ORIGINAL: BigGrump

I do not think it advisable to use the torque limiter. I have read it is not right, and lots of people move back to a version that does not have it.

When you look at the software, you can adjust the slope of the throttle and brake curve. I set the throttle curve so it goes from 0% to 20% at a lower slope angle than stock, then have the curve rise sharper so that at 60% into the throttle pull, the curve is up to 80% power then round smoothly so it climbs to 100% power at 100% throttle pull.

What the curve looks like is power comes on gentle from start then has a bulge or dome in the curve through mid range then goes slowly to full throttle. Makes the Merv easy to take off without flipping over all the time, but when going from 20 mph to about 45mph the Merv is extra responsive but not out of control. Makes it so all I have to do is think about what I want and it does it, with gentle smooth trigger pull. Stops the bad habit of giving it too much trigger, or full throttle all the time. As it is setup like this , there is the feeling of unlimited speed and power, but as you approach top speed and finally pull the trigger all the way, the adjusted throttle curve applies more power to the ARC slower, therefore no out of control wheelies at full speed, but plenty of pep for showing off through mid range.


Dennis

bumped it up to 100% power and tried your curve, NICE!
could float a slight wheelie at mid throttle for about 100 feet
this thing gets "funner" every day

ORIGINAL: BigGrump


Great......... I did a lot of experimenting to finally get that throttle curve (the fun part) but now don't seem to have any reason to change it.

I have had a lot of success with the HPI wide SS rear 2.2 wheels for a wider stance and using lighter proline street hawg or road rage tires in soft compound. Put together, there is some more resistance to roll over than the dirt hawgs, but dirt hawgs are great too. Just think the HPI SS wheels, with their provided center adapotr is the best wheel choice I could find.

Last, I put about 1/8 inch of fuel tube on the shock shaft inside the rear shocks, which lowers the suspension in the rear enough; takes the droop out of the rear end, resulting in way better cornering manners, better high speed stability and a little improvment in roll over. Just something to think about that is easily undone if you don't like it.

I am happy to hear how you can dazzle the neighbors and not crash or roll over all the time. When working toward those goals, your driving skills improve, instead of only your skills to repair broken parts. Just my opinion, nothing more.

Dennis

ORIGINAL: J0EC00L

Gatorbait,

Are thrilled about our new coaching staff? I'm actually excited.

Joe

thanks for the tire tips
do you mean these rims?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXM875&P=FR


can you give me a link to the street hawg and road rage in soft?
I was looking at Tower but saw lots of versions....
road hawg II (no compound mentioned)
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDU03&P=7
speed hawg II soft
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDU17&P=7
road rage II (no compound mentioned)
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLN12&P=7
thanks!

I'm guessing the speed hawg II soft is an all out race tire and will not last as long

ORIGINAL: SAVAGEBANE

Hello everyone, I am new to the mini and the brushless scene. Just got the MERV about 3 weeks ago and the thing is a lot of fun. I am rolling with a stock battery and I am impressed!
My problem is a flashing green light on the esc when I first turn it on. This doesnt happen every time, but when it does the truck wont move. The steering will work but no forward or backward. I have looked through the manual for troubleshooting and the section on flashing lights and I am not understanding what is going on here.
What would cause the steering to work...but not the acceleration? My battery is fully charged, the motor/esc is not hot and there is a tx-rx connection.
To get it to work, i repeatedly turn the esc on and off until it shows red. I will run for a while and then just stop on its own. This truck has about 7packs through it and this problem doesnt make sense to me.
Any input ???

ORIGINAL: SAVAGEBANE

Thanks Gforce I will do that tonight and see what happens.
Gatorb8...i didnt even know the stock system was made by Castle...interesting

I had a MMP in my Merv for a while but haven't gotten around to playing with the program. After reading yours and Big Grump's posts I opened the program today and started adjusting curves. I will have to load the curves I created when my Merv is fixed. This is going to be fun!!

ORIGINAL: SAVAGEBANE

Thanks Gforce I will do that tonight and see what happens.
Gatorb8...i didnt even know the stock system was made by Castle...interesting

ORIGINAL: BigGrump

Last, I put about 1/8 inch of fuel tube on the shock shaft inside the rear shocks, which lowers the suspension in the rear enough; takes the droop out of the rear end, resulting in way better cornering manners, better high speed stability and a little improvment in roll over. Just something to think about that is easily undone if you don't like it

Dennis

ORIGINAL: Gatorb8

my stock shocks are starting to leak at the shaft, should I fix them or upgrade? if upgrade, what do you guys like?

I'm not following this, are you saying take the shock apart and put it inside? if so, seems that would lower the car a bit under high tension in the springs, right?
this is good for road but bad for off road?

ORIGINAL: BigGrump

For on road, generally you want the car lower. The shock mod with fuel tube will lower the car by reducing the extension length of the shock. This is more powerful than sway bars or just about anything else you to reduce body roll and traction rolling. It takes the ''droop'' out of the suspension.

The ''droop'' is the amount the shocks compress when you sit the model on the ground. Lift the rear end and you will see the shocks extend. Watch them as you set it back down. The amount the suspension compresses with it's own weight is called droop and is a good place to start. If the shock's compress about 1/8 inch when you do this, then start with a 1/8 inch piece of fuel tube.

Take the shock apart and remove the bottom eye mount from the shock shaft. Pull the shock shaft out the top of the shock. Slip the fuel tube piece on the shaft and push up to the piston. Re-assemble the shock and re-fill with 50 or 60 weight shock fluid. When you now set the model on the ground you will notice as the wheels touch the ground and you let the weight of the model push down, the suspension is already at the droop position, and the shocks did not compress much at all. The suspension then works normally, but the limited shock extension, stops the chassis from lifting up as high as it did before the fuel tubing.

What happens is when you corner on asphalt, the outside wheel of the chassis is not allowed to extend as far as it did before and keeps the car much more level and body roll between the wheels is greatly reduced, much more than even sway bars can doi.

I got satisfactory results by doing only the rear shocks, but even more control can be obtained by doing the front shocks also. With this technique you can lower the chassis to any point you want.

This is a common chassis tuning technique for on road cars, and even used for off road dirt tracks. Normally you want full extension for off road jumping etc. so limiting this to on road use for the Merv is probably best.

I also have a brush less 2WD stampede for the grandchildren, and it easily traction rolled when driven in the street. I did this to the rear shocks and now you can drive the Stampede at any speed in the street and give it full turn and full brakes at the same time and it will spin out. It is almost impossible to traction roll it over, and the suspension is still fine for the front yard grass and banging around in front of the house, but off road jumping it would not be so good.

Dennis