rctycoon

That sounds like the plan for me, thank you very much!

rctycoon

Would this lipo low-voltage alarm do the job?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Lipo-battery-Low-voltage-warning-alarm-7-4v-11-1v-RC_W0QQitemZ370145186822QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_C ontrol_Parts_Accessories?hash=item370145186822&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Thanks again!

minirio

i have read as much as i can (computer probs) and still have not found much ANSWERS to my qeustion about not planeing! plase tell me the page no's or what eva you did to fix it!

minirio

i am having computer probs and cant seem to access all parts of this thread(?) so i would be great if anyone could give me any advice on what to do with stoick mr what will not plane unless pushed? thanks!

rctycoon

Hi minirio,

Here is something that I have not heard too often in this thread, it may help (let us know). Make sure the prop is not pushed right up against the stuffing tube on the rear of the boat (mine was out of the box). It clearly states in the manual that there should be a 2mm gap. I assume this is done because the cable drive tightens(gets shorter) as it spins faster...

If that doesn't work, then stay tuned because as soon as I get a chance (I have two young daughters, 2.5 years and 9 months. Time is very valuable..) I will summarize what I have picked up from this thread and include as many links as I can...

I will go into further detail later, but you basically have two upgrade choices. One is the cheaper non-brushless, less technical upgrades (this is what I am starting with since I am a beginner) and the other choice is the more expensive and more technical brushless upgrades. However, most of the non-brushless upgrades will carryover to a brushless setup later.

Take care for now and I will write my summary as soon as I can.

minirio

thanks mate! wow my computer is really bad! i saw a page that said to use an octura prop? but if i chose to just get another faster motor what would be then best choice?

cheers again!

Nina Roses Dad

Yes, that's the exact one I'm using. Leverage the shipping cost and buy a spare in case you get it wet and somehow ruin it (not that I have done that yet).

Nina Roses Dad

It's either the stock battery (that comes with the boat) or a LiPo.

But once you run the boat on a lipo, you'll never run it on the stock battery again.

Nina Roses Dad

I thought the turn fins looked a bit odd too. The descr mentions a radio box, but you don't get to see it in the photos. If it doesn't have reverse, not having the boot on the steering linkage is probably ok.

twomanytoys

rctycoon,

Sorry I have not responded fast enough. You want the Graupner speed 400 6v motor. The 6v one is better. They both handle 8.4v but you need a minimum of 6v to run it. The 6v one hasmore torque, higher rpm but then also has higher amperage pull. Its a good motor but I would go for the Duratrax motor. Its quite a bit faste than the graupner. The Graupner is more efficient and gets great run times.

twomanytoys

I did see one of these in person at my local hobby shop. They look really good. thats the only reason I know about it bcause the owner of the boat said he got it on ebay. Turnfins can help on any boat if it be v bottom or cat but mostly benefits the v bottoms. Everything looks well built and the hull is thick. It was at my local hobby shop being set up with radio gear. I did not see it run but there is videos on youtube and they really move.

rctycoon

Thank you twomanytoys,

I thought it would be the 6v, but I wanted to make sure. I am going to stick with the stock motor until I burn it out (if it burns out) with minimal upgrades. I will do the .047 wire drive, the blue Turnigy 31mm prop, upgrade my wires to 16 gauge with deans ultra plugs, and throw in one of those Zippy 1450mah 25c lipos. Oh yes, and do the thermal grease or JB cold weld water cooling solutions and a lipo low-voltage alarm from eBay. I imagine this will do me well as I am not ready to go brushless and have to deal with buying and installing a new radio system yet. I just got the boat in the fall and never had a chance to take it out yet... Can't wait!

Please let me know if I missed something..?

twomanytoys

All those mods will do great. I think you will be happy with it. Just using the Lipo itself makes a huge difference and then the 31mm prop. The Turnagy props are nice. I use them on a few boats. They dont fit exactly but still work great. You just have to center the prop as good as you can before you tighten the prop nut.

minirio

do you have a link on tower to that zippy lipo? thanks

twomanytoys

Tower is not the one that carries Zippy Lipos. Its HobbyCity.com. The Zippy packs are great packs and super cheap.

minirio

thanks! what a great boat! other then my probs with not planeing once you push it and it stays up its great fun i recommend this boat to anybody in the rc game!

Nina Roses Dad

Today at the pond two gas boats had a collisionand I got distracted and ran my MR right into the wall of the boat pond and cracked it right at the bow. The cracks and the hole are above the waterline, so I didn't know anything was wrong until I ran over a leaf and the boat flipped upside down and started to sink, with the bow pointing up at the sky.

The closed-cell foam saved it from sinking completely. Hitting the throttle made it jump out of the water, but it kept landing upside down until I let it sink as far as it was going to... then it shot out of the water and landed rightside up. I was able to bring it in, completely full of water. The water didn't kill the LiPo alarm or ruin anything else.

So now I'm going to be running my MR around with a piece of white duct tape on the bow :-(

rctycoon

Sorry minirio, that was not the summary I was talking about, hence there were no links. However, I will give you the links for the items I mentioned above for now... By the way, this would be the cheaper non-brushless (less technical) upgrade.

.047 piano wire for wire drive upgrade
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXWU98&P=ML

Turnigy 31mm prop
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=7358

16 gauge wire (red/black)
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=5197
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=4143

Deans Ultra (imitation, but I am sure they will do for the price)
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=2116

Zippy lipo 2s 25c 1450mah
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=6305

You will also need a charger if you don't have one, I think this will do
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=8247

Oh yeah, you may need these for connecting the motor to the ESC
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=2159

You can just do an eBay search for lipo low voltage alarm (around $6-8) and the cold weld or thermal grease from your local hardware store (here in Canada it would be Canadian Tire or Home Depot..).

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, I think the easiest thing you can do to get your boat to plane would be to upgrade the wires/deans plugs on your stock nimh battery, the wires to and from the ESC and the wires to the motor. It would be best to keep the stock prop for this because the larger prop will create more strain and I am not sure how much it could handle with all stock parts.

I hope this is helpful!

minirio

thanks bro!

rctycoon

Sorry to hear about your luck ninarose, it is a shame they don't sell the hulls. At least the rest of your stuff didn't get ruined...

Check this out folks, I thought this would be neat to watch your temps especially if you are doing back to back runs.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idproduct=8297

rctycoon

You are welcome minirio! One more thing, the other option for a prop is the Octura x431 (nylon).

minirio

i just came up with something after not tightning the two grubs on the cable and the hole thing falling into my pool, i got a shock pistion from my stampede and put the cable through the pistons middle hole and then a few drops of super glue each side and whalla; when i took the two grubs out and drove it the cable slipped back but the pistons stops it coming out by hitting the tube!

minirio

even better use a collar with a grub screw!

i still having plane issues so i took it into lhs and he said he wouild take it down to the pond and try fix it, do you reckon i should just ring him and tel him that people who have this problem on the internet upgrade to a Octura x431 prop and it fixes it?

also would i be able to use this motor ( duratrac vr3) with stock everything?

thanks in advance!

Ron70

Hi everyone, Just got 2 little rio's for my boys and they love it. A red one and yellow one. The red one is nice. It takes off and gets on plane like a champ. The yellow one is having a hard time getting on plane. IF you toss the yellow one, it maintains running on plane. But once you stop and try to go again, it doesn't go. Everything is stock and the batteries are cycled. I tried to move weight forward on the yellow boat, but it just can't get on plane from a stand still. Any ideas without resorting to lipos or brushless?

Here's a video: [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNzaM-jO8fA]Click me[/link]


Thanks

Ron

Jim Bob

Ron70 I would upgrade to the octura x431 propeller. It will also help to drive the boat iin a straight line until it is on plane.