MFM Racing Losi MRC Black Widow Proto Test

[fordmike65]

Well,you've already seen a few pics of this new chassis for the Losi MRC posted by us & other MFM Racing testers. This thread will cover feedback on the chassis kit,build,capabilty,testing,tuning,likes & dislikes. The first few pics were on my work table at home for the initial build. I don't have pics of the first steps since I took advantage of a slow day at the shop & started putting it together there. The last few are pics of the electronics install,set-up & testing at PANDAbox's home.

Been looking forward to getting this package all week!



The kit includes alot more parts than I imagined. You will surely get more for your money with this kit!



If you have or have seen a 1/10 AX10 Black Widow,these pics should look very familiar. The verticle plates & skid are basically a scaled down version. Multiple link & shock mount locations make for easy tuning.


The beveled Delrin skid machined for inboard lower links definately helps triangulation of links while keeping them tucked in,futher reducing chassis overall width to only 2".Upper links are inboard as well. Skid length at 2 7/16"



Here you can see the ingenuity that went into designing the trans mount! Unbelievable!



Both front servo plate & rear battery/electronics mount plate allow you to 4-link the upper links. All plate to axle housing mount holes are countersunk.


Upon further inspection,we find yet another ingenius feature of the MRC B.W. MFM has included steering servo stand-offs,that are not only anodized aluminum,but are machined along with the servo plate 2 make it possible to run either the stock MRC mini servo or a full-size steering servo!!! Just flip the mounts around & now your ready to upgrade to full-size servo torque!!


The lower links are also Delrin,using Traxxas ends on the skid side,while reusing the MRC kit's original ends on the axle side due to the llimited space.


We found that when using the stock length upper links that come with the MFM kit,the pinion angle is much to severe,allowing for driveshaft to be on a bit of a bind & unprotected by the lower links. Unfortunately we didn't get a pic of this,but I will reassemble the kit with these later so that you can see. We tried mounting the links under the 4-link plate,but the suspention was on a bind,partially compressing the shocks,over limiting travel. We then installed Axial threaded posts & bent rod ends to lengthen the upper links & achieve better triangulation. Unfortunately we only had enough parts to do one side,but it freed up the suspension & we now have an acceptable driveline angle. As for the front,we just backed out the Revo ends evenly to achieve a similar result. I have ordered the neccesary parts to build the same links frt & rear. I would also advise that Traxxas ends #1942 be supplied in the B.W. kit instead of Revo ends & 4mm threaded rod.3mm threaded posts & related hardware is much easier to come by & is already widely used & available. This would make it easier for potential MRC B.W. drivers to tune & mod their rig. I believe 4mm is overkill for such a small & light rig anyway.

[jimbiss]

looks pretty sweet

[mOOsE]

nice, if I ever ditch my tuber then I might go this route...match my axial.

[PANDAbox]

Looking good Mike. Pm sent

[fordmike65]

Well,time to update the build. The MFM B.W. if now up & running. All stock MRC parts have been installed on the new chassis,except for PANDAbox's borrowed Proline Titans & Chisels. More hop-ups have been ordered and on the way.

[fordmike65]

Here's a view af PANDAbox's backyard rockgarden. This will be the main test site for the MRC B.W.. It has been changed up a bit to be 1.9 comp & scaler friendy. It may be small in size, but includes some very technical & challenging lines. (even though the Black Widow made it look easy)

[fordmike65]

And now for some action shots.



These 1.9 Chisels hook-up sick!!!!

[fordmike65]

The BW is nicely balanced. It climbs & decends with ease & is very predictable. We ran the course several times as seen(stock) so that we can later compare with the planned mods. As-is,it held very consistent lines. We will see how moving link,shock & component locations affect performance in the coming days.

[fordmike65]

Here are a couple more shots from PANDAbox's rock garden. Currently making new upper Delrin links & moving elctronics around. Full size 645mg installed. The mini 225 just wasn't cutting it.





Can't leave out the flex shots

[fordmike65]

Hop-up's are now in!!! Just finished unpacking. I'll post pics when I get home,and snap a few during the teardown. I can't wait!

[fordmike65]

Ok. Way overdue for an update. All hop-ups will be installed,including basically everything available from Losi,plus a set of MIP MRC center CVDs,Proline 1.9 Chisels,Mayhem 1.9 beadlocks,a Thunder Power 2s 2-cell 730mah LiPo & 1/18th Proline Baja Bug body

[fordmike65]

Here are come offbody shots with everything installed.Lexan electronics plates cut out & installed on upper new Delrin upper links to keep weight as low as possible.

[fordmike65]

Rideheight is now at just about 2".CG is nice & low. The only things left to do is trim the body more & slam is as low as possible & to flip the tans so that a larger LiPo can be used on the front upper 4-link plate.

[fordmike65]

After some trimming,this is where I plan the body to sit,greatly aiding in rollover recovery.

[crawladan]

you need to mount those shocks differently having them bowed out at the top is worse than putting them narrower at the top. basically what im trying to say is inboard 'em.....

[fordmike65]

That's been discussed,but the chassis width is limited by the trans. I'm gonna try to relocate the lower shock mounting point out further & see how that does. I does perform amazingly as-is. I have a few changes I will try before the final set-up.

[ontherocks88]

that is a nasty chassis and it makes the crawler as a whole look more serious

[PANDAbox]

Originally Posted by crawladan

you need to mount those shocks differently having them bowed out at the top is worse than putting them narrower at the top. basically what im trying to say is inboard 'em.....

Originally Posted by fordmike65

That's been discussed,but the chassis width is limited by the trans. I'm gonna try to relocate the lower shock mounting point out further & see how that does. I does perform amazingly as-is. I have a few changes I will try before the final set-up.

Just do the badger mod Mike. It should bring the ride height down a smidge(never had high centering problem), and also allow the shocks to be parallel or even lean in towards the chassis. Body looks great slammed.

[fordmike65]

I've seen the lower link/shock mount mod that Badger did,but it looks to me that I"d have a lot of binding issues. I'll try it though & see how it works. Picked up a set of Mini Slider shocks too. Gonna see how they work out. This thing might get slammed. Bug body is trimmed. Just have to get it mounted up & clearanced. Thanks for all the help PANDAbox

[PANDAbox]