SCX24 Deadbolt optimal weight

[cimh]

Hi - First post following a recent purchase of the small Deadbolt - like many owners I find the stock version too tippy. So I was looking forward to upgrading with the usual parts, but the posts on the potential stress on servo and motor concerned me. So first I wanted to see what difference weight might make. So I added some very thin lead strips to both axles about 2.5gms fore and aft. The stock version tips when sitting side-on to a slope at about 34 degrees. With just 5 grams extra this increased to 39 degrees. Not much but the improvement over rough ground road was huge - much less tippy and more tyre grip. I have since increased the weight to about 10g. The deadbolt now tips at 41 degrees and is still great to drive although not a massive improvement on the 5 gram version.

So now I am happy with the ride especially as it was achieved at no cost. I would be interested to know what the tipping point is for owners who have added wheel weights or widened the wheel base with hex's? and at what point does more weight do more harm than good? At the moment I am inclined to stick and save the money for a servo or motor if and when I need one.

PS. Not impressed with the Axial charger. The supplied one did not work (flashing red and not charging) and the replacement was exactly the same. So certainly not RTR. A real shame cos its a great little vehicle.

 

[WickedFog]

Hi - First post following a recent purchase of the small Deadbolt - like many owners I find the stock version too tippy. So I was looking forward to upgrading with the usual parts, but the posts on the potential stress on servo and motor concerned me. So first I wanted to see what difference weight might make. So I added some very thin lead strips to both axles about 2.5gms fore and aft. The stock version tips when sitting side-on to a slope at about 34 degrees. With just 5 grams extra this increased to 39 degrees. Not much but the improvement over rough ground road was huge - much less tippy and more tyre grip. I have since increased the weight to about 10g. The deadbolt now tips at 41 degrees and is still great to drive although not a massive improvement on the 5 gram version.

So now I am happy with the ride especially as it was achieved at no cost. I would be interested to know what the tipping point is for owners who have added wheel weights or widened the wheel base with hex's? and at what point does more weight do more harm than good? At the moment I am inclined to stick and save the money for a servo or motor if and when I need one.

PS. Not impressed with the Axial charger. The supplied one did not work (flashing red and not charging) and the replacement was exactly the same. So certainly not RTR. A real shame cos its a great little vehicle.

They would be better off shipping these trucks with the JST PH 2.0 connector and a few other connectors to build your own charge cable.

I just bought my son one a few weeks ago and I added the Treal +5mm hexes to it. I also 3d printed some wheels for it that gave it a couple more mm width per side. It has made a really big difference. Oh, I also added RC4WD Mudslinger tires. Going to do a test now to see where she tips, and I will get you some pics...

So after testing, mine tips at 49°. It was actually losing traction on a glass surface before she tipped.

You can see in this next pic I need to trim the rear of the front fender. Probably about 3/8" (9.25mm) needs to come out with suspension travel.

 

[Tunedfrog]

The wife and I are eyeballing a couple of SCX24s.

 

[WickedFog]

The wife and I are eyeballing a couple of SCX24s.

The Gray C10's just came back in stock. I really want the Betty and the Jeep as well, but those will probably be Christmas gifts this year. My son ran this Deadbolt through two packs last weekend when he was here. He is really digging crawling I think.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Getting tired of watching tv and too damn hot to go out and play so we want a couple of them to mess around in the living room with.

 

[Doom!]

Getting tired of watching tv and too damn hot to go out and play so we want a couple of them to mess around in the living room with.

It's a good idea, the sooner the better.

 

[WickedFog]

Getting tired of watching tv and too damn hot to go out and play so we want a couple of them to mess around in the living room with.

They are just great fun. You can build a course out of anything.

 

[cimh]

They would be better off shipping these trucks with the JST PH 2.0 connector and a few other connectors to build your own charge cable.
So after testing, mine tips at 49°. It was actually losing traction on a glass surface before she tipped.

Wow. 49 degrees is impressive. Teal might not be easy to find in the UK but sounds like wheel weights and extended hex's make a big difference. Is the stock servo coping so far?

I bought a balance charger with several adaptors (but not ph2.0) so I have replaced the ph2.0s on the battery with the red JSTs as the charger adapter takes these. I also added a red JST to JST ph2.0 link which stays plugged into the ESC and is used to connect to the battery. This has the added advantage of not having to unplug the ph2.0 from the ESC all the time as I think the plugs are quite weak.

 

[WickedFog]

Wow. 49 degrees is impressive. Teal might not be easy to find in the UK but sounds like wheel weights and extended hex's make a big difference. Is the stock servo coping so far?

I bought a balance charger with several adaptors (but not ph2.0) so I have replaced the ph2.0s on the battery with the red JSTs as the charger adapter takes these. I also added a red JST to JST ph2.0 link which stays plugged into the ESC and is used to connect to the battery. This has the added advantage of not having to unplug the ph2.0 from the ESC all the time as I think the plugs are quite weak.

Treal is made in Korea, so they should be available on Amazon there? But there are the brass extended hexes that add the extra width and weight as well. @Pat_ranch recommended them to me in a thread on here. Have you seen his Taco SCX24 running vid? It's the C10 and is one of the best crawlers I have ever seen climbing. It is in this vid. Green C10. I would do the mods he has on his. Listed in HERE

 

[cimh]

@Pat_ranch Have you seen his Taco SCX24 running vid? It's the C10 and is one of the best crawlers I have ever seen climbing. It is in this vid. Green C10. I would do the mods he has on his. Listed in HERE

Amazing, and thanks for linking to that video. I haven't worked out my way round these forums yet but have looked through that thread. I don't know if @Pat_ranch is seeing this but I am guessing from what I have read about the stock motor and servo that he has upgraded both of them in order to get such a slow speed and so much torque?

 

[WickedFog]

Amazing, and thanks for linking to that video. I haven't worked out my way round these forums yet but have looked through that thread. I don't know if @Pat_ranch is seeing this but I am guessing from what I have read about the stock motor and servo that he has upgraded both of them in order to get such a slow speed and so much torque?

If you want the best motor/esc combo for these trucks everyone says the Furitek Teko is the way to go. It will crawl so slow you can barely see it move. Looks to have loads of power too. I don't think Pat has the Furitek kit installed in that vid, but I am pretty sure the motor is upgraded. If you talk to Pat here ask him why that C10 is called the Taco truck