Grouchman
Newbie
Cool .... I'm going to replace my servo soon, planning to beef up the servo link and add titanium steering links
Trying to prevent issues later!!!
Trying to prevent issues later!!!
-
Welcome to RCCrawler Forums.
It looks like you're enjoying RCCrawler's Forums but haven't created an account yet. Why not take a minute to register for your own free account now? As a member you get free access to all of our forums and posts plus the ability to post your own messages, communicate directly with other members, and much more. Register now!
Already a member? Login at the top of this page to stop seeing this message.
Crazykev's mega basher Yeti
- Thread starter Crazykev
- Start date
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
I swapped everything over to a new chassis and made a bunch of changes so I don't have to take this truck apart again.
I had the extra 10amp CC BEC left over after swapping to the CC BEC Pro and wired it up to run the new WTF 25mm and 40mm fans. These fans are bad ass! The torque on them is amazing and so is the airflow. They each draw just under .5 amps each, which is over twice the draw on the fans I replaced them with and am running them at 8.4v. They are rated at 6v-8.4v.
These are the two JTS jacks I wired up for them with 20g wire. You can also see the Hot Racing servo mounts I got too.
I also wired up a female servo jack for the BEC and the power leads with the MPJet 1.8mm bullet connectors. Both with 20g silicone wire and that wire is flat out the largest gauge wire you can fit into a servo connector. The setup just fits in there.
I used butyl to seal up the case.
I thought I took a picture of it, but I wired up 18g wire that goes directly into the Rx box and steps down to 20g 1/2" before the servo connector and also installed a Castle Creations Castlelink quick connect that allowes me to run a lead out of the Rx box to tap the Castlelink into to program the Mamba Max Pro without taking off the T-Bone skidplate and factory access plate. Works awesome and mounted it to the bottom of the carbon fiber ESC plate I made.
Found the picture. I have the 2mm screw in the factory antenna grommet because I drilled a hole at the bottom of the antenna mount to run the antenna through directly from the Rx box. You can see the step down from 18g to 20g in this pic too.
I had the extra 10amp CC BEC left over after swapping to the CC BEC Pro and wired it up to run the new WTF 25mm and 40mm fans. These fans are bad ass! The torque on them is amazing and so is the airflow. They each draw just under .5 amps each, which is over twice the draw on the fans I replaced them with and am running them at 8.4v. They are rated at 6v-8.4v.
These are the two JTS jacks I wired up for them with 20g wire. You can also see the Hot Racing servo mounts I got too.
I also wired up a female servo jack for the BEC and the power leads with the MPJet 1.8mm bullet connectors. Both with 20g silicone wire and that wire is flat out the largest gauge wire you can fit into a servo connector. The setup just fits in there.
I used butyl to seal up the case.
I thought I took a picture of it, but I wired up 18g wire that goes directly into the Rx box and steps down to 20g 1/2" before the servo connector and also installed a Castle Creations Castlelink quick connect that allowes me to run a lead out of the Rx box to tap the Castlelink into to program the Mamba Max Pro without taking off the T-Bone skidplate and factory access plate. Works awesome and mounted it to the bottom of the carbon fiber ESC plate I made.
Found the picture. I have the 2mm screw in the factory antenna grommet because I drilled a hole at the bottom of the antenna mount to run the antenna through directly from the Rx box. You can see the step down from 18g to 20g in this pic too.
Last edited:
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
These are the new Wild Turbo Fans I installed. I epoxied the MMP case where the original fan was. This little 25mm fan flows probably 5X what the factory fan did. With the extra weight and run time of the 7200mah pack I was starting to overheat the MMP. Not any more! It now gets ever so slightly warm. The 3mm bolts in the fan case are CA glued in to act as stands to prevent the body from coming into contact with the fan. These fans are wicked!!! I also made a smaller carbon fiber ESC plate to allow me to have more room for wire routing, install holes for zip ties to hold the motor sensor wire and it lowered the ESC about 4mm to make room for the taller ESC fan which is now the same height as the 40mm fan.
The zip tie mount holes:
The zip tie mount holes:
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
To finish it all off, I rebuilt the trans and transfer case. I already am running the Hot Racing hardened transmission gears, but are swapped to make the transmission overdriven with the 28t gear on the input and 26t on the output shaft. The Acer Ceramic bearings were in excellent shape, so I cleaned em and re-lubed them with Acer Sin bearing oil. installed new drive pins in the shafts. Coated it all in Acer Goo synthetic gear lube and was done with it. I also have the Robinson Gen3 56t slipper clutch in there. The other bottle of lube is an old applicator that I filled with the Acer Sin oil.
For the transfer case I installed the Hot Racing aluminum case, already had the Hot Racing hardened transfer case gears, only kept the input gear from the Hot Racing gearset, swapped out the other idler and output gears for the Robinson Racing hardened gears, ground additional flats on both ends of the Robinson output shafts, threw in a .1mm shim on the output shaft to minimize any fore to aft movement, installed all new Boca Yellow seal ceramic bearings and lubed it all with Acer Goo grease. I drilled and tapped the other hole on a HD Axial drive cup to run dual set screws.
I don't know if it's possible to build a tougher drivetrain that this? I could have bought an aluminum transmission case, but think it would have been a waste and only add weight to the truck with no benefits. The transfer case is dealing with a lot more load being cantilevered out like that and being the first part to deal with the torque from driving the shafts. It was super light and am very impressed with the Hot Racing case. I swapped to the Robinson gears just to get rid of the drive pin, the slack that the pin creates and to know I will never break a gear.
For the transfer case I installed the Hot Racing aluminum case, already had the Hot Racing hardened transfer case gears, only kept the input gear from the Hot Racing gearset, swapped out the other idler and output gears for the Robinson Racing hardened gears, ground additional flats on both ends of the Robinson output shafts, threw in a .1mm shim on the output shaft to minimize any fore to aft movement, installed all new Boca Yellow seal ceramic bearings and lubed it all with Acer Goo grease. I drilled and tapped the other hole on a HD Axial drive cup to run dual set screws.
I don't know if it's possible to build a tougher drivetrain that this? I could have bought an aluminum transmission case, but think it would have been a waste and only add weight to the truck with no benefits. The transfer case is dealing with a lot more load being cantilevered out like that and being the first part to deal with the torque from driving the shafts. It was super light and am very impressed with the Hot Racing case. I swapped to the Robinson gears just to get rid of the drive pin, the slack that the pin creates and to know I will never break a gear.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
My favorite upgrade from all of those is the Castle Quick Connect. I hated taking the truck apart just to program the ESC and doing that over numerous times is why I had to replace the chassis. I stripped one of the Rx cover screws. I works perfectly! If you are running a BEC like most of us are, unpin the red positive wire in the servo lead that plugs into the Rx from the quick connect and repin your red wire you took out of the ESC to Rx connector. I always unpin my leads and heat shrink them so that can be re-installed if needed, in a case like this. I have the 20amp CC BEC Pro link port accessible without taking anything part too. The 10amp CC BEC is buried, but I see no reason to ever change it's settings. I always want those fans to receive 8.4v. I have the BEC Pro set for 7.5v, which is powering the servo and Rx. Don't think I will ever have to worry about brown outs with this was overboard electrical setup"thumbsup"
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
I bought the chassis new off ebay and it came with a new bumper too, so I made a new carbon fiber skid plate to go with it. The reason I made the plate in the first place was because I was sick of the T-Bone Racing chassis skid plate acting like a shovel and scooping into whatever I was running the truck in and stuffing the crap between the skid plate and chassis. You can see in the second pic how this pretty much eliminates that from happening anymore. Plus it really beefs up the factory bumper quite a bit.
Next thing I want to do is to waterproof the MMP. When I do that, I'm gonna try to come up with a little cleaner mount for the WTF fan I added to the ESC. I ordered 2 of the 25mm WTF fans, so I have an extra. Just need to get a case and figure out what method I'm gonna use to waterproof it. If anyone has a suggestion on which is the best way, let me know. I have a Maxamps 6500 battery on the way too. I'm still waiting to hear back from SMC about when I'll get my second 7200 pack that I ordered a good month ago.
Next thing I want to do is to waterproof the MMP. When I do that, I'm gonna try to come up with a little cleaner mount for the WTF fan I added to the ESC. I ordered 2 of the 25mm WTF fans, so I have an extra. Just need to get a case and figure out what method I'm gonna use to waterproof it. If anyone has a suggestion on which is the best way, let me know. I have a Maxamps 6500 battery on the way too. I'm still waiting to hear back from SMC about when I'll get my second 7200 pack that I ordered a good month ago.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
After running a bunch of packs through this setup, I can say the extra effort was WELL worth the time. Those fans are awesome! Kinda loud, but I think it sound like this thing means business. I tried doing everything I possibly could to try and get the motor/esc hot and it just isn't going to happen. I even bumped the timing up to 15 degrees and they only get slightly warm. Man, for how cheap the Quick Link was, I love being able to make adjustments where ever I go with the laptop in seconds. There is no worry that you went a little over the top with a setting when it is so simple to just change back really quick.
One thing I'm a bit disappointed in is the SMC 7200 battery. The most usable MAH that I can get out of it is 6600mah. Plus it drops from 12.6 to 12v way too quick IMO. My 50C 5000mah Venom battery blows it out of the water performance wise. It was really easy to run the Venom pack to just about 5000mah because the performance didn't drop much until you get close to that. My MaxAmps 6500 battery will be showing up today and I can't wait! I was so super impressed with the packs my brother ran in his 1/8 monster truck. Another thing with SMC is that I ordered an additional pack from them almost a month ago and have tried to get ahold of them through e-mail and calling. I just get an answering machine and no response to my e-mails at all. I'm going to try and call again today and if I get no response from my message, then I'm calling my bank to cancel the charge if at all possible. So super unprofessional!
The SMC pack was the first cheap Lipo I have tried since Lipos came to the market. I ran $300-$450 Thunder Power, FlightPower batteries in my helicopters. It is just about always true that you get what you pay for! The SMC pack is fun for the first 10 minutes, but after that you start getting disappointed. That being said, if I do eventually get the SMC pack sent to me, at least the MaxAmps 6500 is the same size as the SMC battery and I can run them when I'm not totally beating the shit out of the truck and keep myself entertained while the MaxAmp is getting charged. Maybe I got a crap pack by chance? The cells always stay close to each other voltage wise, so I see no reason for the poor performance except that they are just cheap crap batteries.
One thing I'm a bit disappointed in is the SMC 7200 battery. The most usable MAH that I can get out of it is 6600mah. Plus it drops from 12.6 to 12v way too quick IMO. My 50C 5000mah Venom battery blows it out of the water performance wise. It was really easy to run the Venom pack to just about 5000mah because the performance didn't drop much until you get close to that. My MaxAmps 6500 battery will be showing up today and I can't wait! I was so super impressed with the packs my brother ran in his 1/8 monster truck. Another thing with SMC is that I ordered an additional pack from them almost a month ago and have tried to get ahold of them through e-mail and calling. I just get an answering machine and no response to my e-mails at all. I'm going to try and call again today and if I get no response from my message, then I'm calling my bank to cancel the charge if at all possible. So super unprofessional!
The SMC pack was the first cheap Lipo I have tried since Lipos came to the market. I ran $300-$450 Thunder Power, FlightPower batteries in my helicopters. It is just about always true that you get what you pay for! The SMC pack is fun for the first 10 minutes, but after that you start getting disappointed. That being said, if I do eventually get the SMC pack sent to me, at least the MaxAmps 6500 is the same size as the SMC battery and I can run them when I'm not totally beating the shit out of the truck and keep myself entertained while the MaxAmp is getting charged. Maybe I got a crap pack by chance? The cells always stay close to each other voltage wise, so I see no reason for the poor performance except that they are just cheap crap batteries.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
If your running a Mamba Max Pro ESC, then I would for sure do the fan mod I made. I think it is so dumb that Castle has the factory fan only come on when it's getting hot. How about ya constantly have the fan run and try to keep it from even getting hot in the first place. It is only drawing .12amps! The factory fan really is a joke on the MMP. I know I stated that the WTF fan flows at least 5X more air, but after running the factory fan next to the spare 25mm fan I have, I bet the WTF flows closer to 10X more air. I already ordered a new MMP case so that I can install the extra WTF into it and have a backup ready to go if the one in the truck goes bad.
I wasn't sure the WTF would be able to keep it from EVER getting hot, but it does BIG TIME. First time my MMP overheated I was kinda bummed that I didn't get the Mamba X. Now that I can't possibly even get it close to hot, I'm glad I did go with it because these trucks are already too heavy and running that big ass Mamba X is making it worse. I think that fan weighs 11g, but it is taking the place of a fan I removed too, so it isn't even adding much weight at all.
I wasn't sure the WTF would be able to keep it from EVER getting hot, but it does BIG TIME. First time my MMP overheated I was kinda bummed that I didn't get the Mamba X. Now that I can't possibly even get it close to hot, I'm glad I did go with it because these trucks are already too heavy and running that big ass Mamba X is making it worse. I think that fan weighs 11g, but it is taking the place of a fan I removed too, so it isn't even adding much weight at all.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
The MaxAmps pack smokes the SMC pack! It's what I expected and this is on the first run of the pack. I had to order a new slipper pad for the RRP Gen3 slipper clutch. I can't tighten it down enough to totally hold the torque the MaxAmps battery gives me. Plus I am going to back the timing back to 10 degrees because the motor is just slightly getting hot and I was only 2500mah into the pack. I made a 1/32" carbon fiber plate/spacer so that the Maxamps would fit as light as the SMC. They are that close in size! Now is the Maxamps worth over double the cost of the SMC? It depends on what your doing with the truck I guess. I run my cars fast and hard, so it's fun having a pack that will do what the Maxamps can offer. The SMC is well worth the $67 shipped that I paid for it and will allow me to keep running the truck while the Maxamps is charging.
The 1/32" CF spacer I made
The 1/32" CF spacer I made
JoshMaxAmps
Newbie
Glad to hear the pack is working for you! This is an awesome build thread by the way. Its looking good!
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
Thanks Josh! It's crazy how powerful my rig is with the new pack! Love it brother. Putting down enough power now that I had to swap to a stronger hub for the MIP rear exle.
I was pretty sure that even with two flats on the Robinson Racing transfer case gear that the 3mm set screws were not going to cut it. I ordered the MIP #11111 hub which has two 4mm set screws and this should work fine now.
I was pretty sure that even with two flats on the Robinson Racing transfer case gear that the 3mm set screws were not going to cut it. I ordered the MIP #11111 hub which has two 4mm set screws and this should work fine now.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
I have another thread going over exactly what I did, but I rebuilt the rear axle with 4 additional screws on the lockout hubs, Boca top of the line ceramic orange seal bearing on the pinion and Acer/Boca ceramic bearings on the rest.
Also added 3mm set screws to the Vanquish clamping hubs.
Also added 3mm set screws to the Vanquish clamping hubs.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
Man, this is the only thing I don't like about my Yeti!
I bend or break an axle at least once a week and am sick of it. Most of the time I can bend it back to almost perfect. I haven't ever had a vehicle that bends the axles this often. Not even close! I installed the 1/8" Gear Head plastic hub spacers hoping it would help. I am now going to figure out a way to at least minimize it. I'm going to try and find a rubber washer that is close to 1/8" thick and make spacers out of rubber. I have a box of 100 grade 8 1/2" long 4-40 screws that I ordered yesterday on the way already.
I'm sure the reason I haven't ever had an R/C car that ate axles like the Yeti because none of them were solid axle. I also haven't ever ran aluminum wheels on an R/C car because none of them broke wheels like the Yeti either. I don't know even that there are 6 of them, that the 4-40 screws will handle the torque with a rubber isolator? We will see?
I bend or break an axle at least once a week and am sick of it. Most of the time I can bend it back to almost perfect. I haven't ever had a vehicle that bends the axles this often. Not even close! I installed the 1/8" Gear Head plastic hub spacers hoping it would help. I am now going to figure out a way to at least minimize it. I'm going to try and find a rubber washer that is close to 1/8" thick and make spacers out of rubber. I have a box of 100 grade 8 1/2" long 4-40 screws that I ordered yesterday on the way already.
I'm sure the reason I haven't ever had an R/C car that ate axles like the Yeti because none of them were solid axle. I also haven't ever ran aluminum wheels on an R/C car because none of them broke wheels like the Yeti either. I don't know even that there are 6 of them, that the 4-40 screws will handle the torque with a rubber isolator? We will see?
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
I didn't plan on swapping out the axle truss because I though it would be a waste and just added not needed weight, but after holding one of the Vanquish trusses, I decided to go for it. They are much lighter than I thought they would be. You can also see the grade 12.9 screws I am swapping the truck to bit by bit. They are just about impossible to strip out unless you being a dumb ass gorilla wrenching your parts too tight.
My Hot Racing front swaybar showed up today too. I'm kinda surprised at how well it works and helps high speed handling. The truck doen't flip quite as easy now. Not even close to SCT handling, but at least acceptable now. Wish I would have installed it earlier. Another nice touch is that Hot Racing is now supplying grade 10.9 screws with their products! I love seeing that over SS screws. I have some SS hardware on my truck, but we be swapping that over the next couple days. I have every size I could need coming Friday from boltdepot.com including crazy tough grade 14.9 set screws.
You can see the 12.9 stamped into grade 12.9 screws and the 10.9 ones I have come across have their grade marked also.
My Hot Racing front swaybar showed up today too. I'm kinda surprised at how well it works and helps high speed handling. The truck doen't flip quite as easy now. Not even close to SCT handling, but at least acceptable now. Wish I would have installed it earlier. Another nice touch is that Hot Racing is now supplying grade 10.9 screws with their products! I love seeing that over SS screws. I have some SS hardware on my truck, but we be swapping that over the next couple days. I have every size I could need coming Friday from boltdepot.com including crazy tough grade 14.9 set screws.
You can see the 12.9 stamped into grade 12.9 screws and the 10.9 ones I have come across have their grade marked also.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
I've replaced 2 sets of the HD drive cups on my front diff and need to do it again soon. If I didn't mind having a spool up front, I would have already bought the Blue Monkey MIP driveshaft kit for the front. I'm going to make my own kit that allows me to keep the open diff in the front. I need to order another transfercase output shaft to mod for the other side, but I have the one side complete. It probably needs cut down and will do that after I get the slash 4X4 front axles to test the fit. There is a 2mm cross pin ground down flat on one side to 1.2mm thick that is holds the spider gear on and it is brazed in so that it will never fall out. I'm amazed that I was able to make this with a dremel, but it's pefect with no run out and I made the pin to where it had to be pressed into the hole, so there is flat out no backlash between the 5mm shaft and the spider gear. This is gonna turn out much nicer than I thought I could pull off:mrgreen:
My flats that I ground into the 5mm shaft fit better than the factory drives do into the spider gear. When I chucked it into a drill, you can't see even a hint of runout. Wish I had a freakin' machine shop! I worked in a machine shop for a year and enjoyed the job, but it never would have paid enough.
My flats that I ground into the 5mm shaft fit better than the factory drives do into the spider gear. When I chucked it into a drill, you can't see even a hint of runout. Wish I had a freakin' machine shop! I worked in a machine shop for a year and enjoyed the job, but it never would have paid enough.
Last edited:
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
Found another shaft and mocked it up with spare parts to see how it all will fit. I'll have to grind a bit off the bottom of the shock tower and I already moved my links to the upper holes, so that's all good.
You can see the ground down pins I made before being brazed into place.
This is gonna be a beast ass setup for an open diff!!! Also ordering the wraith male dog bones for the shafts to be long enough. I've wanted to do this for a long time now.
You can see the ground down pins I made before being brazed into place.
This is gonna be a beast ass setup for an open diff!!! Also ordering the wraith male dog bones for the shafts to be long enough. I've wanted to do this for a long time now.
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
My grade 12.9 hardware showed up today and started swapping out the garbage stock and stainless screws.
I like the look of the black screws on the clear aluminum wheels. Stands out a bit, plus they are much stronger and little longer. Yeah, GearHead U4s are looking kinda beat, LOL. Every time I bend an axle I think I bend the wheel too, but these wheels are beast! Haven't bent one yet.
Also modified the Vanquish shock tower so that even with the added shock adjuster the shocks are still in the correct laid back perpendicular to the hinge pin position. I'm going to be making my own CF shock adjuster soon to allow me to run 103mm Icon front shocks that even more upright, yet allowing full suspension travel. Right now I have the most droop I can possibly run, but could stand to have 1/4" more compression. My modified Vanquish adjuster I am running here is still better than stock or the original Vanquish design. I might even try running the 103mm shafts in the 90mm housings allowing me to get the travel I need and keep the rubber shock bumpers on the shaft. Gonna try that first because you can run the shocks without the bump stops without the piston retaining nut getting into the bladder at the top of the cap. The longer shafts should give me most travel you can possibly get out of the suspension hitting the bump stops about 1/4" before chassis slapping, which is exactly what I want. I'm running oversized hard ass foams in my VooDoos and they probably only compress 1/4".
I like the look of the black screws on the clear aluminum wheels. Stands out a bit, plus they are much stronger and little longer. Yeah, GearHead U4s are looking kinda beat, LOL. Every time I bend an axle I think I bend the wheel too, but these wheels are beast! Haven't bent one yet.
Also modified the Vanquish shock tower so that even with the added shock adjuster the shocks are still in the correct laid back perpendicular to the hinge pin position. I'm going to be making my own CF shock adjuster soon to allow me to run 103mm Icon front shocks that even more upright, yet allowing full suspension travel. Right now I have the most droop I can possibly run, but could stand to have 1/4" more compression. My modified Vanquish adjuster I am running here is still better than stock or the original Vanquish design. I might even try running the 103mm shafts in the 90mm housings allowing me to get the travel I need and keep the rubber shock bumpers on the shaft. Gonna try that first because you can run the shocks without the bump stops without the piston retaining nut getting into the bladder at the top of the cap. The longer shafts should give me most travel you can possibly get out of the suspension hitting the bump stops about 1/4" before chassis slapping, which is exactly what I want. I'm running oversized hard ass foams in my VooDoos and they probably only compress 1/4".
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
Modified an STRC cage brace to work with my Ti rear cage braces. Had to drill and tap the lower screw holes another 12mm, cut pockets in for the ball ends and I hit it all with a sanding disc to give it that blanchard ground/swirl brushed/fabricated look. I hate the shiny polished look unless you can still see the mill marks like on the UCFab swaybar arms. I might try bead blasting it to see how that looks. Now those struts will do an even better job of stiffening up the rear cage. The plastic one was starting to get deformed and warped.
Last edited:
Crazykev
Pebble Pounder
Swapped out the STRC steering setup for the Vanquish and glad I did. The Vanquish arms have WAY less slop that the STRC and my steering now has zero play in it. The Savox is Ti geared and rated for 487oz. of torque, so I hope it will be OK without a servo saver. The STRC parts are going in the Yeti I'm building for my daughter. The Savox servo might be too. I've been lookin' at getting the Protek 170T Chad Bradley Team Edition servo 630oz. @ .11 is flat out nuts! Only complaint I have about the Savox 1270 is the amount of play in the gears. It had play even when it was new and has only gotten slightly worse. I probably won't upgrade servos until my daughter beaks the Tactic I'm putting in her ride.
