Tonight I took the front diff off of the RS4 and it became clear that it was what was causing my handling problems.
Once separated from the rest of the car I found that it did work as it should but the wheels turned easily on one side but were a real effort to turn on the other.
I stripped it all down, re-greased and re assembled and while it is better it is still stiff on one side and now feels a bit lumpy too.
The gears look in good condition and the only two issues I could see were a very used looking washer on the side that was stiff and the casing on one side of the diff being a bit restrictive on the drive hub.
Anyway, I've decided to relegate the whole diff to spare parts and have ordered up a complete new diff from the bay.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
One bash... two broken cars!
Decided to take the RS4 out for the first time since its conversion. Just in case it didn't want to play ball I also brought along "old faithful", my Hyper 12. First up, time to fire up the RS4...
It sparked into life pretty easily which was good because sometimes it can be a bit of a pig. Great! Then within seconds it went out of control and threw itself into a full throttle doughnut! A few seconds later it came back under control and I checked the throttle and steering. Everything seemed fine so I carried on then 30 seconds later it did the same but this time it held the full throttle doughnut for a good 20 seconds or so before thankfully dieing. Best put that one away then.
Disappointed I decided to crack out the Hyper 12... bugger... I left my road wheels at home. Oh well stuff it, I've got a spare set of off road wheels and tyres, lets trash these!
I had a great run with the Hyper 12 for about an hour or so and then the steering became a bit intermittent then died altogether. The reason, a stripped servo gear. First time I've ever done that, not a big problem though, I'll just fit the one that I had intended for the TC3. On the plus side despite an hour of full throttle abuse the tyres were still in good shape.
I decided to try and replicate the radio issues I had with the RS4 with the engine off this time! We found some weird issues with radio reception in that area in the past and I wanted to make sure I had a problem before replacing the radio gear. After 5 minutes of trying it didn't even glitch. So I decided to give it another run to see how it handled.
I was a bit concerned with how the front diff felt before taking it out and it seems that I was right to be concerned. The car tracked fine off the power but on throttle it dived to the left in spectacular fashion.
So in summary I need to:
It sparked into life pretty easily which was good because sometimes it can be a bit of a pig. Great! Then within seconds it went out of control and threw itself into a full throttle doughnut! A few seconds later it came back under control and I checked the throttle and steering. Everything seemed fine so I carried on then 30 seconds later it did the same but this time it held the full throttle doughnut for a good 20 seconds or so before thankfully dieing. Best put that one away then.
Disappointed I decided to crack out the Hyper 12... bugger... I left my road wheels at home. Oh well stuff it, I've got a spare set of off road wheels and tyres, lets trash these!
I had a great run with the Hyper 12 for about an hour or so and then the steering became a bit intermittent then died altogether. The reason, a stripped servo gear. First time I've ever done that, not a big problem though, I'll just fit the one that I had intended for the TC3. On the plus side despite an hour of full throttle abuse the tyres were still in good shape.
I decided to try and replicate the radio issues I had with the RS4 with the engine off this time! We found some weird issues with radio reception in that area in the past and I wanted to make sure I had a problem before replacing the radio gear. After 5 minutes of trying it didn't even glitch. So I decided to give it another run to see how it handled.
I was a bit concerned with how the front diff felt before taking it out and it seems that I was right to be concerned. The car tracked fine off the power but on throttle it dived to the left in spectacular fashion.
So in summary I need to:
- Fit a new steering servo on the Hyper 12 - no problem
- Rebuild the front diff on the RS4 - bugger!
Oh well, should keep me busy while I wait for my TC3's brushless setup.
Friday, 15 April 2011
TC3 is here!
I picked up the TC3 from the Post Office yesterday and had just enough time last night to unpack it.
The car looks great, I did notice that one of the front wheels appeared to be very... wobbly but this might be due to the hub nut not being tight. This will be the first thing I look at though.
So far my job list looks a little like this...
Investigate wobbly front wheel!
Set the camber all round
Test fit my S15 shell. (Depending on how this goes I might end up having to add a new shell to my to do list)
Fit a steering servo
Find and fit some radio gear (I might splash out on a cheap 2.4GHz system)
Fit Gyro
I've ordered up an XERun 2700Kv Brushless system for the car. More expensive than the sensorless EZRun but hey you only live once and the Baja sold for about three times what I thought! It is coming from Hong Kong so could be anywhere from 5 days to a month but I'm hoping it will be at the lower end of that scale.
I'm not sure what battery connectors (if any) that it comes with but I have asked the question on Modelsport. Once I know that I can get some Lipos ordered and a balancer for my charger and I think it will then be good to go!
Once I have tested it I will think about locking the rear diff if it feels like it needs it (the TT-01D never did in my opinion) and look at thinks like spring rates and what not. This car was used as a racer (a carpet racer judging by the fluff inside and lack of marks to the chassis) so I need to take it from grippy to tail happy!
The car looks great, I did notice that one of the front wheels appeared to be very... wobbly but this might be due to the hub nut not being tight. This will be the first thing I look at though.
So far my job list looks a little like this...
Investigate wobbly front wheel!
Set the camber all round
Test fit my S15 shell. (Depending on how this goes I might end up having to add a new shell to my to do list)
Fit a steering servo
Find and fit some radio gear (I might splash out on a cheap 2.4GHz system)
Fit Gyro
I've ordered up an XERun 2700Kv Brushless system for the car. More expensive than the sensorless EZRun but hey you only live once and the Baja sold for about three times what I thought! It is coming from Hong Kong so could be anywhere from 5 days to a month but I'm hoping it will be at the lower end of that scale.
I'm not sure what battery connectors (if any) that it comes with but I have asked the question on Modelsport. Once I know that I can get some Lipos ordered and a balancer for my charger and I think it will then be good to go!
Once I have tested it I will think about locking the rear diff if it feels like it needs it (the TT-01D never did in my opinion) and look at thinks like spring rates and what not. This car was used as a racer (a carpet racer judging by the fluff inside and lack of marks to the chassis) so I need to take it from grippy to tail happy!
Monday, 11 April 2011
Bidding ends!
So after 8 days of bidding all of my Baja auctions came to an end. Net result... £294 which considering that I didn't sell the radio gear or a few other bits and bobs plus I had to sell the engine in pieces as spares or repair... I'm really chuffed with that!
I also overestimated the postage charges slightly so after all of my fees I should easily clear £300, maybe £310 :)
I also overestimated the postage charges slightly so after all of my fees I should easily clear £300, maybe £310 :)
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Another one for the list!
I've been considering a scaler crawler, in fact it was going to be my next purchase but concerns over whether I'd get bored of the lack of speed and even bigger concerns of finding places with a suitably tough terrain meant that I put it off and instead started my drift car project.
Thankfully Axial have read my mind and come up with this...
Thankfully Axial have read my mind and come up with this...
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| http://www.axialracing.com/ftp/wraith/index.html |
Basically it is a slightly compromised crawler that is geared up and with a lower turn (20t) motor. Todays bash at Holkham which was a bit heavy going for the Hyper 12 would have been ideal as would loads of spots that spring to mind. I may even consider swapping the Slash for one...
It will come as both a RTR and my preferred option a kit.
Here is a video showing what it can do... I'm off to get saving!
Monday, 4 April 2011
New Project! TC3 Drifter!
So a while ago I sold up my TT-01D drift car that I butchered for parts. To be honest I abused this car a fair amount by jumping it etc. The main issue I had was that it was a great drifter but as with all good drift cars it was geared really low and had loads of punch but bugger all in the way of speed.
Fast forward a month or so and I went to Modified Live at Snetterton and saw the D1RC drift demonstrations and decided that I wanted a drifter again! BUT I know I will get bored of its lack of speed so what should I do... well make a drifter/touring car hybrid of course!
So what the hell is one of those?! Well... I don't know, I just made it up but here are my plans!
Touring car chassis
Suitable drift body complete with bodyset (exhausts etc.) and LED's
Drift wheels and tyres
Mid range Brushless motor / esc (13t or higher)
Drift Box (Gyro) for holding high speed drifts
ummm.... I think that will do for now!
So for a starter (well I say start, I've already bought my gyro, more on that when it arrives) I need a touring car chassis. I worked out that I would like to do a grand total of seven RC projects before I can say that I'm happy I have all vehicle types covered... and I'm sure some more will pop up along the way. There is no way I can do this with new kits unless I go mega cheap so... should I go cheap or should I go second hand? Well I've never bought a second hand RC car before so it was time to give it a punt!
I hit ebay with the intention of buying the first decent TC chassis from a brand I've heard of for less than £50.
I found a TC3 roller with no bids and a £24.99 starting bid. It was a racer who was selling up, the car looked in good condition, no electrics and no body... perfect! I stuck in a bid and waited the 2 1/2 hours to the end of the auction. No one else put a bid in so I got it for the starting bid plus £9.99 postage... Sweet!
As soon as it arrives I'll asses the condition of it and if all is well get the project underway. If it is no good I'll shift it back on and look for either a new chassis or another used one.
More when it arrives!
Fast forward a month or so and I went to Modified Live at Snetterton and saw the D1RC drift demonstrations and decided that I wanted a drifter again! BUT I know I will get bored of its lack of speed so what should I do... well make a drifter/touring car hybrid of course!
So what the hell is one of those?! Well... I don't know, I just made it up but here are my plans!
Touring car chassis
Suitable drift body complete with bodyset (exhausts etc.) and LED's
Drift wheels and tyres
Mid range Brushless motor / esc (13t or higher)
Drift Box (Gyro) for holding high speed drifts
ummm.... I think that will do for now!
So for a starter (well I say start, I've already bought my gyro, more on that when it arrives) I need a touring car chassis. I worked out that I would like to do a grand total of seven RC projects before I can say that I'm happy I have all vehicle types covered... and I'm sure some more will pop up along the way. There is no way I can do this with new kits unless I go mega cheap so... should I go cheap or should I go second hand? Well I've never bought a second hand RC car before so it was time to give it a punt!
I hit ebay with the intention of buying the first decent TC chassis from a brand I've heard of for less than £50.
I found a TC3 roller with no bids and a £24.99 starting bid. It was a racer who was selling up, the car looked in good condition, no electrics and no body... perfect! I stuck in a bid and waited the 2 1/2 hours to the end of the auction. No one else put a bid in so I got it for the starting bid plus £9.99 postage... Sweet!
As soon as it arrives I'll asses the condition of it and if all is well get the project underway. If it is no good I'll shift it back on and look for either a new chassis or another used one.
More when it arrives!
Selling up the Baja
My 1/5 scale 2 stroke Baja has been sat in the garage for a couple of years now and it was time to get rid of it.
It was a cracking machine but too big for its own good. The size made it difficult to work on, difficult to use in small places and so easy to bend when you... er... hit stuff!
So a few days ago I turned this...
It was a cracking machine but too big for its own good. The size made it difficult to work on, difficult to use in small places and so easy to bend when you... er... hit stuff!
So a few days ago I turned this...
Into this...
There were loads more bits but they wouldn't all fit on the desk!
All the parts are now listed on ebay. All 99p start and no reserve so we'll see what happens. So far there has been quite a lot of interest so I should raise a few quid... Which is a good job as I've already bought my next project!
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