Filed under: Safety | Tags: Brushless system, brushless system smoke, novak fire, Novak GTB 3.5R, Novak GTB 3.5R smoke, novak gtb burns, novak GTB fire, novak GTB smoke, rc car fire, rc car smoke, Safety, Team Associated TC5R
Please note that this post is not about an experiment, this is simply a warning about the dangers of this hobby. I recently rebuilt a new scale Ferrari Enzo body for my Team Associated TC5R, including things like scale air ducts to reduce wind resistance and increase motor cooling. ( Testing to get ready for the next speed run test)
The car had been sitting on the shelf for the past couple of weeks, and within minutes of running it in a very cool environment the car started to cogg heavily. I started this video with the intention of shooting high speed cornering of the TC5, at first I noticed the car does not brake as well getting out of the corner.
Moments later it starts to cogg significantly and then stops and goes into flames, so far nothing special had been done to the Novak brushless system except for a recent changed motor. The last motor had locked up after a speed run that I did a couple of months back, and now a completlely blown ESC.
The following are some links I found of people who experienced similar issues with this brushless system:
- http://www.rctech.net/forum/rookie-zone/271957-novak-gtb-ss-smoking.html
- http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/202571-want-instantly-fry-your-novak-gtb-spread-spectrum.html
- http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7831236/printable.htm
- http://www.rcracechat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39466
- http://www.forums.radiocontrolzone.com/archive/index.php/t-243720.html
At this point I am unable to clearly figure out what caused the fire. However I intend to document here some important safety matters to keep in mind, the following however are some key observations I found in my setup along with research on other blogs and rc groups
- Never leave the GTB connected to the battery in off position for too long ( I did this right before the run)
- The capacitor if gone bad can cause the GTB to cogg significantly and may lead to a smoke/fire if not replaced ( my car was cogging a bit but I thought it was no big deal)
- Be very carefuly with gearing as over gearing can over heat the motor and speed control
- If you are using a Lipo make sure it is not over discharged, enable the cutoff on the GTB or get a lipo gaurd
So far the above are the only items I have uncovered, I have also contacted Novak to see what they have to say in this matter, my system has been running fine before this for couple of months and is not within the 120 day warranty. I plan to keep this post updated with my latest findings.
Filed under: Performance Upgrades | Tags: 1/8 rc bike, 1/8 rc motorcycle, gpv performance testing, gpv upgrades, rc motorcycle, venom gpv, venom gpv brushless, venom gpv-1, venom gpv1
This is my first rc motorcycle, have to admit it is a lot of fun and comes as an RTR kit. The thing I was most impressed about it is the fiber glass chassis, the radio equipment is impressive as well but if you are a already into cars or anything else you will definitly want to use a 2.4ghz system like spektrum dx3r.
I think the goal for Venom’s kit is to get people invovled in the hobby which is why I think they have such an incredible price on an RTR version. Please know that it is nothing like driving an rc car, you definitly have to be more alert and manage corners and throttle differently, so if you are curious about RC motorcycles definitly go for the kit.
As for me I did get the kit liked it a lot and decided to go full on in learning more about motorcycle dynamics and finally upgrade some aspects because I did crash a whole lot. The following are some very basic things that I think one should consider upgrading to get more out of the GPV-1
- A good brushless system, I chose the Novak Mongoose 10.5
- You will need 0.5 mod pinion gear from Novak ( 15t is the smallest that will fit)
- Alloy steering stem if you anticipate on having multiple head on crashes
- A good battery pack, lipo is preferred for sure
- The Mongoose ESC mounts best to the right side of the bike as shown above
- The stock v5 tires seems to handle better for me on most surfaces, I have tried the v1 soft tires with minimum sucess
- I am using the blue 17lbs springs from tc5r seems to get better handling than the stock
- Using velcro strap to mount the top part of the body because I thought it mounted better than the stock mounts and also the stock mounts break too easily due to weight of the rider on the bike and impact during crash
I think that should do it, as for any other modification. It goes without saying sky is the limit, just like other hobby grade kits Venom offers a wide variety of hop ups. The above I feel are the bare essentials, anything more is entirely up to the person and their riding style.
Filed under: Performance Upgrades | Tags: Brushless system, Ferrari F430, gearing for top speed, high speed rc car, Mamba Max, speed runs in the rain, speed runs in the wet, speed runs in water, ta05 performance testing, ta05 top speed, Tamiya TA05, top speed
So finally got around to doing some speed runs!!! unfortunately the weather was still pretty bad. But it’s not all bad news, I got to test the car in the wet. I have to say the TA05 and Mamba Max combination is very good for the price.
The car handled really well and I was able to squeeze in about 43mph on one of the runs. (I am using a radar gun). The small puddles of water were slowing me down a bit but over all it was a lot fun to run the car.
This is the same Ta05 that I have in part I and II, Ta05 with Mamba Max 7700kv, robinson racing 48p 75t spur and 22t pinion. I estimated the top speed to be 46.5mph so getting 43mph was not bad at all.
Filed under: Performance Upgrades | Tags: anti roll, anti roll bars, Ferrari F430, Mamba Max, Tamiya TA05
Finally got around to making some more changes and taking videos etc.. the two main updates are adding anti-roll bars and some scale looking air ducts. I have also removed the front bumper because I am getting ready to some speed run testing next week, I have also removed the rear spoiler in order to make sure I get minimum amount of air resistance.. but that’s next week hopefully the weather is better
These are the two yellow wire type things one for the front and the other for the rear of the car, these help to keep the car steady when making very fast corners
I need to get a better camera at some point, this one’s good but does not have a good enough resolution
Filed under: News
Just saw this on their web-site, looks like SP GT 2.0 PRO should start shipping soon. This is the only ESC that I know of that can run a 2.5 brushless motor in sensored mode. If you know of anyother please do let me know!
Filed under: Performance Upgrades | Tags: Brushless system, gearing for top speed, high speed rc car, rc car gearing, top speed
How to actually increase the top speed of my car has certainly been one of the most confusing aspects for me, will gearing make a difference? should I go with a brushless system? how do I know what the top speed of my car and is it possible to estimate top speeds given a certain setup.
Well I found the following were some key components to think about when attempting to increase the top speed of your vehicle
- Aerodynamics – is the shape of your vehicle smooth enough to minimize air resistance?
- Traction – depending on a 4wd or 2wd setup and ample power, does the vehicle have a good ability to reduce or eliminate wheel spin
- Ride height – generally the lower the car is the less air resistance it faces, so the vehicle should move faster
- Power system – you can experiment with both brushed or brushless motor systems, but I would recommend a quality brushless system because not only it will last longer but will provide more power to your vehicle
- Battery – definitely a key component the higher the quality the better the result
- Gearing – a spur typically increases torque, a pinion will increase speed. So if you want to increase the speed of your stock car increase the number of tooth in your pinion by a few and drop a few teeth on the spur
I have created a simple spreadsheet with some of the cars I have along with brushless systems and gearing options, you can play around with the values to estimate top speed, torque and the effects of different combination of battery voltage and gears.
Filed under: FPV | Tags: Ferrari Enzo, FPV, Novak GTB 3.5R, Speed Runs, Team Associated TC5R
This is my first test of an FPV equipped car, the vehicle is Team Associated TC5R with Novak GTB 3.5R brushless system. I am using the 900mhz video system from hobby wireless. This is just a first test, I am currently working on a new enzo body and other upgrades and will be making a new video.
This is what the car looked like when the video was shot, but I think there can be some updates made to the body to decrease wind resistance among other things, will be posting a video and pictures soon.
This is the first speed run test with basic gearing 48p 87 spur and 17 pinion, novak GTB 3.5 and was able to hit 53 mph max in a straight line.
Filed under: Performance Upgrades | Tags: Brushless system, Ferrari F430, Mamba Max, Tamiya TA05
The TA05 has finally been rebuilt, using new precision differentials and black aramid drive belts so that it can better handle a brushless system. I am currently using the Mamba Max 7700 system. The car is geared with 48 pitch 75 tooth AE spur and 24 tooth Robinson Racing pinion. This gearing should produce anywhere between 45-50 mph depending on weather conditions and battery power. I am using the Trakpower 5400 mah 7.4v 2S lithium polymer battery, very reliable and high performance battery pack.
I think the Ta05 kit is a high quality and definitely high performance chassis, however only some key upgrades that I felt truly increased the performance of the car. There are a lot of hop-up available from Tamiya and other companies and I am sure they are all great, however while considering a reasonable budget I felt the following made a difference:
- Aramid Drive belts (low heat producing, definitely a must if you will be going brushless)
- Tamiya Precision differentials
- Quality spur and pinion ( I prefer 48 pitch, to minimize damage from debris/stones)
- Soft tires such as the JACO PRISM rubber (green)
- TRF suspension kit from Tamiya, along with 30lbs purple springs from Team Associated
- A good quality brushless system such as the Mamba Max 7700
- High quality batteries, I chose the Trakpower 5400 mah 7.4v 2s lithium pack
The above are some of the basic things that can be done to a TA05 to get it moving faster and also be able to handle the extra power around corners and straight running. There is still plenty you can do, but I think above is the barebone to go brushless while ensuring that the mechanics of the car can respond to and be able to maintain the higher power.
