A little project - micro-t style
 

Well I got my hands on a used micro-t and, of course, felt the need for a little brushless modding. :027:

Got it for a decent price. Came with a bearing kit and a busted rear a-arm mount. No worries on that since it was going to be replaced with aluminum anyway.
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro1.JPG

ESC of choice was a Mamba 25 pulled out of one of my 18t's. We'll need to do something about the stock plugs and deans ultra in order to get everything as small as possible. Ive seen some folks replace the stock wiring with smaller gauge but I chose not to in case I ever wanted to use the esc in something else in the future.
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro2.JPG


Now for the battery. Lipo of course. 2S 7.4V to replace the stock NiMH. Lets compare:
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro3.JPG

Length and width pretty darn close:
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro5.JPG

And the thickness works too!

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro6.JPG

We won't be using the stock ESC for the brushless duties so let's get rid of this:
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro4.JPG

I think we can make this work:
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro7.JPG


10 image limit on my posts so on to the reply..

continued...
 

Well now that the stock controller is leaving we wont be able to use the stock 4 wire steering servo. Luckily I had a spare Hitec HS-55 laying around.

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro8.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro9.JPG


We'll have to do something about that spline though. The micro-t servo saver fits on a hex spline.

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro10.JPG


No problem - just swap the top two gears from the stock into the Hitec

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro11.JPG


http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro12.JPG


Wala! new hex splined Hitec
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro13.JPG


A blurry picture of the servo in it's new home. A little bit of Dremmel work was required here. The tabs on the servo was removed and the case was shaved just a bit. The walls of the chassis were also worked on to accommodate the extra 1mm length of the Hitec servo

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro14.JPG

Now for some solder work. Motor plugs and micro deans all topped off with a little shrink wrap

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro15.JPG

one more until I get a body for it
 

The heart and soul of the little beast is the 12x22mm 5250kv Feigao
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro16.JPG

A little more Dremmel work on the motor plate to accommodate the screw pattern of the new motor. The stock motor has a splined shaft so a little CA was needed to keep the pinion in place (a little too small to tap a set screw:crazy:)

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro17.JPG


Now to beef up the little guy a bit:
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro18.JPG


And for the e-clip impaired such as myself some nice aftermarket threaded axles
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro19.JPG

And finally a Spektrum micro Rx servo taped to a smoothed out top plate.

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/Micro20.JPG

I don't expect to see this guy on Top Gear anytime soon but it is definitely fast enough for indoor mayhem. I would have had some video posted but I immediately busted a front hub (I thought it was the tie rod that was supposed to go?) while doing speed passes up and down the hallway. Aluminum ones are on the way and hopefully I can get some vids posted soon

Very nice project there riceman. Definately get some video of the high speed passes.
I just put a 2s in mine yesterday along with the wheel bearing upgrade and a bigger pinion as well. Averaged 19.5mph on the radar. Can't wait to go brushless!

Excellent Write Up!!

thanks for sharing!

hmmm it looks like fun I might have to do the same thing.

VERY nice riceman! Makes me wanna get one!:)

Very cool micro-t. It seems like a lot more of them are popping up as brushless.

Have fun with it!!

Mine is sitting right infront of me begging to be BL. :p Soon enough. Just gotta get the Evo V3.3 finished first.

I like the $100 receiver in the $80 car :dft012:

cool stuff.

Nice conversion! I'm surprised everything fit. Makes me want to pick one of those up. :)

Brian, I would recommend it....The only thing I don't like is its not 4wd...But other than that, it handles AWESOME. Even for something this small and zippy, its easy to control...

...unless you do something silly like putting a larger pinion and drop a BL/lipo combo in it:005:

I went shopping for bodies today and am going to try out a couple 1/32 slot car bodies. Everything doesn't quite fit under the stocker anymore.

Yea, I ran into that problem by simply adding Deans Micro connectors...:032:

Man -O- man. If u are the same guy u kinda helped inspire me to to another project. I cant believe that the micro t can even be driven now. Doesnt it just do backflips when u blow on the throttle? now I gotta get one.

Ok riceman, you have inspired me. I think I found my next project. 9200kv of pure Micro-T terror.

LOL. The motor is bigger than the truck. :) Heck, why not go dual BL!

Figure out a way to mount a 1/10th buggy wing or something on it (so it doesn't try and fly to the moon), and try and become the first person to do 100mph with a micro t:027: That's something I would have to see.

pushing the limits lol, but man thats a hell of a micro!

OMG its so tiny :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxDj77FsOzY.
Is this the same car?

no that one just has a li-po battery riceman's has brushless power too!

Update
 

I've been having a blast with this thing. Gone trough about a half dozen packs and everything is still holding out. The most recent upgrade was a new set of aftermarket shocks. The Atomic shocks are not oil filled but use a friction oil :032: (yes, that's what it's called) for dampening on the shafts. They do not come with springs but the x-mods truck package with three different rate springs was on sale at Radio Shack for $3.00.

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_1.JPG

I put the medium (yellow) springs on first and they are much stiffer than the stock micro-t springs. A little too much in front but feel right at home in the rear. To be honest, attempting to tune the suspension for handling at the speeds that the BL system provides is rather pointless but the yellow springs do look good.
http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_2.JPG

I was finally able to find a usable body. It's a Hornby 1/32 scale model kit. A little red paint and some decals and now I'm afraid to drive it for fear of scratching it all up.

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_3.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_4.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_5.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_6.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_7.JPG

http://members.cox.net/tg_19/MicroT_8.JPG

Sweet! You outta see if you can squeeze an xmods shell on there and bring it in to RS and see if they want to race. :)

BTW: In the 6th pic down from the top, your steering looks a little skewed...

LOL - while I was in RS picking up the springs I saw a couple bodies that I thought might work but they were pretty ugly:020:

As for the steering, I'm still using the stock links. I'll need to make some new one to bring the toe in a little bit.

I would go with the "polycarbonate" (lexan) ones that they sell on E-Bay. There only like $2 with shipping...

Your micro is looking awesome. That would be very fun to race against the x-mods.:027: