New E-Jato build

[jatoracer721]

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, and I finally have the time and money. I started off with a jato roller I bought here for $120.http://monster.traxxas.com/showthread.php?t=500563
This arrived in perfect condition. I'm sure all of you know how to disassemble the Jato so I wont go through that. After taking it apart I put the stuff I didnt need aside.

Now ready to start,

I wanted to keep as much stock stuff as possible and not butcher up the chassis. I used a t4 motor mount and drilled the center out to 9/16 then shaved the stock tranny brace to still work.


After this I knew that I wanted the battery in the center and I wanted to keep the chassis mostly stock. So I used Saddlepack lipo batteries built for a b44 buggy and shaved a little off the gas tank mount so they would fit in there.


I then built a plate to put the other cell onto. Which will be where the speed control will sit when permanently mounted.

Everything came out clean and semi stock looking, waiting for the lipo to charge heres more pics.

[RC-Crazy]

So, two saddle pack stack up to fit inside the fuel tank position.... good thought!
but, how do you change battery? need to remove the top plate everytime?

[jatoracer721]

Just remove the upper battery mount I made then I can slide them out. I only race so I will charge in between rounds for now. I only took it out the driveway because of the snow. But the xl5 and titan seem to be good. I will run it on sunday at the track.

[RC-Crazy]

is a single speed conversion?

[jatoracer721]

yep, im sure I will blow some gears until I get the slipper set right. Now it is at 1 turn out.

[RC-Crazy]

good work! for sure you'll like it. here's my w/ waterproof set-up & VXL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2C9-doLr9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb1dxFHdC9g

[jatoracer721]

I have a new body, rear bumper, and some other stuff coming for it in a week or so. I work at the hobby shop so this truck will have a lot more done to it. I just got it today and this is how far I got in 6hrs.I really wont be doing speed runs or bashing, I usually only run my rc's at the track.

[jatoracer721]

Well I just picked this up.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130354496159

[I sniff Nitro]

thats a pretty nice price

[n3.3d_for_sp33d]

Clean build. Looks really good

[jatoracer721]

Ok, I finalized my chassis layout, the xl5 is temp. until the vxl gets here. I tried to keep it all towards the middle.






Any more ideas are welcome.

[jatoracer721]

Now I'm just waiting on my vxl system and my parma body. Just added the smaller rear bumper,futaba 2.4 receiver, white trx dish wheels, proline M3 blades up front and Losi white taper pins in the rear. I had it out at the track tuesday and it handled pretty well(before I put on the new wheels/tires.) So I am pretty excited to see when its done. The next order will include the red traxxas camber links. The gearing for the vxl will start at 29/76.

[jatoracer721]

I raced it this weekend, and did ok. Just need to find a way to get more traction. Any ideas on setup would be helpfull. The track is clay and dry.

[RC-Crazy]

29/76 is too much for track race. I'm running 15/54(32p jato gearing) on mine for track & 17, 19/54 for bashing.

go 23/86 & try again.

[jatoracer721]

I will try that tonight at practice, also will try and get a video.What pinions should i order to run with the jato spurs?

[Bflaker]

Setup the rear suspension with as much toe-in and squat as possible....Pretty much setup everything for rear grip. I have my Jato setup that way and it wheelies on hardpacked/dusty tracks. I also run Pro-Line Holeshots in M3 compound. They're the grippiest tire I've tried so far. I also run 100K diff fluid. It makes it drift a lil' more, but the increased traction for acceleration is worth it. IMO

[RC-Crazy]

I will try that tonight at practice, also will try and get a video.What pinions should i order to run with the jato spurs?

all e-maxx pinions will work, much better than 48t gearing.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...RCH=32P+e-maxx

[trx33]

Lookin' good! Glad to see it getting put to good use.

[jatoracer721]

Just got back from the track and there was a lot more traction tonight. Handled a lot better. Used some paragon traction compound, and went softer on the rear. trx33, this was an awesome purchase thanks a lot! I have some parts coming in tomorrow, anti squat blocks, toe blocks and some other odds and ends. Gonna order up some e-maxx pinions for next week, where should i start?

[moe7404]

take it out and get it dirty. bash-have fun- repair- repete

[jatoracer721]

not really a basher, this truck will probably never be that much dirtier than the pictures. I run on an indoor clay track, so with the exception of being a bit dusty it will be clean. My slash has never been run outside either. This is as dirty as it gets.

[Bflaker]

Just got back from the track and there was a lot more traction tonight. Handled a lot better. Used some paragon traction compound, and went softer on the rear. trx33, this was an awesome purchase thanks a lot! I have some parts coming in tomorrow, anti squat blocks, toe blocks and some other odds and ends. Gonna order up some e-maxx pinions for next week, where should i start?

I had to setup my Jato for as much rear traction as possible. That includes running the rear battery placement, but no wheelie bar. The surface at my local short course track is hard packed dirt with a dry dusty top layer. So traction is very minimal.

Here's everything that should still apply for you:

1.5 degree anti-squat block
5 degree Toe-In Plate in the rear
0 degree Toe-In in the front
-1 degree Camber in the rear
-2 degree Camber in the front
Stock Shocks and springs both pre-loaded for ground clearance
100K Diff Fluid
Pro-Line Holeshot Rear Tires
Pro-Line Ribbed Front Tires
Traxxas 2075 Steering Servo

[RC-Crazy]

not really a basher, this truck will probably never be that much dirtier than the pictures. I run on an indoor clay track, so with the exception of being a bit dusty it will be clean. My slash has never been run outside either. This is as dirty as it gets.

never get dirty? you should get a on road car.

[trx33]

I had to setup my Jato for as much rear traction as possible. That includes running the rear battery placement, but no wheelie bar. The surface at my local short course track is hard packed dirt with a dry dusty top layer. So traction is very minimal.

Here's everything that should still apply for you:

1.5 degree anti-squat block
5 degree Toe-In Plate in the rear
0 degree Toe-In in the front
-1 degree Camber in the rear
-2 degree Camber in the front
Stock Shocks and springs both pre-loaded for ground clearance
100K Diff Fluid
Pro-Line Holeshot Rear Tires
Pro-Line Ribbed Front Tires
Traxxas 2075 Steering Servo

I agree with most of this, but I would do the exact opposite for diff fluid, drop it down to like 5k (that is actually what is already in there, I think). With 100k, both tires break loose at the same time and you have no control over the rear-end. With 5k, only one side will completely break loose and leave the other side with traction to keep the rear-end from spinning out.

you really need as much weight to the back as you can, too. With my nitro jato with basically everything said here except 5k diff oil and the gladiators that you got with the Jato, it would pull the front tires off the ground coming out of turns on a slightly watered loose dirt track.

Once you get everything worked out, your weight balance will be the most important adjustment you can make.

EDIT:

Here is a pretty standard setup sheet
http://www.traxxas.com/products/nitr...upsheet_SS.pdf

That should get you started. Another thing is getting the ride height correct. I usually adjust the preload so the front arms are level and the rear driveshafts are level.

EDIT2:
The setup sheets are found here
http://www.traxxas.com/support/kb_se...&highlight=564

There is a blank one, the one I showed you, and only one more, but they are worth looking at.

EDIT3:
LOL...I just keep thinking of more stuff.

I just saw your shock location in the pictures. While that may work well for onroad, you actually need some body roll to get traction on these trucks, you don't have to worry about rolling over because it sits so low anyway. I would put the shocks back in the middle position on both top and bottom and adjust the preload so the front arms are straight across and the same thing for the rear drive shafts.

The 1.5* anti-squat block and -5 toe-in are also a must. Also, make sure the spacers on the rear axle carriers are setup for the short wheelbase. The shorter wheelbase helps more weight be over the rear, so you get more traction.

[Bflaker]

I didn't like the lighter diff fluid in mine. Mine would always unload all the power on the inside tire and cause it to spin out when accelerating out of a turn. Running the 100K in my diff allowed me to accelerate faster and straighter with LESS spinning out when coming out of turns.

[RC-Crazy]

personally, I like thinner for off road & thicker for on road.

[jatoracer721]

I tried almost every combo of shock locations and that is just where it ended up working. I may go to 3k diff fluid because of how loose it is. Trx33 what oil did you use in the shocks? Everything is just how i bought it except the shock position. The anti sqaut block and toe in plates should be here tonight.

[trx33]

I'm pretty sure it's 30 in the shocks and 5000 in the diff.

[jatoracer721]

ok, I just was wondering that way I can make adjustments and changes and know which way to go. How much did you use this truck it looked brand new?

[jatoracer721]

I put the blue springs on the rear, and also added 5deg toe blocks, and 1.5deg anti squat. It seemed to hook up out of corners better, but i need to get softer rear tires. Probably losi pink tapers or proline suburbs m3 compound.Also will the 25deg casters increase turn in or on power steering?

[jatoracer721]

Heres the updates, including my new parma exciter body. I wanted the traxas body but it was cut out for the nitro engine and I wanted to keep mine solid. The red alum camber links are on order. Thinking about the red shock bodies also.

[jatoracer721]

Some more updates, I think it's almost done for now. Unless some other ideas come up. After wearing out my rear tires, and cracking the front wheel, I wanted stronger rims next. Since Traxxas uses a different size than Losi and associated, I wanted to find a way to use their wheels. Well the wide T4 axles slide right into place of the stock Jato axles. They are a little tight but can be pushed in by hand. They mount the same and use the set screw to hold the pin in place, which fits well also. http://cgi.ebay.com/Associated-7459-...item53db9e633e To run the rears take off the hex and drill the hole in the Associated wheels to fit over the rear axles. I ran 3 packs on them and they are solid. Also put the red trx alum turnbuckle set on.

[RC_K1d]

Thats a real nice looking jato. And a great job with what looks like a wrinkle efect on the body. Keep up the good work and hope you post up some first place trophies on here.

[jatoracer721]

Thanks,I have qualified for the main in both races I entered with it. With these tires the truck is really dialed, so we will see on sunday...

[jatoracer721]

More updates....I wanted a lower center of gravity, and the only way to do this was move one of the packs lower on the chassis. So after a little grinding I got both packs under the top plate.


Then I made an esc plate out of plexiglass and painted it to match the body.



So after mounting it there is more weight over the rear(hopefully better traction) and everything is much lower. I will try it out tomorrow and see how it handles.

[SeattleSlasher]

good work! for sure you'll like it. here's my w/ waterproof set-up & VXL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2C9-doLr9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb1dxFHdC9g

you need to tighten your slipper...

[RC-Crazy]

you need to tighten your slipper...

I know that the slipper is little loose, cuz I don't want to blow up the plastic tranny on 3S power.... thanks for the common.

[RC-Crazy]

LOL I don't think that will happen, not with the single speed anyway.

The single speed transmission can take alot. It can take more power then that.

she did! I blow once on EB Mod 18TM power w/ single speed tranny before.

[kustommaxx]

On that t4 motor mount is the center hole and the L cut the only mods. I had a GPM plate and nothing lined up so i tossed it. It was very cheap anyway.

[jatoracer721]

yep, and then drilling the 2 holes to attach it to the tranny