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Well the new ESC arrived for the Lancia, a Turnigy Trackstar Turbo that matches the motor. Took a bit of time to solder all the connections but it worked first time with no cogging, lovely and smooth. Seeing as it is running so well I decided to play around with the timing on the motor. On full advance it's stupidly rapid!! Feels like twice the speed of the standard motor. The battery doesn't last long though so will have to dial it back at some point. I've also got the tuning box for the ESC which can change the timing and various other stuff electronically so will play with that when I get the chance too. It's got so much punch now I reckon it needs a bigger pinion to calm it down on acceleration and get more speed out of it too. Lots of fettling awaits!
Now that all the cars are running well again I've now got to resist getting a crawler...
... that's going to be tough!
This thread has inspired me to dig out my old Tamiya Subaru - the old 6 cell 7.2V NiCad battery pack is completely dead though.
I guess I need a new modern battery and a smart charger, but would I need a new speed controller too?
jeff - a new battery will be fine to get it up and running.
my 30yr old tamiya worked fine on the old mechanical speed controller. i did upgrade to a electronic speed controller but mainly to see if it improved battery life (it did a bit). i still run the old radio gear.
you can get a 7.2v nimh pack and charger pretty cheap now.
thanks for that - I'll get one ordered!
Had a play with the tuning box on the Lancia this morning, made so much of a difference it's unreal! Wound the timing back to 0 on the motor endcap and slowly moved it forward electronically instead, now runs much smoother, cooler and I now can basically 'map' the throttle response. It has two ways of advancing the timing: boost and turbo. Both have ways of controlling how quickly they ramp up and by how much, they also interact with each other slightly. You can run boost on full or turn it down and use turbo to increase the top-end, I've gone for using the boost settings to manage traction and soften the acceleration slightly with turbo taking over after about 3/4 full speed. Still a bit of playing to do to make it more linear (you can control how quickly each mode ramps up) and it'll definitely need a bigger pinion at some point. The added bonus is the battery lasts nearly as long as it did with the standard silver can motor, considering the increase in power and speed that's surprised me. The weak link now is the tyres, they blow off the rims every now and again, plus the steering arms are a bit stiff to turn so don't always return to dead centre immediately. Some tarmac tyres are first on the list though!
Had a play with the tuning box on the Lancia this morning, made so much of a difference it’s unreal!
I have a Hobbywing / Turnigy sensorless setup in the mini 8ight-t. It's certainly quick once it gets up to speed but it is horrible at low speed. Doesn't seem to have any torque at all. Changing settings in the tuning box doesn't seem to affect that. It's pretty good once it gets going which is why it's still in there. Maybe it's time for me to try a sensored setup.
For the XV01 Lancia build, I think I'm going to start with standard silver can on 7.2 NiMH and see how that goes. Once I get used to it, probably put in a 2S and if that's not enough, 3S. Brushless does sound more fun but I want to see what I can get out of a silver can first.
Well, the Unimog shell is done. The dent really didn't matter afterall. In original 425 form (didn't do a very good job at all back then):
In 406 form, it's better than when I did the 425 but I didn't put enough coats of base colour (I thought 4 would be enough) before putting the backing silver. Can see the silver coming through in a few areas but I think it's OK:
I am now ready to start the XV01 build but only the servo and ESC has turned up:
Everything else is coming from Hong Kong so might be a while before they turn up. The only thing that would stop it from running is the RX. I suppose I can borrow the one from the Unimog to start off with though.
Went for a run with the local RC club, mainly speed runs but a bit of bashing towards the end too.
The Lancia is definitely quick for a TT02 on brushless, not the fastest but it does shift. The motor sounds like a supercharger at full speed too! Played with the tuning on it and I can now time the motor forward for speed runs and put back to 0 for gravel and normal running, the electronics taking care of the power curve. Did have one or two crashes with other cars that were out at the same time meaning it now has a few extra battle scars namely a slight crack below the rear spoiler and a chip out of one of the wheel rims. Being run over by a 1/8th trophy truck at 40-odd mph isn't the best idea strangely! Need to get some tarmac/rallycross tyres for it and glue them on, it's definitely best suited to harder surfaces and fine gravel rather than the rougher stuff.
Took the Bugsta too but that was no faster than the Lancia strangely, it's also proving to be unreliable. The servo saver post lost it's E pin at some point so the steering is a bit slack as the spring is now soft, easily modded so not a big deal. It also stripped another spur gear, that's 3 in the 5 times I've run it. 2 original plastic one and one hardened one from RC Racing (thought that one was metal but it was just a stronger plastic). The unreliability is really taking away from the fun of using it sadly, will have to find a solution otherwise I'll sell it and get something else.
ReluctantJumper.
As I said in my post a week ago. Your mesh looks wrong.
( Or there is something else wrong which is causing the mesh to change, e.g.excessive play in the layshaft bearing assembly or the motor moving due to missing washers or loose screws.)
The difference between cheap and expensive spur gears is that the cheap ones are always moulded whereas expensive ones may be machined. The cheap ones are less round. When you check the mesh you need to rotate the spur gear and check the backlash at both the tightest and loosest points. You should aim for the minimum backlash possible without the spur jamming at the tightest point.
Spur gear failures when the mesh is set correctly are an extremely rare occurance. In 10 years of racing most weekends I don't remember ever stripping a spur gear.*
* Rc10gt spur gears don't count as the chassis had a major design flaw.
When you check the mesh you need to rotate the spur gear and check the backlash at both the tightest and loosest points.
Did that every time, still stripped. There was an identical Bugsta at the local meet too and they have been having the same issues. I've checked and double-checked the alignment, checked for chassis flex and turned down the initial acceleration in the ESC software plus being soft on the throttle. Still strips the spur gear too easily. I've ordered a fresh clutch/spur assembly plus a few extra spare spur gears and clutch pads, one of the lads at the meet has also offered to help me set it up and be a second pair of eyes for anything wrong. If that doesn't solve it I'll probably use the last spares to rebuild it then move it on. Or strip it for parts and build a drag car.
I keep coming across this thread and mean to get photos of my old Kyosho Optima and two Tamiya Vehicles.
I don't know what to do with them as they're sitting gathering dust.
Weeksy, pm sent.
If you are 100% sure that there isn't an assembly error on your part, then as a last resort the solution would be to fit gears with bigger teeth than the originals. get some 32dp gears if you haven't already.
Theres someone on ebay that sells them for the Bugsta. Much more expensive than the standard gears though, especially if you go for the all steel ones (which appear to be sold out at the moment.) They will still self destruct if the mesh is too far out or the chassis is too flexible, but give more margin for error.
@Pepper, get your Optima running again. I did and I've been enjoying the rebuild and running it around. Either way, we need pictures (I think mine is a few pages back)
@wardee - cheers for that link, that might be the final option if I can't get the standard setup to last. There's got to be something amiss but I can't find it, maybe chassis flex is the answer but if I twist it as hard as I can when stationary the gears don't move at all.
Made a start with the XV01 Lancia. Built the very nice oil filled diffs:
Then realised the kit comes with machine screws rather than self tapping so all the holes need to be tappeed, not a normal cutting tap but specifically a roll tap.
Then realised it's too small to fit into my tap wrench.
Finally all here and can continue:
Any update on the XV01 build? I've ordered a new shell and wheels for the TT02, going to do a road shell for running as the rally shell is a little worse for wear now.
Also took the Bugsta out for a run this afternoon to test them new spur and slipper clutch assembly. Seems to work fine as I've also turned down the initial pinch on the ESC to minimum, see if that helps. It was pretty vicious out of the box anyway so makes it easier to drive. Did have another issue though, first small jump and it snapped the suspension mount on the front!
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got a spare set of mounts that I've now fitted but I'm getting fed up of it breaking almost every time I take it out. Will give it another chance then I may sell it on and get something a bit more robust.
Pressed the buy button on a Gmade GS02 crawler, arrives tomorrow. Also had a xv01 Lancia in the basket but it went out of stock in my weeks dithering time on adding to the basket. Probably for the best, although I did add another brushless motor for the DT03. Had said I was done with them but Torque Tuned just not as much fun after the first attempt at brushless. Went for a less mental one though, so should be nice compromise, plus it’s sensored this time so will work with standard esc.
Also finished my Baja Beetle shell to go on DT03. A big rough paint wise, but pretty nice from a distance. Will post pics when I have new motor fitted.
Well, the XV01 build is slow as I'm only doing about half an hour a day. It also seems like the only place you can get the hop up parts from is Hong Kong.
The hop up pulleys did turn up after 2 weeks. The standard stock plastic ones are actually OK. It's the plastic spacers between the pulley and the drive / driven gear that cause the problem. I could have bought just the aluminium spacers but I found getting aluminium spacers that particular size is more expensive then buying the full hop up set:
The next essential hop up I am waiting for are the suspension mounts. I am not happy to go any further without having these turn up. I can definitely see why they are needed once I started the build. The problem apparently is the lower arms pops out of the plastic mounts on a moderate crash which these mounts should prevent. That's definitely not something that can be fixed in the field as to get the lower arm back in, it's front and rear gearboxes off which mean having to reset the drive belt tension as well. It's nearly a month since I ordered these, I was thinking they must be lost, then got a text this morning from Royal Mail saying they are now in the UK so should have these soon. This is as far as I got for now with the chassis:
Did cracked on with the shell while I wait for the mounts though. I think it will take me a while to do the decals.
What's a good online shop for these?
I had a few Schumachers and Tamiyas back in the day but all my radio gear and batteries are out of date now
modelsport.co.uk is the default
People seem to speak highly of tamico.de but not actually tried them yet.
To be honest, so much is hard to get due to stock shortages that's is more a case of "anywhere you can find stock of what you want" at the mo. So a lot of ferreting through eBay and deciding whether to risk that purchase from Hong Kong.
@reluctantjumper - I have a mate with FTX stuff, it's good value stuff and when running is great, but he's definitely found it to be not very robust
The challenge is the robust stuff is more pricey initially. But hopefully less breakages so overall might even out after a while
What brands are considered the most robust?
benp1 - that's what I'm thinking too. The Bugsta is at the bottom end of the price range for it's type so costs have obviously been saved by making it slightly fragile. Traxxas and Arrma cars seem to withstand a lot more abuse going by YouTube videos I've seen so if I get fully fed up with it I might take the plunge and get something new in the higher price ranges. Saying that though I took the Bugsta out to a local park today and it flew around perfectly, only the third time it's done that since I got it! Went through 3 batteries in just over an hour with me grinning like a little boy. Might give it another chance as when it does run well it's such a laugh.
What brands are considered the most robust?
As above, Traxxas and Arrma were the two that come to mind immediately.
I’d second Traxxas for robustness. I had both a Rustler and Slash in the past. Some of the crashes were spectacular and I can’t remember breaking anything. The guy in the shop actually showed me how much they flex, which stops them snapping bits. There are also good hop ups and tips for maintaining that flex. He showed me a HPi that just creaked and looked brittle in comparison. I’d have Traxxas again if I had the cash. The shop itself actually looked like it sold far more HPI which was telling that he didn’t actually back that brand.
My Team Associated MT10 has had a good few end-over-ends and jumps, nothing has broken yet. Only issue would be hitting a tree full on I guess but I'm happy with it's strength so far.
That Team Associated seems very robustly built, Armma as well.
Anything with a price tag of £400 is usually going to be robust. Very big generalisation but spending £150-250 is going to get you something fun and fast, but spending more often gets you the component quality and robustness to go with it
The guy in the shop actually showed me how much they flex, which stops them snapping bits. There are also good hop ups and tips for maintaining that flex.
I've noticed that a lot of people think that the whole chassis need to be rigid, fitting alloy girders as braces and steel chassis plates only to have them bend all the time.
can you noy get upgraded alu replacement parts for the FTX?
There was an IMSA version floating around earlier in the year, looked mental!
@mogrim - you can for the suspension mounts but it just means you rip the pin out of the arm instead or crack the chassis. You're meant to have a simple to replace weak point that protects the rest of the car in a crash, remove that and you just move the problem elsewhere. I'd rather replace a £3 mount every few runs than whole arms or a chassis at higher cost. It just seems it has a few weak points that are just too weak for what the car can do.
Whoops 😊
Taking the Avante build very slowly.
Very happy with the finish on the body (not that it shows very well in photos) - did it "properly" and backed the blue with silver. Decal on top of the drivers helmet is shocking but happy with him otherwise. Gearboxes and motor mounting done, suspension arms next.
The slow boat from China finally arrived...which meant I could paint my Monte Impreza.
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While waiting for the remaining hop ups to turn up from Hong Kong for the XV01 build, did the shell. For some reason, soapy water wouldn't let the decal slide on this particular shell / decal set so I had a difficult time getting the creases / bubbles out, heat gun did help a bit but the larger decals are certainly not perfect. I'm quite happy with it overall and now I'm tempted to get the cockpit. The problem is I did a few silver backing coats and have removed the windows mask. The cockpit would look wrong with that as it needs to be white. An excuse to buy a spare? Anyway:
Also, the hop ups I needed to continue turned up as soon as I started the shell:
I think I'm very close now as it's the shell that usually takes the longest for me.
That's a better job than I managed, well done!
I've actually got a new shell already, going to paint it as a fast road one instead of the full livery. Got some different wheels and tyres too, semi-slicks on some rims from a rally Focus. That way I can have two separate specs to run it as.
Tamiya update;
Avante progressing slowly - god it is a lovely thing to build...
Hotshot treated to gold wheels to match the original box art...
...and a little something else arrived. This one is for my boys Christmas present, but he's not interested in the build so I get that pleasure myself 🙂 Hadn't realised it came with a Torque Tuned rather than standard 540 motor. Thinking about a possible motor switcheroo with the 540 in the Hotshot... Off-road tyres already purchased.
Nice.
I got notification that the new bumper for one of mine has been dispatched after a 6 week wait. Game on!
hello folks, my MF01x Bug build is creeping forwards and i'm looking to work on the body now but given it's my first time i don't want to make a balls of it so...
Anyone use a reamer for making holes and if so have you bought one of the cheap £5 reamers or do you need to spend £20+ ?!
Also, any suggestions on magnets for attaching the body to the posts? I like the smooth look but just trying to source magnets with holes that will go onto posts. Sources welcome. Thanks!
@Loughan I've bought loads of magnets for work from the people linked below. They seem to have a fair selection that might work for you but I won't recommend anything specific at this point as I'm not sure what dimensions you need for you body/posts.
https://www.first4magnets.com/circular-ring-c37
And we are done;
That looks mint!
Will you cry the first time that it slides on its roof?
That looks like a whole lot of fun!