Traction Rolls while turning? Stiffen the suspension, Either by oil or spring. I's go up a couple weights on the oil. Maybe a 40 wt all around and see if that does the trick. Depends on the track surface though, this coild be carpet?
for the stampede, the BEST way to go anti-Roll has to be 45/55 wt oil. being that i races mine a LOT, i played with MANY a setup.... i believe i am running 50 up front, and 45 in the rear... i use associated truck springs... i run Blue Fronts up front, and RED rears in the rear.... i got a next to big and a middle preload spacer on the REAR... and on the front, i have 1 thin one.... with this setup, the truck doesnt push as much as it used to, and it also doesnt traction roll at all...i also have the shocks on the outermost hole on the arms.... and Chris, u might wanna try dremeling the chassis a little bit..... sorta like this....

http://www.rcpics.net/view_single.php?medid=4292

and dont forget the ARMS too....

http://www.rcpics.net/view_single.php?medid=4291

and an overall view....

http://www.rcpics.net/view_single.php?medid=4289

keep in mind, i was also runnin a reciever pack in front to give it LESS push.... i was havin a hard time w/o the weight... i also had the battery mounted in the FOREWARD position.... (i actually dremeled out the MSC servo spot so that i could try mounting it BACK all the way... that sucked even MORE...)

and Here is a PIC of my rear end... with the Jaypede conversion..... (notice the 14x1 D5....)

http://www.rcpics.net/view_single.php?medid=4287

and the underside, what i did to the REAR skid was cut a little piece out to lighten the rear a TAD bit.... i am also running an RPM esc mount to help stiffen the rear (since i dremeled out that servo mount....

also make sure you are running the front pin brace too.... it helps with the loose front end.... and i also run a Nitro Rustler front shock tower... i dremeled it a little so that the steering servo would fit.... also, i might wanna try lowering the front body mounts too... i cut the stock ones off.... and screwed the Rustler shorties on in their place.. which gives the car a SLAMMED look!

there ... i HOPE that helps mr. chris!!!

-Tone

Yeah, it is going to be carpet. I have been told by Devestator2000 (Mike) to ditch the M2K tires for this event. I have found some stock tires and some regular Mashers that I can try.

I will try heavier oil though. I am just running out of time to play with this stuff. I am busy the next two nights and packing Thursday for an EARLY get-out-of-town. And then there is the work thing... *sigh*something tirewize you could try on carpet.... this may sound SICK, but i KNOW it will work.... take a set of tires - older set - and stadium truck profile would be best - and take an old axle and attach it to a drill, and attach the tire to the drill, and SPIN THAT SUCKER on some 150 grit sandpaper..... till they are virtually bald... make sure when u mount them, get some HARD inserts.....

-Tone

EDIT: if there was more time, i'd send you a loaner set of mine to use...... i know i got some BALDIES somewhere...........

Well, I am totally out of time to do many mods for this event. I am not sure but I think V treads are required- I have slicks from my old Losi but those aren't allowed. :cry:

I will be at the track the night before the races and have practice time in the AM so I wil just pack everyting I have and see what seems to run best.

In terrms of lightening? Well, I am running a 5800 on this puppy so speed just isn't an issue. Not on that track anyway. Apparently it is real tight and technical so speed-ultimate speed, just isn't such an issue. I may gear this puppy down to the point where I can just keep the front from fliping all the time. I am doing that right now with a loose slipper. Works. Imagine that. :rolleyes: Almost like it was made for that.

I have so much to get done in the next few days it is sick! I had a little party of 20 friends over last night for a post mtb ride bbq so that night was totally unproductive. Well, it was a great time but... And I am busy again tongiht. That leaves after work Weds and Thurs to get it ALL done. "under pressure...."

Oh, and the chassis brace up front? My left kingpin is a pretzel! I have no idea why the suspension still works but it is a bit too late for the brace. Sucks too because that is one of the RPM LXT arms and it will be hard to find a replacement and redremel to fit the widening thing.

No time to "git-r-done"! I hate when that happens. Good luck!

Well, I am totally out of time to do many mods for this event. I am not sure but I think V treads are required- I have slicks from my old Losi but those aren't allowed. :cry:

I will be at the track the night before the races and have practice time in the AM so I wil just pack everyting I have and see what seems to run best.

In terrms of lightening? Well, I am running a 5800 on this puppy so speed just isn't an issue. Not on that track anyway. Apparently it is real tight and technical so speed-ultimate speed, just isn't such an issue. I may gear this puppy down to the point where I can just keep the front from fliping all the time. I am doing that right now with a loose slipper. Works. Imagine that. :rolleyes: Almost like it was made for that.

I have so much to get done in the next few days it is sick! I had a little party of 20 friends over last night for a post mtb ride bbq so that night was totally unproductive. Well, it was a great time but... And I am busy again tongiht. That leaves after work Weds and Thurs to get it ALL done. "under pressure...."

Oh, and the chassis brace up front? My left kingpin is a pretzel! I have no idea why the suspension still works but it is a bit too late for the brace. Sucks too because that is one of the RPM LXT arms and it will be hard to find a replacement and redremel to fit the widening thing.
i think tower still has the LXT arms by RPM...... i could be mistaken tho....

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEV24&P=7

-Tone

Well, that will help for when I get back! I will be bringing a spare Pede in case this one doesn't live through it. :rolleyes:

Also ask for arms for the Losi GTX Gas truck (Losi's 1st gas truck) It had LXT arms on it and that was after the XXT came out.

WHEE! It's "hump day" :p

Nah, we are way past hump day! I figure I have maybe 6 more hours of WORK then I will bolt and pack, pack, pack! I started making lists this morning of what I need to do to get out to MJ5 on Friday. Two Pages...

Hope everyone is doing well. Just got logged in so I'm going back to see the photos. Later.

good luck chris, and the new lids look sweet.

peter

Thanx! On both counts.

I just wish I was there already. That way the packing and the drive would be behind me. I have knocked 8 things off the 'to-do' list this afternoon. sure beats working...

Things look good.

Have a great trip. Enjoy yourself.

Drive safe.

Chris, I hope you do well at MJ5, at least better than you expected.

Bill, your time for the Harris invasion is coming...... are you getting prepared??

The good thing about Chris's visit this year is he will arrive right after our "busy" season ends. So going from 400 people to 4 makes everything seem easy. If all goes as planned he and the family will stay at the Beach House, a three bedroom house and deck 50' from the water. With kayacks, snorkleing equipment, ski boats, sailboats and so on right at hand keeping busy is not a problem. He wants to do the island tour thing and that will take a day itself. Wish you could join us.

Sounds real cool, wish I could!

Tom, It would be a blast to get all you guys over here for a get together. In fact when I first got into RC I looked real hard at trying to set up a RC program here for the kids. Which would have gotten us a track, pit area, and related toys. For several reasons the program never materialized but the idea of hosting an RC event has lived on in my brain. I realize the air fare would eleminate many from the start but it is still fun to think about. Someday maybe.

But if you ever find yourself on the westcoast please let me know so we can visit either here on the island or on the mainland.

Just dragged my butt in after my second 560 mile drive of the weekend. That is a LONG drive without a co-pilot. Both went well!

MJ5 was awesome. My performances? does DFL mean anything? Actually, I did take a 2nd in the TLT! Out of three... I had so many problems this weekend it was really frustrating.

Left home at 4:45AM Friday and was there before 3PM. spent the next 6 hours test driving and wrenching. The Pede, which had been flipping all the time at home was now just spinning out. On the straights, under heavy throttle, it pulled horribly to the left. tore it all down- found nothing. Put it all back and it was no longer pulling (did remove one spacer at the diff which might have caused binding on the left side, but may also have loosened the left wheel nut), and added 50 wt to the front shocks to keep the rear wheels from unweighting as much. it was better but still ugly. That truck had the brushless in it. I doubt I ever got over 1/2 throttle. Such a waste. I had brought Sean's Pede which has always done well in it's RPMed stock form. Could NOT get it to run.

The Clod was dialed! I was psyched! I did have some steering issues which I worked on but generally it jumped and turned flat. JAy Jordan, one of the top Clod guys (and the guy who does my motors now) tried it on Saturday and (insert blush) claimed that my truck was the BEST first effort handbuilt Clod he had driven! He had a blast running it. I only wish I could drive 1/2 as well as he did.

When it came to raceday, I was in the last bunch of Clods, mod Pede and TLT. In Clods, I was up against 5 other Clods- all of which had Powers chassises. These are the world champ racing chaissis. Folk were talking trash and I made it clear that if my zero dollar chassis beat ANY of them, they had better run in shame! It didn't. Well, it did well enough in the first heat-as in I finished, that I was #1 n the C main! The other two guys never got a full run in. After the first heat, I didn't either. DFL

With the Pede, some guys were just insanely smooth running through the corners but I found byself just jerking around each one. Not conducive to good times. On the first of the two heats, I missed a 13th lap by, literally a fraction of a second. If you cross the line before the end of the 5 minutes, you get to finish the lap. JUST missed it. I doubt it mattered.

With the TLT, AKA the flip monster, I was totally outclassed motor wise. I had a Stinker in there and my top end just wasn't. Tim Powers (of the Clod Powers chassis) was running like a 14 turn His truck was insanely fast. Even without my continuous flipping on corners, he was smoking me. Luckily he left before the mains (which ended at 11PM (and Tim had two LITTLE kids with him)) he left so there were only 3 of us. Somehow I actually beat one of the guys and he didn't even break!

Most of the time I didn't finish last due to a lack of driving skills was because other broke down but I actually started to feel pretty good with the TLT. I learned just how slow you needed to be going at the turns but between them I was severely limited by my top end. Lesson learned.

Today I woke up all depressed and really not into it. My clod, in the C mains had broken several links and an axle tube. It was going to take some serious work to get it running.. I tried my Pede for the drag racing and decided it was just going to crash in the corners. I tried out the crawler, that I was so proud of and the steering was totally messed up. The servos were just not returning to center with 4WS so I could not see a reason to enter the trials with in. The Pede, with the brushless would have been just pain stupid in the trials as that takes way to delicate a touch.

I am going to bed no. You have no way of knowing how many hundred typos I have fixed! I am toast.

hey if you had fun that's all that matters.
it was a learning trip. you took alot of trucks to try to run.
glad the ride was safe and quick ;)


i too did a little driving. only 150miles though.
brought tlt for some rock crawling, but lost my darned photon motor.
i got maybe 5 minutes of fun.


next time you'll do better :)

DFL? I can only think of one thing that means (Dumb F :freak: king Luck) & it doesn't really apply to what you've relayed, it normally means you did pretty good thru lack of apponent skill/durability. I guess it could apply to the TLT if you want.

But if you had a good time thats all that matters. Were there any E-Maxxes there? What kind of competitions did they have?

It was really 560 miles one way? Jeez that would be about the same distance for me! (thereabouts, sort of) Maybe I'll have to check on it and if you go to MJ6, make a trip and run with you.

Now, Get ready for Catalina! You lucky dog you!

dead f'in last...

I did have a good time. right now, I can not honestly say that I would do it again with that drive. It was really really long. It wasn't as bad as I expected though as I had a Harry Potter book on tape. Went through 11 cassettes I think. It is amazing how words can keep you awake while music just doesn't quite do the same thing.

Let's see, classes:
novice- mostly Pedes. won by a sandbagger who took 3rd in the stock pede A main.
stock pedes-two heats, so about 8 total
4WD conversions- again, mostly Pedes
Clod-o-pedes
mod pedes-6 of us, one heat- that was busy
stock e-maxxs- about 9 total I think in two heats
mod clods-three ehats. There were 5 in mine. That was insanely busy as this was a TIGHT track.
4WD shaft trucks (TXT mainly)
replica (of real monster trucks)
open 4WD (more clods mostly
stock clod- two heats
TLT

I think there were 17 heats total so I am obviously missing some.

The highest lap count was by Dev2000 (Mike) at 18. I think he got that in Mod Pede AND 4WD conversion. That guy drives like he is on rails. It was awesome to watch him work. He did have competition but most of his time was spent getting around the competition. The best clods got 14 I think. The Maxxes were around 14 (Mike doesn't own a maxx...)

I think the TLT best was 10 laps. I got 8...

The maxxes did real well on the whole. They were very fast! Interestingly they didn't seem to corner as well as the top Clods.
:lol:

yeah, 560. It took about 10 hours each way with stops and naps. I had real good luck with traffic both ways with only minor hold ups. the cruise was set on 75-80 most of the time. The cool thing was that with no bike racks on my subaru i got 27 mpg! I am used to getting about 20 for the type of driving I do. 1.75 tanks each way. Not too bad. As somebody pointed out, with that rounds trip, I was 1/3 of the way to the west coast! I do NOT want to drive across country. At least not in a hurry.

sleep helped. About 1/10 the typos.
I doubt I can get photos sorted but Bill will get to see them! 1 week man! I am psyched!

Very glad your trip was safe. Sorry your racing results were not what you hoped for but I bet they will/would be much better next year.

Catalina is waiting.

Oh, I was not expecting anything better! I was just hoping. ;)

Bill- I have the lathe all packed up! I will not be bringing my trucks though (even though the Pede DID survive the weekend). Just going to take too much room with all that needs to travel with it. :cry: We will have to find some buffalo pies to drive yours AROUND!

You have a soldering iron and solder? I can bring one if you don't- for replacing the brushes... Let me know.

What city was the MJ5 in? It's about that distance to Baltimore from here & Mapquest says that's an 8.5hr drive.

27mpg in a subie? Sounds low to me, my wifes '94 Concorde gets 24 on the highway & I was a little bummed because her old 88 Merc Sable got 26mpg.

Sounds like fun. I could do stock Maxx and stock or Mod Pede.

It was in Bradenville PA which is right next door to latrobe. Just east of Pittsburg. I don't even remember how far mapqueest said it was- somewhere over 500 and I think they did say something under 9 hours. It is just that stop and rest and get gas thing that adds time. I probably stopped for over an hour at least, what with dinner, a nap and a rst. Still, at 560 miles in just under 10 hours, that is 56 mph average including the stops. I can't imagine MQ expecting better than that on average.

i think my car (97 Outback) was supposed to get about 27 or 28. I have just never seen it because of the racks. It being AWd does add to the juice it takes to drive all the wheels. It being a standard, it drives them about 60/40 split. The automatic actually gets better milage because it goes 90/10 unless it is slippery. hey, I'll take it. I guess it was about $75 in gas, $4 in tolls, $30 entries and ~$40 for food. A cheap weekend. Oh, and the $30 for JPS bumpers i picked up for the Clod! :) I guess repleacement parts wil add tot hat too...but those weren't that bad. maybe $30 and some of that is upgrades to stuff that shouldn't break.

i know you like your pede and clods more, but were the other tlt's running aftermarket/homebrew chassi?
if i would have thought about it, i could have sent you my tlt.
would have been a good test for the p-2300 chassis set.


peter
:)

i am pretty sure one of them had an aftermarket, but I am not sure which one. not the PSW one. The fastest one was stock. :-(

It would have been interesting, for sure to try yours. I really hadn't even driven mine aggressively EVER so I was very pleased that it ran at all. Different tires and maybe much thicker oil in the shocks would have helped. Didn't even THINK to run the Pede tires to see how it would go. Next time, if there is one, hotter motor and whatever it takes to make it less tippy.

We may not have time to even think RC but either way I have the soldering equipment. Ya, traveling light is smart these days.

Pies or not..............

Huh, Mapquest has it at 347.17 miles, 5hrs 52min from Pontiac. That's a tankfull. That's do-able. If you decide to go back next year let me know!

Where did you stay while there? I didn't see Hotel expense listed...

Hi Tom,

Looks like it is just you and me for this week. Chris is on his way to the west coast to visit with his wife's family. I'll get him on line as soon as he get here to answere your questions.

I agree that the 400 mile trip is possible for the three day weekend but if you could do a 4 day trip then it would be a piece of cake. I think he slept in his car or a tent.

To bad you both could not share the ride/driving, like joining up close to home then travel together. That would let you get some sleep while on the road.

Sounds like a great event.

Bill

So he's on his way if not in So Cal already huh?

It'd be hard for us to travel together, him coming from Boston and me from Detroit. Pretty much 2 different directions. I wonder if it would be worth it to drive my truck and pull my camper along? probably not at 7mpg!

Wow, with that milage it might be cheaper to fly!

Ya, he called from the San Diego area last night. Still sounded tired from all the traveling. He and the family will be here this coming Monday.

Chris was disapointed that his trucks did not hold up better but overall was very happy with the event and people he met. But he said several times that the drive was long. Maybe an extra day is the answere.

Take Care.

Your right. Drive the car and get a room, it would be cheaper.

We'll have yo see if he's up for it next year or not. Have fun next week!

uh oh! Can't let the thread get away!! 2 days without a post....

Hey All!

Checking in from Bill's, out on Catalina. I'm late for dinner so I will make this one short!

I camped right on the site- next to the nitro off-road course outdoors. It was tough without water and such but it worked fine for the two nights. Lots of hotels nearby as well but I guess you have to book early.

We will see wether I make it next year! Frankly, given the choice between being here (we kayaked, snorkled, hiked some old gold mines, swam, rested and generally had a good old time today) or driving 1100 miles, it is a tough one. We shall see!

Oh, I hear a steak calling my name. Later guys.

Just checking to see how bad he messed up the computer:p

Glad to see you're there and having fun! How was the steak? Not buffalo was it? :lol:

Well next year is a whole year away yet, so like you say, "we shall see"!

Have fun guys! Hey, post some pics would ya? :)

Hi Guys,

Tom - the steak was great and the wine even better. We're having a great time, went out in the power boat for a couple of hours today to check out the island and that was after a morning kayak, a swim, and shooting some BB's. This afternoon Chris pulled all my motors and cut the comms on them (a new experience for both me and the motors I'm sad to say) while the kids were on the archery range. The comms were not in very bad shape considering how much use they have had. Go Speed Gem.

I'll try and get Chris on the computer soon to give you his perspective. They are goin to travel to Avalon in the AMand should be back in the afternoon.

Had fun at dinner tonight talking about our friends on Hobby Talk. Wish all of you were here to join in the fun.
Take care.

Them speed gems are nicer motors than people elude to. As long as your not over gearing them they will last and perform for a long time.

i will have to try out a speed jem. they have always seemed a bit pricy localy.

nice hearing from everyone.

peter
:)

I've only bought the Speed Gems as an after market motor. I've paid between $28. and $32. for them. The price seemed very good compaired to the other ones hanging on the wall. Now considering how well they hold up I very pleased. When you factor in that you do not need to solder caps on and they seem to require very little maintenance I would be comfortable reccommending them. Just keep in mind that I've nothing to compair with.

I do & I theink they offer the best bang for the buck in Mod Motors.

here they run $49-ish. i am very hard on motors. i have had good long life out of two team orion rush motors($19.99), but my newest one has a bad can. mount holes are stripped. and i just picked up a team orion element spec motor for the tlt. the speed gems they had in stock were wilder then what i wanted.

have a good weekend!
peter
:)
i hope to work on project tlt-10 this weekend...

Thanks Tom for the insite. Makes me feel better about reccomending them.

Peter if you ever want to give one a try let me know and I will buy it down here and ship it to you. Or, you might try Tower. The 19 and 17 turn motors are very good in the Pede and I also run it in an Evader.

Well the Harris family came and went. Even after two visits to the island they were not able to do or see it all, so I guess they will have to come back next year.

Thanks to Chris all my motors have cut coms now and boy what a difference that made.

Peter - I think I can get them for about $35 around here. I would suggest Tower or one of your Local HT friends! :)

Chris is on his way home already? Gee I thought he'd be there at least thru today!

I got the impression that he would have stayed longer but the family needed to visit with the in-laws for a day or two before heading east. All good thing come to an end, oh well.

From an RC stand point we really did not do much. Some test driving was about it. And of course we talked RC while he cut my comms. I now see why the V blocks are better than bearings for a lathe, that one had me wondering until you see the lathe work then it make a lot of sence.

My only problem was we never got out to fly the wings. I was really hoping to give him a test flight ot two. Wanted to see if I could get him hooked or at least show him why I enjoy it so much.

See ya guys...... so to speak

:wave: Hi all.

Hey all!

Back home again. Got in after Midnight and I am now off to work some 7 hours later. At least the bike ride should wake me up. More later. Pix will happen- both of Catalina (a wonderful wonderland...) and MJ5.

glad you made it home safe.
have a good week all..

peter
:)