new improved carbon RC8T with weight stats. - RC-Monster Forums

Ryu James · **new improved carbon RC8T with weight stats. -** 05.28.2009, 02:02 AM

i posted this build last fall but wanted to show some recent changes. the biggest thing being these Fioroni spring flex chassis braces. these things increase handling and manueverability on the track dramatically, especially over rough track. you can get these from Amainhobbies for several different 1/8 kits but the ones i am using were actually for the HB D8T and like a Kyosho buggy or something. i just made them work with my setup. i think the rear is most important and the front isnt as crucial. i am going to try running the composite RC8 chassis brace up front with the Fioroni spring brace in the rear this week and see how that goes. i think it will be the perfect combo.

i did the steering rack mod that the AE pro drivers have done and this has helped a ton too. steering has much more throw and much better feel when driving. i highly recommend this for anyone driving the RC8 and RC8T. just google "rc8 steering rack mod" and you will find it. i think the new RC8B that is coming out has this new steering rack setup since it was used by all the pros. i could be wrong on that though.

also started running the Tekno 3shoe clutch with .7mm springs and love it. has helped my racing dramatically. when others at the track drive my truggy they kind of just smile and ask "wow, how come it drives so smooth?"

oh, when i did this first carbon build i had many people ask me how much the truggy weighed. i now have a very accurate scale and the the chassis itself weighs 5 1/2 ounces less then the aluminum chassis' avail in the popular conversion kits. the complete truggy with everything on it including tires, battery etc weighs 9.2 lbs. and 7.5 lbs without the battery in. i have no idea how much the factory nitro version weighs though. or how much an electric one without mechanical brakes and all the aluminum parts would weigh. if anyone knows the stats please post. i'm curious to know.

so i have read about others getting bit by the "racing bug" and now i understand. bashing is just boring now. its all about being ready for race night each week. gotta love it!

Metallover · 05.28.2009, 09:21 AM

Wow. I see a project of the year canidate.

You might be able to shave a little weight by using a smaller or plastic geared servo for the brakes. You have a video of this thing?

Ryu James · 05.28.2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metallover

Wow. I see a project of the year canidate.

You might be able to shave a little weight by using a smaller or plastic geared servo for the brakes. You have a video of this thing?

i do have a lot of video but cant get it downloaded. actually Kulangflow from here on the forum got some video last week on race night and probably will again tonight. i will see if i can get him to post and put up some of the footage.

kulangflow · 05.29.2009, 04:51 PM

Here are some pics of his truck from the track last night.

I took the still shots from the video, so the quality isn't that great. It gets the idea across though. The first few shots are washed out because I had the backlight on. Oops.

Ryu James · 05.29.2009, 05:44 PM

Brian,

The shots are fricking awesome!! Very professional! thanks for loading those up.

you got any shots of your rides?

kulangflow · 05.29.2009, 05:51 PM

Here are some pics of my CRT.5. I haven't finished going through all the vid clips for stills though. If I remember, I'll bring my DSLR next week and go for some higher quality action shots. :-)

I'll get you that software, but we really need to work on your videography skills for next time.

Do you have a Blu-Ray player? If so, I can burn you a HD Blu-Ray disc of all the video from last night. If not, I can burn a regular SD version that will play on a typical DVD player.

I took a ton more shots off the vids. I'll give the full resolution versions to you as well when I'm all done sorting them out.

LMK.

Ryu James · 05.29.2009, 08:19 PM

sweet Brian,

yeah, i have a blu-ray.

i told you i wasnt paying very good attention when filming. i will do better next time.

just took the buggy out. hopefully we can get some vid of that too.

thanks for taking the time to do all the editing.

i will hit you up next week and maybe we can get a bash/film session before thursday. if not, then we'll just do some more on thursday.

Semi Pro · 05.29.2009, 08:52 PM

looks great james

makes me want to fire up my carbon 8ight before it's finished and go to the track

how do you like the Fioroni flexers?

Ryu James · 05.30.2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semi Pro

looks great james

makes me want to fire up my carbon 8ight before it's finished and go to the track

how do you like the Fioroni flexers?

yeah, technically my 8ight isnt done either but i couldnt wait so i used servo tape to hold the battery down so i could test it today. all i am waiting on is the lipo tray from RCM. be sure to post some pics/vid of yours when its ready.

as far as the Fioroni flex braces i LOVE them but be careful to run them with carbon chassis. when i first put them on i knew immediately that there was too much flex and that the carbon could break given the right hit. so the first week at the track with them on i drove really easy and everything went fine. i did a comparison with the flex allowed and then locked it up (you can lock the Fioroni brace so it acts like a normal aluminum chassis brace) and the handling was so much better with the flex. it was night and day. much easier to control and much more stable. and it was just absolutely "popping" on the jumps. had an almost spongey feel to it.

so this week i ordered some washers that i could fit on the flex brace and increase the tension on the spring so that it couldnt travel as far. my intention was to do this enough to allow some flex still but not so much as to risk cracking or breaking the carbon. when i finished i thought to myself "i should add a few more washers in there" cuz it still had lots of flex. but i was in a hurry and left to the track. needless to say i snapped the rear end of my chassis on a big tumble. no worries though. i have several carbon chassis' for my rc8t in the garage.

i am still going to run the flex braces but i am going to put more washers in them so that the flex is minimal. i actually have both my 8ight and RC8T setup now with composite brace up front and the flex brace in the rear. i am going to set them so they have about 1/8" of travel allowed. i had about 1/4" allowed when it broke.

so there is my 2cents. i know you are building that carbon 8ight with that expensive Matrix chassis so the Fioroni's are great but just get some washers and dial down the flex. btw, the inside diameter you want for the washers is 6mm. i found some on amain that said 6mm id. but they were actually like 5.5 when i got them so i used my dremel and reamed them out slightly.

for aluminum the flex braces would be awesome i bet. alum. isnt going to break for sure and i dont think there is enough flex that it would get bent so i think these would be a sweet upgrade on any alum. chassis. they make the biggest difference over rough terrain and jumps.

E-Revonut · 05.30.2009, 05:33 AM

I weighed my FT RC8T with Mike's conversion. With Maximizer Beadlocks/BowTie MTR, 4500mah 5s lipo, it weighed 8lbs 12oz. I figure with LPR's for racing I'm pretty close to 8.5lbs

kulangflow · 09:07 AM

I finished the rough draft of the Round 1 video. It looks washed out because I had the backlight on. It should start with HD enabled. If it doesn't, then you'll need to enable HD manually for best quality.

I threw a few random slow-mo spots in there, along with a couple of replays. Give me some suggestions on other stuff you'd like to see to improve the video. Should I add a light soundtrack, or would you rather listen to the mosquitoes being killed by the silent assassins?

Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7VHnZu_zxE&fmt=22

Ryu James · 05.31.2009, 02:06 AM

video looks sweet Kulang. hd makes a big difference. i know i am not a very good driver but you still made it look cool.

now its time to fix the RC8T so i can be ready for this thursday.

btw, was up the canyon today with my 8ight and reminded me of tearing up the golf courses. i think i am gonna go bash up Cascade Golf Course in the morning. just when i was getting bored with bashing i had a great time again. never to old to have fun just driving RC....no matter how its done.

Thomas · 06.03.2009, 07:41 PM

Hi, what spec CF is that and what type (we lay-up or prepreg) and how did you make the kickup?

Ryu James · 06.04.2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

Hi, what spec CF is that and what type (we lay-up or prepreg) and how did you make the kickup?

it is a 3mm thick 1k weave (very tight weave), laid-up carbon. the kickup has been made on this particular chassis by using a torch to heat up the carbon at the location where the angle is needed and then bending it slightly and cooling. i got this tip from someone here on RCM and it has worked very well. however, i am waiting on a matched tool to be made so that the carbon can be made with kickup in the piece.

Thomas · 06.06.2009, 05:43 AM

If you do wet lay-up, the tool you need is two 2 mm steel plates with a simple 10° bend. I'm assuming you're applying vacuum for curing at room temperature.

I would advise against heating and bending of duromers like epoxy as they degrade if you heat just a bit too much.

Are the 0/90 and +/-45 degree layers distributed evenly? If you have access to UD rovings or sheets, you could improve bending stiffness a lot.