Del Monte's Mini Rock Crawler PRO
 

Here it is... the long awaited Losi Mini Rock Crawler PRO

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6...0914142953.jpg

This little guy has been winning comps all over the country for the last year, so I thought it would be time to put up a build thread.

Here are the build specs

Steering: Hitec 7955TG
ESC: Losi 1/18th Xcelorin Crawler system (LOSB9536)
Motor: 1/18th Xcelorin Crawler motor (LOSB9464)
Gearing: 20/58 (LOSB1068, LOSB1262)
Wheels: Losi Aluminum Beadlock Wheels (LOSB1472)
Tires: Hand-made 1.9 Boss Claws :mrgreen:
Radio: Spektrum Dx3r w/SR3500 rx

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6...0914142851.jpg


So far I've only made a few small changes to increase the performance. Just like on the Comp Crawler, I outboared the front and rear shocks to increase stability throughout travel. I used the Losi Outboard Spacer kit (LOSB1446) to keep everything looking sleek. While I had the shocks off, I changed the front shocks to 20wt. oil, and switched to 40wt. for the rears.

The shock cartridges on the MRC Pro have an o-ring added in around the outside of the cartridge. This o-ring has completely taken care of the leakage problems that were common with these shocks.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7...0914142931.jpg

I've been running a Losi 2S 600mah lipo battery (LOSB9831) mounted on the servo tray with great results. I can usually run 2-3 comp courses, or about 15 minutes of serious bashing with this pack with no problems at all. Lately I've been playing with a Thunderpower 3s 325mah pack for a little extra juice :mrgreen: The Thunderpower pack is small enough to fit up front with the servo, but I don't trust it for any longer then one course.

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/792...0914142741.jpg


Overall, this rig is a blast to drive. The brushless system gives it some serious power and the zero-ackerman steering makes it extremely easy to navigate through stuff. In competition, the rig absolutey dominates. In the hands of the Team Losi drivers, the MRC Pro finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th and the Nationals last weekend :shock:

I was hoping you would do this soon! Mine is waiting at my house for me to get home from work, cant wait to get it up and running.

What you are making your 1.9 boss claws out of? Are we going to see production units any time soon?

That thing is sick.. I just got my MRC and now wish I'd waited lol..

~Kev

My 1.9 boss claws are made from Losi 320 series Eclipse tires and mini rock claw sidewalls. It takes longer to make these then it did to make hand-made 2.2 Boss Claws :ror:

We don't have any plans to produce them at this point, but you never know what we will come up with in the future :twisted:

The rig looks great Jake, it was awesome watching you guys dominate the 1.9 comp at Nats "thumbsup"

Gotta get one of these.

Whats the total weight, and what does a front wheel/tire assembly weigh?

The 1.9 finals was extremely entertaining, loved the bonus land feature. Team Losi did great. "thumbsup"

I'd like a total weight myself[no wheels]
and you guys really were on fire! You guys killed it on course 5"thumbsup"
and thats the course that decided it all if you ask me.

Killer rig. I just got mine today and was wondering how much weight is in your wheels?

Good to see this thing getting out there finally.

I competed with Jake and Jess at the Arizona Summer Shootout and can tell you from personal experience that these rigs just perform.

Hope to see you guys out at the Arizona Copperstate Crawloff in January Jake. "thumbsup"

I just picked up my MRC Pro an hour ago. Looks really sweet.

What springs are those on your rig?
What front/rear wheel weight (per wheel total) would you recommend to start with?
Do you really need that much servo torque (noobie question)? I was thinking around 120 oz.in but that is based on a XXXCR experience...

Thanks, Phil.

I just ran down to the scale here and... this rig weighed in at a massive 3lb. 2oz :shock:

Each front tire weights 9.5oz total. That is the combined weight of the tire/foam/wheel.

I would recommend at least 120oz of servo torque. In competition, I want my rig to be able to turn in any situation, so I went with the big Hitec.

The rear springs are stock silver springs from the Original Mini Rock Crawler. The fronts are the softest rate springs from the Mini-T replacement spring pack. (LOSB1119)

Thanks for info.

I take it that the rear wheels are not weighted, just foam rubber and wheel?

Cheers, Phil.

Very good looking truck Jake. It worked quite well this past weekend!

Are the chassis shock mounts similar to the 1/10th or are they fixed?

The MRC Pro chassis features adjustable shock arms similar to the 1/10th Comp Crawler. Its nice to be able to raise and lower ground clearance with only two screws.

That is a very nice feature. Great looking rig.

Is horizon's website out of date, or is the MRC pro running 99% of the RTF/BND MRC parts?

~Kev

From what I can gather from starting my build there are quite a few new parts...

-Chassis (obviously)
-upper links
-f/r link plates/servo plate
-F/R/C Metal Lockers
-Wider Hexes
-New rear lock outs
-Aluminum shocks (yep same ones they have sold for a while)
-CVD's
-Steering Linkage (Much beefier now plus 3mm to knuckle)
-Knuckles and c's I think
-Same wheels but Included center rings to convert them to beadlocks
-The better comp claw tires (not the super hard ones)

It really is a great option for people who are planning on changing out the electronics (the stock MRC electronics suck). If you buy this and some used electronics or cheaper electronics you will have a very strong 1.9 comp rig much cheaper than it would have cost you if you bought the BND or RTR MRC.

For me the cost of the PRO is justified and that is why I picked one up. Most of the included parts were added on to any of the serious 1.9s we have seen in the past and buying stuff twice costs more!

SMR 510RR"thumbsup"

you mentioned the cartridge has been updated on the shocks. is there a part number to replace my existing self lubricating cartridge or do i have to buy all new shocks.

It calls these out in the manual, they look to have the O-ring but I cant say they are the fix or will fit for sure...

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=LOSB1113

for $10 you can find out"thumbsup"

OMG :shock: 9.5oz!!

That's ~270g and the stock wheel/tire/foam weighs 87g, so I now have to find a way to stuff 183g in there. Thats more than double the wheel's weight. I figure I can get roughly 100g stuck to the bead lock ring and probably wrap 50g of solder around the rim channel, but I'm still 30 odd grams short.

How heavy are the Losi alu wheels with the weight on them (the weight is included and does not need to be purchased separately, right?)? Either that or just go to a Vanquished wheel with the weights... or maybe the Pro-Lines with the 6oz weights...

P.S. What steering blocks do you have on there?

Cheers, Phil.