Black Grasshopper hopping around my house
Status: Extra info
Date: 5-Oct-2008
Comments: 5
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I have done it, I drove the black Grasshopper I got from ebay yesterday around my house. It is still in stock condition, no hop-ups installed yet, although I think the front springs do not look original. And it is slow, but I think it cannot get faster with the stock 380 can. Ballbearings, esc and 540 sized motor are on the wishlist as is a new chassis, because it has been repaired with an aluminium plate underneath the front left shock tower and some of the screw holes are cracked also.
Although this car is slow, it goes very well, you can even go round tight corners drift style, if you brake hard and the ground is slippery or wet. I tried to run it over my small offroad track in my backyard, but the grass was too wet and already too long (I cut it last week, it is growing too fast), so it got stuck. Nevertheless I made some posing pictures, as the sun came out nicely today.
Grasshopper in the grass, where else?
Comments
TA-Mark
Front springs do look like they are heavier than the stock units. It would still bounce about without shocks. Bearings are a must and cheap from eBay. The 380 is actually quite torquey but not very quick. I'm going to throw the MambaMax 5700Kv in mine for a giggle when I finish painting it.
masterbsax
I just came back from a quick run over some gravel and sand and must say that the front springs are way too stiff, but otherwise the car is fun (maybe video and pictures later this day). Hopefully I can find the springs from my brothers Grasshopper II, which we threw away after the chassis was broken (I kept some parts, but can't remember where), some years before I found out that ebay is a perfect source for spare parts. I also thought of a brushless sytem, but here in Germany the MambaMax is too expensive, Team Orion is cheaper and should be at the same level. But first I need some spare parts, as a brushless motor will probably feed on gears, front wishbones and maybe even chassis, as the shock towers are not very tough.
TA-Mark
I've been running the MambaMax in the VLB for some time now and not seen the slightest in gear wear (same gearbox). I will use the same brass 11T pinion and motor mounting plate from the Lunchbox. It's only alloy gears that seem to suffer from big power. You can get the replacement GH tubs (newer GH, but still the same) cheap on ebay I seen the other day. The MM system is not that much more expensive than a good quality ESC and quality brushed motor, but it will still be running 2 years after the brushed motor is long dead, and your runtimes are much longer. The EZ-Run that others are using is even a good brushless option and not quite so crazy powerful. Have fun with it
masterbsax
That's good to hear, so I can put some real hot machine into this baby. I do not use alloy pinion gears on offroaders, only steel or brass, as I know that alloy pinions can destroy your counter gears with ease. I already found some replacement tubs on ebay, and the good thing is, the seller is a lhs that is only 30 minutes away, so I think I will visit him this week or so, as I might need some other parts too.
You are right, brushless systems are cheap compared to lifetime (I am an electric engineer and work with brushless motors nearly all the time), but at the moment I can not afford one (my 1:1 Rover 114 needs some care). Carson sells a BL Set around 100 Euro (designed for onroad use, don't know if you should use this offroad, as it has active cooling via a fan) and Team Orion wants 130 Euro (good quality brushed ESC and motor are slightly cheaper, but you have running costs for brushes and comm cleaning and they don't last forever) for a passive cooled offroad suitable BL set dressed in black carbon, but both have only about 3000 kV, so I think the 18T pinion would be better in this case. We will see, I will ask the guys of the Tamiya Raceway Team next time I go there for practising (some of them work for Tamiya) about this, as some of them use BL Systems for quite a while now.
Brushless is not the future, it is the present. Brushless Systems will get cheaper by the end of the year hopefully as more and more manufactures equip their cars with brushless systems out of the box. Otherwise I have to sell some of my cars.
Cars, Boats n Trains
I raced my original grasshopper with a 540SD Black motor sprint on an 18t pinion. Quick in a straight line. Rear suspension was upgraded using adjustable racing shocks as fitted to the original Frog. I tried the SRM racing front oil shocks but they just emptied on first compression.
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