DettaSCT

The HB-equipped servos have what Hitec calls "Karbonite" gears.
Don't know what Karbonite is for sure, but they say it's much tougher than the standard (plastic/nylon) gear material.
I had one a long time ago in my first Mini-T after blowing out its servo, and it lasted a long time and took quite a beating.
The HS is cheaper than metal, and definately worth considering especially for the more budget conscious.

clp.eng

My Feedback: (10)

Sorry I couldn't find the receipt so I'm not sure what I paid for the Karbonite gear version, I'm thinking maybe 25 bucks. However, I did find this:

"Karbonite gears are a reinforced plastic composite material used in Hitec RC servos that show almost five times the strength of nylon gears and better wear resistance. Cycle times of over 300,000 have been observed with these gear trains showing virtually no wear. Karbonite-geared servos are more expensive than those using nylon ones but are highly durable.[1]. Hobbyists are advised avoid use of thread locking compounds on Karbonite as this will cause the plastic to fail." From Wikipedia.

So now we know.

Chuck

DettaSCT

While Wikipedia is not really viewed as a verifiable form of reference, since anyone can submit, it does seem that your "karbonite" reference is I seem to remember having read on the Hitec site or somewhere.

Price is pretty much how you can tell if you don't remember.
The 55 is usually priced at $15-20.
The 65HB is usually priced $20-25.
The 65MG is usually priced $30-35.
All dependant on where you buy them.

vectorhive

Alright so arguably this does not belong in this thread but what the heck I'm putting it here.

The DB is back online. I rebuilt the stock shocks and it's running like a champ again.

I've been spending more time with the Micro High Roller lately and I'm running it with the Losi Lipo battery. I did a dragrace today over ~50' on asphalt and was surprised to see the DB only beat the MHR by maybe 24". I'm sure the DB is faster flat out over several hundred feet by 10 or 15% but it's not as much of a difference as I would expect. On some level, the MHR+Lipo is more exciting because it's way overpowered. The DB sure can corner better.

Which is better? Both of them! I'm glad I have both.

Side note: My seven year old is getting much better at controlling these. He's got $25 saved up and I think I'm going to match his savings so that he can buy his own vehicle. The vehicle will be his choice. We talked about Micro T vs Micro DT vs Micro HR today and he thinks the Micro DT sounds like a good choice. I agree.

/derail. back to 24/7 mini DB talk.

NeuroThief

Vector, I love the End Derail tag....nice touch. (Though I didn't catch the Begin Derail tag...LOL)


Chuck as to the video, it hasn't happened yet. The date went well, and we continue to see each other, so that's good. The girls interest in the DB's comes and goes...they're girls so I suppose that's to be expected.

Michael

robpe

the MDB is lighter, more nimble, with a lower center of gravity (CoG) so it should corner better.
since both vehicles share transmissions and final drive ratios and motors they should be close in a drag race, just that the MDB should be quicker off the line and with its smaller wheels it has less rotating weight to get rolling it will still be faster overall. MHR is an adapted monster truck is all and not really a racer

vectorhive

micro high roller

mini desert buggy

robpe

missed that, my bad, and in that case either your measuring skills are a tad remiss or something
any mini that can't run rings around a micro has something seriously wrong going on.

vectorhive

my measuring skills are not remiss. lots in my hood are 65' wide and this was over about 3/4 of a lot width. note the "~" indicating an approximation.

also please note the high output lipo battery in the micro high roller which makes it much faster due to higher output. also i believe it is a bit lighter than the nimh battery further increasing acceleration.

also please note that i noted it was only the case over a short distance so acceleration is more in play here. please note i indicated that flat out the mini db would be way ahead of the micro high roller.

robpe

might have been the batt that made a difference, but something jsut does not seem right in your "hood" lol
all things being fair my micros have all been enbarrassinly slow comparatively to my minis, using stock motors and batts in each. but if you give either an advantage the faircomparisons go out the window and it's not even worth discussing. it ends up being sort of like dropping the race motor out of the neighbors funny car into your pinto and being unsure why it smokes your lincoln town car.

vectorhive

deleted

xy3lug

I'm sticking with the stock ones as well; you might want to try covering up the shock rods somehow to keep dirt from wearing out the o-rings, I did that to mine in hopes that it'll help stave away the leaks (I just cut up some twisty balloons and slipped them on).

I did a few other things to dirt proof it - and I did such a great job that it's 100% immune to dirt now ( . . . because dirtproofing takes up so much time that I never get a chance to run it . . . )

vectorhive

xy3lug - I mounted my rears upside-down as discussed earlier. My thought is the oil will stay in better (fingers crossed) and hopefully stay a little cleaner.

I like the custom roof panel!

edit: whoa i see your balloons there, inside of the springs. sneaky and clean! good idea. i'll probably wait until the next rebuild. thanks for the idea.

robpe

i hope you know that by doing that, mounthing them upside down, you have increased the unsprung weight of the car and adversly affected the handling.

other than when it is sitting at rest, gravity does little to aid in keeping the oil in the shocks. oil gets forced out totally via compression of the shock, and the oil being forced past the o-ring seals, so it doesn't matter how they're mounted as if the o-rings leak they'll leak either way.

clp.eng

My Feedback: (10)

xy - OK I saw the new roof panel (BTW it is a disgusting new looking buggy, no scratches, all the pieces in place,... - I forgot how nice mine used to look! lol) good idea & less work than the screening, but I'm not seeing the "ballons". Please help me out here! Thanks.

Oh, the upside down shock discussion again!!!! LOL

Chuck

vectorhive

My thought was that if it leaks less while static that's a good thing and would increase the service interval.

I'm not worried about increasing unspeung weight. It's a couple grams. This is an rc car I drive around the backyard and street, I'm not driving F1...

vectorhive

clp the baloons are inside the springs, around the shaft. They are black, I had to look twice to see them. Sneaky.

robpe

i guess if doing things the hard way and the wrong way doesn't matter, more power to ya

vectorhive

deleted

robpe

deleted, too

xy3lug

That custom roof panel cost me a lot of sweat and blood (no kidding about the blood!)

On a very related note, if you want to avoid the hassle of wrangling the battery out through the front window, it comes out very easily through the gap in the side (where the servo sits) once you remove a side panel.

lol and sorry I didn't mean to turn the balloon thing into a treasure hunt, here's by RC18T with a similar and easier to see setup:

clp.eng

My Feedback: (10)

xy - Oh no this is fun! I also found the red LED & the "ballons" on the shafts that drive the wheel! Hey wait a minute! Isn't that an e-flite gyro on the RC18??? That's seen some service. Thanks for the tip on the batt. Do you just leave the side panel off?

vector - I store my buggy upside down, so which way should I put my shocks! LOL just kidding..... You know since I rebuilt them some months ago they are still fine! It's had a couple of hard drives since then so far so good. I'm almost hoping they do crap out as I want to put the aluminum ones on even if they don't fit all that well!

(Took the Slash over to the school - it really liked the wood chips in the playground. However, it did NOT like hitting all those steal poles sticking out of the ground - you know, swings, slides, benches, I hit them all! Much safer (BORING) on the infield clay.)

Chuck

vectorhive

funny enough i saw the buggy on the shelf today and noticed i had put the shocks on right side up. i could have sworn i put them on upside down.

xy3lug

Yeah I just leave the side panels off, I actually did that at first because I liked how it looks (I'm a fan of roll cages, as you can see!) and found out about the battery thing by accident. I also thought about various ways to make the panels removable using body clips (either using those special screws with the holes in the head or dilling out the holes in the panel to match the stock screw head size so it can slip off, then attaching the body clips just underneath the head to secure it). And yep that's a gyro on the RC18, though it's a crappier brand and I have to turn the gain way down or it'll spaz out at high speeds (it's actually kind of funny to watch). Better than nothing though, it really evens things out, especially when going fast over uneven terrain. I've got another set aside for the DB if/when I go brushless on that.

lol hope you didn't break anything on the Slash, you should demand that the poles be wrapped in foam . . . for the safety of the children, of course!

Keep your doors locked is all I can suggest! (I've found it easier on the ego to always assume gremlins did it rather than think I'm going senile)


EDIT: Just remembered an interesting tidbit, replacement DB shocks have heavier weight oil in them than the ones that come with the buggy (this was true on mine, at least), possibly as response to the leaking issues. I found this out because Ihad to replace my front-left due to a blown seal, and the spring-back rates came out different on each side, forcing me to replace the other side as well!

rcslsafut

just had to chime in here ,
i dont see what the difference would be if the shock were upside down
or right side up, as far as the shock reaction to driving conditions.
the spring is still going to force the shock rod back out and the
oil inside and the piston thats travels through it doesnt care
if it is upside down or not . are we tring to say some how the
wieght placed on the spring is some how different ,
whether the shock is upside down or right side up ?
any way sounds like we are having fun with the mdb !!
thats what it is all about !!