Another Gmaxx is born

[suicideneil]

No, the front & rear lower a-arms are essentially identical- no difference in thickness or shape etc. The hybrids have the same extra support area I believe, so you would have to either remove it, or enlarge the gap so that the a-arm can fit into it, then get held in place with the hinge pin. Its a shame but its only the FLM bulks that seem to have this added support area- otherwise the new suspension will work perfectly on any maxx.

[GorillaMaxx360]

can you measure that part of the arm where the clearance issue was the part that the pin goes through that is fatter than most arms.

[suicideneil]

Its exactly 3/8 of an inch. I believe the FLM bulks have a gap about 2/8 wide- just to make life awkward......

[suicideneil]

So, I have a plan. I am going to get:-

8XL- I will strip the anodizing because purple is sooo not me.

Quark 125b- not the cheapest controller around but one of the best for reliability/features. A MM would do but with my truck being a little heavy it may just strain the motor & cause the esc to go pop...

All I need then will be a few 3.5/5.5mm gold connectors, shrinkwrap and some deans (I will practice on a few to see if I can solder any better with my new iron, if not then I think I'll get the Candyman to do it for me; he's such I nice guy!)

Money wise I will need about $400/£200 for everything including p&p. As my bank account stands now I may be looking at about 6months or so before I will have enough 'spare' cash to spend- I like to keep above a certain amount with account balance, and building this truck has taken me way below that amount.... but with some hard saving I will have a good BL set up in next to no time.

[suicideneil]

Okay, plan B. After much thought and technical discussion with the brainiacs on the board, I am going to stick with the HvMaxx. It makes sense really since I dont need gut wrenching torque, and I dont use the truck that much either so putting an expensive BL system in there is daft. What I am doing is upgrading the motor with the sintered rotor which should be here next week with any luck, and also finally replacing all the tamiya connectors with 5.5mm gold plugs; no deans please, my fingers are too stubby. At the moment the weather is being crappy, so testing will occur when I have a window in the weather & work. Thankfully however I get 4 weeks off at the start of august (college students on summer leave = no customers), so I will have plenty of time to bash/test/repair/tweak etc.

[Serum]

I ordered a sintered rotor for the hvmaxx as well. Curious to see what's it like on 14 cells.

You could use a sermos/powerpole plugs. Easy to clamp/solder on. The 5.5's have got the tendency to get loose from time to time.

Did you noticed any difference with the added caps?

[suicideneil]

By all accounts on 14 cells its pretty damn good- there are a few videos on youtube of maxxes & revos fitted out with a HvMaxx of one type or other- they even wheelie on demand so the torque is there, its just only seen in light weight setups (not mine then....). I looked at the powerpoles when choosing the new connectors- they are ugly as sin! I have the 5.5mm gold jobbies with me already- no chance of coming loose with these, they are seriously tight fitting, but give plenty of connection area between the female & male halves- I can just about push them together/ pull them apart without the need for pliers (deans were way too small for my fingers). As for the caps, i havent been able to rn the truck properly yet due to the weather- but I am willing to bet they will help with temps a little, but I think 3 of the original size/rating caps or similar would be better due to lack of mounting points on this thing. Time will tell, but I think the new rotor will definately help the HvMaxx with temps- should do well in a lightish truck.

[Serum]

You've got a 4400 hvmaxx, correct?

Do you guys in the UK use metric hex wrenches? the novak hv motor uses non metric hex screws.

the 5.5's will get loose sooner or later, they are made from brass, and it's not known for its flexible behaviour. but a small tool can be used to push the contacts in place again.

They are a tight fit (or seem to be) but sooner or later they will loose that pressure. the powerpoles may look ugly as puge, but they are very good.

I like good 4mm plugs better than the 5.5's.

[suicideneil]

I suppose they are a bit overkill really, but they do look beefy- good for future upgrades. It is the Hv4400 I run- 3 years old or more and still going strong. Im not sure which allen bolt size the motor uses to mount the endbell/ mounting screws- heck, Im not even sure which size/type of allen keys I have TBO, but so long as one fits that all that matters really! The HvMaxx is a very well put together motor, its just a shame it has such a tiny magnet/rotor- bring on the next generation of XL sensored motors please Novak/Traxxas....

[Serum]

I think we could wait for traxxas to obey..

Since they came with a new setup for 1/10'th, completely out of the blue, i think we can expect a bit more from them. The where close to novak with their setups, but this new brushless they produced means a breaktrough IMO.

[suicideneil]

Its only been two months, yet it feels like an eternity (sp) since this forum vanished. Thankfully its back up again and I can continue my BL adventure.
Today I went to the park for the first time with the finished Gmaxx and shot some video- same poor quality, wonky camera etc, but I think i can edit together all the good bits to make a 5minute vid. Things I learnt:

Esc was cool and motor very hot, so most likely under geared a bit- need to get 18,19 & 20 tooth pinions.

Use more threadloc.

Use some threadloc & zip ties to hold dogbone cup retaining pin onto tranny output- lost one.

Make sure all batteries are fully charged & peaked before you run.

Make sure transmitter batteries are also fully charged- I had to stop after two runs since the tranny died on me- poo.

try and make a carry handle since the truck weighs a ton & is impossible to hold comfortably for long periods.

Vid to come.

[Serum]

What wheels are used? do they use a 14mm hex?

[suicideneil]

I only have the one set of Imex Jumbo clawdawgs & jumbo diamond rims with a 14mm hex. I was doing some 'burnouts' on the grass- it was a little long really so the wheels would spin for a split second before gripping. On the tiny bit of concrete infront of me (you'll see in the vid later) they gripped a bit better, but not much. Good & bad thing really, since its saves the driveline by having some slippage, but in a race that could cost me time & speed. Good thing I only have myself to race really. Lighter wheels/tires ewould be the best solution, but the new rotor seems to have a lot more 'umph' to it, so it handled the weight very well- just need to play with the gearing a little.

[suicideneil]

5 minutes, 10MB. Not the best video ever, though it does have good music to make up for it....

[ClodMaxx]

wow is that beast low and wide! i like it a lot!!

i was dancing like crazy while watching the vid too. i couldn't help it... the music commanded it, lol.