the avid bearings are only $1 each

but having some already is even cheaper :D

Yes, you will, and no, it isn't. :)

EDIT:
It turns out the rear diff wasn't spinning smoothly because one of the bearings on the diff pinion gear is pretty much toast. One of the bearings on the center diff is also not smooth. Fortunately I had two good ones laying around, so those will be put to good use.

I'm now going to start designing the motor/center diff mount for this thing. If requested, I can post a pic of the 2-dimensional drawing that I will use as a template to cut this piece.

GD, are the Avid bearings ceramic?

So, any pics of the final product yet? OK, ok, I suppose I should give you a little more time. :)

Check the post above, it contains an edit with the answer :).

Avid has ceramic bearings, however they're $5 each versus the standard bearings which are $1 each.

5 bucks a peice isn't bad for ceramic. The Boca's are like 300 bucks a set for ceramic, and acer are 90 bucks a set, but like 8 bucks each.

I get all of my bearings from avid. I used to get them 50 at a time when I was running nitro. Although they do have ceramics, I never tried them. I like to stick with conventional bearings in places where dirt might get in. That way, I'm only toasting a cheap $1 bearing. Their plain jane bearings are good though. I've had their wheel bearings in my buggy for over a year now and they still spin like they should. If you go to their website, be sure to check out the revolutions, or is it evolutions? They have a metal seal on one side and a rubber seal on the other. They supposedly have less friction or spin more freely and the metal seal makes maintenance a bit easier. They also come packed with grease.

What's up with no pictures? :026: I guess it's time for some...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5347.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5349.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5355.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5351.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5354.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5360.jpg

That's right, custom motor mount and motor clamp. The motor clamp actually uses 2 of the 4 motor mounting screw holes, and is secured to the motor by countersunk screws. The rods are 1/4" aluminum. The rear plate has a slight bit milled out from the middle since the motor shaft was protruding past the rear endbell a bit. It's very secure!

That's a Savage aluminum diff cup, which fits very nicely with the Kyosho plastic spurs. It's a very tight fit, but that makes for a nice seal.

I had to mill a bit out of the motor mount so that the hex driver could access the set screw on the pinion, since the pinion has to be so close to the motor.

I think I'll wait to see what Mike ends up selling in terms of a battery holder. Or, I might just buy a Kyosho battery holder from him. As you can see, the battery will end up on the left side. It looks like I will have to raise the battery a little like BrianG did.
I'm also waiting for Maxamps to get some 5000mah cells back in stock. Or, if there is a good enough deal on a good 4s pack at RCX this Sunday I'll get that instead.

Looks good. What did you cut out your motor mount with?

A scroll saw cut it out, a drill press drilled the holes, and an endmill bit cut the recess next to the pinion gear.

Thanks!

Excellent job with those tools. It certainly looks like it won't going anywhere...very beefy.

Nice job - will probably look better once I see it in person. :)

I can't wait to see it run.

Looks really nice. Do you know if there will be a Max Amps stand there? I will most likely be there on Sunday hopefully.... but need to check to be sure I am not busy.

Sweet job MM!

Although, looks like someone mounted the tires wrong on one side. ;)

Yea, we were actually talking about that when I dropped by the LHS where he works to check it out. The original owner glued those...lol

Can't wait to see it run.

I asked Maxamps if there would be a booth at RCX, but unfortunately there won't be.

BP is right, the previous owner is dumb. All of the tires were glued to go in the same direction.

I gathered that much from him shipping the buggy to the other end of the country before getting it to you. :027:

Yeah. And he said to make up for his errors, he would send me spare parts. Well, he never did that. When I asked, he said if I send him $20, he'll send me a set of tires (used, I'm assuming) along with the parts he should have sent before. I got the parts finally, but there were no tires with him. So I never told him that the parts came (didn't want to deal with him), and a few days ago he asked if everything was alright. I told him that everything in my hands was fine, but that he never sent the tires he previously said he would send. Now he's saying the tires won't go out until Monday at the earlest. We'll see.

lol...this guy is full of it.

I like your new buggy. It looks like you did a real nice job on your MM.

Thank you :). Of course, it will only get better once I can actually drive it.

Some may have noticed my lack of being present over the last couple of days. Let's just say it was for a good cause :).

I probably spent a couple hours just deciding how the single battery pack (Maxamps 4s 5000mah) was going to fit the chassis. What I came up with is actually quite similar to BrianG's method, and follows what seems to be a current trend - a battery box. I cut a piece of 1/8" thick polycarbonate/Lexan that has a perimeter of about 1" around the battery. Then I cut a piece of 1/8" aluminum to be the same size as the battery. With the aluminum plate centered and taped onto the polycarbonate piece, I used a Mapp gas torch to bend the edges. The edges were bent around the aluminum plate, so I could get the best-shaped battery box possible. Some of the edges were a little rough, so the bench grinder did some work smoothing them out.
The box did not turn out as "pretty" as I would have liked, but it is VERY strong and completely functional (I prefer function over form anyways). The box is mounted to a piece of 1/4" thick polycarbonate/Lexan material (I call it the battery box mounting block). The mounting of the battery boxis where I deviated from BrianG's method for mounting the batteries. BrianG tapped his plastic mounting block so the screws threaded into the plastic. Instead, I drilled holes straight through the mounting block, and then milled out the holes in the block so that locknuts can secure the screws (but the locknuts do not protrude past the thickness of the block). This was done to secure both the box to the block and the block to the chassis.

Two Velcro straps will go perpendicular to the length of the battery, and a piece of foam is in front of the battery to add protection.

Unfortunately I don't have pics yet, but I will get some tomorrow.

I can't believe it took me 6 days to get pictures... But anyways, they are here.

I finished the battery box, which is a sort of hybrid style. The front velcro strap (industrial strength, of course) keeps the battery from going forward. I put that strap there because the front plastic piece that was originally there (part of the battery box) broke when I crashed into a bush at ~20mph. This strap is flexible, yet will not come undone (I strength tested it). Also, the strap will allow for packs of different lengths :). Then there's the velcro over the top of the battery, which also should not come undone.

Now for pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5541.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5548.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5551.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5554.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5557.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_5562.jpg

BP-Revo, if you read this, you are welcome to see it in person today (it's coming to Hobby People with me, and I'm there all day).

Alright. I'll probably drop by. I'll bring the CRT.5 with me so you an see it too...but it isn't much (doesn't even have tires lol). I'll be dropping by Walmart today to pick up some rit dye for the rims and wing, so I can at least mount some tires and stuff. I'm waiting for Mike to get back to me about the 1530's. If he can't get them, I'll probably look into a Neu, since I know Mike can get those...and because they don't take FOREVER!!! I just hope Castle has that firmware update soon...

Looks great MM. Can't wait to finally see a video of it at the track. Should rip:027: ... and with out the battery falling out. :005:

Nice MM! How's the balance? Have you clocked it yet?

That battery ain't going anywhere :027:

One of the guys at the store I work out felt the balance and thought it was pretty good (he's a sponsored racer). I haven't measured it yet, but it feels pretty close.
BP-Revo suggested today that I strap my GPS onto it. From straight-line speed runs it is very fast. Using the calculator (18/46, 8XL, 40amps, 3.5v/cell, 0.25" ballooning) it comes up as almost 48mph. Using BK's loaded kv, it would be about 45mph. My guess is about 45mph. But we'll see :).