Lots of questions (been 20 years)

[majesty9917]

First off Im new here. I have been looking around and reading threads. Figured Id sign up and see if any of you would be willing to pass some knowledge my way.

I was cleaning out my parents garage and came across my old clodbuster from 20 years ago that I had forgotten about. I want to get back into rc-ing again. Much has chagned in the past 20 years. Lipo batteries, brushless motors, 2.4 ghz transmitters, etc.

That being said, I have a stock clodbuster and want to start modernizing it while still maintaining most of the stock design. What I am hoping to do is get more ride time out of it, make it faster and handle better. This will not be for competition or anything like that. I mainly want to have a good time stomping around with this thing.

So here go some of my questions.

1. battery ideas? 1 battery or 2? Lipo or nihm?
2. esc ideas? 1 or 2? How many amps? Good brands?
3. motors ideas? Brushed or brushless? Turns and winds?
4. steering servo ideas? 1 or 2? mounted where? how much torque?
5. suspension ideas? esp wide ride kit any good?

Thank you in advance. Any suggestions, info, ideas will be much appreciated.

[tink-tink]

Depends on what you want to do, check out clodtalk.com ... I have mine setup similar to a truggy

[nosyajg]

so many different ways you could go about with the clod...lol...

go lipo...2s...is good...

one esc...castle sidewinders can be had for $50-$70

brushed motors...15t would be good...the hpi 15t closed endbell motors work great, no maintenance and can handle 3s lipo too...

axle mounted servo, just one...lock the rear with washers...200oz torque would be enough...there's cheap analog servos that work good..~$15-25...

there's kits out there that allow you to 4-link the stock chassis on the cheap...


granted- all this is just for bashing around...would be a good start...or you can eventually go all out and build a $1000+ clod...

also, check out clodtalk and rcmt.net...lots of great info there..,

[majesty9917]

Thx for the response. I have posted a thread at clodtalk.

I really want to keep the 4ws. Thinking of mounting a servo for rear and another for front steering. Would that mean i could use 100 oz torque for each and be fine?

I love what lipo offers but am under the impression nimh batteries can handle more charges in their lifetime. Whats ur take on this?

Was leaning toward brushless due to less maintenence but those hpi u mention sound viable.

Any thoughts on the esp wide ride kit? Will the extra 2" make a noticeable difference.

Looking at the evx2 if i go brushed. Not sure about a good brushless esc.

[nosyajg]

Originally Posted by majesty9917

Thx for the response. I have posted a thread at clodtalk.

I really want to keep the 4ws. Thinking of mounting a servo for rear and another for front steering. Would that mean i could use 100 oz torque for each and be fine?

I love what lipo offers but am under the impression nimh batteries can handle more charges in their lifetime. Whats ur take on this?

Was leaning toward brushless due to less maintenence but those hpi u mention sound viable.

Any thoughts on the esp wide ride kit? Will the extra 2" make a noticeable difference.

Looking at the evx2 if i go brushed. Not sure about a good brushless esc.

i'd go higher on the torque value for the servo...when i was a kid, i did use standard servos ~50oz/in for my clod, but servos with high torque can be had for cheap now, so it's almost no excuse...i'd stick to 160-200oz/in for each axle...at least 200 if you plan on going brushless...

for the value, you cant go wrong with lipo...much more punch, runtime, and cheaper...i recently bought a nimh battery for our race series, and it didnt last a few races...i thought it was a dud pack, but others reported the same with the nimh batteries they bought (different brands)...

if you go brushless, realize you need two escs as well...i have a brushless clod, and it is FUN...crazy speed and torque...

i dont like to go too wide, as it will put more strain on the axles and driveline...you could also just glue a 2.2 wheel in the clod rim to use as a widener...

[majesty9917]

Thx again nos i am taking all advice under serious consideration.

Would brushless be overkill for just stomping around?

[nosyajg]

i dont think it'd be overkill...but that's just me...

all depends on how much you want to spend...you could get away for cheap with 3s lipo and those hpi motors...but brushless will up the fun factor a lot...if you search my username on rcmt, you'll come across my brushless clod build...

[majesty9917]

Any brushless motor suggestions. There was no brushless motors, lipo batts or 2.4 ghz radio systems last time I was doing anything r/c. I will search out your clod.

[majesty9917]

Found your youtube channel. That clod is a quick little bastard. What motors and esc's are you running Nos?

[nosyajg]

Castle 4600 and turnigy batteries...

A speed run with a GPS unit clocked it at 47mph before...

[majesty9917]

Hey everyone. Got an hpi gt 14.4 v speed controller. It has dual motor outputs and dual battery inputs. I know that 14.4 v isnt gna do good things for the stock cans. Is there any way to run this esc with stock cans?

Can I run one 7.2 battery?

Does this esc put out 14.4 to each motor or 7.2 to each? If it sends 7.2v to each set of motor wires than i assume it would run fine with stock cans.

Anyone have any info/experience with this? Thanks in advance!

[CPE MT]

You can probably do something similar to the jumper used on a Traxxas EVX ESC. Here's a pic of how that's wired:

[majesty9917]

That did the trick. Thank you!

[majesty9917]

I bought these from cpe Crawford Performance Engineering : CPE-STR2: Clodbuster Aluminum Steering Kit - $29.99
i have no idea how to in stall these. I tried with just the equpiment in the package, i tried with a combo of the old servo saver screw and spring, with just the old screw and just the old spring. None of these ways allows me to lock the two arms so that they are not free moving. I got it pretty close using the old servo saver screw and the cpe metal arms and plastic spacer. It locks down pretty tight.....until i go over a bump or turn hard enough and then arms move slightly and it throws the whole steering off. I wanna romp with this thing. Thats why i went to metal. Right now i have to baby this thing. So annoying! Anyone know how to install this thing?