honkeychris

ive been messin with the pinion and spur sizes,,, have a 30 pinion and stock 56 spur ... blow the spurs within 3 runs... moved to a 65 steal spur... blows pinions.... is 3s lipo too much.. if i dull down to a two lipo will my problems go away? ... want to run 30 to 31 pinion and 65 steel spur.. what needs to be done to make a fast running lighting with out gears blowin out... please help!

honkeychris

.............or at least someone tell me what they "think" might be wrong.... give me your opinion.... im at a dead end.. and just orderd 2 more stock spur gears from redcat, i shouldnt be eating gears like this!.... i think im "meshing" them right.. using the old piece of paper trick.... would that be my problem?.... to much power using 3slipo? wrong gear meshing?

nitrosportsandrunner

look at this pic.
its the redcat drift lightening.
i believe it has the cover you are speaking of.
its a 2 piece part right?

i used to run my lightening on 3s. make sure you have the "E" clips that hold the spur in place.
check over the ball bearings that hold the diff pinion.
and did you change the pinion gear?

honkeychris

thats the brushed one... mine is the epx pro... "brushless"doesNOThave a gear cover...but yes to yur questions.i went through the whole damn car thinkin it might bea bearing or somthin.... its the problem of the gears stripping out, because of too much power to them or im not meshing them right.but everone says use the "paper" trick to mesh.. all i know this problem is starting to cost $$$ and ill be damned if im goin to give up on this lil lightning!..... come on people give me some ideas!...lol.....thanx for your responce though!

nitrosportsandrunner

the part # of that cover is 03401(redcatracing.com)
even tho it comes on the drift, it should work on the epx pro(same chassis and upper plate)

what ESC do you have? when i ran my lightening on 3s, i had the 35amp ezrun speed control. i had the punch control set all the way down(soft)
since the car doesnt have a slipper, a powerful brushless motor on 3s can do some damage if no throttle contol is used.

redcat also has a 64t steel spur gear : http://www.redcatracing.com/RC-Cars/...ts/11188-48T_2

combine the gear cover and the steel spur gear and your car may hold up better.

nitrosportsandrunner

sorry for some of my replys,
there is another post on the asking a simillar question about lightening spur gears....i got confused between the 2 LOL.

2s lipo will certainly help the stuff last longer.

but so will using a ESC that has punch control.

the gear cover may help if you dont already have it, as dirt/pebbles can get caught in the gears teeth and cause damage.

honkeychris

i wish dirt and rocks were my problem...... lol

nitrosportsandrunner

then it may be the system you are using.

what ESC and motor are you running?

honkeychris

im running the stock 70a brushlessesc, and a 3800kv reedy motor.....

nitrosportsandrunner

that stock 70a ESC is the HSP novatech one right? that esc has no settings for punch control or braking ect.

do youself a favor and buy an ezrun 35amp ESC with program card. then set the punch control down, lower the braking force, even add drag brake if you want.

i had the novatech esc on my lightening when i first started running lipo, a set of tires would go bad in 2 runs.(even if i was gentle on the throttle)

then i switched to the 35amp ezrun esc and adjusted the settings. tires lasted much longer after that.

punch control slowly ramps up the power to the motor. this gives a gentler start, saving on the drivetrain and the tires.

the epx pro's now ship with the ezrun 35amp system, instead of the novatech system.

honkeychris

ya that is a mean esc.... its the novatech, same problem, eating tires ect ect, ... i started runnung foam because of that problem.... i put the steel 64t spur and a 31t pinion back in it last light, ran a 6 cell nicad in it all is fine so tonight im goin to try a 2slipo and see if the gears dont strip..... that lightning wont be the same, its retarded fast with a 3slipo... oh well i cant be dumpin $$ on gears all the time... my ether rc`s will feel neglected !...lol

nitrosportsandrunner

you can get the ezrun 35amp esc on www.hobbypartz.com. its not super expensive, and the settings will go a long way toward saving your drivetrain.

the novatech esc is nice, in that its a simple unit. it self-setup and programing is nice, but doesnt alloy for any adjustments.

i miss my lightening. i sold it awhile back. i did have some issues with the spur as you have, but everyother part held up like it was made of titanium!

i mean, i was not kind to my lightening. i jumped it off ramps, ran it in the dirt with rally tires....always with either 2s or 3s lipos. I bashed the crap out of it.
never broke a hub, a-arm, camber link, shock, steering link ect. for those parts to hold up under the abuse i put it threw was amazing.

the lightening epx pro, RS10 XT and tornado epx pro are my Fav redcat models i have owned. SOO much fun for the low cost.

honkeychris

for being a cheaper rc there not bad.... ive ran mine through traffic and hell its even been ran over.... only a few bucks and its back on the road.... but this gearing issue is killing me!

formula87

Stop with the paper trick for setting up......... this may be a bit of trial and error but Istopped usingthe paper between the pinion and spur after I learned that ........ you just want a "tick" of play..(just like in diff shimming)....... and after you think you got itrun a slip of paper thru just to rest easy that you got it right...............

honkeychris

i think i know what yur talkin about ......

formula87

Iwill post a vid on it, simple but easier if you can see it...............................

honkeychris

yes please.... ill pm u my direct email address..

formula87

I can, I was going to post in this thread also......................

honkeychris

........ whell i put the stock spur "56t plastic" back in it and a "30t nickle plated" pinion in the pig and only running a 2s lipo "5000" , and so far no stripping...... i still would like to see this vid yur talkin about Mr. Formula87. im sure it would help me and ethers..... back to the piggy known as a red cat lightning...lol...... still would like to run a 3s lipo in her so if any one still has any ideas out there please let me know.....

mechanike

yeah like formula87 knowingly said the paper trick is not even.i have read notebook paper,,,,,,,it left alot of play,,,,,,,,,,, i found also that just leave the motor slightly snug then tap with the knuckle until there is barely a what did Formula87 say a,,,,,,,,,,,tic of play.

formula87

I madevid just need to post up on youtube.

formula87

Spur and Pinion meshvid I made : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE9syr5LcY8
may not work for every one.... I used to do the ole' slip of paper but this works much better.

XtrmTJ

My Feedback: (6)

Thanks for the vids !  They are all VERY helpful ! 

honkeychris

dig the vid.... thats how i set it the last time "is by sound, feel, " seems to be working...... im just not goin to run a 3s lipo on it, ill wait till i smoke it then get a esc with punch control. thanx to "FOMULA87" and "NITROSPORTSANDRUNNER", you both helped me alot . thank you! HOPE THE RC GODS SHINE ON YOU !...lol..................................... oh ya happy halloween to all rc addicts!

formula87

honkey. Thanks for the props, well the RC gods did not shine on me this past Sunday as I got SCHOOL'd in two race classes......