Dannko
Newbie
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share some of my recent experiences with the RC4WD Bully2 RTR model.
Just wanted to clarify that I'm by no means a comp driver (no such comps where I live :sad
, therefore it was all meant for having plain RC crawling fun.
I'm somewhat new to the RC world, just have a scale MST CFX which I upgraded and it is overall fun to drive, but I learned quickly that I'm far more interested in crawling the big rocks! :twisted:
Obviously for such task, I needed a comp crawler like the Bully2, which AFAIK, is probably the only RTR option in the market.
I chose to go with RTR because I didn't have any spare electronics available for the Kit version, and frankly what you get in the RTR is totally worth it IMHO (I mean the $100 delta). Particularly the dig unit, haven't seen them on sale nowadays (let me know if you have). Also bought the knuckle weights, had to, they fit like a glove.
At first, I tried the fully stock version, it definitely didn't disappoint (especially after being used to climbing with a scale model...), the capabilities of a MOA are truly amazing.
However, the Bully2 can give so much more if properly upgraded. I did my homework before buying this model, but being quite tight on budget left me with little options. So I decided to efficiently increase performance by changing the stock servo with a PowerHD 23kg/cm (which I got for a really low price) and the stock ESC with the Hobbywing 1080 (which I honestly think is the best value money can buy). Additionally, I changed the stock shocks with Gmade XD Aeration 93mm that I had (with the softest springs) - this made a really big difference btw.
Needless to say that I performed some tuning like:
- Clocked C hubs by one slot (seemed to be enough)
- Unscrewed rear upper links a little from both sides to clock the rear axle
- Attached the shocks on the farthest lower hole (both front and rear)
- Shortened wires
- Placed dig unit at the bottom
The Bully did much better with these upgrades for quite some time. But then I started to get annoyed by two frequent issues:
1. Rear axle stall on steep climbs
2. Servo barely turned the wheels in tight spots
The servo part was a no-brainer, I just needed a stronger one (yes, 23kg/cm is not enough for this beast), hence I bought a Holmes Hobbies HV500v2 (which completely solved this problem).
As for the stalling, I read that it happens due to electric current preferring the less under load motor, and remedy can be obtained by switching to dual ESCs. Yet for me it involved purchasing a quite expensive radio system that includes channel mixing (at a starting cost of ~$180), and... another ESC. After kindly consulting with EddieO via PM, I decided to finally go "all-in" and get myself a pair of new hand wound motors "thumbsup"
I replaced the stock machine wound Boosts with Brood Apocalypse HHK-T + some additional mods.
Front motor 35T, rear 30T, and pinions were left stock 14t. Consequently, stall was practically gone, and climbing capability was tremendously upgraded. Overall, I suppose a good balance between wheel speed and torque was achieved.
I didn't do any photos yet, however I did upload a video that you may see some crawling in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ny-YtBnLs
Please let me know of any additional upgrades (not too expensive :ror that you would do in order to further increase performance.
Cheers,
Dan
I wanted to share some of my recent experiences with the RC4WD Bully2 RTR model.
Just wanted to clarify that I'm by no means a comp driver (no such comps where I live :sad
, therefore it was all meant for having plain RC crawling fun.I'm somewhat new to the RC world, just have a scale MST CFX which I upgraded and it is overall fun to drive, but I learned quickly that I'm far more interested in crawling the big rocks! :twisted:
Obviously for such task, I needed a comp crawler like the Bully2, which AFAIK, is probably the only RTR option in the market.
I chose to go with RTR because I didn't have any spare electronics available for the Kit version, and frankly what you get in the RTR is totally worth it IMHO (I mean the $100 delta). Particularly the dig unit, haven't seen them on sale nowadays (let me know if you have). Also bought the knuckle weights, had to, they fit like a glove.
At first, I tried the fully stock version, it definitely didn't disappoint (especially after being used to climbing with a scale model...), the capabilities of a MOA are truly amazing.
However, the Bully2 can give so much more if properly upgraded. I did my homework before buying this model, but being quite tight on budget left me with little options. So I decided to efficiently increase performance by changing the stock servo with a PowerHD 23kg/cm (which I got for a really low price) and the stock ESC with the Hobbywing 1080 (which I honestly think is the best value money can buy). Additionally, I changed the stock shocks with Gmade XD Aeration 93mm that I had (with the softest springs) - this made a really big difference btw.
Needless to say that I performed some tuning like:
- Clocked C hubs by one slot (seemed to be enough)
- Unscrewed rear upper links a little from both sides to clock the rear axle
- Attached the shocks on the farthest lower hole (both front and rear)
- Shortened wires
- Placed dig unit at the bottom
The Bully did much better with these upgrades for quite some time. But then I started to get annoyed by two frequent issues:
1. Rear axle stall on steep climbs
2. Servo barely turned the wheels in tight spots
The servo part was a no-brainer, I just needed a stronger one (yes, 23kg/cm is not enough for this beast), hence I bought a Holmes Hobbies HV500v2 (which completely solved this problem).
As for the stalling, I read that it happens due to electric current preferring the less under load motor, and remedy can be obtained by switching to dual ESCs. Yet for me it involved purchasing a quite expensive radio system that includes channel mixing (at a starting cost of ~$180), and... another ESC. After kindly consulting with EddieO via PM, I decided to finally go "all-in" and get myself a pair of new hand wound motors "thumbsup"
I replaced the stock machine wound Boosts with Brood Apocalypse HHK-T + some additional mods.
Front motor 35T, rear 30T, and pinions were left stock 14t. Consequently, stall was practically gone, and climbing capability was tremendously upgraded. Overall, I suppose a good balance between wheel speed and torque was achieved.
I didn't do any photos yet, however I did upload a video that you may see some crawling in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ny-YtBnLs
Please let me know of any additional upgrades (not too expensive :ror
that you would do in order to further increase performance.Cheers,
Dan
