Thunder Tiger SSB/SSR

[StevePond]

Started at the request of Patrik

[Patrik]

Originally posted by StevePond
Started at the request of Patrik

Thank you!

So? Does anyone besides me have a SSB? This is my first nitro experience but it appears not to be a problem. What is worse is the car is fragile. I have, in five days of driving, busted one front drive shaft, two diff housings, one shock absorber and two front right turn nuckles. And while I am displeased with the car for breaking, I realise it is mostly my own fault. From now on, no more driving in five centimeter tall grass or trough piles of leaves that hide rocks the size of a 1/10 wheel! Otherwise the car is doing fine. A friend stripped the diff in his DT-10 in the third hour driving, causing me to pull mine appart to check them and caught on of them with initial wear from poor alignement. Its been fixed and no more wear hes been seen.

Patrik

[Patrik]

I meant to edit these images into the previuos post but i forgot the time limit on edits...

http://www.student.itn.liu.se/~patjo553/rc/SSB_001.jpg
New and clean!

http://www.student.itn.liu.se/~patjo553/rc/SSB_002.jpg
Postfun Dirrty! Better keep that body on next time. Keeps the dirt out. Have some videos too but I cannot get them captured right now.

Patrik

[Patrik]

:confused:
After action report:
No fun today... First really warm day of the year so I had to retune the needle accordingly. Makes a carefull circle around the gravel field to warm it up and make sure everything works. Applies throttle and car veers to left. Stops car and applies throttle and car veers to left again. Hmmm... Keeps a steady half open throttle and front wheels goes into spasmic motion from center to left while trottle does equally erratic movement until engine finally dies. Holds car with wheels of the ground, no interference until engine revs enough to spin wheels at moderate speed. Erratic movement of steering and throttle while hands off steering wheel and throttle at half open or more. No interference whatsoever when engine is off or at idle.
Suggestions greatly appreciated.
Patrik

[Patrik]

All rain and no driving makes Patrik a dull boy...

Seriously, am I the only one who bought this car?

[pistole]

Glad to see that you're having fun with your new car.

Is that the RTR 1/10 buggy from TTR , with a TTR 0.15 engine and shaft driven 4 wheel drive (no center diff) ...... ?

I saw it at the Store where I bought my other cars. Looks nice enough. My experience with 1/10 scale nitro is that they are great fun and a good platform to learn on.

Unfortunately , the trade off is that the cars are exceptionally fragile. My mangled and broken DT10 is testament to this. Almost every other run , I break something. I cannot accept that this is down to driver error , the cars must be made to accept that sort of punishment , if not , its just plain Fragile.

By comparison , my EK4 and EB4 are as tough as nails. Whatever the crash , they just shrug it off and continue as before , nothing broken , nothing bent , nothing spoilt. In comparison , whenever I roll / cartwheel my DT10 , at the least , the rear shock tower breaks (I think I have changed 5-6 of these alone) .....

That is why (perhaps a little too late in your case) , I would recommend a beginner to buy the TTR EB4 Buggy (the RTR Sport version - no center diff - blue plastic center spur gear). This is much more value for money , much tougher car , much faster and off road traction is second to none. She is also just a little more money to spend when compared to the 1/10 cars.

This 1/8 Buggy can then form the basis of a sound Nitro platform for the purpose of learning and also a fair bit of modification to make it competitive.


Anyhow ........

As for your problems with "servo shakes". The main cause is lack of power in the battery. This is also because you get it in both servos at the same time.

The short answer would be for you to buy a 'proper' battery (NiMH) pack rated at 6 volts. These are strong and long lasting. Much better than the 4 cell holders that these cars come with.

As the car is RTR , do remember to locktite all ( most at least ) of the metal to metal screws. Especially the 4 screws that hold the engine to the mount and the 4 that hold the mount to the chassis. These are important.

Those plastic shocks are USELESS. The shaft will wear out in good time and render your shocks leaking oil vessels. Real pain. If you've got the money , change to proper alum ones. If not , bag the whole shock in a balloon , to protect it from the dirt.

Always run with the Body on. Keeps out the dirt .....

Let us know how you get on with your new purchase. Good Luck!

Bye.

[Patrik]

Originally posted by pistole
Glad to see that you're having fun with your new car.

Is that the RTR 1/10 buggy from TTR , with a TTR 0.15 engine and shaft driven 4 wheel drive (no center diff) ...... ?

That would be the one.

Unfortunately , the trade off is that the cars are exceptionally fragile. My mangled and broken DT10 is testament to this. Almost every other run , I break something. I cannot accept that this is down to driver error , the cars must be made to accept that sort of punishment , if not , its just plain Fragile.

By comparison , my EK4 and EB4 are as tough as nails. Whatever the crash , they just shrug it off and continue as before , nothing broken , nothing bent , nothing spoilt. In comparison , whenever I roll / cartwheel my DT10 , at the least , the rear shock tower breaks (I think I have changed 5-6 of these alone) .....


Tell me about it. All my breakdowns so far has been related to the front suspension and either cartwheeling or hitting something that don't want to move, such as a rock. My friends DT-10 seems a lot less fragile in this respect and looking at how the two suspensions are designed it is easy to see why. That on the SSB only moves up and down while that on the DT-10 moves backwards while the wheel goes up, thus lessening the strain on the suspension. This has cost me two diff houses so far. Btw, isn't the shock towers on the DT-10 made of aluminum?


That is why (perhaps a little too late in your case) , I would recommend a beginner to buy the TTR EB4 Buggy (the RTR Sport version - no center diff - blue plastic center spur gear). This is much more value for money , much tougher car , much faster and off road traction is second to none. She is also just a little more money to spend when compared to the 1/10 cars.

This 1/8 Buggy can then form the basis of a sound Nitro platform for the purpose of learning and also a fair bit of modification to make it competitive.

Yes, I had my yes on that one for a while but the SSB already cost more than I was really willing to pay. I got it almost on a whim after my friend got his DT-10 only a few days earlier.


Anyhow ........

As for your problems with "servo shakes". The main cause is lack of power in the battery. This is also because you get it in both servos at the same time.

The short answer would be for you to buy a 'proper' battery (NiMH) pack rated at 6 volts. These are strong and long lasting. Much better than the 4 cell holders that these cars come with.

As the car is RTR , do remember to locktite all ( most at least ) of the metal to metal screws. Especially the 4 screws that hold the engine to the mount and the 4 that hold the mount to the chassis. These are important.

Those plastic shocks are USELESS. The shaft will wear out in good time and render your shocks leaking oil vessels. Real pain. If you've got the money , change to proper alum ones. If not , bag the whole shock in a balloon , to protect it from the dirt.

Always run with the Body on. Keeps out the dirt .....

Let us know how you get on with your new purchase. Good Luck!

Bye.


I changed to fresh batteries but the problem persisted. I solved it by trying another radio but the interferens came back on the next day of driving. We are thinkin maybe the crystal died from vibration as the interferens only appears when at half trottle or more. I will look into the NiMH pack however. I have locktite on all screws already. First thing I did. Found a few loose screws before I even started it! I will take a look at those aluminum shock as well.

All in all, it still is fun to drive and does take some abuse as long as one cares about where to drive and where not to. So far I have played tag with a tree, a hole, another tree and a rock almost the size of my fist. So yes, driver error is part of it. On my last two outings I have only run it on a moderatly unkept gravel soccer field and a nearby gras field. The soccer field is fun but way too dusty. The gras field is a little uneven allowing for some jumping and stuff but there is the "hidden object"(rocks, thick twigs, etc) danger though.

I have a cool clip of the car and the "pit hidden by leaves" which I will post as soon as I get it captured to disk.


Thank you and good running,
Patrik

[pistole]

Yes, the FRONT suspension arms of the DT10 are angled backwards (away from the direction of impact) , as is the case with all stadium truck type designs.

But the FRONT arms of you buggy ( and most other buggies to boot) are also angled backwards but in a different sense. Ie , the relative positions of the Upper and Lower arms are different. The upper arm is slightly further back when compared with the lower arm in order to generate a caster effect.

The DT10 can make do with the simple swing arm type suspension with a plain control rod as an upper arm because of the lack of the front wheel drive. Throw in 4wd like your buggy, that DT10 type arm will not be able to handle the twisting motion of the wheel when powered up.

Anyhow , if you are in the habit of breaking diff housings (they're not cheap , I think...) , maybe you need to think of something to protect them with. Maybe a small aluminium roll-bar ...

As for the DT10's rear shock tower , yes , it is aluminium but in TTR's great and unphantomable wisdom , they decided to fashion a pair of square holes just at a stress point of that tower which religiously breaks into two , in regular fashion when I roll the car (you can tell that i used to run the DT10 naked ... which I no longer do now).

Yes, I take your point about the cost of the EB4 RTR. Was it alot more money than your Buggy ? The Store here had those EB4 RTRs going for , about , USD350-00 (converted from my native currency) , all in. What did that Buggy of yours cost ?

As for your radio problems , is it the ACE/JAGUAR one that you have ? The one on my DT10 was fairly reliable , only failure was the throttle servo (replaced it with a Sanwa one). If you get shakes in BOTH servos at the SAME time , the problem is probably receiver/power. Why don't you borrow your friend's receiver and test it , if it solves the problem , you know what to replace.

You could also try opening you receiver box (its easy to do and no, it does not explode into little springs and itsy parts) and checking whether there is any condensation/water inside there.

I do not think that it is the Crystal. They are fairly hardy creatures and do not often fail. But , hey , with these RC cars , it could be anything. Just don't let it be the last thing that you have to replace after having spent money changing everything else!

Another thing , if the Plug is the original TTR plug supplied with the Buggy , change it. You can't go wrong with an OS No. 8 plug. Your idling and general running will improve , alot.

Bye.

[Patrik]

Originally posted by pistole
But the FRONT arms of you buggy ( and most other buggies to boot) are also angled backwards but in a different sense. Ie , the relative positions of the Upper and Lower arms are different. The upper arm is slightly further back when compared with the lower arm in order to generate a caster effect.

Yes, but the direction of swing is straigt up and down.


Anyhow , if you are in the habit of breaking diff housings (they're not cheap , I think...) , maybe you need to think of something to protect them with. Maybe a small aluminium roll-bar ...


Not sure how that would work. See, the lower suspension arms are attached to the diff housing, those ears at the bottom not used on the DT-10 (same diff housing), and when you hit something sturdy enough, that ear snaps.


Yes, I take your point about the cost of the EB4 RTR. Was it alot more money than your Buggy ? The Store here had those EB4 RTRs going for , about , USD350-00 (converted from my native currency) , all in. What did that Buggy of yours cost ?


4000 SEK. An EB-4 with radio would have set me back a further 1000 SEK. Which coincidently is about what I have spent on spare parts so far...


As for your radio problems , is it the ACE/JAGUAR one that you have ? The one on my DT10 was fairly reliable , only failure was the throttle servo (replaced it with a Sanwa one). If you get shakes in BOTH servos at the SAME time , the problem is probably receiver/power. Why don't you borrow your friend's receiver and test it , if it solves the problem , you know what to replace.

You could also try opening you receiver box (its easy to do and no, it does not explode into little springs and itsy parts) and checking whether there is any condensation/water inside there.

I do not think that it is the Crystal. They are fairly hardy creatures and do not often fail. But , hey , with these RC cars , it could be anything. Just don't let it be the last thing that you have to replace after having spent money changing everything else!

Another thing , if the Plug is the original TTR plug supplied with the Buggy , change it. You can't go wrong with an OS No. 8 plug. Your idling and general running will improve , alot.

Bye.

It's the stock ACE radio AM 27 MHz, yes. I tried a different reciever but same crystal with no improvement. A tried a different radio (FM 40 MHz) and had no problems for a few hours after which the problem returned. I haven't run it since. I only get interferense when the engine is running at half open throttle or more so I think vibration has something to do with it, maybe failing connection somewhere. A lot of dirt gets into the reciever battery pack, making its way in between the cells.

Patrik

[pistole]

Hi Patrik,

How is your buggy doing ?

Fine I hope .......

[Patrik]

Hi, and thank you for asking...

The buggy in itself is doing fine, only the reciever isn't. Taking it out of the car and shaking it produces the exact symptoms experienced while driving. I have a different set of crystals I have yet to try out in this radio system but I think I have narrowed it down to that. Would make sence as another reciever with the suspected faulty crystal installed gave the same problems. Only question is, did I ruin the crystal in the 40MHz reciever too, trying it out in the car? It worked fine at first but failed after an hour.

Patrik

[Patrik]

Got the radio working again. It was the crystal. I had it runnig for two hours today. It runs a bit hot though I suspect. It dies every now and then and won't start again for about a minute. I cartwheeled three times without breaking anything, something I have managed to do on the first cartwheeling before. I even got so carried away I forgot to take any pictures. Anyways...

It is fun to drive, fast enough for a nitro newbe like myself, handles resonably though difficult to keep a straight line when accelerating. Very easy to get an out-of-control return swing when trying to set up a nice skid turn. Very easy to slam brakes and make flashy 90 degree stop turn or just change direction. Nose pitches up when jumping and engine dies, both probably caused by engine revving up and chokes while momentum from the wheels turns the car. The engine is very difficult to get started when cold compared to my friends DT-10 (same engine) which usually starts on the 2nd or 3rd pull. Runs quite steady when warm but gets a little hot after a while. There is also more resistance to pulling the starter than to the one in the DT-10. He can pull it without holding the car to the ground with the other hand. I can not.

Patrik

[DCLXVI]

Tja Patrik...kul att se fler folk från Sverige här :)

Now I'll continue in english to avoid getting banned... :)

It's been awhile since your last post...hope you have solved the worst of your troubles by now...?

Oh, BTW, your friend with the DT-10 wouldn't happen to be Shelter now wouldn't it?

/DCLXVI

[Patrik]

Tjena!

The car is running fine now, thank you for asking, but I haven't had the opportunity to drive it for a month. New tires and aluminium shocks installed.

Shelter, hmmm. Doesn't sound like a nick he would use. He talked about posting in the mini-z thread but I never heard anything of it. He's been preeeetty PO:ed with his DT-10 lately, it just falls apart. Now there is something wrong with the engine, the piston pin seems to have wandered off into the cylinder wall.

Patrik

[DCLXVI]

Good that your car works...I think that mine does, but I'm waiting for a starter box so I can start my new engine...

[LazeR_88]

the only thing i have broke in my car is the front bulkhead. and the body mounts. extremely fragile! i know this post is not about the ssr, but i saw youre angry about your dt-10 breaking all the time..

[LazeR_88]

tjena patrik.. hade samma problem med min pinne.. I mean ´the piston pin. i forgot the teflon pluggs so it scratched up the entirely engine!!!! nice to see more swedes:D

[Patrik]

Originally posted by LazeR_88
tjena patrik.. hade samma problem med min pinne.. I mean ´the piston pin. i forgot the teflon pluggs so it scratched up the entirely engine!!!! nice to see more swedes:D

Tja. I bet it is a factory problem in his case. Everything was fitted the wrong way on his car and I don't remember him splitting the engine before those problems started. Don't know for sure though. Anyway, you might not see much more of me here. It was fun for a while but the car is for sale now. I'll stick to my tanks now.

[ByPS]

Hallo,
I have got SSR buggy (SSR converted to SSB). Where is possible to get and which metal dumpers?
I attachment you can see my buggy with "home" tuning. It goes super, but suspension goes out.
Do you have some tip where to buy metal dumpers with same length? Where to buy springs? And what about prices?
Thanks for tips.
ByPS

[ByPS]

This is lastest view.

[Tamiya4ever]

I am wondering if anyone would know were to purchase the SSK. I've been looking all over, but can't seem to find on. I called Ace and they are still making them. Thanks.

[graemevw]

Hi all, i have just bought a second hand ssr, had great fun last night in local car parks, managed to break one front knuckle but luckily my local shop had some in. Also bought ball races for it and some turnbuckles so i can alter the track rods on car.
The shocks are crap though, During high speed turns it lifts the inner front wheel. Any advice on better shocks? I have been told the stock ones aren't oil filled, is this true?
Also, ive been fiddling with the brakes to try and make em better but they still feel a bit weak, anything i can do to improve em?
Ive also been told i can convert to hex drive so i can fit other wheels, anybody know anything about this?
Sorry for all the Q's but im new to R/C in general.
Rear shock mount also seams crap so im going to make a new one, should i use alluminium or carbon fiber, and how thick should i make it.
Im also not completely happy with the stiffness of the upper chassis braces so im thinking of making new ones of those to, same question, ally or carbon, and how thick.
I will mostly use it on tarmac but might get some buggy wheels to for some grass action!
Any help would be very appreciated.
Other than the above thing, im very happy with it, great fun!