caster rtr truggy ..

[shaun m]

hi are the caster racing rtr truggys any good and do they have much in the way of hop ups , that you would exspect for the money ... is the 2.4 radio any good as well ... :woot:

[Marvin]

Apparantly the car itself is alright - looks like an MBX5T copy to me - which is no bad thing.

The ESC probably isn't quite up to the job. It's a Hobbywing 80A ESC capable of 4S max. If it were me, I'd put a Hobbywing 150A ESC in there instead, or better, a Mamba Monster Max, as that 80A will be overstressed.

Also, the motor is too short to use in a truggy without issues (it doesn't have enough torque). It is Feigao based - so it'll run hot anyway, but worse, it is a 36mm diameter can that is only 65mm long! You'd need at least a 70mm motor for a truggy. A 36-70 Medusa would be far better.

The kV is right for 4S though.

The motor just doesn't seem to have the torque required. When I did my first brushless conversion (on a Losi 8ight, with an MMM, a Medusa 36-60-2000 motor, and Flightpower 4S LiPOs) it could wheelie on tarmac easily, and was quick to boot. I came across one of the Caster RTR buggies, on 4S, with a 2000kV motor (the same as the truggy), and it could not even lift the front wheels on tarmac, and it was also slower.

In my opinion, I'd get the Caster Pro, pick up a good condition used MMM off RC-Tech, a Medusa if you can still get it, and do it properly with good LiPOs. It will initially cost more, but you will get more satisfaction that way.

[shaun m]

so even for the money , the electrics let it down then ....:( i would have only run it on 7.4v lipo's , as that is what i already have .. but i geuss it wont be quick or the stock electrics will let it down ....

[steelie600]

if you want a good electric truggy, get the rc8te, fit a good MMM or castle, or speed passion brushless system and some 4s lipos and enjoy!!.

Personally i wouldnt touch a caster due to what ive witnessed, but if your dead set on a caster, get a Mugen mbx5t same car yet lots better and the original

[Marvin]

Remember the kV must be matched to the voltage! 6S isn't always quicker than 4S! If you use an appropriate motor on both, with correct gearing, they will be effectively the same, same torque, same top end etc. What 6S will have over 4S is that it is more efficient, and so you should get a touch more run-time, and the components will stay cooler.

The electrics do let it down though.

I wouldn't bother with the Speed Passion system. The ESC is the same as the one in the Caster! Speed Passion are a brand of Hobbywing, and the Hobbywing 80A ESC is the same as the Speed Passion Silver Arrow ESC (only the Silver Arrow has a bent piece of aluminium on it, and no fan). The MMM is far superior.

[Pitman]

The car itself is a brilliant bit of kit I have not had any failures during the entire hong nor cup < 3 days > and 5 full sundays racing aswell

until the weather killed all my fun and i am to girly to race a wet weekend

as for the electrics i cannot comment as i have never used them or enough knowledge to compare specs but whenever I have seen one go it had plenty of power

the kit is designed to be rtr not pro race

check this vid out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVHbbCeW70&feature=player_embedded


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwKS946fnm8&feature=related

[StwBald]

i've got a brand new boxed never run caster truggy complete with brushless system all you need is radio, reciever and battery.

pm me if you interested.

Cheers Stewy

[Marvin]

What system is it?

[steelie600]

Its the OE caster one iirc

[Marvin]

So... considering what I've said above, this probably isn't the thread to try and sell it in...

[StwBald]

The speedo is the standard one that came with the kit.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020327.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020327.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020328.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020328.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020329.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020329.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020330.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020330.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020331.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020331.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020332.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020332.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020333.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020333.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020334.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020334.jpg)
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/P1020335.jpg (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd170/stewyblade/P1020335.jpg)

[Marvin]

THAT motor is better! 1880kV, (almost a 5S motor), and quite a bit longer. It'll still overheat and won't have that much power though :(.

Still better than nitro...

[steelie600]

ARE YOU SWEARING MARV?????

LIPO BETTER THAN NITRO??

How very very dare you!!!!!

[Marvin]

It's true. It is just better.

[adrictan]

I would suggest getting the F8T Pro. U save quite a bit if u try to upgrade it later. I've been racing only a few months but with my terrible skills, I've not experienced much failure other than my own building faults which caused parts to fall off during race. Heck! I've even managed to get a 3rd place placing for this month's race. Get the Pro Truggy and use yr spare cash to invest in a Tekin RX8 combo and if there's any more left, I'll go with the RCM Slipper Diff; all of which I use. Either way, do your research and look around. Enjoy yrself.

[BRS]

Soooo I've bought Stewy's Caster for my lad for christmas

I race nitro and know all about that but not got much idea when it comes to these leccy jobs!

Can anyone post a link to batteries that will fit this truck (two bat trays) no idea what all this 2s 4s 6s means or what power that motor will require.

Help appreciated

[Marvin]

Judging by the motor's kV, you'll want to run the truck on 4S LiPo. This means that the battery used must have 4 cells in series (at 3.7V per cell).

As it has two battery trays, I'd use two LiPos designed for 1/10 scale in SERIES.

The wiring diagram will look like this:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pJNeulUYR5E/SvgdfAEDh7I/AAAAAAAAAYE/O7ev3qWyV88/Wiring%20Diagram.jpg

For batteries, I'd use some of Trakpower's new Dark Series packs (the 7.4V 5000mAh 40C ones), or some Thunderpowr 40C 5000mAh LiPos, or some Intellect/IP 5000mAh 30C+ LiPos. The 5000mAh bit is the capacity. All of these LiPos are '2S' - they have two cells wired in series. As you need 4S, you need two of these wired in series, so you'll have a 14.8V 5000mAh pack. The two LiPos must be the same age (IE how many cycles (charges/discharges)), and have the same capacity and discharge rating (the 'C' rating).

[BRS]

Thanks very much for the info Marvin much appreciated. I understand this may well go up in smoke at some point so will this kind of battery setup still be ok with a Mamba combo if and when it comes to that?

Just been looking not cheap these batteries are they!!! How long do they last? What do you do with that other plug I see coming out of alot of these Lipos?

thanks

[steelie600]

Sam youve gone to the dark side!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyway the lipos are lasting a lot longer now you should get atleast 300 charges out of them (early ones you were lucky to get 100!!) and the small connector your describing is the balance lead, which enables all the cells to be charged at the same rate and to exactly the same voltage. One thing i will say tho is get the best batteries you can afford, i run Kong Power in my 6s heli and they are awesome, and have over 250 charges on one of them and its still as powerful as ever. One thing i have noticed about flightpower/trackpower, is the seem to be peaky, ie give out more power at the start of the useage and peter off, where as the Kongs i use are very consistant through out the charge.

[Marvin]

The other plug is the balance connector. This is used when charging on a 'balance charger' to ensure that the cells all remain at the same voltage level as each other, to help safeguard the pack from one cell dropping below the 2.9V minimum voltage.

The life time of these packs is hundreds of charges, way more time overall than about 3-4 seasons worth of race use.

A Mamba Monster set-up would be better, and if you go for the 2200kV combo, your current batteries (assuming you buy decent batteries like the ones I mentioned above) will work perfectly with that too. The 2200kV motor will want to run on 4S too, though you may have to change your gearing.

1 14.8V 5000mAh pack should get you 15 minutes run time on a track, or about 25 minutes when mucking around in a field.

[BRS]

Ok so how important is that "C" rating whats that about?

And as it will be a kid playing with this what happens when when he runs out of battery power can he kill the cells by running it flat?

[Marvin]

The Hobbywing ESC (the one it comes with) has an LVC (low-voltage cut-off), which should cut out when the cells reach ~3V per cell. This is a safe level. You can tell the cut-off has come on when it sometimes refuses to move.

The C rating is the level of discharge that the battery can sustain. E.G. a 5000mAh pack is rated for a continuous 25C. This means that the pack can discharge at a level of 25 x the packs capacity in Ah (divide the capacity in mAh by 1000). Meaning that 25x5 = 125A continuous. This is about the minimum level of discharge that I'd run on 4S. Therefore, the capacity and C rating must be 'balanced'. If you are only using 3000mAh packs, the C rating must be higher so it can discharge at a high rate.

Packs come in anything from 15C up to 45C, and with 1/8 it is best to go for at least 25C as a rule of thumb. The higher the C-rating, the longer the cells generally last (life cycles), the more useable capacity they have (so a 5000mAh 40C pack will actually give slightly longer run times than a 5000mAh 30C pack) and as they are not pushed as near to their limit anyway, they will last longer again.

[BRS]

Good stuff Marvin your a mine of usefull infomation :thumbsup:

[BRS]

Sam youve gone to the dark side!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyway the lipos are lasting a lot longer now you should get atleast 300 charges out of them (early ones you were lucky to get 100!!) and the small connector your describing is the balance lead, which enables all the cells to be charged at the same rate and to exactly the same voltage. One thing i will say tho is get the best batteries you can afford, i run Kong Power in my 6s heli and they are awesome, and have over 250 charges on one of them and its still as powerful as ever. One thing i have noticed about flightpower/trackpower, is the seem to be peaky, ie give out more power at the start of the useage and peter off, where as the Kongs i use are very consistant through out the charge.

Hello Kev I've not quite gone to the dark side dont worry....

I maybe be dreaming but I'm imagining the lad can come along to meetings with me at Pendle and race that when he fancies, as well as playing at home with it. Hoping thats easier than another nitro vehicle as it should be a switch on and through it down job for him..(sure it wont be that easy)

Need to find a good source for these bloody expensive batteries now, £250 for a nitro motor no problem, more than 20sheets for a battery come on now lol

[BRS]

I presume these would be the Interllect lipos you mentioned Marvin?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intellect-7-4v-5000mAh-40C-Li-Po-Race-Pack-Battery_W0QQitemZ110433016159QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK _ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN?hash=item19b652195f

Whats the pitfalls of ordering from that place any experience?

[Marvin]

Yep, they're the ones.

That's a good price actually! Just run it on them.

You say that a good nitro engine is £250. How often do you need to replace that? Every two seasons if you're lucky! These packs (say 4 in total) will last around 4 seasons, but cost £170 from the source you used.

Not to mention fuel costs (£30 a gallon).

[BRS]

The Nitro motor / battery comparision was very much tongue in cheek ;o)

I've ordered from that link so we'll see how delivery goes....

[Marvin]

True though...

Hope it goes well for you!

[rc_dan]

where did you order the truck from bud, got a link ? its between this kit or the one from ansamann

[BRS]

Was Stwbald earlier on in this thread mentioned he had one for sale new and unwanted...

[BRS]

Quick update to this is the Intellect cells arrived yesturday from HK and all seems good. So if you are looking for much cheaper good lipos its a good choice.

UK - £90 Delivered from HK - £47, not a bit of sense.....

[shaun m]

i also bought some zippy lipos from hk , i ordered them last monday and they turned up last thursday ( 2-1/2 days from hk :thumbsup: ) ..

they were 5000mah and 40c .. and they seem spot on .. it cost me £93 delivered for 4 ...... from hobbycity.com :woot:

[BRS]

With all the terrible weather my lads not had chance to give the Caster rtr Truggy a good run. Hes had a little mess under cover in an area too small really. It seems bloody quick but we'll see once on a proper track.

The pinion was wearing very fast (even only after 5min use), didnt look like it had been hardened so I replaced it with a Losi one off ebay.

The servo saver is to soft you end up with no steering even with what looks like a decent tension on the spring, had to wind it right up.

Many of the screws on the car were loose & no lock tight so thats something to do if you have one before you run it.

The body is like toffee, practicaly split from nose to tail on his first bump

Thats all for now will report back once its been used in anger :D

[BRS]

We managed to give the Caster rtr Truggy a decent run last night he got about 20min run time from it with the 2x5000mah packs. It wasnt on a track but we drove it as hard as we could and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it.

I think if anything its under geared as standard, its a wopping 62T spur and a 12T pinion seemed a little short on top speed and the motor and esc never got more than warm the hole time.
I'll leave the gearing for now as its better for him to control till he gets into it but I'm thinking it should be more like 14T/15T with the 1880kv motor?

I must admit after what Marv had said I expected the motor and esc to be cooking after 5min of full stick but so far so good, maybe thats the gearing though.

[rc_dan]

is the esc 6c capable ? the kv is about right for 6cell

[BRS]

Its running 4S at the moment do you mean 5S, 5S would be wild 6S sounds like puff of smoke time :D

Its the Hobbywing 80A esc not sure of the specs

....


Been and got them

1 Specification
1.1 Output: Continuous current 80A, burst current 270A.
1.2 Input: 6-12 cells NiMH/NiCd or 2-4 cells LiPo.
1.3 BEC Output: 5.75V/3A (Switch mode built-in BEC).
1.4 Resistance: 0.0018 Ohm.
1.5 Motor Supported: Sensorless and sensored brushless motors
1.6 Suitable Brushless Motor: 8T and > 8T
1.7 Suitable Car: 1/8 on-road or off-road cars / trucks for sportful race and RTR application.
1.8 Size: 68mm(L) * 55mm(W) * 45mm(H).
1.9 Weight: 150g(Without wires)


4S limit then.....

[Marvin]

80A Hobbywing has a 4S limit - probably bound by the BEC.

1800KV is by no means a 6S motor. 1400 is a 6S motor. 1700 is a 5S motor. 2000 is a 4S motor. 2500 is a 3S motor.

If the ESC and motor aren't getting warm then it's in its sweet spot. When one component is hotter than another, or it's all running hot - that's when you need to worry.

Remember, it only uses buggy gearing in the diffs - hence the massive spur (like the original X1-CRT).

[adrictan]

For the 1880kv motor, u can try to push up to 14t and try. monitor the temps then if it's constant, you can try to go higher.

[BRS]

Quick update now for you on the Caster Truggy....

First time driven in anger on the track on dry Astro, 2nd lap of practise my son did a 6 ft double jump hit the break to hard flipped the truck over it landed square on its roof. Nothing you havent done before it got marshalled and had lost all drive. Took it back to the table and the front centre drive shaft was rolling around loose inside...strange?

Chassis bent like a bananna!! Must be made of lead :eh?: I bent it back over the edge of the table as best i could and re fitted the drive shaft. He managed to do a couple of heats before the truck slowed, batterys charged no power, either the Hobbywing esc or motor is gone...

NO MATTER HOW CHEAP DONT BUY ONE :(

[steelie600]

Sam on the flipside to this PM wizardking on NNRC forum, he MAY sell you his MBX5t if you wanted. Basically the same car with decent electrics already installed. Im only saying this cos he never uses it. May be an idea???

[shaun m]

With all the terrible weather my lads not had chance to give the Caster rtr Truggy a good run. Hes had a little mess under cover in an area too small really. It seems bloody quick but we'll see once on a proper track.

The pinion was wearing very fast (even only after 5min use), didnt look like it had been hardened so I replaced it with a Losi one off ebay.

The servo saver is to soft you end up with no steering even with what looks like a decent tension on the spring, had to wind it right up.

Many of the screws on the car were loose & no lock tight so thats something to do if you have one before you run it.

The body is like toffee, practicaly split from nose to tail on his first bump

Thats all for now will report back once its been used in anger :D

Quick update now for you on the Caster Truggy....

First time driven in anger on the track on dry Astro, 2nd lap of practise my son did a 6 ft double jump hit the break to hard flipped the truck over it landed square on its roof. Nothing you havent done before it got marshalled and had lost all drive. Took it back to the table and the front centre drive shaft was rolling around loose inside...strange?

Chassis bent like a bananna!! Must be made of lead :eh?: I bent it back over the edge of the table as best i could and re fitted the drive shaft. He managed to do a couple of heats before the truck slowed, batterys charged no power, either the Hobbywing esc or motor is gone...

NO MATTER HOW CHEAP DONT BUY ONE :(




i dont understand how unhappy you are with the caster :eh?: .. ive had mine for a few months now its been used for most weekends since ive had it ...

mine has been used on my local track and on astro turf , been taken over the 4ft high jump and it lands without hassle at about 30-40ft away ,it runs with a 2650kv motor and it goes like stink :)

yes like with all cars they need checking and thread locking , the servo saver is loose but again , once its tightened up its ok ... and im still on the original pinion ....

but hey i must have had a good one ... its soo good i have the caster fusion aswell ...

both of my casters love eating losi's and alike for breakfast ...

[BRS]

I'm pleased for you I really am Shaun but surely if you read my posts you can see why anyone would be unhappy.

Body broke like egg shell
Chassis bent like a banana
ESC packed in

I think thats cause for anyone to be unhappy on the first time out with it, dont you?

BUT to Pete at Answer RC's credit after a quick email he replied very quickly and is being very helpful in getting the lads truck going again.
The ESC is covered by warranty as long as its not water damaged which it isnt (seems like the BEC is gone). There is a Pro Chassis available made from better grade alloy £55, we'll just have to call that an expensive unlucky crash. The body apparently being made in hotter places doesnt like being under 12degrees so useless in UK!

Fair play to Pete at Answer RC he's gone out of his way to be helpful and give support. I'll let you know how it pans out.

[steelie600]

On Sams side here, i was at NNRC when his lad was racing the truggy, and none of the impacts or tumbles were massive, just what you would expect from a lad on his first time. And i fully understand the dissapointment, especially on his lads face when his car was mainly gaffa tape by the end of the day.

There was also another lad there with the caster truggy and he lasted 1 lap on the first heat before it broke and that was it game over!!

Again fair play to pete for helping sam out. Its nice to see a good backup from the importer.

[shaun m]

I'm pleased for you I really am Shaun but surely if you read my posts you can see why anyone would be unhappy.

Body broke like egg shell
Chassis bent like a banana
ESC packed in

I think thats cause for anyone to be unhappy on the first time out with it, dont you?

BUT to Pete at Answer RC's credit after a quick email he replied very quickly and is being very helpful in getting the lads truck going again.
The ESC is covered by warranty as long as its not water damaged which it isnt (seems like the BEC is gone). There is a Pro Chassis available made from better grade alloy £55, we'll just have to call that an expensive unlucky crash. The body apparently being made in hotter places doesnt like being under 12degrees so useless in UK!

Fair play to Pete at Answer RC he's gone out of his way to be helpful and give support. I'll let you know how it pans out.


yeah sorry it was'nt a critisym , i just could'nt understand , why yours had soo many i problems ...

but i do admit the shells are brittle as hell ,i think i also broke mine on the first major jump , it now has a jconcepts hongnor x1crt shell trimmed and fitted :)
i also had my esc replaced under warenty , it had done a fair few runs , but since it was replaced its been fine ...

my chassis has been ok , no bends etc

there is also a bloke at our track with a truggy , his is all original apart from the servo , and he's not broke anything ....

but hand on heart these aint bad truggys , infact i love mine :wub ... but then saying that with the 2650kv motor its a tad mental , even with the timing and punch turned right down ...