48.3 Mongoose's ET48.3 Build

[Mongoose]

Thanks for all of this great info Pauly.

I will check to see where the LVC setting is set but it should be set to Castle’s stock setting because I haven’t changed it. All positive and negative wires on each battery are the same length as well as the wires on the ESC....I’m not sure if that even matters or if it’s supposed to be that way. The 2S pack, the pack in question, is older than the 3S pack so maybe that has something to do with it?

Something I just remembered I noticed, or thought I noticed was a reduction in power towards the end but it was hard to tell. I really wasn’t driving hard at all and it seemed like it still had good power...enough so that I didn’t notice much of a change but maybe that battery hit LVC and I just kept driving to the point it shut off and that is why that pack was so low.

I think I’m just going to try the 3M tape after removing the Castle sticker first and if that doesn’t do the trick then I will add the zip tie.

I also need to shorten the motor wires and flip the power switch 180 degrees. I didn’t want to cut the motor wires if I didn’t have to in case the extra wire were to be needed on a future build but the real estate isn’t there once the body is mounted. The switch was a joke lol. It came out of the box in the on position so it’s 180 degrees out....yeah I laughed but was mad at the same time. Didn’t help it was like 1:00 in the morning either.

 

[Pauly]

Thanks for all of this great info Pauly.

I will check to see where the LVC setting is set but it should be set to Castle’s stock setting because I haven’t changed it. All positive and negative wires on each battery are the same length as well as the wires on the ESC....I’m not sure if that even matters or if it’s supposed to be that way. The 2S pack, the pack in question, is older than the 3S pack so maybe that has something to do with it?

Something I just remembered I noticed, or thought I noticed was a reduction in power towards the end but it was hard to tell. I really wasn’t driving hard at all and it seemed like it still had good power...enough so that I didn’t notice much of a change but maybe that battery hit LVC and I just kept driving to the point it shut off and that is why that pack was so low.

I think I’m just going to try the 3M tape after removing the Castle sticker first and if that doesn’t do the trick then I will add the zip tie.

I also need to shorten the motor wires and flip the power switch 180 degrees. I didn’t want to cut the motor wires if I didn’t have to in case the extra wire were to be needed on a future build but the real estate isn’t there once the body is mounted. The switch was a joke lol. It came out of the box in the on position so it’s 180 degrees out....yeah I laughed but was mad at the same time. Didn’t help it was like 1:00 in the morning either.

Yeah you definitely want that switch so the "on" position is facing forward. Nothing worse than your rig shutting down after a crash cuz you're switch shut itself off. Especially on the track.

The age of that pack could very well have something to do with it being as it would have more cycles on it. The less wire and less connectors in a connection gives you less resistance. Typically the goal is to achieve the least resistance possible in a connection and why you see most race setups direct soldered between the ESC and motor. Will it make a huge or noticeable difference in a basher? Probably nothing you would ever notice. Do you happen to have a charger that reads internal resistance in a pack? I'd be curious to see if that pack in question has a big difference in IR between cells and also in comparison to the IR of the 3S pack. Would tell you a bit more of the story of what's going on in those packs. I'm no huge battery guru by any means but a cell with much more IR than it's mate in a pack is going to struggle to charge equally.

If you're running the factory setting on the MMX for LVC I'd definitely move it up some. All the ESC manufacturers set them on the lower side by default.

 

[Overkill]

I would raise the LVC to 3.5V/Cell. You'll kill the batteries sooner if you run them down that low over and over. I use 3M VHB 5952 tape, remove the sticker on the bottom, clean both sides with alcohol, and my ESC never comes loose, never had to use a zip tie.

 

[Mongoose]

Thanks guys for all this info. This is why I love this forum.

I have the Venom Pro Duo charger and I don’t think it can read IR levels. I will need to check to be sure.

I will bump my LVC to 3.5V so I don’t kill my packs.

Can I buy either of the tapes you guys are recommending locally or will I need to buy it online?

 

[Overkill]

This is stronger than the stuff you find in stores.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/231410600113

 

[Mongoose]

I think I may have some of that. Someone at work may have given it me.

Both you guys are running or have ran the T-Bone bumpers. Have either of you experienced any problems with how they mount? I can’t say that I like sandwiching the chassis between diff housing and bumper. Instead of a nice rigid connection when using the countersunk screws on the aluminum, we now basically have a clearance hole that can allow translational movement.

What’s your thoughts on that?

 

[Mongoose]

I rearranged my layout and put my switch in a new location....and it’s turned the right way now lol. I think it’s in a good spot but the wires are really close to my front drive shaft which I’m not too comfortable with it. Any suggestions?

 

[Mongoose]

From the help of @jump_it and @TBuggy i came to the solution of just wrapping a rubber band around the ESC to keep the wires from contacting the front driveshaft.

 

[cordell12]

For mounting ESC's I use the 3M tape rated to hold 25lbs. Make sure you clean both surfaces good with rubbing alcohol. On the Castle ESC's I cut the label off the bottom of the ESC. Not sure why Castle does that but the tape sticks like garbage to that label and there's also the chance the label will let go as well. If you want a bit of reassurance wrap a zip tie under the ESC plate and around the ESC. I believe @Billl DeLong even notched his ESC plate for a spot for the zip tie to sit.

Glad you're having great results with those packs

so thats why my MMX keeps popping off even though I have that 25lb 3m tape. Thanks for the tip

 

[Mongoose]

No problem. @jump_it said he had an issue with the casing separating after he removed the sticker though and recommended a putting a ziptoe around it as a secondary precaution. I have yet to do this though.

 

[cordell12]

No problem. @jump_it said he had an issue with the casing separating after he removed the sticker though and recommended a putting a ziptoe around it as a secondary precaution. I have yet to do this though.

Just pulled my sticker off, doubled up on the 3m tape and bout to test it out. Also ordered some of that automotive 2 way tape just in case

 

[Mongoose]

Good deal. I haven’t ran it yet since I did it. I’m looking forward to know how it fares.

 

[Mongoose]

Well, went out for about a half hour just now and was running in tall grass, crossing a parking lot and hitting a hill that would launch me over a driveway. I’ve never hit this hill with my Tekno before SO, first jump it lands on its lid and slides a couple feet chewing up my rear shock tower and rubbing through the body and chewing up my front shock tower a little bit.

After making some fast passes in the grass, which is about half the height of the tires or more in some spots, I checked the temps and the motor was 183, ESC 154 and batteries 101!!! Definitely getting toasty! Ambient temp was about 85F.

There is no getting around it, I have to gear down or go to a lower KV motor. Gonna add motor fans regardless I think.

The rubber band seemed to work well but I think the adhesive of the servo tape was getting a little loose from the heat.

Does anyone make shock tower guards for these?

 

[Mongoose]

Also, I noticed my front diff making some noise. Is it normal to hear the teeth engaging? I can’t remember if it has always been like that or not. It’s the loudest when coasting and makes a higher pitch under acceleration. It feels smooth when I turn the tires by hand and it doesn’t make the sound either. I know the front outdrive is angled more than the rear and didn’t know if a little noise was normal.

You guys have any ideas?

 

[cordell12]

Just did a run myself, took an upsidedown landing and broke my wing. I didnt hear anything you are describing, but then again I wasnt listening for it. Maybe we can add some foam in the area of the shocks?

 

[Pauly]

Also, I noticed my front diff making some noise. Is it normal to hear the teeth engaging? I can’t remember if it has always been like that or not. It’s the loudest when coasting and makes a higher pitch under acceleration. It feels smooth when I turn the tires by hand and it doesn’t make the sound either. I know the front outdrive is angled more than the rear and didn’t know if a little noise was normal.

You guys have any ideas?

You shouldn't be hearing any noise out of that diff. I'd be looking for a loose out drive on the diff pinion gear, a worn bearing especially on the pinion gear, or maybe some additional shimming is required after things have run in. The heat may have freed up the blue loctite on the outdrive. Make sure it's still in place like it was when you built it. The pinion bearings are the only bearings I have ever destroyed in any of my Tekno's. I'd pull the whole front end off and run back thru everything just in case.

 

[Cmbscx10]

You could do something like this with 1 PVC cap or Delrin Cap cut in half with a hole drilled for the standoff. Did that on my Losi Mini 8B and worked for a long time.

EB410 Shock Guards

 

[Mongoose]

Thanks guys. I tore the entire front down as Pauly suggested and the pinion was still solid with no play at all. When I originally built it I could only squeeze one shim in, 2 just wasn’t going but this time around 2 went in with no problems at all. I tried to go for 3 but it was just too tight. Pinion still looked good and there wasn’t any metal shavings in the diff housing so I’m saying the pinion is still good but I still hear a noise. It’s much better than before and sounds better but my rear diff is quiet as a mouse.

I want to say that this all happened after adding the front T-Bone bumper. It took a hard hit on the front at that BMX Park and the noise has been there ever since. I really don’t like how they mount. The screws are countersunk in the bumper but only go through the chassis as a clearance hole and it doesn’t lock the diff in place. Technically, they bumper could take a hit and shift the diff if it doesn’t fit perfectly in the milled pocket in the chassis. I may remove them all together.

So Pauly, you don’t hear any noise from your front diff at all? Even if you were to roll it back and forth on the floor?

CMB, I love that idea of the Delrin caps. Easy and cheap....the best combination.

I ran it the other night in some tall grass on 4S to check the gear mesh on a huge hill and it was getting toasty. I’d run for a bit and pull the body and let it cool and so on and so forth. I think I’m just going to get a new lower KV motor all together.

So here’s a testament to its durability. I jumped it off a culvert pipe and down that same hill which is probably at least 70ft long and steep. It landed on a bad angle and somersaulted about 30 times until it finally landed on its lid without any damage and still tracked straight. It’s an awesome truck!

 

[Pauly]

You should try to get a video up with audio so we can take a listen to what you're hearing. It's possible it's just normal gear noise if you're not finding any issues.

 

[Mongoose]

That’s what I will do then. Can I imbed it here or do I need to create a YouTube account?