Rods, I should of just built my own from scratch

[AusRod]

Hi guys and girls,

I recently went out rc crawling with my uncle and got addicted straight away so i went out in search of the cheapest rc crawler i could find. I found the redcat rockslide on ebay. I got it and within about 30 seconds of driving it i changed the servos, it wouldn't even turn the wheels if it wasn't moving.

After some fun driving it around inside i got the chance to take it out and give it a go against my uncle's crawlers not having anything really to compare it to i was hesitant as to how it would perform. i got to try a few spots out with varying difficulty and was surprised how well the stock crawler was being able to go many places that other crawlers at the time couldn't.

Here is a video of the stock rockslide vs my uncle's HPI
Conquering the Crevice HPI Vs Redcat rockslide RS10 - YouTube

Identifying many key areas that the crawler could be improved i began modifying. First up was a new set of HB rover white tyres and wheel weights as well as chopping some of the chassis down to try lower the CG a bit. This dramatically improved the performance of the crawler out of sight.




I then decided that i wanted to include a DIG but to do this i would need an extra channel so i got myself a Spektrum dx4s and thought that it would be better to run 2 esc's so i could have a torque split:
Redcat rockslide rs10 dual esc testing - YouTube


I then decided i wanted to upgrade motors and not having much choice in 390 motors i decided i wanted to go 540. I found some cheap 21turn brushless esc and motor kits and ordered them with a ZNO big boy kit, steel gear set and some 2s Lipo's to try. The new batteries allowed me to remove the top tray and put all the electronics on the lower one so hopefully that will help me out.



Unfortunately the pinions that come with the steel gear set wouldn't fit onto th larger shaft of the 540 motor and when i tried to drill them out they shattered. I order some new pinions but unfortunately where the wrong size and chewed out within about a minute of driving but i got a few of them and decided to use them anyway. If anyone could tell me what size i need that would be a great help.



To get the 540's to fit i bent the stock links for clearance as well as using pen springs on the dampers for a little extra at the ends



Being a numpty i managed to burn out one of the channels on my receiver so i have had to lock out rear steering for now until i can get a new receiver. I also managed to break one of the front steering knuckles so i need to put the broken one on the rear and work out another method of locking the rear steering until i can get a new one.



plans for the near future include new dampers, new links (the stock ones are to short after being bent), possibly bully axles, and might as well go home made chassis.

Have a great day
AusRod

[IQLogic]

Hi dude, nice mods and dual ESC mod looks very interesting Could you post link to brushless set? One of mine stock motors and ESC are gone, so I need some replacement

[pajey]

Hey mate where bouts are you in oz? The cat is looking pretty good. Those pinions look like cheapo dodgy pieces. It's all personal opinion with pinions. But I run on all my moa's 8-13T. On the cat I have 12T all round and it goes great guns. Get some decent Robinson pinions or something.

[The Jackalope]

Yup. You need 48* pitch, 1/8 inch-shaft pinions. In 8 or more teeth. The steel gears are hardened beyond any drill bit I could get my hands on, and should be considered 'impossible to cut or drill'!

Nice climb by the way!

[jimmiejump]

How do the well do the pen springs work?

[AusRod]

I'm located in Wollongong, the pinions where like $1 from hobby-king i just wanted to try them to see what size i needed. I have a set of 48P 13t pinions on order if they mesh good i will try get a set of them and try running the rear a little slower.

I only put the pen springs on when i put the motors in and haven't really had much chance to try them out properly but from what I did drive them, they seem to work good, although would be better if they where all the same size might go buy a set later in the week

I haven't had a good chance to use these motors so i couldn't say if they are good or bad just yet. they might be a little slow but some 3s lipo's should boost it a little. and not having much experience with brush less motors I wasn't prepared to spend big if they weren't what i wanted but here is a link to what i got:
RC Cheetah Sensored Brushless Motor 21 5T 1600KV S60A ESC 1 10 Car Rock Crawler | eBay
I like the integrated on/off switch in the ESC.

[AusRod]

With my thesis due in a few weeks, it is important that I procrastinate as much as possible , so today I decided to sort out a temporary rear steer lock out and trimmed the body for more clearance.

The body has this sort of natural curvature on one side that tucks the bottom hard up against the chassis. I think its really neat and will be less likely to hook up on things so i might try and force the other side to bend in too.



I made the rear steer lock out from 16x1mm aluminium tube, I liked the thicker wall compared to some of the other tube available so it wont cut into the plastic as much hopefully. I haven't got my new pinions yet so i can't drive it to see what it is like without 4WS. I will need to save up and get a new receiver and steering knuckles. Without the rear steering set up, the rear axle is really tidy but I'm not sure i can go without 4WS.

I will also have to work out a way of limiting the flex of the suspension. I think it is a little obsessive

Sorry for the crappy phone pics

[jimmiejump]

Like the lockout!

[AusRod]

I finally got my new 13T 48P pinions today , I'm not 100% on there mesh but i will just try them and see how I go. I have draft thesis due on Monday so I will have to wait till after that to actually see how this thing goes on rocks. They seem to be a bit noisy just driving it inside but hopefully they will bed in nice and wont have any more problems. The 13T pinions make it very quick so if all works out i will try and get a set of pinions to try. IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT

The reverse also seems to be very slow, hopefully it is just the settings on the ESC's and I will be able to change it, if not I might have some trouble backing out of jams.

[AusRod]

well that aint gunna work.

If someone could link me to pinions that work with rs10's gears that would be great

[pajey]

What type of pinions were they?

[The Jackalope]

Holy CARNAGE!

[AusRod]

they where hot racing 13t 48p hard aluminium, obviously not hard enough. i need to find some that actually work before I rage quit and spend a heap of money on whole new axles.

[pajey]

Are both of them shredded?

[pajey]

Go to onetencrawler.com.au. Stew will be able to help you out. Last time i checked there were some robinson 14T and 13T available. If you haven't already hope on crawlanz.com.au its where us Aussies hang out.

By the way the Robinson pinions are alloy steel.

[AusRod]

the front is completely shredded the rear has very little tooth thickness left. I have only tried local hobby shops which don't carry anything for crawlers. I'm not sure if its just that the pinions are to soft or if there completely the wrong type.

Thanks for the links i am over waiting weeks to get parts.

[pajey]

No problem I would put in a link if I was on my desktop but I'm only on my phone. Oneten are just for us crawlers and is run by just us crawler guys. They have great service too. Most local hobby shops are pretty useless for us. And join crawlanz and you'll find out about the local comps and we can help ya out with anything.

[suij]

I was pretty sure you needed metric MOD 0.6 pinions for the redcat. 48p is close but not quite right.

[IQLogic]

RS10XT has gears with 0,6 module; 48P equals to 0,529 module

Look at this photo, teeth didn't fit!

[AusRod]

I got another pinion, this time steel i have managed to actually make it to some rocks with these but they are wearing fast. I have some 0.6M pinions on order hopefully they get here soon.

I also made up some new suspension links to extend the wheelbase. i tried axle mounted damper but the damper isn't long enough with this chassis and the new links unless i want to run negative ride height so i put the mount back on the links for now and have ordered longer dampers.







I am happy with the performance of these links giving that little bit extra reach onto rocks. the damper set up is limiting the flex to a good point allowing reach across holes that normally the tyre would go into and not come back out. when i get the front links on it should be even better.

I am having problems with the wheel slipping on the hex drive of the axle. I need to have a look to see if the wheel is damaged or just flexing. I have also notice that the drag brake on these motors is SHIT there is no other way to put it also reverse sucks i don't know if that's binding in the gears or what im not sure but its just to slow. I am considering changing the mode on one of the ESC's to just forward and brake.







Something has managed to bind the front axle at this point i think it is one of the screws holding the gear to the axle. I have had this problem before so i need to pull it apart and loctite them in if that's what it is.