RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

... Ran my MERV today on 4S. Stock motor and esc. she does get hot! i never really got to do a full out high speed run, at high speeds i must have hit a bump or somthing and she cartwheeled and crashed, resulting in a broken rear axle carrier. 4S is funny. like having 2000HP in an S10 or somthing. you know its not a good idea.


I may try 2S in parallel with ataller pinion gear than the "high speed" merv gear.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

my 4S was totally in control but that may have something to do with the ESC curves, tames it a bit
2S parallel works great on the stock setup, maybe put the 23pinion in to keep it a bit cooler

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Dennis,

You catch my earlier post about how to "create" a locking diff in our differentials?

It may ne worth a try and is completely reversible. I didn't come up with it, I got it from another poster on the forums.

Joe

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

I certaintly did. It is so simple, I am kicking myself not thinking of it. Great temp. hint.

Dennis

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

hey Joe,
how does locking the diff change the performance of the kit? corner better, traction??don't really know much about locking diff's
thanks

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Why not just put heavier diff oil in to tighten it up.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

While it makes the truck handle high speed turns better on the street, there are definite tradeoffs in doing this. Removing the droop WILL make the truck handle worse off road, and on bumpy on road sections. The wheels must be able to move up AND down, or you will lose traction every time you hit a dip in the road, since the tire has no down travel, the ground drops out from under it, and its no longer touching the ground, verses the normal setup, where the tire can follow the ground as it drops down.... the designers of these things actualy do know what they are doing... removing the droop might help out the truck in one thing that it was never designed to do, but it will destroy off-road handling.... Ideally, you want at least 1/3 to 1/2 as much down travel as you have up travel when the truck is sitting at ride height...

If that were true, I would still own nitro vehicles :D I had a couple t-maxxes and a losi LST XXL (awsome truck)... they were great fun, but I just got soooooo tired of the constant tuning. Once you tune it yea its set, unless the temp changes, or the humidity changes, or your elevation changes or you change fuel, or change glowplug, or.. etc....... The final straw for me was one day when I just could NOT get it to run for more than 30 seconds no matter What I tried, didnt change fuel brands (same fuel jug i used the day before when it ran great) or glow plug brands (tried 2 new glow plugs from the same pack) , it wasnt unusual weather, 75 degrees and sunny.... I said "screw this" and I sold all my nitros and have NEVER regretted it! These days with brushless and lipo, you can get nitro performance without the nitro hassle. As for storage charging lipos, well, my charger has a setting that will discharge it to the voltage I choose... easy as pie...

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Kinda curious as to what everyone thinks of [link=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160543019173&ssPageNam e=STRK:MEWAX:IT]THESE[/link].

For $23, kinda hard to go wrong trying them. They look promising. Anyone got experience with them?

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

hi fiend nice to find someone on line. man i got problems. just got mini vxl ervo. got it today. battery full charged and it wont go. hand con lights up gree. the esc lights up gren. the blak box lights up red. then the esc turns red light. and blak box keeps flashn a red light cont. p,ls help

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

The toyz is a reputable place, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. Just make sure you keep them OFF ROAD... thats why I dont like mini pin spike tires, I like to drive on and offroad....

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

I've seen many people use those tires/rims and they are pretty good. Really good deal for a set of 4 for that price. I run 2.2 pin tires but only on the track which I mainly do with my Merv. Because yeah on pavement they will wear to nothing quickly.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

thanks for info friend. i evn tried that aswell. and to no pravail. i don no wat to do now?

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

In nimh mode the esc light should go green when you turn it on then go right to red, so thats normal, but I am not sure what the back box you are talking about is.... got a pic? or where is it located?

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

sounds like you need to set throttle endpoints. check your manual on how to do this and you should be all set. did you put controller on 70/30 by chance?

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Dennis,
were you able to use the alum washers when mounting those wheels, not many threads left on the axle

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

No, and none are necessary. The flared stock Traxxas wheel nut is plenty to grab the wheel itself. When I am feeling anal about it, I use a thin flat washer between the nut and wheel to increase the contact area to the wheel.

Those beautiful aluminum thick washers are great for another application, but not the Merv.

Dennis

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Well, RIP rear differential ring gear. A fresh 2S is all it took to finish it off. Time to shim them this time so it don't happen again...

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

think I did mine in today also on 4S
after I put bigger tires on something was slipping and smelling, thought it was the slipper clutch so I tightened it up a bit, ran for a bit and the clicking started
how do i confirm it is the rear diff?
what shims do you use?
should i get some replacement diff parts while at it? if so, which diff parts?
thanks!

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

took out the rear bulk head, the ring gear and diff gear have some bad teeth
anyway to prevent this?
do you guys tighten the bulkhead screw tight? mine could have been tighter but that seems to pull the rear blukhead halves apart a bit
I'm thinking it's better to have it tight and the gears meshed tighter....?


the merv was smelling like burnt plastic and the smell wasn't in the rear diff so I opened up the tranmission and looked at the slipper clutch, seems it melted the 50T spurr gear and the clutch plate, that made it direct drive and probably what crunched the gears in the rear diff, guess I got some fixin to do....
and......the bearing seal melted......

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Use the RC18 diff shim set. That's what i've read to use and installed in mine today. Hopefully that will help hold it together.

You should always tighten the screws tight. The skid plate plus aluminum bulkhead piece will keep the haves together.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Mine so far.
Center diff
RPM arms and front knuckles
Response tire wheel combo
Tbone front rear bumpers
GPM shocks
GPM alum chassi braces

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Been reading through this thread for the past week or so, just learning what to/what not to do.. My MERV just arrived from UPStoday! Also got the 2nd battery and both the series and parallel connectors from the USPS today as well. Already ran one battery through just to play around. I think I'm going to like it!

My plans for my MERV include sort of turning it into a Slash. Ihad actually initially wanted a 1/16 Slash, but the tipiness of it kind of turned me off, so a MERVit is with the wider stance and such. But, that said, I like the look of the SCTruck body and I think I'll eventually swap the body out with a Slash body. I plan to upgrade the wheels and tires as well, mainly just for looks. Other parts will stay largely stock unless replacements are necessary due to wear or breakage. I'm considering getting the T-Bone bumpers as well for that extra layer of protection.

I'm pretty novice at this currently. I haven't had an R/C car since I was much younger and those ones weren't even hobby grade cars. It's always been something I've been interested in though. Glad to finally do something about it. Also glad to be a member here in case I ever need to turn anywhere for help.

I've got a co-worker with a 1/10 Slash that he just upgraded with a new motor and ESC. He's actually the one I can blame for lighting the fire under me to make this purchase. Planning on taking our cars out to a local skate park and BMXtrack for some fun later this week. Pics and videos to possibly follow if we get anything worth sharing.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Cool, I dont think I have seen a mini slash body on a Mini erevo yet...

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Welcome, I would say to go ahead and get the Tbone bumpers if your just bashing. It will save you lots as you learn to control the crazy power.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

So, after day one, I've already learned how to glue tires. Well, I shouldn't say I learned just yet, but it's on there at least :-) After running the car for about an hour yesterday, I noticed the inner bead of the LR tire was coming loose. So, I went to the LHS and bought some tire glue and reglued the tire. I wasn't prepared for how quickly the glue sets. For some reason, I didn't expect it to be like super glue. So, the tire isn't fully seated in the bead in a few spots. But, it seems to be holding on pretty strongly. I guess if it comes loose again, I'll get another shot at it.

Last night I swapped in the speed pinion so I'm ready to try a couple of full speed runs today to see what it's like. I'll likely swap it back shortly though as I plan to mostly use this thing on dirt. I'm already looking into new tires though, these stock ones were spinning wildly on the hard gravel and dirt that we have here in CO. I guess it's either that or I need a bit more throttle control. Still getting used to that, I've never had an R/C that's so powerful before.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Glad to hear youre enjoying it man, watch those temps while running series and doing speed runs you dont want to burn up your esc or motor, although traxxas has great support if it does happen. If you are bashing theres a pretty good chance youll break some a-arms and axle carriers eventually. Look into rpm parts when this happens. They make great products that are so very durable. Good luck and have some fun!

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Dacaur,

My buddy converted his slash into a MERV, but kept the body mounts and the slash body! Actually Looked pretty good! He had to trim the fenders a bit to accept the Talons, but when he had the slash wheels on there it looked good. Imagine the slash with the wheels sticking out past the fenders... there's your look.

MT BOY,

I couldn't agree with you more about the RPM parts and especially the T-Bone Bumpers. T-Bone bumpers 110% all the way for those who like bashing or are new to R/C's and haven't figured out the "right touch" of throttle and brake. T-Bone Bumpers have saved me many times.


vwo4l,

I'm still fairly new to hobby grade R/C's having only been messing with them for about 3 years now, and I can say that the MERV will be awesome for you, but get those T-Bone bumpers for added assurance. Only replace things that break, and when you do, try to avoid the fancy alum parts by Integy and other companies. Stick to RPM parts for suspension and traxxas parts for suspension and driveline. I haven't really seen any parts for the 1/16 scale R/C's that are better. Unless you're lucky like DAcaur and have a company building you a titanium drive line... lucky man!

Last word of advice... the R/C hobby bug is going to eventually "bite" you, and when it does, just be ready for it! You'll find yourself owning a couple R/C's like I did. I've had multiple R/C's in just the past few years: a 1/10 E-Revo Brushless, 2 x MERV's, the 1/16 Rally - my curent speed project -> nothing like Dacaur's engineered Nasa Rocket :) And, I recently just got the new Stampede 4x4 Brushless - basically a 4x4 slash with lifted suspension and huge Talon tires!

The Stampede is now my favorite R/C thus far! Wicked Fast, Handles amazing for monster truck, and has plenty of clearance to drive through thick grass and over basically any terrain.

Also, props to Dacaur for enlightening me on gearing do's and don'ts. I spoke with a mechanical engineer buddy of mine and expalined to him what i was trying to do. Apparently during college he and some college buddies experimented with some high tech remote controlled vehicles and explained, in theory, how they were able to achieve higher speeds, while maintaining efficiency (with electronics and motors) I can clearly see that my current set up with the CAstle 6900Kv 4 pole motor is more geared to offroad driving. I should have went with a motor that can handle higher amounts of volts and amps and geared the driveline as such to accomodate taller gears for the high speed runs.

Joe

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

What battery are you using with the speed pinion? It kinda seems like you are still just using the stock battery, if thats the case, you probably already discovered that the "speed" pinion makes the truck slower when using the stock battery.... it actualy gears it down more so that you dont burn up the motor when you up the voltage.... you only want to use the speed pinion if you go to a higher voltage battery, or dont mine the slower speed, because it gives you longer runtime... if you are playing strictly off-road, even with the stock battery the speed pinion would probably be a better choice really because it would give you more "power" so rough terrain doesn't slow you down as much, and it would also be easier on the battery and keep the motor cooler running....

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

this I need to get; already broke 2 front bulkheads in 2 weeks :(

Where did you buy the wheel/tire combo?
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RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Yeah the bumpers are a must for protection. Actually was shocked to see how well they work. I've had head ons and landed nose down off jumps with no issues of anything breaking so far.
The tire combo I found on ebay and must say for the money you cant beat them. Great hook up and nice and light..

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Defnitely, the T-Bone Bumpers are the #1 thing to buy. Everything else you can upgrade as parts break. But the bumpers will save you alot of time and heartache.

Well, I started my rebuild yesterday. A stripped screw in my broken chassis set me back. Finally got it out and was able to continue. Installed the new RPM axle carriers (love them) and have the rear put back together, now have to install the new front bulkhead and electronics. I will post pics when Iam all done. I should of taken pics when I first installed the 1/10 motor, but I ran it and crashed it into a curb. I think I will keep my Merv mainly on the dirt track from now on. lol

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

@ JOEC00L:

I've already learned to stay away from aluminum parts for my MERV just by lurking around here for the past few weeks. I'll definitely be getting RPMstuff wherever possible when the time comes. I'm also planning on steering clear of Integy parts largely. They don't seem to get the best reviews and my coworker also stated the same. I'm really not against paying a little more to get better quality. I also try to research as much as possible before making my purchases.

Went out to the skate park and some dirt jumps after work last night with the little bit of daylight I had left. Started out at the dirt jumps because the skate park was busy due to the unseasonably warm weather we have had this week. Luckily, they are right next to each other. The dirt area is sort of laid out like a track, but it's really just a bunch of piles of dirt built into jumps that are used by BMXriders and such. It's not a full on track, but it works well for what I was using it for. There are other tracks in town I plan to hit up in the future. Trying to learn the jumping characteristics of my car initially. I've largely got the hang of using the throttle to adjust the attitude. I already understood the theory behind it but didn't have any first-hand experience until yesterday. Landed plenty of times on the lid and had several cartwheels as well. No major damage though, just superficial stuff.

Once it got darker(and I ran out the 1st battery), I moved over to the skate park since all the kids went home. Luckily, there were lights as well. Practiced some more jumps there off a nice tabletop. Rough guess is that I was getting maybe 10-15ft of jump distance and about 3ft+ off the ground. I had pretty good luck landing those as well, but not without a few slides on the lid. I'm really hoping to upgrade the springs shortly to give myself a bit more absorbsion for these jumps and such that I seem to be enjoying. Might also throw in some thicker shock oil as well. I don't like the car bottoming out if I can help it, but I know I'm not going to be able to stop it all. Those T-Bone bumpers can't come soon enough I guess.

This was by far the roughest I've treated my MERVyet and it's holding up extremely well, not one broken part yet. However, the repeated slides on the roof have started to wear down the body mounts on the front of the car. I'll be needing to replace those in the not too distant future. I've also lost a few body clips as well, I think some retainers will be in order also.


@ dacaur: - Iordered a 2nd Traxxas battery and both the series and parallel connections when I bought my car. Itried out the series connection a few times yesterday(holy crap!), but I stuck to a single battery(with the speed pinion still installed) with my other hijinks yesterday. Motor and ESCwere barely warm after the jumps and skate park stuff. I might switch back to the stock pinion just to see the difference and decide what I like best. I did like the extra punch of the speed pinion in the dirt and the lower speed wasn't a concern as I wasn't under full throttle all that often on the loose dirt.

Ireally need to give my car some TLCthough. It's been getting quite dirty these past few days and I haven't beendoing my part after I play. Now that I've had several runs with the car though, I think I've largely passed the "Kid on Christmas" stage and now I can spend a little more time on care and maintenance instead of the constant "Let's Play" mentality.

Ido live in COthough and I'm also a snowboarder, so I am pretty excited to try take my MERV along with me to the ski resorts this weekend and play around in the snow for a while.

P.S. Sorry I've not been able to upload any pics or videos as yet. I've been flying solo for a lot of this and it's tough to be the cameraman and driver at the same time. Hopefully this will be rectified soon.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

VW04l,

Great to see you're getting the most out of that MERV. Keeping it clean, at least "cleaner" will definitely help out the drivetrain and suspension. Mainly, keep as much dirt, sand, pebbles, etc away from parts that spin at high revolutions. All of this, I am almost sure you know or awre aware of based on common sense. However, ultimately, you could put that thing up for a month, break it out and drive it without ever cleaning it. They strangely can handle just about any abuse within the confines of normal sanity. Drop one from a 3 story building and you may be replacing alot of parts... drop one from a roof and you "could" be fortunate enough to survive the tumble -> see jetlag2222 video on you tube when he drove one off a ramp and onto his house, only to see it tumble off and keep driving!

Gforce,

We all know by now, that the MERV is not a road monster... remember my 50mph accident months ago? Had to break the whole thing down to replace the front driver side... but the T-Bone bumpers did save everything else, just not that wheel and axle and carrier. The RPM arms survived though :) That's why i got the rally, I figured it would be better suited to do the on road tasks. However, if you really want to drive the merv on road... I recommend getting some rally tires - the Nitro 4-tecs are an awesome choice for starters. I don't know if the suspension (arms, driveshafts, etc) will need to be swapped out to a rally/slash; but I seriously think that just changing the tires alone will allow your MERV to handle better on the road. What i mean by "handle" better on the road is more along the lines of less likely to "flip/roll" when cornering or making sharper turns. Instead, the rally wheels will give/spin and it'll be like driving on wet pavement :)

Oh, VWO4l - one last thing to comment, if you plan on driving it in the snow, get some Pro-line Sand Paws. they work great in the now! The Talons just don't do the car justice in sand or snow... just ask a few member on here :)

Joe

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Joecool,I rarely run my Merv on the pavement anymore. A few weeks ago I had just got the tenbol mount and 1/10 motor installed and wanted to test it. So Icharged some batteries and instead of making a trip to the track decided to just walk to a nearby parking lot so the kid and I could run our Mervs. The new motor was great and as we were almost done I had an accident and clipped a curb. Unfortunately it missed the t-bone bumper and caught all wheel. The RPM a-arms held up but the speed caused alot more damage. Broken right front wheel, steering servo arm, chassis, front bulkhead and bent steering rod. If Iwould of hit the curb head on it would of probably just flipped over with no broken parts. Anyways, Iplan to beef up the chassis support this time around. Getting the T-bone bumpers w/ brace for my Merv and giving my son the other T-bone bumpers. And no more street racing...until Ican afford a Rally. lol

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

I was able to finish the rebuild today. Like I said before all new front bulkhead, chassis and RPMaxle carriers. Here are a few pics. Tested it in the house but didn't get to the track today. We are going to the coast this weekend, might be taking the Mervs along. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Looks really good Gforce. I thought a 1/10th would hang over and cramp up the merv but it looks like the MMP fits nice. Can you give me more info on what motor and mount your using? Links maybe.. I'm thinking for summer I want to go with a 1/10th scale since the VXL runs so hot. Looking at the castle SCT system with it being cheap and read good things with it. Should throw the merv around with no issues..:D

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

The motor mount is by Tenbol, the only one I know made for the Mini Revo. The Toyz I know carry them at times, just have to check availability. I lucked out and got one off of Ebay as someone was selling theirs. I have the Castle MMP ESC which I used with my stock VXL, which it still had some heat issues. I got this 1/10 motor on a trade and it seems to work great. It's a Thunder Tiger Ripper 4900kv motor. It should work great for what Iuse my Merv for (track and beach). The day I wrecked my Merv, this motor wasn't even that warm after running one battery. I'm not looking for real high speeds so figured any higher kv would be overkill. If I were to buy a motor I would of probably got a Castle but I will use this one as long as it lasts. So if you don't have the ESC yet you may consider a 1/10 Castle system. I only had to trim a little plastic on the chassis to fit the MMPESC. Where the stock VXL ESC slides on, so the bigger ESCcould sit flat.

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

Hey thanks for the info. Still not sure if I want the 1/10 system size as I feel it would take the lCG away making it roll easier. Also bigger system eats more juice but then theres not much I've found other then 1/10..

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

got my merv back together today
slipper clutch & plate & bearing
55T metal sput gear 23T pinion, this moved the Mamba Max out a bit and may go back to metal 50spur and 19pinion to tuck the MM in a bit
shimmed diff ring and pinion greased with lithium inside and out (that's what I had)
just like new
ran 4 3S packs through it and 2 4S packs, kept both esc & motor temps below 130
I learned that i need to keep an eye on the slipper clutch tension, when it starts slipping, tighten it up or melt it!
I think my favorite all around bashing tires are dirt hawgs on dish wheels, not the best looking but light and you can see the white a block away

got a second set of shocks that I think I will put the spacers inside and dedicate them for lowered street driving, I hear folks like the drivability on the street of the lowered merv

RE: OFFICIAL MINI E-REVO THREAD!!!
 

A 1/10 system wont draw more current just be virtue of being 1/10 size. In fact with two motors of the same KV, the 1/10 would likley be more efficient due to larger wires and better heat dissipation, especially when you get up higher in the KV range (more efficient = uses less amps for the same speed)....
The really important thing is the KV rating and gearing combo. Lower KV motors, whether they are 1/10 or 1/18, will draw less current than higher KV motors, but will also give less top speed. The stock motor is only 3500kv, and gives more top speed than this little truck can handle already....