Cheap speed 3 ZMT_10 project

 Well I bought The ZMT-10 mostly to continue my cheap speed post and to show how fast you can make a R.C. on a budget. so we already have a baseline of out of the box performance . At 17 MPH after installing bearing's. After a couple more packs the bearing', motor and drive gears should be broke in more and reduce the drivtrain's friction and allow additional top speed and I will take a new baseline test to see if there is a measurable change .  then expect to to see the power levels to start raising

Broke it

Well I broke my ZD Racing Zmt-10 / Turnigy Stadium King  the other day . Truth be told I was trying to break it . Here is the video's that go along with my first breakage.

Made some video's of the ZD Racing ZMT-10 / Turnigy Stadium King 2wd truck

Well I made some video's about my ZD Racing ZMT-10 / Turnigy Stadium King 2wd truck so check them out . Check back for more Info .

Closer look

First drive 

Better driving video

Why are there extra steering and camber links

Gps speed run

Parts swapping Zmt-10 / Turnigy Stadium King and the Traxxas Rustler.

Well the bad news is most of the parts for the Traxxas rustler are not a direct bolt .

The one plastic part you can take off of a rustler and bolt on with out any modifications is the rear shock tower . yep that's it .

The problem for true interchange ability is that ZD Racing used smaller hinge pin's then Traxxas  at most joints .

The reality is if you have a 1/8th inch drill bit and a small file you can run Traxxas suspension part's just make sure you get the matching Traxxas pin's .

The Traxxas  front shock tower is not wide enough for the ZD top plate to pass through it.

The front bumper will interchange if the front inner lower control arm pins are retained differently than stock.

Now the transmission  guts are very different and Traxxas components will not fit .

The Traxxas  transmission would bolt on for the most part but some adaptation will be required to use ether one of the shock tower's .

I did try to bolt a Traxxas slipper clutch on the input shaft and the shaft is to short for proper fitment.

The front and rear hub's will  swap easily with a bit of work.

The front and rear should be able to use after market camber links for the rustler .

The rear drive-shafts and axles will not interchange but the front axles will swap.

Swapping the top plate would take some work and the same goes for the bell crank system but maybe possible.

Rims will swap of course a will wheel hex's.

The stock spur and pinion are 48 pitch .

If I have not mentioned it here it probable wont fit at all.

I have abandoned making a part# list because almost everything listed here will swap but will require some light modification .

well Its here My brushed zmt-10 / turnigy stadium king truck

Well I placed my order and got my truck in  ordered it on Saturday and got it Tuesday I am very happy with the seller .
 http://www.ebay.com/sch/donnajay68/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

Now first thing's first . These are my Initial thoughts. from staring at it and driving it a little

The bad .  

1. 3 of the 4 shocks had leaked out almost all their oil before I received it .
2. The included battery was almost useless .
3. The stock motor not really practical for the application it's a 540 motor but it has a fan installed in a manner that makes the winding's  shorter lowering the torque the motor will produce when compared to a normal 540 motor used in R.C.  
4. Since they picked the wrong motor there claim of 30mph is unlikly even with a different battery .
5. One of my front tire's has a serious defect
6. bushings .
7. spur gear and pinion cover is a chore to remove

The annoying

1. Why does every body use brass pinions 
2. The tires are really out of balance 
3. screws are soft and you must use the right screw driver or risk damaging them 
4. steering has more slop then I would like for a new truck
5. thread lock on the pinion set screw
6. ESC looks cobbled together and unfinished

The good 

1. ESC is rated at 300 amp's (it's what the manual say's) if that's true you can upgrade to a good brushed motor
2. big bore shocks
3. The plastic motor mount has a aluminum brace
4. tire compound is pretty good for a rtr the stiff foams hold them back though
5. The slipper clutch design will allow other brands spur gears to be used
6. front has aluminum hinge pin brace
7. battery compartment is easily expandable but will onlyfit a 6 cell NIMH stick pack or 7 cell hump pack
8. uses standard 12mm hex's 

More to follow check back soon.

well Its all most ready

Phase 3 of my Radio Propulse / Megatech Megapro is almost done .

I have installed the brushless system out of my ZD Racing 1/16 scale car and am preparing it for its maden voyage. 

This motor is pretty powerful and may damge the the drivetrain but I think it will be worth it . I should point out this is not a speed run attempt the car should top out at around 30-35 mph on a 2S  pack by my calculation.

The motor is a 3900 kv   2435 motor . Now I know that kv rating is a little low compared to the norm for 1/18 scale RC car's but I have installed the tires from the ZD racing MT truck an these will require a little grunt to get moving .

Strangely I actually like this look , makes me think mud drags .

The cheapest lipo's I have ever bought and what I think of them

Well I bought this 1/16th scale brushless car from ZD Racing and I needed some lipo's that would fit .

Being the cheap'o I am I searched the net high and low and came across some batteries on Ebay that fit the bill . They were being sold out of Brooklyn, New York and they where holding lot's of auction's on batteries . The name on the batteries was YKS and I couldn't find any opinions or anything about these batteries .I eventually decided they where cheap enough to for me to take a risk on buying them . So far I have bought 6 of these batteries and out of the 6 I have had to contact the seller and get a replacement on 2 of these batteries . Now for the price of these batteries I am not complaining one bit I bought these dirt cheap and if the inconvenience of getting a dud is unexceptionable don't buy these as with anything cheap there is a risk . But in my opinion the seller I bought these from was top notch . They sent me replacements with no hassle and I got them in around 3-5 business day's just like my initial order.

A link to the Ebay selller I have been Buying from

 Here is my early YouTube video I did.

If you need some thing to compare prices to here is a start.

Why did I buy a ZMT-10 / Turnigy Stadium King

Well a while back I did a review on a forum of the 1/16th scale car's I got off of Ebay .
I personally was quite satisfied with what I have gotten for my money with them .

That is not the reason I bought this truck . I bought it because it is available to the mass's and part's support from hobby king in my opinion is acceptable if your prepared  and stock up on item's. But what drew me In is the lure of a car that will except Traxxas replacement and upgrade part's. If this rumor is true then this car has exceptional value .


Now in the off chance that the rumor's are wrong I don't think this car will be a bad value unless ZD Racing has changed the plastic formula from what they used on the 1/16th scale car's.

Just for fun I have made list  of all the 2wd stadium trucks I could find that are popular for the bashing crowd and would be considered competitors  .

ECX RC Circuit 1/10th Stadium Truck  $99.99
[ECX1100]  http://www.ecxrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ECX1100

Sadly these guys are on there way out if you want one get it now Down side mostly the plastic transmission  gears and AM 27MHZ radio system

RedCat Twister XTG 1/10 Scale Electric 2WD Stadium Truck $119.99
http://www.redcatracing.com/Twister-XTG-Brushed

2.4GHz radio very adjustable for a budget car 

Duratrax Evader EXT2 EP RTR  $129.99

http://www.duratrax.com/vehicles/electric/dtxd32-evader-ext2/index.html

Up side full bearings , has adjustable turnbuckles, battery, charger and accessories  down side AM 27MHz radio system.

Arrma Vortex 1/10 Electric RTR Stadium Truck w/ATX300 2.4GHz, Battery & Charger (Blue) $169.99
[ARAD03BB]  http://www.arrma-rc.com/radio-controlled-cars/vortex/

Only real advantage's I have come up with is that Arrma installed a 15 turn motor so It should be a little faster out of the box it has a 2.4ghz radio system and steel transmission gears.

ECX RC Circuit 1/10th Stadium Truck RTR w/2.4GHz Radio (Gray)  $169.99
[ECX1100S]  http://www.ecxrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ECX1100S

They upgraded the drivetrain for improved reliability and thru in a 15 turn motor and a 2.4GHZ radio system and a little faster battery charger

Phoenix XT RTR 2wd Brushless 1/10th Truck $179.99

TTR6571-F071          http://www.ttamerica.com/cars/ttrd76.html#

Up side cheap,2.4GHz radio system ,and it's brushless down side will need a  battery, charger and accessories and part's support is mostly online.

RedCat Twister XTG PRO 1/10 Scale Electric 2WD Stadium Truck $189.99   http://www.redcatracing.com/Twister-XTG-Brushless

has a 2.4GHz radio system Plus a brushless motor system and is  very adjustable for a budget car

Traxxas Rustler XL-5 2WD RTR w/7-Cell Battery & Charger $214.98

3705    http://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/3705rustler

Up side You can find parts everywhere , it comes with a 7cell battery charger and accessories  . down side everyone has one , there expensive and barely a good value when compared to the  when compared to trucks like the The Brushless Evader

Duratrax Evader Brushless 2.4GHz RTR        $229.98

http://www.duratrax.com/vehicles/electric/dtxd37-evader-brushless/index.html

Up side Has a brushless system , has a 2.4ghz system ,parts are almost as common as Traxxas . down side will need a Lipo battery, charger and accessories 

Traxxas Rustler VXL 2.4GHz RTR w/7C Battery & Charger

$344.97

3707                  http://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/3707Lrustlervxl

Up side You can find parts everywhere , it comes with a 7cell battery charger and accessories  . down side everyone has one , there expensive and barely a good value when compared to the  when compared to trucks like the The Brushless Evader

The leap of faith .

Well I bought a no name brand R.C. again 

I haven't received it yet but it's paid for and should be on it's way shortly .

 I bought the brushed version of the ZD Racing  ZMT-10.

 Because I couldn't find anyone who had the brushless version in stock.

Now parts for this where scarce and hard to find but thanks to Hobby King parts will be easier to get if needed since they Introduced there rebranded version , The Turnigy Stadium King 2wd 1/10th Scale RTR Truggy and a long list of replacement parts.

Look at the truck

parts

Brushed 2WD Electric 1:10 Scale RC Truck

4 Wheel Independent Suspension. 

2.4GHz. Digital Transmitter/Receiver.

Pistol-Grip Radio with High Torque Steering Servo.

Powerful Brushed 540 Electric Motor.

7.2v 2400mAh 15c NiMH Battery.

Full Ball Bearings.

150 Amp Brushed ESC.

 Specifications:

Length: 483mm

Width: 311/338mm

Height: 173mm

Wheel Base: 291.5130mm

Gear Ratio: 7.8:1

Content:

              1 x 1:10 Scale Brushed Truck.

              1 x Battery 

              1 x Pistol-Grip Transmitter

              1 x  Manual/Accessories

Now the one thing that sticks out to me is that this seller list full ball bearings in the truck and from what I have read the hobby king version has bronze bushing's.

It has also been said that these trucks have metal transmission  gears .

It has been rumored that a lot of Traxxas part's will fit this truck and I plan to see if this is true.

When I do receive this truck I plan to do a complete tear down and test ever part to check for compatibility. 

So look forward to that .

Well Ive had a busy week.

I can't wait till the holiday's are over . Everything is always rush rush rush but I have added a contact me form on the top right side and should be adding more to this blog and my YouTube page this week . 

Talking about old monster trucks

Well I thought I would talk about some of the trucks I own and have owned.

Kyosho Big Brute

 Well I bought this truck of Ebay and it looked hideous, sadly I didn't take any pic's of it when I fist got it . Personally I found the truck easy to work on but the handling left a lot to be desired . I like my monster trucks to have a soft plush suspension but when I got the shocks tuned for the ride I wanted the truck would lean and then flip. I still liked the truck and hope to own one of it's siblings either the USA-1 or Double Dare.

Traxxas Stampede 

Well I still have my number two and just got my number three not long ago . What can I say I have never been disappointed with these trucks  . With the newest versions that have been released all I can say is wow if I can destroy the new transmission gears I am doing something wrong . I am also glad to see the new slipper clutch design it should cut back on slipper maintenance and make torque control more consistent.  If you have never owned one you should buy one this is definitely a truck everyone should own at least once .

Varicom Big Grizzly  

These trucks are somewhat rare and are well known for breaking more than anything . This truck is about to leave me and I can say I have had nothing break in the 5-6 time's I have run it.  Stuff  does likes to work loose and the plastic for the shock's must be terrible since mine only had one good one left . I will say that if you do run this truck don't get to excited about it to be honest the truck is under powered with just a single 540 motor and I can't imagine the frustration some people must have had about run times.  With a 3000 mah 6celll pack and a johnson silver can motor I could squeeze out maybe 8 min's of run time .

Tamiya Clodbuster


Well I haven't owned this truck long but I think it's going to be in my collection for a long time. I mean what can I say about the king of monster trucks . This truck has been a hit since it came out over well over 20 years ago and it's doubtful it's going to disappear anytime soon  . If you have ever thought that you might like own one pic one  up, just do it I picked mine up of Ebay for a hundred buck's and let me tell you , Im going to get my money out of this truck.

                                   

Going fast for cheap In the RC world. Part 2

Ok you now have a bunch of cheap batteries ,a high volt ESC,and a motor, and are now looking at your car going how am I going to get these batteries to all fit . Some car's you have to get creative on other's its a piece of cake .

I'm going to use Traxxas vehicles as examples.

On a stampede you can mount one battery on the under side if you want to lower the center of gravity and a second battery in the original position for 2 pack action by using reusable zip ties like this .

If you want to cram 3 packs on the chassis you can do this plus one on the bottom  .

On a Traxxas Rustler, Bandit , or Street Sport you can do 2 side by side also.

This also works on a lot of other chassis.

Now that you got a Idea  on what to do with the batteries we need to stiffen the suspension normally  some vehicles come over dampened to begin with so you may just need to adjust your ride height other's will need stiffer spring and shock oil. What you do is up to you every one likes there car to ride differently and there is no such thing as a perfect set up . 

Now if your wanting to step it up a notch a motor swap is going to be in order .

my primary recommendation is the Thunder Tiger Super 19 Turn 550 size Brushed Motor  parts #PD9221

 

It has replaceable brushes and spring's and the brush shunt's are removable on the one's I have seen so the commutator can be turned on one of the old stock  motor lathe's.

Now why is this stuff important because it will all prolong the life of the motor make it preform better .

With 3 /6cell packs the motor will see a nominal voltage of 21.6 as a byproduct the motor will  be turning at a much higher rpm than stock because of this higher rpm it may be a good Idea to run stiffer than stock spring's .The reason for this is to keep the brushes from bouncing and loosing contact with commutator when this happens you will loose peak rpm and power it also causes arcing that damages the commutator . If the commutator is turned in a lathe the surface will be made smoother and decrease the chance of brush bounce and may decrease the spring tension needed .

Some other high volt options are are high turn mod motor's and even some crawler motor's . like the one's shown below but for long life and max performance these should have the commutator trued with a lathe and maybe new spring's 

Now you maybe wondering why I said high turn mod motor's . This is because the less turn's a motor has the higher the peak rpm will be . When the peak rpm climb's so does the maintenance mostly due to brush bounce and brush wear . 

Now If you have the cash and time and want the best of the best I recomend keeping your eye's peeled for these guy's  Trinity Monster Maxx (Mild, Wild, and Pro) and the Reedy Badd Maxx Mild motors. The Monster Maxx Milds are 21 turns, the Wilds are 19 turns, and the Pros are 17 turns.  The Badd Maxx Milds are 19 turns . These motors are fully rebuildable .

More soon .

Going fast for cheap In the RC world. Part 1

If you have a tight budget but have a need for speed this info might be for you.

If you tell people you wanna go fast in the RC world most people scream buy THIS LIPO BATTERY AND THIS BRUSHLESS SYSTEM . I tend to take a more conservative approach. Instead of dropping $100 dollars on lipo batteries and probable just as much on brushless system , then even more on a battery charger and other part's why not just recycle stuff that other people don't want .

I'm going to start like this what if I told you that you could buy a ESC that was rated at 24 volt's and a max currant rating of 350 amps and was made buy a well known manufacture for less than $20 dollar's .Sounds crazy don't it well that just what I bought . Now I know I forgot to tell you that this ESC is used and that it will only work with brushed motor's but I seen you drool a little when you where reading those spec's but the fact is any car is fast when you start running those kind of power level's .

Now if your still with me the video below is me talking about the ESC I bought but many more just as powerful or even more powerful are out there some can be seen in the link's below.

http://www.teamtekin.com/archive.html

http://www.teamnovak.com/products/esc_specs/discont_specs/index.html

http://www.teamnovak.com/products/esc_specs/rev_specs/index.html

Now if still interested in this don't rush out and buy lipo's even though they do have great quality's . The fact is a lot of brand new NIMH battery pack's are being tossed in the trash or sold on Ebay for next to nothing so these can be picked up cheap. If you get a couple of matching pack's your almost ready to go all you have to do now is buy or make a adapter harness that will connect 2\ 6 cell or 2\ 7 cell  or 3\ 6 cell packs together in a series .

2 pack harness 

second example

3 pack harness

You got to be wondering about motor's . Well that's pretty simple if it's brushed you can use it but you must keep a few thing's in mind if the motor was not designed for the voltage you are running it at . It will wear out faster than if it was run at the proper voltage designated by the manufacture. So to start I recommend one of the following there normally easy to get and are generally pretty cheap if not free and work great at 14.4 to 16.8 volt's .


The traxxas 550 titan from the E-Maxx and E-Revo lots of people replace these when they still have plenty of life left in them .

Pull a motor from a old cordless drill lot's of the 9.6 to 12 volt models use 550 motor's that work great .

Pull a motor from a old child ride on toy like a Power Wheel's car most of these use 550 motors and are junked with usable  motor's

Old portable air compressor's some time's use 550 motor's

Well look forward to more soon .