Conference vmszoo::rc

    HI KEVEN,
    I HAVE A BLAZING BLAZER. IS A FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRUCK THAT IS THE
    FOUR RUNNER TO THE (I CANT THINK OF THE NAME BUT IT SELLS FOR ABOUT
    300.00 DOLLARS A REAL NICE TRUCK.) ANYWAY MY TRUCK HAS A 3-SPEED
    TRANS. THAT IS SHIFTABLE BY RC. IT LSO HAS LOCKABLE HUBS. 
    
    I ALSO MODIFIED MINE AND NOW NEED A NEW TRANNY COST ABOUT 180.00
    DOLLARS. NEEDLESS TO SAY IT IS NOW FOR LOOKS. THE THING TO LOOK
    OUT FOR IS THE INPUT GEAR IT IS PROBALY PLASTIC.
    
                                   GOOD LUCK.  JERRY
    
    
    P.S. I SURE HAD ALOT OF FUN.!!!!!!

    I know you can get a 4000(?) mAH battery pack for the Clodbuster
    (it's a dual pack with each half mounting front and rear) that might
    do well.  Personally I'd get 4 Gates Cyclon cells of the 5 AH size
    instead.  Mine moved really well with 2 of them, and it would really
    scream with 4.  That's 8 volts at 5000 mAH....
    
    Willie

    Then again, if you don't mind overstressing things a bit, go down
    to Radio Shack for a set of cellular phone batteries and you've
    got 12 volts at 2500 mAH.  That might be a little scary, though
    if it held together it would beat anything else.  You might want
    to redo the wiring harness to handle the 100-150 amp currents....
    
    Willie

    Kevin,
          What's your definition "smaller 2WD vehicles"....Almost
    everything is smaller than a Crodbuster....
    
        Doug

    
    By smaller 2wd vehicles, I mean ones such as Blackfoot, Monsterbeetle
    and the others in the class.  I have got to see a few of these in
    action and they can really move, but there seems to be a tradeoff
    in power.  I am currently looking into different gearing to see
    what can be done to reach a middle ground.
    
    km
    

    I have the Monster Beetle and love it, it has the same chassis as
    the Blackfoot truck and the Frog buggy, so the hop up gears for
    the Frog will fit the Blackfoot/Monster Beetle. I also have the
    Frog, but have not tried swapping gear ratios yet.
    
    The Monster Beetle is great for jumping the granite curbs in parking
    lots.......
    
    
    
    
    Royce

    
    re: .5
    	Shows you I've spent too much working at a hobby store
    dealing with people who want a vehicle that looks like a
    Tamiya Tiger Tank, but can run as fast as an RC 10....
    
    	There really is a trade off in both speed and handling.
    The 'Busters' high center of gravity will probably bite you
    in the butt on the corners if you do increase the speed capa-
    bility to any significant degree, if my neighbor's kid is
    any indication. His CB is stock, I've watched him roll his
    a time or two.... If you do go Willie's route of punching
    up the battery(ies), I'd definitly re-wire it. Better safe
    than sorry, y'know. I've seen what some people have managed
    to do to a totally stock setup, such as weld the battery
    connectors together, insulation melting contests, etc....
    
    Doug

    Be especially careful on that clodbuster if you go to an electronic
    speed control.  Specifically make DARN sure that there is no possible
    way the motor leads can get shorted; no fuse can blow as fast as
    the pass transistors in the speed control!
    	
    You should try getting the batteries as low as possible, softening the
    suspension, and fabricating/installing antisway bars, front and rear.
    You probably can bend such a bar up out of stiff music wire. 
    
    The net result of softening and then antiswaying the suspension
    is that the suspension _looks_ the same while on straightaways,
    but holds better and stays flatter on fast but bumpy curves.
    
    You also might want to investigate how much bump-steer your front
    suspension has. (i.e. when the steering servo is turned all the way,
    and THEN a front wheel hits a bump, how much does that front wheel
    change it's steering angle.  Bump-steer is a real killer on
    hotshots/supershots.  You might need to think a bit to come up with a
    solution. 
    
    	-Bill
    
                                                   

    
    There's still another alternative nobody has mentioned, build your
    own truck.  You can make some darn good handling truck based on the
    RC10 with the several monster truck conversion kits available for
    it.  There are some kits usually advertised in the RC magazines.
    The price will run somewhat higher than a plain vanilla truck
    but it will definitely pay off at the track.  Perhaps you will
    end up spending more $$ by buying a out-of-the-box type of truck 
    along with soup-up parts than by going through a custom conversion kit.
                                                  
    
    						Orlando.
    

    I'd be careful; suspensions are easy, bodies/frames are easy, but
    those driveline components can be real bears.
    
    Drivelines (esp. 4WD drivelines) are small, highly stressed, and
    precision devices.  
    
    You probably want to build on a "standard" driveline.
    
    
		\__    		Bill
       ((,,,....O===--0'        Yerazunis
    

    In the May (I think) issue of RC Car Action, there is a Monster
    Truck Shootout.  They rate  the trucks based on several categories,
    and come up with final ratings based on total score.  The categories
    were: pulling (by weight), acceleration, handling, top speed, and
    price.  The Marui (sp?) came out first in the overall.  However,
    if you subtract the scores for pulling, the Blackfoot blows them
    away and the Clodbuster (which won the pulling competition at 40
    pounds) doesn't look so hot.  I'm leaning toward a Blackfoot or
    Midnight Pumpkin with some add-ons.  Main difference between the
    two is that the Pumpkin is weighted toward the rear for stunts and
    wheelies.  You could do a lot of "adding-on" to a Blackfoot and
    never get near the price of a ClodBuster.
    
    

    
    
    My son is very interested in buying a Monster truck.  He already
    has a ultima for on road purposes but just wants a truck for off-road.
    What he is thinking of was along the line of 4wd and high in the
    air .  Would a big brute have similar traction
    to that of a four wheel drive truck or would some thing like a four
    wheel drive four wheel steering truck be better for heavy off-road
    purposes probably having the new Kyosho Double dare in mind.  Does
    the 4 wheel steering take much maintainence?




        Bill                                    

        I debated the 4WD vs. 2WD before I bought a Monster Truck. I
        finally decided on a 2WD truck.  I considered allot of points
        before I made my final decision.  At the time I made my decision
        the Kyosho Double was not available but I knew that it was
        coming out. 
        
        When I started looking I wanted to get a 4WD truck for superior
        traction.  I quickly decided against the Clod Buster due to the
        mechanical complexity of 4WS (four wheel steering) and the dual
        motor approach as well as the cost.  I wanted a truck that I
        wouldn't be afraid to let the kids play with. The only single
        motor 4WD truck with 2WS that I could find was Varicom's Big
        Grizzly.  However I decided against the Big Grizzly because I
        could not find a kit or any spare parts, or after market parts
        for it in any local hobby shops. I started to look at 2WD drive
        trucks and eliminated many of them because they were small (I
        wanted a large truck, else it's hard to call it a Monster
        Truck), and because many of them seemed to be redesigned cars
        with inadequate suspensions. 
        
        Radio Control Car action had a Monster Truck shoot out article.
        Several of the trucks have also been reviewed in feature
        articles in other issues.  I used these various articles for
        most of my information.  Eventually, I decided that I would go
        for a good handling, reasonably fast 2WD truck.  I then decided
        on the Kyosho Big Brute as it was large, reasonably fast,
        reasonable cost ($105), was the best handling truck in the shoot
        out article, many spare parts are available in local hobby
        shops, and there are a number of after market parts available
        for it. 
        
        I've been VERY happy with the Big Brute.  I did add oil filled
        shocks instead of the friction shocks supplied and ball bearings
        and I bought a Futaba radio with an MC112B speed control.  I am
        going to replace Kyosho's dog bones (abs plastic) with Thorpe's
        very shortly and I did replace the stock motor with a Lemans
        240ST that I had. The truck really handles well, is very fast,
        and extremely rugged.  I let anyone try it including all the
        neighborhood kids.  It has seen EXTREME abuse and I haven't had
        to replace a single part. It would not hesitate to recommend you
        seriously consider it since you are buying it for your son
        (HAH!).  I use the 7 cell batteries (8.4 Volts) from my Optima
        for the truck. It holds either the 6 or 7 cell Kyosho flat
        packs. The Truck is so much fun I never run my Turbo Optima
        anymore.
        
        Todd
        
        P.S. It tends to spin the tires very easily in the dirt.
        I think a taller gear ratio (less tourqe) and different tires
        with spikes would help.
 

    I was watching "Bigfoot" run on ESPN Monster trucks TV show and
    the commentator said that "Bigfoot" stubbed its toe.  Any idea what
    he was talking about?

    When I chose between 2wd or 4wd I chose the 2WD Blackfoot because
    it was fast and had a future.
    
                      justin
    

    HI EVERYONE,

    I am new on this hobbie so I don't know much about it but I like it so 
    I am buying a CLODBUSTER truck, did anyone have one before that could
    tell me any reference ? 
    How hard is it in order to find part ? 
    Is any catalog or magazine about r/c cars ?
    I'll appreciate all the help or comments so I know in I'm getting into.

    THANK'S
    TONY

    re. .13
    
    Tony,
    
    >How hard is it in order to find part ? 
    Though I don't know where you live, the Clodbuster is an MRC/Tamiya
    product, and they are one of (if not the) biggest manufacturers
    of RC cars around.  It's usually real easy top get parts from them
    as well as several aftermarket vendors.
    
    >Is any catalog or magazine about r/c cars ?
    Several!  RC Car Action is probably the most popular magazine.  Lots
    of adds and articles.  Catalog wise, there's Tower Hobbies and a
    few others (once again, I mention Tower as I believe they're the
    biggest).  Check the directory listings (note 11?) to find Tower's
    address.
    

    Hope the info helps,
    
    Greg

    

    I have been reading this conference but not many people
    say anything about RC monster trucks .
    Is anyone out there that owns a big wheels truck?
    Why don't we comment our experiences with other people about this
    issue?
    I am new on this hobbie and I just got a Clobuster truck and I play
    with it with my daugther on the back yard, we have a lot of fan but 
    I'll like to ear from another people about what to do if I want to
    increase the power so I can get into pulling and about how much
    difference are between one kind a truck and another.
    
    lets talk !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
    
    from the Star of Texas
    
    tony
    

    
    So who's still playing with their respective monster trucks?
    I just spent several hours a few weeks back repairing and repainting
    my son's Blackfoot and now have it functional again.I may have made
    a BIG mistake painting this thing transparent blue(candy apple colour)
    because it chips real easy but it sure does look good with all the
    decals on.
    Has anyone purchased the new Mudblaster..or the King Cab..or any
    of the new trucks..like the Traxxas one???
    
    

    At one of the tracks where I race, King Cabs are allowed to compete
    with Blackfoots (Blackfeet?).  It is no contest; the King Cab is faster
    down the straight, faster through the turns, and handles jumps better.
    The King Cab can't quite compete with a true racing truck like the
    Losi JR-XT, but it is a definite step up in performance from the
    Blackfoot.
    
    Having said that, I should also say that if I were buying a new truck,
    it would be a JR-XT, not a King Cab.
    
    My Blackfoot sports a Ford F-100 body in Lexan from CRP.  It is painted
    fluorescent yellow-orange with small red polka-dots (about 200 of them).
    The paint, being on the inside, has stood up pretty well.  I am
    fortunate that there's still a track nearby that runs a Blackfoot-only
    class in some of its races.
    

    
    A lexan F-100 body huh.I've been thinking of doing that myself because
    the styrene body on the Blackfoot takes a terrible beating and no
    matter what you do the paint is going to get scratched off.
    Tell me,have you had any luck in trying to get an authentic looking
    chrome grill??I know there are chrome coloured paints but they never
    look the same.I have extra decal sets that I'd like to apply to
    the Lexan to give it that Blackfoot look,wonder if the body styles
    are close enought to do that.
    You are lucky in the this track runs Blackfoot types only,from what
    I've read the Blackfoot is definately no match for the new purebred
    racing trucks.I thought perhaps the King Cab was in this category
    but from what you say it seems it isn't in the same league.
    

    I'm getting a Blackfoot this week.  Sounds like a fun truck, and
    besides, my dad works for Ford...
    
    Anyway, does anyone know of any places in Mass where you can race these
    things.  From the articles I've read, it seems that there are some
    high-tech trucks out there that will kill a Blackfoot, but there are
    enough Blackfoots out there that they have Blackfoot only races.
    
    Any one know?
    
    Steve
    

    
    You'll enjoy the Blackfoot I'm sure...it's not expensive and I had
    a great deal of enjoyment out of building it.Word of warning..they
    do NOT perform well on ashpalt with the stock tires...they tend
    to flip over..that's how my son and I demoed the body..:-)
    

    A quick question. I've read a couple of replies stating that the
    paint chips off of the body very easily. Are you painting the 
    "outside" of the body??????? If so, you should be painting the
    "inside" to prevent just that from happening.
    
    I used to do alot of racing (RC10) and went through some pretty
    incredible crashes. Paint chipping was never a problem.
    
    Steve

    re. .22
    
    Steve, check topic 818 (specifically reply .2) for what might be
    an excellent spot to race.  There's also a track in Lunenburg, Ma.,
    called "Fast-track".  I think they run races most Sundays.
    To find other entries on RC cars and racing, do a SHOW KEYWORD.
    You'll find a number of keywords relating to RC cars, trucks, tracks
    etc. that you can then use with DIRECTORY/KEYWORD=xxxxxx to find most
    of the info on this subject that's been entered into this file.
    
    I know of some N.H. tracks, but haven't seen "Blackfoot only" races
    at them.
    
    Greg

    
    Steve...the Blackfoot body is not lexan..it's black molded plastic
    and must be painted from the outside.There are lexan replacement
    bodies available.
    

re Note 505.25   Track info pointer

>>    To find other entries on RC cars and racing, do a SHOW KEYWORD.
>>    You'll find a number of keywords relating to RC cars, trucks, tracks
>>    etc. that you can then use with DIRECTORY/KEYWORD=xxxxxx to find most
>>    of the info on this subject that's been entered into this file.

    This will work; it is the traditional way to find stuff in a notes
    file.  But there are much faster ways to find stuff in this file, and
    they are described in 11.0, 2.* (and then 1.19).

    DIRECTORY/KEYWORD=xxxxxx takes over six minutes, so we do it for you
    almost every weekend.  The results are the replies to topic 11.

    SHOW KEYWORD works fine, but there are over 300 keywords, so there is a 
    better way for this as well. Take a guess as to what words or fragments
    of words might appear in the keyword, and use the asterisk as a wild
    card, e.g.   SHOW KEYWORD *CAR*    or   SHOW KEYWORD *EVENT*

    You can combine the two with the  /FULL switch on the SHOW KEYWORD
    command, e.g. SHOW KEYWORD/FULL *CAR*  Try it.  If one of the replies
    to topic 11 is listed, read that reply.

    Alton, a moderator

    I've seen two different Ford truck bodies that are good replacements
    for the stock Blackfoot.  I think the first was by Parma.  It looked
    just like the stock body, done in Lexan.  I think the stock decals
    would work fine on this body.  The CRP body is a later model Ford
    truck, with straight sides in the rear.  I don't know how well the
    stock decals would work.  I bought the CRP body because it seemed
    stronger and it gave clearance for the way I chose to mount the
    rear shocks.
    
    I agree that silver paint is not a good approximation to chrome.
    I bet there are shiny self-adhesive films available that you could
    apply to the inside to give a chrome-like effect.  I've never done
    this, though.  The look I was after was playful, not realistic.