My baja 5E....sort of
 

A couple of my buddies recently bought 5b's and my 1/10 and 1/8 vehicles could not bash in the places the big 1/5's could. I didn't drive my maxx anymore and noticed the rear track of the maxx is very close to the 5b's.:diablo: I had already impressed everyone with the speed of my brushless vehicles, I just needed a 1/5 electric for cheap. I made a chassis out of two pieces of aluminum L channel with an aluminum skid running the length of the chassis. I attached the chassis to the front and rear skids. I used aluminum maxx chassis braces in the stock location on the rear skid to make mounting the 2 speed e-maxx tranny easier. The braces also ad strength to the chassis. I made carbon fiber front and rear upper decks, the front will hold the steering servo and the rear will hold all the electrics. The only actual 5b part is the roll cage. I still have to Mount it.:smile:I have a mega 22/45/2 that I would like to use but I don't have an esc to run it on 6s2p a123. So I'm going to run those batts through a 9920 and a 9xl. Any suggestions?

6s2p on a 9xl... with a 15lb truck. (im guessing its around there)
i dont think it will be very fast.

with the weight of it and everything...

i could be wrong.

im going to guess 25-30 max.

WOW! looks great. my suggestion would be to get a ESC to run the mega. tell me how you like the mega, because ive been looking at then for various builds. what esc would you recommend without breaking the bank?

AWESOME... I like!!!!

Can't wait to see it come together....

Oh, my! That is one of the coolest ideas I have ever seen! Way too cool!

Man, I am dying to see how it runs!

Hey, I always thought a 4WD 5B would be sweet. You ahve the perfect way to set that up! You should try it 4WD.

Matt

waas thinking the same!

awsome, i'll be watching this build.

a little suggestion about the mega motor. its going to need more voltage than 6s2p will give. the kv is 1380 or 1390 i can't remember but either way thats under 30k rpm with no load. go up to 10s at least. i have that motor and so far its doing well for me. i just started running it so not alot of seat time yet.

also, keep in mind that motor has alot of holes for dirt to get in.

nice cant wait to see this thing finished

Rotary Rocket did a 1/5 scale car with a modded Emaxx like that, but I like the idea of using the HPI parts to make it look like the Baja.

Pretty cool. I have an old Emaxx that would love to become a big 4wd Baja someday. :D

15 lbs is about right. I was hoping for 40 mph. You don't think 12 a123 cells can push it to 40? I can just gear up.

four wheel drive entered my mind deveral times.:lol: My batts sit in the channel right where the shaft would go. I would have to design a different chassis.

I would love to run more voltage, believe me. I just don't have a controller yet. Can my mega motor handle 12s a123? I would use the same 12 cells, just run them all in series. I thought about enclosing the motor to keep dirt out, if it runs cool enough. EDIT:More pics.

oh, i thought you where going to run 6s2p, not 12s. i plan on going w/12s1p on my motor. i don't think it'll over-rev being under a load. i bet it'll push that thing really well. i know my maxx is pushing that weight and my kb45xl flings it around like nothing. if the mega don't work, get a kb.

no you were right, i was going to try 6s2p. Until I get a controller. Mabye a kontronik?

Go with a HV110. Phenominal controller and almost infinately adjustable.

Matt

wont you need mechanical brakes with HV110?

Sweet project by the way. Cant wait to see the finished poduct.

That is very interesting!

i am in te process of making a very similar buggy using emaxx chassis components. My chassis will be a welded steel tube affair, with lots of cross bracing and a solid skid in the center.

I am still in the design phase and an trying to get a good chassis design figured out. I may even fab up a sheet steel box section that will run from the front bulk to the rear, and then weld some outrigger tube sections to that. Or it may be all tube with a sheet steel center skid (prefered design).

I am going to go with a 4wd setup most likely, and use a center diff. That way I can have fornt and rear mech brakes and use a kb45 motor on 8s-10s lipo. Need a big motor to move this beast around!

Thanks for all the positive feedback! As for the controller, I need motor braking.

@lincpimp: That sounds like a good idea for a chassis. I noticed the baja's chassis is incredibly stiff. No flex what-so-ever. So I tried to design something strong and rigid yet light weight. My chassis is pretty solid, but I plan on adding a couple more aluminum stand-offs where my batteries are going.

id suggest the 100a turnigy, but you need motor brakes.... wny not some rear discs on the wheels? itll handle 12s. get a pair of 6s. and a series connector... and a kb45xl.... :lol:

he already has 12s.

but i suggest going with a higher voltage also instead of lower voltage higher kv rating.

you could always put the 9xl and 6s2p on there just for some fun.

but dont go out and buy them.

save it for something you will use for this project for a while.

Sorry for the confusion. I have 16 a123 cells 4 3s1p packs and two 2s1p packs. So I can run 12s1p or 6s2p...etc. I am only running 6s2p because I don't have a controller to run a higher voltage. 12 cells, whether in 12s1p or 6s2p will have the same power output. I will just have to pull more amps to get the same power. I know thats not ideal, but it will work for now. I am really looking at the 55-10-32 kontronik. It has proportional brakes right?

man, i just had a sick thought. check this out.
mrc thunder king rear end. basicly 1/8 st style setup with emaxx style twin motors.
2 1200kv kb45lx's @$120
2 turnigy 100a hv esc's @$200
2 dc9360 for 10s2p a123 @$200-250

use the steel gear upgrade for the trans and savage arms. i think that would kill any 5b ever modded or produced. who cares about the slow startup this esc has with this much power on hand.

Just a little over kill don't you think?:lol: It's all about power to weight ratio. a stock baja is ~21lbs. Mine will end up around 15lbs rtr. 10 a123 cells can put out a peak of around 2.5KW. I'm running 12. Othello has eagletree graphs that show the power output on 10s1p.

very cool man. cant wait to see your final product. what are these kb45xls? ive never heard of them? are there different kv rated ones?

Yep ... the Kontronik Jazz 55-10-32 ESC has proportional brake. Two car modes. One with reverse and the other is forward only. This is my latest truggy (11lbs) video from today: Neu 1515/2Y (1100KV), Jazz 55, 10s1p A123 with proline badland tires: up to 2KW on this run. With a little heatsink on top of the cooling plate it runs cool and my highest peaks reached 100-120A (max of my eagletree micropower v1).

Good luck with you project ... looks very promising.

I have made some progress. I got the cage and steering servo mounted. I am happy with how the cage turned out. I can take it off my simply removing four retaining clips. I am waiting on a pinion from Mike and body mounts. I also need to order a roof plate for the cage and thats about it.

I was surprised when I weighed it and as it sits it weighed 12lbs 9.09ozs! Thats much lighter than I thought it would be. When I'm done it should be at or just over 13lbs.:party:


@othello: I have seen your videos before and they are impressive. This thing is going to haul with a 9xl on 6s2p, but I want to run a HV setup like yours. There are to many reasons not to go HV IMO.(besides relatively high price of esc). I plan on buying a jazz and running 10-12s with my mega 22/45/2

Over all I am very happy with it so far, we'll see how it runs.

That is fantastic. I want one. Get a picture of it beside a real 5B. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the 5B speed wise with it's current power setup.

man thats amazing. what wheels/tires are those?

I actually planed on getting a side by side pic when I'm done. I don't think I'll have any problems hanging with the actual baja's.:wink:

The rear tires are 40 series mulchers and the front are IMEX rib dawgs.

Looks killer, is that the 5b front body lexan piece?

Definately would like to see it up next to a 5b, just for size comparison.

I have started on the tube buggy, but have decided to calculate my chassis weight before I finalize my design. I have decided to run front brakes as well, I will use a front diff, drveshafts, and a center shadft connected to a bulkhead with a disk stup from an 1/8 buggy. The rear brake will be the same, just a bouble staked affair like some truggies have. Should provide good brakes with all 4 doing the stopping.

Brakes are one reason that I do not like 2wd vehicles. I know that there is a front brake kit for the 5b, and if i bought one it would be my first upgrade.

Really like the look of your big buggy, very nicely done!

Man.. I gotta get me one of those.... :yes:

Maybe even a 4wd one :bad:

Booth lexan pieces are from the baja. It's body is actually a four piece design, I'm using the main body and nose piece. It's wheel base is actually one inch longer than a baja.:na:
As far as the brakes go, remember to take into account the weight of the vehicle. A baja's brakes are very good. I was surprised when I saw it. The extra lbs on the tires allow much harder braking. Your idea sounds awesome. I can't wait to see.

thats still awesome! great job! I'm gonna show all my friends!

I have seen a video of a baja with a front brake kit on grass and it was amazing how quick it stopped. Just about anything else would have flipped over forward.

can we get a video of this monster in action

8S KB45-11Xl would power that thing without a problem... I powered my 15Lbs with a 12Xl also.... you would only need one motor... that looks killer... a lot better than my attempt at the 1/5th scale... :)

Maybe some bigger wheels would make it look even better....
Great work dude..

I wish I could get a video but as you can see by the pics I don't even have a decent camera.:no: I've pretty much completed it. I set it on the scale and it weighs 13lbs exactly, rtr. I have ran it a few times and can say that I am more than happy with the buggy itself. It handles amazingly and has perfect front to rear balance. I was worried about the turn radius with such a long vehicle but it turns very well. I do need thicker oil in the rear shocks and I and I am going to order a larger pinion. I am under geared running 14/66 32p gears. I hooked the eagletree up for a run and got a max 1492 watts with a max 89 amps. I'm running a 9xl with 6s2p a123 and I get about 20-25 mins of hard running. I defiantly want a better more efficient motor and to run a HV setup.

I have all the parts to do this, I REALLY should start a build like this, SUCH a awesome idea, and isnt really pricey

wow, those last pics look sweet. nice job.

Any chance you might do a more detailed write up on this? I think a lot of people would try this as it is a pretty inexpensive way to get into a 5th scale buggy.

BTW, really nice job, looks almost factory!

I for one would love that

And more detailed pics of the custom parts.:mdr:

and surely somebody you know has at least a digital cam that you can get a 1 min. clip of her running on. that would be awsome.