1:5 FG 4WD Brushless buggy conversion
 

I thought this might be interesting for those of you thinking about moving from 1:8th scale to something bigger without wanting to lose performance nor 4wd.

First of ... yes it's possible and a good friend of mine made this dream come true.

Chassis: FG Monster Truck with 4WD conversion kit
Tires: FG Baja Buggy
Body: MCD Race Runner V4
Motor: Lehner 3014/18
ESC: Schulze 32.170
Batteries: 10s SLS 4000 (final step will be 10s SLS 5800mah)

Video of his 1:6 ride

Moving around 26.4lbs (12Kg) this way takes around 1200W average (550mAh per minute or 32A avg).

I hope you enjoy the performance of this car as much as i did while shooting this video.

Wow that is very nimble for a 5th... great video!

Sounds like he is using motor brakes?

Nice ride!

very nicely done! How are the diffs hold up to 10S? Out of curiosity, would LST shocks fit on that buggy. Reason...the stock shocks look way to small. The bigger shocks would probably be able to let it handle better...just my 2 cents worth.

All in all it really looks and drives nice from the video...enjoy!

Any chance to put that on youtube for a better host?

Awesome!!!!!!!!!:yes:

If I did large scale conversions, I would definitely consider that over a hpi baja.:yes:

yea that looks like great fun for such a large buggy!

those tyres have such a low profile!!! i want a set! but i have never seen baja tyres like that?

it doesnt even look that heavy for a 1/5! no where near as heavy as a baja anyway

If one didn't know better, watching that video could trick you into thinking that was a 1/8 scale buggy, I very much liked how the RC was handleing and acting under and off power. Looked predictable and planted yet nimble, impressive. Hard to believe it weighs 25+lbs, Thumbs up !

@redshift
Yes, indeed he is using motor brakes. But braking with the schulze ESC is all or nothing. Should be proportional but really doesn't feel that way. The MMM HV (12s) hopefully is the right answer to get proper motor brakes.

@magman
As of yet diffs are holding just fine. But he only has made 10-12 runs. Too early to say anything about diff wear. He didn't made any changes to the stock shocks compared to when he was running the car with his petrol engine. Although while in monster truck setup he used 8 shocks instead of only 4. There sure is potential to improve shock setup.

@finnster
You should be able to download this video to your hd if you are having troubles viewing it while downloading it in your video player. Playing this file with windows media player, VLC, Media Player Classic or with Quicktime and flip for mac should not pose any problems for todays computers.

@Jahay
Those are FG Baja Buggy tires. A german brand ...

Definately handles much more like an 1/8 scale, pretty awesome work done by your friend- I love the dramatic music at the start & end of the video... :mdr:

Yeah the Castle HV is gonna be the answer to a lot of those issues I think. I'm no large scale expert by any means so my opinions here are largely useless. The braking is the only area I see a need for changes, it did lock up a lot.

The first part was impressive, but toward the end the wheelies and mini-endos were very impressive. Looked like the lipos hit their hotspot and woke up good!

That body is sexy as hell too.

If your friend has made 10-12 runs on the diffs w/no issues....it sounds promising. Since he was running 8 shocks at one time...I wonder how they would compare to say 4 LST shocks

Thats an impressive 1/6 conversion, thats some good power and decent runtimes. Im a little stunned at the weight of it though, I thought itd be lighter.

The FG Monster Truck runs 8 shocks mostly because of the increased weight of the big tires, they require the extra dampening. The moster truck also has 2 chassis braces that were removed in the video, but they don't add that much weight. I wouldn't worry too much about the FG diffs, they're pretty stout in these cars, upgrades are also availible. Really cool vid, and nice work on the conversion. Makes me want a large scale again!

@suicideneil
Music: Training theme from Rocky IV ;-)

@redshift
Just got those pics with painted body.

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/atta...1&d=1285020192

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/atta...1&d=1285020192

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/atta...1&d=1285020192

@magman
Can't tell you how they compare to LST shocks but i found a video of his car showing the original setup with 8 shocks and chassis braces. He did not use those super big monster tires (wheighing 777gr or 1.7lbs each) on this run as they did not provide enough grip on gras. He was forced to run much smaller Buggy tires which hooked up pretty good.

So here is the video of his car running with a 26ccm petrol engine showing the original chassis with 8 shocks

@overdriven
Now that you mention it. He said he was using upgraded diff cases.

Holy smokes that looks SWEET!

I liked it unpainted... but that is HOT now.

Gorgeous.

absolutely the most awesome thing i've seen in a while, looks way better then an HPI, nice job man!!!!

That is freaking badass.

Makes me want to sell my DB17 Savage Flux so I can convert my Firehammer MT to 4wd and brushless. Only thing holding me back is the issues castle is having with the Mamba XL.

So how did you handle mounting the motor?

Hose clamp and a nice piece of driftwood ?

That is cool man..
I just picked up an FG monster truck with brand new 4x4 kit last week.. I'm glad I saw this.. :)

@Bmr4life
He got his motor mount from those guys in Germany.

small update:
He is now waiting for the MMM XL HV as the schulze ESC overheats with his new batteries.

If the 32.170 is over heating, I think the Mamba XL would struggle as well.. it's only rated for 160A peak, whereas the 32.170 is rated for 170A Constant...

The castle esc's usually handle more than the specs say, lets it works out:yes:

TG

awesome......... ¿how cost the esc+motor? ...... :gasp:

we waiting more vids/tests of this beast :lol:

I hope everything goes well for you my friend... if the MMM works well for, I will be following your lead on my conversion...

The project is grounded till the MMM XL HV is available. The brakes of the Schulze ESC are unusable ... just haven't a consistent proportional feel. I believe motor brakes are the reason why this ESC overheats. I'm confident that the MMM XL HV will handle this car.

I think the Lehner 3040 sells for Eur 500,- and the ESC (at the time he bought ist) had a similar pricepoint. As i noted this is a project of a good friend of mine.

Hi Guys if you are looking for some of the fine German stuff try icare-rc.com Etione is a terrific guy and to date he has the quickest shipping

Agreed, he's an awesome guy do deal with...

Othello, I think you are right about the schulze and braking. Since owning a snot load of Schulze ESC, I am paranoid with using motor breaks (for any ESC). I only use mechanical brakes, and pretty much all of my ESCs stay cool... What are the guestimated specs for the MM XL HV?..

hey guys,
love seeing these large scale conversion projects. this FG turned out great! i too have been planning my next 1/5 conversion but like you, Aqwut, i prefer mech brakes (or want to try hydraulic) so i have been waiting to see of MCD will release the RRV4 Ultimate and put hydraulics on it. however, been wondering of the MMM XL would work too. cant wait to see more conversions with it. i would prefer to run 10s and larger motor but, hey, if the XL proves to be a performer it will save us all money, right?
again, great looking conversion!