Got my ERBE and I'm going to change a lot of things

[mistercrash]

First thing I did before even trying it was to take the TQ transmitter and receiver and install that in my son's Mini T. Then I installed my DX3R receiver, an ACE single servo, Proline steering arm and EC3 connectors. I also made a custom antenna tube.

Now! I have to say, what demented evil mind ever came up with this brushless system? This thing is scary, I was afraid to hit somebody with it. It was a nice day out and many people were outside walking their dog or playing with their kids. I tried the truck to see what it could do and found out that... It could do some damage so I took it inside and put it away This thing is going to be fun but I think 4S will be sufficient for me in the future.

The pics:


And after it's first run on the street and grass.



I'm going to change a lot of things on this truck in the next few weeks. First to try to improve the durability and handling of this truck and second to bring some attention to myself. Stay tuned, an ERBE build from me should be interesting.

[Gregarious76]

At 4s you won't be able to properly test that custom slipper disc you made. I guess you'll just have to send me one for a proper trial.

[mistercrash]

Well I,m not saying that I will never run 6S again Of course I will. But I intend to try racing with this thing and 4S will probably be enough to clear the biggest jumps.
Here's my ERBE 8 hours after I got it. I just can never leave well enough alone



But I guess it's good to check everything out because after only one 10 minute run, one of my diffs, the front one sprung a leak. And there were a couple of screws that were stripped with the plastic of the chassis melted on the threads.

[RustlerRacer16]

How do you keep track of all those screws?!

[mistercrash]

How do you keep track of all those screws?!

I memorize exploded views

[FusionTiger]

Very impressive, Ive just seen some of your pictures with the LST and Hyper7 diff. Superb idea on that.

I will definitely be keeping track of your progress.

[mistercrash]

Something I did while the chassis and rockers are taking a bath in black RIT dye. A 3 mm thick carbon fiber motor plate.



This gave me the opportunity to install the carbon fiber slipper pad I made earlier this winter. I had an idea of making a full disk and then I saw someone actually did on the RC Monster forum out of circuit board material. I tried to find the thread but I couldn't. Anyway, he did it first and he said that his circuit board slipper pad worked like a charm. I made mine out of CF. Still don't know if it will work.



Gotta go get my son from daycare. More to come later.

[billyboy]

Something I did while the chassis and rockers are taking a bath in black RIT dye. A 3 mm thick carbon fiber motor plate.



This gave me the opportunity to install the carbon fiber slipper pad I made earlier this winter. I had an idea of making a full disk and then I saw someone actually did on the RC Monster forum out of circuit board material. I tried to find the thread but I couldn't. Anyway, he did it first and he said that his circuit board slipper pad worked like a charm. I made mine out of CF. Still don't know if it will work.



Gotta go get my son from daycare. More to come later.

This slipper looks very impressive, but I think that the friction factor of the carbon fiber is lower than the stuff that a regular slipper is made of - so I think it will not have better performance. It seems like you will have to tighten it all the way...
Anyways- this is interesting, keep updating on how it performs

[mistercrash]

I had a lot done today. The chassis and rockers are now black and I have started to put things back together. Here are pics of the front and rear end.

[mistercrash]

What you see in the bulkheads are Losi LST2 diffs. They are 1/8th scale monster truck diffs. Very tough.
The power of the MMM on 6S apparently shredded a few of the stock diffs so I decided to follow this person's lead on his project of putting LST diffs in a Revo. He posted this project on RCM, just click his name to see and read through it. This is and experiment as I have no idea if the bulkheads will hold up. The LST2 diffs will not be a problem; these things are massive and very strong 1/8th scale monster truck diffs. My concerns are with the material that was removed from the ERBE’s bulkheads to make the LST2 diffs fit in there. Only hard bashing and racing will confirm if the bulkheads are still as strong as they were before. The thumbnails will lead you to a bigger pic with a description underneath of what was done.

[mbeatle]

That's a sweet looking motor plate. It looks very professional. How do you think it'll hold up to the torque of the motor screw on it?

[candy76man]

Is the cf motor plate you made any stiffer than the stock aluminum one? I ask because I notice mine can flex noticeably with a little pressure and that of course changes the gear mesh.
Hopefully traxxas or someone will offer a thicker motor plate for the new revo tranny like they did for the old emax tranny.

[mistercrash]

Thank you, I love the attention

CRAZY BRUSHLESS I answered your PM.

I wish I had the skills to do such mods

You're supposed to have the skills buddé. You're in Montreal, Quebec! You don't remember ''Les débrouillards 50''? Or maybe you're too young to know about that

That's a sweet looking motor plate. It looks very professional. How do you think it'll hold up to the torque of the motor screw on it?

Don't know, everything you will see in this thread are experiments, only time spent racing and bashing will tell if anything I will show here will hold up. As for that motor screw, CF is stronger, stiffer and harder than aluminum. I don't think it will be a problem but then again, that motor's torque can shred any part with enough abuse. We'll see.

Is the cf motor plate you made any stiffer than the stock aluminum one?

Yes it is. I noticed that the aluminum one had quite a bit of flex two.

[stripe]

Very impressive work! I wish I had the skills to do such mods. You surely know what your doing.

[CRAZY BRUSHLESS]

would you be interested in making some CF parts for anyone one else?

[Laxman101]

and i thought taking my tranny apart was major

[mistercrash]

Winters are long in Canada eh! Gotta have something to do. I got something for the tranny two.
I have a 1/8th scale center diff in it.

This center differential has been discussed many times on these forums and it all started with a guy naming himself ‘’CowboyRay’’. He made an 8th scale CD using a Thunder Tiger TTR S3 buggy center differential. His design required extensive machining to be done and was financially out of reach of many. Some people tried to take over this design and tried to market this CD but the financial aspect was a problem again. It was just very expensive to produce and the sale price was high. Cowboy made and sold a few hundreds of them and then stopped when Traxxas came out with their own version of a center differential with rear brake. Then I saw on the RC Monster forum a guy named ‘’sjcrss’’ made an 8th scale center differential with parts of an Ofna Hyper 7 buggy CD that did not require the help of a machinist or machining equipment. Having at least a drill press or access to one helps a lot though. The hardest part of making this CD is definitely making M3X.5 threads in hardened steel. I bought a full carbide tap to help with this. It is expensive but I use this size tap so often in this hobby that the purchase was justified. The thumbnails will lead you to a bigger pic with a description underneath of what was done.

[mistercrash]

That's it for tonight, I'm tired

[asifjahmed]

That is pretty amazing!

[mistercrash]

A few little details on this build.

PUSHRODS AND TURNBUCKLES

I am using the Traxxas aluminum red pushrods and Traxxas aluminum red turnbuckles. I would rather have them black but the black pushrods are not out yet. I changed to Traxxas red pushrod spacers since the ERBE came with blue ones. I also like to use the TRA5348 turnbuckle rod ends on all the turnbuckles and the pushrods. They are the biggest and bulkiest rod ends used on the Revos. They are usually used only on the rear turnbuckles but I like to use them everywhere. You can recognize them by the small ring around the base of the ball end.

[mistercrash]

ROCKER POSTS

I don't know about you but when I want to take the rockers arms and this happens, it annoys me.




The P2 progressive rockers will be used but this is a small modification I like to do to the rocker posts. I take out the M4 button head screw, I make sure the rocker post is firmly screwed to the bulkhead. Then I take an M4X.7X16 mm set screw and screw it firmly in the rocker post with red Locktite. I then use an M4 Nylok nut to secure the rockers. Whenever I need to take a rocker out, the post stays in the bulkhead.



Here is something I do to the rear body post.

REAR BODY POST

There’s not much to say about the rear body post but I just wanted to show what I did to it. The body post used on the ERBE is the same as the 3.3 Revo with Easy Start so it has this orifice in it for the Easy Start plug. It is not used for the ERBE so I sanded it off with a sanding drum.



BULKHEADS

I have a tendency to over tighten screws sometimes. Especially with the plastic bulkheads. I feel these need to be sitting as tight as possible against the chassis but I often stripped the threads in the plastic trying to do so. I installed some Dubro brass inserts to deal with this problem. Now I can torque those screws very tight and I believe that this helps make the bulkheads sit very snuggly against the chassis adding to the overall structural strength.
I used the 4-40 inserts for the screws that go through the shock towers and 6-32 inserts for the rest on the screws.

[brushlessman]

i also did the sayden front mod. it helps alot with cornering

[mistercrash]

The Slayden steering mod is a must for racing IMO. For bashing you could do without it I guess but it helps the truck so much, why not do it. Anyone who frequently send their truck cart wheeling should learn to better control their truck first though. The extreme steering throw of this mod will make the pillow balls more susceptible to popping out of the carriers.

[Superdaverevo]

WOW the drivetrain on this rig will be bullit proof. I really like the centre diff mod!

[mistercrash]

Thanks. I just read a thread by danielhr77. He did a really cool thing to his MMM's switch. ON and OFF in clear view so now he is sure his MMM is off when he wants to connect batteries. I didn't have that plate he had so I took parts of decals I have and came up with this. Also, if you're like me and keep whatever decals you get with kits and parts and RC magazine subscriptions, check them because sometimes they have cool little decals made just for a switch that says ''ON/OFF''. I had one on a Tamiya decal sheet dating back to the early 90s but it didn't stick anymore so I couldn't use it.

Green means ''GO''. Red means ''NO GO''.

[Traxxas Addict]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mistercrash]

To everyone that have the ERBE or the EREvo. I would like your opinion on the chassis. I think it has tons of flex. Flex can be good as it will give instead of brake but I find that this chassis is like a wet noodle. I'm talking about the front and rear ends. The middle has a lot of ribbing underneath and the center skid helps a lot. But the front and rear ends that lock in the bulkheads are very flexy. Once the bulkheads are on, it seems rigid but it's the bulkheads holding the chassis in place. That brings me to think that the bulkheads will snap more easily since the chassis' front and rear ends have too much flex to help the bulks dissipate the forces of impacts during extreme suspension movements. It's just an observation here, maybe I just think too much.

[Ground Loop]

That brings me to think that the bulkheads will snap more easily since the chassis' front and rear ends have too much flex to help the bulks dissipate the forces of impacts during extreme suspension movements. It's just an observation here, maybe I just think too much.

Or maybe you're right on.

The only part I've broken so far is the rear bulkhead. (Center bash plate also cracked)

The chassis pan itself just flexed, and it's fine. The rear bulkhead broke the mounts off.

[mistercrash]

I ordered an Ernst charge receptacle and a Y harness that I think will need to be modified to have two male plugs and one female plug instead of two female and one male. This will be to follow Longbill76's idea in his thread about his ERevo build. He made a receptacle for his CastleLink on the receiver box cover so that he can plug the CastleLink without removing the cover.

I did a bit of reading about suspension set ups for the ERevo and I ended up with a set up I'm going to start with for racing this season. The way my MMM is set up for now is posted above. I took a set up sheet for the 3.3 Revo since I didn't find one for the ERevo on the Traxxas site. If there is one maybe someone can post a link.



I weighed my ERBE on 4 digital scales and I was surprised how well balanced it is. I thought this thing might be tail heavy but with 49.4% front weight bias, and a difference of just 52 grams from left to right, I am pleased with it's overall balance. I might try to tweak it a bit in the future.

[mistercrash]

I need help from someone with knowledge. I tried longbill76's cool way of putting a plug through the receiver box cap to make it easy to plug the Castlelink but the thing just doesn't work. Like the drawing shows, it's just a female plug that has been soldered to the MMM's receiver wire to make some sort of a Y harness. Then I just found a way to make the plug hold securely on the receiver cap. I'm frustrated because this was a lot of work and the result looks good but the Castle software will not log onto the MMM.
USB connection status - green
Device connection status - red

I'm using a Spektrum DX3R receiver, I don't know if that has something to do with it. Does the MMM's receiver wire have to be disconnected from the receiver in order for the software to recognize it?



What am I missing here? I have very good soldering skills and all of my connections are correct and secure, brown (-) wire with brown wire, orange (neutral) with orange and red (+) with red. It's very simple but it just doesn't work. I don't get it. I hope somebody can help me with this.

[bmoney]

nice work once again mc

[Traxxas Addict]

I already broke the rear end off my chasis and had to replace. Bulkheads were just fine.

[mistercrash]

Thanks b$

I already broke the rear end off my chasis and had to replace. Bulkheads were just fine.

Interesting

[E-maxx Sweden]

Is this thread sweet or what, just love it. (you remind me of popoxx's thread for the e-maxx)

http://monster.traxxas.com/showthrea...ghlight=popoxx

Keep it coming

[mistercrash]

That E-maxx thread is cool. I loved looking through all of it. Thanks for that link. Well we have two things in common for sure Popoxx and I, we both like to go over board and we're both French

[Popoxx]

Interesting thread with uncommon mods mistercrash ! I like that
Major mods, major change ? We will see !

[Kipper]

I had a nasty flip a few weeks back, and would like to prevent it in the future, but don't know of any alternatives. I was bashing in the parking lot at my work. It has a few grassy dips that work great for jumps. Well, one time I flew out of a dip, flipped the ERB and it landed square on its top. It broke the rear body mount... I was thinking at first that was all that broke. But, as I tore into the truck to replace the parts, I discovered both rear bulks were broke, the center skid plate broke at the rear mount, and even three "HARDENED" steel pivot pins succumbed. I was thinking it would be nice if somebody would make aluminum replacement bulkheads. I have read on other threads that some people think aluminum is more detrimental than plastic, but I feel it may be the lesser of two evils.
Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.


I know... Don't flip the truck on its top!

[mistercrash]

I would say that there are no hop up parts that would help when you have an impact that is big enough to break as many parts as it did on your truck. It was a bad landing, that's all. Replace with stock parts and keep on bashing.

A little 5S fun in the snow.

- Bashing through the snow
- With a brushless ERevo

I ran until my fingers couldn't take the cold anymore. And plastic doesn't like the cold. I cracked a front bulkhead. It's just a tiny crack so I'll leave it for now. It's fun to bash in the snow but it freaked me out to see the truck when I took the body off. Especially since I didn't do anything to water proof. I should at least use some love balloons over the lipos.

[PIR3lly]

Yeah, there's a lot of snow getting under there.
I tried driving in snow today, but as I saw snow coming closer and closer to the esc, I stopped.

I'm gonna try that liquid tape stuff soon, because I like to keep it working.

[candy76man]

I had a nasty flip a few weeks back, and would like to prevent it in the future, but don't know of any alternatives. I was bashing in the parking lot at my work. It has a few grassy dips that work great for jumps. Well, one time I flew out of a dip, flipped the ERB and it landed square on its top. It broke the rear body mount... I was thinking at first that was all that broke. But, as I tore into the truck to replace the parts, I discovered both rear bulks were broke, the center skid plate broke at the rear mount, and even three "HARDENED" steel pivot pins succumbed. I was thinking it would be nice if somebody would make aluminum replacement bulkheads. I have read on other threads that some people think aluminum is more detrimental than plastic, but I feel it may be the lesser of two evils.
Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.


I know... Don't flip the truck on its top!

I think the revo bulkheads would be difficult and costly to machine out of aluminum and that is probably the main reason no one has done it yet, and cast aluminum probably wouldn't even hold up as well as the stock composite bulks.