jebster's mini super

[JohnRobHolmes]

such a cute little rear axle! Probably the same width as the front, just further away.

 

[jebster]

such a cute little rear axle! Probably the same width as the front, just further away.

Ha. Didn't notice how different it looks without the knuckles on!

 

[BC-Brian]

some additional progress. made some upper link mounts. also started mocking up links. using my normal nylon cutter board material I made up a quick skid and side plates to determine a few things. the links are things I had laying around but they might be good enough to keep. as shown it is about a 13.5" wheelbase. I've been toying with the idea of a narrow track width and long wheelbase. until it is all running i'm not sure what is going to work best.

still collecting more parts but I am still working it.

Its so cute!

 

[jebster]

been awhile since I've posted up. been collecting parts and working on assembly. getting close.
- picked up a nice chassis and body.
- got the uni's modified and have the rear axle finished. waiting on some knuckles for the front axle.
- made a battery mounting plate to sit behind the motor on the front axle (going to have the rest of the electronics sit in the chassis)
- decided to give voodoo pins a try. narrowed golds on the front and ultra narrow silvers on the rear. I mounted them up on some vp wheels I had. not sure i'll keep this combo as I think the vp wheels are too narrow for the front tires as the tire is not getting a good shape. have to swap with some wider rims from my sporty when I get a chance.
- have the electronics on hand (smashed sidewinder micros, single ccbec and 4ch mt4 receiver)

at this point all i'm just looking for some comp shocks (probably traxxas big bores) and i'll be able to finish putting this together and get it out for some testing. just in time to miss the crawling season!

now for a few pics:

 

[jebster]

got the electronics connected up last night and did the first test of the motor/tranny. i'm not happy. as i noted early in the thread the gears seem to be extremely tight. they do spin but it seems to take a lot of force. having the motor drive it confirms that is the case. have to apply a fair amount of power to get the gear turning. when it starts turning i actually see the gearbox flexing as if something is out of round!

i'm going to pull the tranny apart and take another look but as simple as it is i don't know how it could be an assembly issue. seems like a parts quality issue. maybe i'll just order some more gears and try another set to see if i just got a bad batch.

 

[Erik D_lux]

Now that you have run it, take it apart and see if you can see wear marks on the gears or cases. That will be the easiest way to find the culprit. I would pay extra attention to that sleeve on the small 3rd gear. They have never worked for me and caused problems.

If it helps, I know you were concerned with the sizes of the gears. I could take measurements of each with my calipers and see if ours match up?

 

[jebster]

Now that you have run it, take it apart and see if you can see wear marks on the gears or cases. That will be the easiest way to find the culprit. I would pay extra attention to that sleeve on the small 3rd gear. They have never worked for me and caused problems.

If it helps, I know you were concerned with the sizes of the gears. I could take measurements of each with my calipers and see if ours match up?

that is a good suggestion. when i tear them down i'll look for where the grinding might be coming from. i was also going to measure the gears to see if something is out of round (when it is running it seems to have an oscillation, flexing the case as it turns).

if you had time to measure up your gears for comparison and post up that would be appreciated.

 

[jebster]

Well, after much building and teardowns I found the binding. Had to pack the tranny with grease to see what was polished clean when I opened it up. Erik, you are the winner. It was that damn sleeve! It must be just barely rubbing on the other gear. I ran the sleeve on the belt sander a few times then polished it up with my wire wheel. Couldn't have taken that much off given how thin it is to start but it is turning much smoother now.

Glad that is behind me. It was very frustrating.

Just need shocks (can't believe there haven't been any big bore shocks in the for sale section in over a month!), a new bec (the one I had appears to be blown) and my front knuckles and I'll be able to get this thing out for some test runs.

 

[jebster]

it's alive! finally got the last of the parts and finished assembly. took it for a test run around the basement last night. with both dig and 4ws this this is crazy maneuverable. I want to get it out on my backyard rock course but it is raining today so that will have to wait.

I did notice the front axle is very loud. I did install metal gears for the added weight but I guess i'm going to have to tear it down an figure out what is wrong. I did thin down the spacer like I did in the rear but maybe I didn't do it enough. I will say these gearboxes have been a pain.

beyond that I do want to get a new body at some point. mainly for looks to get a color match.

a few pics as it sits today.

 

[Shaunkjar]

This thing looks fun! How does it compare height, width and length-wise to the 2.2 now that it is all complete?

 

[jebster]

This thing looks fun! How does it compare height, width and length-wise to the 2.2 now that it is all complete?

height wise it isn't much different than a 2.2p rig running a similar chassis. it is narrow compared to my 2.2p (front is 10", rear is about 9.5") and the wheelbase is currently 13".

i have no idea if this will perform as i would expect on a course but i'm going to have fun trying!

 

[jebster]

Got around to making up some front knuckle weight brackets. After putting these on this thing was performing similar to my 2.2m rig and I still haven't figured out how to use it! I find myself really taking advantage of the 4ws and dig. Pulling some lines I obviously can't do with my other crawlers.

The only thing I'm not happy about is the paint job I did on my new body. Damn rattle can paint bled through the tape! Oh well, it is going to get scrapped and bumped up anyway. Or maybe I can find a bodiless topper for my chassis.

 

[Will Murray]

Sweet build! Maybe I missed it but what does it weigh rtr?

 

[jebster]

Sweet build! Maybe I missed it but what does it weigh rtr?

Thanks. It was fun to build and drive, although I don't get it out much.

Given the extra servo and steering components, plus all the brass I run on the front to keep the weight bias towards the front, she isn't as light as it could be but not too bad

 

[Will Murray]

What body is That? Doesn't seem too heavy considering.

 

[jebster]

What body is That? Doesn't seem too heavy considering.

It's a deringer body from lattice innovations. Bc-Brian here on rcc makes them.