MBX-5 Project
 

Here are a few preliminary pics of my ongoing project.

I still need a controller. I'm kind of waiting around for the MMM. I hope it comes out soon.

I'm ready to get this thing rolling. :mdr:

Don't look too close at my messed up paint job. Never paint a body outside if the temperature is at or below freezing. :oops:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...euMotor041.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...euMotor027.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...euMotor039.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...euMotor004.jpg

very nice. Looks like its going to be a real beauty when she's all done.

Looks great! Just pains me to see road rages on a Mugen though, :wink:

Ahhhhh! It's ok, I have a set of bowties too.

Those are just my street tires. :mdr:

Hey! Does anyone else around here have the RC Monster mount on a Mugen?

What size pinions are you running?

My motor is the 1512/1.5/D/F. I bought a 12t pinion and that seems to be as small as I will be able to go because I'm almost hitting the chassis brace now. I'm kind of worried about gear mesh. And being that my motor has such a high kv rating I may not be able to run a much bigger pinion without overheating problems.

Are there bigger spurs available for it? That could help...

lol ok, so long as she sees dirt! :wink:

nice tires

Don't worry, if I can get this thing moving I'm going to beat the *#@!% out of it. :mdr:

Sounds like a great plan! I wish I could join you, I'm all alone over here :cry:

Good looking Mugen ya got there!

That's great!

That's a Prospec or the R type?

I'm about to get my MBX-5R from Mike, soon.

How about I use a 1521 NEU on this buggy?

It's an old Prospec I got from a local guy. It's my first buggy. :mdr:

I don't know how a 1521 would do. That's a big motor. I'll look at the specs. :neutral:

1512 - 2.4" long
1515 - 2.7"
1521 - 3.3"
1527 - 4"
You should be pretty happy with the power of your 1512 in a buggy though. Are you using 4s batteries?

Yes I am going to. I don't have any packs for this thing yet.

The 1.5D is 3200 kv. So I couldn't run bigger packs if I wanted to. But that's mainly why I got it. I wanted the maximum destruction with the smallest pack I could use.

So a 4s pack will be all this baby needs. :mdr:

Hi,

Nice looking vehicle. I noticed that your mount is slightly angled, is that how it was able to fit or just how you decided to mount it up?

What are you thoughts on the build quality of the battery tray? Also, does it come with everything you need to mount the tray as well as instructions?

I am trying to decide to go with this tray or wait for the RCProductDesigns one, but unfortunately, that one is going to be like $140 for the tray only.

Here is my MBX5 conversion:

http://www.tallyfreak.com/images/mbx-5_1.jpg

It came with the ESC mounted on the mud guard. This has worked out well, and allows for a pretty robust fan.

I mounted the tray at an angle because I was trying to get as much weight as close to the center of the chassis as possible. It doesn't come with any mounting hardware or instructions. I got it mounted using my own ingenuity. I hope it stays put once this thing starts taking a beating.

I bought the RC Product Designs kit back on the 5th of December. I have yet to receive my kit. Although I have gotten a couple of emails from Dan apologizing for the delay. :whistle: He says I should have the new tray by mid March. I got tired of waiting on him and bought the RC monster mount and tray. Which I will run happily. Even after I finally get Dans kit I may only use his battery tray. We'll see.

Thanks Monster Mike for the quick service. :mdr:

Car looks slick, I too am looking for a battery box.

Maybe I missed it, were did you find it here on RC-Monster?

Thanks!

Here you go dezfan:
http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...MFPbatterytray

Sweet, thanks!:yipi:

Looking good man. I love the black wheels and wing... and the cocked battery tray just gives it some style. I got something for you, just need to box it up :na:

Thanks for the info on the tray. Makes sense then on the screws. If you take the tray off at all, I would like to see how it bolts together with the plastic bottom and all.

As for when the MBX5 ultimate tray will be ready, If Dan can make mid march that would be awesome, however, based on what is on his plate and his statements, I am thinking probably end of March at the earliest, maybe Early April.

When do you think you will get a chance to run your buggy at all?

Well get your boxer warmed up because the checks in the mail. :mdr:

You have to be careful I guess when mounting the tray. What I did was to use the existing motor mount holes in the chassis. I cut the spacer to fit where I wanted it. Then used some short bolts and nuts with lock washers on the 2 holes that were not under the tray itself. And I used short (1/2 inch) coarse thread wood screws for the 2 holes that were under the tray as to not go all the way through the spacer into the tray. Then I used the same short wood screws to hold the tray to the spacer. I just used a counter sink and drilled them out first. I hope it holds. It seems to be ok.

As far as my RCPD order, we'll see when it shows up I guess. I'm trying to not make such a big deal out of it. I don't want to embarrass him or cause him bad publicity or anything. I just want to get this thing moving. I know some people would be trashing him out by now. He told me if I was tired of waiting he would refund my money but I told him that it was ok. I would wait.

I just sent GlassDoctor a check for an esc. So all I need now is a battery and a new charger. I have a superbrain 977 but I want to get the Hyperion with balance taps built in. It would probably be better in the long run.

I hope to be rolling in the next few weeks.

Cool. I look forward to seeing it go. Will you make any video?

Oh yeah! :mdr:

Almost There!
 

Here are the latest updated pics. I believe she's all wired up and ready to go. All I need now is a battery and a charger. :mdr:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...WiredUp035.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...WiredUp030.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...WiredUp043.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...WiredUp070.jpg

looks good,

Buggy looks great. Looking forward to hearing how it runs. I'm supposed to be getting a Losi 8ight roller next week from a buddy. I'll be starting my conversion as soon as I get it.

What mods did Glassdoctor do to your Mamba? Is is the twin fan & holes in the case, or is there something more?

Later,

Nothing. It was (cough) like new (cough) when I got it. :mdr:

I drilled the holes in the case and mounted the fan on top and wired in my CCBEC.

LOL... yep, the switch had been "86'd"

I should get a pic of the way I wired a UBEC in one of mine. It really cleans up the wiring and eliminates the "dual" wires going to the rx. (just one set of wires for both esc and ubec...

Hey, I might have a solution, sorta... for the plastic gear/mugen diff. I don't have a mugen diff to try it though. I have an outdrive and matching spider/cone gear that works with the Kyosho gear.... and I think it would work with a Mugen diff.

If it doesn't work right with the Mugen parts, I'll check into two other options. One is a complete diff assembled with the Kyosho gear, bearings... a ready-to-go drop in replacement for a good price. The other is a modified Kyosho gear made to fit a Mugen diff.

That's cool. Let me know what you find.

I thought about just getting the Kyosho spur and seeing what I could do with it. :mdr:

So, any news?

I want to find out if "my" parts work with the mugen diffs. I know it will fit, but the spider gears may not mesh correctly, and the diff won't feel smooth. None of my racing buddies has a Mugen to actually try it.

How many teeth is the Mugen bevel cone gear? (the one on the outdrive/spur shaft)

If it's 20 teeth, I think it will work... so I'll just send you guys an outdrive and matching cone gear to try.

Man, I had the "maiden" voyage today! :mdr:

I don't have my battery pack yet, but I just had to throw one of my 6 cell sxs E-Maxx packs in there to see if it would run.

HOLY JESUS!!!! This thing is as fast as my Brushless E-Maxx on 8.5 to 8 volts!

I can't wait to get my battery pack. It's on the way somewhere in the mail. I made the mistake of ordering it on Wednesday afternoon before a Friday holiday. :neutral:

I didn't really notice a whole lot of metal on metal spur noise. I guess once I get my real battery I'll know for sure. If it's no louder than what I heard today I can live with it. I'm sure a plastic or Delrin spur would be much quieter but it's not that bad. I expected much worse from all the talk about it.

My God!!! :surprised:

That's about all I can say! :yes:

Coming from an E-Maxx with a Novak 6.5 running IB 4200's, I don't think I had any idea what I was getting myself into. This thing is STUPID fast!!!!! :party:

I know Supra will be happy. I guess the Road Rages weren't meant to be on this vehicle. :na:

A couple of runs across the front of the house for a test and I threw a shoe. :mdr:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...poPower005.jpg

We know the feeling, LOL!!! These things make you grin every time, esp if you haven't run it for while... never gets old.

I'm going to take a new picture tonight when I get home from work. Wait till you see my on/off switch I put on your esc. It looks different from this picture I just posted. :mdr:

Check out the on/off switch. :mdr:
She should be ready to rip now. Maybe these tires will stay on the rims. :mdr:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...edMugen063.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...edMugen049.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...edMugen047.jpg

HOLY JESUS! I had my first real maiden run today. I got my charger in the mail today and got my pack fully charged and balanced. I fired this baby up and put her down in the road and let her rip a few times back and forth. The speed is INSANE!!!

Look at what it did to my tires. The insert came out of this little hole. The beads did not break but the tread is toast. :mdr:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...edTires006.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...edTires004.jpg
That's just 4 or 5 times back and forth in front of my house.