On-road BL project

[BrianG]

Thanks!

[glassdoctor]

Brian... you work at H.T. by Target?

If it works out, stop by HH with the Jato next wednesday night. I'm usually there by about 6... races at 7:00.

Just ask where the guy with the BL 1/8 is.... :027:

[BrianG]

I work near HobbyTown (about 1/2 mile away).

[Mike.L]

looks nice brian whats the next project!?

[BrianG]

I don't know. I kinda like the Jato because it is easier to handle inside the house for rainy day "bashing". The Revo is great for outside where room is unlimited. I was thinking maybe an RC18, but it might be too small.

I was also thinking of making a "muscle car". It would be another 2WD vehicle meant for drag racing or pulling. Most of it would be custom built with maybe some parts from a current vehicle, like suspension. I figure a STRONG diff would be in order of course. I was toying with the idea of a planetary inline gearbox so the motor would be in front with a driveshaft directly to the rear like a real vehicle, but I don't know if those gearboxes could take the abuse (and they're expensive). That would leave plenty of room on the sides for batteries and would allow me to tune weight distribution by sliding them forward or backwards.

I ran the Jato around a parking lot today and it is quite fast, at least 35-40 mph. It handles VERY well. I had a blast. The rear tires are getting a little worn already, but I finally figured out how to control the throttle to prevent spinouts. I was able to run for about 35 minutes at high speeds, and that was after playing around with it inside work and demo-ing it at my nearby LHS (HobbyTown). SO, I'm happy with the runtime.

[Mike.L]

definatly, im looking forward to the next one! why wont you try a bigger scale like a baja roller?

[BrianG]

Truthfully, bigger scale models are too expensive to build, especially when you are experimenting with stuff to find the right combination. Plus, they draw more current to get going, which is expensive in both cost and power. The larger models have too much mass IMO and break easier, unless of course you over-engineer the design, but then weight suffers.

[Mike.L]

i realise that brian, but you doing all these projects i though you would have the lage enough temptation to do something "DIFFERENT", if you know what i mean. i know it was just a suggestion.

[BrianG]

I do want to try something different, but I'm not sure what. There are only so many ways to do conversions. Sure, there are differences in the way details are approached (like how I did my V1 BL Revo vs Dafni's), but you know what I mean. The Revo's were cool because of the challenges created by the room-hogging suspension. But now, it seems like almost everyone is doing a Revo. The Jato was cool because there weren't very many. I just don't know what to do now...

[Mike.L]

i think i found something that will be a harder challenge, try a team losi aftershock, has a thin chassis and a dual steering servos and oversized shocks for bashing draging and pulling! or try the lst 2

[squeeforever]

Aftershock? I would go for the Muggy. Thats gonna be my next one now that I think about it...

[Mike.L]

who makes the muggy?

[BrianG]

Um, well, at $700 and $1,000, it will be a little while before I can even consider those projects. If I'm gonna spend that much, I might as well start on a totally custom 1/5 scale!

That Muggy does look interesting. Too bad there wasn't a kit without engine (and all related Nitro parts) and electronics. It would save the hassle of trying to sell those parts on the bay.

[squeeforever]

Yea....Thats the worse part. Mike, there made by Team Losi.

[BrianG]

OK, I've worn off most of the tread on the rear tires and the ribbed edges on the front tires are peeling off, so I need new tires. However, I have RPM arms and the front wheels would need to be shimmed with 3 x #10 washers per axle to use 2.2" rims. Also, the hinge pin retainer (blue button head screw) needs to be replaced with 4mm set screws.

Before I finagle some 2.2" wheels/tires on there, are there any 2.8" wheel/tire combos that will work? Imex has some 2.8" tires, but only the dish wheels are in stock. Here is where I was looking (the tire I want is the center one in the top row). Is there anywhere else that I can get 2.8" tires/wheels, other than using Traxxas wheels?