Beginner's Bomber Build - What I've Learned and Help I Need

[powder4breakfast]

Update time.:

I added VP AR60 knuckle weights.

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Holy... these make a very noticeable difference. It has been fun to see how changes to the vehicle have improved capabilities. I have seen it several times through this build. Still, I had no idea that these knuckle weights could have such an impact.

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Installation is quick and can be done with knuckles and links still connected. I only had to remove the wheels to do it.

First stop after adding weights was to a new spot for me... 3 Peaks in Cedar City. This place is really awesome and I can't wait to go back. The area is littered with granite outcrops and the options seem almost endless. The traction there was incredible compared to the sandstone that predominantly surrounds southern Utah.

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After enjoying an evening with the new weights I began to have crazy thoughts that I might finally, once and for all, be able to tackle the St. George obstacle that has plagued me since the beginning of this project.

For those not following this build ...understandable ...I have had one obstacle that I have used as reference point to make my vehicle a better crawler. The first night I tried it, people named it the Puke Obstacle. During almost 2 hours of attempts by several rigs, it spit everyone out that gave it a go. I did see a couple well built cars make it to the top over the next few visits; but, the vast majority were just not capable

So, for several months now, I have been building my car in hopes to bag this thing. With each upgrade and fix I have gotten closer to the goal. Then with multiple failed attempts after adding UD gearing in the rear I finally started to think I may never get to the top with my Bomber.

These weights gave me renewed hope and sure enough, after a few warm-up attempts, I FINALLY sent it!

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The (X) is the crux of the route. Your rig wants to tip over the whole time. Your back passenger wheel drops into a hole and the front lifts. You can't make the left turn in one shot and have to bounce and wiggle to bring the back end around behind you. Once you are in position, you have to be careful not to roll back too far or you come off.

The Vanquish knuckle weights ended up being the final puzzle piece.

Then it was off to dinner. the heavens lit up to confirm I had done good work.

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It had been an absolute disastrous rainy day full of floods and mud slides. Zion national park closed down from a boulder slide that buried the road. The storm let up just long enough for me to play. Then the clouds and colors went off for an incredible sunset. Pictures do not do justice for the shapes and colors held in that night's sky.

At the end of the day, forums are fun to share info and learn; but, it's the getting out and experiencing that counts. Putting the "Puke Obstacle" to bed was awesome; but, that sky was the highlight of the day by far. We live in an amazing world.

[Adamgllc]

Awesome Build, really neat to see the progression of your rig. I went for more of a go fast with my bomber with a MMP/3100KV ROC 412. I love how versatile this rig is being able to crawl and bash. I'm running the same HD gear set up and similar suspension except I have power strokes instead of pro spec. Whenever you decide to go brushless I definitely recommend the ROC 412 and MMP!

[powder4breakfast]

So, I participated in my first ever crawling event last Saturday... Recon G6 event "Proving Grounds" in Utah. Parker was a cool dude. He and the others put on a great shindig.

Without a doubt, that was the most fun I have had with my car since owning it. I can't wait until next year's event and am now motivated to make it to some of the local comps. There had to be close to 100 vehicles crawling and I showed up alone with my 4 year old who hiked while I crawled the 150 gates. Huge shout out to Nsimps on here who helped flip me back onto my wheels and up an obstacle. He then stuck with me the rest of the day showing me the way through my first Recon G6. He was also driving a Bomber which made it fun.

I don't know at what point I reached no return; but, I just convinced my wife to bring home one of the last 2 SCX10 II's from DDM Racing. ( davesmotors.com ). I'll now have a 1.9 in the mix.

All of this recent RC fun caused me to resurrect the Wheely King that we got from DDM as a work gift back in the day. Never really clicked for me with the truck and it mostly sat as a novelty toy to brake out on the rarest of occasions. A cousin saw how much fun I was having with my new found hobby and gave me his E-Revo that he no longer used. I'd say I now have the start of a fleet (small as it may be).

Can't wait to get home and open up this box!!!

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More pics to come.

[shiftauto]

You'll enjoy having the 1.9 to mess with. It's a bit more work to get through stuff than the bomber is but they're a blast. You'll also have a spare rig for someone to go run with you now.

[mikebecher]

Congrats on beating your Puke Obstacle! I've been on a similar mission with seemingly unclearable obstacles. That sense of accomplishment after months of practice and upgrades is second to none. Now you'll have to go off and find the next Puker! Or figure out how to do it with your 1.9

[Trembley]

Awesome build and thread..I really like your approach...then as it happens with everyone...money just starts flying out of your pockets...it's like your 1:1 Just Empty Every Pocket!

[powder4breakfast]

My G6 experience and first comp of any kind.

Already said it; but, this was by far the most fun I have had with my vehicle since the initial purchase.

The night before, I took my 9 year old, 4 year old (Van) and my 3 month old up to the mountains to meet a group of neighbors camping. Stayed late and by the time we got home and to bed, it was after midnight. I then woke Van up at 7:30am and bundled him for the 70+ mile journey to the Uintas in Utah for my first G6
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I arrived just in time for the drivers meeting. First thing I noticed was a lot of sweet rides
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I loved the few rigs with trailers. Hilarious that they pulled them through the entire course.

Driving with a purpose and using the gates adds a whole new element.
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I flipped on my lid somewhere in the first 50 gates. Nsimps, who I did not know before hand, pulled me over with his Bomber and then let me roll with him the rest of the day. I was happy to meet up and enjoyed working the rest of the course with him and his trick bomber.

In this picture he is towing me up a wall that must have been 18" or so. you had to have someone with a winch make it up first and then use the cars on top to pull the cars below.
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Nsimps leading the way
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Van enjoyed the day and carried that tiger the whole way. Maybe he'll be driving his own rig next year.
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One of the bonus tasks was to bring a scale animal that would be hid one the course. We were supposed to find the one we brought and bring it to the finish line. For almost 3 hours and over a mile of hiking Van kept wondering where our lizard was. We finally found all the animals near the second to last gate. Van was stoked.
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Finish line. Can't wait until next year.
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My favorite take away from the day:

There was an Escalade, Porche, Audi S7 V8T and other nice cars in the parking lot along with cars I wasn't sure were going to make the trip home. It was nice to see a mix of all types of people. I loved that the event encouraged working together and even had obstacles that required working together. There are lots of self absorbed people in this world and being nice is better than being a prick. It was fun to work with others I had never met and enjoy the day.

[powder4breakfast]

I traveled to Idaho Falls with a co-worker. After hours we hit a little park on the bank of the river near the falls the town is named after. We had a good time crawling lines in one vehicle and then switching and giving a go with the other.

I'm trying to convince him to pick up a crawler and don't know if I should direct him toward a 1.9 or 2.2 at this point. both fun. both different.

I loved building my Bomber and there is no question that it is definitely more capable as they both sit now. However, it took money and parts to get to where it is now. I feel the SCX10 II RTR requires less right out of the box.

whichever direction he goes... I know he'll be hooked like me and start throwing money at either parts or a second rig as soon as he owns one.

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[powder4breakfast]

Added lights since my last post: Baja designs for the front and some Darth Sprocket rock lights underneath.

I also wore a head lamp to give a little overall lighting ...and so that I could see where "I" was walking.

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Ran in to this guy. something about the actual darkness of black on these things is incredibly eerie
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Spoiler alert: For anyone following my build from the beginning... I have an MMP and Roc412 2300kv on the way as I type. Boom! I feel like this rig is getting something it has deserved for a while now.

[powder4breakfast]

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I installed the Roc412 (2300kv) and MMP. This is my first experience with brushless so I had no clue how to program it. I spent some time at a local shop getting programming help. In the end we just couldn't get things dialed.

1) We got the car so that it had a nice throttle curve and eased into power going backward; but, it shot forward without any modulation.

Then we were finally able to switch things so that it has nice modulation going forward (I can just ease it into a creepy crawl with full wheel speed at full throttle); but, reverse is a rocket. No one could make it right. I can't imagine that this is how it has to be. Ideas?

2) There is a dead gap when going from reverse to forward ...reverse, pull throttle and nothing happens, release and pull again and it moves forward. I was told that this is how Castle Creations programs these and to get used to it. I also can't imagine that this is how it has to be. Ideas?

* HELP PLEASE *

I only slow technical crawl with this rig. No bashing. Programming help on these issues (reverse modulation and dead gap between reverse and forward) would be appreciated. Or a link to any site or page that has set-up for crawling for dummies.

[distinctive pd]

If your ever in Ogden I can get it fixed up for you! I am familiar with Castle and all parameters. I run similar setups in several rigs

[powder4breakfast]

I'm all over Salt Lake and Utah valley for work; but, my territory stops in Davis County. I'll give you a shout if I head north before getting this fixed. Thanks for the offer.

[calcagno45]

1. Did you recalibrate the ESC to radio? Hold full throttle, turn on, wait for beeps, then full reverse, wait for beeps, then neutral, and double beeps.

2. Did you plug it into the Castle Link?

The dead gap between forward and reverse is normal. In the Castle Link, you'll be able to change reverse type to CRAWLER REVERSE. This will take away the dead gap.

[durok]

^^^ If you still experience issues after that:

I'd say it's worth making a call to Castle - also, make sure you have the brand new firmware - they released one that improves low-speed performance with sensored motors and the MMP, as well as one for the X-series ESCs.

Contact Us

Mamba monster x / Holmes motor help

Even though the above link states Holmes, it should be valid for all sensored brushless motors.

[powder4breakfast]

Thank you very much for the above help ^ ^ ^

- I did plug into a Castle link
- The latest software was updated.
- I will make sure Crawler Reverse in checked next time I get into programming

- I did not re-calibrate the ESC to the radio. I will do that

Just to be clear - When programming, I should not have to program reverse and forward modulation separately... correct? If both were set evenly ...i.e. 100% forward and 100% reverse etc, both directions should work similarly?

[calcagno45]

Make sure that you have wire A from the MMP connected to phase A on the motor, B to B, and C to C.


Make sure your radio is default settings, trims are 0 or in the middle however you look at it. Once you go through calibration to the radio, correct, you should see similar forward and reverse action. I believe, if you apply punch control and different start powers, it may change forward slightly different from reverse tho.

[84yoda]

Unfortunately that's just how reverse is. So turn it down to 50%. It will help for now but you will get used to using reverse just enough.

Make sure your in sensored only and crawler reverse. It makes reverse instant instead of the pause. Also castle says to calibrate the throttle every time you make changes to the throttle in castle link or radio.

[powder4breakfast]

Thank you for all the help above. I stopped at a different local shop on the way home from work. I knew that Mike at West Valley Hobbies would know what to do. He was able to change what needed to be changed and get me squared away quickly.

I now have good modulation in both directions and the dead spot is gone.

And just to note, along with the Roc412 and MMP, I added a VP motor plate and cam to hold things together. I also swapped out the front 5.5 soft Double Deuces with medium foams. With soft, the tire was folding under too much on sidehills and was encouraging flops. I now have 6.0 DD medium in the rear and 5.5 DD medium in front. I tried 5.5 both and 6.0 both along with soft and medium combinations. In the end, I think the 5.5/6.0 mix in medium is going to work for me. I haven't weighed my machine in a while; but, it is definitely heavy ...especially up front.

Hopefully I'll make it to this weekend's local comp where I can try out the new foam combo and power source.

[calcagno45]

Good to hear your electronics are squared away. Did he show you how to make changes or what setting were put in so you know going forward?

No issues installing the VP motor plate and cam with the stock slipper assembly?

[powder4breakfast]

Yes, I asked Mike what he changed and he explained. He also told me to bring it back after driving it and he would help with any further fine tuning I wanted to make.

VP motor plate and Cam were totally straight forward and a direct swap. No issues and no mod or shims were required on my car although to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how tight the slipper clutch should be. I tightened it to where I thought it was before.

Originally Posted by calcagno45

Good to hear your electronics are squared away. Did he show you how to make changes or what setting were put in so you know going forward?

No issues installing the VP motor plate and cam with the stock slipper assembly?