the steering axles, the bit highlighted below:

I have the shorter front axles installed for the buggy wheels, so I'm assuming this is just an offset issue. Any way around it though? I don't really want to have to buy more wheels... 😔

The other problem is that with the GPM bearing to 12mm hex adaptors installed, the axle still has a couple of mm of stub exposed, meaning the wheel nut won't tighten against the wheel. I can fix this with some washers, but obviously doesn't solve the above issue (wheels are really deep). Any thoughts oh wisened ones? 🤞

[Frog Jumper 3662]

https://www.hpiracing.com/en/part/6125

https://www.ebay.com/c/802654596

I use spacers and the HPI washers in conjunction with the CRP long nuts to move my wheels out as needed...  Put the HPI beveled washer against the bearing...

Terry

 

[B.RAD 240]

Thanks very much @Frog Jumper! I can see how those hex spacers would work, but would I need to revert to the original Bull axles to get the clearance needed? Also any UK sources that would suit? It's literally just a couple of mm needed to take up the space on the axle to the thread, but much more than that needed to clear the wheel. I'd guess at 10mm or so minimum.

[TurnipJF 9192]

I wonder if you wouldn't be better off using 54154 uprights? You would need shorter track rods, and to use 9804154 ball connectors, but they should clear the wheels easily. 

[B.RAD 240]

3 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

I wonder if you wouldn't be better off using 54154 uprights? You would need shorter track rods, and to use 9804154 ball connectors, but they should clear the wheels easily. 

Thanks @TurnipJF - this is what I was thinking would make sense, but had no idea where to start! As you can see in the above photo, I'm still on the standard kit track rods which are just those plastic push on pieces. I might have enough spare rod ends from other kits to make up some adjustable track rods, but would need to get some 3mm threaded rod. I don't suppose you have any idea what length the rods should be do you??

[B.RAD 240]

I've purchased those uprights, thanks for the PN @TurnipJF! As for the ball connectors, will the brass ones from the mini CVA shock sets work? I have four of those spare.

Unfortunately I don't have any rod ends spare at all, would you happen to know a source of built tie rods of the right dimensions please?

[TurnipJF 9192]

8 hours ago, B.RAD said:

I've purchased those uprights, thanks for the PN @TurnipJF! As for the ball connectors, will the brass ones from the mini CVA shock sets work? I have four of those spare.

They will work if you drill out the holes in the uprights. In standard form they are too small for the M3 thread on the brass connectors, but there is enough material to drill them out to 2.5mm and use the ball connector itself to cut the thread if you don't have a tap.

The rod ends are dirt cheap and plentiful, so you may want to get a pack. There are various styles available. I use P/N 50875 or 50596 for most of my builds. The 54154 uprights are offset by about 6.5mm compared to the stock ones, so you'll want a track rod that is roughly 6.5mm shorter than the stock one, give or take a mm or two depending on how much toe you want. (I don't have a stock one to hand to measure right now.) Threaded rod is useful stuff to have around though, so if you buy, say, a 30cm long piece, you'll have plenty for the track rods and a bit left over for other projects.

[B.RAD 240]

Amazing! So helpful, thank you very much!