Mad rat

bigfella0875 · #1 04-09-2009

Hi I have been looking at getting a mad rat how do they do against the other cars at the track ?

Thanks

Bf

Paulmay79 · #2 04-09-2009

Get an x pro mate its a much better spec.

jim76 · #3 09-09-2009

the basic geometry of the car is fine and very competitive. There are just a couple of things you need to change if you plan to race it.

1 - Kit shocks. these are pants, no 2 ways about it they are crap. The pistons are a bit tight, the o-rings aren't free, but worst of all the tops pop off if you have any kind of roll. Get some second hand B4 shocks, threaded or unthreaded and the car is transformed.
2 - T-piece. This is a major known weakness. Try and get a beefed up version in alloy, steel or carbon. This improves the reliability no end.
3 - ballraces. £8, just improve the whole drivetrain.
4 - weight. The front is very light, especially with lipo. Put around 150g of lead around the front bulkhead and servo to improve steering and reduce wheelies.

These are the only 4 changes i made to mine and it made the C final at the BRC last weekend. Once the reliability of the shocks and t-piece are addressed the car is as competitive as an RB5 etc.
I personally wouldn't go for the X-pro as the only thing that makes a real performance difference are the alloy shocks. You can have a madrat and B4 shocks for around £40-50 less. It just depends on your budget and whether you want to paint your own shell (but you can get clear replica shells for £12, still saving you money!)

saintnitro · #4 09-09-2009

your right about the kit shocks within two mins the caps popped of so i put my losi xx shocks on and its spot on

the t-piece snapped after a soft jump i'm looking for a beefed up one now so if anybody out there is making one put me on your buyers list coz i realy need one now

Ginge

rc_dan · #5 09-09-2009

yet to brake the t peace on mine but the rear hinge pin holder part number 125000497 has broke thay all need to be alu ideally

shock are rubbish as mentioned and the rear shock tower broke too

madmax · #6 09-09-2009

again as above im running a 2mm carbon support on the stock tpice andhavnt had a problem. i have also been running losi shocks i didnt even get the origonals out the bag. for the hinge pin hanger ive had a alloy one made for the car but not tested it as of yet, also it is a copy of a lazer ZX5 hinge pin hanger labled BF with slite modification works exceptionaly well. and is alot stronger

rc_dan · #7 09-09-2009

any chance of getting some more made up ?

stampede vxlboy · #8 09-09-2009

phone ansmann they told me it would be about 4 weeks . so they should have them by now . i phoned about 5 weeks ago

jim76 · #9 09-09-2009

good to see you still here Simon, nobody likes to see people leave the hobby

stampede vxlboy · #10 09-09-2009

i am going to buy a b4 as a spare car for bashing .the farmer near my house as just let me and my mate rent some land . its were we when bashing before . but were going to make a track just for funny . and no brca . nice piece of land to make a big track there 8 of us to do it . 3/4 weeks it will be ready . i am trying to make a bashing course coz there loads of kids with trucks and buggy .nitro i got 2 of them and 6 other buggys and trucks

jim76 · #11 09-09-2009

sounds like a good plan. we can always do with more areas to race/bash

stampede vxlboy · #12 09-09-2009

and just charged £6for the full day 9.00am.6.00pm there a shed on the land and a fram yard under cover so use them as the pits and i caravan on there as i am spend a lot of time there it almost ready all the jumps there ect and its going to make about 2 big tracks when finished another 1 in keighley . and there more land if we need it . were trying get lots of astroturf

bert digler · #13 09-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim76

the basic geometry of the car is fine and very competitive. There are just a couple of things you need to change if you plan to race it.

1 - Kit shocks. these are pants, no 2 ways about it they are crap. The pistons are a bit tight, the o-rings aren't free, but worst of all the tops pop off if you have any kind of roll. Get some second hand B4 shocks, threaded or unthreaded and the car is transformed.
2 - T-piece. This is a major known weakness. Try and get a beefed up version in alloy, steel or carbon. This improves the reliability no end.
3 - ballraces. £8, just improve the whole drivetrain.
4 - weight. The front is very light, especially with lipo. Put around 150g of lead around the front bulkhead and servo to improve steering and reduce wheelies.

These are the only 4 changes i made to mine and it made the C final at the BRC last weekend. Once the reliability of the shocks and t-piece are addressed the car is as competitive as an RB5 etc.
I personally wouldn't go for the X-pro as the only thing that makes a real performance difference are the alloy shocks. You can have a madrat and B4 shocks for around £40-50 less. It just depends on your budget and whether you want to paint your own shell (but you can get clear replica shells for £12, still saving you money!)

was that me and you running the two with same shell yardy said can you change it i said yes but its the same spray job lol

bert digler · #14 09-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bert digler

was that me and you running the two with same shell yardy said can you change it i said yes but its the same spray job lol

also run 2mm washers under the rear end front hinge pin bracket to get some anti squat

jim76 · #15 09-09-2009

Rob? Yes, that was me. Was funny watching John Cockill trying to call us through in the first round! 1-2 for Madrat, you would have got good odds on that! lol

Haven't tried the antisquat yet. Do you need to dremel the chassis to raise the pivot block? It looks a snug fit.

bert digler · #16 09-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim76

Rob? Yes, that was me. Was funny watching John Cockill trying to call us through in the first round! 1-2 for Madrat, you would have got good odds on that! lol

Haven't tried the antisquat yet. Do you need to dremel the chassis to raise the pivot block? It looks a snug fit.

yeah i dremelled it between rounds so nice and easy

Paulmay79 · #17 11-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim76

the basic geometry of the car is fine and very competitive. There are just a couple of things you need to change if you plan to race it.

1 - Kit shocks. these are pants, no 2 ways about it they are crap. The pistons are a bit tight, the o-rings aren't free, but worst of all the tops pop off if you have any kind of roll. Get some second hand B4 shocks, threaded or unthreaded and the car is transformed.
2 - T-piece. This is a major known weakness. Try and get a beefed up version in alloy, steel or carbon. This improves the reliability no end.
3 - ballraces. £8, just improve the whole drivetrain.
4 - weight. The front is very light, especially with lipo. Put around 150g of lead around the front bulkhead and servo to improve steering and reduce wheelies.

These are the only 4 changes i made to mine and it made the C final at the BRC last weekend. Once the reliability of the shocks and t-piece are addressed the car is as competitive as an RB5 etc.
I personally wouldn't go for the X-pro as the only thing that makes a real performance difference are the alloy shocks. You can have a madrat and B4 shocks for around £40-50 less. It just depends on your budget and whether you want to paint your own shell (but you can get clear replica shells for £12, still saving you money!)

The plastic that the x-pro is made of is a higher quality it also comes with adjustable turnbuckles. If you get a rat and then all the bits to make it the same standard as the pro you would be about £3 better off!

jim76 · #18 11-09-2009

but there is nothing wrong with the madrat plastic, and the slight extra flex will make it have more forgiving handling, and also less brittle in a crash.

True the turnbuckles would be nice, but again not a major performance enhancer like the shocks. The madrat still has adjustable turnbuckles, but without the square in the middle.

I would be no quicker with an x-pro compared to a madrat with B4 shocks.

Paulmay79 · #19 11-09-2009

Im not saying you would its just MY opinoin. I looked at both and the x-pro is just a better kit!

DCM · #20 11-09-2009

get the X-Pro, save the hassle of sourcing lots of parts. Put Nortech Whitties seals in the shocks, as the kit ones get squashed, and cause the shock shaft to bind. Drill the rear piston out, to 1.4mm holes and the front, to 1.2mm holes.

The only thing I am really waiting for, is the weight ballast kits, i.e. the brass battery liner and front bulkhead, might even go for the servo mounts too, as the car is way to light on the front end.