Mad Rat = Good comeback?

[SilentBob]

Hey M8s. I have realy been looking at the Mad Rat and I must say I like how it looks. I have been driving B4, BK2 CR for a few years but bin off from the hobby for a while and want to get back in to it but have a smaller budget now then back then.
Would the Mad Rat be a good choice?

I have B4 chocks laying around and som other bit and bobs that I could use for the car.

Sorry if this has been asked befor :blush:.

Thanks

/Fredrik

[jim76]

the madrat is a very good chassis for the money. just need to add ballraces for about 7-8 quid. The kit now comes with a stronger t-piece so reliability is far better.

As you may have read, the kit shocks are terrible, so if you have B4 ones knocking around put them straight on, it makes a huge difference.

It is basically a quarter price RB5, and is quite capable on the track when the shocks are changed. Spares are pretty cheap too.

[SilentBob]

Thanks for your replay jim76. I thought of buying bearings for it and a hobbywing 60amp sensord system. Put some weights up front to keep it on the track.

I think i will place my order realy soon =)

[budgio]

I managed to put mine in the B-final in the mid south regional at the PDA last Sunday.They are good for the money. Decent shocks are an absolute must.
If you are racing for fun like me its a good choice.And its always nice to beat the more expensive chassis that are around. :)

[jim76]

yeah, get some little sticky lead weights, or wheel balance weights from kwikfit etc. I stuck around 150g of weight around the steering rack and servo in mine to keep the front end down and improve the steering on power. Apart from the lead and the shocks it's a standard car, and goes really well.

[SilentBob]

Sounds realy nice, so nice I just orderd one :thumbsup:

Yeah I thought of the lead weights but allso was thinking of maby making a bulkhead i stainles steel at work. Gues we will se when I get the car.

Thanks M8s.

/Fredrik

[jim76]

if you have the skills and equipment to make one then that is definitely the way to go. My old man made me a brass one for the RB5, much more convenient than adding a load of weights.

Team C do make an ali bulkhead, but it adds no weight what so ever, so isn;t worth the expense

[nicefrog]

A couple people on here have mentioned that the stock hex hubs don't tighten well (push on the bearing) which is true, you can't tighten the wheel on the stock ones, so they are running Kyosho part LA218 (ZX-5 Drive Washer). Also if you are using the bearings from the bearing shop in the UK then when you put the clip on the front axels assemble it so that the smooth side of the clip goes to the inside otherwise it can catch on the bearing and be notchy.

Also keep an eye on what TeamC America are doing as they have some better parts almost ready that will bring the car right up to the best cars

[kedal]

Well, I think the Mad Rat is a very good car to begin with. Very cheap, good reliability and with some little mod the car could be very competitive. The spares are cheap in the TCmodels.net hong kong shop, the hop up are very interesting and the car looks good.

If interested, see what I've done with mine on my blog : losi shock, carbon fiber shock tower and another weight distribution.

[zagonielod]

Hi everybody! :)
I have just ordered my Mad Rat:thumbsup: Tomorrow I will have it and will begin to assemble it :woot: I hardly can wait till tomorrow....
Seen it in a friends hands last weekend, was surprised how tough it is and couldn't believe how cheap!! Not much time passed and I've seen myself putting it into the cart :p
It will be my first kit. Also my second EVER RC car. I also have a Torche Pro brushless monster truck. Bought it because there I haven't seen buggys, nobody had one, and I liked how the people was bashing with them.
Came in another city, here the guys have been more advanced in RC cars and they have allready known what a buggy means. Of course I've felt in love with buggys. Planned to buy an Associated B4.1 but for low budget couldn't yet. And then lightning hits! Mad Rat! :drool:
I have read threads here and realised what a bargain it is and quickly ordered it.
I will use my brushless sistem from the monster for the beginning. It's a HSP 70A ESC and a motor(dunno what motor 'cas nothing is written on it) but I've heard that it would be a 3300kv something...:eh?: It pulls pretty good with a 11.1V lipo :p
Planning to buy a Turnigy 60A ESC and an EZrun 9T motor (is that 9T any good?..... )
Sorry for the loong post, but I am sooooo enthusiastic :lol:

[kedal]

I hope you'll enjoy your car zagonielod !
A 9T sounds good, is it for use on track or just bashing ?

[SilentBob]

Thanks for all the positive feedback M8s. Like zagonielod I cant wait to get my hands on my kit.

Realy nice blog kedal!. Alldo I dont understand a word French the pictures sais allot. I will be getting back to that one when I build my kit.

/Fredrik

[zagonielod]

I wouldn't kill this car with bashing :) If bashing, than there is my monster truck. I would use the Mad Rat for tracks. Unfortunately, we don't have professional race tracks here, and what we have is quite rough. But hopefully we will make progresses and who knows :)
Anyway, tomorrow is the BIG DAY :D Hope that it will be soon for you too SilentBob! ;)

[zagonielod]

I see that many people is using external BECs.... Is it so important? (I have to repeat that I am quite new to all this)

[kedal]

Thanks for all the positive feedback M8s. Like zagonielod I cant wait to get my hands on my kit.

Realy nice blog kedal!. Alldo I dont understand a word French the pictures sais allot. I will be getting back to that one when I build my kit.

/Fredrik

Thanks ! If you need/want some translation, just ask :)

[zagonielod]

Yesssss!!! It's arrived! :woot:
Of course I've unpacked it and I'm starting right now to assembly at least the front. (I don't have more time than that :(...)
Gooood it's lovely! :thumbsup:

[SilentBob]

Hehe good to know kedal :D

Great to hear zagonielod!. Hope you get more time soon then.

/Fredrik

[zagonielod]

Hehe! I've allready built some parts of the front section. Servo saver included. Unfortunately I have to stop building important parts because another MAd Rat owner told me not to continue untill I have bought the bearings.
But I can say that I am really surprised by its quality.... Strong,rigid parts.
I have also a question: how should I glue the tires? I have never done that before so I don't know how much superglue is needed.

[coolcars782]

This is easy then writing it. Here is a link to a youtube video by HorizonRc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ux4JP_BiS0

Carl

[zagonielod]

Thanks! I like this kind of responses :) Even if I wouldn't understand some words, I can see there everything with my eyes :)
Thanks again!

[nicefrog]

Good choice with the bearings, if you use the bushings that come with it you will damage the shafts they spin on and that's no good

[zagonielod]

Hi guys! I know that I have to buy bearings, but do anybody know a place where to buy them cheap? Here I have a place where I can buy bearings for about € 0.1 a piece. Is there any site where they are so cheap that it is worth order from there?

[nicefrog]

There's a couple guys on ebay that sell them, I got mine from here

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250468441050#ht_500wt_750

And there's another add here, both in the UK

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ansmann-Macnum-2wd-Buggy-Truck-Bearings-FULL-SET-x20-/350261535563?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item518d36e34b#ht_795wt_734

[Battle_axe]

i got mine from rc bearings they are £8 for the set and rubber sealed not metal

[zagonielod]

and are rubber sealed better than those metal sealed?

[SilentBob]

There is no real diferance in rubber vs metal seald bearings except that the rubber seald bearings are easyer to cleen because you can take out the rubber seal easyer then the metal seal, witch is to recomend for RC were its dirty, sandy and grasy.

[JezT]

I took a cheap route by buying bearings from a source on Ebay for our 2 rats and now regret it - Loads of play in them; I'm now replacing some with a set of bearings straight out of an X-Pro kit and will be sourcing the remainder from, probabely, RC Bearings as mentioned.... so beware.

[zagonielod]

so you don't really recommend to buy from ebay?... rc bearings looks pretty good to me as well.... I reallly wouldn't like to get bad quality bearings, even less, because I have to buy 2 sets, one for me and one for a friend.

[kedal]

I bought my bearing ball set at RC Bearing too, and it's really cheap and good service !

[zagonielod]

Well, I've placed an order for 2 sets of bearings on RcBearings. Thanks for the tips anyway! I'll see now how fast it will arrive :) I'm desperately waiting for them, cas untill they arrive, I cannot do much on the assembling process. I've glued the tires today (they might fall apart as I didn't use too much glue on the first few moves ) They are my first handglued tires :D

[zagonielod]

Hi everyone!
I am slowly assembling the Mad Rat. Slowly, because I have ordered the bearing sets from rcbrearings yesterday, and today I got the comfirmation from them. (have to mention that it really looks like a nice shop! ... if there is somebody from them than Congratulations! :P )
I think I've put together everything I could without without the bearings. Today I have filled the shocks (even thou they are plastic shocks, they are pretty good! Even better than the aluminium ones on my Torche Pro monster truck :confused: )
Also installed the servo (the one the monster came with, cas I have changed the servo in it with a Tower Pro metal gear MG995. I think the monster needs more torquee servo than a buggy does :) )
The fitting for the body are also mounted, as well as the battery tray fittings.
what else....? :confused:
Rear suspention and tail spoiler horn installed last night :P (that's when you have broke it up with your girlfriend :P )
I have to buy some tools for the next time... I have only a small L shape hex driver as on the Monster I have star headed screws. This came with them all hex :P My fingers are destroyed from putting all those screws into place with that small hex.
What's new by the others?
cheers guys!

[kedal]

You should be so impatient !!
You can built everything but the transmission part, so you have some work to do :)

If you live in UK, you should receive the bearing soon.

[zagonielod]

Would be nice if I would live in the UK :)
I live in Dracula's country my friend :P Don't know when will those bearings get here. the good part is that they are on their way.
Unfortunately, also the drive train needs those bearings. 2/each wheel
One question thou... after the instructions manual, in point 22, there is only 1 nylon washer/side? cas there are 4. Only 2 are needed?

[kedal]

Ok roumania mate ;)

You only need 1 nylon washer per side, so you have 2 as spares... or you can use this washer to set up your car geometry.

[zagonielod]

Sorry, what do you mean by "car geometry" ?

[zagonielod]

Hey gusy!
Is there a big difference between az EZrun of 8,5T and on of 9T ?
I don't really see a good offer for a 8,5T and on the Hobbyking they have EZrun 9T for about 25 dollars. Is a 9T so bad or what??:bored:

[nicefrog]

I've seen videos of the 9T and it looks plenty fast enough.

I was driving my madrat for the first time yesterday and it handled pretty good for a first drive. I need to tighten the diff a bit and adjust the front end I think since I found it whipped around a a little TOO sharp on my bumpy track. I was driving it with the stock motor it comes with and a 1991 Novak speed controller and a 2 cell Lipo and even like that the performance is good. I'll be using a 13T brushless motor next week which should be fast enough for me. I'm using cheap 3 racing shocks which with the plastic shock internals and shafts with some travel limiters on the bottom of the shaft. I didn't think they were going to be any good, but it's actually pretty good.

Now I need to work on the track, smooth it all out, get rid of the grass and add some technical sections so it's fun. I'm racing against a Tamiya Dark Impact 4wd in the backyard championship and so far the Madrat is a lot faster and much much more nimble, but lets see what happens in a couple weeks when they are both brushless :p, the Dark Impact will actually have the 9T EZrun.

Edit: Got that 9T EZrun and it goes fast :)

I Still have the Team C stadium truck I haven't used yet, the shocks on that are awesome so it should be even better again.

Next time I build one of these I'll defiantly use a 3mm tap or use one of the long ball cups in every hole first, I've worn off the ends on a lot of 2 mm allen keys and stuffed up a few of the hex screws during the building :)

[zagonielod]

Nice to here about you and your "precious" :) I'm glad to hear that, even as I am a bit gelous :P Last night while watching Forrest Gump, I've installed the shocks. Again,I have to say that they are surprisingly good!
Regarding to the EZrun 9T... I still can't decide about to buy it or not. On hobbyking they write nice reviews about it. For shure I will start running the Mad Rat with the BL sistem I'll take out of the Torche Pro. I've heard that it would be a 3300kv motor.

[zagonielod]

Another question: are the screws on the Mad Rat metric size? I have to buy a set of hex drives. Probably a set of Fastrax Interchangeable Hex Drivers. A local shop has of those.

[Battle_axe]

yes they are all you really need is a good 2mm driver to sort it all out

[Shannow]

The majority of the screws on a rat are 2mm and I had the same issues as you nicefrog - definately worth investing in some stainless screws and I changed most to cap head as those use a 2.5mm Allen key and far better. Takes all the stress out of swapping a broken bit if you can do it without the screw head rounding off!

[nicefrog]

Yeah it's weird I seemed to have no problem with one kit and then the next I had a lot of trouble, it really felt like the screws were harder on one than the other so maybe they vary a bit. But I'll defiantly be upgrading the bolts to something a bit beefier on the parts that need to come apart for repairs/maintenance, 2.5 cap head sounds ideal. The standard ones are just too shallow in the head and too tight for multiple pull aparts

[zagonielod]

Thought this could be helpful for others too ;)

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/8306/capturegd.jpg (http://yfrog.com/e0capturegdj)

[zagonielod]

One more question: Are theese dampers any good or it just don't worth the money?
http://www.ansmannstore.com/radio-controlled-models/electric-models/hopups/aluminium-shocks.html

[Shannow]

I've got a set of these and they're ok but need a bit of messing with - over damped with 20 oil so need larger holes in the piston and the seals leaked too. Replacing with the kit seals sorts this.

On the plus side, they're cheap and don't get the tops ripped off like the Mad Rat stock shocks do.

[zagonielod]

I've got a set of these and they're ok but need a bit of messing with - over damped with 20 oil so need larger holes in the piston and the seals leaked too. Replacing with the kit seals sorts this.

On the plus side, they're cheap and don't get the tops ripped off like the Mad Rat stock shocks do.
Thanks Shannow! So it would be a bargain upgrade for the Mad Rat. Many people are using tuning shocks from other makers, but I cannot invest in those for now.

[JezT]

We've also got those shocks on our 2 (4 pairs); Same reason - they were cheap; Same sort of experience - need working on-
A couple of pairs needed the o-rings replacing immediately due to leaking.... used the shafts and rings out of the kit shocks.
Broke the top mount on 1.

Overall though, they are a vast improvement on the plastic kit shocks and a good measure. Will probabely upgrade to B4 shocks later because of the availabilty of parts.

[zagonielod]

Yes....I also thought of upgrading to B4 shocks, I have a shop here which can bring me of those. Only that they are quite expensive.

[nicefrog]

zagonielod, I got some pictures for you of mine for inspiration while you wait, just standard with those hybrid half stock half 3racing shocks and a bigger spur gear. I'm still waiting on my brushless esc so just running on the standard motor which actually goes pretty good, probably jumping 12 feet over the only littleish jump in the backyard track that's built so far (I'm making everything about old school 10th scale size so the track isn't very wide and the jumps are small) :), I haven't made the two landing ramps yet so it's just been landing on the chassis for reliability testing so far :), no damage at all so far not even the rear Tpiece and it flys really straight and will nose down just right off throttle which will be perfect once the landings are made, it's almost impossible to crash really. I pulled the stickers of that stupid rat off the car, seems I forgot to remove the ansmann one off the back, but that's going too since I have lots of Team C stickers now. I'm going to try and remove the paint from the body, I think it's possible

http://img.skitch.com/20100505-pyxmjfsbcxxp16y5wejp66sjw3.jpg
http://img.skitch.com/20100505-1cyauc8erd8tgnpwec73snra8t.jpg
http://img.skitch.com/20100505-xyc5tm5aecm49wjj4mr2icrb7u.jpg
The line on the ground in this picture below is where the 3rd ramp will be I can't clear it at the height the ramp will be at yet so I need a bit more power:)

http://img.skitch.com/20100505-efwpjws5pqas1pjnty8c3ie598.jpg

If you fly off the side of the ramp you might land on the rocks in the background so they keep your concentration up :)

[kedal]

Very nice pics !

[nicefrog]

I've got the 60amp EZrun esc now and a Yeah Racing 13T brushless. Really cheap setup but I think I'll be in for a large power gain when I try it out tomorrow :). Might take some more pictures and get the rest of that jump and a few more corners finished. Once I see how this performs I'll have more of an idea what to do with the Team C stadium truck

[SilentBob]

Hallo M8s. Been realy bissy at work for the last week and had no news about when my car would show up but today I finaly got some news!.

Hopefully it will be with my tonight or tomorrow. Man cant wait :woot:.

Still waiting for allot of things for the car like bearings, esc and stuff but I think I´l start working on the car as soon as I get it.

Im allso gonna put some stuff up on my blog about the build and setups etc.

/Fredrik

[zagonielod]

Hey Fredrik! :)
You WILL start building it FOR SURE! I also started from the moment I got it (with sorting out the parts in small "open/close" bags )
I also thought of taking pictures and show them to people, but..... so many have done it before, and they have done it well :) So I've abandoned the idea.
Same situation here. Waiting for the bearings to arrive.... The mate have told me that he will post them tuesday. So I am waiting. But not passively :D I have assembled the whole car allready( Couldn't wait ) I will disassemble it when the bearings arrive. It will be just a perfect practice for the cases when something brakes, or just a way to learn my new car better :)
I have taken out the sistem from my Torche Pro. It is a HSP 13,5T brushless motor with a Novatech 70A ESC, a Tower Pro MG995 servo, and for now I'll use it with a Team Orion "Rocket Pack" 3300mAh battery. (I have a Zippy 3S 5000mAh lipo, but I wouldn't risk to use it, cas it broke some parts in the monster(like axel or a dog bone :P ) but....hey ....it doesn't even fit in there :lol: I will sell it and buy 2 lipos with 2S
What do the others say?

[nicefrog]

You can't use a 3s lipo in 10th scale racing anyway as far as I know?. I'm going to get 2 x 3200 or 3600 2s lipos from dinball (rcmart) on ebay.

Have you seen the new parts on Team C america? they have a crush tube to cure the front axel bearing bind, a new steel idler gear and some other stuff now

http://www.teamcamerica.com/shopcart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_13

[nicefrog]

I got the EZrun 60A esc, really good, I'm impressed with it for the money.
I think I should have went a few turns less though. The 13T is fast but it's no real hassle for me to drive it at full power and I'm by no means skilled :). I'll try more gearing at some stage, it's really still quite fast as it is and might be hard to drive in a bashing truck. But I just think this car can handle a fair bit more power than that. So with the Stadium truck version I'll go for a faster motor and if it's too much I can lower the power in the esc or throttle setup or my finger :)

[zagonielod]

so you say, my 13,5T motor isn't fast enough? :(
I have a Novatech 70A ESC with it. I'm wondering.... would it be enough to buy only a better motor, or I should buy a whole sistem to make it better?
I have some questions in the woody's thread. Can you tell something for those?

[kedal]

You can choose a better motor, it will be enough for the moment, I think.
I should say, with a 70A esc, you can choose max 7.5T, that is a great power. I have a 8.5T and the top speed and power is very good.

The experience tell me, you will always want more power. I'm sure some week you annouce us you bought a Tekin RSpro combo with a 6.5T redline and you find it's just good ;)
I'll do some day ;)

[zagonielod]

You can choose a better motor, it will be enough for the moment, I think.
I should say, with a 70A esc, you can choose max 7.5T, that is a great power. I have a 8.5T and the top speed and power is very good.

The experience tell me, you will always want more power. I'm sure some week you annouce us you bought a Tekin RSpro combo with a 6.5T redline and you find it's just good ;)
I'll do some day ;)

:lol: not too probably...... :lol: I don't have money for that.
I almost forgot why do I have to buy a new ESC.... this one is so big, it barely fits in even on the battery holder. The space where it should be isn't big enough.
What is actually the phenomenon when changing to a lower T motor?

[nicefrog]

The less turns is more revs and more speed :). I think I'll go for a 8.5 or something like that for the Stadium truck. With the 13T (3000KV) it can reach top speed almost instantly which is good, plenty of torque, it just doesn't seem to leave much on the table for when I have more skills that's all. I'll get a video of it over the weekend if I don't break it beforehand :). If you need to get a smaller esc do that and then practice your driving on your 13.5 turn for a while and see if you need more power then. But I think you will want a bigger pinion gear than the stock one

[zagonielod]

Can't wait for that video :D
Here there will be a race sunday if it won't rain. It is an outdoor track outside the city.
Unfortunately I can't even be there (telling this because my bearings still didn't arrive) cas I'll have concert sunday :mad: (yes, I am a musician. I am cellist )
Ok, I got the basic ideea now. Thanks! I have to gather some money than and buy that EZRUN 8,5T combo. Especially for the smaller ESC, which hopefully will fit in there.
BTW! could you kedal post a picture of your cars interior? Or you have in on your blog right? Have to check it ;)

[kedal]

Here a picture of my car when I ran the stock weight distribution.
The esc fit well, but i put the fan on the side because it's too high and touch the shell if I let it on the esc. No issue with it.


http://img.over-blog.com/600x450/1/93/00/26/SDC10280.JPG

[nicefrog]

My 60A EZrun mounted sideways, it wont fit standing up and it's too tall, but sideways it fits good. Mines like this B4 from another forum http://www.rctech.net/forum/attachments/electric-off-road/515133d1256802120-will-turnigy-hobbywing-60a-esc-fit-b4-other-2wd-buggies-b4ezrun.jpg

[smithleon]

kedal: is that picture distorted a bit or are you really running the front tyres toe out as much as that? Must make straight lining and steering a bit wierd?

[kedal]

No no, I dont run like this :)
It's du to the fish eye of my camera.

[zagonielod]

How many turns does the kit stock motor have? what is to know about it? can I start it up with a plane 23A ESC?

[SilentBob]

Hey M8s. Got the car yesterday and started building it. The realy big thing in my mind about this car is the quality of the parts. Everything fits perfectly, way better then outher cars I´w built.

I may have a stupide question :blush:. Were the heck do I hide/put the lead weights?. Its not much space in the front (in front of the servo).

/Fredrik

[zagonielod]

stupid question is this one :P what are lead weights? weights you put in to balance the car?

[nicefrog]

Here's a couple pictures of one of the Chinese team c sponsored drivers car's where you can see the lead. I drove mine again today and broke the wing in half just rolling on a corner :S. I've ordered a bigger one :)

http://www.rc-battery.com/app/uploads/image/100405000676dcde8f1f3378a3.jpg

http://www.rc-battery.com/app/uploads/image/nEO_IMG_IMG_2199.jpg

http://www.face-worx.com/images/News/ACE-Cup-ShangHai/ace-tc02.jpg

[zagonielod]

nice! and what about yours? :)
Have you got that video? I'm really waiting to see it. I've enjoyed rob martins video too. It was so nice to see it running there.
I am still waiting for my bearings :(
So.... SHOW US THAT VIDEO MATE!! :D

[nicefrog]

I haven't made a video yet, maybe tomorrow, with my broken wing and clear body (I took the paint off :) ), where is the video you saw?

[zagonielod]

HOW DID YOU TAKE IT OFF???? was it very difficult? I also hate the paint on it. I want to paint it, even if only one coloured, but I hate this original paint. Honestly, i was plannig to paint it all white, for a first ever body paint :) I liked how rob martins all yellow Mad Rat was so easy to distinguish from other cars, and as the rims are white, I thought of making it snow whitey :P

[zagonielod]

Here is the video I was talking about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Q4HR1xhHY
the post is in the Madrat pics thread, here, on the third page:
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34985&page=3

[nicefrog]

I just used wet and dry sand paper to rub it off the inside, I was going to test some paint stripper on the broken wing to see if it harmed the plastic or not but I had none. So anyway sandpaper isn't the best because it scratched the plastic BUT if you use very fine paper like 2000 grit in the end it's pretty good. Better than the silly paint they come with. Start with 600 grit then 800 then 1500? then 2000. Something like that.

I really really really reallllllllly think they should come with a clear body, then with the money they save on paint they can put bearings in the kit :)

[zagonielod]

And I reeeeeeeeeeally agree with you on that! :D

[zagonielod]

I think, I'll gona try out the "brake fluid paint removal" solution. I dont have sand paper(at least not that fine sand paper) ...You know what?....I might buy some monday :P

[nicefrog]

Here's a video of J P Richards practicing with his

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpYBQjmktpo

I tested a little bit or brake fluid, didn't seem to do anything on this kind of paint, but I'm sure something chemical will work, just be sure to try it on a corner of the wing first so it's not so important if it goes bad :)

[zagonielod]

TC02 is Mad Rat? ...... I like theese videos :) At least that, till I will see mine running like that :)

[nicefrog]

Well it's a bit complex, I'll explain it. A company called Hobbypro (http://www.hobbypro.com.hk/) make the cars, they have a brand name for their race cars, the name they used is Team C (http://www.teamcracing.net/). Hobbypro make a lot of other RC brands too, like JConcepts. So Ansmann (http://www.ansmann.de/) are an electronic distributor kind of and ask hobby pro to make them a special version of the Hobbypro Team C - TC02, But they ask for them to make it cheaper so then they can sell it cheap and still make profit on it :). So they get the TC02 and use plastic shocks and remove the bearings (I don't think this saves any money but they need to do this to make the pro version seem worth more). The Madrat also gets softer front and rear arms, but all the other plastic is the same as the TC02. Kawada (http://www.kawadamodel.co.jp/) in Japan also get the budget version of the TC02 and rename it to the Kawada BX2

JP Richards uses Losi shocks on his I believe, but most of the guys seems to be running the original TC02 shockers which are very good.

I hope that clears it up :), I have just actually ordered a TC02 yesterday since I have the TC02T (The stadium truck) and I can get these pro versions for the same price as a Madrat + Expensive UK postage if I buy them from Hong Kong and cut out the middle mans profit. I've read on here that Ansmann have a deal that makes it a bit hard to get the Team C versions into Europe but there's no distributor over here so for me that's good, I can just get them from Hong Kong. Ansmann are doing an awesome job with advertising and bringing 10th scale buggies back to life so I'm all for them, but you can get a better deal out of Hong Kong if you don't want to spend a lot of money like me and you :).

It took me a little while to figure that all out hence why I bought a Madrat rather than a TC02 in the first place. I'm also 99% sure tcmodels (http://www.tcmodels.net/) is the factory owned hobbypro/team c shop. I think they could do much better pricing on the kits there but they keep them marked up a bit to protect the resellers, which is fair enough, I get my parts from tcmodels and they ship fast and good

[Jaune]

There is also TQRacing in the US www.tqracing.net (http://www.tqracing.net) that sells the pro car as the SX10. Same again but different level of support.

[zagonielod]

wow!... I have to digest all that info :P
I didn't really get the point about buying from HK. You are buying it cheaper or more expensive from there? I've got my Mad Rat for about...67€ with shipping, from here. Well.....much cheaper I couldn't buy it I guess, so it doesn't really matter. I am happy with it anyway :) I am STILL waiting for my bearings :)) Otherwise, the brushless sistem I have will do the job for a while, after that I will swith for an EZRUN 8,5T combo, and probably a 2,4gHz radio from hobbyking for 19 dollars :P

[nicefrog]

For me to buy a Madrat and have it shipped it cost's about 72 pound, or I can get the Team C car (X-pro) shipped for 84 pounds. Mostly because I'm twice as far from the UK as I am from Hong Kong :) but you see for me it's very little difference to get the better shocks, sealed bearings and a CLEAR body :D (although you get no tyres or motor in the pro kit). I need to see your $19 dollar radio

[zagonielod]

It is right here my friend http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=10608
BTW! where do you live that you are closer to HK? :)

[nicefrog]

http://www.sydney-australia.biz/western-australia/graphics/western-australia-kangaroo-beach.jpg

That radio looks a good deal too, I need to rebuild a couple of old my old RC10s and Frog at some stage and need good cheap stuff like that :), It's only a 9? hour flight or something like that to Hong Kong from here, twice as far to go to the UK

[zagonielod]

Hehe! :D Nice!
I am from here
http://trumpetintheland.com/images/Dracula%20Art.jpg

Somewhere in the middle :)

[nicefrog]

I have presents! :)

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[zagonielod]

Heheeeeeey! veeeeeery nice! Thanks a lot for the video!
What motor you have in it? Goes great!

[nicefrog]

This is the motor I have in it

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-brushless-motor-yeah-racing-sensorless-bm0010-p-26591.html

But really I if I was to do that again I would have got the 9 Turn, because the 13 isn't really a lot faster than the stock motor, I mean it is... But not THAT much faster

The 9 Turn are the same price

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-brushless-motor-yeah-racing-sensorless-bm0007-p-26588.html

These's motors seem to be identical to the EZrun motors infact the Yeah Racing speed controller instructions is the same sheet of paper that comes with the EZrun ESC's so I'm sure they are both the same thing and the are all the same price so it doesn't matter which of those two brands you get. I think the 9turn would be plenty fast enough to race with on a small 10th scale track

[zagonielod]

only 13T and it goes so nice? I have also a 13,5T motor! it means,it won't go so bad:D what pinion do you have on that 13T motor? I've bought yesterday a 27T pinion for the torquey motor.
I see that you have painted your car to green :) I also bought yesterday a white paint. soon my car will have a new look:)
And one more thing. I just ordered 2 lipos, 2s 4000mAh from hobbyking for 19$ a piece,with a set of 3,5mm and another of 4mm golden bullet connectors.

[nicefrog]

The car isn't green it's kinda half clear on one side and the roof :P and half standard paint, I didn't finish sanding it because I had to drive it for your video :). I don't know what colour I will paint it yet. But yep just a 13 Turn motor, the car is very light I guess that's why it still goes ok. I forgot what pinion is in it, it's either 20 or 21T, it needs more pinion. I've ordered a 25 tooth.

There's no clubs or tracks here anymore so I have to make my own, I can't drive it very well anyway but I'm sure if I could and it had a 9 Turn it would be a good enough car to race. There's not much traction on the dirt here, it's kind of hard underneath with loose dirt on top, so I'm going to try a different kind of tyre.

Soon I want to video my old Associated RC10 team car, just to see how much difference in speed there is between a almost 20 year old car and the madrat, I don't want to break the RC10 since it's very old and hasn't been used much during it's life so I'll just use an old 27Turn stock motor in that

[zagonielod]

hi guys! one question: can this car handle a 5,5T combo? cas there is basically no difference in price between the two. So do it worth better to buy the 5,5T?

[Battle_axe]

hi guys! one question: can this car handle a 5,5T combo? cas there is basically no difference in price between the two. So do it worth better to buy the 5,5T?

the car can but can you? 5.5 in 2wd = insane

[zagonielod]

I am ambitious :cool: So I will be able to handle it for sure. Don't have to pull the trigger to the max all the time. So you are saying that 5,5 on 2WD is not really recommended? Many ruined rear tires? :P
BTW! I just took off the pink stripes of the body :D from the sides. Left only on the nose and repainted it into white. I hated that pink.

[zagonielod]

the car can but can you? 5.5 in 2wd = insane
I'm still not sure..... Is the 5,5T torquey enough?... Isn't it more for touring cars? It may have high revs but maybe 8,5T is just right for an off road buggy

[nicefrog]

I think a lot of people run 5.5 in 4wd but those things are easy super easy to drive. You should ask at the track you are going to race at what most of the fast guys use. That would give you a good idea of how much power the track can take. Looking at videos these days it seems to me not many of the top racers are using full power very often around the track so I don't think a slower motor is any real disadvantage, a crash each 2 laps costs a lot more time than being .02 of a second slower down the straight:). In the old days you could race 27 turn stock and just hold it flat almost everywhere but those days are gone :). You know that I have only a 3000kv motor in my Madrat and it's not exactly easy to drive:0 at least not on dirt, I imagine carpet/astro turf in the UK is a lot easier but it's not really fast enough to race either. So even a 8 turn I imagine will take along to to master

[zagonielod]

heheeey nicefrog! :) Thanks for the ideeas. You are right.
Otherwise....Isn't it too late at this hour where the kangoroos live? :)
I will decide what motor to buy after I see how good my 13,5T runs. But those beariiiiings!!! :((((

[nicefrog]

You still don't have bearings!, they must be close now :)?.

It's almost sunrise now, time for Kangaroos to wake up again. They are only awake at dusk and sunrise just like me. I have some complicated jobs to do and can only concentrate at night when everyone else in my part of the world has gone to dreamland :0

Once we took a Tamiya Frog and a Tamiya Madcap to a club to race against a full field of Losi's a RC10's. The Madcap won : p it shouldn't have since it was much slower but it just goes to show if you never crash not even once you can win in a slower car. I however crashed all day in the Frog lol and came last so I went home and ordered the best RC10 and parts money could buy and a Losi pro (then the club closed) so still have the RC10 and Losi that have hardly ever been used but I can't drive them now because parts are almost impossible to get, mostly for the Losi

[zagonielod]

:) That is your 20 y old RC10? :)
No, the bearings still haven't arrived. I hope too that they are close. I have took off the pink stripes off the body.maybe I will take a picture tomorrow and post it. It is simple, but I like it more like this. I actually took off the stickers off the sides and top of the body on the first day I got it :P
so I have now a pretty simple body, and it might be even simplier if I go more crazy than I am and paint it all white :P
All right. Have a nice day nicefrog! I'm going to bed now. here it is 23:30 right now.
C U

[nicefrog]

Who's what: )? sorry I made a typo with madcap/madrat :P no I don't have a picture of the 20 year old RC10 but here's a video of it from 1991? or 1992. I went to this track all prepared to do well, I had set it up really well for a dirt track but then..... It was really hard to drive on this concrete. I didn't drive it again more than a couple times after this and still have it just like that. It's an amazing car really, the gearbox makes hardly no noise at all they were very well made.

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I also have this 1995 RC10 B2

http://i42.tinypic.com/30sitnd.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/zmo8ld.jpg

This is a really good fast car, I think I could race this in a Vintage class if it's old enough? I'm not sure, it only has a stock motor from the 90s but it moves very well, I don't think I could beat this with the madrat yet, not even close, but maybe I think I can setup the madrat a lot better I bought the B2 from a guy in England, it's done a lot of racing and setup perfect

[stox217]

Dont worry the bearings should be with you soon i think all this ash might have affected flights or your customs might have took an intrest into them?

[nicefrog]

I put softer springs on the back today and set it lower at the back too, heapppps more traction and drive around corners. It was also wet today which helped but then the front was pushing. I guess spikes on the front tyres are the go for wet conditions, the ribbed don't seem for work as well as they do in the dust. Anyway I put some lead up on the servo and that made it heaps faster yet again, I was driving really well, it made it much easier. It's starting to look planted like the guys that race them. So I'm pretty happy today :). Only problem now is the front rubs hard into the jumps and slows the car down so I might need stiffer springs in the front maybe. I figure if I drive a pack through it everyday by the time club gets formed hear again in a couple of years if the 10th scale booms like I expect then I'll be skilled :)

[davepenny]

hi juys i use a novak ballist 8.5 and beleve me it is a very good motor mad rat very good car havent had a 2wd for over 20 years so now im having some fun.:thumbsup:

[kedal]

What ESC do you use with your ballistic ?

[kedal]

Here's a video of my Mad Rat, in a french track :


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(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Q_HnvIMd4)

[tcmodels]

nice :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[zagonielod]

Right! Nice kedal! :)

[positronic]

Nicefrogs madrat

http://img.skitch.com/20100515-xt9i6qbudq3f8yw3ji82kmknc4.jpg

[zagonielod]

what shocks are those on it?
Nice photo mate! ;)

[nicefrog]

They are 3racing shocks but with all the internal bits from the stock plastic ones, I also have bits of fuel hose on the shafts to make sure they don't bottom out. It's not a very good setup but it's only bashing around the backyard so it doesn't matter. I've been giving it a really hard time to see what I can break but I haven't broken anything at all (apart from the wing but that's just not very well made) : ). Today I realised the tyres ballooning is why I'm loosing traction as it gets up to speed, I've tried to fix it with taping the inside of the tyre but I need to learn a bit more about this technoligy

[zagonielod]

Hi nicefrog mate! :)
I hope next week i will get my **** shocks and I could start up the Mad Rat finally

[kedal]

Thanks zago, thanks tcmodels (woh ! I buy spares to your shop !!)

Run today, broke a front arm, and the carbon fiber front tower shock :( (bought to tcmodels.net)

2 pics of the last run :

http://img.over-blog.com/600x392/1/93/00/26/SDC10452.JPG


http://img.over-blog.com/600x491/1/93/00/26/SDC10493.JPG

[zagonielod]

My bearings have arrived today!!!! :D
I've allready built them in. Not sure if I have built the diff and gearbox correctly so I will go to a friend today who has a Mad Rat and he will check it for me :P (actually by him I have met the MAd Rat :) ) the pinion gear doesn't look to stay straight or the spur gear. I have a 27T pinion on a 13,5T BL motor.
But ... MAN I LOVE HOW THE BUGGY TURNS ....:D

[zagonielod]

I took apart the diff and gearbox, cas I knew that one washer was installed vice versa(the two sides are not 100% simmetrical, one side being more round than the other) and put some more grease inside, just to be sure.
I was told that the diff was much too loose, so I've tighten it. It really changed the sound of the car, and I could make some wheelies :P ...soooooo nice :D
Still have some problems. The spur isn't turning straight. It turns a bit like a bike with an 8 in the wheel. How bad is that?
I have also changed the rear springs to some longer ones, from the spare shocks for my monster truck. (I'll try to put pictures with)

Please help me a bit with this spur issue. If needed I will make a video and upload it here.

[nicefrog]

The spurs are sometimes bent, If you warm it up then put the slipper on, make sure its all on good and straight then tighten the slipper nut up all the way. Then leave it overnight it should be straight(er) if not straight. You can try putting the spur in hot water for a while first then tighten it up. Once it's straight then you can loosen the slipper again so it slips before the diff slips :)

[zagonielod]

hot water than..... I will try that. I'm not sure if it hadn't bent the motor's shaft allready.... I will put on another pinion to see if not the pinion itself is a bit bent.
Thanks nicefrog! :)

[zagonielod]

Hm......:-?
Looks like its not the spur. I've mounted it on the front wheel axle and there it doesn't do that play....

[nicefrog]

Then what is bent:)? you sure the slipper pads are going on straight in their slots?

[zagonielod]

Then what is bent:)? you sure the slipper pads are going on straight in their slots?
yep!

[nicefrog]

And it still wobbles if the slipper is done up real tight?

[zagonielod]

don't have time now to continue checking it. I have to clean up here cas a girl will come to me tomorrow :P
When I finnish, I will try to tighten the slipper more and see what happens. But one thing is sure: I don't want to brake the Rat before I could run it for good. So better wait till somebody more expert sees it.

[davepenny]

What ESC do you use with your ballistic ?
hi mate i use the losi esc:thumbsup:

[nicefrog]

Sure ok, better to concentrate on the girl for today. I'm sure shes a gymnast or some such so you better clean up good :)

[pugboy]

Hm......:-?
Looks like its not the spur. I've mounted it on the front wheel axle and there it doesn't do that play....

Bent layshaft most likely, just have to mesh the pinion so that it can accommodate the variation, if too much then new layshaft. The diff should not be so loose that it slips, the slipper should control the delivery as that#s what it's designed for.

[zagonielod]

Where can I find cheap rear arm mount? I allready have my first broken piece :P
I will try to gule it, but don't think that it will hold.

[kaylon]

Concept racing (http://www.concept-racing-rc.com) are good...

And of course Fusion Hobbies (http://www.fusionhobbies.com/Ansmann-Racing-X-Pro-Parts-s/432.htm) ...

J

[woOdy]

JESpares.com

[bigred5765]

+1 for JEspares

[zagonielod]

Finally!!! My Mad rat is good to go!! :thumbsup:
And I have to say, superglue is my best friend now :p I have superglued the rear arm mount to the T piece. It will hold.
I've also solved the spurs bouncing with a layer of scotch tape :) The hole in the spur is too big for the shaft and that allows it to bounce a bit. I have put another spur on the shaft to see if it would do the same trick with it. (it is a spur for my monster truck which has a tiny little bit smaller hole, just perfect to fit on the shaft) When I saw that it was perfectly clear what I have to do with the Mad Rat spur.
So now, I have a perfectly functional buggy :lol::thumbsup:
The only problem now is the bad weather :confused::mad::bored::thumbdown:

[kedal]

Yeah, good to hear !
I really hope your rear arm mount will work a long time !

[zagonielod]

It should :P I have checked the hold and it was very strong :P Couldn't brake it down. Maybe I will throw it out once when the T piece brakes and the arm mount will still be on it :P

[Thomas P]

Had the chance to look at Silent_bobs rat...i am impressed!!

[zagonielod]

Hi mates!
looks like I'm good at breaking down the car. Today I had a meeting with other RC guys in the city center (which was closed for traffic, as it is each sunday if the weather is good) Well, I had 2 frontal collisions with a B4 (I'm gonna kill that stupid guy next time:mad:) and the second one bent a bit the front plastic, and broke out a piece of the chassis plate (the piece wich is in the front of the battery) as he ran on me with almost full speed.
Wors is, that (don't know why, but ) I broke all the balls from the "Stop push ball bearing"
And the glueing which I did on the rear arm mount came off so I really will have to invest some money in some sparesm if I can't make it here somewhere manufactured.
Any advice?

[kaylon]

Don't drive head on in to other cars at full speed... :D

J

[zagonielod]

It wasn't me with the full speed, but the one with the B4

[kedal]

You don't have chance zago !

I don't understand your "stop push ball bearing" thing.
The piece you broke in the chassis is not a bad thing, cause I cut it to do my weight distribution mod.

My advice is : buy another Mad Rat

[nicefrog]

My advice is order some parts from hong kong :) everything you've broken so far is about 3 dollars

[kaylon]

Zag...You've actually been having pretty typical casualties of any car... When I raced Tamiya cars many years ago I went through a fair few parts to start with...it's actually called the 'breaking in period' for a reason :)

It was partly poor set up and partly poor driving. I simply was hitting certain challenges all wrong, going to fast on some things, breaking to hard on others...One of my main issues was I was always stripping spurs and pinions. I was always blaming the quality of the nylon the spurs were made from till a friend pointed out that I subconscious used to slam the car into reverse quite a lot...was just a twitch reaction to certain driving conditions. It was this reflex that was stripping my gears :)

I also had a habit of trying to steer on landings...I would already have steering lock on as I touched down from a jump, granted when this worked I could sometimes get onto an inside line very fast...but actually what happened a lot more then I'd admit was I broke the front hubs...Again I over looked my habits and blamed the plastics :)

Basically look at how you drive and of course be mindful of other drivers...they can be idiots :D

J

[nicefrog]

I crashed mine into a big rock at 90% full speed today, I was like oh! no! that's not going to be good. So I went to get it expecting something broken and what I found was two deep scars in the rock where the screws that were hanging out on the front shock tower dug into the rock. No damage to the car, I must have landed on all 4 corners off a jump 100 times each and the roof a lot too and still haven't broken any arms or hubs. I think the somewhat soft dirt it's landing on is the reason I haven't broken anything (not really soft but it's not hard packed clay) but then again the rims are scared up pretty good

[zagonielod]

Nice post kaylon! Thanks!
Good for you nicefrog! Seem like I'm not that lucky.

[kaylon]

Im 100% sure that once you get used to the 'personality' of the car you'll start see a vast decrease in things breaking :)...

I've just snapped my LRP Blasts front shock tower again...it's a tad front heavy off aggressive jumps...but I keep driving it like it's my X-Pro that's front light LOL...so I land a lot on the front..poor car LOL, I'll learn eventually hahaha.

Can't wait for the X4-Pro WOOT!!!..bring it On...

J

[zagonielod]

Ok. Superglue is no more my best friend as the broken rear arm mount came off again. Now I glued it again but this time with Poxipol :P If this won't hold, that nothing.
Tomorrow I'm going to a friend, RC racer and shop owner. He is racing AEs. I will buy some B4 parts for the car. Not too much cas I don't have money for more now ( otherwise the goverment is cutting off 25% of our sallaries... think over that.... Maybe you will see a Mad Rat for sale here in a couple of weeks :P )

[zagonielod]

Poxipol fall off as well. I have to make a rear arm mount out of aluminium. I would have a race open this weekend, but if it fells off so easily, It will break after the first jump.

The good news is, I have upgraded to B4 slipper clutch today(spur and slipper pads) At least that works right now. But I will have to change the diff screw set as well. It is cheap this car, but it comes with some weak parts and which have to be changed VERY soon...

[SilentBob]

Hey zagonielod, did you have to do anything to the B4 slipper or is it a strait fit?. Iw deen thinking of just changing the spurgear to a B4 one but maby that wont work with the rest of the MR slipper?.

Cheers

[zagonielod]

Hey zagonielod, did you have to do anything to the B4 slipper or is it a strait fit?. Iw deen thinking of just changing the spurgear to a B4 one but maby that wont work with the rest of the MR slipper?.

Cheers
You have to change the slipper pads as well. The rest is a perfect fit. The spur sits a bit tight on the ax, has to be forced on the first mount, but thats ok for me because that's the reason I have changed it. It works perfect now.

[zagonielod]

Could somebody tell me please how many turns does that stock clash motor have?

[kaylon]

Could somebody tell me please how many turns does that stock clash motor have?

I think it's 23 Zag...

J

[zagonielod]

Gentlemen, please welcome my new, custom made rear arm mount! :thumbsup::cool::lol::woot::thumbsup:

It was a bit pricey, about 10dollars, but I'm sure, it won't brake any more :p

[nicefrog]

You wont find a workshop to make you one here for 10 dollars :) infact, it cost's that much for a couple of tubes of super glue :P so you've done ok on that deal

[kedal]

Very nice !
Now, you can run the car ;)

[zagonielod]

I will my friend! I will :) Today I'm having my first competition ever :P If I can finish it I'll be really happy.

[zagonielod]

And so, I have had today the first RC Off Road race of my life :D
I am one of the happiest of all, cas I didn't brake anything on my car, which is a really good thing for me. Of course, I have tried to drive it safe as possible. Only once the damper cap came off after a harder jump, but lucky me, I've landen in the fornt of my Mad Rat owner friend and he quickly solved the damper :)
I am really happy and emotionally charged now. It was a very nice race with nice people there. And I'am happy as well because I took a small part of the organization of this race.
Maybe I will have pictures later

[kedal]

Congrat zago !!
I'm glad you like your very first race !!

What kind of track was it ? Have you set up your car a little or keep the stock set up ?

[zagonielod]

It is stock setup. I will buy some better shocks once, but not right now. Actually I have to say that I like these shocks, just that cap wouldn't com up....
The track is a dirt track. My tires have had reaaaaly bad grip. I almost couldn't take the curves. It was badly understeered. I have to buy some better tires and a set of wheels. I think it will be proline caliber tires.
I will try to search for some pictures with the track

[zagonielod]

BTW.... the Durango DEX410 is actually the X4 Pro from Ansmann? I have seen today how much better the AE B44s are going with 4WD.... I want to learn to drive good a 2WD buggy, but I allready feel that the future is a 4WD :P

[kedal]

No no, the durango isnt the x4pro ! The x4pro is most like the yokomo bmax.

My favourite tires are the Losi Big Shot rear and Losi 7202 on the front for the dirt track.
You had only the stock tires ? And only one pair ??

[zagonielod]

You had only the stock tires ? And only one pair ??

Well.....yes...:( Things are going slow in this direction. Yesterday I've bought a lipo 2S monitor with warning horn for the races(because my ESC doesn't have lipo cut off) and a 2S-6S lipo monitor. I bought 2 lipos from hobbyking and I'm affraid that one of them is faulty. There is a difference of about 0,5V between the cells.
I know now how important are the good and suitable tires for a track. So it is on the list now. And some weight for the front of the car. Because the nose was that allways slipped in the corners to the outside.

[kedal]

Yeah, tires are one of the most important part of the car.
If you understreer, that's also because of the front tires.

[jflaci]

Hey guys!

I was also there only in the stock race, and had also troubles with the stock
tires. But I had oversteer instead of under :). But for the last race I had used the tires to slick. So a big :thumbdown: for the ansmann stock tires. After the race i borrowed a set of proline bowies from another racer, and the feeling was awesome. I could take almost every corner as i wanted. So i will get some of those. And I learned again that I should go in my pace silently around the track, without errors and so I can make better places. So remember, You can always count on others errors to win a race. (well, almost everytime).

It was a really nice race.

Cheers,

Laci

[nicefrog]

Laci, you are the shock fixing friend :)?. I've been slowly building the TC02T Stadium Truck, everything is finished now apart from having a not having a motor or ESC for it yet. I'm thinking about getting the speed passion 7.5T and a XErun esc. Any racers out there think the 7.5 is a good motor for a Stadium truck? or maybe something else is a better idea. I'm not going to race it, but I'd like it to be race worthy. Just in case I ever get the chance

[kedal]

Nicefrog, I think its a good choice :)

[zagonielod]

Good guess nicefrog :) Laci is the shock fixer :) Thing is, i have seen how nice stadium trucks work on hard terrain. On a hard packed clay track the buggy would be superior, but on our track the stadium truck worked better. Whish you a lot of fun to your TC02T nicefrog! ;)

[nicefrog]

I like buggies a lot but I dunno since the stadium truck has been built I'm just looking at it thinking it has an awesome presence, it's just big and tuff :). I've never had a stadium truck before and I've never been a fan of 4WD cars so I think this just suits me :). The amount of rubber on it and the width can only do good things on the backyard track that most of the time doesn't offer much traction. Kedal thanks I will get that motor. I'll see If I can get some pictures tomorrow of the truck

[zagonielod]

ok :) I've allready found some pictures. If interrested, I will look for some more
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y207/xj39eldiablo/fxracing_1/

[kedal]

Thanks for the pic zago.
The track looks so smashed !!

[zagonielod]

well..... the terrain is a bit smashed. but this is what we have. hopefully we will progress with the time :)

[nicefrog]

Looks a great track :)! back in the early 90s most club tracks looked like that. Proper off road dirt tracks. Seems mostly these days they are smooth clay or carpet/plastic etc but I think dirt tracks with lots of bumps is keeping it real

[zagonielod]

Thanks nicefrog! Kind words from you. what about your truck? Could you show some pictures?

[nicefrog]

Not yet, tomorrow I'll get pictures. I painted it orange and green, it's a simple paint job and I don't like orange but it looks pretty good

[kedal]

Yeah I like your track too ! THAT is offroad !!

[zagonielod]

Hey, thanks a lot kedal! :) It feels good to hear words like that. We have worked a LOT on it and will continue to work. It is on a hill and allways when it rains, we basically have to rearrange it because as the water flows it makes ditches all over the track. So we actually work 90% and the fun is the rest 10% :P
But it still worth it :)

[ben44]

Yes it's most interssing you track than 100% astro.
When it's will stop rainning is we be just fun :)

[zagonielod]

Guys, approx. how much weight should I put in the front of the car and exactly where, to make it more grippy?

[ben44]

You can find this :
http://www.jespares.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/Ansmann_Mad_Rat__4b840c87b5869.jpg

or you can but 10 Grs up this original spare.

After you can but them near the servo.

You can use a wings on the front too.

[ben44]

They will work for a new font chassi brace.

We must used the 2 part on the picture.



http://www.rctech.net/forum/attachments/electric-off-road/600777d1275624687-tq-racing-goes-electric-001.jpg

[zagonielod]

Sorry Ben , but what if you wouldn't use any more that stupid google translator and use a vocabulary??? or just simply try to explain it with the words you know.....

[prorace]

For what I saw on TQracing Thread on rctech, the factory just upgraded the front end, with a huge reinforcing just on the angle.

Due to the new shape of the front end, you'll need a new front bulkhead.

At least in the US, the two parts will be sold together (only one reference number for the two parts)

Greetings from Spain

[nicefrog]

zagonielod, I drove the madrat with good tyres on it yesterday. You will be amazed how much more traction and how much faster you can drive with better tyres. Really reallllly a big difference. I put back tyres on first and then the front was pushing so much so I changed them too and then it turned TOO much. It was really strange because I was using Jconcepts tyres that come from hobbypro also and the fronts look like (I'm sure) come out of the exact same tread mould as the stock tyres but they must be a softer compound, I didn't think that would make any difference on soft dirt but it did. I was driving on loose slippery dirt on top of hard clay and still had a lot of traction and it was much much easier to drive

[zagonielod]

It looks like
I will buy some Step Up Stinger wheels with tires :) They look pretty good.
BTW... I have had a race today with my Torche Pro. It was nice to drive a 4WD after a 2WD.... I am badly tired and burnt by the sun. I am going to sleep npw.
See you guys!

[zagonielod]

What do you say guys, should I buy a used Novak GTB for about 90 euros?

[zagonielod]

I could buy a Tekin Redline 13,5T motor for about 60USD.... should I go for it or wait several weeks (dunno how many) and buy a 8,5? ....

[ben44]

On mine i will run 10.5T for indoor and 8.5 for astro or more big track.
I used Robitronic motor and ESC

[zagonielod]

so I should understand that a 13,5T isn't enough?

[kedal]

so I should understand that a 13,5T isn't enough?

I should say yes ;)

[zagonielod]

ok then...... I have to wait.....:(

[ben44]

Did you know if we can use AE spring?

[kedal]

yes we can !
oui on peut ben ;)

[zagonielod]

Kedal, can the stock diff face the 8,5T motor?

[nikos2002]

Yes the gearbox and diff can handle a 8.5 motor.

[kaylon]

I've had a 4.5t in mine :D ... was fine, just have to use common sense when driving and not simply thrash the pants off it every time you throttle.

However due to the tracks I race on I'm putting a 10.5 in...

J

[zagonielod]

Ok... so here's the thing: the local club is somekind of official AE team. And they run all AE cars. The guy is trying to convince me that I should sell my Mad Rat and buy a used B4. I would get the lowest prices on the spares, cas I am now helping him with the maintenance of their website.
Please guys ,tell me if it worth it to make that change? I would have their technical support and spares at a low price ( I don't know how are the prices of AE spares compared to Ansmanns)
Now I really need some help and advice from you guys.
Thanks in advance!
Előd

[Timee80]

The mad rat is excellent for the money but it aint no b4.ive had both and there is no comparison. Make the change

[woOdy]

Ok... so here's the thing: the local club is somekind of official AE team. And they run all AE cars. The guy is trying to convince me that I should sell my Mad Rat and buy a used B4. I would get the lowest prices on the spares, cas I am now helping him with the maintenance of their website.
Please guys ,tell me if it worth it to make that change? I would have their technical support and spares at a low price ( I don't know how are the prices of AE spares compared to Ansmanns)
Now I really need some help and advice from you guys.
Thanks in advance!
Előd

It all depends on what you want/got? If you have a bumpy track then the MadRat is better on the bumps but if it is smooth then you have a hard choice. Regards the prices it might not be that cheap as most of the MadRat stuff is really cheap and the AE stuff is not. Knowlage is priceless, so if you need help at the track then yes AE.
Me though, I like the under dog and the challenge.

[kaylon]

Spares are not expensive...tyres maybe... my choice sticking with Ansmann is in part due to the fact I have several hundred pounds worth of metric tools..and AE so far are all Imperial.

I've driven my X-Pro with B4's, Xrays and a Losi XXX...it compared very well :)

The B4 has a good rep and several years of development behind it. The X-Pro is developed using the B4 as it's Inspiration and I think with the right driver/customer support will also gain an equally good rep within the hobbie if given a chance. Just look at what Rob is doing for TeamQ in the states and woOdy is doing here they are really promoting the competitive side of these cars at a national level...not just club.

However track side spares is not something to turn your noise up at. That's why I now have 2 of almost all the major spares for all my Ansmann cars and my Ansmann club cars.

People love to own and drive the 'best' or what is perceived to be the 'best' I'm sure within the next few months we'll see lots of people buy the new Tamiya 4x4 chassis that Lee Martin is winning everything with....just look at the sales of the Schuy Cougar cos it's won tons of stuff recently. I'm temped with the Cougar mind you hehe.

I'm still going to get the X4-Pro...I'm still going to continue to improve my X-Pro, and I'm quite confident once production starts to catch up with demand and the new hop-up's are available I'll start beating B4's on a regular basis and that will make me smile... :D

And I wont have to by a new set of tools :)

J

[zagonielod]

@ Woody
Tracks I am running on are usually bumpy. No carpet tracks no indoor, and no hard packed clay. Dusty and bumpy tracks.

Talk to you later guys! I have to run working.

[nicefrog]

Well the way I see it, my driving isn't and will likely never be as good as the Madrat's potential so it's not going to matter which car car I have so long as it's one of the decent 2WD's that are around right now :). I also bet someone like Woody driving his could turn up at your track and beat every b4 there and every 4wd too. Anyway, I'd try good tyres on the Madrat first, I wouldn't be surprised if you can beat half the B4's on that change alone

[kedal]

Well... hard choice here !

I'll simply say that the B4 choice is the easy way (easy to find spares, easy to has good set up and other club guys support)

BUT, as JF Kennedy said about the moon conquest "I dont do it because it's easy, I do it because it's difficult"

I personnaly choose the difficult way, to be REALLY happy when all thing are good ! and to think hard when things arent that good :)
I love to have a different car than all the other guys, I love to think to improve the car, etc.

Make your choice elod !!

[Battle_axe]

my views on the b4 vs xpro is that the parts support are good from AE but that is only due to the amount of people running it the fact that everyone is running it dosnt make it the best car the ansmann rear end is much more planted making it easier to get the power down and the car feels allot safer to drive and in the end less crashing = winning over a single lap i think i could get a b4 round a track quicker but across a whole race there is no competition the xpro is just faster. the shocks are some of the best around and putting the bfast diff in it makes the car a true B4 killer as you get the off power stearing of the b4 and the safe feel of the xpro what more is needed think of the xpro as the best bits from a RB5 a B4 and A XXX-cr and you have the idea

[ben44]

I drive just one lipo my X pro, and the car is very easy, and fast. I change some set up and the car move very well when you change them.
I would continue to drive it, and the price of the car is very good. Mabby we have to but some little option spare.

If you don't know what to do for the set up you but a B4 or RB5 set up to star on your track.

[zagonielod]

Ok. So it looks like I won't change the MadRat :) Thing is I really like it, and Laci (the MadRat friend who also repaired my car during that race) said that maybe we could make ourselves some alu spares. If that would work out it would be reaaaaaaally great. I still desire that B-fast diff, but for nor it is only on the whish list :)
Thanks guys for those answers ;)

[ben44]

For me indoor track, carpet or astro we have tu use
Ansmann Mad Rat/Macnum/X/XT Pro: Alum. Front Arm Mount & Weight (http://www.oople.com/electric-models?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=9135&category_id=1302)
http://www.jespares.com/components/com_virtuemart/show_image_in_imgtag.php?filename=resized%2FAnsman n_Mad_Rat__4b840c87adb68_90x90.jpg&newxsize=90&newysize=90&fileout=

For dusty track used the rear hub carrier with 1°
http://www.tcmodels.net/components/com_virtuemart/show_image_in_imgtag.php?filename=resized%2FRear_H ub_4b750a91ae0b7_120x120.jpg&newxsize=120&newysize=120&fileout=

For security i will buy Ansmann Racing Aluminium Rear Arm Mount - X Pro, XT Pro, Mad Rat & Macnum
http://www.fusionhobbies.com/v/vspfiles/photos/AR125000308-1.jpg

I will prefert tu used plastic but there are just in alu
Ansmann Racing Aluminium Front Hub Carrier (30 deg)

http://www.fusionhobbies.com/v/vspfiles/photos/AR125000314-1.jpg

And the motor plate if you want.

If you have the mad rat, you can buy this for symply set up
TU0256 Turnbuckle Set 22mm (http://www.oople.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=670&category_id=49&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=71)
http://www.tcmodels.net/components/com_virtuemart/show_image_in_imgtag.php?filename=resized%2FTU0256 _Turnbuckl_4c031d28c0154_120x120.jpg&newxsize=120&newysize=120&fileout=

And like for all the car have the spring set.

This isn't from Ansmann because if you use a B4 you have to but the same option part

[kedal]

New alu gear on TCModels.net