Project fast 1/8 buggy on a budget

Hello gentleman my name is Paul. Found this forum the other night again and after investing some time in some reading I am more than impressed with the high quality projects that are highlighted on this forum. This site is a wealth of information and I yearn to be a BL master same as many of you are already.

My story is...I got back into the hobby after a long hiatus after catching the BL craze. I was very impressed with the speed and run times but I want more.
My first investment was a FT T4 with 11.1 maxamps and MM5700. This was last christmas and by this time I am bored with the T4 and tired of breaking cvds and other parts.

Now I have contemplated a 1/8 buggy for over 6 months but it just has not been in the cards monetarily. Now with Christmas coming my wife offered to by me 1 rc car....she did not say which one. lol. The only hitch is it has to be new, she wont wrap one of my used ebay purchases (shrug, I am addicted to the bay). So the shopping starts.

Now I have a watch on a 8ight roller for $279 (i thought was cheap,must have come down a bit)and free ship and this video actually started my inspiration again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKctWzmIgVc

I think this is what I am getting but I also found a new built un-ran xb8 for $250 and from reading on the site I am guessing that most of you guys would opt for this rig. I am only hesitant b/c I see that 8ight parts are way more accessible especially on ebay for cheap. Im not rich so I skimp where I can.

Now I need help badly. I still have the MM, a maxamps 6000mah lipo 2s and
3s and hyperion charger i think eos6060i or something, and speky dx2.0. Is there any way of accomplishing speeds of around 70mph with a MM or am I going to have to step it up? I know that these buggies are not meant for that speed but that what I want just as a option. I may run slower batteries as well. But I am no racer just a weekend basher at local parks and neighborhood steets.

So i need a conversion for the 8ight, battery suggestion (think best value and I would like to keep it 1 battery instead of two), esc maybe, servo I guess, and whatever other suggestions you gentleman might have. I am sure I need more stuff so let me know. I think my mom is getting a gift card to tower for Christmas too so it is on now. I know I said budget but I will do what it takes to get this right the 1st time. I will just order in order of improtance to get running asap. I am thinking the large lipo will be the final purchase, and I have no idea what to get.

My thinking is that if I have to I will run the slower 11.1 lipo until I get all I need. I just dont want to keep upgrading I just want to get a fast 1/8 and not have to do much upgrading or replacing broken stuff. If I need a esc I might get that soon too. If its going to be a fortune to do this then I am out but I think I might be able to make this work.

You guys have a excellent community here and I plan to be spending alot of time here in the future.

Paul

sorry so long winded...im excited.

Oh yea I saw this as well but it seems overpriced....but this is the BL system in the video. I dunno I could order this and sell off the MM stuff but its really not going for much anymore. I just figured I could build better for less but I may be wrong. But i love the factory E stuff and how clean it looks. LMK guys.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOSI-1-8-EIGHT-E...A1%7C294%3A200

[suicideneil]

Well, nothing wrong with the losi 8ight, but i would say avoid the losi factory esc and motor setup for the time being.

You MM setup is not suitable for use in a 1/8 vehicle- you would need a much larger motor and higher voltage for any kind of success, topspeed would be about 40mph or so at best if you follow the old 'MM+BEC+fan+4s lipo' route.

I would suggest a thorough read of the buggy and truggy sections to see what others are running, what works well and what doesnt, but an Eight roller is a good place to start, especially if you sell off the remaining nitro gear to recoup some cost.

That said, your wife may have to like it or lump it, as ebay is your best bet for a cheap vehicle (she can always wrap the box it comes delivered in)....

TY Neil
I do admit I need more time or research and I am working on it as we speak.
I am also not as keen on losi BL system, so I guess I am in the market for a new ESC...sux. Im thinking of going with the MGM or Quark Monster. I would however love to stay with castle as they have great support and I have enjoyed there product but I am leary of the MMM sensitivity bugs and BEC problems especially for my apllication because a crash is ineveitable.

Maybe I should buy a new esc, and one more Maxamps 6000 mah 3s so I can run them together for 6s. Would the batteries have have the same life as far as buying at the same time. I have had the one for about a year with no probs and prob about 25 charges.

Yea I will prob get that 8ight roller off ebay for like 279 just to keep the wifey happy. Plus crispy new makes me smile.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=330293141708
Well off for more research, please keep the comments rolling and I will keep posting my progress when I get rolling.....in the buggy section of course.

[speedracer1129]

Dreamer,

You can run 70 with a MM. Here is a video of a I-GT running on 4S I had built and sold a few months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRkRL97is2E

This was done with a MM, Feigao 7L on FP 4S packs. I would suggest you not run anything smaller than an XL can to help keep the heat down!

Wow that was shocking...70mph in a 1/8 scale on 4s. What am I missing here, it does not seem possible without crazy heat producing gearing. Makes me wonder how long of a stable runtime you could get without too much heat. Very impressive nonetheless,very nice. Any photos under the lid?? Just curious.

I will buy whatever motor and esc I need, I have decided. I will probably clean down the t4 and put in the MM and 2s and drop it on the bay. I was looking at the new medusas a minute ago, they look promising with lots of options. So much info. I am trying to calculate some options as we speak. The only reason I am asking you guys for so much input is b/c I am under time restraints as christmas is creeping quite fast. I know someone has a choice set-up in mind...thats what I am looking for. But I am reading as fast as I can. I knew I should have taken that speed reading course seriously when my mom got it for me like when I was 12.

Seriously tho. I need stabilty, durabilty and speed in the electronics. So please offer your solid set-up for at least 70mph more is always welcome. If I can use one of my current lipos horay but whatever works.

Back to work.

[speedracer1129]

That is the problem!! I ran 70 with that car, but heat is an issue. If you are looking for 70+ AND 10 minute runtimes, you will NOT achieve that with 4S in a buggy! 50s may be possible.

My opinion is that you try to get a MMM to run 6S to build a more solid setup for what you want!

I am with you my friend. I was figuring that was an issue. I have looked at the MMM and I LOVE CC but man will it take the beating. Are the V3 doing any better. I was reading the MMM dying thread and was quite depressed.

Back to work.

[speedracer1129]

Originally Posted by BL Dreamer

I am with you my friend. I was figuring that was an issue. I have looked at the MMM and I LOVE CC but man will it take the beating. Are the V3 doing any better. I was reading the MMM dying thread and was quite depressed.

Back to work.

I personally have a V1 that runs perfectly and a V3 I am trying to sell that I have no use for so I do not know the story on the V3.

What do you want for the V3...will CC still warranty it? PM the price if you want to get rid of it. I will call castle and ask about service on used escs.

Lol I need alot of stuff...at least the spektrum will still be okay.

[speedracer1129]

The V3 is brand new, never used.

[suicideneil]

The MMM is fine generally, and even if it isnt, their service is fine (you can always get the original owner to send it in for servicing if needs be )

I would strongly suggest the MMM as the electrical setup, a nice RCM motor mount and battery tray, and then just add you own radio gear and some nice Zippy or RCM lipos in your desired flavour or voltage (blue zippy-H 20-30c 5000mah lipos are great).

[BL_RV0]

+1 to what neil said.

[hoovhartid]

I used the Losi conversion kit on my 8ight-B. (not the electronics, just the hardware) I couldnt be happier. For about $75 It came with the motor mount, pinion gears, battery tray, etc ...its a great all in one. I got mine from Mike. The only thing I added was a kyosho spur to keep it quiet, but really, its not needed.

For a power system I am Using a Mamba Monster on 4s with a Tekno Neu 1515/1y.

IMO, the Castle 1512/1Y combo cant be beat in terms of power for the price;

Neil is spot on with the battery choice...
Use THESE for normal running, and THESE for ballistic speed runs.

on 4s you can gear to about 45 easy enough;

Differential Ratio: 3.3076923076923075
Transmission Ratio: 1
Other Ratio: 1
Spur Tooth Count: 46
Pinion Tooth Count: 14
Total Voltage: 14.8
Motor KV: 2650
Tire Diameter (inches): 4.5
Tire Ballooning (inches): 0.1
Motor Current Draw: 110
Motor coil Ω: 0.0035
Spur/Pinion Ratio: 3.29 : 1
Total Ratio: 10.86813 : 1
Tire Circumference (inches): 14.77 inches (375.04 mm)
Total Motor Speed: 38199.75 RPM
Vehicle Speed: 49.15 mph (78.95 km/h)
Estimated Adjusted Speed: 46 mph (74 km/h) - 7% loss
Effective KV Value: 2581.06
KT constant: 0.51 oz-in/A
Motor Torque: 0.29 ft-lbs
Final Torque: 3.18 ft-lbs
Final Power: 1628 watts (2.2 HP)

and 6s for the speed;

Differential Ratio: 3.3076923076923075
Transmission Ratio: 1
Other Ratio: 1
Spur Tooth Count: 46
Pinion Tooth Count: 14
Total Voltage: 22.2
Motor KV: 2650
Tire Diameter (inches): 4.5
Tire Ballooning (inches): 0.1
Motor Current Draw: 110
Motor coil Ω: 0.0035
Spur/Pinion Ratio: 3.29 : 1
Total Ratio: 10.86813 : 1
Tire Circumference (inches): 14.77 inches (375.04 mm)
Total Motor Speed: 57809.75 RPM
Vehicle Speed: 74.38 mph (119.47 km/h)
Estimated Adjusted Speed: 67 mph (107 km/h) - 10% loss
Effective KV Value: 2604.04
KT constant: 0.51 oz-in/A
Motor Torque: 0.29 ft-lbs
Final Torque: 3.18 ft-lbs
Final Power: 2442 watts (3.3 HP)

[suicideneil]

+1 to what Hoov said. 6s lipo & 60,000rpms should be 'fun', but definately only for speed runs- 4s lipo is ideal for everyday use for speeds upto about 40mph.