Brainwashed

[crash]

So as I saw the evolution of the MOA's in the comps--I always told myself I would never run one of those clown cars. Ya I was a die hard shafty guy--picking on the MOA guys.



Well as time went on and at comps I would sit there and disect the cars ability, I got to thinking. Was I starting to be brainwashed by some kind of alien being. Could be.



Well I have considered myself a decent driver--usually placing pretty good in the field. Well I got a chance to drive one for a while--pushing its limits to see what it was capable of. Well lets just say shortly after I started planing the new rig-- and after learning my way thru the TLT stuff and really figuing out how to properly build a rig and doing alot of reading on what axle I wanted to go with--I pulled the lever.



Ya, I was brainwashed for sure.



So here are the rough specs of the rig.



Axles--RC4WD bully axles

Motors--14t cobalt 454 pullers

ESC-- Tekin FXR (also got the hotwire interface)

Punk dig switch

Steering servo-- JR DS8711HV 480oz at 7.4 volts

Castle BEC

Power source--not 100% sure on what I am going to run

Wheels--I am not sure but I will see how my current ones work out.

The chassis will be--like all my others a custom one.



SO let the games begin











I am hoping to start the chassis on monday

[Xtant3150c]

Welcome to the Other side

Sounds like it should be a Nice Setup!

It's nice to see that RC4WD has streamlined their packaging since the 1st Gen Bully's

[Diamond D]

Oh boy. I am sure this will be one bad ass build. I look forward to seeing the updates.

[crash]

Originally Posted by Diamond D

Oh boy. I am sure this will be one bad ass build. I look forward to seeing the updates.

Thanks dave--looking forward to getting this thing on its way

[crash]

SO time to start doing something.

For shits and gigles I decided to throw the axles on the scale...

Here is the front at 1lb 6.5ouz



Here is the rear at 1lb 4.5ouz

[crash]

I got my 454 cobalt pullers finally from holmes hobbies...







Here you can see the size difference comapred to a trypical 540 size 55 turn motor.







The cobalt puller sits at 3.7ouz







And the common 540 55 turn at 5.9ouz

[crash]

So since the cobalt is a smaller can--you have to use an adapter. I am going to try the HH ones that came with the motors and see how they hold up (ones shown in the picture)



Once the adpater is in place the 3mm bolt that holds the adapter to the diff hits the taper on the motor "just" after full thread engagement into the adapter. Now I could have just shoterned the bolt but I still wanted a little more threads thru/past the adpater.



Also I chose to go with 11r and 12f on the pinions(for now). So once I got tha motor location/figured out what holes on the adapters I was going to use I went and put a small(4mm) notch into the motor. At this point I had to remove roughly 1/16" off the bolts for the motor adapter to sit firmly against the axle.

[crash]

One odd thing about this particular motor the notch in the armature shaft for the pinion set screw does not go the full length of the shaft like all the 540 motors I have seen. With the motor adapter and the pinion slid as far as you can go on the flat spot--the pinion was shy less than a 1/16" to full engagement on the gear it rides on in the axles.



That was an easy fix--I just filed the notch in the shaft--piece of cake..



So I went ahead and got the motors all bolted down...



So now I am ready to start building the chassis..

[Ripperfi]

This looks like a great start to an interesting build. Carry on.

[danielk]

why 454's and not 500's? the 500 is a much better better motor in my opinion.

[mulepic]

I'm curious about the 454's as well. If they work for the bully's I'm sure I can use them on my berg which would get me under 5lbs.

[crash]

So with the axles ready---it was time.







Here is the chassis--in its VERY rough form,lol.. I got lucky and had some delrin chunks laying around, otherwise I would use the other material that I have used in the past.

[crash]

My process for doing a chassis--and one I have a number times(and seems to work for me). I always start at the skip plate. Start by figuring the width of the chassis and then lower link placement on the chassis. Once I get that figured out I rough in the side plates. My next step is to build the lower links. Once thats done I now have the length of my uppers since I like to run equal length links. So once I have the upper lengths I can figure out the multiple location holes for the uppers. Since this is my first MOA I wanted some diversity on the upper placement for squat/anti squat numbers--unlike on my shafty's where I have those geometry's figured out for my driving style.

[crash]

So after alot of work I finally got the chassis figured out. It was odd not leaving big holes in the side of the chassis plates for a tranny/motor combo. Since the battery/electronics will be stuffed down in the chassis--I chose to drill a bunch of holes to help knock some weight off it. I still have to figure out what I want to use for shock extensions but I have a couple ideas. I also threw my wheels on it--RC4WD supper narrow's and I will be damned--they fit and give me 10.5" of width.













Both front/rear lowers are bent in 2 places to wrap around the large diffs.

I also bent the rear uppers to help clear the top part of the diff.









I also set it up at 3" and I will see how that does. Its sitting RIGHT on the money for a 12.5" WB so if I drop it--I will have to shorten up the rear links up a tad.

[LIKES2CRAWL]

Looking good Crash, but what's taking so long?

[Tanis]

Well, I thought I'd never see this day Mike.....shame on you
Keep up the good work, you are always so meticulous in your planning and testing.

[crash]

Originally Posted by LIKES2CRAWL

Looking good Crash, but what's taking so long?

Man--I am going as fast as I can

[crash]

Originally Posted by Tanis

Well, I thought I'd never see this day Mike.....shame on you
Keep up the good work, you are always so meticulous in your planning and testing.

Pretty shocking isn't it nathen

Ya--I just can never "throw" something together

[crash]

Ok I finally figured out how I wanted to do the shock mounts. I took solid 1/4" alum. rod and center drilled and tapped it to 3mm to help give some cross support on a hard landing--will see how well it holds up.



But here is how it turned out.











Here is a flex shot--roughly 6" and thats the max--which from my past rigs is almost where I want to be--I think I will be very happy with that...

[crash]

Next I decided to go ahead and get the body mounted. I just made some cross mounts--same material I have alwasy used (3/8" cutting board).












And here is the body mounted up. I like how low it sits. My old shafty was pretty stable and the body was a lil higher. So far I am very happy with how its turning out..