Lunchbox ReRe 2012 17.5 Brushless, 50520 CVA shock upgrade

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

Hi all, nothing special about this build but I am keen to share my experience with the 505210 CVA shocks and my thoughts om them and the ideal eyelets to get the ideal ride height.

Basic assembly done.. nothing special.  In photo #1 I have decided to ignore the instructions and keep that retaining screw in there. It may actually prevent the trans from slapping when hitting the gas. I am aware of the ampro chassis brace or 5th shock mod but in no great rush to do either.  I had this kit a couple years ago in a Black Edition colourway with 100% stock set up.  TLDR: 17.5 brushless is about the same speed. I didn't want to do anything too crazy, fearing that the 1987 gearbox may not handle it.

Caution on the placement and rotation of the motor. the next increment anti-clockwise makes the wires hit the shock. A clockwise increment makes the wires hit the chassis.

 

 

Below. I've chosen XT60 connectors as I'm familiar with XT90's on my other stuff and I am going to run this with my 2S shorty Lipo's via an adapter that I will make. The 3 motor wires go nicely through the rear parcel tray.  The ESC is a Hobbywing Xerun 2.1 (Justock) - it belonged to my first indoor offroad 1/10 buggy and has since been superseded. 

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

Here is the stock set up including the pogo stick shocks. After these are mounted I can get a better idea of what shocks to make the 50520 CVA's into. Internet suggests that you do 75/85mm front/rear so I'll start with that. The instructions are less than average. You need to buy 2x kits (pairs) and they come with "soft" and "firm" springs. I found the firm ones are fractionally longer so I am using them. I am not holding any high hopes that this thing will have great handling. The only thing you can be certain of, is that it won't be worse than stock.  The poor handling of this track is the whole character of the thing... with all the weight of the motor on the rear axle, you're never going to get plush travel in the rear. 

The 50520 kit comes with 2 lengths of eyelets and some shock limiters that you install on the shock shaft.  It's the black plastic cylinder you see at the end of the shock shaft in the next pic with the Green Slime.  BTW, the slime helps the O-rings stay in place a little better. Shock pliers are an awesome investment to prevent scratching the shafts too. 

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

 

Below shows that the short eyelet + limiter is marginally shorter than the stock pogo sticks which is ideal for me so I can lessen that horrible positive camber in the front.  I have to say that I like the shiny look of the pogo's but I cannot live with their mechanics.

 

[DeadMeat666 1675]

I did this recently to my Black Edition Lunchbox as well. I think I used the soft springs, as the weight above the springs (especially in the rear) is not much at all. 

I wouldn't worry about the 1987 tranny, it can take a beating with much more powerful motors; I'd worry more about the servo saver and the front wheels. They tend to eventually break around the nut from hard impact after jumps/wheelies.

I've also done a double-wishbone mod on mine to eliminate the camber issue entirely. Not that this makes the handling race-worthy or anything, it's still a Lunchbox after all lol.

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

I have shortened the steering rods on L & R to get some toe-out to combat the horrendous turning circle I remember.  For some reason it now says that I can only upload 4.88MB in total. Not sure if this is game over.... in total I have >50mb allowance remaining. What gives. Oh well, if this is all the photos I'm allowed then this isn't going to be a very good build thread.  @DeadMeat666 Thanks for the heads up and good to know about the tranny. I have actually dialed some negative expo curve on my Sanwa radio to given the trans an easier life, but still enough pep to allow wheelies on demand. I have other toys for jumps and wheelies. This is just a fun nostalgic toy. 

 

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

Below is the toe-out that I am trialing. Initial thoughts.... I'll pull it back to a little more neutral: while the turning circle is amazing, it's not that stable in a straight line.

 

Meanwhile I have primed and painted (several layers) of TS-47. Somehow it's harder to paint yellow on a white lid, than black on the black (edition one).

 

[DeadMeat666 1675]

2 minutes ago, EastWolfDownUnder said:

For some reason it now says that I can only upload 4.88MB in total. Not sure if this is game over.... in total I have >50mb allowance remaining. What gives. Oh well, if this is all the photos I'm allowed then this isn't going to be a very good build thread. 

What we usually do is hotlink pics from other hosting services; I personally use Postimage.org for example. Just make sure the service is maintained otherwise your hotlinks will all break when your subscription to the service ends, and your thread will become pic-less 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

So, I've now managed to get an image hosting account... here's my first shot.....

Use the shock shaft to get those O-rings in there. Green slime FTW

This shows.... between the LB standard box parts + the 50520 CVA kit you will just have sufficient parts to get the shocks mounted. So no need to buy additional parts.

 

Primed up

 

 

For those who are thinking of a shorty lipo... A standard one (25mm in height) seems to nicely wedge itself in this area. Yes, I'm tight, but I don't want to buy a specialist lipo that I'll used so sparingly - below

 

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

I want to share what shock pliers look like. An amazing investment and you can find knock offs on ebay or aliexpress.  

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

In summary on the CVA shocks

• Buy 2 boxes of them = 4 corners
• I used the short eyelets + 1x spacer to get even ride height front and back
• ride height is slightly lower than stock, which I like as the front has less positive camber.
• Green slime and shock pliers are your friends.

On brushless

• 17.5T sensored motor is smooth as however not much faster, if any, than stock silver can.
• You will have the benefit of LVC on the ESC using Lipos
• Mind the orientation of the motor to avoid contact with other parts upon shock compression. 

 

Hope this helped anyone considering CVA shocks or a brushless motor install

 

 

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

21 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

What we usually do is hotlink pics from other hosting services; I personally use Postimage.org for example. Just make sure the service is maintained otherwise your hotlinks will all break when your subscription to the service ends, and your thread will become pic-less 

Thanks for the advice. I've replaced all photos with embedded ones from new hosting account at Imgur. Appreciate the tip

[EastWolfDownUnder 33]

BTW I have now moved the timing on the end bell of the motor to 40degs, ESC programmed to have a little boost and timing added and it's about as fast as I'd want to comfortably push a 2s 1/12 machine that handles like a marshmallow.  No idea how fast it goes, I will mount my go pro to it to do speed test as summer nears here. =)