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My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Old 09-05-2010, 02:49 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

So, I have gotten away from Nitro quite a bit. I love it, but I just don't have a lot of open places to run nitros where the noise doesn't attract unwanted visitors... After running brushless/lipo setups for a while, I decided that it was time to convert one of my oldies to brushless...

See, I built some really awesome brushless trucks for my boys. My oldest has an older 3906 E-Maxx with a TON of stuff... Full 16.8V spec diffs/driveshafts, plastics, etc., RPM true track rear end, full RPM arms, RPM chassis braces, FLM chassis and braces, big bores, Novak HV-Pro 6.5 w/4S 30C pack, Gorilla Maxx single speed conversion and a few more goodies...





My youngest has an E-Savage with FLM extended chassis, GST shocks, HV-Maxx system w/6.5. He runs a single 2S 30C lipo... The older HV-Maxx wasn't able to handle 4S, but it is plenty quick with the 2S to be honest. I will probably put a 3S in it soon.





This whole time, I have been running a 1/16 Traxxas Rash (Slash body with Revo suspension) with the boys. I have been running anywhere from 2S-4S setups with this truck. 2S is more than enough for the truck. I usually put 2 2S packs in the truck and only run 1 2S at a time- the other is just for more weight to help plant the truck.

While the 1/16 Rash is a sight to behold in terms of outright speed and acceleration, it floats on the surface and gets bounced around like crazy in any kind of terrain. When my kids ran the rash over with their trucks, it always resulted in broken a-arms (until I got RPMs).



So, enter the new project...




Old 09-05-2010, 02:58 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

My Kyosho Mad Force RCX edition has been a shelf queen for the years I have owned it. No more. The truck is getting into some heavy lifting now. I have a ton of spare parts and the truck isn't going to have any kind of collector value to keep it on the sidelines any longer. It has a durable 1/8 scale drivetrain that with some mods, I believe will hold up to the Mamba Monster 2200kV and 4S well. The truck has New Era mods including the front bumper, critical steering servo relocation setup and suspension links.

Starting-





Last night, I gutted all of the nitro parts and bolted up the motor plate and transmission from a Twin Force. The Mamba Monster went in pretty well... There was some minor grinding that had to occur on the mount plate and the transmission top shaft mounts. I don't think the stock Twin Force slipper and spur will stand a chance against the Monster and I think that I may have to go double chains that connect the spur gear to the transmission below.



I don't think the challenge in this truck is the Mamba install persay, but I am quite certain that the top shaft, chain system, spur and slipper will require much beefier parts before this one becomes reliable.

This is the shelf queen body.



This is the body that I am going to beat the living tar out of.

Old 09-05-2010, 03:00 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Battery location will be interesting; the twin force has battery mounts on the outside of the chassis plates. If I want to run dual shocks at each corner, which I do, I will need to mount the 2x2S packs or 1x4S pack within the chassis plates and as low as possible.
Old 09-06-2010, 05:19 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

I love the Mad Force, one of the few solid axle trucks. Looks great!
Old 09-07-2010, 02:27 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Hey dale good to have you back, been a real long time since i saw you here

i had a seriously hopped up madforce when you were last around on rcu,

but i parted with it along with alot of my other trucks, i miss my other trucks a little but none like the madforce,

was flicking through ebay just a couple days ago and seen a heap of parts in an auction with a half hour left to go,
i just used the usual ''nitro rc car'' search,

turned out to be an almost complete madforce minus the motor and with nearly enough spares and wheels to build another,
well i jumped on it and got the lot for £41.00,

looking forward to running a madforce again, loving the brushless setup you have going on there,

once you get it up and running please post some vids of it[sm=shades_smile.gif]
Old 09-07-2010, 02:30 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Relevant to ThunderbirdJunkie's interests...

Bout time we had a car moderator that actually got involved in car discussions.
Old 09-07-2010, 04:04 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

I just ordered a 35C 5000mAh 4S lipo for the truck. I know the Mamba Monster can go 6S, but quite honestly, why?

A 4S lipo nestles comfortably where the other electric motor is supposed to mount. This would be the ideal placement, but the problem is that the weight distribution will be way off that way and the Mad Force is a wheelie machine as it is. So, I have two choices. 1. Create a custom battery mount to put the lipo between the frame wells in front of the motor and transmission or 2. Turn the entire motor/transmission plate around so the weight shifts more towards the front of the truck and easily mount the lipo where the other motor went...

I am about 90% sure that I will create a lipo mount in front of the motor/transmission. I think this will give better weight distribution.
Old 09-07-2010, 04:06 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: sparky 25

turned out to be an almost complete madforce minus the motor and with nearly enough spares and wheels to build another,
well i jumped on it and got the lot for £41.00,

looking forward to running a madforce again, loving the brushless setup you have going on there,

once you get it up and running please post some vids of it[sm=shades_smile.gif]
Thanks for the interest. I completely relate to what you said on the Mad Force... I got rid of an RCX edition before and totally regretted it. The Mad Force just has very unique handling and realism that is unmistakable and completely fun. I love the chain drive and big axles with the unique 2-link setup. I will definitely post videos. Post pictures of yours when you get it!
Old 09-07-2010, 04:08 PM
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Dale Gribble
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: ThunderbirdJunkie

Relevant to ThunderbirdJunkie's interests...

Bout time we had a car moderator that actually got involved in car discussions.
Your discussions in the third person must have turned all of the other car mods away.
Old 09-07-2010, 08:11 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

this looks great sir! MadForce is for sure an interesting truck.
Old 09-07-2010, 08:18 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: Dale Gribble


ORIGINAL: ThunderbirdJunkie

Relevant to ThunderbirdJunkie's interests...

Bout time we had a car moderator that actually got involved in car discussions.
Your discussions in the third person must have turned all of the other car mods away.
Eh, if that's the case, they weren't cool enough to hang out with ThunderbirdJunkie anyway[&:]
Old 09-09-2010, 04:16 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: Dale Gribble


ORIGINAL: sparky 25

turned out to be an almost complete madforce minus the motor and with nearly enough spares and wheels to build another,
well i jumped on it and got the lot for £41.00,

looking forward to running a madforce again, loving the brushless setup you have going on there,

once you get it up and running please post some vids of it[sm=shades_smile.gif]
Thanks for the interest. I completely relate to what you said on the Mad Force... I got rid of an RCX edition before and totally regretted it. The Mad Force just has very unique handling and realism that is unmistakable and completely fun. I love the chain drive and big axles with the unique 2-link setup. I will definitely post videos. Post pictures of yours when you get it!
Well my madforce turned up today,

it looks a little bit worse for wear at the moment but that will change very soon,

the only thing i am missing to make a complete truck is the clutchbell,

only a few months ago we moved into our new house and before the move i done a big clearout of all my rc stuff and sold the bits and pieces i had on ebay, well alot of the parts were spares from my madforce days including 2 used three speed clutch bells for the madforce i sold them together for £5, now im kicking myself for not hanging on to them

i will have to do a full tear down of this truck as its completely pigging with nitro fuel and dirt,

the parts bundle come with 4 diffs which feel smooth when turned, ring and pinion gears are helectical cut which is different from my old madforce as it had straight cut gears,

gonna be running an lrp30 in this truck which is just plain overkill with power, but im for adding 2 inches in length to the rear of the chassis which should help keep the nose down,

looking forward to getting stuck into this project and more so getting to run it.
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Old 09-10-2010, 11:37 AM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

About dang time you show it some love...

Eww brushless, slap a picco in there and call it good.

I'm not sure if you know about this or not but kyosho brought back the mad force under a new name and a bl brother.

http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/MADFORC...ER-_p_121.html

http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/MAD-FOR...-VE_p_113.html

Hmm all this talk about the old mf's i might have to go dig up this old thing [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5755872/tm.htm]link[/link].
Old 09-10-2010, 03:16 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: pythonfan

About dang time you show it some love...
Back at ya there! I forgot all about your project. Looks like you did too...

I still love nitro, but after having built 3 brushless/lipo trucks already and working on this one, I am pretty much leaning towards electric these days. Granted, I have puffed a lipo or two but I really enjoy the nitro type performance without the noise and mess. In my opinion, the only downfall to brushless and lipos are, once the batteries are discharged (even though runtimes are good), the bashing is pretty much done for hours. When batteries cost $75-$125/ea, it is just too much money to have 2-3 packs for each truck...

I got really ticked off at my crazy project Giga Crusher and sold it on eBay. I could NEVER make those Axial 28s run right after trying many, many times and I consider myself a veteran nitro hobbyist. In retrospect, those Axial 28s were a bad choice for a dual engine monster. The Giga Crusher is kind of what turned me off to nitro, at least for the time being. Then I sold my Savage and truggies as well. I kind of regret selling the Savage though.

I still have 2 1/8 buggies that run nitro, my X-Factor, another Mad Force and the Ofna Twin Titan... So I am down on Nitro for the time being, but not out.

I am really waiting for the next big thing in nitro cars, like a 2 cylinder with fuel injection or something... Fuel injection would remove all of the craziness of keeping those little monsters tuned...
Old 09-10-2010, 03:18 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

OS has EFI for airplanes[&:]
Old 09-10-2010, 03:19 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: sparky 25

Well my madforce turned up today,

it looks a little bit worse for wear at the moment but that will change very soon,

the only thing i am missing to make a complete truck is the clutchbell,

only a few months ago we moved into our new house and before the move i done a big clearout of all my rc stuff and sold the bits and pieces i had on ebay, well alot of the parts were spares from my madforce days including 2 used three speed clutch bells for the madforce i sold them together for £5, now im kicking myself for not hanging on to them

i will have to do a full tear down of this truck as its completely pigging with nitro fuel and dirt,

the parts bundle come with 4 diffs which feel smooth when turned, ring and pinion gears are helectical cut which is different from my old madforce as it had straight cut gears,

gonna be running an lrp30 in this truck which is just plain overkill with power, but im for adding 2 inches in length to the rear of the chassis which should help keep the nose down,

looking forward to getting stuck into this project and more so getting to run it.
Looks like you have some work on your hands there! I don't have any spare clutch bells... Those are a pain to find...
Old 09-10-2010, 03:20 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]


ORIGINAL: ThunderbirdJunkie

OS has EFI for airplanes[&:]
Right... They have for years now.... Must not be robust enough for the lowly car/truck crowd.
Old 09-10-2010, 11:59 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Nice project. It gets old seeing the same old thing all the time. Its nice to see something that not everyone has too. Definately keep us updated, but I bet that truck is a blast to run once its done

Ill have to say, for a Monster Truck, electric is hard to beat. I still prefer nitro for a buggy, but for monster trucks, if you are into hill climbing and just messing around, brushless is awful nice.

My father in law and I went out tonight to run. He has a stock brushed 3905 E-Maxx, and I have my custom brushless MGT that i was running. They are building a new road close to us, and we found some big dirt hills out there to run on. It was just nice to go out there with 4 NiMh batteries charged and run for an hour solid until it got dark, just playing on the hills and messing around in the dirt. Plus it didnt cost us anything in fuel, its extremely nice to have reverse when you are doing this kind of running, and also, when you are hill climbing, you just really need the wheel speed NOW when you are trying to climb certain things. The electric will do all of that very well, which is why i think i prefer it for an MT.

Anyways, not to get off topic, but Im just really glad I made the leap and built my brushless truck because its a lot of fun. Just gotta buy some better batteries for it soon, but the NiMh do surprisingly well for now since I get 30 minutes of runtime per pair and lots of power. [8D]

Eric
Old 09-11-2010, 01:25 AM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Ya, good NiMH will still hold their own. I am all about the imported lipos to be honest. Zippy and Turnigy lipos have been great for me. I have only lost 1 cell (which cost me a 2S pack) out of the 12 or so lipos that I have now.

I got a Losi 8ight battery holder and cut it and positioned it where I will mount the 4S I will be running (Turnigy 30C 5000mAh 4S). This position will offset the side to side weight of the motor and put some much needed weight over the front axle while keeping the COG relatively low. I will either mount the battery holder straight to the existing crossmembers or build a custom piece if the stock mounts aren't supportive enough. It's close to the spur, but when it is mounted properly, it is a non-issue.

Old 09-11-2010, 11:18 AM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Im thinking about trying the LiFe batteries that hobbyking sells. I dont like that the voltage on them is lower, but i would trust them much more than the LiPo's, so its making my decision hard. [8D] I never dreamed I would get 30 minutes of runtime with 3000mah NiMh batteries though. I could only get 15 minutes at best no matter how I drove with a brushed system. The brushless added 12-15 minutes of run time and gobs of power. Really shows how much more efficient they are.

Truck is looking good. We will need some running video's for sure
Old 09-11-2010, 11:26 AM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

CD, lipos are safe. The only way they're dangerous is if you don't pay attention to the bazillions of warnings and instructions for safe handling. NiMh is more dangerous than LiPo.
Old 09-11-2010, 12:25 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Well, ill never agree that NiMh is more dangerous than lipo, but I am sure that LiPo is completely safe as long as you do what you are supposed to do with them. If they were that bad, so many people wouldnt be running them. I guess I just hate the thought of shorting one out on accident or something like that. The LiFe batteries would probably be plenty of power for me. Probably more than I have now because of the extra amps they can provide, so i may still go that route since they are a little safer(or supposed to be at least). So many options. haha

Eric
Old 09-18-2010, 09:17 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Here is an update. I did go with a custom lipo mount. I machined a few Al 90 degree channel pieces (4) and two Al crossmembers. I mounted the pieces so that they would be as low on the chassis as possible without contacting the front axle or links. The lipo mount runs parallel to the chassis and is flush with the bottom of the chassis plates up front (at an angle).

This is overkill, but that's ok. I could have machined it cleaner and painted/polished the pieces, but why bother right?

Old 09-18-2010, 09:23 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Next, I mounted an 8IGHT-E battery holder to the crossmembers and modified it quite a bit for this. It holds the Turnigy 30-40C 5000mAh 4S very snug. You can see that the battery sits quite low in the chassis; I think this is optimal over a 2x2S on the outside of each chassis plate. The battery is very well protected where it is mounted.





Old 09-18-2010, 09:25 PM
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Default RE: My first project in a LOOONG time... [video add]

Finally, I made a little plate to mount the ESC too and mounted up the receiver.


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