hellya

tank# 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA2seU6QDWI Its a Bmx track and they dont have any veiwing podiums to be able to see the buggy at all times....First decent day weather wise here in washington since I got the buggy....finally no rain

......EDIT..... added video
want a laugh the buggy is fence proff this is my 3rd tank in this video

tank ##3 ballfield http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r9v6iYQZI0

Here are some photos of the buggy........it comes RTR with a 1800 mah battery, radio system with failsafe and 2 - 1/4 scale 15 kilo servos for steering, throttle/brakes.

.............................Thunder-Bolt..........................................

Length............................................ 700mm (27.5 in)
Width............................................. .460mm (17.75 in)
Height............................................ 286mm (11.25 in
Wheelbase......................................520 mm
Tread(F/R)......................................458mm/460mm
Wheel Diameter...............................172mm*80mm
Gear Rate.........................................8.4:1
Weight............................................ 12KG (26.5 lbs)
Engine............................................ 28cc














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Look at this photo you can see how they made the roll cage with pins for taking it apart in different locations

NitroBurn1

Cool, looks like it jumps real nice.

fourwheeler

Looking good so far.

hellya

thanks

SELWA

My Feedback: (1)

Damn! I can't view youtube at work.[] I'll have to wait until I get home now.

Foxy

OK, I'll give you a commentary...

First he runs it slowly down the track, then stops on top of the jump. Then he turns left, then he turns right... er.... this isn't really doing it for you is it? lol. Sorry, I'm in a funny mood. [&:]

Does look like it jumps really balanced. The more I see of this car (while I wait for mine), the more it seems like a 1/8th nitro buggy scaled up, which is something I had been wondering why didn't exist in the market up to now. If the reliability is there, this should be a GREAT car. Can't wait for mine now.

SELWA

My Feedback: (1)

Funny, I can just picture it now... no need to watch the video anymore.

HaveBlue

sorry to sound negative..but again this buggy seems to be underpowered( I original thought the same after Smartech posted the video on their site)...I also realise that it might not be a fair comment to make at this point in time..the jumps looked good, which indicates the engine must have aleast a bit of torque in it..it just seems to spool up slow..seems like the balance is ok
I 'll have to do the same ..wait for more video while I wait for mine to arrive....yeah, theres actually 4 buggies being sent for evaluation.
but what the hey..it's a 4 x 4 buggy and it looks like it will be alot of fun

I would be really keen to put a pipe on this engine, but I know Smartech want a review of the their RTR product

Foxy

I've noticed all large scale 4x4s look sluggish compared to their 2wd brethren, I guess it's the price you pay for so much power loss through the extra transmission. Also with this car, as it's a shaft drive, the power goes through three right angles (engine to shaft, and shaft to front and rear diffs) before it gets to the wheels, this robs a lot of power, and is why belt drive 4x4s dominate on road racing. All the rotating parts rotate along the long axis (front to rear) with a belt drive, non right angles, and therefore less power loss and zero torque steer. Shaft drives have the shaft spinning perpendicular to the direction of travel, and as I say, send the power through a few right angles. Not to mention the simple variable of extra friction from the extra gears. Unfortunately 4wd is not simply double the transmission of 2wd, it's more like 3 times as much transmission to send the power through. Unavoidable.

RCnut80

Looks good, very balance during jumps. I agree with Foxy this looks very much like an eighth scale buggy the more I see it. Did you tune the engine to max performance yet? Seems a bit sluggish from the way it sounds just wondering if you leaned out the neeldes. I would love to see how this buggy turns with it's scaled up 1/8th buggy suspension and 4wd. Can't wait for more of your review. Keep it coming

HaveBlue

you hit the nail on the head here, thats exactly right, its an exponetial power robber when run at right angles...but everything can be compensated for..if you take from here..you add to there[)]

Foxy

Or you just stick one of Carlo's engines in it, and stock up on diff pinions and outdrives.

I don't reckon Hellya has tuned it yet. Don't forget it's a 28cc, I can't see it not having 'enough' torque to light up the wheels when properly tuned.

HaveBlue

I'm hoping the same(engine tuning required)..it did seem to be more crisp on the video that on the Smartech website..as for torque..seeing how it launches on the jump, I dont think it lacks torque..I think it's just slow to spool up(hence my inclination to put a pipe on it, but thats not part of the initial evalution..that might come later), I dont even know what gearing is in this thing yet.

I might also being drawing to much from driving my FG evo onroad 2wd..which hammers when you hit the throttle, and having owned and raced Smartech Travellers which had a bit of zip in them, but thats thanks to the trusty Zenoah G230 which is a very good engine..you also pointed out above, the other important aspect with mention of the difference of the 2WD Vs the 4WD

hellya

ok guys, I bought the tunepipe for the TITAN to try on the buggy.... its the same vehicle except for the roll cage, the arms are not as wide and different tires/rims/shocks...other than that its the same


The tunepipe fits great when you have the roll cage off.....but you cant mount the cage back to the chassis


I took off the stock can.


You can also see the roll cage has pins in it and it comes apart in different sections and the stock can exits out the side

John H (DK)

'Jingle bells - jingle bells' what the h is that noise? sorry but that engine need seriously a tuneup, its sound like its choking.... but nice jumps [)]

hellya

that noise is the gears in the center diff of the vehicle along with a the brake disc..... that drives the front and rear diffs...its going to always be there

The video was my 2nd tank of gas in the buggy...now I can mess with the tuning

hellya

I'm running a HPI can hollowed out......No mess at all right in between shocktower





.....heres a photo

FGmyzer

that video made me laugh, you can see that rear wheel drive they spin more and 4x4 gives alot better traction in dirt

HaveBlue

well that does have much more zip in it..good one hellya[sm=thumbup.gif]

sheograth

That body looks nice.

HaveBlue

are the shocks adjustable?..it doesn't look like it

hellya

Adjustable as a FG shock...the plastic spacers...the shock oil in the stock buggy is 500wt alittle soft...I'm switching to 1000wt after running it for awhile, then I will be able to see if the diffference is for the good or bad

sheograth

Any word on companies making tuned pipes for it? It looks like the Titan pipe might fit but it'd look REAL funky.

hellya

I bought the tunepipe for the Titan to try on the buggy....its the same chassis and setup as the Titan only diff is arms length /bones, roll cage, tire/shocks

The tunepipe fits great when you have the roll cage off.....but you cant mount the cage back to the chassis



One big difference ....so far no bones are coming out of the cups [sm=thumbup.gif]

sheograth

From the videos I can hear that it has the same horrid gear jingle as the Titan /