RC cars

Yrkoon · 6 Aug 2020 at 01:46

BongoHunter said:
Well this thread has finally done it and I've bit the bullet...

Just received a Tamiya TT-02B kit in the post today, and now I'm hiding in the shed ordering the rest of the bits I need...

Kit: https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58630/index.htm

HopUp wise I've gone for upgraded front and rear hubs, steering rack, and some wheel hexes - gone for 3rd party bits for all these as the cost of the Tamiya versions is insane.

Also got a replacement prop shaft and associated hardware, high speed gear kit, motor heat sink, motor mount, toughened wishbones, better gearbox tops + FRP front and rear shock towers, and a full set of turnbuckles. Managed to get proper Tamiya bits for this lot.

Also got a full replacement screw kit (hex) and a set of bearings (3rd party for both these and not Tamiya as these bits are cheaper and of equal quality to the official bits)

Going to start building tomorrow so I'll post some pics - hoping to return to club racing with it, but will need a few more bits to get it ready for that, (steel dogbones, paint, and, proper 2.2" wheels and tyres mainly).

wow that must have cost a fair whack, i reckon it will be a sweet buggy when finished

EviltheCat said:
Finished. It's heavy but is fun to drive. Gets up to speed quick but is obviously not fast. The 4WS is good, really tight turning circle and skids or drifts a bit when turning and accelerating. Seems fairly stable and handles quite well but haven't taken it anywhere but the back garden yet. Lasts quite a long time off a single charge.

looking awesome m8, i likey like

is it a single motor or multiple ones? 4ws sounds brilliant, looks perfect for a walk in a forest and seeing what it can climb over

Yrkoon · 6 Aug 2020 at 01:51

Minibiker said:
@Yrkoon the Pumpkin is looking great, good job

ill let dad know, that was all him, awesome fun with his pumpkin going about the garden with my lunchie

hyperseven · 6 Aug 2020 at 02:13

EviltheCat said:
Finished. It's heavy but is fun to drive. Gets up to speed quick but is obviously not fast. The 4WS is good, really tight turning circle and skids or drifts a bit when turning and accelerating. Seems fairly stable and handles quite well but haven't taken it anywhere but the back garden yet. Lasts quite a long time off a single charge.

how heavy is it? Just seen the other variants of this, really like the dumper truck body.

EviltheCat · 6 Aug 2020 at 17:23

@Yrkoon It is single motor and I've just left the stock one in it for now. There is a plastic wheelie bar in the kit that could be fitted where the rear bumper is. I think it would need something punchy to be doing wheelies.

@hyperseven It weighs 2.75 kg with the motor in. Not sure if this is heavy by today's standards but it feels a lot weightier than the other two I have. Is the dumper the Volvo one? I liked the look of that too.

EviltheCat · 6 Aug 2020 at 17:26

I cleaned up the old body shell I found with this and think I prefer it. It looks old school to me...

hyperseven · 6 Aug 2020 at 17:26

EviltheCat said:
@Yrkoon It is single motor and I've just left the stock one in it for now. There is a plastic wheelie bar in the kit that could be fitted where the rear bumper is. I think it would need something punchy to be doing wheelies.

@hyperseven It weighs 2.75 kg with the motor in. Not sure if this is heavy by today's standards but it feels a lot weightier than the other two I have. Is the dumper the Volvo one? I liked the look of that too.

Yep the Volvo

Yrkoon · 7 Aug 2020 at 21:26

finally gave the sandviper a much needed over haul

new chassis, new main part of gear box and gears, new servo mount and bumper after 10 years of abuse lol

incoming pic overload

edit: see the square thing at front bottom of the battery tray?
there is 2 of them and they stop a 5000 mah 2s lipo from sitting flush, dremelled them out this time

vanpeebles · 7 Aug 2020 at 22:24

Is the Sand Vippa good?

Looks good!

Yrkoon · 8 Aug 2020 at 00:33

vanpeebles said:
Is the Sand Vippa good? Looks good!

oh yeh, it is good fun, it was actually the first one i built myself and it is one of my favourite buggies, it is over ten year old and has been heavily abused and ran over by such awesome things as a nitro savage etc

im using my bandits original xl5 speed controller in it on 2s lipo with a 17 turn brushed motor, goes very well but with this heat lately i replaced the 17 tooth pinion with a steel 15 tooth one and it is still getting a bit hot on the motor and had to dremell a slot between 2 of the mounts on the motor mount as it only has fixed holes for a 17 or 19 tooth pinion.

i would very much reccomend the sandviper kit version, stay away from the rtr version as that has no oil shocks and doesnt have full bearings like the kit one

my lhs about 9 years ago had a viper kit for under 80 quid i jumped on it for spares and now im just using them properly

edit : dt-02 chassis the viper is one of the higher end ones but still cheap

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-sand-viper-dt-02-/rc-car-products/25688

the holiday buggy is at the lower end but same chassis and runs a 380 instead of the sandvipers 540 out the box plus no oil shocks or bearings etc i paid 149.99 quid for my one so many years ago so yeh i jumped on a second one for spares for 80 quid at my lhs

dont abuse it like a traxxas bandit which is my second fav and it will serve you well, most of the stuff i replaced earlier was due to wear and not breakage

i used to have a gold tub rc10, the sand viper reminds me of it, if i put better shocks on the viper it might handle like one proper

vanpeebles · 8 Aug 2020 at 08:13

The Holiday Buggy is more my style

But, no, I must resist!!

Minibiker · 8 Aug 2020 at 09:20

EviltheCat said:
Finished. It's heavy but is fun to drive. Gets up to speed quick but is obviously not fast. The 4WS is good, really tight turning circle and skids or drifts a bit when turning and accelerating. Seems fairly stable and handles quite well but haven't taken it anywhere but the back garden yet. Lasts quite a long time off a single charge.

That looks great, i bet its fun to drive off road... proper beast

EviltheCat said:
I cleaned up the old body shell I found with this and think I prefer it. It looks old school to me...

Very tidy indeed

EviltheCat · 8 Aug 2020 at 09:46

@Yrkoon You definitely look to have had your money's worth out of that Sand Viper.

How different is using LiPO compared to NiMH? I've always only used NiMH.

SDK^ · 8 Aug 2020 at 10:41

EviltheCat said:
@Yrkoon You definitely look to have had your money's worth out of that Sand Viper.

How different is using LiPO compared to NiMH? I've always only used NiMH.

LiPO’s make a massive difference. Even going from 2S to 4S in the same car is a big step in top speed and acceleration.

Yrkoon · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:03

a 2 cell lipo fully charged is 8.4 volts and they pack a hell of a punch, to get similar punch you would need a 7 cell nimh i reckon

Yrkoon · 8 Aug 2020 at 13:05

vanpeebles said:
The Holiday Buggy is more my style But, no, I must resist!!

resistance is futile

EviltheCat · 8 Aug 2020 at 22:23

The NiMH seem straightforward. Run them till flat and allow them to cool before recharging. I've seen the LiPOs have more power but read they should not be stored empty, the shops seem to want you to have a fireproof bag and so on. Are they still quite easy to live with and worth the upgrade or are they more for serious RC folk?

EviltheCat · 8 Aug 2020 at 22:27

@vanpeebles Do it, do it, do it

Yrkoon · 8 Aug 2020 at 22:48

yeh if a lipo drops below a certain voltage there is a irreversible chemical reaction and knackers the battery, i only use them on esc's that have a lipo cut off (cuts or lowers power when the voltage drops down)

look up lipo fires on youtube they can be pretty nasty but thankfully i have never had one go up before and i store them in the lipo sacks and charge them using them, if i recall they contain hydrogen.

they do run awesome though and you get pretty much full speed untill the lipo cut off kicks in

EviltheCat · 9 Aug 2020 at 08:56

@Yrkoon Thanks for the advice. The Hobbywing ESCs I have in the King Yellow and Cougar both have jumper settings for LiPO. Would it just be a case of selecting this, getting a LiPO that would fit and a suitable charger? If the ESC controls the discharge of the battery it is pretty much the same as NiMH?

I would like to get more runtime out of the Cougar, it is really quick (to me) but runs out of juice much faster than the others.

EviltheCat · 9 Aug 2020 at 08:57

Also looking forward to seeing updates on the lorry and the Plasma Edge