i would stick with aluminum but you might also want to consider really think carbon fiber.

-corey

Hi Brian. Looks functional! Good work.
I like it aluminium, would also keep it this way. Maybe add some foam to protect your paint-job.
Just bend it back when it gets bent. A wing also helps to protect the inards of your truck.

ithe rollbar looks kinda ugly, but my e-revo aint a beuty queen either. It'll definatly protect it. U wont be able to use any of them roudn proline bodies.

Thanks for the comments!

I made the rollbar out of aluminum simply because it is easy to work with (actually, bending it was not easy), but I'm afraid if the truck lands on the lid, the top of the bar will bend and crunch into the motor. That's why I was looking for something a little sturdier.

I've never worked with carbon fiber. Although I do know it is strong, I've heard it snaps fairly easily. Besides, I have no clue where to get raw pieces or how to work with it. Any links to give me a clue?

Yeah, you're right; it is ugly. At least it's symmetrical though (at least as good as I could get it). It does fit under a stock Revo body with room to spare, so it should fit under pretty much any body as long as the body posts are set right.

Brian that looks like a very good rollbar. I had a similar idea when i made my EVO in DAFNI style. That AL is more than strong enough. If you polish the Aluminum, it will look very good. The CF would'nt be a good idea in my opinion because you cant bend it so you would have to brackets or something, & it would'nt look clean. I dont think it would look as good as the one you already have.

Well, I worked on the rollbar a bit more and added a bolt with a rubber stop to the top of the rollbar. The rubber stop is very close to the tranny top. If the rollbar is pressed to the point of bending, the rubber stop will come up against the tranny. Since I plan to get a CNC tranny case, this should work quite well.

I also used some steel wool and buffed the rollbar a bit like rchippie suggested and it doesn't look too bad at all. I riveted the rollbar to the back of the battery trays and the whole thing is very solid. Although it's hard to say until I take it for a test run.

Anyone want to donate a radio/receiver, Feigao 8xl, BK Warrior 9920, CNC tranny case, tranny gears, and center shafts? :)

Unfortunately, I can't do much else until tax time when I get some cash. :(

Thanks everyone for their suggestions, ideas, answers, and comments!

Brian i would bolt the rollbar to the battery trays with 3mm flat head screws instead of rivots. It will be alot stronger in a crash. Just rember to counter sink the flat head screws in the trays.

P>S>

I use to live in waterloo iowa in the eairly 90's, i trained greyhounds at the dog track there.

I was thinking of using bolts, but thought the rivets would be more than sufficient, especially since they are 3/16" rivets. The ends of the rollbar actually rest on the battery tray supports, so there isn't much shearing force on them - the rivets are just holding the rollbar from moving side to side.

Re: P.S.

I moved here from Maine about 4 years ago. My job paid for me to move and since my wife has family in Minnesota, I figured it was as good time to move as any.

Some more motor/controller questions:

1:
I was looking at some of the other motors and was wondering if there is anything special to justify the price difference between the Feigao and Lehner motors (at the same approximate specs)? Are they more durable, run cooler given the same current/voltage, etc?

Also, is there a site and/or chart listing the Lehner motor specs for the various models? The 1930 and 1940 just list motor windings, but not the current, kV rating, and/or max cell count. The "basic" ones are a little better, but still don't say much.

2:
Are there better/more durable/cooler running controllers than the BK Warrior 9920? I plan on running 12-14 cells max. I'd like at least 100A or more current capability.

Like I've said in a previous post - I'd like to buy this stuff once and have years of use without overheating something (barring obvious abuse of course). I don't mind paying a higher price tag once rather than paying it twice!

Thanks in advance!

The only real difference between the lehner and feigaos is that the Lehners are made in Germany and have a screwed on endbell (won't fall off) and the feigaos are made in China, they have a pressed on endbell that is prone to popping off, but getting the rc-monster heatsink solves this, as it braces the motor.

The BK 9920 is a great controller, you can't really go wrong with it, if you want a bit more than 99 amps, you can get the 12020 warrior that can handle 120 amps and 20 cells, but there aren't many motors that can even pull too much mroe than 99 amps, so the 9920 is find IMO.

the lehner 19 series motors are high quality motor. It has better bearings, segmented magnets and higher tolerances. The 19 series will run cooler and smoother than a feigao. Just my experence of them.

So, the Lehner "basic" motors are roughly equivalent to the Feigao counterparts of the same windings then. Does Lehner have a site where I can check out the rest of the motor specs?

Thanks for your assistance.

http://www.bk-electronics.com/
yes they do. here is the link. I am not sure on the basic models or the xl.

Thanks cool, that was exactly the information I was looking for. They have downloadable data sheets for each motor that is VERY informative! I think I will probably end up with a Lehner basic 2400 or 2800 motor and the 9920 ESC.

I posted my next question in the Traxxas forums, but haven't had much luck. I was looking to mount the shifting servo where the empty servo slot is. However, I need an angled mount so the servo is vertical, not angled. It has been suggested to use the servo mount from an RC10GT and dremel the angle in, but I don;t particularly like the fit. I was looking for something like what Dafni used on his BL Revo, or this ,but they have been sold out for some time now. I tried using some aluminum bars bent to the right shape, but I am not satisfied with that either (I know...fussy). Any other ideas?

What if you bent the servo mount on the exsisting revo chassis flat and use a t maxx servo holder to push it up? Just a suggestion.

Actually, I thought of that too, but I'd really rather not. I'd have to bend the other side as well for consistency and it just wouldn't look the same.

I still like my servo mount. I thought about drilling a big hole in it, for looks and weight saving. It holds up good. And was easy to make. I used an alu rod and a drillpress.

As for ESC, I still love my 9920, never had problems. I tried it on the Revo with a 9L, 7XL and a Basic XL 2400. So far I like the 7XL the best. But I just bought an 8XL, let's see how it does.

nice! tell me what run tiems u get

Aluminum rod?? I wonder if we are talking about the same thing. I'm talking about these (I borrowed some of your images for reference during my project - hope you don't mind. :)):

http://bgosselin.home.mchsi.com/e-revo/servo_mount.jpg

I got some aluminum bar stock to see if I can come up with a "U" like mount. Failing that, I'll see if I can contact a plastics shop in town. I figure I can cut the pieces I need and then drill the mounting holes a little smaller than a typical 3mm screw so it will self-tap like most of the screw connections Traxxas uses. I'd try to build an aluminum mount like yours myself, but don't have the resouces to tap in the threads and don't wanna buy a tap-n-die set.

Yeah, we're talking about the same thing. Rod, bar, all the same to me....it's the language barrier, sorry. I used a 20x8mm bar, and cut an angle in it per hand.
I used a 3mm thread tapper, but I learned that if you drill a 2.7mm hole, the screw will cut its own thread.

LOL, i prefer the tapping way though.. :p No need to use loctite though.. Don't try this with 7075 aluminium either.. ;)

Yeah, I figured you either bought them or cut them by hand and used a thread tapper.

I ended up making brackets out of 1/8" aluminum, but they are kinda big and not as neat and tidy as yours. I tried making some really small ones so the servo would sit lower and the wires were under the chassis plate like yours, but found that the wires run into the servo guard and would require modification (which I didn't want to do for the sake of ease and speed of replacing some parts in the field).

The 2055 servo shown below is just for example - I plan on getting a fast (0.1 second or less) shifting servo sometime. Maybe a Hitec 5925 or something similar.

http://bgosselin.home.mchsi.com/e-re...ervomounts.jpg

Well, I've done pretty much everything I can until I get the cash for the radio, BL motor, ESC, faster shifting servo, center drive shafts, slipper/spur/pinion, more (and better) batteries, and assorted incidentals. This is what it currently looks like and will likely stay this way until a little after tax return time. Just thought I'd share my progress...

http://bgosselin.home.mchsi.com/e-re..._12-4-2005.jpg

Looks good, I like it.

A faster shifter servo is still on my list.

You should like it, it was based on your design! :)

What shifting servo are you thinking of? I think the Hitec 5925 is perfect speed-wise at .08 seconds, but is uneccessarily torquey at 127 oz-in - not to mention a little pricey for the use. Maybe the 925 may be a better choice at $18 cheaper. Still fast (0.08s) and has all the same features (bb, coreless, etc), but not digitial and has less torque (103 oz-in).

I was thinking that it was too bad that some of these BL motors didn't have a shaft at the other end as well. Would be a neat place to attach small fan blades to keep the motor cool...

:L: Yeah, you're right...but the black chassis makes all the difference.

I haven't really looked into shifter servos yet, but I think the fast Bluebird would be nice. Don't remember the number, but it was around 30 bucks.

Yes, I thought the same about the fan thing. Already thought about drilling a hole into the shaft on the motor backside, and attach some kind of fan...to bad the wires are in the way.

mine is so ugly....

lol, I don't think the black will last very long once it starts getting some use.

I've tried a BlueBird before and had problems with it burning up. Actually a number of people had the same thing happen. However, this was with a high torque steering servo and the issue was eventually found to be caused by the factory radio not having EPA. So, as long as there is some type of EPA on your radio, then a BlueBird should be fine - it's just a matter of making sure that the servo is not working too hard at the ends of it's throw.

Doh! I kinda forgot about the wires! Well, they would have to change the wire exit orientation to be more like Novak's BL motors for that to work I guess.

You don't want to been seen driving that around. You may as well give it to me. :D

lol, not until im done with it. U got a body to match with taht black/silver scheem?

Not really, just the standard Revo body (but is the black version). I thought it would look OK, but forgot about the engine hole! So, my Nitro Revo will inherit that body and I'll have to buy one for the electric one.

I'm pretty bummed out that I can't work on it much anymore for a couple of months for lack of funds. :( I'm sure I'll pick a few of the cheaper items, but it's at a standstill for the most part. I still have to figure out a transmission skid plate - the stock one doesn't quite fit even after modification. So I guess I'll be busy for another couple of days making that.

I originally planned to make this little by little so I would be ready for the expensive stuff at the same time as I had cash, but I guess I got a little over excited. :o I think I like building these more than driving them. :)

I know I asked this question somewhere, but can't remember where or find it:
Dafni, where did you get your center drive shafts? I noticed the stock ones aren't long enough and the tranny sits slightly to the left of the chassis centerline, which reduces the thickness of the shaft I can use for the rear (the bulkhead ends get in the way). Do the shafts telescope to be able to insert them where they need to go and then expand to lengthen over the output shafts - or does the tranny need to be "finagled" in while installing the drive shafts?

Yeah, I like building RCs too. Maybe that's why it's so hard to stop. ;)
Sorry to hear you run out of funds, I hope you can finish it soon. I finished my first Revo just a year ago...was busy on it over last x-mas holidays.

As for shafts, you can use maxx shafts as a temporary solution. I started with maxx sliders and they worked fine, but after a while I switched to (titanium) bones. Mike here can get you custom made dog bones. Steel will do. Just drop him an email.

Have fun
DAF

So, the maxx sliders held up fine under the torque of the BL setup. I suppose those would be easier to install since they can slide in to install and then slide out into the shaft outputs.

How did you install the custom dog bones since they don't telescope? Did you have to remove the front and back ends to fit them, or did you remove the tranny and work them in place while re-installing the tranny?

I measured the lengths I would need and came up with 93mm for the front and 98mm for the rear. These measurements are from the center of the tranny output shaft hole to the center of the rear/front differential shaft output hole. What lengths were yours? I imagine they were about the same +/- a mm or two since I am using the same setup.

Those nubers (hole to hole) sound pretty much like what I had. No big surprise, eh?! If I remember correctly, I just took 10mm off each lenght, and got the bones made to 83 and 88 mm (from pin to pin). They fit nicely, but I use some O-rings in the cups to keep them centered.
I don't really take them out much, but if I do, I take the whole f/r end off. Not a hard thing to do on a Revo anyway. My tranny usually stays in the chassis.

Thanks. So I assume the cups take up 10mm (5mm on each end). If that works, I'll email Mike for the cost of the custom lengths.

Yeah, just tell him you need the same as Daf :D I had Titanium ones, though. Steel would do. I use MIP cups, btw. Along with some O-rings in them, to keep the shafts centered.

That thing look sweet. I skipped around pages, but first off, is it done, and second off, do you have any vids?

Crazyphantom, check my thread for pics of a finished example:
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...p?threadid=218

Sorry, no vids.

No, it's not done yet, and won't be until after Feb/March when I get some extra cash from my tax return. Unfortunately, there won't ever be any vids because I don't have a video camera of any kind.

Now that the chassis is done, I can see some places where I would have done things a bit differently if I were to do it over again. When I bought my chassis from eBay, it came with an extra one, so I might just start on a different battery tray/chassis design. If it turns out better, then I may simply move all the parts to the new chassis. I dunno - we'll see how bored I am in the next couple months. :)

OK, just about ready to pick up all the parts I'll need to finish this project. This following is what I'm planning:

- BK Warrior 12020 ESC
- BK Wanderer 7xl (not in stock :012:)
- XL motor heatsink
- 3A UBEC
- 51T Mod1 Spur
- 15T Mod1 Pinion. What bore will I need since the Wanderer doesn't list the shaft size?
- Strobe Slipper Kit (Will still need some T/EMaxx parts to complete this)
- "Dafni-style" center dogbone center shafts. 83 and 88 mm. Will have to order these special from Mike.
- 5.5mm motor plugs (also out of stock).

Can anyone think of anything else I'm missing? Any special screws or some such? Some basic things I can pick up at my LHS, but I'd like to get as much from Mike as possible on one order.

Hopefully Mike will get the parts that are currently out of stock soon (it's too bad you can't add out-of-stock items to the cart to pre-order). I'm going on a trip during the first week or so in March and was hoping to have this completed to take with me. My brother wants to race and all he has is a Tyco Hummer. Man, is he in for a surprise. :D