Losi Micro Crawler Blade TMC build

[Evilinside]

Hey Everyone.

This is an Edit Update, at the end of all this is the original post for archiving purposes I won't delete it.

And video of this crawling with my Micro Eclipse build
(note that in the video the MiClaws are on the Eclipse, and stock tires are on this Blade TMC. Since the video the Blade TMC has been given Swamp Bogger tires)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzwlGpy7uAg

Here is the finished outcome of my Blade TMC:
crawlerX Blade Topless Micro Chassis
HItech HS-65MG servo "thumbsup"
MiClaw Tires "thumbsup"
40 BB's total in front tires
30 BB's total in rear tires
BWD Beadlocks "thumbsup"
BWD Wideners "thumbsup"
HR Aluminum Rear Lockout "thumbsup"
Losi Aluminum Center Skid Plate
Custom bent lower rear Swing arms
TrailTrekker Swing arms, upper rear
TrailTrekker Swing arms, upper and lower front
TrailTrekker drive shaft front and rear
TrailTrekker Extended ball joints for the top stubs of the front shocks
TrailTrekker Extended ball joints for axle mounted tubs of the front and rear lower links
Losi 220mah NiMH battery pack
Stock MrC motor
Stock MrC transmission
Stock MrC esc/rx, decased and shrink wrapped
Stock everything else
Black Matte paint finish

167mm Length
127mm Wheelbase
110mm Width (outside tire to outside tire)
36mm Ground Clearance (center skid plate)

Hey folks.

I've been a shadow on these forums for a few weeks now, just reading and learning. I felt I learned enough to re-build my own micro rock crawler, I had learned a bit but not enough to let me go without needing some questions answered...

Here is my build;
HItech HS-65MG servo "thumbsup"
MiClaw Tires "thumbsup"
BWD Beadlocks "thumbsup"
BWD Wideners on Order but out of stock
HR Aluminum Rear Lockout, not installing till wideners are in
TrailTrekker Swing arms, upper and lower
TrailTrekker Extended ball joints for front shocks
TrailTrekker Battery pack
40 BB's total in front tires
30 BB's total in rear tires
Everything else stock
Paint job is horrific, the paint was terrible, it didn't mix with the plastic primer at all, so I plan on re-doing the paint scheme... the color was supposed to turn out to a sort of gun metal grey, but it ate at the primer and mixed with that making a sort of pewter color (that's with letting the primer dry for 3 days too).

The servo I had as a spare to my Blade 400 Helicopter, and I figured nothing would ever strip it, so that's why I went with it. The BWD stuff is amazing, works so well and such high quality. Love the MiClaw tires, awesome grip. The Trail Trekker links, well the Trail Trekker does something that the stock crawler does not do, it stays in exactly one place when it bounces up and down... Meaning that if you take your MrC and place your finger on the roof and compress the suspension, the tires spread apart and the wheel base changes. If you do the same on the MtT, it simply moves up and down and the wheels don't budge or change length due to the bend in the upper links, the bend also helps on tire clearance when turning, amazing well actually. I went with the BB's for weight only because I didn't know what the front and rear weights really should be and BB's are a very cheap way to figure that out.

I'm trying to find a good external gas can model that I can use to go over the battery in the back. I plan on making that rear battery look like one of those old style red metal gas cans.

My questions are as follows;
I can't figure out what shock springs or new shocks to get rid of the stock springs or complete assembly. I bought the soft Micro T shocks, but I can't see how they'd possibly work... so I have no idea what I'm doing in this area, my research has totally failed me on this matter.

Second, I don't know what a good bend for the lower suspension should be, or perhaps a better way to ask the question is what all am I keeping in mind for the bend to be effective. Do I worry about degree, do I worry about length or one side being longer than the other, and do both front and rear need it or just the rear?

Third, I can't figure out proper wheel weight. I have 20 BB's per front tire for a total of 40 BB's in the front, and 15 BB's per rear tire for a total of 30 BB's in back.

Forth, I need a better low torque system. The stock motor, trans, and TX just don't cut it. Suggestions?

Fifth, is LiPo even worth looking at? Will the higher voltage even give me more usable low end torque, or just un-needed high end speed?


Thanks folks, and I really like this site, lots and lots of information from good people!

 

[ChiefWigman]

1. Micro T shocks (i think) will fit on stock, but does not perform well due to them limiting articulation too much. Im not sure how they perform on a chassis such as this one

2. You would want the bend to be at least above the top of the axle, that way the tires meet the surface before the links.

3. ATm im running empty for the rear except for the battery. You want to aim for 60% weigh to the front, 40% weigh to the rear. somewhere in that range.

4. You can't get wrong with Getbent's 90t Predator motor, it'll definitely help you with those miclow's and bigger spur 54-56t and 10-12t pinions.

5. you'll get better runtimes and power with lipo's with this setup, but which lipo is the best, ill let someone else answer that since i dont really own a Lipo myself >.<


if i may suggest, move the battery to the front, above the steering servo, so that way the weigh is distributed more to the front, and the way you set that battery up kinda increases the Center o Gravity imo. Overall, its lookin' like a beast, it'll look even better when you get those wideners! "thumbsup"

 

[spoo76]

due to limited space in the TMC and ridgeback I would keep the stock electronics.

if you want more power especially low end try a 2S Lipo with a getbent 90t motor. the motors are cheap hand wound dual ball bearing and bolt right up.
because of the size i would try and find a 250mah - 280mah lipo but 300mah seems more available lately.
to fine tune that setup and get even more low end & slow speed control you want a smaller pinion and bigger spur.
the crawler already comes with the smallest pinion available 10t
and i believe the stock Spur is 54t. You can pick up an aluminum 56T spur on ebay.

that should be plenty, but if you want to go even slower you can fit a bigger 59T aluminum alloy spur from a losi Micro SCT/Rally.
the center hole is bigger but if you swap the bottom slipper hub with a spare top slipper it will center fine.
you will also need 3 or 4 small washers to space out the spur to fit in the notch of the transmission shaft.

 

[Evilinside]

Cool, thank you both!

 

[spoo76]

BTW the crawler looks mean! I have the same chassis on miniQLos.
here are some pictures of the SCT/Rally 59T alloy spur
Came out a little blurry but you can see how to space it and how much clearance there is between the spur and trans shaft. I doubt you can go any bigger without cutting the shaft down

 

[Evilinside]

What do I do about the shocks? What shocks should I get, or springs...

 

[i luv duct tape]

get these shocks http://www.hot-racing.com/index.cgi?partnumber=MCC543T06;c=486

 

[Evilinside]

get these shocks http://www.hot-racing.com/index.cgi?partnumber=MCC543T06;c=486

I read this review on those shocks, and the review states that all they do is look good, performance wise they suck worse than stock:

Hot Racing Air Shocks for Losi Micro Rock Crawler


So with the release of the Internal Spring HR Air Shocks....it's time for the DOG to do his thing and thrash test the hell out of them....and give you guys the inside scoop.

Everyone has wanted a better shock since the Micro Crawler was released. Lets face it the stockers are very flimsy and have extremely weak threads at the bottom end....many have broken them....so are the HRs any better?
Will they hold up? And are they worth the hefty price tag of $28?

I ordered them up....shipping was fast enough and they came with an extra set of stiff springs (silver) and soft springs installed (black).
They mount on a floating ball set-up and came with all the screws, balls, and o-rings to install (but no 1.5mm hex wrench included)

The shafts are 2mm....quite a bit thicker than the stock shafts, so I don't see shaft breakage being an issue with these. Alloy tops and bottoms are also a nice touch (even though they are only available in blue/silver right now, would like to have had black or gun metal)

The alloy bodies have a pressed nylon bushing in the bottom, makes them feel very smooth, almost like an oil shock....the action is quite nice......until you install them. Even with the soft springs they are waaaaay to stiff to be useful!!! They absolutely will not droop or compress under the slight weight of the Micro Crawler.......totally disappointed.

However all is not lost.....after two hours of messing with them I did get them to work, but unless you are willing to spend the time and effort to get them to work then stop right now and run the other way.

So what I had to do was disassemble all four shocks, remove the shafts.
Then heated a 2mm steel rod till hot and inserted it into the nylon bushing, this relieved the pressure on the shock shaft. (when they pressed the shock bottoms to hold the bushing in it compressed the bushing too, making it grip the shaft a bit too much)
Now with the pressure on the shaft relieved I added a drop of oil and worked them in and out till smooth. At this point you can reassemble them....or if you like a bit of droop like I do then read on.

The supplied springs make these shocks the same length as the stock shocks.....I like droop in mine, not full, but about 2/3 droop. I took the soft black springs and cut them in half and installed 1/2 in each shock, this gave each shock about 1/4 inch of spring play under weight.....just where I wanted them.

At this point I put them back on the truck, charged a battery and went for a crawl.....


These do work, and they look great.
Do they work any better than the stock shocks?.....not that I could see, they both have the same length, and I think the stockers react faster than the HRs
Do they look better than the stockers?....Hell Ya!
Are they as weak as the stockers?....No, with a 2mm shaft it is a big improvement
Are they worth the $28 price tag?...In my opinion, no, they took a lot of work to get them right, they are alloy but I don't need bling I need a shock that works!


Some guys are going to like the internal springs, and they might look great on a scaler.....but don't blow your money expecting these to bolt right on and work...




DOG's rating....

One thumb up (2mm shaft, good looks)

One thumb down (high price, springs to stiff, sticky bushings, a lot of work to make them work)

 

[i luv duct tape]

oh. i didnt see that. thanks for showing me before i got some

 

[spoo76]

The current ones are better than the early ones I had from what ive read. the seals were a bit stiff and required some work to break them in by hand. its not that they are bad. they are just expensive for what they are. get them if you want the looks or stronger shocks. but not performance. most run stock shocks with some variation on droop,rubber bands,hair ties, cut and stretched stock or micro T springs. Im not the expert on that one so I would just search this area for "springs" "shocks" ect and see what you find

 

[Evilinside]

I just thought of something...

Do I have the tread pattern in reverse?

 

[jimecm]

Question, will those BWD wideners work on the trail trekker?

 

[Evilinside]

Question, will those BWD wideners work on the trail trekker?

I will let you know what they come in, some how I was able to place the order but manged to get stuck on back order.

My first gut answer is no when comparing the MrC and MtT together, because they do not share the same end piece design.

 

[Evilinside]

I re-painted the panels to a flat black... couldn't stand that gold glitter color that silver plastic paint turned into.

I took a few new pics. Still waiting on the wideners, and yes the servo arm is missing in the pics, I decided to paint it and it was drying at the time I took the pics.

 

[BLADE]

Looks awesome great job

Blade

 

[spoo76]

Its batmans rock tumbler!
as far as the wheel wideners on the Mc4x4 Ive read they dont fit. but i think could be modified. the Mc4x4 is wider than the McRC already anyway

 

[Evilinside]

Its batmans rock tumbler!

:lmao:

Actually, I now want to find the old school batman logo and put it on the battery pack!

 

[BerticusPryme]

I dig the flat black more than I did the silver. and from what i hear from everyone the bwd wideners wont work on the trekker. but you can try a cheaper alternitive to check if they work and that is the wideners from crawlerx. I mean burning 10 bucks and them not work is alot better than burning 30 and it not work.

 

[Evilinside]

I dig the flat black more than I did the silver. and from what i hear from everyone the bwd wideners wont work on the trekker. but you can try a cheaper alternitive to check if they work and that is the wideners from crawlerx. I mean burning 10 bucks and them not work is alot better than burning 30 and it not work.

I have the Trekker, but I only put the torsion chassis on it. The above comp build is the MrC, so the wideners won't be an issue. I merely used the upper and lower links of the Trekker, and one pair of extended ball joints off the trekker on the above build, because those parts were left over when I put the DP Torsion Chassis on the Trekker.

I finished with the side panels, painting them flat black. I'm trying to decide if it looks better without them though...

 

[bouncingbabyboy]

What is the wheel base on that?