Panda K1 Tetra Mods and Buildup

[Vitamin_J]

I got this Panda Hobby Tetra K1 a few weeks back and was kind of let down. The stock power system is clearly designed for speed. It's a cool little MT but no crawler. I ended up stripping out the pinion pretty quickly. I was frustrated and thinking about just parting it out or throwing it in a box but then I saw JKates828's RGT thread where he replaced the transmission with a Tamiya 4-speed TAM70189 and that gave me the inspiration to do the same thing to my K1.

Tamiya TAM70189: https://amzn.to/3sNapBQ


I started by stripping the chassis and figuring out how the Tamiya trans would fit.

Tamiya trans and motor compared to stock Panda motor. The Tamiya motor is 030, but JKates828 upgraded his to a 130 and I plan to do the same.

I designed up a little mount for the trans and 3D printed it. So far it just has a friction fit but I want to add screws and seal it up after I upgrade the motor.

Ended up being a perfect fit on the first try! Love it when that happens. The Panda trucks are actually pretty good little trucks. Nice frame, suspension, links, axles, lights, etc.

Got it ready again for a quick shakedown and I'm pretty impressed! I have no idea how durability will be on the Tamiya trans but it is at least a cheap proof of concept if I like how it crawls.

You can see how much lower I will be able to move the battery and other gear compared to the stock configuration.

RC4WD Scramblers and beadlocks:

I really want a Land Cruiser 105 body for this truck. Gotta get that damn Jeep off there anyhow.

 

[Vitamin_J]

I made a little video testing it out for the first time!

https://youtu.be/uaRnKNqM06c


Weight as it sits 467 grams

 

[Vitamin_J]

I wrapped solder around the wheels and then some tape to hold it in place before in installed the tires and foams. The stock Panda front wheels are already weighted from the factory, so I used that as a baseline to weight my new wheels.

Stock front Panda wheels 30 grams

Stock Panda rear 14 grams

Weighted RC4WD front 35 grams

Stock rear RCWD 25 grams

I also upgraded the steering servo to an old RangeVideo RV Jet pan/tilt servo. It's a really nice digital metal gear servo and it looks very very similary to my EMAX ES08MAII I just got. Works great anyhow.

 

[Shape_Shifter]

Nice job!

 

[Vitamin_J]

Thanks! Here's a video from the first shake-down run. It definitely works and it crawls better than stock, but the little 030 motor isn't going to cut it. You can see in the video a couple times when the motor stalled out and the truck just stopped on an incline. Currently running the 71.4:1 setting on the transmission which I think should be just right with a 130 size motor. There was significant weight reduction with my mods and now the suspension is too stiff and doesn't flex and the CG is still way too tall but it's showing promise!

https://youtu.be/Fl6Mj4an7lg

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 130 size motor?

 

[Shape_Shifter]

Thanks! Here's a video from the first shake-down run. It definitely works and it crawls better than stock, but the little 030 motor isn't going to cut it. You can see in the video a couple times when the motor stalled out and the truck just stopped on an incline. Currently running the 71.4:1 setting on the transmission which I think should be just right with a 130 size motor. There was significant weight reduction with my mods and now the suspension is too stiff and doesn't flex and the CG is still way too tall but it's showing promise!

https://youtu.be/T3aaVyERcgE

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 130 size motor?

Here is one place to look for motors: https://www.robotshop.com/en/dc-motors.html


Where is your vid filmed?

 

[Vitamin_J]

I put up the Tamiya transmission mount on Thingiverse so anyone else can print one if they'd like: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4739163

Thanks for the link but it just confirms that I am over my head trying to spec out a motor haha. I filmed it up at South Valley Park near Ken Caryl...bbbuuuuuttt I also got in trouble by a ranger there luckily didn't get a ticket I guess RCs are banned there so I have to find a new spot.

 

[AK KRAWLER]

Thanks! Here's a video from the first shake-down run. It definitely works and it crawls better than stock, but the little 030 motor isn't going to cut it. You can see in the video a couple times when the motor stalled out and the truck just stopped on an incline. Currently running the 71.4:1 setting on the transmission which I think should be just right with a 130 size motor. There was significant weight reduction with my mods and now the suspension is too stiff and doesn't flex and the CG is still way too tall but it's showing promise!

https://youtu.be/Fl6Mj4an7lg

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 130 size motor?

How is this little guy coming along?