rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

In my opinion you're right on track, batteries are a great upgrade, and the high C rating will be nice and you can feel the upgrade. The EZ run is a nice system from what i've heard, my little 35a esc has been plenty for what i do with my storm, and tires are a great choice the stock HPI units are kinda meh, i don't have a lot of expirance with on road tires, but off road i can make a few good recomendations if you'd like...

the lug

nitro-rob

Hey guys, I've been away for a while. The thread has been slow the past year which is sad since it was jumping pretty hard before that. I will catch up and quote some of the recent posts with my comments after this message.

The message above is from my friend from a nearby town I sold him my savage XS. He is new to forums....


I have driven just a few packs in my storm the past year and it sits with a permanent on-road summer setup on it. Road rage II tires on 2.2 inch wheels or 2.8s. I have the 2.2s on most often. My new battery is a 65C 5300 mah TP and the motor is now a castle 1406-4600.

Most of my driving since may has been on tracks and I am racing in two series nearby on an indoor clay track. There is unfortunately no ST class so I am running 2wd and 4wd buggy and short course. The buggies are durango 210 and 410 and the SCTs are losi 22 and an SCTE. I also have a durango 210 and losi 22t stadium trucks but they are mostly used to salvage parts on my other trucks now. The storm is my only ST right now.

nitro-rob

Definitely a lot of motor for the storm. The castle SCT3800 motor was comfortable with 83/23 gears but not much more than that before that if you wanted to run out a full pack or two continuously. I think the gearing you chose will be too tall but it will survive for a few speed runs. The 77t pinion is meant for spec racing and 17.5t motors etc..

Defnitely go for the 30 series rubber if you want speed but look into proline road rage II on 2.2 inch wheels. Its easier to keep the front end down if the truck is lower to the ground. I can't go over 50mph with my storm with 30 series wheels. Traxxas unfortunately has the best wheels for this and you do have to watch the offset. Go for the deep offset wheels, I dont' remember the part number but its likely posted here from the summer or fall of 2011.

nitro-rob

nitro-rob

That battery will fit.

Paron34

My Feedback: (1)

Hey guys !! been a while ..been mostly on the HPI Baja Forums ...but I'm making my Firestorm over for the spring !! time to see whats new !!

DarksideVR

been moving I am about to setup my rc bench again....time to play

nitro-rob

Paron and Darkside - good to see you guys getting your storms out.  I am inspired to do so as well for the spring.  I have been neglecting my storm, its sitting perfectly on my shelf under a blanket for so long.  I feel like a traitor because my Durango and 22t have been getting all of the attention.

nitro-rob

I've been driving my storm lately and thought I would post some pics of it. I ran the 2.8's today and just switched back to my well worn dirt works. Losi SCTE hubs fit perfectly for fitting the 2.8"wheels. I thought I'd show that hump packs aren't a big deal to run in these although thats not a surprise.

Crosshair

Heyya mates. I just joined up on the site. Found this thread through a little research on the webs; thought I'd register and get the lowdown on the Firestorm. I dunno how active this thread is, it seems like a while since anyone has posted. But I'll give it a shot anyways.

I've got a 1st gen Flux, but my motor had a meltdown Dunno if it was just dirty or what, but it won't budge. My neighbor bought the new(er) firestorm a while back, so I tested his motor with my battery and speed control, and it works fine. So idk what happened there. But I'm in the market for a new motor/esc since it seems this Sidewinder V1 is getting rapidly outdated.

Since my budget is currently on a diet, I've only got roughly $100 to spend. I was looking at this Motor/esc. I've read a bit about the Viper systems, and haven't found much wrong about them. I'm just a pavement-pounder with some adventures on a nearby baseball field, and I don't have the cash available to drop of a Castle system; which from previous pages seem to be favored.

I'll try to post some pics ina bit of my set up, but it's pretty much stock, except some 2.8 anacondas I swapped from a Jato roller I bought, and shorter shocks, but I don't believe they are the correct offset. Which leads me to a whole other series of questions.

I'm looking at widening the stance a little more for stability. I know offset, or wideners, will greatly increase the strain on the other components, but I hardly jump my truck. Maybe the occasional curb hop, but nothing bigger. And the only danger of hitting anything is a some little cones I use for a mock track. So I don't believe they'll be a huge deal, but what's your all's opinions on them? I'm found some Junfac 15mm ones that look good, and some Integy ones with actually longer axles.

Any input would be awesome, if this thread is indeed still active.

Also, Nitro, that is a crazy storm. Where did you find the cf chassis plate?

nitro-rob

Welcome crosshair.  You will do fine with that brushless system.  Almost any will work well in the storm, however, since 2wd stadium trucks in general don't suck a lot of current.

Crosshair

2400kv 1/8th??? holy crap lol. I'd have to see that one run. Enough torque to tear the Storm up. I love that cf look. And you have a nice ratio of plastic to cf to aluminium. Very solid looking truck you have there, mate.

I'm flip-flopping now on some different motors/esc's. Been reading and researching most of the night. I'm thinking of just saving my pennies, buying an 1/8 scale esc, like the MMM, or Rx8, so I can play around with motors and not have to worry about esc capabilites. I guess you could say I'm going for speed runs, hard top track racing, etc etc. And being in the southern states, it's pretty warm and humid during the summer months, so I battle heat constantly. Which is also a reason behind thinking just go 8th scale with the esc. I've seen clips and forum post of lots of guys doing just that with power hungry SC trucks. Figure it might fit my needs too. ....If I can fit a big esc like that. I have an air duct cut in the window, but that is primarily for the battery. Opinions?

I'd also like to get a bash setup. Just a second motor, set of shocks, stuff like that. Easy swap suspension parts. Like I said, so far it's only seen pavement. So would the 3800kv Castle be alright for something like that? Seems to be popular.

How is the Mamba Max Pro on motor compatabilites? I'm assuming since it comes paired with 2 different 550 motors (the 2400 and 3800), as well as multiple 540's, it's gotta be pretty versatile. Right?

Also, how should you pair your batteries to your setup? Like, based on esc continuous current, motor draw, and battery output (c rating)??? I don't quite understand all that yet. Do you want the battery to be capable of supplying the max continuous without being strained? I think that's what I'm getting out of some of the info I've found. The whole this very confusing. I'm used to nitros.

I guess until I've done more reading, I won't make a move on a new system. Just itching to get running again, is all.

And sorry for all the questions. Just new to this xD

nitro-rob

You are thinking well with the MMax pro. Its a good ESC that can work 1/8 and 1/10. Its only downside is the BEC is a little weak and very strong servos will twitch with it but for smaller RCs like the firstorm you don't need a massive servo (under 200oz-in is fine). It is overkill for a small castle motor and comfortable with a 1/8 motor, especially for the weight of the storm. It also has a small footprint compared to the MMM and RX8.

nitro-rob

I just did a small test with everything wired up and it was pretty extreme.  I will have photos of it and maybe a video in a few hours.  I have a few things to finish to get it done.

nitro-rob

Here are some pictures. I am going to put the stiffest springs I can on it and then check the measurements and thats about it.

nitro-rob

Here are more photos. I also threw in one I took of my workspace. I started it in the spring and got it mostly done then started using it and there is a bit more to do. I was in a closet before.

There are 3s and 4s batteries in the pictures. I plan on running mostly 3s.

Crosshair

Well I probably shoulda read this before ordering, but I went with the MMP and 5700kv 1406 Castle set up. Did it through Easy Pay on Tower so technically it still fits in my budget. lol.

What's the best "bang for your buck" battery out there with a relatively high C? I found a few that look good that could fit into my budget for next week. For now, I have a Losi 40c, but due to a brain lapse, when I went to change the balancing connector to fit with my charger,one balancingwire fried all the way down into the hard case because I cut all 3 wires at once. Rookiemistake. :/So it can't be balanced. Now it's on light use in my E-start for the nitros. Maybe I can take the hard case off and see if there's still a nub down in there that I could solder a piece to, but I just haven't had the time yet. Iseem to be reading fantastic things about MaxAmp batteries, but I can't afford one right now. Wayyyy too expensive.

Rob -looks like you have lots of fun toys, man. I'd imagine that the power you gained traded about even with the added weight.

Also, what other spur gears will work with the storm? I've only foundthe stock87t, and an88t.Just looking for different gearing options.

I found this RC speed calculator on Scryptasylum by backtracking through this thread.Kinda interesting to see what the potential output is of different KV motors, voltage, and tire combos.

New motor will be here Thursday... But I won't have time till Sunday to put it all together and test it out.

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

I"ve heard mixed things regarding max amps on the value front, as far as bang for you buck goes. I would look into some from www.hobbypartz.com, they're not super high quality but you can get a higher C rated pack for a bit cheaper that will work for you. Some of the duratrax onyx packs seem fairly value priced as well, though with that 5700 motor something 4000mha and 30C+ would really unlock that bad boy. And I agree with nitro, the MMP is a good esc for what you're doing with it. It's the ESC that HPI runs 4s on in the savage flux 2350.

The lug

nitro-rob

Scryptasylum is a good resource, I used it yesterday when I was setting my storm up. I took it out on 3s and it flew like mad. It wheelied too easily with the extra weight on the rear but the rear was much more planted and it had a lot more traction. It am going to put weight on the front to balance it more but overall it was great. I can't imagine 4s. I was thinking of putting a castle 2650 in it but I didn't want to make the adapters to the ESC but I think I will stick with this losi motor.

nitro-rob

187 vs 356 g motors.  5.6 oz difference, ~1/3 of a pound.  I am using the same 3s battery.  I will counterweight it with lead next.  It defeats the purpose of a nimble light truck adding this weight, though..

Crosshair

That's what I was afraid of. Seems like the rear being planted would be a benefit, but not if the front keeps lifting. Totally counter productive. Let us know how the added weight makes it feel. I'm highly interested.

Just waiting on my stuff to get here. I think Imight've over-done it with my motor selection...I feel like the 4600kv woulda been a better choice, but as I'm not running in grass and just on asphalt, I think I'll be okay.

I'm looking for a good 3s battery. Don't have one. I've got a running bet with my buddy that I can beat his stock Rustler VXL on 3s in a speed run. I'm trying to prove him wrong. lol.

Which, back to a previous question: What other spur gears will work in the storm?

nitro-rob

There is only one option for the firestorm, the 87t spur. You can install the blitz spur and get 77, 82 and 88t options. I have no issue with adding weight.  I do it to my 2wd race trucks to plant them.  The storm was all over the place and had traction issues with the other motors.  It was all over the place under power and I was spinning the tires at pretty much any speed on 3s.  Its probably about 2/3 the weight of an 8th scale buggy or less so its still a pretty light truck with all the power to two wheels.

Crosshair

I'm making a growing list of parts for this Storm. Gonna be an asphalt track star. But one thing at a time, I guess. CVD's, some aluminum beauty parts, powerstroke shocks, the works. One part a week lol.

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

be careful with the aluminum, you want some give, maybe look into some blitz ese parts if you want something stiffer, because the plastics on the storm are pretty forgiving...

the lug

Crosshair

Well, she's all buttoned up. MMp and 5700kv 1406 fit like a glove. Too tired tonight to do a practice run via streetlight, but after work tomorrow maybe. I bought a 35c burst, 25c continuous Reedy 3s today. $70. Here. Figured I'll start a little lower in C to get used to it, having never used that much power before. That'll be here Thursday or Friday.

Lug, I hear what you're saying. I'm not talking crazy aluminum. Just shock boddies and caps, then front caster blocks and rear camber hubs. Already have the rpm arms front and rear. They look a bit better than the stock ones. Bend a bit more, too. Also ordering a t-bone wheelie bar in the future. Have a feeling I'll need it. Pair that with the CVD's, and I think it'll only be slightly heavier. Not a huge deal.

Also, Rob, where did you get those shock covers? I love those.

For my super speed runs, I'm working on a true, and removable, "drag bar" outta 1/4" aluminum bar. (It's easy to work with and free scraps from work)

Also, I got some filter paper. Going to attempt making a gasket for the diff. So I can use fluid instead of grease. If nothing else, I have red and black RTV silicone. Speaking of...gotta replace my drive cups. A bit worn out.