On-road BL project

[BrianG]

Well, picked up a Jato today (only the 2.5) and started stripping it. Did the single speed conversion (which does lock the tranny so I'll be able to use ESC braking and reverse) and RPM arms. Wow, with all the Nitro parts out, it only weighs 2 pounds at most! I'm planning to use either 2s or 3s E-Molis which I recently purchased. Even with those batteries, ESC, and BL motor, the whole thing will only weigh 5 pounds. Now, I gotta figure out what I'm going to use for a motor/ESC. At first I was going to use a Lehner basic 3100 with a Quark 80 ESC, but those Monster Max combos are looking pretty tempting for the price! I would think the 4600 should be fine right, especially if I go with 3s? If I go with 2s, I'd say the 5700 would be more appropriate. However, I'd like to keep the current down so I don't mind sticking with higher voltage (3s).

[MetalMan]

The 4600 will work for 3s, it's within the RPM limit of the motor (although you can't say the same about the efficiency). The 4600 will also work well on 2s, as that's what Batfish used in his Jato with the Lehner 4200XL.

[BrianG]

Hmm. I thought those motors were efficient at higher than 40k rpm for some reason. I'd like to have decent runtime and high speeds, so I'm going to need something that has enough torque to be geared up without heating up. I'd rather go with 2s since I have 4 e-molis, but am afraid that current will be too high and I won't get the runtime I want (~30 minutes), so that's why I was thinking of using 3s. Although 2s will be lighter and the truck weighs hardly anything at all...

[MetalMan]

You could just get the Mamba Max controller (~$130) and a Feigao motor, that setup would only run you $200.

[BrianG]

OK, I've done a little work and decided to totally re-do the interior with something better. I made all the parts from 1/16" 6061 Al. Obviously, it's not totally done yet. I have yet to procure a bolt and standoff to help support the servo mount (where the little tab is), as well as the proper mounting bolts. All chassis bolts will be countersunk from underneath to keep the same look (nothing is mounted to the dirt guards). I also have to wire up the battery (2s2p emolis) with taps (coming next week), main connector, and heatshrink. The Rx will be padded and held down with a zip tie. I did use the antenna mounting scheme from the stock plastic carriage though since it works well (on the corner of the servo mount). The raw Aluminum (4mm thick 6061) angle bar for the motor mount will be here next week, and of course I need to get an ESC and motor. The padding you see here is just temporary for display purposes.

I tried to even out the side-to-side weight as much as possible while keeping the weight front-to-back at about 40%/60%, respectively. I am going to paint all Al I made black, but want to make sure there isn't something else I was forgetting, or better ideas from you guys.

One thing I wanted to ask though; How are those Traxxas steel CVD upgrades? The stock sliders seem a little weak for BL power.

[MetalMan]

The sliders should be fine for BL power, especially with only 7.4v. I think they're the same sliders used on the Revo, so they should hold up.

Have you decided on a BL controller?

[squeeforever]

Actually the sliders are smaller than the Revo ones. There the same style, but slightly smaller (about the size of a Maxx slider). Brian, the Traxxas cvd's and the MIP upgraded ball diff would be a nice upgrade as well as GTR hard anodized shock bodies and TiNi coated shock shafts with the little Traxxas shaft protectors, aluminum caster blocks, ect :p.

[BrianG]

The sliders are similar design, but much smaller. Although I suppose if the 3.3 works with them, BL should be fine.

As to the ESC; I was thinking the Mamba. It is small enough and provides all the features I'm looking for at a decent price. I'm just gonna wait until Mike has them in the store. If not the Mamba, then maybe a Quark 80B, but pricey when compared to the Mamba.

I still don't know about the motor though. These are the ones I'm looking at getting in order of highest liklihood of purchasing:

- Castle Creations 4600 or 5700. The price can't be beat!
- LMT 1920/6. Stupid price tag making me shy away despite the promises of utopic performance.
- Lehner Basic 5300. Eh, I don't like purple, but would deal to get better performance than a Wanderer.
- BK Wanderer 6S. Heat issues making me think twice.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by squeeforever

Actually the sliders are smaller than the Revo ones. There the same style, but slightly smaller (about the size of a Maxx slider). Brian, the Traxxas cvd's and the MIP upgraded ball diff would be a nice upgrade as well as GTR hard anodized shock bodies and TiNi coated shock shafts with the little Traxxas shaft protectors, aluminum caster blocks, ect :p.

Do you have a link for the upgraded diff? As far as shock bodies, I have a TiN set from my dismantled Revo (v1) that I could use, although I probably should change the oil. We'll see. I want to keep the weight to under 4 pounds. I do know I want to get the RPM bumper - I am a terrible driver. :frown:

Oh, and I want to get the tie bar that reduces the rear toe-in. 4 degrees is too much for me. I want 1 or 2 degrees, but am limited to as little as only 3 degrees.

[Ozark-al]

Sounds cool Brian, I would like to see it run when it gets finished.

[Mike.L]

so far its a great start brian, how many volts are you running on your motor?
is that 4 cell pack just for show? or you packing in 6 cell?

[BrianG]

Thanks. It's a 2s2p eMoli pack, so 7.4v. I was going to use 3s1p, but the current rating of those cells wasn't high enough (3Ah @ 10-15c). I only have 4 cells, so it was much easier going down to 2s and paralleling for higher current (60-90A) and double the runtime. Of course that means I'll need a motor with a kv rating between 4500 and 5500.

[Mike.L]

ok i see now, i was looking at the cells and was saying " thats not sub c" lol

[MetalMan]

I think you should go with the Mamba Max 4600 system. You could run 12 cells or 4s Lipo down the road if you were so inclined :004:.

[squeeforever]

I think the 1920 Lehner would be my choice with the Mamba Maxx controller.