Build Thread RC10 B6.3 - Carpet racing?

[Jerold]

Looking for input and advice on this one. I'm starting from scratch. Let me know what looks funky or needs to be corrected. I have some notes below.

Swapped an SCX24 (was trying to sell) for a Team Associated RC10 B6.3. This way I got rid of a rig that just sits around and does nothing for something I will use. It's got LOTs of extras, some is useful, some is junk. There are LOTS of tires.

My goal is to go carpet racing and I know virtually nothing about it. This is a few years old and not sure it will be competitive, but the cost of entry is right. Get my feet wet and see what I like. Then if it's a thing, I can drop 1 grand on a good build. For now it should do. It's a platform to learn on.

If you see tires that you want, pay the shipping and they yours. The exception is I need at least 1 set of carpet tires to start with. Based on the array of tires, I'm wondering what they did with it or was it a dumping ground for the tires? There are a set of drag slicks back there.

4x bodies in OK condition. Not perfect they work.

The battery is low end, 2x for $40 on Amazon. Will see if it's usable and work from there. The leads area bit sketch, so those will get revamped if it's used.
Servo is $25 Amazon servo and the servo mount looks incomplete, it should have a top plate.I have better servos if that one sucks too much.

The motor looks to be decent but also for drag racing. Ecopower Sling Shot 4.5T (https://www.mytobbies.com/ecp8004-slingshotslv2-45t-drag-motor.html) not sure it will work for racing? It's a 6800KV motor!

ESC I dunno, could be Orca from the letters I can see. We will know when I pull it apart. The soldering on everything looks a bit sus but I can fix that.

Underneath the battery & receiver, it looks like a weight plate?

Also the battery should be sideways, not sure what was going on with that? Maybe it's that to fit giant battery in there?

The rear wing has a funky mounting point, it should be high on the shock tower, I will need to fix that. Looks like it's missing the mount.

Shocks & diffs feel good, there is a little slop in the front end that I will need to figure out.

The front skid has a crack that has been glued up. It seems stable but I found another one on eBay if I need it.

Looking at the bottom, it's been loved. Some scratches on the pan and control arms, but nothing really bad. I will clean it up and put on a chassis (carpet) protector. You'll never know. . . unless you look at these pictures.

I've got the manual for it. Parts might be a bit hard to find, but they exist. eBay is my friend here.

Wish me luck.

 

[hood52]

I'm able to still get parts for my B6.4. Some places run mod 2wd, but most run 17.5 2wd buggy.

 

[luke66]

You definitely got a good deal for the SCX24, but this baby is rough.

ESC and motor will have to go for sure, I recommend a Hobbywing Justock combo. Get the motor in 17.5 or 21.5t (stock) or mod motors (depending on what your track runs)

Servo will work but if you want a budget upgrade 9iMOD brushless servos are great.

Batteries will also work but CNHL shorty packs will be better and are around $60 for 2

Electronics layout is…… different. You may want to get that closer to stock for better weight distribution.

A sweet buggy though! I see build potential!

 

[Jerold]

More info.

This is the place. Looks like with the current setup I would be in 2wd Modified Buggy – Motor and Electronic Speed Control is open.
https://www.norcalhobbies.com/race-classes/

Which is fine, I'm not worried about winning but need wheel time and learning NOT to crash. . . . As long as it runs and doesn't over heat I'm happy for now.

Took it for a quick spin and it's pretty quick, and controllable. The driver's right camber looks to be off, but it drives straight. The servo power is OK, not sure how fast it should be. Not sure where the bar should be for all this stuff. Guess I will find out.

The pinion is 22T, not sure about the spur. From sticking my caliper in there it's probably 80T or 81T. There is an extra spur in the pile of stuff (87T) and that looks too big and won't clear the chassis. I need to look at that one closer. But the good new is that it's low, but 4.5T is not even on the ratio chart. Something to sort out.

Assuming the spur is somewhere between 80-82T my final is <10, which is still pretty high, but it's a 6800KV motor, so maybe a bit smaller might be good. I might have some smaller 48P pinions, I have to dig through my junk.

Spur	Calculation	Final Drive Ratio
80T	2.60×8022	9.45 : 1
81T	2.60×8122	9.57 : 1
82T	2.60×8222	9.70 : 1

Pretty sure I have the "D" version, D is for dirt. Not sure if it matters too much as I don't know what I'm doing anyway.

The carpet version has a sway bars. I have none.

Carpet version has weights, not just an aluminum plate. I have 1 aluminum plate, but I add weight that pretty easy if needed. Either buy the plates or start with some stick on tire weights (1/4oz each = ~7grams) or cut something from brass sheets.

Carpet version has +3mm chassis. Buying a new chassis isn't a good investment, but I think I can adjust the wheel base a bit if I need.

Also the spring rates are slightly higher for the Carpet Version, again this is fixable.

Changing everything but the chassis & electronics is about $100, if I do it all with OEM parts. Probably see where it's at now then figure out where to spend $$.

Missing parts
Front shock tower cap - Do I really need that?

 

[Jerold]

ill get parts for my B6.4. Some places run mod 2wd, but most run 17.5 2wd buggy.

Yup, 17.5T 2wd is the class, or open.

You definitely got a good deal for the SCX24, but this baby is rough.

ESC and motor will have to go for sure, I recommend a Hobbywing Justock combo. Get the motor in 17.5 or 21.5t (stock) or mod motors (depending on what your track runs)

Servo will work but if you want a budget upgrade 9iMOD brushless servos are great.

Batteries will also work but CNHL shorty packs will be better and are around $60 for 2

Electronics layout is…… different. You may want to get that closer to stock for better weight distribution.

A sweet buggy though! I see build potential!

To be in 17.5 2wd, it needs to be ROAR approved. The ROAR website, is confusing to say the least. And I don't see it any websites that it is ROAR approved?
https://roarracing.com/approved_brushless_motors.php

The 9iMOD looks impressively fast.

I'm used CNHL before and they are good stuff and a great price. Not sure who they rob to do that, but I'm not asking either. The battery in there is 5,000 mah, which I thought was huge. What size do people normally run?

​

 

[Jerold]

What the heck are these parts?

I see 4 body posts, other than that I have no clue? The little O-ring things are hard, not rubber.

 

[luke66]

Yup, 17.5T 2wd is the class, or open.


To be in 17.5 2wd, it needs to be ROAR approved. The ROAR website, is confusing to say the least. And I don't see it any websites that it is ROAR approved?
https://roarracing.com/approved_brushless_motors.php

The 9iMOD looks impressively fast.

I'm used CNHL before and they are good stuff and a great price. Not sure who they rob to do that, but I'm not asking either. The battery in there is 5,000 mah, which I thought was huge. What size do people normally run?

​

For just casual club racing you shouldn’t need ROAR approval? I’ve never seen that before.


Running this in Mod will be interesting. I’ve never seen anyone run it with a 4.5t

 

[hood52]

You will need the shock tower protector, most tracks require them. They protect the track when you crash, if not your shock tower might tear the carpet. You'll be fine with the dirt chassis, a lot of people prefer them on tighter tracks. The sway bars will help you fight traction rolling, carpet has a lot of grip.

 

[Jerold]

Fixed some of the soldering today on the battery setup.

The power wires to the ESC are junk and I need to replaced. Figured I would go straight from the ESC to the 4mm bullets, but they are not 4mm, the are 2.5mm or 3mm. . . which I don't have. Also the solder on the ESC and motor is a train wreck and I don't want to damage the ESC just yet. Ended up swapping the Deans to Xt60 and called it day. Battery probably needs to go in the trash, but I will wait on that.

I will say I do like the bullet connectors on the battery, the are SOOOOO much less stess soldering than fixed leads, where I'm always worried about shorting the wires, again.

Pulled up the ESC, it might have been hot glued on there? That's a new one to me. The ESC is an Orca VRITRA VX Competition.

https://www.orcarc.com/product/vritra-vx-competition-esc-titanium/

I think that is the correct user manual is attached.

It sounds like it was a good ESC in 2012, but this is 14 years later, it's discontinued and there are better options out there. However, it works and it looks like I can use it for now and when it goes south, it can get replaced. Not sure what the parameters are set for, but it is what it is.

I have a smaller pinion, like 14T but it's the wrong pitch (32P not 48P). However, I realized that after I removed the pinion on that. Which isn't a big deal if you do it correctly (foreshadowing). I hit the pinion with my mini torch to loosen it up (the correct thing to do), but I didn't think about the spur that is plastic. It did a tiny bit of melting but it works for nows. Either way new pinion and spur are coming.

 

[luke66]

The battery you have is probably 5MM bullets, and the ones you soldered on are probably 4MM as those are the two most popular sizes.

 

[Jerold]

The battery you have is probably 5MM bullets, and the ones you soldered on are probably 4MM as those are the two most popular sizes.

Thanks for the sanity check. Not sure why I didn't measure them last night but they are 4mm. I pulled out 6.5mm - Not even close! duh.

 

[Jerold]

I made some progress. It's a bit rougher than I thought, that guy might have gotten a better deal on paper. Especially since TA just dropped the new version. But I traded a rig that I didn't use for something I will use. So I still feel good about it.

I'm in it for about another $80, which is pretty reasonable. It's early, so we will see where it goes.

Done:
Changed the layout back to what it should be.
Added the battery mount back.
Put the rear wing where it should be. The holes were crooked?
Added the shock tower protectors. Found out they protect the carpet, not the car.
Put in a smaller pinion and have some other options on tap.
Replace some button head screws with the correct flat heads on the chassis.
Replaced the motor and power wires and got rid of that ugly soldering they did. I know the XT60 should be 4mm plug. . . Don't worry about it.
Tightened up a bunch of loose stuff and general clean up.

The ride height is a challenge. It's MUCH lower and level-ish, but it's still about 6mm too high. Talking with the LHS it should be about 14mm and I'm around 20mm. I will run it as is and figure it out later.

Not sure how to get the rear lower? The rings are maxed and I angled them more. Also swapped the front springs to the back, the "seemed" a bit softer? Aside from shorter springs, is there another solution?

The front shocks are not the originals and not adjustable. I got shorter springs that helped too much and it was practically dragging on the ground. Also the springs are shorter than the shock travel.

I had to make my own shock spacers. This is a 14mm ID grommet. It fits snugly on there and is probably a bit too high at this point. I' will run it as is and if I need to bring it down, it's made of rubber and can shave a bit off. Typically, it's about 1/2 the desired height change you need.

Did a bit of rework on the wires. It was a sketchy ugly mess. it looks like this. now.

Solder looks good but looking at this picture it looks like there might be a solder bridge between the GND and the C terminal. This could be very bad! High impedance shorts heat up and can catch on fire, ask me how I know. I will check that out.

Driving
I drove it a bit to make sure nothing is weird. It does drive straight and predictable. Seems neutral, which is good. It was a 2 min lap in the street on a 1/2 charged battery. But so far so good.

To do:
Look at potential solder bridge.
Alignment
Velcro for the body
Shim the hubs, if that's a thing?
Edit: Calibrate ESC
Replace servo horn. It's the stock plastic one and pretty much crap.
Probably should replace the ball cups (ASC91722)
Add a fan
Check and/or change the shock oil. I have some doubts if there any in there.
Spur is a bit noisy after I adjusted the teeth a bit. it's functional but should probably shell out $6.99 (ASC92296)
Change the driver's rear turnbuckle. It's a smaller size "nut" than the rest. It works but just annoying to get an extra wrench I don't have.

Also need to figure out whey these two screws don't match up with the holes? The holes in the gear box are towards the back of the car.

The two button heads are missing, and I need to check the set screws.

 

[luke66]

Yep looks like you've got a rough one. Looks pretty good as of now though!

The shocks were stolen from a different rig and arent B6.3 spec. You'll need the stock springs to get it right.

 

[DavidB1126]

Something I just noticed while going through, no capacitor on the esc?
With running a 4.5t, id expect to run one but

 

[DavidB1126]

Yep looks like you've got a rough one. Looks pretty good as of now though!

The shocks were stolen from a different rig and arent B6.3 spec. You'll need the stock springs to get it right.

Yea
Looks like rears might be stock shocks but aluminum caps. Might be from Jcon
Front shocks looks like something off of the rb10 RTR or something from like B5 maybe

 

[Jerold]

Yep looks like you've got a rough one. Looks pretty good as of now though!

The shocks were stolen from a different rig and arent B6.3 spec. You'll need the stock springs to get it right.

I might just cut a loop off those and lower it a bit to see where I'm at.

Something I just noticed while going through, no capacitor on the esc?
With running a 4.5t, id expect to run one but

Good point. The battery is low end for sure and it will help. I know it runs, but not sure how much juice it's got yet, so it may be a moot point.

Yea
Looks like rears might be stock shocks but aluminum caps. Might be from Jcon
Front shocks looks like something off of the rb10 RTR or something from like B5 maybe

It's definitely a Frankin-buggy .

 

[Jerold]

Did an edit to the my list
Calibrate ESC.

I do the list to keep track of what I did and need to do. My build logs are like my note book.

Looking at my To-Do list, did I miss anything, other than caps?

 

[Jerold]

Look at potential solder bridge.

The suspected solder bridge looks dirt and and some schmutz. I will clean it up with some alcohol (rubbing type not drinking type) and a brush.​

Alignment
Velcro for the body
Shim the hubs, if that's a thing?
Edit: Calibrate ESC Done
Replace servo horn. It's the stock plastic one and pretty much crap. Ordered
Probably should replace the ball cups (ASC91722)
Add a fan
Check and/or change the shock oil. I have some doubts if there any in there.
Spur is a bit noisy after I adjusted the teeth a bit. it's functional but should probably shell out $6.99 (ASC92296)
Change the driver's rear turnbuckle (ASC91723). It's a smaller size "nut" than the rest. It works but just annoying to get an extra wrench I don't have.
Add battery strap spacers.(New)

Question:
Looking a the rear control arms, it looks like they can be swapped R/L. If I could do that the wheelbase would be a bit longer. However, the angle creates rear toe in, which is good the axle is not centered, which means the wheel base may not actually change. So I would effectively remove the rear toe in.

Has anyone done this?

 

[Jerold]

Update:
Look at potential solder bridge. Done

Alcohol and a brush cleaned it up. It's shinny and new like the Love Boat now.​

Alignment
Velcro for the body Done
Shim the hubs, if that's a thing? Done

Added some washers to the front hubs. Took out the slop and the bearings work much better now.​

Edit: Calibrate ESC Done
Replace servo horn. It's the stock plastic one and pretty much crap. Done

Servo horn fits great . . . However, the ball stud was an odd thread. Got a new ball stud - Fixed that, but the factory servo horn hits the top plate? It's getting the file.​

Probably should replace the ball cups (ASC91722)

LHS was out. Ordered. The ones on there will work, but they are sloppy.​

Add a fan

Ordered 30x30x7 mm fan.​

Check and/or change the shock oil. I have some doubts if there any in there.

Bought oil, will deal with later.​

Spur is a bit noisy after I adjusted the teeth a bit. it's functional but should probably shell out $6.99 (ASC92296)

Send it. It's good enough.​

Change the driver's rear turnbuckle (ASC91723). It's a smaller size "nut" than the rest. It works but just annoying to get an extra wrench I don't have.

Have the parts, will deal with later.​

Add battery strap spacers.(New) Done

Some other stuff that got done

• Fixed some other loose screws, missing or incorrect screws
• The motor plate was crooked and hitting the spur gear and it was attached with some Philips head screws. Put in the right screws and aligned it correctly.
• Added the wing extenders, didn't know they were a thing.
• Pulled back plate off the motor. It looks OK but there was a spacer on my mat afterwards. Not sure if it goes in there? but it's in there now. We will see what happens?

 

[Jerold]

Alignment - Done, close enough for a start. It drives straight.
Check and/or change the shock oil. - Done. changed the shock oil. It was very dirty. The front shocks leak. The rear shocks "ok"
Change the driver's rear turnbuckle - Done. The corners were rounded.
Add a fan - Done. It's a weak fan but the motor is pretty cool. The ESC gets warm though.
Replace the ball cups - Done. Replaced a few, they were pretty roached.

Went to the track this evening. They have a boot camp, the walk you through some stuff and get you on track. Got my but whipped by a 9 year old and a 7 year old.

Over all it wasn't terrible. I was told it has too much power and we turned the throttle limit down to - 70%. The servo is a bit slow. The radio is numb. The front shocks leak, which is unfortunate. Buying a new set of shocks is $130 and I'm thinking invest in a new kit if I'm doing that. Will look for used shocks.

I have another servo Protek 160, ready for it.

I can swap the radio can be swapped with FlySky GT5 or RadioLink. Any thoughts there?