Buying a crawler!

[jtanner]

Ok, so I am going to pull the trigger an get a crawler. I have been debating for a while now and I am just going to do it. Here is what I am thinking for the setup.

(1) Axial ARTR
(1) ROOSTER CRAWLER/FIFTY-FIVE COMBO
(1) TQ3 TX and RX
(1)2S lipo of some kind
(1) servo ( I don't have a clue)

What do y'all think? I would greatly appreciate some input. Also if anyone has any crawler parts for sale that would work for this setup, let me know.
I look forward to your comments.

-Jennings

 

[slowngreen]

I'm running a towerpro mg995 servo, i would suggest something like that or a hitech.

 

[Timmahh]

a STRONG steering servo can Really help out. if your not afraid to drop a lil coin on a servo, go for one that has 250 in/oz of torque or more.

i m running a similar setup (motor/esc) on my axial and love it, though some if the throatle curve is due to the React I'm using, its a very linear movement and i can get it to mm forward with a easy pull of the trigger.

 

[flm_savage]

hirtec 5955 and the 2S that charlie is selling. also get a front axle mount battery tray. that should get you going.

 

[robmob]

I will be using a Hitec 5955. Gotta love the 333oz's.

 

[slowngreen]

hirtec 5955 and the 2S that charlie is selling. also get a front axle mount battery tray. that should get you going.

i hat the hitech first, and now have 2s with the towerpro servo and this servo works very well and is cheaper than the hitech.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

It should be noted that Lloyd had the 645MG HiTec, and the MG995 puts out 211 oz/in. of torque. It's a $12 servo, the HiTec 5955 or 7955 (new model, 5955 is the old model) runs around $100 but is a MUCH nicer servo. If you're on a tight budget I wouldn't do anything but a towerpro to start with, but you will need to upgrade eventually. The 7955 has titanium gears and puts out 333 oz/in of torque, and if you get the programmer (isn't real expensive for what it is) then you can use the overload protection feature. This will shut the servo down if it gets hot, as crawlers put a lot of stress on a servo and often cause them to get hot and burn up.

 

[Webbage]

I use a Tower Pro MG995 on my AX-10 and it's got plenty of guts. I have stalled it a couple of times even so though, so I guess it's not invincible but I can't complain at the price. They are great value. I liked it so much I bought 2 more, one for the WK and one as a spare.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Yeah I always keep a few on hand because they are $12 servos, and if one bites the dust on me after a month of crawling I figure it's still a good bargain and I just slap another one in. You will need to set your endpoints on your radio though and I would suggest an aluminum servo arm (Futaba spline with the TP).

The Axial ARTR is by far the best truck for the money. I've always been a kit man, but the quality of the kit doesn't compare to the ARTR.

 

[jtanner]

what do y'all think about an integy 55 instead the 55 novak?

 

[Webbage]

I use a Integy 55T Lathe motor and it's not bad, it works just fine for getting you started. I am gonna move on to a Holmes Hobbies motor at some stage though. I'd probably say there wasn't much in it between the Integy and the Novak (more experienced members may know for sure). I got the Integy because it was cheap and I figured if I destroyed it I wouldn't feel so bad.

The Integy V10 hand wound motors are better but if you are gonna plump for a hand wound you'd be better off with a Holmes Hobbies one, more money but a whole world better.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I would HIGHLY suggest buying a handwound 540 from John Robert Holmes today. He got a whole shipment in last week and sold every single one of the "comp turn" motors in a day or two, but he still had a few 55 turn handwound motors. He's not going to be getting any more of these motors for a very long time, maybe never, so I would REALLY REALLY REALLY suggest going over there and getting one. It's only $20 more than a cheap lathe motor, and honestly I would venture to say that it's worth $100 more, it's something you can't understand until you've done testing and compared the two. If you don't know who John Robert Holmes is, he's the PREMIER electronics expert specializing in high performance crawlers. He's highly educated in the electrical industry, and he's a competition crawler so the two make a perfect marriage of knowledge. IMO there's not anyone that I trust more than John Robert when it comes to need information on something electrical for a crawler, and really most other forms of RC as well. This cat has a bicycle running on a mamba monster and 6S LiPo with an insane brushless motor lol. Anyway, he designs and builds his own motors. He has them handwound by motor factories, but they're built to his exacting specs. He works on motor sometimes for years, until he gets them absolutely perfect, prototyping, testing, revising, and finally when it's ready he gives them the go ahead. I have at least 7 of his crawler motors, and it's the ABSOLUTE ONLY motor that I'll run in my rigs.

http://holmeshobbies.com/product.php?productid=199&cat=0&page=1
You'll have to select 55 turn from the drop down menu, because he offers a lot of different winds.

As far as the difference in integy and Novak, they're both "ok" motors. I've tested them directly against one another and I find the Novak to be a lot smoother, which I really like a lot. Either one will get you started though, but I would reccomend the Novak as my personal suggestion, just based on the testing that I did and the way they've been holding up under a good bit of LiPo power. However, if you want the absolute best motor for the money, go get that Holmes Hobbies motor. I would venture to say that the quality is at least 5 times greater than the other two motors that you mentioned, and most likely more.

 

[slowngreen]

i agree with charlie 100% on this one, i had a novak and a integy 55t wich are cool for $18 if u can't afford a better one but i think the handwound 540 is tied for the best thing I've done to my crawler right along with lipo well and esc. so a 3 way tie lol.