Bombers_410

HI all i have a nikko tiger and am trying to upgrade it. since this boat wasnt meant to be upgraded i had to rip out a lot of unneeded plastic. i took a stinger 20turn (same as the traxxas blast) and made a custom mount for it, then slapped it in there. i had to rip out the gear reduction and made it a direct drive now. i havent tried it yet with the 540 motor in it yet. first i tried it with a stock zig zag motor and direct drive. it went much faster than stock so i am guessing that the 540 motor will go alot faster than either one of the previous motors. i have some pics now and will try to put up a video of it once i get it completed. tell me what you think.
John

hellomynameisdookie

Pretty cool. Nothing more fun than making something from nothing.

What are you using to connect the motor to the shaft? What prop are you using, and on how many cells?

Bombers_410

i cut a hole in the battery box to fit a standard 6 cell sub c pack but i might use the one it came with wich is 8 cell9.6v AAsize pack wich is lighter and more cells.

im using the stock propeller because i dont know how to take it off without damaging the shaft or put a new prop on that wont fall off.

i need a "cupler" i think its called to attach the propshaft and the motor. im going to my lhs today to find something that will work, or i could just make something to attach the two together

Bombers_410

wow does the performance suck so far. its all hooked up and i have a high pressure air hose connecting the motor and the propshaft. the propshaft wobbles a lot when i go full throtle. it sounded better when i smoothed out the propshaft for like 10 seconds but i cant seem to keep the propshaft still. i bet it would go a bit faster if i couold smooth out the wobbles but i dont know how to do that. can someone help me? right now it is slower than the stock tiger and i dont think the motor is really getting up into those high rpms. it sounds more like a drill than a fast electric

bebopin64

My Feedback: (2)

sounds like maybe too much power for that stock shaft?

Bombers_410

ya i tried to get a shaft and a new prop at my lhs but it has zero crap for boats cuz it sux (hobbytown)

bebopin64

My Feedback: (2)

wat is the diameter of the stock shaft because i bet you could get a stainless steel of the same diameter and it will be stiffer. or you could just buy a new boat and save the effort.

Bombers_410

lol, i already have a fast electric but i thought it would be fun to make a nikko go fast. the diameter is either 1 or 2 mm its pretty small i think its closer to one though

Bombers_410

i dont think it is the propshaft i custom fitted a zig zag racer prop to the driveshaft and changed the cupler toa smaller more flexible hose i havent tried it yet but here are some pics.

i willl tryit pretty soon though after the glue dries

hellomynameisdookie

Ok don't use that coupler! You're asking for trouble with it. Even if it works out of water, once you put it in the water it won't work. The resistance from the water on the prop will kill that thing. It's no ZigZag! And that tiny prop won't do you much at all with that Stinger motor, it'll probably just cavitate like crazy. You need something in the range of the stock Blast prop, as that motor is stock in the Blast.

If you're really looking to convert the boat, you should upgrade your prop shaft and stuffing tube to something that takes a variety of props, and that way you can use an appropriate motor shaft-propshaft coupler that will hold up.

Bombers_410

ok thanks.
but i dont think the motor is getting up to speed in the water. i hold it out of the water for a sec so it gets up to speed, then drop it in but it wont move hardly- about as fast as it is stock i realy dont think its cavatating because there is no air bubbles. the zig zag motor works alot fasster than the 540 in the tiger. i looked at a stock blast prop at my lhs but it didnt look much diffirent from the zig zag prop.
do you think i should try the zig zag motor again, now that i have the zig zag prop in there it should be even faster than the first time i tried the zig zag motor right?

Bombers_410

ive got stronger material for cuplers also so if that one rips apart ill try a stronger piece of something

Bombers_410

i think there might be a voltage problem with the motor-not getting enough power with the stock electrics in there. but i dont know

hellomynameisdookie

The Blast prop and the ZigZag prop are very different, the Blast prop is MUCH larger.

Are you using the stock Nikko Tiger electronics? If so you might want to swap them out for a good marine esc. Or if you don't want to do all that, go back to the ZZ motor setup you had if you were happy with it.

It sounds like you're having fun customizing your boat. That's my favorite part about this stuff . Anyone can go out and buy a boat ready to go, it's the custom boats that are the real deal, wether they're fast or not.

Bombers_410

ok either ill go and get a blast prop and custom fit it on there or ill switch the 540 motor for the zig zag 1

well its kinda fun once i fix a problem but i still dont like that it goes as slow as stock no matter what i do. i think ill put in the zig zag racer motoor back in. it wont go as fast as the zig zag but it will go a ton faster than wat it is now ( i hope at least)

hunnerbunner

If you are using the stock nikko pack, that might be your problem, too. Those aa batteries just can't supply the amps to run the 540 motor under load. Try using the sub c pack to see if that makes a difference.

Bombers_410

ok thanks. mite as well try it right

Bombers_410

OK .... my lhs didnt have the blast prop so i just got the nitrovee prop (same thing right) ehh close enough. i havent tried it out yet because i have to wait for my custom geurilla glue job to dry. plz tell me if this prop with a 540 motor is overkill for this boat[X(]

Bombers_410

yes im faster than stock!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!

it still sux though i even cut off some of the wires to cut down on resistance. i think the crap electrics arent allowing enough volts to get through with just one battery.... i amd going to hook up 2 batteries. yes that 14.4 volts going striaght through all this crap.. i really hope it fries the electris in there right before it explodes cuz this is making me mad.[:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@]

Bombers_410

i jus tested it out in my room and it sounds like a ... well .. REEIISIIAFISHDSHHIIIEIICIICIHCHCHCCEEIICHDHC9IC9.. .. its really loud.. i cant describe it. im gonna go down to the lake now. i hope it doesnt sink... it can blow up ... but i hope it doesnt sink

Bombers_410

it sank... i couldnt fit the 2 batteries in there all the way so i did my best to make them fit and taped it closed. kinda ... i set it in the water and it floated but when i gunned it , because it was bow heavy it dove in the water and slow i mean quickly sucked in the water until it sank. at first i was going to leave it but then i remembered it was only 4 feet deap so i jumped in and after 10 minutes found it hope my batts are ok

Bombers_410

now that ive opened it up im glad i recovered it because the connecter i use to wire in a series for my wave shark i put in there to hook up 2 batts. whew

buzzster

I am working on upgrading a nikko tiger. How did you mount the the Zig Zag motor in the tiger boat? How did you couple the Zig Zag motor shaft to the Tiger's drive shaft? Any info would be appreciated so I can speed up my mods. Thanks.

Bombers_410

well first i took out the stock motor and gear reduction stuff so its down to that little white plastic universal joint.. then i squezed the zig zag motor in the mount for the stock tiger motor. i had to cut a little bit of the tiger mount to make room for the new motor. then i used black tape and the cupler for the zig zag racer and attattched the motor to the driveshaft with it and overloaded it with black tape. i screw the motor mount back in the same place it was.. it goes suprisingly fast with the stock tiger propeller. and zig zag motor. i havent tried it with zig zag motor and zig zag prop but i bet it would go even faster than with the stock propeller. to put the zig zag prop on ther i heated up the drive shaft with a lighter, well first i took a screw and stretched out the zig zag prop first ( so that it would fit on the bigger drive shaft) then squezed the prop on there.

btw i think i fried all the electrics in the tiger right before it sank because it smells kinda funny. but i think my batteries and stinger motor are ok ( i think)

MikDee

That Nitro Vee prop is too big for a submerged drive (probably about 42mm), you need a maximum 35mm prop, like the Traxxas blast, or Tower hobbies Turbo vee,,, Next you need a better design coupler, one that doesn't slip, as I would guess yours is,,, Then all you need is 6-7 cells, not 12, and it should work fine!,,, But, don't expect it to be much faster with that fat plastic skeg dragging underwater.

I would maybe try taking the gear off the motor, and use a few layers (one inside the other) of shrink wrap tubing, to ake it as strong aqs possible, then maybe a couple of tiny electrical tie wraps, one on the motor, & one, on propshaft. Shrink with a hair dryer or heat gun carefully.