scottm
Hardcore RCTalk User
I am working on a Storm SUT for racing at my local track, Scottsdale RC Speedway in scottsdale az. It is best known for the Cactus Classic every year in March. Anyway, it is a small track and they don't allow engines bigger than .18. So the Monster truck class consists entirely of Revos with 15s and 18s. From watching them, I figure a truggy (monster convered buggy) will have some advantages, like lower center of gravety and no wheelies thanks to the center diff.
I wanted to race in the monster class because my rc10gt frustrates me. But I like to be different, plus I seem to like to beat my head against the wall and do everything the hard way. So I am building an sut with an os 18. It may sound simple enough, but it has turned out to be a lot of work. I am having to make basically everything, from the exhaust elbow to engine mounts to the spur gear.
I bought the truck as a rolling chassis from a friend, then I ordered the OS TZ 18 here. This engine has the pilot shaft and slide carb I want for my 1/8 scale installation, plus it makes sick power, 2.2 hp occording to rc car action. I set the car up with a good radio - novak xxtra synth rx with an Airtronics 94358 steering and jr z590 throttle servo; and slapped in a Picco 26 and a set of bow tie 40's to drive it while waiting for the os. It worked great, it corners and jumps better than my regular storm.
The main problem was its geared too tall. The big 26 could pull it around, but the 18 would not be happy. So I took it all apart to fit a larger spur and install the tz18. Here it is after about 12 hours of work in the machine shop.
The first step was to take apart the center diff. There is no spur bigger than the 54t the sut comes with, so I made a 60t fit the stock diff. We made some laser-cut 60t gears last year while playing with a full-custom rc truggy, something that may or may not ever become an rc solutions product. I cut off the outer part of the stock gear in the lathe, and welded the 60t gear to the stock gear hub. You can see a brass colored weld bead right in the middle of the picture:
I raised the center diff with spacers about 8 mm high. The sut comes with 3 mm spacers but its not enough. You can also see I had to bend the rear brake rod up to clear the spur.
I made engine mounts next, a job that turned into a 3 hour chore because I made the first set too short!
While I was driving it with the 26, I broke two proline 40 wheels with the tmaxx size drive hexes. The fast revo guys are using proline 23mm hex drive wheels. There arent any for the sut of course, so I bought a set for a savage and made them work. I machined out the back of the hexes and made new spacers to match the sut wheel extender length, and welded them together. hopefully this will end wheel problems:
Its getting close but there is still some work to do. I could not find an exhaust elbow to fit the 18 spout that turns 180° for a side pipe. So I need to make an insert to go onto a 21 elbow and mate up to the spout. Then I need to raise my throttle servo up to meet the brake rods on the tall center diff. i will keep posting pics asthe work is done. Look out Revo bitches!
I wanted to race in the monster class because my rc10gt frustrates me. But I like to be different, plus I seem to like to beat my head against the wall and do everything the hard way. So I am building an sut with an os 18. It may sound simple enough, but it has turned out to be a lot of work. I am having to make basically everything, from the exhaust elbow to engine mounts to the spur gear.
I bought the truck as a rolling chassis from a friend, then I ordered the OS TZ 18 here. This engine has the pilot shaft and slide carb I want for my 1/8 scale installation, plus it makes sick power, 2.2 hp occording to rc car action. I set the car up with a good radio - novak xxtra synth rx with an Airtronics 94358 steering and jr z590 throttle servo; and slapped in a Picco 26 and a set of bow tie 40's to drive it while waiting for the os. It worked great, it corners and jumps better than my regular storm.
The main problem was its geared too tall. The big 26 could pull it around, but the 18 would not be happy. So I took it all apart to fit a larger spur and install the tz18. Here it is after about 12 hours of work in the machine shop.
The first step was to take apart the center diff. There is no spur bigger than the 54t the sut comes with, so I made a 60t fit the stock diff. We made some laser-cut 60t gears last year while playing with a full-custom rc truggy, something that may or may not ever become an rc solutions product. I cut off the outer part of the stock gear in the lathe, and welded the 60t gear to the stock gear hub. You can see a brass colored weld bead right in the middle of the picture:
I raised the center diff with spacers about 8 mm high. The sut comes with 3 mm spacers but its not enough. You can also see I had to bend the rear brake rod up to clear the spur.
I made engine mounts next, a job that turned into a 3 hour chore because I made the first set too short!
While I was driving it with the 26, I broke two proline 40 wheels with the tmaxx size drive hexes. The fast revo guys are using proline 23mm hex drive wheels. There arent any for the sut of course, so I bought a set for a savage and made them work. I machined out the back of the hexes and made new spacers to match the sut wheel extender length, and welded them together. hopefully this will end wheel problems:
Its getting close but there is still some work to do. I could not find an exhaust elbow to fit the 18 spout that turns 180° for a side pipe. So I need to make an insert to go onto a 21 elbow and mate up to the spout. Then I need to raise my throttle servo up to meet the brake rods on the tall center diff. i will keep posting pics asthe work is done. Look out Revo bitches!
