MT2 HPI
 

I was wanting some basic info on the MT2. I realize there is already a huge list already, just that it is almost to much to wade thru. I thought that my motor was an .18? Seems from others it's a 15? I would like more bottom end without all the top speed, are there gearing option's, can I get low enough with the stock motor to have excellant bottom end? Or does excellant bottom end equal stripped diffs. I don't want to push the envelope here, would rather have it like it is and live then be a problem everytime I take it out. Just seems a little tame off the line. Thanks

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Replace the stock exhaust, with an exhaust to give you more bottom end torque, and get a 13T clutch bell, and you will see take off from the hole pretty fast, you will loose top speed.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Can someone post a link for a 13 tooth clutch bell please. I am wondering if I would not be better off to just buy a larger motor and not spend anything more on what I have. Seems the general rule is thata the stock RTR motor in the MT2 is crap. Without opening pandora's box here what would be a direct fit upgrade that won't be terrible on my drivetrain?

RE: MT2 HPI
 

The stock T15 is underrated, in my opinion is a great little motor, I managed to get mine up to 47mph.
I did lose a little of bottom end because I went to a 16T clutch bell. However with a Tsais exhaust, and the motor properly tuned,
when it hit around the 10,000 at full throttle all 4 wheels were spinning on dirt.
But again, to each their own.

here is a link to a 13t clutch bell, and a motor:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXM724&P=7

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGGP6&P=ML

RE: MT2 HPI
 

that engine wont fit, its with a slide carb. the mt2 uses a rotary carb.....

RE: MT2 HPI
 

U can fit the slide carb with this:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXABF3&P=7

MORE SPEED

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Agreed, the OS CV-RX is the engine of choice for the MT2, be it rotary or slide carb, either will work. You also need to get engine mounts to install both. They make two on Tower that will work, but go with the more expensive purple mount. A racing clutch and clutchbell are both great upgrades as well, but you will need bearings for the clutchbell. I don't have time to post links to any of this ATM, but I will try to do so after I get home from work, or perhaps someone else will get to it first. Hope this helps.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

I have the MT2 3.0, what motor am Iworking with stock? is it a 15 or an 18?

RE: MT2 HPI
 

The 3.0cc is a .18 cubic inch. If he has a T15 in a RTR he will all so need engine mounts to change the CB to be able to set the gear mesh.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

I have the RTR mt2 3.0. so its a 15 or an 18 in the RTR?

RE: MT2 HPI
 

.18............... .15 ci is 2.5 cc .12ci is about 2.1cc .21ci is 3.5cc and they get bigger and bigger and bigger

RE: MT2 HPI
 

So since I have the 18 do I need a special mount to put on the os motor?

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Depends if the G3.0 has the engine directly mounted to the chassis as the MT2 with the T-15 did. If it is on mounts then likely you can just use it's mount. So the answer is if the G3.0 has a mount, you won't need to buy one, if it has no mount you will need one.

A few links: Hope this helps

Mount:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXCLR3&P=K
Racing clutchbell:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXLST5&P=K
Racing clutch:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXLST3&P=K
Bearings for the clutchbell (that I bought):
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXNRE1&P=K
OS 18 CV-RX w/ rotary carb:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXGGP7&P=K

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Since you have the G3.0 motor, I wouldn't upgrade the motor, get the 13T bell, with a exhaust for bottom end, and you will have enough torque to keep you happy.

By going with a the Os engine above you will be disappointed with the results, it will not be much better than what you will have.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

I do not have any experience with the HPI 3.0 since it has not been out real long but have experience with the HPI 18SS and if the HPI 3.0 is not any better then the HPI 18SS the OS is a MUCH better engine. :eek: I do agree for now stick with the 3.0 unless you just have the extra cash!

RE: MT2 HPI
 

The motor and the mount will seperate, so money saved there. I am going to try the 13 tooth clutch bell and see if that makes a difference tomorrow. I will not buy a low end pipe at the cost of roughly 50 bucks when the OS motor is only a hundred. Seems like money wasted. Does the SS denote anything special about the 18 motor in the kit version of the mt2? I am assuming that the better motor comes in the kit? If my truck goes say 40 now, what will going to a 13 bell put me at? I have a 52 spur gear, do they get bigger? I am already out the bottom of the chassis plate as is.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

For off the line punch a 12 or 13 tooth bell with the stock 52 tooth gear is the way to go and is also the biggest spur gear you can mount. The lowest racing clutchbell offered is the 13 tooth and are hardened and ventilated, the stock bells are not. Spending the extra cash upfont on the racing clutchbell will save you money in the longrun, as they last 3-4 times as long as the unhardened stock ones. You will need the above listed bearings although, as the stock needle bearing will not work with racing bell. Again, it is a vast improvement over stock. From your pictures you already have the racing clutch, so you needn't spend any money there. You can, however, use the innermost mounting holes on it to get more acceleration without spending a dime. Since the G3.0 engine comes with mounts, you are set there as well if you decide to upgrade your engine down the road. Bottom line though is speed costs money and RC cars are expensive to operate on a good day. If you got into this hobby thinking you could plunk down 300 bills and be done, sorry to say thats just a drop in the bucket. I switched over from flying RC planes and the differences are major. Planes are expensive up front but low cost on maintenance (unless you crash- total loss is the likely result), the opposite is true for cars. You can, however upgrade a piece at a time and eventually get where you want to go. Getting a good tuned pipe is a very good place to start and will get you the most bang for the buck straightaway. If and when you decide to get a better engine like the OS, you can use the same pipe, so it is not a waste of money in the least. A good pipe that will work with both your current engine and the OS as well is the THS racing pipe, many fellow MT2 owners, including myself, use it. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCPX4&P=ML

46u is the resident guru of the MT2 thread and if you have any questions, he's the one to ask. He has been a wealth of good info for myself and countless other MT2 owners.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Understand that Vinnie has spent countless hours supertuning his T-15 and has gotten better results out of that engine than any other poster in the MT2 thread, by far (I have read the entire 800+ pages, as well as his MT2 Jatokiller project thread). There would be a definite improvement over both the 18ss or the T-15 for 99% of users, and if history is any indication, the g3.0 as well. HPI makes a great big block with their 4.6 engine but has a poor reputation when it comes to small blocks, sorry to say.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Thanks cat, I'm going to get that pipe today and see if it helps, if still not satisfied going to the OS.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

I got the 13 tooth racing clutchbell, they did not have the pipe in stock. One question, you mentioned that the stock clutch bell bearings would not work? Wondering why? I took them out of the old clutch and they fit right in the new? Will let you kow if this is much improvement.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

The original MT2 used a single needle bearing like this: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXM766&P=Z It seems HPI has made some much needed improvements when they released the MT2 G3.0. Very nice to see they listen to their customers' input or read these and other threads like it. The original MT2 had a two shoe clutch, had the engine mounted directly on the chassis, used a lower quality clutchbell with a needle bearing instead of 2 standard bearings and had pot metal ring and pinion gears in the diffs. Lucky you, it seems the G3.0 has the better parts already installed, which will save you much cash when upgrade time comes around. I had to purchase not only the racing clutch separately, but the engine mount, heavy duty ring and pinion gears (33 bucks a set) as well as the racing clutchbell and standard type bearings to replace the shoddy needle bearings. You have saved well over 100 bucks by having these items stock in your ride. Also, did the alloy steering knuckles and C-hubs come stock on the G3.0? If the answer is yes, you just saved even more, as the steering knuckles are one of the first things to get worn in the older versions of the MT2. The knuckles themselves were plastic and worked fine, but the bolts that hold them to the A-arms would strip their housings and fail quickly. The bolts would end up falling out and getting lost, usually ending your day. It would seem the only things needed on the G3.0 are a better tuned pipe and engine, a total upgrade cost of about $150 as opposed to well over $350-400 to get the older models to the same standard. All I can say is WOW. Nice work, HPI. Good luck with yours, hope you get your pipe soon.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Catbutt, the aluminum upgrades were all mine, the knuckles failed within 10 minutes of run time. The clutch bell bearings swapped right into the racing bell. The only other problems that I keep having are that the pipe keeps coming lose from the motor and the wheels won't stay tight, regardless of locktight. Any suggestions?

RE: MT2 HPI
 

Yup, I had the same two problems with mine, get some small nuts to thread on the manifold bolt ends that stick out ( if indeed they are long enough that some sticks out the other side- if they aren't long enough, get some that are, ones with a hex head are best) so you can basically tighten from both ends. I replaced the manifold bolts that came with mine to hex head bolts, the originals were phillips head and I could not tighten them enough. Don't forget to locktight the bolts (as they go into the manifold- don't get any in the exhaust) and nuts for good measure. I also put a drop of CA on the nuts to make double sure they stay on without backing off. These are the ones that fit mine and should fit yours also, provided the manifold bolts are the same thread as mine, they should be. LINK: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXM848&P=K
For the wheels, get some Tamiya wheel nuts, they seem to be the best, the HPI ones don't stay on for some reason. Funny, you'd think making a locknut would be a no-brainer. LINK: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXNM49&P=K
Failing that, you could go to your local hardware store and pick some up, anything will work better than the HPI ones. The same goes for the manifold nuts if you can't get them from your LHS. Unfortunately, most hardware stores won't carry bolts that will work for the manifold, as they are small diameter, metric and long, for these your only choice may be your LHS.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

What bearings came stock with yours? If it came with the 2 shield ball bearings you are fine if it is the old style roller bearings and you are using the HPI race CB you are going to have problems.

RE: MT2 HPI
 

I just looked on HPI web site and the MT2 3.0 RTR comes with the 2 ball bearing set up instead of the older poor roller bearing! It is about time they changed.

I all so see the part number for the ring and pinion (final gears) has changed. Does any one know the difference and did they get away from the pot metal? I sure hope so. :D