Tamiya Gravel Hound DF-02 Forum [Archive] - Page 16

timie1

01-26-2009, 04:46 PM

Question: why does the front shock tower break so often? Is it because of stress from high jumps or due to being exposed to impacts with the ground, mailboxes, etc with the buggy body.

Factory plastic towers must break easily and yet people are still breaking alloy aftermarket ones. What is the advantage of buying aftermarket if they break as easily as factory plastic?

I seen the photos of busted towers and hope it's due to being exposed to impacts. Will be covering mine with a truck body to protect it so I hope I don't have to deal with the mess.

In my experience the plastic shock towers don't break, they just bend and are unable to bend them back. But you can still use them, it's just the suspension is way out of alignment and the body doesn't fit properly.

The aftermarket alloy ones are mainly all made in China, and I'm thinking quality control and/or the alloy they use is not a decent aircraft grade aluminium. If it's not the actual alloy used in the tower that breaks, it's the screws and mounting hardware they use.

I personally don't believe there is an advantage buying aftermarket alloy shock towers for the DF02 chassis - apart from the obvious bling blue factor. They are heavier, generally break easier, and cost a lot more, and if they don't break it just transfers the energy to another part that will break.

No offense to anybody who has them - it's just my opinion.

The very design of buggies means the tower is out there in no mans land. A good wide, and tall, and flexible bumper will protect the shock towers, but unfortunately no new buggies have such bumpers. I have an old Tamiya Grasshopper from the 80's. I've had it since then too. In those days they knew what bumpers were. That bumper protected the car from everything but the extreme hardest impacts. It also served as a decent handle. Google "tamiya Grasshopper bumper" and you'll see what I mean.

eylemkaan

01-26-2009, 04:55 PM

price with a meaning... have you ever heard of it?

these alu parts, are no price with a meaning! Andrew is VERY right at that point. as long as hopping up is more and more (almost unconsciously) pampered all around the world in all forums regardless of THE NEED for it, but rather as a MUST DO to look COOL, everybody will be buying them...

no claims, no returns, lots of demand, no control... that's what we are facing today.

after I found out all the hickups of YR I immediately raised the seller a huge letter with pictures and all possible threats. now he's writing back to YR. hope it goes somewhere.

raise your red flag if you have a problem with those guys. write them an email, make sure you neg feedback them on ebay.

let people know what are really necessary hop ups.

...and who are the honest and decent brands to buy from.

otherwise it is and will remain a vicious circle.

smileyboy

01-28-2009, 12:28 AM

Thinking of selling my DF02 Gravel hound. It is tricked out with yeah racing and GPM:

arms front and rear
GPM shocks front and rear
yeah racing shock towers
Turn buckles
Knuckles
Wheel Washers
Main Drive shaft
HPI wheels,
proline Pin Tires

http://www.me.com/ro/macnrover/Galleries/100058/DSC_0002/web.jpg?ver=12331202390001
http://www.me.com/ro/macnrover/Galleries/100058/DSC_0003/web.jpg?ver=12331204070001

Here are a few pics. I am wondering what it is worth.
thanks

eylemkaan

01-28-2009, 01:20 AM

hi smiley,

I cannot see the pictures, and get a message saying "unauthorized".

But still though, I can see in many markets that it is getting harder everyday to sell you merchandise with the right price. So if you want to sell fast, think of a clever pricing, otherwise I need to see the pictures really :)

timie1

01-28-2009, 04:03 AM

Well put Kaan!!!! A picture paints a thousand words :)

Smiley, you really need to come up with your own price. Bear in mind you're not going to get what you put into it. Also bear in mind that Yeah racing stuff is now widely known to be poor quality, so personally I don't think all the YR stuff is a selling point.
Also remember, the brand new DF02 kits can be had pretty cheap with probably better quality things than YR stuff.

eylemkaan

01-28-2009, 05:33 AM

remember I bought mine for 89$ + shippping (excluding servos, transmitter, receiver, battery, including motor, body shell and everything else)

and yes well put!!! unfortunately YR < stock ABS.

Forgetful_Duck

01-28-2009, 08:54 AM

Today just hit 45 Degrees Celsius.
For those who use Farenhite, thats 113F
Thats i think a new record, i'm in South Australia, Adelaide, about 10 mins form the city.
So yeh the driest STATE in the driest continent on the world....

Think the postman took the day off and rightly SO because he will DIE on his motorbike outside. Roasted alive. Therefore... no brushless set =(

I just rewired all my power plugs to Deans T ones, and testing my Lipo in an hour or so, its 12am here and its still around 34C outside, bearable, but i just HAVE to run my DF02 and watch my mates fully hopped up Db01 (TRF shocks, slippper, stablisers, the lot...) with the same brushless set me and kan ordered.. But he got his in the post today... lame.

Even though he's got TONS more power than me, I'm hoping i will shine through better driving skills haha.

eylemkaan

01-28-2009, 09:21 AM

hehe don't ya worry. y'll have a looooooooot of power in the couple of days to come mate. btw you might consider a twin fan for you motor if you'll upgrade to bigger tires, considering that heat there!!!
Kaan

smileyboy

01-28-2009, 09:49 AM

Lets try this again. Thanks for the info. I had no idea about the Yeah racing stuff. I guess, I haven't run my Gravel Hound enough.....:D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/3233382857_d0b6f08b7d.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/3233382943_bd32de70af.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3233382979_5e3aac9aae.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3234231214_be305ce57c.jpg?v=0

timie1

01-28-2009, 03:59 PM

Forgetful duck: The times when I've been to Australia it's never been that hot. In Brisbane when I was there in summer, it was about 35°, and Melbourne it was cold, and then one day it warmed up to about that. Sydney in my experience is the hottest. People who have never experienced extreme temps really don't have any idea how hot or cold it is, to them it's just a number. When I tell me friends and relatives back home in New Zealand that it is -35°C here in Canada, it's very hard for them to realise just HOW cold that is. To them, +5°C is cold :D

So yeah, I understand how hot that is there :)

Keep us informed how your race with your mate goes and also how your system handles the heat. The understeer tendencies of the DF02 can actually be quite good at times. It's easier to drive than a car that oversteers, and if you want it to steer sharper, the brakes are your friend when entering a corner. Shift all the weight to the front and the car can be made to go wherever you want. Just a quick dab of the brakes is all that's needed.

eylemkaan

01-28-2009, 04:11 PM

haha Andrew is right. I'm on a normal zone I have to say, but been to Egypt couple of years back. It was Feb, 17-19C almost dinner time around. We were wondering'round the streets of Cairo. There was security guys in an empty street wearing coats, gloves and heating their butts'round a barrel of fire. Looks awkward, but that is cold in their environment :)

smiley, I'm bad at taking pictures sometimes. but you are worse :( if you want to sell your goodie with a better price, man you have to market it. better would be :
- pix outside, normal sunshine or daylight,
- for sure under the chassis pictures to show it is still scratch free (if it is),
- show people what is under the hood? good layout, no cracks, bla bla bla,
- if there's something slightly wrong close up, etc

you have to give people a reason to buy it, ow they can easily go for another option, right?

Forgetful_Duck

01-28-2009, 05:12 PM

Andrew man, some good and bad news.

Mostly good for me!

It was sitll about 35C or so the entire night till morning 8am now. Startign to ehat up again. Anyhow we hit the parking lot for a while and i was really disappointed at my friends db01. I think he didnt build it right.
Hes put in a slipper and the 4300KV brushless set etc, and theres.... hardly any acceleraiton and speed....

Also his motor and surroundign area heated up to 80degrees C.
I burnt my finger when i touched his 4300KV brushless.
And throughout the night we kept hearing a high pitch RRRRR noise, sounded like a slipping belt, but wasnt sure if its the Slipper he added to his drive train or not, but it was slipping as he couldnt really get an punch in accelerating, even on aggressive mode etc.

Needless to say, despite all the upgrades i still outrun his DB01 with a Tamiya Sports tuned motor. The only thing i cant beat is steering, but like you said, I totally agree that understeer makes the car so much EASIER to drive. And if i neede dto zip into a corner, tap the brake and im in.

Also his brushless set up was chewning through lots of batteries. Just eating that power, coming off as lots of heat.... his 3000mah EC power lipo lasted mere 10-15 mins (so did his other nimh cells...), just lots of loss of power as his buggy was just plain slow... even a stock silver can motor without a slipper was faster from memory.

Using the same Lipo ive managed about 30 mins of run time.
The lipo reads 7.35V in the volt meter, noticed a power drop when driving so to be on a safe side i changed to the nimh on the field.

Then headed out dirt bashing, found this Great patch near the city, Combination of hard packed red dirt, thick sand, Gravel, and bumpy bitumen.
All this on a huge open area.. tlakign about over 100x100 meters.
basically an All in ONE buggy play ground. it was awesome. lasted about 10 mins before the DB01 gave out. no power all of the sudden.

My DF02 was still strong as, flipped it a couple of time sint he thick sand , pure awesome fun, full speed flying around over dried patches of bushes only to dive into more sand and gravel... its like aussie outback style off road. I am seriosuly loving the DF02 more and more. Not a single hiccup in the heat. I did take some damage tonight though... i got hit (AGAIN) on the rear, the Db01 rear ended me, hit the right rear shock, Bent the plastic socket holder luckly pistonw as undamaged. Replaced the plastic part with a spare, then noticed on the same damper, the top mount was loose on the shock tower... proceeded to tighten it, then noticed the Screw thread has Worn out..... yes Another CRAP Yeah Racing part, now i have to use the middle hole to mount my shocks... The alloy is a JOKE.

Anyhow got home and my mate openned up his Db01 drive train...

DESTROYED Rear diff, Melted basically.... ball beairngs everywhere.
Think he didnt tighten his diff enough. He was pretty depressed.... spent tons of money on a db01 and within 3 hours of brushless, destroyed something in the drive train...

next time DEFINITELY bringing a video cam.

eylemkaan

01-28-2009, 05:30 PM

I'm looking forward to your experience with the 9T 35A. You're gonna love it.

comin'on to db01, he surely has forgotten to tighten the ball diff screw, too bad!

Forgetful_Duck

01-28-2009, 05:34 PM

depends when it gets here... should be Anytime now... iw a shopign yesterday cause my db01 friend ordered his too around the same time, maybe his got posted a day earlier than mine or something cause he used credit card to pay while i was Echequeing 4 days before.
Or may just be it got wayyy too hot for the postman to come, understandable... hit 40 degrees + yesterday and will be for the next few days... and these guys just ride a small motorbike delivering mail...

timie1

01-29-2009, 12:58 AM

Ouch, I feel sorry for your friend melting the diff. I was reading your story, which was entertaining by the way - don't know if should be, but it was ;), and the whole way through I knew what the problem was. The diff isn't tightened enough. The reason I KNOW this:
I have a Tamiya TA05 touring car. It is the same chassis and drivetrain that the DB01 is. When I built mine I tightened the diff to how the manual said. It is very very vague on this so it was not much help. I got the car together and took it for a spin on the silver can. It went OK, but there were clicking noises. I went over everything and discovered it was the diff slipping. I cranked it down following the instructions of my Associated B4 techniques - which is FARRRRR better at describing how to set certain things up than Tamiya is. They really need to change their manuals for some things. Anyway, after tightening the diff up nearly all the way it was excellent. Luckily the silver can didn't have enough power to ruin anything.

Eventually, some time later, I put my brushless Mamba Max in the TA05. WOW, I had the same issues, but not quite as bad, as your friend is having. The brushless power really shows up the weaknesses in diffs if they're not assembled properly. I could hear the high pitch slipping, and under full acceleration you could somehow feel the slipping, and even under full brakes. Before I ruined it, I decided I would have to tighten everything up, the belt tension and the diffs, mainly the back diff as that's where all the weight get's trasnferred to. I tightened it up as far as it would go, then backed it off 1/8 of a turn. Now it runs how it should - decent power and speed and certainly a million times quicker than the silver can.

Tell your friend the best way to check the slipper and diff tightness is to grip the rear wheels with both hands, and with the thumb turn the spur. Look at the shaft the spur is on, with some effort you should be able to turn the spur, but the shaft it's on should not be spinning. If the shaft turns while using this technique then the diff is slipping. If however you can turn the spur gear and shaft doesn't turn, then the slipper is doing it's job and slipping before the diff does. It's WAY cheaper and easier to replace a worn out slipper than it is a melted diff.

Another way of testing the diff, tighten it as far as it can go. As long as you still get some diff action, ie the wheels spin at different speeds when turning a corner, then it's fine. So tighten the diff till there is no diff action, then back the tightness off just a tad, about 1/8 of a turn or until there is diff action. Set the car on the pavement, lift up one end of the car and from that lifted end pull that end side to side. The end with the wheels on the ground should spin in opposite directions. As long as it isn't so tight that it still spins in opposite directions you get diff action, that should be tight enough for brushless power.

Now, getting back on topic of this thread to DF02, enough talk about DB01 :D, I'm happy you're enjoying your car. Some people say the DF02 is not a good car because no ball diffs, no slipper, poor suspension, and the list goes on...............blah blah, they've obviously never owned one. It's more than capable for brushless and it's simple without the ball diffs (which are a real hassle). A slipper would be nice, but that's what a delicate throttle finger is for.

One way to tighten the diffs on the DF02 is to put grease in there. Take the diff out and pack it full of grease, and I mean REALLY pack it in there - like you're going on holiday and you have to pack more and more into a suitcase and you have to sit on the lid to get it closed :D That really tightens it up, although I haven't found it improves any handling though:confused: Maybe it's just me not noticing any handling improvement, I dunno. But it does tighten it!!!!!

Did you order your EZrun from ECPower? I'm still waiting for mine too. I never did get an email from them saying they sent it, which is odd. Every Chinese company always emails to say they have sent it. When I check the status on the site I just see it as "Delivered", whatever that's supposed to mean. Delivered to the post office I assume. I hope they don't expect it to mean it's been delivered to me and that's it, case closed. Cos I ain't got it!!! I emailed them a question about something totally different and they haven't responded.
Hopefully mine will be here in a few days. I get anxious when a company or person doesn't take 2 seconds to write a quick email saying something like "Parcel sent 12/1/09" or something similar. How hard is it in this day and age with the internet to do that? So many companies do, it can't be that hard. Anyway, enough ranting :D

I'm crossing my fingers for you as well as for me that both of ours arrive in the next few days.

Forgetful_Duck

01-29-2009, 01:40 AM

From my friends experience, he also ordered form ECpower directly, and they didnt send him a e-mail, but it defintiely got posted.

I went through their ebay store, some german name store..
I think when my payment finally went through i probably missed the plane to Australia, so hence im still waiting....

I called Australia post and asked if the heat wave we're having is delayign mail, answer was no, it would noly mean posties would wake up and work much earlier before the sun came up.

I've got lots of stuff coming, some small 3.7v 130mah Lipo batteries for my Blade MCX copter, which I really wanna be at home when they get delivered because the mail box is around 50C+ degrees, might blow up the lipo?

And seriously, i'm so gla di dont have to screw around with a ball diff, lookign at tyhe db01 manual and his car, just way too complicated...
Whats wrong with 3 pieces of metal gears inside a nylon box and a drive shaft?
Its so rigid, easy, strong.

Anyhow when my brushless DOES eventually come, I might grab some tamiya ceramic grease and regrease everything up. So what type of Grease should i be packing in the diffs? The normal standard stuff the kit comes with? Or how about that really crazy #10000 Diff oil? lol Thats ssome thick stuff hey.

Also forgot to add, during dirt bashign run, I put on my stock tamiya wheels, What a HUGE difference!
The spike tires are really good, and are durable off road, theres no noticeable wear on them at all.... Guess i've been using totally worn out tyres too long as on road wheels, massive udnersteer.
But the spike tires on off road handled so well, the car was so responsive to turns. And the 3Racing shocks are great, i could see the wheels bouncing up and down while the car body just seemed to glide slowly up and down through the dirt.

Spent some mroe money just now as well, got some 12mm Aluminium drive hex's. My black plastic ones seem to be wearing out quite a bit and getting stuck in the wheel cause i'm constantly chnaging wheels and havign to use pliers to take them out.

Anyhow andrewi've passed on those tips to my friend, much appreciated!

timie1

01-29-2009, 04:05 AM

Glad to be of some help :)

I don't imagine 50°+C would be good for the lipos, but I don't really know I've never owned lipos. I have ordered nimh one time and the post man delivered them and they were sitting in the mailbox in -20° for the day. When I got to them they were cold, but I let them warm up to room temp before I did anything with them. I still use those nimh and they haven't been harmed by the extremes.

50C isn't all that hot, if that's as hot as they got. They may get hotter during use?? The packaging should also help to keep them protected. Could you put a note on the mailbox "Please deliver all mail to the front door and put in shade as it is heat sensitive"?

The reason why they have ball diffs is because they are more tuneable, and they do handle better, when everything is set up properly. However, I have the same thoughts as you, what is the point? I've mainly got planetary gear diffs and they work fine and never need any maintenance. They are better suited to brushless because there is nothing to break. Hence why they are used in 1/8 scale buggies and truggies, and also the emaxx and other electric monster trucks designed for brushless.

I just use normal auto shop grease in the diffs like from Repco or Super Cheap Auto. Mine is Castrol chassis lubricant and transmission grease. It's way cheaper than RC specific grease and for most things works just as well.

Hahah, offroad on smooth surfaces is about the only thing those Tamiya wheels are good for. They wear very quickly on concrete. I now require a movie of your car properly going with those 3racing shocks :D

Forgetful_Duck

01-29-2009, 08:38 AM

I'll look into that auto lub, Repco hey, soudns familiar... got stores here too lol.

Most liekly going back out Today morning, If my friend brings his vidoe cam, willr emind him, we're gonn a take those videos =)

But dont take my word for it lol, Im pretty much an RC n00b so what i think is aweosme might be normal.... Too much hype is a bad thing...

JDT

01-29-2009, 08:48 AM

I agree, I hate to admit but the proof is allready somewhere in this thread but I actually tried ball diffs in the df 02 they however need to be fiddled with or they loosen overheat and melt. I ran until failure, rebuilt and sold to a tt 01 buddy as they just can't take the offroad abuse and I am to lazy to adjust them every time I run, thats what I love about the df 02, as long as I drive good and don't try anything stupid I know I can bash a half hour at a time with just a minimal look through at the end to make sure its good for next time.

Forgetful_Duck

01-29-2009, 11:55 AM

Hey Kaan, about the 4300KV brushless, how hot does urs get?
In 35C or so air temp in a DB01 it got to 70-80C. my friends really put off by the amount of heat its producing. Since i ahvent recieved mine yet in the mail, cant really comment...

timie1

01-29-2009, 12:52 PM

I can't comment on the amount of heat it produces per se, but obviously your friend didn't have it setup correctly with the diff and slipper. If it was slipping as bad as it was, that will be why so much heat is produced.

Tell your friend to not worry about the heat it's producing at the moment because until he get's his car setup, there is no way to tell. If 50% (or more) of all it's power is being thrown away in slippage, it is running VERY VERY VERY inefficiently.

From my experience when I've run a silver can motor, the silver can has always run hotter than the brushless, and that's when the car is setup correctly.

LOL, I mentioned Repco and Super Cheap Auto because I know they exist over there :) So basically I translated :D
When I bought it here I bought it from Walmart.

eylemkaan

01-29-2009, 03:00 PM

Hey Forgetty, I ran mine for 57 min's yesterday and the weather was surprisingly hot (15-16C) for the season. I was actually waiting for a meltdown :) coz most of the time I was pushing for wheelies. The motor heated up, but not extremely. The ESC didn't even get cool. So I can say for these temperatures and the way I forced it it was OK. You've really gotta be careful with the temp you've got there. I would immediately suggest that YOU get on of those alu finned heat sinks with twin fans sold from YR, since it is extremely hot out there on Aussieland.

JDT

01-29-2009, 03:01 PM

Andrew is right, with the slipper and diffs to loose the motor is basically running without a load, meaning it will scream up to 30,000 rpm (or more) basically every time you pull the trigger, remember running around max rpm is just as bad as being overgeared heat wise. Get it to around 10:1 final drive ratio and see what happens then.

NarcDevil

01-29-2009, 11:42 PM

Hey Forgetty, I ran mine for 57 min's yesterday and the weather was surprisingly hot (15-16C) for the season.

15-16C = COLD weather. 44C = HOT weather and it's HOT downunder!!!

here's a video of Forgetfuls DF-02 in slow motion. this is EARLY in the morning to skip the heat wave of 40+ temps.... i was using my 3300KV HSP pos with open gears which get chewwed up by the rocks and debris since my DB01 is out of action.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=9FD81Ob-Q5w

so your recon for my ball difs i need to tighten them all the way and off only 1/8 of a turn? and should i use some thread lock?

how do i post videos from youtube on the forums so that they pop up?

timie1

01-30-2009, 12:50 AM

Welcome NarcDevil :) You must be forgetty's friend.
That is a way cool camera you got there. Is that filming at 120fps? It must be to get smooth slow motion. VERY NICE!!!!!

Yes for your ball diffs, tighten them all the way with a standard allen key. Not too tight, you don't want to strip the thread. Then when it's tight by hand, loosen it off 1/8 of a turn. Provided the diff isn't screwed, that should fix your problems.

LOL, what I wouldn't give for 15-16C temps at the moment. To me, at the moment, THAT is warm. Lately it's been -20C or so here with the roads covered in ice 6 inches deep :)
In summer when it gets to around 35C or so, my brushless setup is fine. It does of course get hotter, but nowhere near the unsafe area. I haven't run in 44C though.

Kaan is right, you and Forgetty should invest in a fan and heatsink for the motor. 3Racing ones are fine and they are about $10 delivered. It won't be a miracle fix though, but it will certainly help. Cutting holes in the body above the motor is probably even better as the fans don't move a LOT of air. Natural ventilation is better.

I don't know if you can post youtube videos so they pop up. I've never seen it done in this forum.

NarcDevil

01-30-2009, 12:59 AM

we got some more cool footage from the run this morning. it's at 300fps. makes everything looks so cool. just got to cut and edit them because the 300 frames makes for alot of wasted video because everything is soooo slow! lol

do you think it would be possible/wise to run the DB01 in just rearwheel drive using the front dif (fully tightened now, stupid tamiya instructions saying "becareful to not overtighten" made me leave them lose.." white i wait for my spare parts to get here.

timie1

01-30-2009, 01:07 AM

do you think it would be possible/wise to run the DB01 in just rearwheel drive using the front dif (fully tightened now, stupid tamiya instructions saying "becareful to not overtighten" made me leave them lose.." white i wait for my spare parts to get here.

Sure, why not!!! You'll have terrible grip and it'll handle like crap, but it'll be fun. I've run my Gravel Hound in 2wd at times - just to see what it went like. I tried making it just front wheel drive. It just spins mostly, and that's on concrete. Rear wheel drive will be better. You have to remember, a true 2wd buggy has the motor and weight at the back over the rear axle. That setup works.
Your DB01 being 4wd has the motor more central, so it won't go like a 2wd design, but it'll still work temporarily.

Yeah, I was peeved with Tamiya and how they say to tighten the diff. They should change that. Just make sure your slipper is loose so it slips before the diff can and you shouldn't ruin anything. The looser the slipper, with your 2wd setup, the easier it should be to drive.

300fps - yeah that is a bit more like it. Even 120fps isn't all that quick. My digital camera only records at 10fps :P

NarcDevil

01-30-2009, 01:19 AM

will be trying 2WD 2nite after it cools down.

if you look really close on that video there's a black dot that flies past which we think is a fly.

timie1

01-30-2009, 01:26 AM

Oh yeah!!!!! How cool is that :D
Your video reminds me of the show on TV, "Time-warp" http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/time-warp/time-warp.html
They film lots of weird things with super high FPS and slow it down and examine it. It's pretty cool.
The episodes are available online for free download, if you know where to look.

Here's a youtube movie about it, http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=X0-TbUUXDtM

Forgetful_Duck

01-30-2009, 03:06 AM

DAmnit Still no brushless in the mail, got my Titanium tie rods though.

Also me and narcdevil have an order from RC mart from 10 days ago still stuck on processing, while he also EMS'ed a new roder which has already been posted.. the hell?

Has anyone noticed that ECpowers 'live support' is always, unmanned, not working, offline....

NarcDevil

01-30-2009, 03:26 AM

uploaded another video.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNvDqpgtdc

also started downloading that TV show, SO AWESOME!
slowmotion videos are the best!

also i've got this problem with my belt rubbing against the slipper.. any ideas on how to stop this from occuring?

timie1

01-30-2009, 04:51 AM

Forgetty: Yeah ECPower is quite slack with their customer service. I'm still waiting for my EZrun ESC. (still no reply to my email or ANY contact from them)

Hey NarcDevil: that TV show is also available in HD:wow: (once again if you know where to look;))
EDIT: I just saw a video, they film it with 675 000 FPS supposedly. WOW, puts my 10fps one to shame!!

We do have to be careful to keep this thread on topic of the DF02 and not slowly morph to DB01 :) However, I don't really know about your slipper rubbing on the belt. My car, the TA05, doesn't have a slipper. But I'm thinking adjust the belt tension. On the diffs in my car, I've got the belt tension set with 1 notch on the back, and 2 notches on the front. Once again, the tighter the better - but I don't know if this will fix your problem. It could do though.

Take a photo and either post it in the DB01 thread, or you can contact me either on MSN (timie1@hotmail.com) or you can just PM me.

NarcDevil

01-30-2009, 06:12 AM

do you have any pics of your DF-02 Andrew? tbh i'm too lazy to go back through the 152 pages of this thread....

what motor and ESC specs are u running on it?
EZrun ESC and 9T motor are awesome once installed properly...

Forgetful_Duck

01-30-2009, 08:52 AM

Hey Andrew, which part of the drive train do u tweak to run your DF02 in 2 wheel drive mode?

Take out the dog bones? But doesnt that leave the diff sockets with a hole for stuff to get in? Maybe i canmaskign tape that stuff off?

Anyhow after about 45 mins that mornign we took the video's I'm glad i've 'armoured up' the DF02.

I bought some nice heavy duty Cloth tape, and basically padded up the bottom of the chassis and even parts of the front and rear lower suspension arms, plus the front 3racing socket that holds the damper in place to the lower arm. Cut out a little piece of that tape and stuck it on.
Now all those parts where ive tapped up look a little frayed, the rocks are terrible! They scratch and dig into the plastic, I even wrapped some maksign tape on my rear dog bones and thats showing little kinks from the rocks being kicked up by the front wheels.
Now to clean this baby...

timie1

01-30-2009, 01:48 PM

I think the last photo I posted of my ride is on page 135.
I haven't used mine recently, because of the snow on everything, so that photo doesn't show what is normally in my car. For what it's worth though, in that photo I use a Traxxas Velineon motor which I used on a MM ESC. I only use nimh on it and I got such a long runtime I got bored. It lasted at least 30 minutes.

When my EZrun esc comes, I will use that on the VXL motor.

I found the easiest thing to take out was the dog bones and the outdrives on the front so they don't fall out and go bye bye. I didn't mask over the hole for the diff. But maybe in a really dusty environment it would be wise.
Leave the shaft in there cos the spur is attached to it.

Good idea of beefing up the chassis with tape. Just be careful you don't create vibrations with covering the dog bones. It could make them very out of balance.

Forgetful_Duck

01-30-2009, 11:37 PM

Yeh i was worried about that, but the masking tape is really thin, didn' use the cloth tape on the dog bones.

Anyhow i assembled the Tie rods to replace the upper arms, and noticed LOTS of binding if i even set a very Slight negative cambre angle.
Basically i can't have any other angle but positive or neutral. The front dog bones just bind crazy at full turn.

I have a set fo tamiya universals coming, would they help?

timie1

01-31-2009, 01:08 AM

Sorry if you've already mentioned it, but what brand of upper arms are they? 3Racing??
Hmmmm, that's weird that they bind that much.
On mine, as you see in the photos (although the angle distorts it), on the front I have -1.5°, and the back is 0°.

The front arms are 53mm from the centre of each ball end cup, and that gives -1.5°.

The rear arms are 60mm which gives 0° camber.

I have no binding whatsoever from those angles and everything I have is stock, apart from the rear dog bones, which are GPM.

I can also increase or decrease quite a bit either way and there would be no binding.

Can you take a close up photo of yours and maybe I can see the problem.

timie1

01-31-2009, 01:15 AM

Oh, I just re-read your post, they only bind on full turn?

Oh yeah well in that case, I get that binding on full turn. This is not a result of the upper suspension arms though. It did it with stock upper arms exactly the same.

Yeah the Tamiya universals should eliminate all binding.
Some people have done fixes for the binding in the front by taking to the outdrives and dremelling the two grooves a bit deeper. I haven't done it, but there is no reason why it shouldn't work. I just try to avoid full lock, or just ignore the binding :D

Exactly what universals did you buy? Tamiya part # pretty please!
Because DF03 universals fit too, and are a lot easier to come across if you get the Tamiya ones. The only thing is, I think you also need to get the outdrives or some other part.
But hopefully you got DF02 specific ones.

Now about the 2wd mode:
I have been thinking, I must have had a momentary lapse of reason. The spur gear doesn't attach to the driveshaft!!! What was I thinking??
So about converting it to 2wd, you could just take the front dog bones, the front diff, and the driveshaft out. That will save quite a bit of weight.
Personally I don't think you'll enjoy it for very long in just 2wd. The car isn't designed to drive in 2wd, so it's just......................blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It goes, but it's more fun in 4wd :)

Forgetful_Duck

01-31-2009, 07:59 AM

1 Tamiya (#53791) Assembly Universal Shaft For DF-02 USD$21.90

As it reads from my rcmart history. I think its the specific DF02 one.
Anyhow it's now out of stock at RCmart, think etamiya have them still, but its around $29.

I bought the yeah racing titanium turn buckle set for DF02, YES i know it scrappy yeah racing, and I was bitchign to myself about it when puttign itit togetehr and on the df02 cause it was ridiculously hard.... coudlnt screw the plastic things on etc without using the alen key etc *cursing*

But i did get them from a local seller on ebay and cheaper than anything else i needed to ship over in USD!

I think i was way to aggressive witht he angle as it was visibily noticeable. But right now i've got it at 0 degrees. I cant be too exact because i don't have one of those nice looking gauges u have (next on my list of things to buy). I used a metal ruler and placed it up againest the wheel, lined up both bottom and top touches the edge of the ruler so must be flat 0 angle.

JDT

01-31-2009, 07:41 PM

duck you will need the tamiya 53790 outdrive cup if you get the 53791, its the smaller size like the tt 01
rc mart has the tamiya and yeah

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tt01-hopup-parts-tamiya-joint-universal-shaft-tt01df02-53790-p-16257.html?cPath=595_744_708

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tt01-hopup-parts-3racing-diff-outer-join-tamiya-tt0102-p-19744.html?cPath=595_744_708

tobee craft also has a hardened steel tt 01 set I use

you can save money by getting the df 03 cvds but you will need these smaller cups for tamiya only df 02 cvds or df 03 cvds, the yeah racing, gpm, square and tobee craft racing all work with the stock setup, forget about rc mart, you should be paying $21 for them cvds from champ rc in japan, between you and your buddy you could easily pic up enough spairs to pay for the ems shipping which is nice and quick, I think you had mentioned ems before so I think you know, on tamiya packages there is a little number in the upper right corner, like 600 say on a parts tree or chassis, thats list in yen, champ is 17-19% off tamiya list depending on what it is, for me it makes $9 parts trees $4 or $5, depending on the kits we can get them for $140 less on high enders like evos and over $250 on tanks, makes the $40-85shipping bills easy to pay. One local built up a all carbon fibre optioned to the hilt df 03 ms, he saved himself over $300 what it would have cost to get the car from tower and source all the parts from five different places, tower, ebay, stormer included, thats a whole nother car and brushless setup lol.

http://www.rc-champ.co.jp/Champ_International/International_index.htm

JDT

01-31-2009, 07:49 PM

forgot to mention the best part of the tamiya ones, you can maintain and rebuild them

with tamiya 53500

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-53500-tamiya-cross-joints-universal-shaft-set-p-4646.html

and

tamiya 53499

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-53499-tamiya-wheel-axles-universal-shaft-set-p-4645.html

at least until the shafts are worn out, I think these were both $5 parts last time I got them from champ, $4 lower than etamiya lol

JDT

01-31-2009, 07:52 PM

Andrew, I have a stock set of tires that look like that, let me quess they have a few spots that feel almost paper thin:)

Forgetful_Duck

01-31-2009, 09:25 PM

Oh great.... more money i need to spend...

timie1

01-31-2009, 11:19 PM

Yup JDT, that's quite ironic you should mention that. When I was taking the photo I thought they are getting pretty thin right on the edges. They never used to be like that. As soon as I put a brushless in they went like that pretty darn quick :)

I was thinking it may be time to convert mine to either HPI MT wheels or the Slash wheels. I just don't know which ones I would rather get now having seen the Slash wheels on there thanks to Kaan.

Forgetful_Duck

02-01-2009, 02:27 AM

timie1

02-01-2009, 03:26 AM

There's plenty of the slash wheels on feebay. Shipping may be the only catch though, as the wheels generally take up a big-ish box.

My concern with the Slash wheels is it is probably like every other Traxxas wheel, the rim is their own design so you're forever stuck with their tires. Therefore when the tires wear out you have to pretty much throw it all away as Proline (as of yet that I know of) don't make replacement tires to fit on the Slash rims. They don't make tires to go on Traxxas E-maxx/Tmaxx/Revo rims, so I imagine it would be the same with the Slash. So you're left with sourcing some Traxxas tires (which use inferior rubber), or buying a whole new set including rims.

Using industry standard beads means there are so many more options for when tires wear out. Simply put the wheel in the oven and bake the tire off for a few minutes. It saves a lot of money not having to buy new rims each time.

I think I'd rather get the HPI rims that JDT and Steve and others have, just based on tire choice alone.

Forgetful_Duck

02-01-2009, 03:46 AM

Wholly crap, a set of slash wheels is around $80 AUD posted.....

Anything cheaper?

timie1

02-01-2009, 04:04 AM

How much is shipping to Aussie?
There is a set with a buy it now for US31.99.
That is about AUD$50. Is shipping really $30?
Keep a watch on the auctions and see how much they actually sell for.

I think for that price you'd be way better getting the HPI rims, or possibly buying them locally.

I've said it many times and I'll say it again, the Proline Dirt Hawg buggy tires fit on the stock rims and add much needed ground clearance, last way longer than stock rubber on concrete, they grip a lot better too (on concrete) and they are quite a bit higher profile so with the foams, they change the way the car handles for the better. They are also quieter. I really like the Dirt Hawg tires, it's just they aren't truck size.

Forgetful_Duck

02-01-2009, 04:54 AM

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ProLine-Dirt-Hawg-I-2-2-Front-Rear-Buggy-Tires-Pro-Line_W0QQitemZ220347976777QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio _Control_Parts_Accessories?hash=item220347976777&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

Is that one there andrew? Thats for 4 tyres all rears. So nice and wide... i've already fired off a message askign postage to AU

timie1

02-01-2009, 05:20 AM

That's NEARLY it, but if you use stock wheels you'll need these:

FRONT http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDU14&P=7
REAR http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDU13&P=7 (these are the ones in that auction)

Unfortunately I don't think 4 rears will work. I think the offset of the rear rim is too deep for the front so it rubs. I'm 95% sure you need the narrower ones on the front.

timie1

02-01-2009, 05:31 AM

Bear in mind, they aren't going to give you mega ground clearance, not like monster truck wheels or even Slash wheels. They do increase the clearance, and for the most part the extra clearance is adequate. The buggy still bottoms out on jumps, but I can honestly say they are really good tires and the extra clearance is great, for buggy wheels!

The diameter is (sorry for the imperial measurements ;)) 3.5 inches, which is half an inch more than stock tires (not including spikes).

Forgetful_Duck

02-01-2009, 11:19 PM

Andrew, you got your ECpower ESC yet?

Mine sbeen 2 weeks now exact, nothing here still. Monday now.

Narcdevil who bought this same time i did, got his last monday.

Ive e-mailed them, no tracking number, means NO INSURANCE.

This was throught he ebay store, so its bad feedback time if it aint here by tomorrow. F&*^*^!!!

NarcDevil

02-01-2009, 11:28 PM

LOL it's lost in the mail!!!

timie1

02-02-2009, 01:24 AM

NarcD: You've got a weird sense of humour if you find it that funny!!!

Nope, still no ESC, mind you it is Sunday here. I'm holding hope for tomorrow, as for some reason everything I order comes on Monday morning.

Did you actually get a response from ECPower? I haven't got any response from any chinese company lately, including ECPower. Maybe they've taken a great big long holiday for the Chinese new year. It's now Year of the Snail. Everything they do from now on will be super slow!
I've been looking at buying some lipos from ECpower, or even a lipo charger from them, but they aren't getting one cent more of my money until the ESC comes, or I get a response from them.

Where does NarcDevil live in relation to you? Is he in the city?

Forgetful_Duck

02-02-2009, 02:53 AM

I got a reply from them...

"I have checked my record that I have sent out your order on 20 Jan 2009 without tracking number.
The shipping time normail take 3-14 business days to your home.
Sometimes the shipment may delay by Customs or Post Office.
Please allow a few days more for waiting, I think your item will arrive on this week or next week soon.

A pleasure to deal with you.

Keep contact, I must follow up our deal.

Best Regards
bulk.verkauf"

Next week my ass! If it aint here tomorrow (tuesday morning) he's getting a red mark on ebay. i dont care if i din pay for insurance, it was a high priced item and since they wanna chew the profits so much to skimp on it as a standard basic well bleh, i want some kind of deal, like a replacement at COST price at least and EMS posted free.

NarcDevil

02-02-2009, 03:02 AM

I live closer to the city and about 15min drive away from Forgetful.

we set up a figure 8 track out the back of my house and go racing at night(cooler temps at night) with some flood lights on. set up a few small jumps. also did some more highspeed filming and caught some nice star rolls of the DF02!!! nothing broken fortunatly

eylemkaan

02-02-2009, 03:22 AM

guys guys... that is a very standard "out of office" reply from china :)

the fact is they have been on holiday for 2 weeks finishing yesterday night. so if they didn't ship by then, they will be shipping today.

comin'on to traxxas wheels, mine are 12mm hex so you can use it anywhere. no custom-traxxas design or whatsoever?

timie1

02-02-2009, 05:43 AM

Yay Kaan, I thought you'd disappeared.

By the traxxas design, I mean the tires and their beads not their hexes.
I could be entirely wrong, and hopefully I am. But I'm not wrong about the emaxx/revo/e-revo/tmax and so on wheels. The tires I've got are quite good, but I broke one of the rims by accident, so I was thinking of buying some other aftermarket wheels and taking the traxxas tires off and putting them on the aftermarket rims. I was peeved when I discovered that Traxxas use their own design, so the tires won't fit on any other wheels.

Hopefully the Slash wheels aren't like that.

Forgetty: don't leave negative feedback just yet. I know it's frustrating, believe me I've been there, but it's not been 14 days yet, and from my experience the shipping time is always longer than everybody's quote on time.

Maybe NarcD's package was sent a day before yours, and he may have JUST got into the container to send to Aussie, whereas yours was a day later so it's at the beginning of a new container, so you'll have to wait considerably longer for the container to fill up.
That is how it works, so just keep waiting. I'm in the same boat as you, so I know the feeling but I'm not worried yet, just impatient ;)

timie1

02-02-2009, 02:30 PM

Monday monday, beautiful monday.............guess what came in the mailbox today?
That is very weird, but my packages ALWAYS come monday mornings.

First impressions (compared to MM ESC) - this thing is tiny. Dimensions on paper are one thing, but when you see it in real life, it's so tiny and cute.
It's smaller than my old brushed one, and that was tiny.

It's a bit weird how the battery wires are 14awg, but the motor wires are 16awg, they are so thin compared to what I thought they were. I guess they'll be ok for only 35 amps.

Damn damn, just as I suspected. The bullet plugs on the motor wires are 3.5mm, not the 4mm. Not a big deal, but it means I'll be changing all plugs on it before I can hook it up, first things first get rid of the horrid, the evil, and the ugly Tamiya connector.

It feels quite solidly built, just as solid as the MM. The switch feels OK too, much better than I was expecting.

The fan is so tiny too. I was hoping it was the same size as the 3Racing one on my heatsink, which is a higher voltage one, but it isn't. Oh well, the good thing is it is so small it probably doesn't move much air at all, so I'm thinking the ESC can maybe be run without the fan. That would be even better.

That's about it, until I hook it up.

By the way Forgetty, mine is postmarked in Hong Kong January 23 when it was sent. I hope yours comes very soon.

JDT

02-02-2009, 03:48 PM

let us know how it does in the df 02 with the vxl, did you get just esc or combo, I forget

timie1

02-02-2009, 03:54 PM

I got the 35 amp ESC with the programming card.

Yep hopefully I'll have it up and running within the day so I'll report back very soon how it performs.

wastingmoney

02-02-2009, 08:25 PM

Got my ezrun combo in the mail a few days ago. Just like timie1 said, the esc is really small! Much smaller than I would have thought it could be made. Mine is the 13t 3000kv motor with a 16 tooth pinion on 3s a123.

Tires are 4 1/2" tall and it goes 30ish. The best part is kinda surprising, no low speed cogging. Possible the low gearing helps, but I would have thought with a "cheap" brushless there would be some.

Now I need to get everthing permanently mounted. Not much room under the buggy body. I want to run the buggy body under a truck body to keep rocks and such out of the chassis. I do have a Duratrax Evader ST body that is the same width as the frame, so if it keeps the chassis clear of debris I'll use it instead.

Also got a 2.4 Losi radio like Kaan today. Still waiting on my diff cups to get here from Dinball. Once those get here I'll replace parts as they break.

A note on the 1/8 scale(17mm) adaptors that I got. I had to use a thin washer to mount the Wabash rims. The stock Tamiya wheels that are meant to be used with these adaptors must be a little thicker than after-market wheels. No big deal. Tobee Craft part#43410 for those interested.

NarcDevil

02-03-2009, 12:13 AM

where did you get your combo from wastingmoney? beacause the ecpower combo is with a 9T 4200KV motor...

Forgetful_Duck

02-03-2009, 03:52 AM

I'm sick of this, everyones alreayd running brushless crazy stuff.

I've just ordered another 9T 35A set, this time on ECpower website, Bought insurance and a trackng number. ARGGHHHH

Now this Bulk VerKauf seller has untill monday afternoon before i start paypal dispute and bad feedback on ebay. he aint repleid to my 2nd e-mail!

I also called the telephone number on the bottom of the ebay itme listing. It was a number to a province very close to hong Kong, still speak Canto, a woman picked up, it was a home number, I asked her if this was a line to an online ebay store and shes like what????

Told me her husband runs some sort of online business but isn't sure... Yhe must be him... but he aint home... Anyhow since we speak the same language i'll give him a face full if i ever need to...

JDT

02-03-2009, 08:20 AM

timie1

02-03-2009, 02:34 PM

Hey Hong, you are lucky you can speak the same language. I've always wanted to be able to speak other languages. When I've been sitting on a bus and these people carry a conversation in Arabic, it would be so much fun to say something to them to let them know that I heard all they said and I know of their plans to bomb another building or something.

Anyhow, the man who runs the ECPower website goes under the name
"Jay Man". I've got his address if you want it :)

Forgetful_Duck

02-03-2009, 04:24 PM

Andrew, yeh i got the same info from whne i got my Lipo batteries.

While I highly doubt 'Jay Man' is a real name, Bulk Verkauf on ebay, from the yahoo e-mail address the guys name is Tak Wa Tse, or Tse Tak Wa if we put his family name back i the front, which sounds a lot more natural (im from hong kong too)

Anyhow about the Lipo's, on my 3000mah 2S1P, I'm still not certain how many cells are in this thing, ECpower website seems to have really weird information, like some of the listings say i can discharge this thing to 0 volts.... while the battery warnign sticker says otherwise, etc

Also read somewhere online that 2S1P is actually still only 2 cells.
hmmmm

In any case Mine has been going pretty strong, beign only 3000mAh, it last a good 30-45 for how i use it, before going to about 7V on the volt meter, notice a substaintial decrease in punch power too while in the car. I put back into it aftera charge about 2200mAh.

However Narcdevil's Lipo, the exact same spec, we bought a lot of 2 (Pair), seems kinda faulty. On the 9T brushless it seems to only last 5-8 mins, and after using a charge and discharge cycle, only manages to discharge maybe ~1200mAh or so before hitting 6 volts....

Not sure if its battery fault or charger ruined his battery or not, I charge mine under 1C, while he goes 1C. But still should be fine.

Now my universals arrived today. Yes posted on Thursday or so last week, it took 4 workign days to come. and 2 days of weekend.

Now where is my Brushless? ARGHH!!
Can't really use them yet though... had to order the diff outdrives for them which i didnt know about at the time....

EDIT: did i mention how bad Yeah Racing Aluminium hop ups are?
I've Now Worn Through 2 Threads on 2 holes of the rear shock Tower. Lost so much rear ride height since i have to use the top hole.
I'm taking that crap off and putting in the plastic one....

eylemkaan

02-03-2009, 05:25 PM

Oh yeh those huge wheels hey? look like they can help me not bottom out as much! About time we can use the full travel fo the suspension.

Kaan or andrew, know where i can get some of these wheels pre glued? Slash Wheels?

Anyhow just ordered the new outdrives.... $15 AUD all up.

Sorry mate, I was quite busy these days: fetch the link to Slash tires. This guy has many and any sorts of ammo you mite need:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBDIX:IT&item=250347645514

he is very much friendly in packaging as well, last time he sent them in an evelope not in their commercial packaging (brand new!!!) so saved me more than 10 bucks for shipping.

eylemkaan

02-03-2009, 05:32 PM

hang on forgetty your ESC will come and you will enjoy the most out of it! holiday is over... all of'em is on the way now. I've also not received my spare lipo, but I'm sure I'll have it within this week.

when it comes to yeah racing... how bad can they go? I wonder!!!

btw, I'm really into and almost in the midst of a 1/8 buggy nitro-to-brushless conversion TA DAAAAAA

off-road fever hit me, but am really into brushless. so I said "well, let's go big"

already ordered the EZRUN 80A, a 9XL brushless motor, Mod-1 16T pinion and bought myself a "I-donno-how-much"th hand Ofna Ultra LX Competition II roller chassis.

Now I only WONDER :)

Let me know what you think?

wastingmoney

02-03-2009, 05:33 PM

NarcDevil- I ordered my combo from a "seemyy" on E-Bay. Paid on 1-10 and received it on 1-29. 3 weeks from China to Ohio isn't bad. The ezrun systems come in a few different kv ratings, 13t 3000kv suits me fine. Plus I was reading some postings in different forums that people using the 9t motor in off-road cars were having issues with their motors. Didn't really dig into what their problems were, but people with the 13t motor didn't have those issues.

JDT- Pro-Line Badlands are the tires I have. Decent tire for off-roading, thicker blocks that shouldn't wear out too fast. Knuckles are similar, but it looks like they have a thinner block but more off them. Both probably have the same traction, but I think the Knuckles are a little shorter.

Once these tires wear out(I bought them used), I will buy some Moabs. Looks like a good tire for both on and off road driving. I think they are a little shorter like the knuckles, so I might go to a 17 or 18 tooth pinion.

The washers I used were bought at Lowes. Less than $2 for nylon.

timie1

02-03-2009, 05:45 PM

I feel as though I am almost the captain of the Titanic on it's maiden voyage. Hit by an iceberg and sunk.

Thankfully I didn't hit any icebergs, or curbs, or anything, but the road is covered in ice, and where it's not icy, it's soaking wet and all gravelly.

Nevertheless I took out the Gravel Hound today on it's maiden voyage with the EZRun 35A/VXL 3500kv.

I am suitably surprised. For the little area I could drive it, between the ridges of ice and trying to find a dry line amongst the road, it goes just as well as the Mamba Max on the same motor.

Not surprisingly, nothing got hot, not even warm. It is only 4°C today. I have a feeling that the fan may be annoying though. I'm running a 6 cell EP4600 nimh pack, and on just 7.2V(nominal) the little fan that could is like the little train that could. Bless it's little cotton socks, but it chugs along at 100000000 RPM. The motor on the fan got warm, warmer than anything else in the entire Gravel Hound. Even just turning it on and setting it up on the desk here the fan motor get's warm. I will try running the ESC without the fan sometime later. I think any misconception about the ESC heating it up may be completely wrong, as if you test the ESC by feeling the heat coming through the fan, then you are only feeling the fan heat.

At any rate, how did it perform compared to the Mamba Max??
Well.......as I said it's a little hard to tell because I couldn't stretch it's legs, but first impressions is it isn't quite as smooth at super slow speeds. It could be just a matter of fiddling with the programming card settings, but the MM you can really just creep along at a snails pace. Not so with the EZrun. That's not to say the EZrun is un-refined, because who really drives at 0.5mph anyway?

There is no cogging whatsoever, which I am very happy about. Compared to the MM, I think it may be even slightly better at switching from reverse to forwards in terms of not cogging.

Top speed from what I can tell in the very restricted confines of my run, using the Traxxas Velineon motor is no different to the speed I attained with the MM/VXL combo.

The gearing I'm running is the 67 spur and 22 pinion and stock spiked tires, without the spikes. This combination provides respectable speeds and amazing runtime with 4600mah nimh. I didn't test runtime today because quite frankly, it was too pointless running on a wet patch 2 feet wide for over 30 minutes. However, when there was no snow I had the MM and VXL combo in the DF02 and nothing got hot, and runtime was 30+ minutes even with that gearing I used. The top speed is probably about 36 mph (an educated guess). It's enough to make onlookers go "WOW, that's really fast eh!" (Eh! being the saying that Canadians use for everything, eh!), which is quick enough with the crap tires and shocks in the kit.

It is truly amazing how much extra speed you can get from larger diameter wheels, so I think that will be my next purchase. Electronically I think the EZrun and VXL will be a perfect match in the Gravel Hound. Stopping and starting and reverse and braking and stopping and starting is harder on a motor and ESC and generate more heat that just driving normally. So I am very happy indeed that nothing got hot. Even though it is 4°C today, that is not cool enough to not let something heat up. When I take my COMPLETELY STOCK E-Maxx out in -25°C temps, the motors heat up quite a bit, to about 50°C. So my point is, it's not that cold today that any lack of heat build up in the EZRun could be down to ambient temps. This thing just isn't working very hard.

All in all, for only $40, this easily outperforms the Mamba Max.

I would have taken a movie but you'd all be bored senseless with the stopping and starting and sliding on ice. The most interesting thing would have been seeing all the snow and ice (for all those who wish they had snow around where they live). Believe me though, the novelty of snow wears off quicker than you can imagine ;)

timie1

02-03-2009, 06:11 PM

Just thought you guys may actually want to see the setup.

I got out the dremel last night to dremel the tray that the RX sits on so I could make room for the ESC to sit where it is. It's a much nicer fit. I'm so glad the ESC is small so it can go there.

wastingmoney

02-03-2009, 10:10 PM

timie1- I did it so I could run my 3s pack, but you can do the same thing to slow the fan down. Take the red fan wire and move it over two places on
the circuit board to the bec(receiver) red wire. That way the fan will only "see" six volts. The bec output is rated for 1.5 amps so it's safe. Others have done the same thing. Plus no matter if your running 7 or more cells or a 3s lipo, the fan is only getting 6 volts.

timie1

02-04-2009, 12:07 AM

Yeah Wastingmoney, you are so right. Before I even installed the ESC in the car I looked at the wiring and thought why don't I just solder it 2 terminals over? I will soon, although it makes me wonder why Hobbywing didn't do that when they made it. It seems so logical and too simple to be a fix for it. Very weird indeed. I guess they figured people would just fork out the money to buy a different "option" fan for it.

I think that'll be my task for tomorrow - I'm already itching to put my 8 cell packs in and I've only had it going 15 minutes :D

eylemkaan

02-04-2009, 04:21 AM

hey andrew, glad I could contribute to a budget buy of ESC!!!

you'll not regret this one I can tell :)

the fan: I know it is loud, but you don't hear it when you drive. so I would suggest not to remove it. maybe you can pad it. since the loud buzz comes from the fact that EZRUN screws the way they screw it on the alu fins. tkae a closer look and you'll find out

NarcDevil

02-04-2009, 04:48 AM

did you remove the fan in the end? make any difference?

timie1

02-04-2009, 09:00 PM

Yo Kaan, you know your Slash wheels, did you get 1 complete set? or 4 rears? I went to my LHS today and they don't have them in stock, but they can get them at CAD$29 per pair. According to them, the rears are different in that they have some drive thingy in the hub. I told her they both have 12mm hexes, but she's a bit of a bitch and they are of that superior sort and they're never wrong. They had a Slayer in stock, but not a Slash, so we couldn't even look at it in real life.
How are your tires holding up to brushless??

I'm going to be trying to get a set from feebay, even with shipping and conversion into canadian $$ it'll be considerably cheaper than buying them in Canada. But now I'm confused, the bitch at the shop confused me, she said they are different with different part numbers, uffffff!!!!

Peter, no I haven't taken the fan off yet. Today I was going to unsolder the fan +ve wire and hook it up to the BEC, but I didn't. I don't care about the fan noise nor the heat it makes. If it breaks from over exhaustion then I'll sort something out. Until then I'll leave it be

timie1

02-05-2009, 01:52 AM

JDT: You've got those HPI wheels on your car aye? Are these the ones that'll fit? http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXM875

Do you find they are too wide for the gravel hound?

JDT

02-05-2009, 01:34 PM

my mashers and my dirt works are on the deep version of that

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXM883&P=7

my 4 inch ground assualts are on these

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPYU3&P=7

they come with a washer for the outside, since tamiya wheel nuts have a nice lip I leave the washer off so they screw all the way down to the locking part.

On my mt2 of course I can run them with the washers as the axle stubs are a couple mm longer.

JDT

02-05-2009, 01:36 PM

eylemkaan

02-05-2009, 03:12 PM

they are still holding out fine with brushless, but to get a REAL wear it should be more dry and hot.

I bought 4 of them as a set.

JDT

02-05-2009, 06:44 PM

I noticed today bakabaka let the df 02 and df 03 page he maintained all these years die, thought since I had talked wheels earlier I should remind everyone that likes go fast setups from time to time the perfect wheels for running four 3.5/6 inch tall rear buggy hawgs

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDU13&P=M

are the 3030-3034 hpi wheels in black white grey or chrome

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCEA0&P=7

wastingmoney

02-05-2009, 09:39 PM

WM the moads are actually 5 inches tall so a little taller than most buggy tires which are near 4 1/2, I love the way the 4.9 inch masher 2000s work but would like a more racey tire for the bmx track so that is why I would consider the 1/8 tires

JDT- Proline makes a Moab for 1/8 scale buggy rims. Part# 9022-00. Just checked Proline's website, it's not listed but you can find them on E-Bay.

JDT

02-06-2009, 08:51 AM

lol my bad, I was thinking 2.2 again, did you buy beadlock buggy wheels so you can just change the tires

wastingmoney

02-06-2009, 07:25 PM

No, just normal 1/8 scale buggy. Wabash made by Proline. I paid $17 for rims and tires used off E-bay. Didn't want to invest to much just in case I didn't like the look or couldn't get everything to work. I'm happy with them.

Still want to go with the Knuckles?

JDT

02-07-2009, 06:10 PM

I am not sure, I wrote down the hub adapter kit so the next time anyone has a champ order going I will get some, my buddy is down to one chassis for their df 03s so he is ready but his little brother wants him to wait for income tax refund or the anticipated economic stimlus deal so he can get a df 03 ms version, I would like them for the bmx track, the four inch tall ground assaults that came with my mt2 are fine but I would like the extra ground clearance of the 8th, we usually start off racing on the bmx track but then turns into just trying to turn the whoops into a triple or hitting it from the other direction to make the table top a quad clearing all three whoops, then we usually have to go back and fix someones car lol.

wastingmoney

02-08-2009, 12:01 AM

OK that's cool. I paid $24 shipped for the adaptors off E-Bay, if you don't want to wait on the Champ order. They came in 7 days from Japan.

Your from Des Moines right? That BMX track isn't outside is it? If so must be a light winter for you!

timie1

02-08-2009, 12:59 AM

JDT, how do you make sense of the Champ RC website? All I get is this sort of stuff all over the page, 年に登場し高い人気を集めた三菱パジェロ・メタルトップワイドの完成電動RCカーです。
★フロントミドシップにモーターを搭載し、フロントはギヤ、リヤへはプロペラシャフトでパワーを伝達。

It's very frustrating, and I give up trying to navigate the page after a minute. They really need to do an english version of their site.

Do I have to install some obscure Japanese language pack for windows just to be able to decipher it? Even if it displayed in Japanese I think I could maybe use some online translator, but what I see is just garbled garbage which makes no sense.

NarcDevil

02-08-2009, 05:17 AM

anyone with the ezrun 35 amp ESC, just a note that it is definatly worth rewireing the fan so that it plugs into your reviecer and gets only 5V which is what it's rated at, it says max 7.2V which is why it runs sooo dam loud. i did it to mine at put a11.1V lipo 2200mah 30C discharge rate. this one's designed for helicopters and BOY is it insane. on bitumen it's so hard to get it to full speed without doing a wheelie. hardly ever getting to full throttle

Scottie

02-08-2009, 10:04 AM

Hey everyone My Ezrun 9T 35 A kits is coming soon, seemmy shipped it on Monday, can I rewire the fane some how to plug in my Bat plug on my RX because I don't feel like soldering on the esc it self because |I'm not good at that?

wastingmoney

02-08-2009, 10:21 AM

No the fan wires are soldered to the esc's circuit board. You can run the fan over-voltage, just makes it spin faster than it already does. I'm sure it shortens the life of the fan too.

If you didn't want to solder to the esc, you could cut the red fan wire and splice into the receiver red wire. Wouldn't be as neat or easy as soldering, but you wouldn't risk damage to the circuit board. Welcome to the forum!

timie1

02-08-2009, 03:42 PM

Hey Scott, Welcome!!!!!

Scott, what I would do is on the trio of wires going to the RX, cut the red wire and then cut the red wire of the fan right at the circuit board. Solder the red wire that you cut at the circuit board on the red wire you cut from the lead to the RX. Then solder the red wire together again going to the rx.

This is what the others are saying by splicing the RX wire.

As Wastingmoney said though, just run it on 8.4V 7 cell.

What people aren't realising is that a 6 cell battery is 7.2V nominal(at no load). A 7 cell pack is 8.4V nominal. As soon as you pull the throttle that voltage drops to about 1V per cell (with nimh), so now the voltage is either 6V or 7V for the 7 cell. For most of the running per each battery the voltage will be considerably under 7.2V.

timie1

02-08-2009, 03:47 PM

Scottie

02-08-2009, 05:28 PM

Scott, if you REALLY want to get it soldered differently, if you want you can send it to me and I'll do it and then send it back. It's so small, I think the postage will be cheap. For mine with the program card coming from Hong Kong, it only cost US$1.50 for postage. It was HongKong$15 for postage, which equals out to only US$1.50.

I told Bobby about the ESC and MOtor I order just about 30 minutes ago, she didn't get to mad. splice the wire into the RX wire sounds easy enough for me to do I might just leave it though I only got that 7 cell 2000 Mihm battery so I don't think it will be to much of a problem.

Scottie

02-08-2009, 05:46 PM

I's still debating weither I should pay $140 and buy another gravel Hound Kit so that way I would have lots of parts and would be cheapest or buy a completly different rc car like the slash or something.

I wish I would have ordered that motor and esc a few weeks ago and got it by now the parking lot is somewhat dry and no ice or snow on it for now. I Might have to take my gravel hound to the parking garage (Andrew where we got kicked out of last time) to try out the brushless.

Scottie

02-08-2009, 06:00 PM

does anyone know the ideal gearing for the gravel hound and stock tires with that EZrun 9 Turn Brushless system? I got a 16 Tooth and 22 T pinion and 67 and 70 spur.

JDT

02-08-2009, 06:04 PM

for champ rc I only surf the site occassionally and I just let google do the translation, this page explains how to email to find out what they got in stock and how much etc

http://74.125.95.102/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.rc-champ.co.jp/Champ_International/International_index.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drc%2Bchamp%2Bjapan%26hl%3Den&usg=ALkJrhjTCm1vfTXoTsmJRHjYfl2cYYLBxQ

wastingmoney

02-08-2009, 06:10 PM

Just finished up running about six packs in my df02 today. Enjoying some unseasonable warm temps here today, around 50F and sunny. Ran like a charm with no problems, well just one. My adaptors to run 1/8 scale tires kept losing wheel nuts. Lost two of them and decided to put on a set of Tamiya F350 rims and tires I have. Figured it would only be a matter of time before I lost one of the pieces for the adaptors so I threw on the others instead of pushing my luck. Might have to try different nuts or use some thread lock on them, but at any rate something will have to be sorted out. Heads up to JDT if your going to using these too.

When I went to the F350 tires I also went to the stock 19t pinion, after that no problems. My packs were lasting 15 minutes or so with no heat in anything. Motor was the warmest but only slightly warm to the touch. In the summer, if heat is a issue, I can put in my Velineon motor. I would have put that brushless system in but I sent the esc to Traxxas for repair and the package got "lost". That's why I got the ezrun, happy with that choice.

Scottie

02-09-2009, 07:43 PM

what do you guys think of getting a DF-03 for my ezrun brushless motor I can get a kit for about $50 cheaper then I can get a DF-02 kit for right now?

Zalmaxiss

02-10-2009, 03:56 AM

Hey guys- I just picked up a Rising Storm for pretty cheap and built it today. I am wanting to go the way of a rally car for this chassis, I have been browsing this thread and seen lots of set ups for the monster truck breed. Are there any suggestions for parts that will fit up for a rally car-esque look? Thanks!

Zalmaxiss

02-10-2009, 03:58 AM

what do you guys think of getting a DF-03 for my ezrun brushless motor I can get a kit for about $50 cheaper then I can get a DF-02 kit for right now?

www.rcplanet.com has the df-02 kit for 105.95 right now. It is in the Rising Storm variety if it matters.

bchymas

02-10-2009, 11:09 AM

What difference is there between a Gravel Hound and a Plasma Edge?

JDT

02-10-2009, 11:24 AM

the body is the only difference between the three cars
the best price I have seen around is the GH at $87.05

http://www.rocousa.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=gravel+hound&txtsearchParamCat=ALL&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch

I suspect with a good parts supplier like champ rc you could get nearly all the parts less the body cheaper than that however

I would think for a rally car you will need to use a focus body or something with a tall roof in the rear to clear the shock tower, I linked to some hpi super star wheels just a couple days back, these will take any 2.2 tire that is "car" sized so you can put whatever tire trips your trigger

Scottie

02-11-2009, 08:40 PM

www.rcplanet.com has the df-02 kit for 105.95 right now. It is in the Rising Storm variety if it matters.

$106 for people in the US but after Conversion and customs it will be hitting something like $170 - 180 cnd for me and I can get a DF-03 kit right now with taxes for about $113 cnd taxes in.

Devastator

02-14-2009, 06:10 AM

Could anyone recommend some bigger wheels & tires for my DF02, and link them please?

Thanks

eylemkaan

02-14-2009, 06:40 AM

Traxxas Slash tires are perfect fit, just search from EBAY and you'll find lots!

Devastator

02-14-2009, 11:22 AM

Nice, but I was thinking something a little more like the originals.

JDT

02-14-2009, 12:21 PM

you mean spike type tires?

get two of these

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXM875&P=7
available in other colors
or

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXRD76&P=7
multiple colors again

or

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXWX57&P=7
MCAvailable
and there is a schorch which I couldn't find today, just make sure you get two sets of rears, the ones listed as fronts are for 2wd

and

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDT92&P=7

or

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDT93&P=7

or

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDT95&P=7

these are all four inches tall or so and gear accordingly

wastingmoney

02-14-2009, 01:09 PM

http://ukrcrc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2837

I'm bound and determined to use my 1/8 scale tires! But, as I posted before, wheel nuts wouldn't stay on. The adaptors are wider than originals and that meant the axle was not long enough for the nut to seat up properly.

Tamiya part# 50808 will fix that problem. Now I need a dogbone that I can use. Does anybody know if Tamiya makes another dogbone for the df02 that don't have the big ends on them? I'm using #53790 for the diff joint and cvd's right now. It looks like #50808 and #53790 use the same size dogbone, smaller than original.

I could go back to the original diff cup and modify the dogbone on the axle end to fit, but I was hoping for something easier.

Devastator

02-14-2009, 05:44 PM

That's more what I'm after but they are smaller in diameter to the originals, I wana go bigger.

wastingmoney

02-14-2009, 06:31 PM

That's more what I'm after but they are smaller in diameter to the originals, I wana go bigger.

Your "original" tires are bigger than 4 inches?

bchymas

02-14-2009, 08:06 PM

Does the Gravel Hound come stock with the TT-01 style hex wheel setup? Traxxas Rustler wheels will work without adapters then right?

timie1

02-15-2009, 02:37 AM

Devastator

02-15-2009, 07:01 AM

Your "original" tires are bigger than 4 inches?

No, but I wasn't counting in the tires. I want bigger wheels and the ones that got linked weren't any different it's just that the tires would of made them bigger. I don't really want wacking great big tires, cos then it's look like a truck.

bchymas

02-15-2009, 04:40 PM

Yes the DF-02 does come with traditional Tamiya style 12mm hex. TT-01 wheels would fit. How practical they would be is another story.

If Traxxas Rustler wheels use 12mm hex and the offset is rougly the same as stock DF-02 wheels then I guess they'd fit. But I know nothing about a Rustler so I'm not saying they would or wouldn't fit. That's up to you to decide if they'd fit.

For what it's worth, I'd avoid traxxas wheels if much the same wheels can be had in other brands. The Slash wheels are completely different, so get them if you like that look, but Rustler wheels are just fancy chromed stadium truck wheels (of which the chrome chips off faster than you can say a whole host of swear words) so why not go with wheels made by HPI that we KNOW fit and the quality is probably better? And which there are loads of aftermarket tires to use??

Thanks for the info. I think the Traxxas wheels will fit because it's the same 12mm hex design. I wasn't planning on getting the chrome ones, I like the cheapo white nylon ones that cost like $4 per pair. I have a set for my Stampede and they're fine. Plus, I hear they're easy to dye. I also like the RPM "Revolver" wheels. Those can also be dyed and RPM recently released a black version as well.

JDT

02-15-2009, 06:35 PM

I didn't like how the normal stampede real wheels fit the df 02, the wheel nuts didn't get on enough to suit me. I never tried the slash wheels but I prefer all the hpi versions to the traxxas ones.
As far as wanting a larger diameter wheel you are pretty much screwed unless you convert to the 17mm like waistingmoney did but you will end up with a tire that is 4.5 inches or more tall, if you had the skills you might be able to cut the 2.2 sized four inch tires to fit on 17 mm rims but that would be a heck of an undertaking IMO.

timie1

02-15-2009, 11:37 PM

This is to anyone who owns a DF-02 and has issues with it always bottoming out.

A while back I drew a diagram of a mod that I devised to dramatically improve this problem. I have made a new revised edition of it. It's lighter, more streamlined, and a better looking all round design. The shape of it allows 4 different lower shock mounting points on each corner. This changes 2 things, the geometry of the suspension dramatically, and increases the ride height to as high as you want. Adding or removing the shock pre-load spacers gives so many more options in addition to just the shock mounting positions.

In my opinion, the geometry of the suspension on the DF02 is terrible. It just isn't progressive enough, no matter if you have different shocks entirely to the stock ones or not. Changing the angle at which the shocks are mounted introduces a lot more decent geometry and tuning options.

The part fits the stock arms, and allows the use of standard ball studs included in the kit. No further modifications are necessary.

I have made a set for Hong (Forgetful Duck) in this forum. He should be getting them in about a week. Please ask him for a second opinion as to the usefulness of this little adaptor.

It is made of solid 3mm aircraft grade aluminum. It won't rust, ever, so getting it wet is no problem.
I do make these parts by hand using different grinders and drill presses, so it stands to reason that each part will be slightly different. But I can assure you every part will change the suspension in exactly the same way. All holes are exact so you won't have one part doing a different job to other parts.

If anyone is interested in buying some of these much needed fixes, just PM me. The price for the whole kit which includes eight 3x10mm hex screws is CAD$23 including shipping worldwide (6-10 day shipping). That is approximately US$18, but of course will change with the value of the dollar. The only thing needed is a 3mm hex driver and your stock ball studs, everything else is included.

If you have constantly been annoyed that there is no ground clearance and it consequently bottoms out all the time, then this modification is what you need. It doesn't change the gearing like adding large wheels and tires does.

PM me for any extra info.

I'll get some photos up as soon as possible.

For some references to my honesty, I am on ebay with 100% positive feedback, my name is andrews6701

timie1

02-16-2009, 12:36 AM

As you can see, with larger wheels (the first 2 photos) there is huge amounts of clearance. I have only 4mm of preload in all these photos. Without the adaptor, I was using about 20mm of pre-load and the clearance was way less then this, but it resulted in really hard and stiff suspension.

The bottom photo shows the stock spiked tires (albeit completely warn out;)), even with those tires the clearance is about 2-3 times more then completely stock. I have the position set in the furthest outside point. This adds the least amount of clearance of all 4 positions. The further you mount it in, the more clearance there is and softer the suspension becomes. To use all four positions, just flip the adaptor around, or swap this left side one for the right side one.

When using the innermost positions I'd recommend keeping your suspension nice and soft. The ride height is huge, so having soft plush suspension will increase road holding and bump absorption. The extra tuning options make this a very wise mini investment.

The ball studs simply self thread into the adaptor.

timie1

02-17-2009, 08:18 PM

Wow, it's quiet here lately. Where's everyone gone??

Here's my car going with the EZrun and VXL combo and using those tires in the top 2 pics above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnurvT3gojY

I can't wait for summer, this ice and sub zero temps are really frustrating. I have to go out of my way to find a clean road, tututut :D

JDT

02-18-2009, 08:10 AM

we finally got a little warm up here to melt the snow and ice away but the winter was so hard on the roads they are full of potholes, no running in the street in front of my house

Scottie

02-27-2009, 12:44 PM

I Had my Ezrun 35A 9 T Motor and ESC in my DF-03 last night with a 7 cell battery in it and it works great fast but not to fast I ordered a Lipo Battery from ebay and also going to get a charger tonight from Ebay hopefully I get some good ones.

I Had the Punch at 3 out of 4 and it worked great unlike my older 6 cell batter where I Had to turn the punch all the way down !!

Forgetful_Duck

02-28-2009, 06:48 AM

Hi guys, long time no post.

Anyhow an update from me.

Yes i bought 4 of those 3mm solid aluminium suspension mods andrew made, with some hex screws as well.

THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY BRILLANT.

I set them up such that both front and rear are about equal height though i swear the front is maybe 1mm higher, not that it matters that much. So far i have really good ground clearance, the front is lifted up heaps and so is the rear. You NEED universals or CVD's etc for the fronts at this ride height.

It was only today that i tested this config out at the BMX track.
PERFECT. Seriously, the increased ride height coupled with the 3racing shocks, it uses ALL the travel on the front. yes ALL of the suspension travel when you push the front right down. And about 80% of the rear is used.

The extra ride height didn't make flipping over any significantly more frequent so that's a plus. Doing Jumps on the track is actually fun now, unless your going hardcore yes sitll bottoms but if you land all ur jumps nicely, its a smooth soft thud as the suspension (set up correctly) takes it all. next time i WILL take a short video.
But for now, a few pictures will ahve to suffice.
here's my dirty DF02 after some nice BMX track bashing (grey dusty gravel bmx track)

Notice the extra protection int he form of thick cloth gaffa tape. need it unless you want the rocks to chew the chassis. Got it on the top of my shock towers as well for when i roll.

Scottie

03-01-2009, 02:50 AM

Here is a video of my DF-03 Avente MK 2 with a Ezrun 35A 9T motor and esc with a 7 cell battery !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnm3rPWDKO4

Forgetful_Duck

03-01-2009, 05:05 AM

Scottie

03-01-2009, 09:04 AM

It's Fun hey scottie!

On Dirt hawg tyres, my Df02 Flies, its mad.

At top speed using 7.4V lipo and stock gearing its about 50-55km/h

And from that speed i can do a complete stop in the space of maybe 6 meters (with dirt hawg tires), no spinning out, just a straight stop. Love it.

do you have the Truck tires the 4 inch ones? I Have them on my Gravel Hound but somethings wrong with the steering that way I Bought the DF-03 and it was on sale.

I think they would fit on my DF-03 but with the brushless I think I would flip it more because they do grip alot better.

eylemkaan

03-02-2009, 05:02 AM

long time no post :'(

I'm working on my brushless conversion for a 1/8 nitro buggy :) of course EZRUN 80A again on ESC, and Feigao 9XL for the motor... Let's see how hard it gets :)

timie1

03-02-2009, 03:14 PM

Scottie

03-02-2009, 03:47 PM

Hey timie1 (Andrew) hows it going come on-line my radio and Micro RX cam in today it fits great not sure how good the range is on it yet or if it glitches. It fits nice in my DF-03 but might have to wait for my lipo to try it out.

I found out about the cords for my charger to the guy sent me a picture of all the cord it comes with and now I don't have worry about it.

eylemkaan

03-04-2009, 01:03 PM

Welcome back Cotter.

Sounds like fun Kaan. What 1/8 buggy are you using for a platform? I was thinking of doing the same, maybe with a Duratrax Raze because a guy up the road is selling it for $50.

Also, Kaan, I bought a lipo and charger to use on the ezrun and gravel hound. I can't wait for it to arrive.

I'm using an Ofna Ultra LX, Ezrun 80A ESC, 9XL bl motor, 5000 mah 20C battery, Mod1 16t pinion gear, and it looooooks great. Just waiting on a bevel gear within this week and then it goes live!

Man I'm so glad I contributed. Watched your and Scottie's vids on youtube :) a lot of fun there :D Lipo and the charger, man you're gonna love the beast :teacher:

Forgetful_Duck

03-05-2009, 01:43 AM

Just posting to let you guys know that the new ECpower 3200mah 7.4V Black (roundish) hardcase LiPO's are indeed 2 cells, and that they last for AGGESSSSSS.

They are super light weight at around 170 grams, thats a whole 50 grams lighter than the Silver 3000mah hard case lipo's 7.4V (4 1500mah cells) also from ECpower, (i got both)

These new 3200mah 2 cell black case lipo's should fit into more cars better as well, they are rounded and are just like nimh packs, but at 1/3 of the weight... ever so slightly wider but thinner.

Worth getting in my opinion.

timie1

03-05-2009, 02:53 AM

Who here has the alloy main drive shaft installed in their car?

I don't want to hear theory, or the copy & paste marketing spin of companies that make the alloy shafts. I want real world experience only posted here.

Did you notice an improvement after installing it? Did the high speed/voltage/gearing vibration of the shaft disappear?
Personally I don't believe how it can be stronger then the plastic one and I don't see how it would be useful transferring more power to the gearboxes (notice the plural). The rear is where most power and weight is transferred to, and the shaft won't mean any more power is sent to the rear. The front - yeah, but not the rear.

Anyway, who has it installed? What brand did you get? Is it seriously a worthwhile upgrade?

eylemkaan

03-05-2009, 03:23 AM

Hey Andrew, not on DF02 but I installed one on my ex-TT01D (almost the same chassis) I can say there's more efficient power transfer and less vibration-based sound on the shaft itself. I got myself a Yeah Racing on the first run, was VERY lousy as usual so used my mom's knitting rods (#6) instead. that was very solid, and the guywho bought the car from me is still using it with NO hassles after 3 years.

timie1

03-05-2009, 04:23 AM

That's interesting Kaan, knitting needles!!! How on earth did you get them to work?
Yeah the No Racing ones look quite flimsy and thin compared to the GPM ones. Did you have issues with it twisting and staying twisted?

timie1

03-05-2009, 06:44 AM

Hey Kaan, or anybody else who knows - with the TT01 being identical in many respects, can the main shaft from the TT01 be used in the DF02? Knowing my luck the TT01 will be slightly different and incompatible.

Also, the steering set from the TT01, is it the same exact bits as the set from the DF02? This is the bit I'm talking about http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tt01-hopup-parts-alloy-steering-assembly-tt048-p-9500.html?cPath=595_744_708

RCmart is out of stock in many parts I want in the DF02, but they have them for the TT01.

JDT

03-05-2009, 11:49 AM

I don't think the steering will work but the tamiya df 02/tt 01 shaft is the same, its only $7-10, it works great, I have never had issue one with them, even with just a 13 turn brushed and 7 cells my stock plastic one would deflect so bad you could hear it hitting on the inside of the chassis tunnel under power, switched mine to the tamiya one and a couple hundred hours later its still doing fine. I even put one in my hardly ever ran mock up brushed weekling beater df 02.

timie1

03-05-2009, 02:52 PM

Yeah Racing must be dreaming. They charge $7 for their aluminium shaft.
Tamiya charge $6.90 for theirs.
Hmmm, that's a bit of a no brainer.

Yeah Racing = No Racing
Tamiya = Yeah Racing

Forgetful_Duck

03-05-2009, 03:15 PM

yeah Racing = Yeah Breaking....

Anyhow Just recharged my 3200 ECpower black lipo.
Put in 3001mAh out of a max rated 3200....

Compared to my usual nput of 2300mAh out of 3000mah for the silver hard case ones....

Steve at Danfor

03-18-2009, 06:51 AM

Hi Andrew and Everybody - Todays the big day - I tried it out in the house but it's way too fast for our small place. I guess it won't look like this later but who cares - I gotta try this Baby out!:D

Took me a while to catch up on the forum - I have been busy building another Fast Electric Boat - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-18-2009, 07:16 AM

Here is a couple "Before" shots - You can see the body post mod I did so the body would fit and also where I mounted the switch for the Mamba - That's a 4300 KV with the Traxxas motor and Proline Moabs! I will try to get some video from the parking lot (ice has finally melted)

Steve at Danfor

03-18-2009, 09:41 AM

Hmm - I can't seem to post them.

JDT

03-18-2009, 12:46 PM

looking good, let us know your impressions after the first "real" run

timie1

03-18-2009, 11:18 PM

Hi Steve. Velcome back!

The setup looks great there Steve. What gear ratio are you going to run? I've been fiddling with the GH a lot lately. I've come to the conclusion that an aluminum shaft is needed with brushless. When I run the 70/19 gearing, on full throttle with the 3500kv traxxas motor, there is quite a bit of chatter from the shaft. Running lower gearing may reduce the chatter but it will do the same to top speed. I bought the 3Racing TT01 shaft from rcmart for US$5. It's great but it is slightly longer then the plastic shaft. I had to use the bench grinder to grind a bit off the diff bevel gear shaft thing because of the few mm extra length. It was binding with the diffs. It annoyed me, but mehhhh, it was an easy fix. Now there is no chatter, and the braking is a lot stronger now there is no flex in the shaft. I think I can run taller gearing because the motor doesn't get all that warm on those tires. I bought some Dirt Works tires, which are the same diameter as yours.

Anyway, let us know how your maiden voyage goes.
You probably can run quite tall gearing with your setup.

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 05:14 AM

Hi Andrew - Good to be back - I did not go far - just to the RC18T (Team Associated) Forum and Fast Electric Boats Forum. Yesterday was the first day this spring over 10 degrees C. so I charged up the Battery and headed over to the Church parking lot (quiet on Wednesday) - Did a wee lap at slower speed and then opened it up a bit on a straight and it stopped. I said to myself - Gee, I bet the Pinion Gear came free. Indeed that was the case when I opened up. I had not applied thread lock. There was no damage to the Stock 70T Spur Gear. I am using Robinson Racing 16T Pinion so as to go the slowest I can to get used to driving it. I also had to trim the body around the front to enable maximum steering control. I am going back out today to get some video.

Hey - I have had some amazing luck selling my stamp collection on EBay - They were worth way more than I thought - I have a large pile of US Cash sitting in PayPal and am wondering whigh Crawler I need - Any advice welcomed Guys!

I got a trailer for my boat (Whitebone RC Trailers) and want to do some scale and fine detail work to get it so that I can back up to the lake and take off in my boat right from the trailer all Radio Controlled - A bit tricky as I insist on Brushless Lipo systems on all. I shall keep you informed - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 08:00 AM

Wow - I was giving it a little test inside and the crappy Yeah racing Center Shaft snapped - I read they were poor quality after I bought and installed it. Dinball has the Square ones in stock so I got a set and the new Axial Crawler that looks like an old truck! I paid for 3 day delivery from Hong Kong to Ottawa - Ye Ha!

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-df02-hopup-parts-square-alum-center-shaft-tamiya-stg22s-p-21143.html?cPath=595_744_712

timie1

03-19-2009, 01:35 PM

THAT was from slow testing from inside? Wow, that epitomises how crap Yeah Racing rubbish is. It seems that when I look at YR junk and think, "how could that break? There doesn't appear to be any weak spots, I think that particular YR thing might be ok" I am proven wrong each and every time and if it's made by YR, there will be a way it will break at the most inopportune time. For as surely as the sun will rise, it also sets.

Jeeeez, what bloody rubbish.

So far my 3Racing one is holding up nicely. That Square one certainly looks better then the YR thing.

Now, those shock towers you've got on the front, what brand are they? If they are yeah racing, seriously, I would take them apart now while they're in one piece, and replace all the screws that came with the part. Go to Canadian tire, or your LHS and buy some replacement screws of the same thread (Probably Canadian Tire won't have that same M3 thread - but your LHS does). I've tried telling people who own YR stuff to replace the screws and bolts, and they always learn the hard way, cos once it breaks or strips in the part it's impossible to get it out so you have to throw the part away and put the plastic Tamiya back on (which certainly isn't worse).

What class of crawler did you get? Do you watch RCTV on Saturday morning on OLN? There are quite a few segments of crawlers in that show.

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 02:04 PM

GPM Towers and Arms and Bumpers - It was not slow either - That thing really burns off - Tires are so sticky! It wheelies no problem - I think there is a set-up issue with my Transmitter and Reverse or something - It wanted to really take off in reverse - Burned the carpet! I think that's when it broke the Yeah Part - That Square one will be good forever!

timie1

03-19-2009, 02:18 PM

Hehehe, in reverse. That is always a common problem.
Just reverse two of the motor wires. Or if you have Futaba radio gear, you usually have to reverse the channels and reprogram the ESC. Since our last discussions, I've realised a problem the MM esc has. It doesn't have motor reversing. For example, on the EZrun, you can have the throttle channel setting in REV or NOR on the transmitter and the ESC will program and arm to either nor or rev setting. If the motor runs backwards when it's all programmed just change two of the 3 motor wires and it'll go fine. However, on the MM, the ESC will only arm if the throttle setting is in either REV or NOR (depending on the radio brand).

I use the same TX for a few cars and sometimes I have to flip the channel reversing switch. When I used the TX on my MM I thought the MM was broken. It wouldn't arm. Reprogramming it did nothing. Then I remembered I'd flipped the switch to use on my other ESC and car. I flipped the switch back and voila, it worked like it should have. The EZRun ESC's aren't so picky with respect to that little radio feature.

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 02:23 PM

OK Andrew - I'm on it - I have Fatuba AM Cheapo system (the 10 model one)
I just got a Crawler and I am looking into an EZRun system for it now - Joined a new Crawler Forum of course for help and advice.

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1688773&posted=1#post1688773

timie1

03-19-2009, 02:54 PM

Steve, I too have bought the 60A EZRun, as well as a 35A one. This is where I bought mine http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=370165565022

I don't know what motors to recommend for your crawler though. However, with a high turn low KV of a crawler, the 35A EZrun ESC will be more than adequate. On that RCTV show, I've noticed how they are either going forward, or reverse, or full brake. I don't know how suitable a car ESC would be. I don't know if there'd be enough "engine braking" when going slow, you don't want to just roll down a steep slope when you COULD have an ESC that when it's not powering the motor forward, it's applying full brake. You know what I mean? It would be nice to be stationary on an incline and know it won't start rolling either back or forward, like doing a hill start in a real car using a manual transmission and the handbrake/emergency brake.

If you've got all that Paypal money, you could buy my TA05 off me :D heheh.

When you get your parcels from RCmart, on the label on the box make sure you put the points activation code into the RCmart website for your account. You get store credit. Also, write reviews on the things you buy from RCMart, they give points which adds to your RCmart credit.

timie1

03-19-2009, 03:03 PM

Oh also, those EZrun are nice ESC's, but they aren't quite as smooth with a tiny amount of throttle input as the MM ones. If you only have an EZrun, you'd probably be happy with it, but compared side by side to a MM, there is no comparison with it's smoothness down really slow.

And, if you shop around for motors and like trying unheard of brands, the Team Powers motors, here http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=250358915858 is a great little motor. That thing really goes for it, and it has a lot more "engine braking". It feels like a brushed motor in that you can feel the magnets a LOT in it, it doesn't just freewheel like the VXL or Mamba Max CM36 motors. However, for some strange reason the MM doesn't agree with the motor. It cogs really bad. The EZrun drives it perfectly though. Thier 13T might be a good motor for crawling because it has the brushed motor feel.

I could be entirely wrong so don't take my advice as gospel because I really know nothing about crawling.

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 03:24 PM

Thanks Andrew - I will take a look

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 03:45 PM

What's a TA05? - I bought an Axial sxc10 as its 1.9 " wheels and looks appeal to me - I will look great hauling my trailer and boat I hope - I may need a longer hull for the trailer but that's another story. It's not a competition crawler as such so I believe I will go for the EZRun - I will gear it lowest possible so it can creep around at low speeds - Steve - The stamps are nuts $ wise man and I mean in a good way!

Steve at Danfor

03-19-2009, 03:48 PM

I never got my credits before and I want them this time - I will try to remember - Usually all the excitement gets me going and I toss all the packing out - Steve

timie1

03-19-2009, 04:50 PM

Hehehe, yeah the excitement get's me going too. While I was walking back from the PO the other day after I unsuccessfully tried to open the box with my fingernail (a word of advice, take a key, or knife or something with you to the post office so you can open it between then and the time you get home), I was wandering along the road freezing (it's still all icy and freezing out here - winter drags on and on) and looking at the box trying to figure a way into it without savagely ripping the box apart. I was like a squirrel figuring out how to reach that bit of food placed for the birds. I analysed the situation over and over and over. That's when I noticed the code on the RCmart label and thought......DUHHH why I have I never entered those codes before?

A Tamiya TA05 is an onroad touring car, http://images.google.ca/images?q=tamiya+ta05&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=fq7CSdi8IoK2sQOwzYzqBg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title
I think I would like to sell it and get a stadium truck or Slash or maybe a heli or plane.

timie1

03-19-2009, 04:59 PM

Oh yeah Steve, I have got my boat all ready for the summer. I have given it such a major overhaul, it doesn't even resemble the junk it once was. At the moment, I've got the Tamiya TEU101 ESC in it with a 550 size silver can motor, and I'll run 9 cells nimh in it. It was originally a 540 silver can twin motor 2:1 reduction setup with a mechanical speed controller, two batteries, but only 7.2V. It WAS so heavy for such low voltage and low powered motors. What I plan on doing is cutting the weight and using only 1 550 motor (if I keep it brushed) and using more voltage to give it some speed that isn't just a plain embarrassment. I may drop the 35A EZrun in it and the 4300kv motor. I figure with the 2:1 reduction, a 4300 motor might be fine if I run it on 2S lipo for the mean time until I get another 2S lipo, or maybe a 3S for it. I might convert it to direct drive at some point. What's your thoughts on it? You can PM me so we can keep this thread from going off on a weird tangent about boats.

houndcrazy

03-24-2009, 09:35 AM

hey guys hows it going i am hoping someone can help i have a gravelhound with some few upgrades i know my way around the car pretty good but the whole about gear ratio still drves me crazy my question is i have a 15t trinty motor i still have all the stock gearing in it now i want to add some stampede rims and tires which fit but are much bigger do i go up or down to pick up better acc instead of top end and if you know a better setup up when i run the stock size rims because the have street tires on them that would be great.thx

Steve at Danfor

03-24-2009, 09:48 AM

Is what you need for more torque less speed - or get a larger spur gear but it's way easier to drop in a pinion gear as you know.

houndcrazy

03-24-2009, 10:25 AM

so more speed not top end i should go down maybe 2 teeth not up 2

Steve at Danfor

03-24-2009, 10:53 AM

Yep - Or more if you can - then try the one with 2 less teeth. Or just give it a go and check for overheating after a bit.

Steve at Danfor

03-24-2009, 12:37 PM

Here is the new Square shaft for the Hound. Those guys make the highest quality/priced stuff available. Got my new Axial SCX10 Scale Crawler today from DinBall's as well. Yee Ha! - I will try that pic later maybe. - Steve

houndcrazy

03-24-2009, 12:51 PM

thanks steve i will give it a shot iam going to order a 15,16 gear and see what happens let u know how i make out.

aezejesus

03-25-2009, 12:54 AM

Hi Guys,

I'm new here and currently having 3 df-02. 2 rising storm for my boys and 1 plasma edge for myself. Changed most the shock towers and shocks for all three cars and recently, changed to brushless system with a 9t motor combo from ezrun. The plasma comes to live! Good speed and punch. Also did an upgrade on the wheel to high density type. Thinking with more surface area on the ground, the handling could be better. Learnt all lot from all the msg here. Thanks to all!

Steve at Danfor

03-25-2009, 05:22 AM

Here is that Pic - You gotta get these parts if you want the best (and strongest) - Steve

Scottie

03-25-2009, 05:50 AM

thanks steve i will give it a shot iam going to order a 15,16 gear and see what happens let u know how i make out.

I might be wrong but I think you can only use a 16T, 17T, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22t pinion.

timie1

03-25-2009, 06:19 AM

This forum is like...........I dunno. It's dead for a while, then all of a sudden there's loads to read and catch up on. It's a great community effort :D

Scottie is correct, only 16 - 22 (MAYBE at a pinch a 23t pinion can fit).
To use the 16-19 pinions, you can only use the 70t spur. To use the 19-22 pinions you need the 67 spur.

aezejesus - glad we can all help you out. Post a pic of your cars, it's good to see what everyone is running. It's the best way to offer advice.

Steve - I could be wrong, but I believe the Square brand of hopups are made in Japan. If it's correct, that'll explain why they are great quality.

houndcrazy

03-25-2009, 09:09 AM

Steve at Danfor

03-25-2009, 09:51 AM

Hey Andrew - I can't find the Dinball code for bonus points - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-25-2009, 10:00 AM

I can't seem to post my pic of the (3) Square shaft parts due to sizing issues - They are deep inside the "Hound" now - Fit was perfect - Hope to get some video up real soon. Steve

Scottie

03-25-2009, 11:31 AM

thanks scottie u save me time hassle and most of all money$.I guess i will just buy a 16 tooth and be done with it.maybe u could help me with steering problem i upgraded the front with all the hop ups except for shocks i use the stock controller but upgraded the servor. now when i am trying to drive it it is very hard to go straight the wheels dont seem to straighten themselves out so all i do is spend time going back and forth trying to not hit anything and help would be great.

did you by any chance by the hop up Hubs and Knuckles for the front I Bought the alloy ones and it made the steering turn to much and I think I wrecked the cups the dog bones go into from binding from turning to much maybe check that.

houndcrazy

03-25-2009, 11:53 AM

did you by any chance by the hop up Hubs and Knuckles for the front I Bought the alloy ones and it made the steering turn to much and I think I wrecked the cups the dog bones go into from binding from turning to much maybe check that.

no i did not replace the hubs but did replace the knuckles.

JDT

03-25-2009, 12:17 PM

JDT

03-25-2009, 12:19 PM

oh and welcome to the RCZ forum houndcrazy

Scottie

03-25-2009, 12:40 PM

I Just strapped my GPS onto my DF-03 in the parking lot and got a max speed of 46 Km/h with an ezrun 35A 9T and stock gearing. and a 2S lipo

houndcrazy

03-25-2009, 01:10 PM

I ended up going out and getting a 1 1/4 inch turnbuckle and some ball caps to replace the rod that runs from the servo to the wiper switch arm (the thing behind the two steering arms) in order to get mine to go perfectly straight, It was a problem with the JR servo but the cheapy bluebird in my brushed junker car goes straight with no mods so its hard to tell, I had heard the TA 05 servo horn will work but never tried it as the stocker has never failed me. Maybe take your servo horn off and try moving it over one "thread" notch whatever you want to call it.

hey JDT i am not sure what part u are talking about are u able to put a picture on here so i can look at yours for a reference i do have a full set of turnbuckles on it on my servo arm i have 4 hole inline from top to bottom what difference will it make changing hole right now it is at the top hole i do have play when i wiggle the tire does yours do that?

JDT

03-25-2009, 01:28 PM

no changing the location of the ball will not help, I replaced the rod that goes onto the balls with a turnbuckle so it could be adjusted, there are two arms running parallel to the chassis(in the manual B 3), these screw into the one that is perpandicular to the chassis(A10), there is a ball stud in here and another in the servo horn, the plastic piece in between (D6) is the one I replaced. You can't really see it in my pictures on page 113, if you don't have the manual go here and pick exploded view, the steering stuff is down at the bottom right hand corner

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58334

hope that helps

timie1

03-25-2009, 08:14 PM

Come on people.......pictures!!!!! :D

To help the new people, pictures make all the difference.

JDT - exactly what bit are you talking about? Even I'm confused by the description of the part. Maybe you can point it out in the pic I have attached.

Houncrazy, if your car is veering off course, then you must have the toe angles set up wrong and inconsistent with both sides, or the trim for the steering is wrong. As JDT said, perhaps your horn is not on straight. Usually one notch adjustment is all that's needed.

Steve - The validation codes are right at the bottom of the printed label. However, I found some of my old boxes that have junk stored in them now, and they didn't have the validation codes on them. But the later boxes sent by RCmart do have the codes. If the code is on the label, you'll see it right at the bottom.:)

Steve at Danfor

03-26-2009, 04:35 AM

Thanks Andrew - Got it - Steve

aezejesus

03-26-2009, 04:48 AM

timie1 - how do i past the pic here? I tried to attach but it ask for url. Or anyone can help please?

JDT

03-26-2009, 08:16 AM

where you have the turnbuckle running from servo horn to steering assembly, right above the BEC next to the Futaba on the receiver. If the servo horn is a litte off this turnbuckle can be adjusted to get it to go straight. He mentioned he has turnbuckles so he should be able to adjust this to make the car go straight, I was at work so taking a picture was out of the question, I don't think I'd get alot done if I had my rc stuff at work, besides I was allready caught with the superbrain and the 3s under my desk charging at work one day when I was taking a half day to go bash, at least that day I left the duffle and df 02 in the truck in the parking garage

houndcrazy

03-26-2009, 09:41 AM

thx i will give it a try see what happens.One about the servo horn if i move the ball down 1 or 2 holes will it cut down on the steering so it does not turn as sharp to help me not over correct

Scottie

03-26-2009, 10:59 AM

I think I Had troubles with the knuckles to it make the GH turn to much I Had to use some hot glue and put in on the hubs I think to keep it from turning to much.

timie1

03-26-2009, 12:59 PM

JDT - Hahahaha, that's a funny story about being busted with your Superbrain under the desk. I take it your bosses expect you to work, oh man, that sucks ;)

aezejesus - To post a picture, you have to click on "Go Advanced" then on the next page, under "Additional options", go to "Manage attachments" then it's pretty self explanatory. Find the pictures on your puter, upload, and then at the bottom of the separate window that comes up, press "Close this window".
The file size for JPG must be a max size of 102.4kb, max 1200px X 1200px.
Anything over 1200x1200 and you won't succeed. So use any graphics program to compress the file to be under 102k and to resize it.

Also yes, if you moved the ball down a hole on the horn it will reduce throw of the steering, but this will not solve your problem where it's veering off to the side. You need to adjust the toe angles so they are identical on both wheels. If one wheel is toe out 3° and the other is toe out 1°, then your car is going to veer to one side that is adjusted to 3°. You need both wheels the exact amount so they counteract each other. When you are certain each wheel is the same, then get the servo horn on straight and fiddle with other settings. You need to have A setting bang on, then work from there. If every linkage in the steering is not right, then your wasting your time adjusting to compensate. Everything in the end will be horribly out of whack.

aezejesus

03-26-2009, 10:04 PM

Thanks Timie1 for your advice. Here comes the pic. I learnt from elsewhere that we can use hotmelt in the diff gears to lock it up. Anyone tried on your DF-02? I wonder how it will perform. May give it a try on my car and see....Any feedback anyone?

timie1

03-27-2009, 04:01 AM

The car looks good jesus!!
If I were you I'd seriously think about replacing the stock Tamiya connector with a decent Deans or something. Makes a big difference with brushed, it'll make an even bigger difference with your brushless.
Why would you want to completely lock your diffs?
I have put grease in the diffs to tighten them, but I noticed no difference with it. The grease all works it's way out, now it's no tighter then it was before I put the grease in. It just makes more mess.

aezejesus

03-27-2009, 04:17 AM

thanks timie1 for the deans suggestion. have never thought of that. but what exactly will it improve? allowing more current passing to the motor with lesser resistance? i'm not electrical trained.....but can undertand basic electrical principles.
As for the locking of diff, i wanted more traction while bashing on sandy road. tried on kids playground today and it got trap quite a nos of times....thus thinking of locking it with hotmelts with the rear diff first. see if it works. Hotmelts can be removed easily i suppose. better idea is to try with my kid's rising storm. See how good or if it ever works.:)

JDT

03-27-2009, 09:17 AM

Square makes a diff locker for the tt 01 which fits perfectly in the df 02, I have one in the rear of both my cars, with one if the front it pushes alot so I just run the stock open front with a little automotive grease. Its about $17 or $18, STD-50H is the part number, rcmart was jacking people for the Drift kit so it was over $30 last I knew cause it comes with(worthless to you) drift shock springs for a tt 01

ebay link

http://cgi.ebay.com/STD50H-Square-Aluminum-Diff-Block-Hub-Tamiya-TT-01-R_W0QQitemZ260209724528QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_Co ntrol_Parts_Accessories?hash=item260209724528&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I posted the picture here once before but the crappy search won't find it.

JDT

03-27-2009, 09:21 AM

Steve, how scale do you plan on getting with the AX 10, I still got this killer body, I though it was sell right off, no real action so its just sitting waiting for me to get scale motivated again, I just can't spend $1000 building one, I know I can't do a scale jobby without getting out of control

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=248923

timie1

03-27-2009, 12:21 PM

Basically put, Jesus, those Tamiya connectors are good for a max of 15 amps of current before they melt. A brushless system wants way more current at times, then just 15 amps. The AVERAGE current will be less then 15 amps, but peak current will be more like 100 amps during accelerating and braking.
If you changed to a Deans or Traxxas connector, you'll be allowing any bit of power the motor wants to reach the motor. You'll get better acceleration, probably quite a bit better. The plug won't heat up like a Tamiya one will due to the terrible resistance of that old design (and I'm guessing you being in Singapore, anything you can do to reduce heat build up is a major benefit) And, in theory, you should get longer run times. Less energy wasted as heat means more efficient, therefore longer runtimes. Again, that is the theory, whether or not you will really see longer runtimes the jury is still out on - but one thing is for sure, you'll get better acceleration.

Oh, and it needn't be genuine Deans. The Chinese clones on ebay are literally a fraction of the cost and work just as well, if not better as the plastic nylon blend the Chinese use doesn't seem to melt as easy as the plastic used in Deans.

About locking your rear diff, yeah I suppose you can remove hot glue easily enough. Give it a shot , you can be the guinea pig ;)

Steve at Danfor

03-27-2009, 03:49 PM

Way Sweet Body JTD - I already ordered up a Pro-line with some of their accesories for detail - That one of yours is exceptional Man - Too bad it's missing the doors or I would take it as well!

I used the Square Spool too in the rear and I just got this Square Center Shaft.

You can that here at the end of the thread - Sorry about my inability to post correctly half the time.

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=248923

timie1

03-27-2009, 06:25 PM

Wow JDT, that's an amazing body. It's strange how some things just won't sell. I have some things too that won't sell. I can hardly give them away, but they're perfect condition. I think it's because people don't like paying $30 shipping for a $10 body anymore. I can't say I blame them though, but that's how much it is to ship a bulky body with adequate packaging.

I don't know if I've posted my results from getting the TT01 3Racing shaft, so I'll say it again.
The shaft itself is great quality. Nicely built and finished to a almost Tamiya like quality. However, it's slightly too long and it ends up making the diffs bind as it pushes them out a few mm too far.
The easiest fix I found out was to use the grinder to extend the flat spot on the metal shaft that the bevel pinion gear fits on. The bevel gear was able to slide further onto the shaft and eliminated the binding.

So, if anyone wants to buy a shaft, don't get the 3Racing one unless you feel comfortable grinding some of the metal away from your original parts.

timie1

03-27-2009, 06:32 PM

Sorry about my inability to post correctly half the time.

Ahhh, I see you've managed to post the pics now (looking at your posted link) . It's not exactly intuitive posting, but at least this forum gives that option to upload from a computer. It took me a bit to find how to post them that way :) So many other forums you have to host the pic somewhere, that gets frustrating.

Steve at Danfor

03-27-2009, 06:48 PM

You guys need some stamps! - 5 years ago I started buying used stamps on paper on EBay - One time I got over $400. in postage (uncanceled stamps) for like 15$. You gotta make sure you get unpicked stuff. It sure helps when I ship stuff out. Steve

timie1

03-27-2009, 09:00 PM

Gearing the DF02 is always confusing without the manual on hand when choosing what mounting points to use, and I've owned my car for about 6 or 7 years.

I decided to update the stock gearing diagram so it contains a visual description of what holes to use when using the optional 67T spur gear.
Also next to the positions is the FDR (final drive ratio) when using the respective pinions.

I encourage everybody to experiment with the gearing. When running brushless, you really have to experiment to get desired speed from your car.

Hopefully everybody will find this diagram useful, and especially the new proud owners of the DF-02 in all it's many various models.

You are free to copy the picture to your computer for your own use.

- Andrew

Steve at Danfor

03-28-2009, 02:23 PM

Hi Guys - I am having a bit of trouble - The stock 70T spur gear is being replaced as it got a bit chewed somewhere along the line - Pinion is Robinson Racing 16T Metric and I believe I had it setup right. I shall reprogram my Mamba for a smoother start I think - I think I will pop out the spool till I get the hang of it. Keep you posted guys - Thanks - Steve

wastingmoney

03-28-2009, 03:02 PM

Steve- I'm running the same gears as you and I noticed that the pinion didn't mesh too deep into the spur. I took and Dremeled the holes in the motor mount to allow for a better mesh. I might even take it one step futher and try to fit a 15t to gear down even more.

On my ezrun I have a Velineon motor with the punch set to the softest setting. I also adjusted the timing to 0 degrees.

timie1

03-28-2009, 03:08 PM

Steve - exactly how chewed up is it getting?
There will always be some wear on them, but it shouldn't be getting totally munted.

One thing that could be causing your issues is those small button head screws holding the endbell on on the motor. You have your motor mounted using the correct holes for a 16t pinion, but I know from my experience using the VXL, that using those holes the little screws on the motor hit the cowl where the shaft goes. If you have to force the motor mount into the slot and force the gear cover down over the mount, then you have binding problems and ultimately gear mesh problems which will definitely strip a spur.
The motor should slot in perfectly and easily and require no forcing.

The only thing I could do (short of taking a screw out of the motor which holds the endbells on) is dremel a bit of the chassis away so to make room for the screws. It doesn't take much and is easy, and it's not even noticeable, but it entirely fixes the problem for the VXL motor and those screws. You only need to file about 1-2mm of plastic away right where the screw hits. It takes 5 minutes.

I had the exact same problem with the Mamba CM36 motors as they also have those screws. The Ezrun motors do not have screws so they are a BETTER fit.

As you know, I run the VXL motor in mine, and I have no problems of spur gears stripping or getting chewed up. So your problem will be a minor one. I have the punch turned down on my setups only because of terrible grip outside at the moment, but I've run them with no punch taming and it didn't strip the gears.

Steve at Danfor

03-28-2009, 05:03 PM

It's going back together perfect Andrew - without the spool in the rear this time - I used real thick "No Smoke" Engine Additive in the diff and thje mesh is nice and smooth with the motor mount just dropping into place - I sure will check those screws now Man - I am just at that stage - Thanks - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-28-2009, 05:05 PM

It's hitting the screw and causing the alignment to go askew - I shall fire up the ole Dremel - Why to call 'em Andrew - Sure do appreciate it Bro - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-28-2009, 05:16 PM

Man that is nice now - I might have missed that if you hadn't mentioned it and put it together poorly again - Luckily I scored a spare Spur gear from DinBall after reading about folks stripping theirs. Thanks Again Man - I don't know where I would be without this Forum. Steve

timie1

03-28-2009, 09:23 PM

No problemo Steve. I'm glad to be of help.

The gear cover should fit snug (not tight) over the motor mount and spur, but it should also fit level. Sometimes I've found that I've had to use 1 or 2 of the 4 screws holding it in place to squeeze it down and essentially bend the gear cover to make it fit - if you know what I mean. So I go back to the drawing board and find what is binding and making the motor and pinion out of alignment. If ever you have to clamp it level, then something is wrong and you're asking for mesh problems and gears stripping. It should always go on the chassis level, and then the screws are there just to hold it in place

aezejesus

03-29-2009, 09:46 PM

hi Timie1, thanks for the explanation. before trying out the deans connector, does it mean that i have to mod the charger as well? If so, that means i have to mod all connectors including my kids' df-02 stock connectors as well. Any side effect if the dean connector are used with my kids' car that is having the stock motor and esc? we are all sharing 1 charger. :(

timie1

03-29-2009, 10:24 PM

AEZEJESUS - If you all share the one charger then it's easy. You'll need the first adaptor on this page http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/deans-adapters/g-deans-adapters.asp
Or, you can just change the male Tamiya plug on your charger to a male Deans. But if you don't want to cut the charger, just make a connector like the first one.

I would advise you buy this http://ecpower.com.hk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=260
That'll be enough plugs to do all your batteries to female plugs, and all your ESC's to male, and the one plug on your charger to male.

No there would not be any side effect on any car. The plugs are simply just much better. You cannot hook a battery up in reverse, so you needn't worry about that. Seriously, there are no negative side effects. As long as you can solder, then everything will be fine.

On a stock motor you won't see much difference, but you will on your brushless motor. If you made, or bought, the adaptor I first posted, you could leave your kids cars the same and just change yours over. You can revert back to the Tamiya plug on the charger easily.

timie1

03-31-2009, 02:15 AM

Steve: Guess what I've just done? I decided to change the gearing so I thought I'd remove the spur and put the 67 in. Well, it turns out that I had munted the 70 spur. The teeth were fine, but where the shaft goes through the spur and where the pin locks into the spur, it had completely sheared off two of the tabs on the spur. It would not have been long before I'd have broken down while driving because all drive would have been gone. The two remaining tabs look fragile.

I'm really bummed now. I thought the drivetrain of the DF02 was bulletproof, but I guess I was wrong. I'm glad I took it apart when I did.
Also I found that the plastic spacer on the spur shaft had melted a lot and worn into the chassis. Damn. I just replaced that not so long ago.

Well, I salvaged the spacer. I had to cut off a lot of melted and worn plastic, and flipped it around and it still works. So that's good. Who knows how long it'll last now though.

I think I have to deduce that the VXL motor and lipo and big tires is too much for the DF02 drivetrain. It's too much torque for a car that has no slipper clutch to absorb the gear wrecking power of the VXL.
I noticed that when I switch over to the 4300kv motor that the speed was more, but torque wasn't as much. However, the braking of the 4300 motor was WAY LESS using the same settings on the ESC.
Braking with the VXL is amazing. That probably helped to munt the spur the way it did.
So, I warn you now while yours is still in one piece, dial everything back to soften it up, and dial the brakes back as well.

I wonder if someone has retro-fitted a slipper clutch to the car? Maybe something from some other shaft drive 4wd buggy like the Kyosho ZX5.

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 04:24 AM

I am on it Andrew - Thanks - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 10:36 AM

Smaller wheels from my new Axial scx-10 kit - 1.9'ers - What do you think - they are 12mm hex too - bit heavy - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 01:21 PM

Hi Andrew - I am dialing back my Mamba to gentle settings - What is "Punch Control" and I set it at 100% - Am I wrong? - Steve -

I see my pic of the wheels is not up - I shall try advanced.

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 01:32 PM

Oh Yeah Andrew - I remember why they are heavy - Well 2 of them - I added about 2 or 3 oz of weight for the fronts. Hmm - better get that out before I try them. But I am wondering how much difference they will make and shall await your reply - Steve

Jeeze Man - You Must be bummed - Was that a 3cell lipo you used? Mine is only 2. I have the Tobee alloy spacer on board. What do you think I should do? I think we may be out of luck on buying a slipper clutch for the "hounds" and I don't know about retrofitting. - Steve

timie1

03-31-2009, 01:41 PM

Hi Steve - yeah 100% punch control should be good. To tell you the truth, I was using the EZrun on the VXL, and the settings on that don't seem to make as much difference as changing the settings in the Mamba.
Make sure you adjust the throttle curve too, ane even the brake curve would be good.
Punch control is basically a software controlled slipper clutch. The higher you have it set, the softer the acceleration is. The only problem is, it's not a mechanical taming. What I mean is, if you're jumping and have to correct the angle using throttle, it will be harder because you don't get the instant burst of acceleration while in the air. If you had a normal mechanical slipper clutch then you could still adjust the angle because they really only work to control punch on different levels of surface grip. Mid-air you would still get that instant burst.

But anyway, it's still a great idea to make your drivetrain last to use punch control. The lowest timing on the motor would also help.

Use whatever wheels are lighter!!!!! If you don't have some scales, go to Walmart and get the Taylor scales that they have on special for $8

timie1

03-31-2009, 01:45 PM

No, that was only a 2s lipo. It is a 100 amp constant pack, so it's quite a powerful pack. I've put the 67 spur back in. I'll see how long that lasts.

JDT

03-31-2009, 02:28 PM

I suspect something was wrong to melt that spur, I have put down twice the power a vxl can dish out with no problems like that, you need to make sure that spacer is lubbed since it rides against the chassis, if you run the platic one it wears, if you run the tobee one it will wear into the chassis until its comfortable and then stop in my experience. The static motor mount would be a pain to retrofit a slipper and spur with thats why I never tried it, my spurs have only blown teeth off, nothing has ever went wrong with the mounting part.

timie1

03-31-2009, 02:36 PM

Oops, double post.

timie1

03-31-2009, 03:02 PM

Steve - You could really tame it by raising the LVC. I just hooked up my nimh and didn't change the LVC from my lipo setting. Wow, the car is way slower. The LVC is kicking in so the current is lowered. So I took off the LVC and now it's fast again. This was in my B4, but the same effect will be on the hound.
Maybe try custom raising the LVC for your 2S lipo to 7V. That should introduce some serious current limiting :D

JDT - Yeah I thought that too but I don't think anything was wrong. I'm curious, what motor were you running in the DF02 that can dish out twice the power the VXL can put out? Most "540" brushless motors are not 540, they are in fact a 380 size in a 540 can. The VXL is a proper 550 size. The KV may be lower, but the torque is amazing. Way more torque then my Castle CM36 motor. When you consider that one VXL motor can power a 10lb E-Maxx to 40mph, it's safe to say I find it hard to imagine a motor that can fit in the DF02 can dish out twice the power of a VXL, but I could be wrong.

Yeah I don't think a slipper could be retro-fitted, but it would be nice for someone who has the motivation and money to try it :)

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 03:31 PM

The 2.2 wheels are a fair bit heavier 140 grams compared to 100 grams for the 1.9'ers. I am not that anxious to take the weights out of the wheel locks though - bit of a job - and the wheels ARE for my new scale crawler - It won't like the Moabs I believe they will be too large but could be OK - I will give it a try sometime - Should I give the 2.2 Moabs another go? I will have to re program the Mamba Throttle curves (another new one for me) and break Curves Also new - I shall see if I can get them "softer". - Steve

timie1

03-31-2009, 03:45 PM

Steve, what is wrong with your moabs? Mine goes fine with my tires, and they are about the same size as the moabs. Just tame it all down to use with the tires.

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 03:51 PM

OK Bro - Sounds Good!

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 04:19 PM

Andrew - I brought the Throttle Curve down a notch - Does the Brake curve come down as well to soften ? - Steve

Steve at Danfor

03-31-2009, 06:45 PM

Hey Guys - I was out zipping around in the Church parking lot a little while ago - I will get some video next time (I will take the wife) - The Hound ran well it seemed - Pulls a nice 1 inch wheelie at about 1/2 throttle if I goose it - Gee it sounds like I'm driving my old 650 BSA. Anyways - I am pretty happy with the way it runs and will show you soon. Steve

timie1

03-31-2009, 07:31 PM

Steve, yeah there is a separate tab to adjust the brake curve. It is completely independent of the throttle curve.

That's good news to hear your hound is going well. I look forward to that video :)

JDT

03-31-2009, 07:44 PM

Only the mm motors have a slightly smaller diameter rotor, the feigao 540 rotor are the same diameter but the vxl is longer than the short can and shorter than the long can feigaos at 55mm. Feigao makes Mtronicks motors, the nemisis, the bk wanderer, in truth only about five places in the world make brushless motors this size so I suspect feigao makes the vxl for traxxas also.
the lehner 1940 is the biggest we could fit, the 1950 is to long you would have to move the servo, in the real world rotor size , case diameter and length only mean so much, power wise the 1920 at 44 mm long would be a good match for the 55 mm long vxl, the lehner motors pretty much held every world record until neu came along, now they flop the air and boat records/wins back and forth, Lehner makes a brushless motor that is good for over 14 horsepower

timie1

04-01-2009, 12:40 AM

JDT - Right, but what motor have you used in the DF02? I'm not saying your wrong, and I certainly don't profess to know about all the exotic brands of brushless motors available, but we have to keep it realistic. The DF02 was not conceived in the brushless era, and certainly not the lipo era. It's not even designed for anything hotter then about a 15T brushed motor and measly nimh. With no slipper clutch, and all plastic parts, and notorious amounts of slop in the entire driveline, there simply comes a point when strapping a powerful 100 amp 1 hp setup to a budget, entry level buggy, is just ridiculous and asking for problems.

And for the record, the MM are not the only 380 sized rotors. The Ezrun motors are only 380 as well.

JDT

04-02-2009, 09:35 AM

I have had at least 10 feigaos/nemisis alone in the df 02, as well as four hackers, six or eight lehners, a bk here or there. My high power failures are usually the front diff spider gears not the spur, I guess that it what I was trying to say, good to know on the ez run motors, not that I plan on getting one but good knowledge to have. Remember I run the tobee racing hardended steel cup and diff joints so the only platic on my drive train is the diff case (where the spider gears go) and spur.

Scottie

04-04-2009, 02:54 PM

I wish people would post in the df-03 thread..

My Avente is sitting in the basement now something is wrong with it, my Steering part is rubbing on the drive shaft and I broke my 3 sets of crytals for the RX so I can't drive it anymore for abit.

Hey my new LIPO is only getting 4.19 V in one of its cell is it no good now?

I Let it run down to low one time and now the one cell only every gets 4.19 and the other one gets a full 4.2? Stubid cheap ebay lipo.

Scottie

04-05-2009, 04:59 PM

anyone know where I can get some Crytals for my RC car cheap maybe like 3 sets?

Scottie

04-10-2009, 04:20 PM

ANyone know a good cheap 3S lipo on ebay I could buy?

P8ntballJunkee

04-16-2009, 10:57 PM

This forum has been an amazing abundance of information for me. I'll quickly send out a collective thankyou to everyone, you have helped tremendously. I too love my Gravelhound and am actually in search of a good stock 27 turn motor. My cousins started a family racing league complete with lap counters and all. It's limited to 1/10 scale 4wd with 27t motors so...I'm searching for those with experience in this area. I run either stock tires or dirt hawgs depending on which track we might be racing at. I have spurs/pinions to adjust gearing so I really just need someone who can point me in the right direction as far as motors. Thanks in advance for any and all help!

P8ntballJunkee

04-17-2009, 01:18 AM

Just got word these are the only "legal" motors allowed in our league.
Tamiya RS540 Sport Tuned
Trinity CO27 Monster Stock
Axial AM27 540
HPI Saturn 27T
Tower Hobbies Speed Stocker
Team Orion 27T Method
I did realize after initially posting that this probably should have been started under RC Electric but I'm still hoping and relying on all you DF-02 experts and your experience to guide me. Thanks again.

timie1

04-17-2009, 03:34 AM

Welcome to the forum P8ntball.

Oh man, that's not really a good selection of motors.
Forget about the HPI, Tower Hobbies, Axial and Tamiya 540 motors. You'd be better off sticking with the crappo silver can.
The only motor I would consider is the Team Orion or the Trinity CO27.
If it were me, I'd get the Trinity. The Team Orion ones are good in the "V" endbell ones, but otherwise they are just ok. Those Trinity ones can really move, when geared correctly and powered with the right battery.

For gearing, run the 22 pinion and 67 spur. I wouldn't run any other gearing with a 27t motor. It would just be too slow. I've actually successfully fitted a 23 pinion in there with the 67 spur, but it was a bit tight - but it DID work. A 27t motor will take the gearing easily.

What battery are you intending on running? So much performance comes from the battery. Although your car may run with a mediocre one, if you swapped to a known good one and replaced all connectors with Deans plugs, you will go much faster then your opposition.

P8ntballJunkee

04-17-2009, 04:12 PM

Thanks for the response Timie1, I was afraid I'd be hearing those words from someone. You think using the 67 spur is ok running both stock and the larger 2.2 dirt hawgs? Sorry, still learning this area of tires and gear ratios. Highest pinion I have at the moment is a 21 so I'll give that a shot. The battery situation I'm afraid isn't much better. No lipo's allowed, Nicd/Nimh only. Currently I have several 1900mah Nicd and 1 3000mah Nimh. I know, I know, it isn't much to work with but with a 1 year old in diapers it ain't getting much better anytime soon. Tamiya style plugs were it for the first few years. Recently we've been allowed(finding out as of yesterday) to upgrade to Dean's plugs. I plan to do that but this really is a family league. We serious about racing but it's more about getting the family's together and having fun. Still I like to win occasionally. Any advice on decent/not outrageously expensive batteries. Races are short, 5 minute main event is about the longest race. Thanks again for all your help.

timie1

04-17-2009, 04:34 PM

P8ntball - Yeah I understand your questions and they are perfectly valid.
Running the dirt hawgs and 67 spur and 21 pinion will be fine. What ESC are you going to use? If you use the stock Tamiya TEU-101 then you'll be fine as well. However, if for some reason you came into a windfall and they changed the rules, you'll need a LVC (low voltage cutoff) if you planned to use lipos. But as neither is feasible at the moment, don't worry about it.

Tell you what, I know this isn't the for sale forum, but I've got 3 packs of EP4600 nimh available that I have been contemplating selling. I have switched over to lipo........and........well..........yeah :)
They are side by side configuration, so you have access to each cell to balance them and whatnot. They have Deans plugs installed on them. I also have a Team Tekin Battery Doctor 8 which I balance them after each discharge, and also a good nimh peak charger. The batteries are great quality (so is everything else for that matter), but good quality batteries are important. Ebay search "EP4600" and you'll see the retail price of them. I'm not wanting that price for them, so don't worry. I just know that someone can use them who is limited to nimh. They are very powerful batteries that will make a power hungry 27 turn motor scream. They fit the DF02 chassis perfectly.

If you're interested, let me know and I can get photos and everything and we can come to an arrangement. I also have some GP3300 packs, which are also very good, but they aren't AS GOOD as the EP4600 :), so if it were me, I'd recommend the EP4600's over the others.

P8ntballJunkee

04-17-2009, 07:36 PM

Sounds great timie, I'd definitely be interested in upgrading my batteries. Haven't dealt with anything other than stick packs so far and not sure if i want to venture too far away from that yet. I have a basic duratrax intelipeak AC/DC pulse charger that I'm using for all my batteries currently. If I have to upgrade that as well as new batteries and possibly a balancer, that may just be the straw that breaks the camels back. Nothing is adjustable with my particular charger other than the actual charge rate. Not sure if that would be a problem with better quality batteries such as EP4600's. In the end though I have to try to strike a balance between "what I'd like to spend" and "what the wife would like me to spend." Somewhere between "a lot" and "nothing at all."

timie1

04-17-2009, 11:05 PM

Paintball: I just read your other post about the motors. I'm glad that guy recommended the Co27 as well.

My advice is, don't go spending loads of dough on things to maintain a brushed motor. Instead devote the time you would have spent working to save up the money to buy a lathe and everything, into convincing the powers that be at your family race meet to allow brushless.

Ultimately, you'll spend more than what the motor is worth maintaining it after a month or so, or less if you use it a lot. Just buy a brushless once and be done with it. No maintenance, such as breaking the motor in, cutting the comm, seating new brushes, replacing brushes, fixing hanging brushes, replacing a completely worn out armature and so on. If you have a comm lathe then it's not so bad, but if you have to buy one, or pay someone to do it for you, then you'll soon get sick of brushed.

Just convince those at your thing to allow brushless. Everybody will like it much more. Brushless needn't be expensive either. A 35A EZrun combo will set you back US$40 for the esc, and a 17.5t brushless motor (27t brushed equivalent) about $40 as well. That'll be all you have to spend - ever!!!

Anyway, about the batteries, a side by side configuration is superior to a stick pack. The battery bars used to solder them together have way lower resistence then the crap tin they use in stick packs. Lower resistence = less heat = more efficiency = more speed and more runtime. Also, having access to each cell is great. There is nothing complicated about it, so you won't find it too daunting stepping up to it. Your charger should work fine for a nimh of any sort.

I was thinking of $20 + actual shipping for those EP4600 batteries. Like everything, it's cheaper shipping when getting more than 1. I would seriously consider getting a discharge tray of some sort. Unfortunately nimh cells discharge at different rates, and there is always some weaker cells in a pack that discharge sooner. Using a discharge tray keeps all the cells as close as possible. This eliminates some cells dying early, and keeps the average voltage higher, as they can all work together. You don't end up with some cells dragging the others down. The Tekin one is a piece of cake. It doesn't need any external power source, you just put the battery in and it does it all. You don't have to worry about getting the polarity right on the Tekin. It's complete newb proof:) It won't over discharge any cell, and it's light and easy to move around or take to the track. After a few runs, a battery without being equalised, will be hugely out of whack, and performance will suffer. Longer term, your battery will die much quicker and you'll find yourself looking for a new battery.

Anyhow, this has been a long rant, so I'll shut up now. Any other questions, just ask away.

- Andrew

P8ntballJunkee

04-20-2009, 12:50 AM

Still interested, waiting to hear back as to whether or not they'll allow me to use "non stick pack" batteries. Unfortunately I don't see brushless happening anytime soon. We have 5 dedicated races a year which consists of the entire "season." We've all built tracks in our backyard. We have a points "hadicap" system so that the less skilled drivers have a chance at winning the championship. Most of the time us kids(anywhere from our early 30's to late 30's) are the ones fixing our parents/uncles/grandma's cars. They don't have much of a clue(or care) how to work on or maintain their car, let alone fix it. I spend many an hour helping my dad fix his. That's the best part though really. Helping everyone work on their cars, giving parts to each other so we can continue to run. It's just good fun, crashing into each other, 15 crappy drivers on the track racing. Often that's also the most frustrating part too when you're having a good run and crash into a 4 car pile of cars sitting in the middle of the track. Watching them crash forward into the barrier, then reverse into the barrier, then forward into the barrier again, and again.
Anyway...this rant is really about nothing. I just wanted to shout a hello and let you know I'm still interested. I truly do appreciate all of your help, I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions down the road.

Scottie

04-20-2009, 03:37 PM

I have a Gravel Hound here might be good for parts to someone, has like 3 good stock front shock towers a few back shock towers got the RTR with radio but needs a antenna no esc brand new 540 stock silver can motor out of my DF-03 really rough shape was working up till I Bought my DF-03 but would pull to the left and I have no idea why I'm not very good with RC Cars so I never tried to fix it. Just thought I'd put it out there that I Have one sitting in my basment. I almost bought a new DF-02 and use the parts from this for it but never did.

P8ntballJunkee

04-22-2009, 10:59 PM

Well Timie, got the word back and the batteries are totally legal. I'd like to say I'll take'em right now but I'd better not. Please feel free list them and/or sell them if you find a buyer. But keep me in mind if you don't.

Got the Hound back together today minus the gearing change. Ran half a pack with the 70/19 setup and boy was the motor hot. I'm talking good 2nd degree burns if you held the motor for a few seconds. It was about 90 degrees here today but still, that just seems way too hot. I've seen some use the heat sink but is it really even beneficial? I'm hopeful maybe the gearing change will allow it to run cooler? Could it be the strain on the motor with the larger tires? Doesn't seem quite right that it should be that hot after maybe 5 minutes of hard running. Put a diff locker in the rear because I got tired of the tires spinning and the diffs unloading every time I got stuck with one wheel off the ground. I can't imagine that has anything to do with it.
I'll be upgrading to dean's connectors soon, sometime by the end of the season I hope. Any recomendations for soldering irons?
A million questions I know...and i thank you.

timie1

04-23-2009, 02:18 AM

Oh man, it would be nice to have 90 degrees fahrenheit here, it was just starting to show some signs of summer here (Alberta Canada) and then today it drops down to the minus temps again and now there's 8cm of snow. It's so annoying........anyhow,
You're running the dirt hawgs, right? What motor are you running? I know you had a choice you mentioned, but I don't think you've said what you've actually got in there. I've run the dirt hawgs on a 19t Trinity Chameleon 2 pro motor, and on 67 spur 22 pinion and it was fine. The motor got hot, but not so hot that you'd burn yourself on.
If I may suggest, don't wait till the end of the season to switch to Deans. They make a big difference, especially so if you have half decent batteries.
If money is tight, don't buy the genuine Deans because to switch everything over will cost a fortune. Buy these (http://ecpower.com.hk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=260) instead. I have them and they are every bit as good as the genuine things at a fraction of the price.

About soldering irons - (excuse the caps, but this is very important) DON'T BUY A SOLDERING GUN like this (http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WELLER-SOLDERING-GUN-WD-135-MADE-IN-USA-NICE_W0QQitemZ270376691596QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item270376691596&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50). You will waste every last cent if you do. They simply don't have the guts to solder anything even remotely solid. The tiny pathetic tips don't hold heat, so anything large-ish just sucks any heat out of the tip and you're left with the worst solder joint ever. Just look on ebay to see how many people are selling their "good brand" Weller used guns. That has to be enough proof that they suck. I know how to solder, I have been doing it for 20 odd years. I bought a gun and tried it - I took it back and got a refund. They just are sooooooooo inadequate. Instead buy a proper soldering IRON, like this (http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/WeldingSoldering/Soldering/PRD~0586306P/Mastercraft%2B80W%2BSoldering%2BIron.jsp) Trust me on this!!! To anybody that has an iron and who likes it........I make no apologies if you're offended. You just haven't seen the light ;)

When picking your soldering iron, get one with a good solid chisel tip, not a point. Also, the more wattage the better. I personally love my 100w one, but 100W IRONS seem to be harder to find now. In my area at least, they seem to have been replaced with 80W. 80W will be more then enough for most jobs.
Make sure you get some electrical flux and electrical solder. Everything else you need to make sure you get a good solder joint is down to skill and tip maintenance.

Now, getting back to your Hound Dog, using a heat sink will help if you have airflow over the heatsink, but IMO it only masks the problem. One has to ask the question, why is it getting that hot? If you can you tell me more what your current setup is, then I'm sure we can track down why it's so hot.

Why have you got a diff locker in the rear? The diff is meant to unload, that's what diffs do. Handling will be much worse if you don't have any diff action. If you want to tighten it up but still have diff action, put really thick grease in the diff. Really pack the grease in there. Also, softening the springs and putting thicker oil in the shocks really needs to be done on the DF02. Or better yet, get proper shocks. The front shocks are absolutely terrible out of the box. They are so rock solid, they just are springs pretty much. They need loads of extra dampening. The rear aren't much better, as they bottom out all the time, but the stock spring/oil combination on the rear is better than the front. I use 70wt oil in my shocks, with the rear stock springs, and front springs from some crap nitro truck I used to have - they work far better than the bouncy Tamiya kit springs. But for front springs, RC10B4 front springs work GREAT on the stock DF-02 shock bodies. It's a million times better shock action. Doing this to your shocks will mean the wheel is on the road more, so there is much less unloading of the diffs. In summary, get thicker shock oil and softer springs, and the car will be far less bouncy and start to absorb bumps.

That's good news that the batteries will be legal. Make the switch!!!!! And make the switch to deans or the clones!!! If your driving is on par with the competition in your family, you'll win by changing to deans and a decent battery:D

Anyhow, this is another long post. I'm gone!!!!!!

Any other questions, fire away!