Losi Night Crawler Refresh…suggestions?

[karajabola]

So, I've got a Castle coupon burning a hole in my pocket and a new Tekin 45T without a home so I was thinking of giving my lightly modified Night Crawler a refresh. I want to keep things interesting without breaking the bank.

Here's where its at:

-weighted stock wheels and tires
-Hitec 7950 w/BEC
-Titanium steering and drag links
-2000 mAh LiPo resting on front upper links
-stock motor
-stock ESC

It's used almost exclusively on rocks.

Generally, I'm happy with it except somewhere during the above upgrades I lost some low speed control. For example, when starting, more throttle is needed to get things moving, and its harder to maintain a slow creep. My guess its due to some combination BEC/servo install, the ESC sucks, or the motor is tired.

I'd like to fix that, and breathe some new life into it as well, so here's what I was thinking
-Clean up and rebuild axles with new bearings (Fast Eddy)
-HD Worms (might do both front and rear, not sure yet. I climb at lot, but also descend)
-Tekin 45T motor
-Castle Sidewinder ESC
-3S

I realize he 45T will slow it down (45T is all I have) but I'm hoping the HD worms and 3S will net me more speed without sacrificing low speed control. I'm not opposed to changing pinions, as I have no clue how the above will do in terms of heat.

Anyone see a problem above?

Thanks for your help!

 

[EeePee]

Seems good to me. It'll be a bit slow but should almost still have enough pop for the throttle blips.

 

[Liv3mind]

Wouldn't 45t be really really slow? Pretty sure stock is 35, what about a Titan? Cheap, good torque and better wheel speed.

 

[Olle P]

-HD Worms (might do both front and rear, not sure yet. I climb at lot, but also descend)

HD in front only is the best option for everything except going straight and level.

I realize the 45T will slow it down (45T is all I have) but I'm hoping the HD worms and 3S will net me more speed...

You'll get almost twice the power with this new setup compared to your current motor and battery, so you get some room to add speed and/or torque.
If you use that extra power the motor will also run warmer.

 

[karajabola]

great info everyone, thanks!

 

[karajabola]

Just a follow up. When I pull out the stock motor, I'm taking out (and keeping out) those capacitor looking components right?

Thanks

 

[Liv3mind]

Correct

 

[Hardline]

Couple thoughts. Unless you've kept after it, lack of gear lube could be part of your oomph problem. Obviously that get's handled with your plan. And hopefully you have CastleLink so you can tune your Sidewinder to your preferences. Use as narrow a neutral band as will work if you want a sensitive trigger.

45T may prove too slow for you. Maybe call Tekin and find out if you can just buy a different armature for your motor. Stock is 35, but a lot of us run lower turn than that. 25 might work well for you.

 

[karajabola]

I'm sure it's due for rebuild. I'll probably shim by feel this time instead of what the manual shows, now that I've learned a bit about shimming after building a Yeti XL. CastleLink is covered. Good idea about dead band, hadn't thought about that. Thanks.

 

[SilmarilS]

Since you can use a pinion from 12T to 25T in a stock setup, you can double/halve the motor speed.

I would use a 27T with a small pinion rather than a 45T with a large pinion. You would put more power on the ground that way.
And everyone know worms loves power!

 

[Hardline]

I've always been curious if a fast motor/small pinion doesn't equal slow motor/big pinion. After all, speed is power and power is watts. If both setups run the same watts and the gearing is adjusted to give them the same top speed...dunno.

Deserves a test. I always believe test results over opinions.



.

 

[84yoda]

Thats a good question for mr holmes.

 

[mrG]

Faster motors are more watts, so I don't think you'll find a fast motor and a slow motor running the same watts without their efficiency being way different.
One thing I do know is smaller pinion give better low speed control.

 

[Olle P]

I've always been curious if a fast motor/small pinion doesn't equal slow motor/big pinion. After all, speed is power and power is watts. If both setups run the same watts and the gearing is adjusted to give them the same top speed...

Faster motors are more watts, so I don't think you'll find a fast motor and a slow motor running the same watts without their efficiency being way different.
...

MrG is mostly correct.

The alternative to a "fast" motor is a "slow" motor with the same gearing but higher battery voltage.
A 55T motor on 4S battery is roughly equivalent (in speed and torque) to a 27T motor on 2S battery.
With regards to efficiency the 55T motor will be slightly less efficient, running warmer. The entire system of (4S) battery, cables, ESC and (55T) motor will be slightly more efficient than the counterpart though.

You cen get a more in-depth analysis and description in this thread of mine.