Mid motor rat

[Tom3012]

Hi all...

My madrat is sat at home doing nothing so...

Im thinking of making it mid motor with a lazer cut ally chassis, and a 4 gear gearbox...

Couple of questions...

Anyone think its worth it?
Would anyone be interested in one if they proved to be succesful?

Tah, Tom

[stampede vxlboy]

i would take 1 of you

[Battle_axe]

Hi all...

My madrat is sat at home doing nothing so...

Im thinking of making it mid motor with a lazer cut ally chassis, and a 4 gear gearbox...

Couple of questions...

Anyone think its worth it?
Would anyone be interested in one if they proved to be succesful?

Tah, Tom

i would be very interested

[mattlynch]

interesting project if you are into that sort of thing but why would you want to, it is fairly comon knowledge that mid motor cars only suit a few people's driving style, you will most likely run into issues with battery placement, try and get a shot of one of the other mid conversion b4's to get an idea of how they feel before you commit your time and cash to it,, keep us informed if you do it :thumbsup:

[notme]

I thought youd like some images for inspiration.

http://www.rchobbies.net/images/tnproto2.jpg
http://www.rchobbies.net/images/tnproto3.jpg

[Tom3012]

this wouldnt be my first conversion mate, ive played around with several cars and ideas... Take a look...

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?p=312186&posted=1#post312186

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26627

Just thought seen as the madrat was cheap and i havent seen any modded yet, id give it a go...

[Tom3012]

I thought youd like some images for inspiration.

http://www.rchobbies.net/images/tnproto2.jpg
http://www.rchobbies.net/images/tnproto3.jpg

Nice car mate! Thats the kind of thing im thinking, although maybe doing a 4 gear gearbox if it doesnt cost too much :thumbsup:

[stampede vxlboy]

i would like some thing like that with stick pack or saddel pack as i be getting at d4 there saddel pack send me a pm with a price when you are
making them the madrat is nice to drive a guy on here made 1 the losi car is well nice

[Battle_axe]

any news on the mid?

[Tom3012]

Hi all... Been messing around with ideas about this car for quite a while...

Its a hard one to convert with the front end as it is.. seperate nose with the steering bearing being mounted into the kick plate...

This is the progress so far, no where near complete still needs loads more work but it give you a rough idea of what im aiming to do...

Hopefully this prototype will be finished by next week and i can actually race it, if all goes well at that point then ill get an ally/steel chassis made up and continue to develope it...

Ideas, comments and thoughts are welcome as always :thumbsup:

Cheers, Tom

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7396/23102010779.th.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/23102010779.jpg/)http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9648/23102010782.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/23102010782.jpg/)http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7227/23102010780.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/23102010780.jpg/)http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9957/23102010781.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/23102010781.jpg/)

[kaylon]

The rear suspension mount (T plate section) on the chassis looks like it will snap if you breath on it heavy...it seams to have very little material between the fixings...

K

[sparrow.2]

Looks like nice workmanship!
I think you need to run a brace from the gearbox to somewhere in the chassis or it will snap or at least be very bendy.
I would use the mounting points for the rear motor guard to brace it up to something running the length of the chassis between the cells. try and keep the brace central so that the chassis flexes the same left to right.

[kedal]

You drill the rear arms to place the shocks to the rear ?

[Tom3012]

I sure did :)

[Tom3012]

The rear suspension mount (T plate section) on the chassis looks like it will snap if you breath on it heavy...it seams to have very little material between the fixings...

K


Very negative... Ill make sure i do a breath test on it tomorrow...

[Tom3012]

Hi all,

Quick update, still not finished yet as i havent got round to it but getting there!

Need to drive it in anger which may happen next weekend, we shall have to see...

Just a few more pics :)

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3077/07022010788.th.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/i/07022010788.jpg/)http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8479/07022010789.th.jpg (http://img192.imageshack.us/i/07022010789.jpg/)http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/6072/07022010790.th.jpg (http://img685.imageshack.us/i/07022010790.jpg/)
[/URL]
(http://img685.imageshack.us/i/07022010790.jpg/)
[URL="http://img685.imageshack.us/i/07022010790.jpg/"]

[kedal]

Very nice !
Losi shocks, like mine :)
3rd pignon gear :)

Well done !

[Tom3012]

Very nice !
Losi shocks, like mine :)
3rd pignon gear :)

Well done !


Thanks, Glad you like it... hopefully this weekend ill get the CAD pics and will be able to talk prices with someone who can get it laser cut... :thumbsup:

[Tom3012]

Hi again,

Spoken to a few people and im now definately going to get a chassis cut in aluminium! First needs a bit of run time though...

However, when i do get one cut and do a bit more testing i may sell them if there is enough interest...

So...

1- Who would want one? it would be very similar to the car in the pics above but have an aluminium chassis (most of the bracing pieces would probably still be in G10 to keep costs down but we shall see...

2- Cost... The conversion should be (fingers crossed) WELL below £100 including all the parts needed to convert the madrat to as above...

Anyone interested?

Cheers, Tom

[kedal]

I have to say I'm not, especially because if I want to do something like that, I would do it by myself, but it's a very good idea to suggest.

I'm of course curious to see the final result !

[st1vo]

How will you do wheelies now? :cry:

[Battle_axe]

How will you do wheelies now? :cry:
more power :P

[Tom3012]

Hi all!

Its been a while since i last updated this thread, mainly because ive been using my XXX-CR and been loving it so kind of forgot about it:lol:

However i have used the car a few times at southport and its been quite good, not raced in anger but have given it a good few runs. This weekend ill give the car its first few proper races, mainly because ive made a new motor plate so can use a bigger pinion and make the car fast enough to compete :thumbsup:

Couple of pics of the car as it is now, with the new motor plate and idler gear in place...

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7585/22042010796.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/i/22042010796.jpg/)http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9130/22042010794.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/i/22042010794.jpg/)

[kedal]

Very good job, nice idea, good realisation !

What materiel the motor plate is made with ? Epoxy ?

Could you post a pic of the rear end ?

[Tom3012]

Its just G10 sheet, probably not the best stuff to make a motor plate out of but just what i had.

What kind of pics of the rear end? From behind the shock tower?

[kedal]

What is G10 ?

I would like a pic of the rear end to see how you connect the shock tower to the chassis. Thanks :)

[Tom3012]

G10 is "epoxy glass board"...

Pictures as requested, hope they're clear enough :)

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/8555/23042010799.th.jpg (http://img710.imageshack.us/i/23042010799.jpg/)http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5043/23042010800.th.jpg (http://img710.imageshack.us/i/23042010800.jpg/)http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/328/23042010801.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/i/23042010801.jpg/)

[kedal]

Thanks for the pics :)
Nice job, really !

[Tom3012]

Cheers matey, glad you like it :thumbsup:

The car will change slightly in the coming weeks as i develope it but first real testing starts tomorrow

[kedal]

Let us know how it works !

[J_WOODY]

The car looked really good on the track today:thumbsup:... this has got to be your best handling conversion so far.... keep up the good work Tom:thumbsup:

[Tom3012]

Cheers jay! It did go quite well, not 100% happy yet but getting there!

Fancy making me a carbon tub version jay :woot: ??

[J_WOODY]

no more tubs.......for a while:cool:, i think your idea, with the laser cut alloy chassis would be much easier to make and a lot cheaper....

a cougar will be the next tub, but seeing as i've changed my mind on owning one, i'm not gonna be in a rush to make it, plus, i need to get my hands on one first (just like every other person waiting:woot::thumbdown:)

[benknight13]

Dont like to say it but you was all over me with it :( lol.

Looks great Tom some great ideas :thumbsup:

[kaylon]

G10 btw is about as heat conductive as MDF/wood.... which means your motor is liable to get very very hot.

I'd be watchful of it.

J

[nicefrog]

Does anyone know how come mid motor 2wd's are all the flavour at the moment but were always slower than rear motored cars in the past, what has changed recently, better tyres or just a better understanding of setup?. Or just because the weight is no longer in the battery

[Tom3012]

Im guessing one of the reasons is down to the power we now have available, because theres so much with lipoband brushless, we can pretty much run the cars as heavy as we need to.

So we can no weight cars up so they do handle.

A lot is down to design as well though

[Tom3012]

Well... Ran the car on sunday at bury, mainly because id had a bad first round so decided id just use the day to test this car...

It went really well! Car was very stable and was jumping nice and flat! Had a problem with the speedo stuttering in the second round so swapped it over for the last 2 rounds.

I qualified 8th in the D which was terrible but considering i was in the middle of the E after the first 2 rounds, id consider it a big improvement! Everything stayed nice and cool inside too!

Theres a few things i want to try out, a few little mods and bits but its looking good!

[Tom3012]

Small update...

New aluminium motor mount and one with the shell on

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/1362/20052010810.th.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/20052010810.jpg/)http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/4453/20052010811.th.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/20052010811.jpg/)

Bring on south lakes this weekend!! :thumbsup:

[kedal]

Great job, like always !

It's a cougar SV shell ?

[Tom3012]

Cheers matey! Its a Cat SX shell and undertray :)

[Tom3012]

Okay another small update...

Raced at the south lakes regional yesterday... did 3 rounds of qualifying with my Cougar, the front shock fell apart in the third round and something went wrong in the gearbox so thought id run this for the last round and the final...

I qualified 10th in the C which i wasnt happy with but the day hadnt gone to well so hey... and i could only improve on 10th :lol:

The car generated a little bit of interest with a few people asking about it and commenting on it, was nice to have people being positive about the car!

So raced it in the final with nothing to lose, it was really good! a little bit understeery on the front, could of done with some new front tires and a touch of weight under the servo but other than that not bad!

I finished 6th and think i had the 3rd fastest lap..

Really impressed with the car, going to get some CAD drawings done and try an aluminium chassis, possibly stainless

[woOdy]

Okay another small update...

Raced at the south lakes regional yesterday... did 3 rounds of qualifying with my Cougar, the front shock fell apart in the third round and something went wrong in the gearbox so thought id run this for the last round and the final...

I qualified 10th in the C which i wasnt happy with but the day hadnt gone to well so hey... and i could only improve on 10th :lol:

The car generated a little bit of interest with a few people asking about it and commenting on it, was nice to have people being positive about the car!

So raced it in the final with nothing to lose, it was really good! a little bit understeery on the front, could of done with some new front tires and a touch of weight under the servo but other than that not bad!

I finished 6th and think i had the 3rd fastest lap..

Really impressed with the car, going to get some CAD drawings done and try an aluminium chassis, possibly stainless

If you make that it will be TOO stiff and the car will suffer. Need a bit of flex like the B-Max/plastic chassic on B4.

[nicefrog]

How did your lap times compare to the cougar?, woody do you think the stock chassis is too stiff? that could easily be chopped up a bit to induce some bend : p I'll try it if you think it would be better a bit bendy

[Tom3012]

Ill have to lend you it stu, see what you think, maybe a CF chassis would be better? Costs shoot up then though and the whole reason im trying it out is to get a mid motor car for as cheap as possible

[woOdy]

How did your lap times compare to the cougar?, woody do you think the stock chassis is too stiff? that could easily be chopped up a bit to induce some bend : p I'll try it if you think it would be better a bit bendy

No, I thinks its ok right now. I will try a plastic one though eventually.

[woOdy]

Ill have to lend you it stu, see what you think, maybe a CF chassis would be better? Costs shoot up then though and the whole reason im trying it out is to get a mid motor car for as cheap as possible

What about just a flat peice of alloy or graphite? Back in the day we ran just flat bits of graphite ( TRX 1/RC10 graphite ).

[Tom3012]

Aluminium is one of the options as its relatively cheap... When i get a CAD drawing done, ill send it to fibrelyte and see how much they think it will cost...

Id use G10 but its white and looks a bit naff :lol:

[Tom3012]

Hello again!

New update... Ive redesigned the chassis and added a few new things to the car, just finished it today!

Testing will be this weekend over both saturday and sunday...

Here's some pics, comments more than welcome :thumbsup:

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/1509/05082010835.th.jpg (http://img842.imageshack.us/i/05082010835.jpg/)http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2639/05082010838.th.jpg (http://img819.imageshack.us/i/05082010838.jpg/)http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/8223/05082010836.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/i/05082010836.jpg/)http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5764/05082010837.th.jpg (http://img801.imageshack.us/i/05082010837.jpg/)

[kedal]

Looks very good, great job, better and better.

Waiting your feedback :)

[Tom3012]

Thanks Kedal!

If all goes well with this chassis then i can send it off to be cut in aluminium! And get the car to a 'production' standard :thumbsup:

[turbosimi]

Hello
Looks very good! Congratulations!
But i have two questions:
How much does the laser cutting cost?
And how do you send it off(did/or will you plan it on cad?)
Thanks simon

[Tom3012]

Thanks for the comments! I can get a chassis laser cut for around £20-£30... Some companies have the ability to scan an item into the computer which can then be cut out in aluminium.

Hope this helps! Cheers, Tom

[kaszal]

That's cool. Is there a particular company you'd recommend for laser cutting? I'm getting some Procat motor plates done. Fibre-lyte are doing the CAD drawings for me. They're excellent to deal with.

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50909&referrerid=7282