Marshall Banana’s RC Action

Mamba Max Saga

*This story is here for a bit of a laugh. It wasn’t / isn’t funny, but you have to laugh otherwise you’d cry*

As mentioned in earlier posts I decided to get a Mamba Max combo for the Durga. At the time of the decision (which was August) I decided to go with the same company that Dan had ordered his off. As Dan also had a discount coupon, I took advantage of that and he placed the order.

From about this point on, it started to go downhill. Dan’s order was taking a long time to arrive after been shipped. There was no real word from the company as to where it was, and eventually they fessed up and admitted that they had drop shipped it and multiple shipments were missing. This, was disappointing, but another was to be shipped. Problem was, there was a shortage on Mamba Max Combos. Many weeks of we’ll have them soon, and this week i promise, we were no closer to having anything. Eventually, there did come into stock, and we were told they would ship the two motors together, with deans connectors and the battery Dan ordered.

One morning, the email finally comes in, shipped. We ask for a tracking number, and about 2 weeks later we get it. Tracking number reveals it was only shipped a couple of days before. This guy is starting to give us the shits, but its ok, cause it will arrive soon. It is tracked across the globe and arrives 8 long days later. The package is opened, and only one motor. Bugger.

An email exchange back and forth and a couple of weeks later we have the other motor and battery been shipped, with tracking number. Woohoo. Off the order goes. Watch it for 5 days, and on the day the status changes to the where it is destined we get an update. Turns out, they gave us the wrong tracking number, cause our package was off to Brazil.

Really hate this guy by now. More emails, more hope, more disappointment. Another 2 weeks pass, and we finally get the tracking number. Success. We track for another 8 days and by some miracle it comes to Australia. Package arrives and is picked up. Open it up, and there is one motor, its the 6900 instead of the 5700, and no battery or connectors.

Can this guy be any more useless. This is beyond a joke.

That was half a week ago, which is a 3 month wait on an order. Still no word on the other items. Just wanted to share the horror story. It in the end, every update made you laugh, cause any other reaction was not going to be any good. Mamba Max is awesome though, but i will never order off these people again….ever.

Back To Novice You Two

Today I took the Durga out with Dan. But unlike last time we met, we were packing some power. In my car I had the Mamba Max 6900kV (a post on how this came to be soon), while Dan was sporting the Mamba Max 5700kV. These motors were a serious step up from what we were running before.

I had only finished the install last night, so was excited about giving it a run. We went to a BMX track, which consists of a very loose dirt surface, and some jumps designed for BMX bikes.

I popped my car down on the track and hit full throttle. BAM…..the tire had come off and was now on the steering arm. Total, 2 seconds. Hmmmmm. Some glue and a 5 minute conversation about the power, and the car was ready for take two.

Dan lead off, and I had to admire the speed of his car. Not to be outdone, i gave my car a little gas and followed him down the dirt track. That was the point the brain fart kicked in, and I thought, i have more power, I’ll just full throttle and overtake, cementing some kind of authority on the situation. I gave it full power, started to catch Dan, and then hit the jump at full speed. The car flew well, it took off like a rocket, and well, didnt land so good. I didnt get the privilege of seeing the landing, just got the pleasure of seeing the car bouncing and spinning as high as the jump (which was about 3/4 my height). I giggled a bit, and went over to put the car on all fours. Alas, the car was not going any more. You could hear the motor spinning, but nothing else happened. Bugger.

Funnily enough, Dan’s car was having issues as well (sympathy problems) so we pulled them apart and fixed em up. Luckily, the motor had just moved and the pinion wasn’t touching the spur anymore.

Back out we go, and I can’t control the thing. It was all over the place, as soon as you had the idea that you were good and gave it full throttle, around it would go. It was out of control. It would go sideways round bends past you, flicking stones in your face. It was wonderful. Dan was having alot more luck with his car, and it seemed to be planted. The banked bends were no trouble as it slid around them. Mine on the other hand, was good at tricking you. As soon as you felt good, it would turn a bit much and off the track it went. In the end, half throttle seemed the ticket and I was getting some better control.

After getting the hang of it, disaster struck. Going round our “track” i noticed that the car was not turning so good. Straight was right, left was right, right was super right. Once again, something had given way to the force. This time, the suspension had fallen off. Luckily all the parts were in one place. Another repair and back at it.

We decided to change venues as the ratio of rc car vs BMX bikes was starting to be unfavorable. We chose a car park. It ended up been a poor choice, but it was one place we could wind the cars up. The best was to describe the way the durga looked, was a speed boat across water. It was hitting the small ditches and just skimming across the land. It was amazing. But like all good things, it came to an end, when the front suspension arm came off, and the durga was skimming with 3 wheels.

After repairing it again, we went back to the BMX track for the final run. Front suspension fell off this time, and once again there were just too many people so we called it a day. Dan did get a shot at the lipo in the final run, and it turned the 5700 into an uncontrollable beast as well.
So what was learnt today:

• The durga is not as bulletproof as one might have thought.
• Jumps are not as jumpable at speed. Landing is an issue.
• This is about as fast as i ever need to go.
• That electric rules over nitro
• That as the amount of fun increases, so does the damage to cars

But most importantly, we really need to slow down and learn to drive. The jump is enormous, and right now the control is not there. Its one thing to spin the car and make mini tornado’s of dirt, but its another to have some control. Right now, the 6900 appears to be the stronger, but it no good if it is not on the track. I need to turn off the part of the brain that just wants to gun it, and take a bit of time at 1/2 throttle going round the track. You don’t have to be fastest, you just need to be consistent.

TA-05 In Blue

After cracking the purple shell it was time to get a new shell and give the car a new look. The shell i chose was a HPI Mazda RX7, and i also grabbed some new proline rims to match the new paint job. The colour is the Tamiya Metallic Blue in case you’re wondering.

So say goodbye to the purple car, and make welcome the blue car.

To Deans Or Not To Deans….The Verdict

As mentioned earlier, i was converting to deans connectors, and wanted to know if it was true that the connectors alone made a difference. So today i finally finished the conversion of the TA-05 car to deans.

I tested the car twice. First i tested it with Tamiya Plugs. It was tested in an underground carpark with no wind. The car’s top speed was 25kph.

I then changed the tamiya connector to dean’s, and using the same battery once it was recharged, and the same location, i measured the speed. The car’s top speed was now 27kph. A 2kph increase just by changing the plug from the default. I expect it would be even better with a better battery, but I’ll take a free 2kph whenever i can get it.

Mini Reaches 40Kph!

After converting to lipo and deans connectors it was time to put the mini to the test again. So off to the local netball courts with the Hot Wheels Speed Gun. With a couple of test runs, it was time to see what she could offer.

The answer, 40Kph!

I tell you what, this little mini has some zip to it, and is by far, the most fun car to watch zip around. The only thing you have to watch out for is when it gets the wobbles. At top speed, it doesn’t take much for it to start going in the wrong direction.

Very Happy.

The Mini Gets LIPO

The mini has gone through a bit of a transformation in the last couple of weeks. I wanted to run lipo, and after searching around, i finally found a lipo that would fit the M03. The M03 has a rounded battery compartment, and will only fit a lipo that is shaped like a stick pack. Luckily for me, Harris RC has a 3200mAH battery that has been added to the ROAR approved lipo list. Awesome.
Next I needed to convert the esc to use Dean’s connectors. I had foolishly brought a soldering jig to help with this task. Designed for Dean’s connectors it was going to make it easy. It was rubbish. I ended up using lockgrips to finish off the job. You can check out the results below.
Lastly, I needed to add weight to the car. I needed to do this for two reasons. Reason one, to race at TFTR, it needed to be at least 1300g, and secondly, the mini is meant to run better at the correct weight. Adding lipo, I had lost about 140g, so i needed to add that back on. I followed a guide on rc-mini.net, which suggested using lead. The guide highlighted that i needed to keep the weight balance the same, which mean adding weight where it had been lost. As i was using lead, and me been paranoid, i wrapped the lead in tape, and only added the weight where it wasn’t going to be touched. This ended up been around the battery compartment, and in the front and rear bumper.
After putting the mini back together, i weighed it again, and success, with lipo, the car is at 1350g, which is only 4g lighter. Taking the car out for a spin today, it appears to be handling like it used to. Massive relief.

$5 Items….You Evil Form Of Goodness

What I always liked about building your own RC car was the fact that if something broke you could replace it. That eventually evolved into, if you need a better part, you can upgrade it, and this applied to everything from the motor, to the suspension balls. I kept to the replacing broken parts method for a long time. It was very easy because in general, the rc parts in oz are a little pricey (though i am finding stores that are well priced), and also because i didn’t break anything.

Then one day, i found a site that has caused me pain, rcmart.com . Here is a store that has just about every spare part, or little upgrade that you can find for Tamiya cars. Its ok though, cause each part works out to be about $5 AUD with a little bit of shipping. So off you go, I want this, wouldn’t mind a spare of that, read about this on the internet once, that will give me the edge. It goes on, and on and on. You think, yep, thats it, and go to the checkout. That little order is now a couple of hundred bucks. So now you have to do the list in reserve. Do i need this, do i need that. It takes forever. Eventually you give up and order, knowing that these are the “essential” items. Like who can really live without silver long body clips. Really.

I wasn’t going to comment on this, until someone i know (he can insert his name if he likes, i mean they, it might be a girl) ordered a $12 replacement body. Upon a delivery not arriving, he said they would have to leave his $59 order elsewhere. Wait a second, $59 not $12. I asked how the order had gone from 12 -> 59, and the response was along the lines of “you know exactly how”.

I had never intended this post to go in this direction, but why is it that you ummm and arrr over a $200 item, but its easier to decide to order 20 things that add up to the same value. I think it feels better when you open it, it looks better. People say, thats a lot of stuff, instead of, is that it. You can lay it all out and sit back and think, it was worth it. Its no difference then going to the milk bar (corner store, deli, lolly shop) a little while back (we’re talking 1994 here people). You walk in and its a choice of 3 chuppa chups, or 100 fizzo’s for $1. Its not a hard choice, 100 lollies is the way to go. Thats more then any one can count. You can share with your friends, or just look superior with your large white bag of lollies that doesn’t fit in any pocket. People who know me, know i was the latter (though it was more about the not sharing then the superior). But non the less, more was better. Looking back, i can’t help but feel i should have just got the chuppa chups, cause those fizzo’s last about 3 seconds each. Thats 300 seconds of enjoyment. 5 minutes. I think that the chuppa chups would last longer (mental note, buy chuppa chup and time, for research). Its the same with RC parts, there is a reason why the item costs $200. In motors, they are faster, longer lasting (in the case of brushless), have a better ESC with heaps of functions, handle more current and just be less crap them a cheaper alternative. But at the end of the day, 20 little items are easier to justify and the perfect place to find 20 items without even knowing it is a big online hobby store. Damn you $5 items.

Caravan RC

I think the thing that makes this so odd is there has been one person sitting at home with his rc car and he has thought to himself i wonder, i could probably tow a caravan with that thing. Off to the shed, a day later he has a caravan. Then he discovers he is not alone, there are people out there just like him, and next thing you know there’s a youtube video giving instructions on how to drive them.

Now if you’ll excuse me, i need to make an off-road caravan. If you can’t take it on the half pipe, it ain’t a real caravan.

(And because you might be wondering i was looking up rc tires. I know, hasn’t really cleared anything up)

Mr Mini Hits The Road

Bright and early i dragged Michaela out to Templestowe to drive the mini for the first time. I like to drive by myself (or with people i know) if i’m not racing, so crack of dawn driving is the best time to do it. After all, who is going to get up on a Saturday morning to drive an rc car. Luckily just me, the track was clear.

I think the first drive of any car is the hardest. You take it easy, you don’t want to hit anything, you’re just waiting to rip that crash bandaid off. It needs to come when you least expect it, cause anything happening to that newly painted, shiny goodness is too much to bear. Its so bad, last night i dreamt about the mini’s first run. For whatever reason, in my dream it caught fire, and it looked a bit like the 60’s batmobile, flames coming out the rear. As silly as it sounds, i was really hoping this didn’t happen in real life.

I placed the mini on the track and went up to the drivers “pod”. Off it went, pulling to the left a bit. The car was faster then the rest of the other cars, and it felt nimble. Too bad it didn’t break or turn as well, causing that bandaid to be removed pretty quickly. KASMACK! Good news, the car is strong, but it was on its roof. Down i went, turned it over and back off it went.

After some trim adjustments, the car ran very well. It doesn’t break as well as the other road cars, and i suspect its because of the front wheel drive, and not having all four wheels stopping. This is of course me trying to sound like i know what i’m talking about, which i don’t so take care when listening. Turning wise, its just something to get used to. I think it turns well, I’m just coming into the bends quicker. I wasn’t able to use my “normal” driving style, so it was good fun to have to try some new moves. Too bad, no matter how many times i went around the track there was one bend that was giving me all sorts of trouble. I was either way too slow through it, or KASMACK. I have now called that corner KASMACK bend.

I also noticed that i had tire wear for the first time. Well maybe not the first time, hard to see tire wear on slicks, but on the mini, the front tires were going bald. I think i will swap them onto the back in a couple of runs and have a backend that slides round a bit more.

The run ended when i changed batteries, and realised that the new one was as good as dead. So back into the car and off home, another adventure over.

So, to finish up, here’s some things to know

• The mini does 36 km/h using the trusty hot wheels speed gun
• Tire wear
• Harder to brake into corners
• Heaps of fun

If Spiderman Drove A Car, It Would Look Like….

Thought i would try my hand at making my own decals. I would have liked it darker, but am pretty happy with the outcome. Now i’m off to tackle some bad dudes.