I would love to have a temp gun to see just how hot that puppy gets! I think Novak says it shuts down at 180!
Yah... i got that OFNA one for my Nitro cars... 200+ on that from a Futaba MC230CR w/ 6 cell KAN 1050's from BlindBAtts.com and an Orion Baja or Peak Raider, geared 14/60 on my Mini-t... that just doesnt seem right.

Cant wait to get a brushless now!

-Tone

Tone - have you thought about going brushless in your MiniT? My wife finally gave permission to get one. I've been thinking hard about that Mamba brushless by Castle.

Chris - Thanks for the comments about the velco. I've been thinking about trying them but now I think I'll look in other directions. Stock is OK just dealing with 2 more clips is all, not much of a reason to look at other methods just messing with it.

Is the second Clod close?

Tone - have you thought about going brushless in your MiniT? My wife finally gave permission to get one. I've been thinking hard about that Mamba brushless by Castle.
Yes.... i am gonna go brushless.... i dont have permission, but i think i could sneak it in soon.... i want it sooo bad.. the mamba 6800 i think is the one i want.... it should be exciting.... 150 (approx after shipping) isnt too bad of an investment in Mini-T brushles madness...

The Mamba looks to be the real deal... its a make or break product for castle creations....

-Tone

Chris -
Is the second Clod close?
Close? It is a rock monster! I hope to have it out tomorrow but it is in great shape. I have tied the front and rear steering together for full-time 4WS. Without it the turning radius was way too large! I have to body mounts on and have drilled the jeep body out to accept them (they come out the side rather than the top of the chassis). I put the jeep body about 1/4" lower than I should have so at full articulation the tires rub on the wheel wells which is very annoying. I may just make some more holes. I also have new 9T pinions to put on to replace the stock 13T ones. That should add some insane torque but at the cost of what little speed this has. I may not put those on right away. I want to see how it does with the 4WS.

I need to lock up Jesse's rear differential for him. Without it, he is at a real disadvantage on rough stuff. Ideally I would lock both but then it gets really ugly on anything solid (like pavement). I might do that to mine knowing I might have to unlock it if it is too much of a problem.

If I wasn't using home-built packs where the wire comes out exactly where the traxxas battery bar would be, I would never have gone away from that method. It does tkae more time but it works!

I remember playing with my old Clod, it was fun climbing curbs and stuff. I just don't "bash" much. I guess that's why my pede doen't get out much. It gets used more for Newbs that want to try racing. I'll have it going up North this summer though! I'll take it and my Maxx when I go camping.. maybe the mini-T too! Build a mini-T track on the campsite. That would be cool!

Curbs are for Radio Shack trucks! :devil:

This shot, if I got it small enough was from some truck time we grabbed this morning. What you can't tell is that this big old slab of granite is about 15 ft tall and when ya messed up the tumbles were awesome!

Also had the TLT out for a bit! It is a blast. With the 4WS it is a hoot. Not on the same rocks. Mostly grass and dirt road but with the Stinker in there it moves pretty good.

Curbs are for Radio Shack trucks! :devil:

This shot, if I got it small enough was from some truck time we grabbed this morning. What you can't tell is that this big old slab of granite is about 15 ft tall and when ya messed up the tumbles were awesome!

Also had the TLT out for a bit! It is a blast. With the 4WS it is a hoot. Not on the same rocks. Mostly grass and dirt road but with the Stinker in there it moves pretty good.
that clod looks killer! witht the jeep body on it! and glad to hear you got some wheel time witht the tlt. finished my son's this week, and hoope to try out my newly narrowed stock rims/tirea for a little rock and rolling. there are pics in the one18th thread i posted a while ago.

peter
:)

Thanks! I am glad I used that lid because it is extra thick and some of the tumbles it took off that rock would have donee some serious damage to a regular lid.

I got a lid like that for the E-Maxx, Too bad the guy I got it from used auto paint to paint it& it flaked off. My repairs did not come out so well, so it's butt ugly now.

I can only imagine! I still have a pair of lids in the basement waiting for inspiration. Some day...

No trucks today. The three of us did a traiul day in the local park with my mountain bike association. Rained! Big time. Seeing as how we were working on drainage issues I can see how that helped some as the water was definitely running off our noses and backs, onto the trail and then right where we needed it to go! The wife was less than amused and it took two heavy duty wash loads to get the guck out. Nothing like giving kids tools and mud to play in :eek:

Wow, we almost slipped off the end of the front page:confused:

Haven't had nothing good to say/add lately... Felling kind of lame actually...:rolleyes:

nothing to exicting here, either. i did blow off a axle end on the tlt sunday. or my daighter's softball team won it's first game saturday, and it's secound sunday.

peter
:)

I was thinking how exciting it would be if we actually DID slip off the first page. hasn't happened in what? two years? Never mind.

About all I have to add is that , it being "bike to work week" I did just that today (nothing new) and then went to a party at our local very very good bar-b-que place. they did a big benefit for my mtb association and another local bike group. They had a raffle for lots of good bike related stuff and your's truely picked up a $100 gift certificate for the food place! To me, that was one of the very top prizes!!! I called home in the middle of the raffle to tell the guys and my ear was ringing for quite some time from their whoops! :D

Had a great day flying. But while I was up there on the hill I spent some time looking at one of the best bashing areas around. Short cut grass over hard flat surface, open dirt field as smooth as a baby's butt, several areas that provide great "Off Road" action, and open smooth straight aways and all this is within the drivers sight. Just park your car, get out your trucks, and start running until you drop. Ya Chris bring your trucks if you can....

Taa Daa! :)

Sounds like a great place for the Pede, for sure! Didn't hear anything in that description for the Clods though. I am thinking the Pede may come along solo. Pulling the wheels and body makes it a really small package. Batts, charger, parts and tools can all be put together in a good size duffle. This will happen! Those darn clod wheels alone would take up a suitcase!

Taa Daa! :)
Ya, you should come as well.

Chris that is what I ment by great "Off Road" action. but a brushless pede on the island would be just fine.

I'll get a photo next time I'm up there and sent it to you for posting. Maybe that will sway Tom into showing up. It's only about 2000 mile drive.

Got the pier put in today. That should make it easier.

How will your pier help him drive 2000 miles?

Is it really that far from up there?

We got such a deal with airfare we are thrilled. All four tickets for under $900! AND, more importantly, they are with SouthWest who is one of the few airlines we feel we can trust not to screw it up. It also helps that there are no plane switches in the middle so no connections to miss which seems to be our forte!

Bill, that would be cool to come to CA for a vacation, I've never been there except for a short layover at LA X. I have an uncle that lives in the sanjuaqeen (sp?) valley. But alas, the money gods have not been kind to me, I'll be lucky to make it 200 miles away from home this year. Woe is me. and gas prices... WOW!

Good Mornig Guys,

Well I quessed at the 2000 mile distance, but the pier will save Tom 3.5 of those miles. And yes it would be cool to get "all" of us together. Thats the stuff my RC dreams are made of.

We have been paying $3.00 a gallon for gas for several years now. Makes the mainland gas prices look like a discount prices.

$3? Sounds European. :) My in-laws who are not anything like rich had been driving this barge of a minivan for years. They finally picked up what is fondly called the 'roller skate'. I think it is a Geo metro or something equivalent. Gets 50 mpg! Seeing as how they pretty much have to drive 50-75 miles to get ANYWHERE, (and then come home again), that is the only way to go.

Tom, maybe not this year but trust me, once you get a taste of the Catalina (well, OK, Bill's) hospitality, you will be back!

Phooey!

After soccer practice, dinner, dishes and the like, I decided the Pede needed a bit of a workout. We had charged a pack the other day and not used it so I tossed it in, along with an 18T pinion (the 22 was just a thermal monster) and went out, in the dark, for a romp. It lasted a minute or so before I smacked a parked car with the rear wheel. ripped the A-arm right out of the pivot block. Of course that means an entire new tranny case. :rolleyes: I went down to the shop and started to dissassemble the beast when I remembered I had the 4X6 rear end sitting right there! I just swapped rear ends. not really quite that simple but not so bad. I figure that for races and travelling (hi Bill!), I will just bring an entire rear end with me. Got it back together and finished the pack without further incident but I do hate breaking things.

Question for those that know such things (Tom?): Driving on pavement with the M2K tires I am very prone to traction rolling. it seems worse with the 5800 in it for some reason. In any case, other than electrical tape on the outside of the tires (which I will try!), what set-up changes can be made to help with that. I am thinking spring stiffness, oil weight, pre-load and the like. I am used to running on the dirt track where it is no big deal to spin it out but I basically had to really slow things down to a crawl to keep the inside rear tire on the ground. Once I got the hang of it it was kind of fun to get the truck to do a single barrel roll and land on it's feet again but it is kind of hard on the shell. :eek:

hey chris!
i got to run a stampede with a novak brushless today. not sure of the gearing, but had a 7cell gp 3300s in it. WoW back flipping fun! :) i see why you like yours.

good evening all.
peter
:)

Chris, "I am thinking spring stiffness, oil weight, pre-load and the like." You are right. the main reason for traction roll is weight transfer which on the 'Pede is magnified by the high center of gravity & soft suspension. Stiffening the suspension will help, especially the front to keep it from diving into the corners so much. Just keep in mind that the stiffer you go, the rougher the ride in the dirt. I think if you put a 40wt oil in the front and 30wt or so in the rear you would be better. and you could play with it from there.

BTW, is this the WidePede truck? Because that would help as well.

I don't know where you are at right now, but the more level the arms are, the roll you will get, because the truck is sitting lower.

This is a widepede and I think the arms are pretty much level. I have not checked what weight springs I have in there but I know I can go stiffer up front. I actually have no clue what weight oil is up front either. Those darn Losi shocks just never leak so I don't mes with them much. I am pretty sure I have some 40 wt sitting around though so I can give that a try.

It's funny, I have so little experience tuning my suspension. I usually just drive it. If it bottoms I increase the preload a bit. I will have to play around some. I could always strap the pack underneath like I used to! That would sure help.

It is pretty wild right now in that I can recover much of the time by pulling out of the turn as that inner rear wheel starts to fly. If I don't though, it is on it's lid for sure.

I am actually still geared pretty high (18/87) so there is no front end lifting going on, at least not with the one pack I ran last night which was uspect in terms of charge. Takes a while for it to hit top speed but when it does... Watch out!

I'm not the biggest suspension tuner either, I usually drive around whatever imperfections there are until it's too much or it's just WAY off.

Never been much of a "wrencher" at the races like alot of people. I hate spending all my time alone in my pit working on my car/truck unless I have too. Id rather talk to people or watch other people run to see how they handle tricky parts i have trouble with. Sometimes I think I know very little about tuning, but then I realize I have learned alot and can usually get my vehicles to handle the way I want. Odd thing is, tires are the best tuning aid you will ever have. Without traction, nothing else matters. I would much rather tune out traction roll than attempt to tune in traction.

This is some meaty RC stuff you got going here. Tom your comments are great and have given me something to think about, thanks. Chris you as always, are time well spent. Mattyk6, I can read your post both ways, would you say it again please?

I use the drop method to pre set up the suspension on all my trucks. I start with it level on the bench with the oil, springs, and spacers set the way I think I want them. While holding it up right and level I will drop it from about 2'. If it lands without bottoming out and also returns to level it's good to go.

I use 50 wt. in the traxas shocks on the emaxx and 40 wt. in the pede stock shocks. I've been tempted to try the 50 wt. in the pede but have not run the mashers enough yet with the 40 wt. to know the difference.

Chris you mentioned trying the tape idea. If the tires ballon to much will the tape be effective or even stay on? I've thought of giving it a try but I'm not sure the results will be worth the tape.

:wave:

Life was WAY too busy yesterday to work on the Pede. :cry: started iwth a 9 AM soccer game 9got our butts kicked), rushed home, grabbed the cycling gear and hit the trails for 4 hours to put up signs for an event today, rushed home for ANOTHER soccer game (got our butts kicked), went out for food and it was 9 by the time we got home.

Of course it was then that Jesse told me some school mates had been abusing his Clod (trying to break it which they couldn't!) but finally one of the trannies seized. :confused: So, my truck time went into his truck. The seize thing was easy, well, he had a hung brush so it wouldn't run and I think he just didn't recognize the normal resistance in a Clod drivetrain. But he has wanted a locked diff so we tore his rear one open and built up a new one, cleaned half a pound of dust off it and actually put some oil into his shocks! Two of them were DRY. :rolleyes:

Still lots of work to get his back together but I decided not to do today's ride thing so we have all day to play with them.

Bill, The 'level arms' thing is in reference to general stadium truck suspension settings. You want the arms about flat as an indicator of proper spring tension. If they are angled down then your preload is a bit too much, and visa versa. In my case, they are pretty much levell but that doesn't say anything about spring weight. I have some 35 wt oil and some 50 that I might try. Still need to try stiffer springs up front.

Speaking of tires... The track we used to run at was a very loose track where the stadium tire of choice was a tall step-pin to dig into the stuff but also shed it. Shorter pins would just plug up and you would be running heavy slicks! Now, it seems they have added lots of clay so it is close to what is known as a 'blue groove' track! that blue groove is where the tires scrub off onto the solid surface and leave a track where the best line is I guess. The track had a sale of the new "correct" tire to make the changes less painful. Tires make all the difference. Then again, that track is closed for code violations (they pissed off the neighbors somehow) so until they finish their renovations, tires really don't matter there!

gee I blather on when I first wake up, don't I? Sorry.

it seems they have added lots of clay so it is close to what is known as a 'blue groove' track! that blue groove is where the tires scrub off onto the solid surface and leave a track where the best line is I guess. The track had a sale of the new "correct" tire to make the changes less painful. Your right, thats what "Blue Groove" is, The preferred line will get rubber run into it and become really sticky, the rubber gives it a "blue" look and that blue look is in the "groove" which is the line you should be running. I personally don't like blue groove tracks so much because usually if you get out of the groove, your kinda screwed because theres no traction out there for the tires that work well in the groove. Track builders like it because there's less track maintenance and it doesn't tear up tike a loamy track, the real fast guys like it because the track stays consistant and doesn't rut up over the course of the race day.

Let me guess.... the tires they stocked were Losi taper pins & Pro-line Evil twins or square fuzzies, right?

Yup, they were taper pins.

The old track needed to be completley redone in the middle of race day! it got really rutted and nasty. I can see the pros and cons of both. Personally my driving was never good enough that I would be sticking in a particular line but having one to follow would have been nice!

OK, this was not good.

As the sun set tonight I went out with the Pede and a fresh 2400 pack for a bit of fun... Maybe 8 minutes in, Jesse (of course it was HIM driving...) complaining that the pede stank! The truck had stopped. I told him to touch the ESC again but he refused. :rolleyes: Pulled the body and all the wires fell away from the ESC. The ESC body was so hot that it had basically melted and split apart. I don't even want to think how hot the pack was. i sure wasn't going to touch it. I suspect we had an internal short in the ESC and it sucked way too much juice AROUND the thermal shut down circuit. In any case, we are DOA right now. I don't think we had four packs thorough it yet :cry:

Of course Novak will be hearing from me tomorrow, or perhaps tonight via e-mail. I can't see how they wont cover it but oh boy this doesn't fill me with warm fuzzies.

Liar! He just says that it was me driving so that he can cover the fact that it was HIM that got the ESC to thermal overload, broke the thermal detector, and gave the radio to me.

OK, who ya going to believe? Wise old man or the kid who came up to me saying "can I try. can I try, can I try, can I try, can I try? Can I drive? Dad, Can I drive? " Or maybe the guy who had to ask me how to spell "liar"? why didn't he believe "lyer" anyway?

Hey, I have witnesses!

Don't Make Me Come Over There And Unplug Your Computer!!!!!!

acually, he wasn't smart enough to tell me to spell liar "lyer". He made that up after I had already posted.

heh... family Spat.... rofl.... how cute :rolleyes: ... aint it grand... My guess.... it was Chris and not Jesse.... :p

-Tone

Well Tone, ya had a 50/50 shot. But you guessed wrong. This time! :D

Is he going to change his name to BrushlessKiller or maybe PedeKiller?

I like Pedekiller! He has not broken anything that matters at all on the Clod in ages! Not that he hasn't had fun trying. I need to build him a roll cage! He loves grabbing the truck and hitting the yard without a lid. We have a full sheet of plywood set at about a 50 degree angle against the garage. He crawls up and then some times tumbles down:cry:. Awfully hard on the body posts!

5800 is going back today. We shall see what they say. I have no doubt that I was somewhat overgeared but it is designed to shut down. didn't seem to do that this time...

Well Tone, ya had a 50/50 shot. But you guessed wrong. This time! :D
Hmm... but who put the GEAR on the motor? ;)
i think i found a loop hole to make my answer correct...

-Tone

Put whatever spin on it you want Tone but if you bothered to reread my original post, I stated he was driving (specifically I said "of course it was him driving). You can interpret it as you wish but I didn't fault him for the failure in any way. I simply stated he was at the controls.

Put whatever spin on it you want Tone but if you bothered to reread my original post, I stated he was driving (specifically I said "of course it was him driving). You can interpret it as you wish but I didn't fault him for the failure in any way. I simply stated he was at the controls.
Ohh ho HO... i read it... just bustin chops... everyone is taking me the wrong way these days.... yah he was at the controls, so i guess that does default to the "he broke it" theory.. seriously tho.... i've been having some issues w/ novak stuff lately.. in my club.. 3 cyclones and 4 gt7's in the last month.... grrrrr....

-Tone

Darn kids.

Darn kids.heh... kids.... heh...

-Tone :devil:

i was joking! it wasn't his fault. it still wasn't mine...

Darn kids.