Newbie help

[rippa55]

Hi all. im just about to buy my first crawler, i was going to get an ax10, but a impressed with the rock force. So my questions are,

is it ok for a beginner?

what speedo motor setup is best?

i read it has "slow wheel speed", what does this meen, and what problems does it make.

i hope someone can help

[JOOTZ]

Originally Posted by rippa55

Hi all. im just about to buy my first crawler, i was going to get an ax10, but a impressed with the rock force. So my questions are,

is it ok for a beginner?

what speedo motor setup is best?

i read it has "slow wheel speed", what does this meen, and what problems does it make.

i hope someone can help

although i havent started on my build due to parts shipping i must say the rig is looking to be a good base to work on, add to that the beefiness on the parts and you just know...
i would however advise you to read through all the threads on here to fully understand what you may be needing to go the rockforce route.
good luck

[rippa55]

Thanks for reply, i have been reading all post, but getting confused as to best setup

[moron88]

there isnt 1 overall "best" setup, it depends on what you will be running on. wheel speed is the rate at wich the wheels spin, a slower wheel speed means it is less likely to spin out when you are climbing a steep angle and a faster ws means it will want to spin more under exsesive stress but it can help the rig jump up and grab a gripper part of the rock.

[rippa55]

Ah, i understand. thanks. what wheals will fit on hex, proline? or are they an odd size

[moron88]

check the manual of your rig to find out what the hex size is and when you buy the rims find a set that has the same size. proline should have somthing that will fit, then find a tread that fits the rims. what rig ar you going with?

[moron88]

the ax10 comes with beadlock rims wich means that you domt need to get new rims to change tread. i should let you know that i have never driven a rock crawler or ever atempted it but my rc experence is extencive, that being said id go with a 55turn brushed motor and any esc will do.

[saydee1800]

I just got a Tekin 21.5 Brushless combo that I run with 3s. It ROCK!!! Stock gearing is still fast

[quickster47]

I am running a Novak Rooster Crawler Brushed ESC with a 55t Integy Lathe motor, high speed gears, and the stock motor gear setup and the performance is perfect for me right now. I also did the DK mod to my rear links and added the DIG.

Carl

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by moron88

i should let you know that i have never driven a rock crawler or ever atempted it but my rc experence is extencive, that being said id go with a 55turn brushed motor and any esc will do.

A 55t put together with stupid low gearing is NOT the way to go. Any ESC will push a 55t,your right there. In a crawler,a Castle or Tekin ESC are really the best options.

Originally Posted by rippa55

So my questions are,

is it ok for a beginner?

what speedo motor setup is best?

i read it has "slow wheel speed", what does this meen, and what problems does it make.

i hope someone can help

Any truck can be for a beginner. Dang near any info you need is spelled out for everyone on the pages of RCC.

Personally,I like the Castle ESC's. The programmability of them can't be beat IMO. I've run some big motors on high voltage through mine and pushed them hard. They've always done me right. I did smoke a Mamba 25 though. Purely my fault though. Castle does NOT recommended a 30mm outrunner on 10 cells for the 25.

The Tekin ESC's are pretty good. Allot of guys seem to be very pleased with theirs. Never tried one personally though.

The stock gearing in the Rock Force is IMHO,WAAAAY to low. You gotta run a really fast motor with a tall pinion on high voltage to get any kind of wheelspeed out of the truck. That'll stress the motor and battery more than they need to be. The high speed gears Kyosho offers are mandatory in my opinion. Having a bit of wheel speed will help allot bumping up ledges and getting over certain obstacles.

The girth of the axles and knuckle in the truck is a very good advantage with this rig. Aftermarket knuckles,C's and axles are not really even needed. You'll be hard pressed to stress the stock stuff in a 2.2 Most other trucks on the market,really need the upgrades to be able to handle the abuse of crawling.

[JOOTZ]

Originally Posted by raptorman57

A 55t put together with stupid low gearing is NOT the way to go. Any ESC will push a 55t,your right there. In a crawler,a Castle or Tekin ESC are really the best options.



Any truck can be for a beginner. Dang near any info you need is spelled out for everyone on the pages of RCC.

Personally,I like the Castle ESC's. The programmability of them can't be beat IMO. I've run some big motors on high voltage through mine and pushed them hard. They've always done me right. I did smoke a Mamba 25 though. Purely my fault though. Castle does NOT recommended a 30mm outrunner on 10 cells for the 25.

The Tekin ESC's are pretty good. Allot of guys seem to be very pleased with theirs. Never tried one personally though.

The stock gearing in the Rock Force is IMHO,WAAAAY to low. You gotta run a really fast motor with a tall pinion on high voltage to get any kind of wheelspeed out of the truck. That'll stress the motor and battery more than they need to be. The high speed gears Kyosho offers are mandatory in my opinion. Having a bit of wheel speed will help allot bumping up ledges and getting over certain obstacles.

The girth of the axles and knuckle in the truck is a very good advantage with this rig. Aftermarket knuckles,C's and axles are not really even needed. You'll be hard pressed to stress the stock stuff in a 2.2 Most other trucks on the market,really need the upgrades to be able to handle the abuse of crawling.

werd...

[dkingston]

Raptorman is pretty much dead on. But, here is my advice since this is you very first crawler...

The Castle ESC's are a very good value, can't go wrong there.

A 55T motor is fine to get started.

Although you will end up getting the High Speed gearsets if you are going to comp with this rig, you can use the stock low speed gears while you are getting used to the Rock Force and practicing.

If you choose not to get the highspeed gears from the start I would stongly advise that you not drive (bash) it around at full throttle for long periods of time. This will cause excessive heat buildup and will probably damage your motor.

The BEST ADVICE I can give you, no matter what crawler you get is practice, practice, practice every chand you can. There is no substitute for lots of wheeltime to improve your ability.

Good luck and keep us informed as to how it is going!


- David

[rippa55]

Thanks to everone for there advice. I will be getting my rock force in a week or so, mamba max esc, hitec 645mg servos. I will go for a 55t brushed motor for staters, not sure which one yet, probably novak, does anyone have an opinion on this?. High speed gears and the dig, might aswell fit them all while building. and will run on my dx7.

One more question, what capacity batterys will i need for this setup, i have some 3s 2500mah 20c lipos that would fit, but is 3s too much for motor? is capacity big enough? or should i go for nicad?

thanks again to all for help

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by rippa55

One more question, what capacity batterys will i need for this setup, i have some 3s 2500mah 20c lipos that would fit, but is 3s too much for motor? is capacity big enough? or should i go for nicad?

thanks again to all for help

Are they 20c continuous? If they are 20c continuous and have a higher burst rating,those batteries should work just fine pushing a 55t motor. If you ever go to a hotter motor,I'd recommend a higher C rating. Something along the lines of 25c continuous/50c burst.

[concepts]

sorry to rob the thread, but I've been also pondering what to get for motor. Would a brushless mamba be too much? I've got a 5700KV. With the stock gearing and a 2 cell lypo, would that be too much? What are the pros and cons of using a brushless motor for the crawlers? Should I just go ahead and get the high speed gears and go with a lower KV motor? Does anyone here have their TX set up to use different throttle ranges with their switches? I too may use my DX7 to control my climber, just because IMO it would be easier to control throttle with such a set up.

So everyone here is recommending HS 645 servos? One for steering and one for DIG? By the way, where can one find a assembly diagram of the DIG?

Thanks for the help

Jimmy

[JOOTZ]

Originally Posted by concepts

sorry to rob the thread, but I've been also pondering what to get for motor. Would a brushless mamba be too much? I've got a 5700KV. With the stock gearing and a 2 cell lypo, would that be too much? What are the pros and cons of using a brushless motor for the crawlers? Should I just go ahead and get the high speed gears and go with a lower KV motor? Does anyone here have their TX set up to use different throttle ranges with their switches? I too may use my DX7 to control my climber, just because IMO it would be easier to control throttle with such a set up.

So everyone here is recommending HS 645 servos? One for steering and one for DIG? By the way, where can one find a assembly diagram of the DIG?

Thanks for the help

Jimmy

you may want a bigger servo for steering, the 645 for dig worked fine for some here.
dig install will be in the manual when you get it, just remember when you get your parts tree not to throw anything away since an important part of the dig install is included.

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by concepts

sorry to rob the thread, but I've been also pondering what to get for motor. Would a brushless mamba be too much? I've got a 5700KV. With the stock gearing and a 2 cell lypo, would that be too much? What are the pros and cons of using a brushless motor for the crawlers? Should I just go ahead and get the high speed gears and go with a lower KV motor? Does anyone here have their TX set up to use different throttle ranges with their switches? I too may use my DX7 to control my climber, just because IMO it would be easier to control throttle with such a set up.

So everyone here is recommending HS 645 servos? One for steering and one for DIG? By the way, where can one find a assembly diagram of the DIG?

Thanks for the help

Jimmy

IMO,brushless sucks in a crawler. I used to run very large outrunners in my crawlers. They do have the power,no doubt. Brushed motors will always prevail on the bottom end though. Running a fast motor with stupid low gearing,it might get some of the desired wheelspeed back,but you'll be taxing the motor and battery. You'll really be wizzin it the entire run. Do yourself a favor and just get the highspeed gears. Reguardless,the stock gears are WAAAAAY to low.

Steering,a 645 is pretty pathetic compared to what most run now. Back in 04,they were popular. 200oz. servo's are bare minimum. Most however run 350-400 oz. servos

[JOOTZ]

Originally Posted by raptorman57

IMO,brushless sucks in a crawler. I used to run very large outrunners in my crawlers. They do have the power,no doubt. Brushed motors will always prevail on the bottom end though. Running a fast motor with stupid low gearing,it might get some of the desired wheelspeed back,but you'll be taxing the motor and battery. You'll really be wizzin it the entire run. Do yourself a favor and just get the highspeed gears. Reguardless,the stock gears are WAAAAAY to low.

Steering,a 645 is pretty pathetic compared to what most run now. Back in 04,they were popular. 200oz. servo's are bare minimum. Most however run 350-400 oz. servos

whats your opinion on gearing for a 35T with HS gears ?

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by JOOTZ

whats your opinion on gearing for a 35T with HS gears ?

with a 78t spur and 25t pinion,you'd be at 46.8:1...decent. When I ran a 35t in my AX-10,I ran several different gears depending on the weather and courses. Typically though,I ran around 40:1. When it was wet and slick,I'd go up to around 35:1. On a 3 cell,that seemed to work pretty good and had a little more pep. Now that I'm running a puller,I actually geared it down a touch for more bottom end and it's still a little faster.

[JOOTZ]

Originally Posted by raptorman57

with a 78t spur and 25t pinion,you'd be at 46.8:1...decent. When I ran a 35t in my AX-10,I ran several different gears depending on the weather and courses. Typically though,I ran around 40:1. When it was wet and slick,I'd go up to around 35:1. On a 3 cell,that seemed to work pretty good and had a little more pep. Now that I'm running a puller,I actually geared it down a touch for more bottom end and it's still a little faster.

cool, really hard to pin down the right config to get low speed control and have burst of speed to do a spider jump. thanks for the info