CWHFSR

That is a good point. I've been running my 3s2200 cells and haven't had many problems yet but don't run for very long myself. I may have to look into getting a cheaper brushless system as a replacement.

Where do people go to buy the brushless motors? I've gone to Hobby City for some airplane stuff but haven't been shopping around for car things lately... haven't done cars for about 20 years (things have changed a lot!).

MD6

Try Nitro RCX. They have some Hobbywing EZRun systems and they are very reasonable. I think they are in the U.S. The last time I looked you could get a 17.5 and the esc for less than $100. They also have other Hobbywing motors.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

I got my ezrun from an ebay vendor, came out to 82$ shipped to my door and so far seems well worth it. for 2S lipo or 6s nimh I think 9t is just about perfect, for someone intending on running 3s all the time I'm guessing 13T is going to be a better option.

those XX.5 turn motors just seem like they would be way too much for this thing; can anyone say otherwise? (I'd love to be wrong...)

MD6

I haven't gone to brushless yet, but I've heard good things about the Hobbywing systems. I checked Nitro RCX and you can get the Hobbywing 13.5 and speed control for about $90. if you do a google search you can find coupon codes for Nitro RCX and get free shipping, but it sounds like you got a good deal on Ebay.

alexchen86

Okay in my DF-03Ra I am running an XL-5 with Traxxas 2075 Servo...with stock Tamiya silver can so far...this thing will have to be waterproof as I have waterproofed everything including LEDs and light buckets....only taken the car for some minor drifting so far...kinda scared to break it believe it or not!

But of course I will be looking at a better brushed motor any suggestions?

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Brushed? No man... Its 2010 dude!!! Sell that brushed crap to some poor sap and get with the times

MD6

alexchen - I intend to use the Traxxas XL5 and the Traxxas servo. How did you mount the speed control?

alexchen86

You can't really see where I moutned the XL-5 ESC but it's on the otherside of the servo. I snipped off the mounting tabs and just used weatherproof heavy duty mounting tape found at any hardware store.

Dust cover kinda blocks the view sorry bout that. Iclear smoked the insde to hide the disgusting look hahaha. The latex glove holds my watersealed AMTraxxasRX I ripped off an old Bandit.

The reason why I want to run brushed is there's no LVCon the XL-5 and also I am afraid running BL in muddy conditions and with the dust cover on I can see very easy overheating issues....what do you all suggest?

Should I get the VXLsetup? That's the most waterproof it gets I suppose...but then again I run NiMH all day on this rally car. That is why I have a Traxxas connector to a standard Tamiya connector.

http://www.thebarnfloor.com/catalog/...oducts_id=1135

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

The ezruns have a fan, so as long as there is even a bit of air circulation inside the dust shield and a reasonable volume of air for the fan to churn around in it should be able to keep the ESC at a reasonable running temperature.

I run mine in snow and ice and it doesn't get in there that much thanks to my 5 cent dust shield (pop bottle cut, velcroed and shrunk) Mud should be no more or less problematic.

MD6

alexchen86 - Thanks. I had planned to cut off the mounting holes on the esc. I would assume that the brushless motors would be ok. The new 4wd Slash is brushless.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

yes if anything a brushless motor is LESS susceptible to contamination than a brushed one; there are no brushes to gum up as all the switching happens inside the esc, the motor is impervious to water from the output shaft to the bullet connectors. (of course water can get inside the motor if there are holes and in the bearings but ocasionnally rinsing it out and re-oiling the bearings has been enough to keep all my bl motors healthy on and off the road)

alexchen86

Hmmm more money more money!!! Aghhh my pockets hurt haha. I just finished a brand new SCX10 mud bogger too...is it true that I should be running Traxxas plugs if I plan on running on a lot of muddy/water filled ponds and such?

The videos on YouTube I've seen from all over the world seem to be running the old standard Tamiya plugs. What's everyone's take on this one? As I know rally cars will see a bit of mud/water as well.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

traxxas plugs are fine they handle a lot of current, I use deans; I just plain like them better. The only thing I can see the trx plugs improve over the deans for muddy/wet running is grip; they are easy to grab and pull appart while the deans are hard as it is, more so when wet but not enough for me to switch to traxxas...

tamiya connectors are kind of weak for current handling I wouldn't run more than 15-20A through them by the looks of the terminals inside I doubt they could take much more before melting.

alexchen86

I know about deans and Traxxas plugs handling better current.

I am just running 6 cells and when I run 7 cell I just take off the Traxxas to Tamiya adapter.

My question is do Tamiya plugs handle dirty water/mud okay or should I just resolder everything and run Traxxas plugs?

MD6

The Tamiya plugs are sometimes hard to get apart if they get hot. I usually run Deans, but if I was running in deeper water and mud, I'm not sure what I'd run. The Traxxas plugs are good, but I've had trouble if they're not pre-wired.

alexchen86

<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; background-position: initial initial; ">Okay today I had all my ESC wiring and batteries soldered to Traxxas ones....sick of the damn adapter.<div></div><div>Then I took my brand new SCX10 waterproofed out but the pinion eventually broke off contact with the spur after a few hard bashes and fitting a 550 size motor on an AX10 plate custom drilled is not really the best idea. So I will have to do some more work on that end.</div><div></div><div>Keep in mind I was running this truck at almost full speed for 30-40% of the time the rest of the time I was mud bogging and water running on a Duratrax 4600NiMH...and I drove it HARD for 10-15 minutes.</div><div></div><div>Then not appeased with my rc crave I took my DF-03Ra on its first virgin run!!! God I love this car!</div><div></div><div>With the SAME BATTERY I did some drifts in on my driveway for about 10 minutes of course requires full throttle...then got bored and drove it to the park to a wet volley ball court to do some real wet sand/water/mud rally racing....this last another 20 minutes!! And yeah I jumped it off a sand ramp I made to make it land in what I thought was an inch of water...TURNED OUT TO BE 5" DEEP and submerged the entire car!!</div><div></div><div>Then still had enough juice on the battery to do speed water runs into every single puddle I could find on the drive home...another 5 minutes...</div><div></div><div>So moral of the story Duratrax makes great NiMH to my amazement and I finally had a chance to take my DF-03Ra to its natural rally habitat and it performed excellent! The waterproof setup I did was put to the test and it passed with flying colors after an accidental submersion.</div><div></div></div>I always thought Tamiya cars were just for looks and light racing with buddies...boy was I wrong the DF-03Ra is one tough ****!! If you're a rally fan buy it, waterproof it, drive it like a maniac!

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Amen!

This car is incredible... I put 138.6Wh through that ezrun 35A 9T system today and it was EPIC. All on my stock tires (that are custom studded with metal pins for ice racing) I had a feeling I was going to come to that conclusion from the moment I ordered it but I wanted to make "really" sure before saying it out loud; this is my favorite land RC vehicle ever!

Lots of fast drifting on packed snow mixed with drifting on ice, that's 5 consecutive 2200mah 25C 3 cell lipos one after the other, for the last two packs, we started building a jump and making it bigger and bigger... largest jump must have been at least 4 feet high and 10 feet long. It's just EERIE to see a touring car fly through the air so gracefully thanks for the most part to it's outstanding weight distribution and buggy heritage. Jumps MUCH better than my Traxxas mini slash which is saying a lot considering THIS IS A TOURING CAR!

One of the landings didn't end so well and a ball link popped off, the dog bone came out! It was getting pretty dark but two of us were carrying high powered cree xr-e P4 flashlights which REALLY shine allowing us to find it easily. Surface mounted LED saved the day again! (I always carry it, saved my butt more than once...)

Quite frankly I think nobody venturing outside after sundown with an RC vehicle of any kind should be without one of these (or one like it)

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5397

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Sorry for the double post, but I just found the cause of my popped ball end and near loss of dog bone; If you run as little camber as I do in the back the hub/carrier can interfere with the adjustable linkage at extreme suspension travel, the corner of the hub (with it's unnecessary optional hole) literally pries the ball link out and you run the risk of loosing a dogbone. This probably won't be an issue if you run a lot of camber, reason i'm not is because I run on ice and g-forces are null, thus roll is null and camber is therefore not required. Plus I want a flat contact patch since I have two rows of studs on those tires and want both the rows to come into contact with the ice as much as possible so I have to run neutral camber in the back.

I'm going to get cvd' at some point anyway but still having you bashing session interrupted by a popped link is just unacceptable So I just took an exacto to it and cut the offending corners at an angle, now I can deflect the suspension all the way and there is no pressure on the link. I feel like going back out there for one more run! But it's late and I really shouldn't be pushing my luck... I really must get some video of this, lighting was very bad today which is a darn shame because I'd love to be reviewing footage of things we did with our "toys" today (a mini revo, an Rc18R, my RA and some 1/8 nitro buggy that stuck out like a sore thumb...) But especially the exploits of my amazing DF03 RA!

CWHFSR

Sounds like good fun! I have a ramp made for my Rustler but didn't think about trying to use it for the DF-03 as I was worried about doing some damage. May try it now just at lower speeds

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

I don't know if I would have been as daring with a wood ramp over concrete or asphalt but into a pit of somewhat more forgiving packed snow gave me confidence to try it, and love it!

(in retrospect of course it bottomed out every time but on a somewhat soft surface that didn't stop me from wanting to do it over and over, especially since the car drove away from it so nicely most of the time, but I would definitely not be treating it that way with an equally sized ramp over asphalt)

CWHFSR

Ah good point! I may still give it a go. I made an adjustable height jump that can be as low as 3" or so. Shouldn't be too bad with that low of a jump.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Probably not, of course everything depends on the speed you hit the ramp at, the flight trajectory and last but definitely not least... the landing

playerpete

Here is my newly assembled DF03 rally w/ suburu 08 version. I have it w/ my mugen mbx5t elec. version waiting to be painted. So cal has been hit w/ severe rain so I cant seem to paint until outside dries. Its strange, everytime i tried to paint an RC car body, it always rains outside. How often is that in Los Angeles? kinda weird. anyways, here is my rally set up.

tamiya rally kit,
sidewinder w/ 5700
Thunder pwr lipo 20C 3300
futaba digital regular servo
futaba radio.

I ran it about 3 min. outside and noticed a heavy torque steer. Im not sure if its the loose traction or too much pwr. i'll try again and see.

P.S. I loved building this car, i purchased another one, Mitsubshi Lancer from Tower. 'Tower have great pricing once your a member. Paid 185 w/ shipping. I gotta have two of everything once I like it. Well, except my wife. =)

nitroade

Thought I'd post up my Impreza. I love this car, almost too much to run it, unfortunately. I have the 07 version as well which I am planning to keep mint in the box.

playerpete

Hey how come your body is so nice lookin. I admit, I have built a lot of cars and confident Im good at it, but im SUCK at bodies. I guess im not an artist nor have patience. LOL. Does anyone sell painted body for our rally cars? Tamiya bodies I mean. others look like dog..