Pics and video of my Mugen MBX5T truggy brushless conversion...

Well I know that lots of you have pretty fancy and high end Mugen conversions out there with lots of nifty home made parts (and thank you all for posting all the inspirational pictures :-), but I had never done a nitro-brushless conversion before and I initially had a little trepidation. However, it all went very easily... so I thought I would post up what a bog-standard (budget) conversion looks like in case anyone else was in the same boat...

Video of first run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuo_Ob9s6dM

Video showing a quick look around the inside of the truggy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtNMKkLw8Mc

I used the RCM motor mount and servo plate which are a perfect fit, and as this was my first attempt I dropped in an ESC/motor that I had on the shelf - EZrun 80A and KD36 XL 1900kv motor, running on a nice big 5S lipo sitting in a standard Tekno battery tray from Mike. If it all works well I'll pick up another MMM combo.

The old CF servo plate serves well as an ESC tray, and I put the Spektrum SR3300T RX in a Traxxas waterproof RX box, with the temperature telemetry on the motor. I got rid of the brakes of course.

The metal-to-metal drive train is pretty noisy (even more than e.g. my Savage Flux) regardless of the mesh setting (which is a bit fiddly to set btw, as the lower screw is awkward to reach). I have not tidied up the wiring yet, and the centre diff is way too loose (no wheelies here!) so will have to do something about that at some point. If I keep the EZrun in there, I'll probably put in a UBEC to give it some relief as it is only rated to 4S. Other than that and a few places where I needed to replace the stock screws with shorter ones, that was it - there really is not much more to a conversion using the RCM kit so if you were hesitating, just go for it!

Mugen MBX5T truggy from Ebay, BEFORE:


AFTER:


With Body:


Nice big (cheap) lipo:


Only one glitch - in the first 30 seconds of the first run the 16T pinion broke, but luckily I had picked up another size which is holding fine at the moment...

[notatoy]

looking great chris these mugens were made for brushles power .. why an earth would any one drop a nitro block in there . thanks for the pics and video chris . very cool ..

[kneedeeppow]

Originally Posted by bluefisherking

Well I know that lots of you have pretty fancy and high end Mugen conversions out there with lots of nifty home made parts (and thank you all for posting all the inspirational pictures :-), but I had never done a nitro-brushless conversion before and I initially had a little trepidation. However, it all went very easily... so I thought I would post up what a bog-standard (budget) conversion looks like in case anyone else was in the same boat...

Video of first run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuo_Ob9s6dM

Video showing a quick look around the inside of the truggy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtNMKkLw8Mc

I used the RCM motor mount and servo plate which are a perfect fit, and as this was my first attempt I dropped in an ESC/motor that I had on the shelf - EZrun 80A and KD36 XL 1900kv motor, running on a nice big 5S lipo sitting in a standard Tekno battery tray from Mike. If it all works well I'll pick up another MMM combo.

The old CF servo plate serves well as an ESC tray, and I put the Spektrum SR3300T RX in a Traxxas waterproof RX box, with the temperature telemetry on the motor. I got rid of the brakes of course.

The metal-to-metal drive train is pretty noisy (even more than e.g. my Savage Flux) regardless of the mesh setting (which is a bit fiddly to set btw, as the lower screw is awkward to reach). I have not tidied up the wiring yet, and the centre diff is way too loose (no wheelies here!) so will have to do something about that at some point. If I keep the EZrun in there, I'll probably put in a UBEC to give it some relief as it is only rated to 4S. Other than that and a few places where I needed to replace the stock screws with shorter ones, that was it - there really is not much more to a conversion using the RCM kit so if you were hesitating, just go for it!

Mugen MBX5T truggy from Ebay, BEFORE:


AFTER:


With Body:


Nice big (cheap) lipo:


Only one glitch - in the first 30 seconds of the first run the 16T pinion broke, but luckily I had picked up another size which is holding fine at the moment...

hey there
what sort of run times do you get out of that turnigy you have pictured? am curious as i have bought a couple as a starting point for my mbx5t conversion.

Originally Posted by kneedeeppow

hey there
what sort of run times do you get out of that turnigy you have pictured? am curious as i have bought a couple as a starting point for my mbx5t conversion.

Hi kneedeeppow,
Unfortunately I managed to melt that KD36 motor after only a few runs and I hadn't been paying attention to run times.

The KD36 was running warm (as they are known to do) but not hot, until the temps just suddenly rocketed up. I am using a DX3s with telemetry, so I was able to shut it off quickly, but I think the KD36 just isn't that resilient to 5S. The EZrun on the other hand is only rated to 4S, but handled 5S just fine, right up to and including the shorted motor!

Now I need to decide what to put in it. I tried an HPI Flux Tork (the HPI badged version of the CastleNeu 2200), but the built in heatsink won't allow it to fit in the RCM mount. I could get an MMM combo... or I was wondering about the Tekin RX8...

Anyone used an RX8 combo with a Mugen conversion?

[tedo]

Yes, I am running the RX8 2000 combo in my 6T. Ran it in my 5T earlier this year. After the whole rotor issues, I have not had a problem in 2 1/2 - 3 months racing a couple times a week. Although my RX8 runs 30 degrees cooler in my 6T.

Originally Posted by bluefisherking

I tried an HPI Flux Tork (the HPI badged version of the CastleNeu 2200), but the built in heatsink won't allow it to fit in the RCM mount.

Well thats bad news for me. there ws no way to fit it in there? this was my original plan to do a MBX5T and put my tork and blur esc in there. would the tekno kit fix this do you think?

Originally Posted by tedo

Yes, I am running the RX8 2000 combo in my 6T. Ran it in my 5T earlier this year. After the whole rotor issues, I have not had a problem in 2 1/2 - 3 months racing a couple times a week. Although my RX8 runs 30 degrees cooler in my 6T.

Thank you, that's really helpful to know - I don't want to splash out on a motor that won't fit!
30 degrees cooler in the 6T? That seems weird... are the 5T and 6T really that different in terms of the power needed to push them along? Is the 5T heavier? Or is it a different drive train like a slipperential that is making the difference?

Originally Posted by 88gtanotchback

Well thats bad news for me. there ws no way to fit it in there? this was my original plan to do a MBX5T and put my tork and blur esc in there. would the tekno kit fix this do you think?

No, I couldn't find a way - the little cubic shapes that make up the heatsink just stick out too far (only about 2 mm), and it is the metal chassis that they bump up against, so there is no give. It was only by chance that I discovered that in time - I was just about to order a Tork motor as the standard CastleNeu combos are not in stock anywhere in the UK, and as luck would have it I was changing the pinion on my Savage Flux, threaded the set screw and had to take the motor out to fix it... so I just tried it out for size.

I really don't know about the Tekno kit - if the motor is the same height from the metal chassis then it would not; but if it is any higher it probably would as we are only talking about a couple of mm.

EDIT: Has anyone tried the CastleNeu motor on the EZrun 80A ESC (on 5s, geared for 40mph-ish)? Will I regret trying that?

[Snipin_Willy]

Shim up the center diff to give you the motor space you need.

Originally Posted by Snipin_Willy

Shim up the center diff to give you the motor space you need.

I don't quite understand. It is the motor diameter that is the problem, not the length... Oh, or do you mean just raise the whole centre frame, diff included? I guess that could do it, although I wonder if 2mm shim would be a little less stable than stock.

[tedo]

Originally Posted by bluefisherking

Thank you, that's really helpful to know - I don't want to splash out on a motor that won't fit!
30 degrees cooler in the 6T? That seems weird... are the 5T and 6T really that different in terms of the power needed to push them along? Is the 5T heavier? Or is it a different drive train like a slipperential that is making the difference?

There is a significant weight difference. Not 100% sure if there is a differential ratio difference (I should know this). I ran the Slipperential in both the 5T and 6T. It could be many factors of why it runs cooler: gear mesh on the gears. If the mesh was slightly off, it could put more strain on the electronics. I built the 6T from the ground up, and built the front and rear diffs as per the race specs on the mugenracing forums. The 5T never ran hot at all. 150 tops on the ESC (which is still great). It's just the same set-up is even cooler now in the 6T.

Originally Posted by tedo

There is a significant weight difference. Not 100% sure if there is a differential ratio difference (I should know this). I ran the Slipperential in both the 5T and 6T. It could be many factors of why it runs cooler: gear mesh on the gears. If the mesh was slightly off, it could put more strain on the electronics. I built the 6T from the ground up, and built the front and rear diffs as per the race specs on the mugenracing forums. The 5T never ran hot at all. 150 tops on the ESC (which is still great). It's just the same set-up is even cooler now in the 6T.

Ah, that makes sense - I am sure that the weight difference and the extra care and attention in the build easily explains the difference in temperature..