Question about Tamiya RC01

[danwheeler]

Hi guys, I picked up a Bronco RC01 to match my real Bronco a few months back and have finally got around to giving it a workout in the backyard (been too wet until now)

I hadn't fiddled with RC cars for about 10 years so I re-used my old ESC and radio when building this truck.

I'm finding that it is way too jerky and fast.

Now on my real Bronco I would change gears and switch to an automatic trans but I know very little about RC crawlers and electric motors so I dont know if its a gearing or ESC issue.

So how do I fix this problem? Can I get lower gears? Can I get a smoother ESC? My current ESC is actually not too bad when going forward but when you put it in reverse it is basically off or on.

thanks,
dan

Little Bronco:


Big Bronco:

[Nate08]

I'm assuming you put in the motor that came with the cr01? If so, that'd be the first thing I'd ditch, if memory serves it's a 27t silvercan same as most other tamiya kits come with. Get a good lathe motor for it, a tekin or holmes motor if you can afford one that should smooth out the throttle some.

If after changing the motor you're still not happy and think it's too fast put in a smaller pinion, 16t is the lowest you can go without modding the motor plate - be sure you get 48 pitch METRIC prinions or you'll shred the spur gear and make a very disturbing whine noise as it does.

Hope that helps some

[cooterwrenchen]

35-55 turn motor and a different esc castle creations sidewinder is fully programable and very small for 70 bucks u cant beat it

[Crawler-Mog]

Just changing the ESC will make a great difference even with the stock 27t. I have the rc4wd outcry and I'm really happy with it.
The next step should be a new motor, something between a 35t and a really slow 55t.
After this, if you wanna go slower try a different pinion.

[Grey Machine]

I really like the Novak Rooster crawler/Fifty Five combo in my CR01 Bronco. Very easy to control and lots of torque.

$106.99 from RPP: http://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/nov1842.htm

[vanDongen2]

You can try the hobbywing brushless 32T, cheap!

[danwheeler]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I'll check them all out and report back with which direction I went. Gonna do some reading on brushed vs brusheless - I would have figured brushless was the way to go but something I read somewhere said brushed motors were still king for crawling? anyway - thanks again!

[danwheeler]

hey guys, just to follow up on this. I picked up a brushed 55 turn motor at a local hobby shop and didn't notice a huge difference. It is slightly slower and has a bit more torque but is still too sensitive.

I guess I'll try a lower pinion gear next since that should be cheap and then a new ESC when I can spare the cash.

[low_range]

If i had to guess, id say the ESC is the problem. 55t is plenty slow for crawlin, but not all ESCs are made for fine control at slow speeds like youre looking for.

[danwheeler]

hey guys, just following up on this old thread. I finally got around to doing some of the upgrades mentioned in this post. I picked up a SV2 sidewinder and a 48 pitch 16t pinion. Got everything hooked up tonight and it is working MUCH better.

I had a rough start because the instructions for the ESC don't make it very clear that you need to program it for a brushed motor. Hindsight is 20/2 but at the time, I was confused why the motor wouldn't turn. It's also very difficult to hear the tones until you switch the motor mode. I listened very carefully for the tones and got through the stick programming and all was well.

thank you all for your suggestions, I've got a great little crawler now.

It is super loud with the new pinion - is that normal? It sounds like its screaming when at mid-throttle. Quiet at low and a little more quiet at full throttle.

[Landcruiser 110]

my CR-01 is pretty loud, but mine is 5 years old though to! if the gear mesh is all good and there is clicking or grinding, would say you are all good then

[danwheeler]

I had my gears set WAY too tight. Backed the pinion off a bit and much better now. Now I gotta get some LiPo batteries and a charger so I can drive it for more than 5 minutes at a time.

[OSRC]

Make sure you have a metric pinion....in addition to pitch, gears can come in standard or metric. Tamiya is the only one who uses metric pitch that I am aware of. If you have a "std" pinion, you'll have excessive noise for sure, and eventually eat your spur gear. You may already have it, just pointing out a common mistake that is made. When adjusted correctly, the only noise I hear on mine is the motor - the tranny is all but silent.

Metric: TowerHobbies.com | 1116 Robinson Racing Metric Pinion Gear 16T

Standard: TowerHobbies.com | 8253 Associated Racing Pinion Gear 48P 16T

[danwheeler]

yep, got the 48P pinion as per Nate08's suggestion way back when I originall posted. thanks though

Dan

[Dam]

My Cr-01 is quite noisy at top speed but my mates one is very quiet...