Thunder Tiger Evo-12 swapped into a Kyosho FW-06

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tudordewolf

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The main reason to do this was looks:

IMG20220724133815.jpg

IMG20220724133841.jpg



Had to do a little dremeling because the Evo-12's crankshaft threads dont extend all the way back, so instead I ground them out of the pilot shaft.

Had to dremel the rear bulkhead and corner of the pull start to make it fit, about 1mm off the surface of each - not enough to pierce the parts, just thin then a little.

Also had to sand the split cone down so the flywheel would sit closer to the engine, this thing doesn't have a millimeter to spare forwards or backwards.

I plan to use my other thunder-tiger equipped car as the practice basher for the dedicated racer this will be. (Not that I have a local track...) Oddly, they have slightly different cylinder heads, though they appear to be the same "part" - one is drilled 90° offset from the other, and anodized a darker, less-shiny red.
 
Hi

Just for the looks?
Hard to believe that engine will run and idle as good as Kyosho?
Is this brand new, or was the original engine shot?
 
Just for the looks?
Hard to believe that engine will run and idle as good as Kyosho?

The original engine is in good condition, I removed it after break-in and a few bashes where I clocked it at 45mph. I'm pretty happy with Thunder Tiger so far, I haven't run this exact Evo-12 yet, only the one in my Flying Fish, but that one has impressed me.

As far as I know, Kyosho outsources their engines. The Ke15sp looks almost exactly like a Force.15 Engine, given the utter lack of markings on the Kyosho's crankcase, I have to wonder if its just a licensed version.

I just like modding things and RTR engines feel like a stand-in waiting for an upgrade. This one can also have its pullstart removed, (planned upgrade for after break-in), which the ke15sp doesn't offer a bare backplate for.

The biggest change I'm hoping for is better throttle response. I'd originally bought another of the stock Kyosho flywheels, ( "VS115"), but when it arrived I was surprised to find how heavy it was - 40 grams of steel! Every other flywheel I've weighed were all under 20g. That's a whole ounce of extra mass on the highest-RPM component in the car.

As a result, it had a very stable idle, and smooth power delivery, but it wasn't as snappy as my Flying Fish, and I could hear the delay in spool up/down.

For this re-build I went with a ~15g HPI flywheel.

I have to wonder if there's another drawback to a heavy flywheel: when going from WOT to idle, the engine is kept spinning at high RPM's by the flywheel's momentum with the throttle nearly shut, with limited fuel/lubrication, and the extra energy in the 40g flywheel is dissipated through the engine.

If it was already aggressively tuned, near a lean condition, I can see the engine being forced to act like an engine brake every time you come off the throttle shortening its lifespan.

Edit : to back up my kyosho-force engine theory: the ke15sp is just a palette-swapped force.15 engine with the badge ground off.

IMG20220730020547.jpg
IMG20220730020537.jpg
 
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The original engine is in good condition, I removed it after break-in and a few bashes where I clocked it at 45mph. I'm pretty happy with Thunder Tiger so far, I haven't run this exact Evo-12 yet, only the one in my Flying Fish, but that one has impressed me.

As far as I know, Kyosho outsources their engines. The Ke15sp looks almost exactly like a Force.15 Engine, given the utter lack of markings on the Kyosho's crankcase, I have to wonder if its just a licensed version.

I just like modding things and RTR engines feel like a stand-in waiting for an upgrade. This one can also have its pullstart removed, (planned upgrade for after break-in), which the ke15sp doesn't offer a bare backplate for.

The biggest change I'm hoping for is better throttle response. I'd originally bought another of the stock Kyosho flywheels, ( "VS115"), but when it arrived I was surprised to find how heavy it was - 40 grams of steel! Every other flywheel I've weighed were all under 20g. That's a whole ounce of extra mass on the highest-RPM component in the car.

As a result, it had a very stable idle, and smooth power delivery, but it wasn't as snappy as my Flying Fish, and I could hear the delay in spool up/down.

For this re-build I went with a ~15g HPI flywheel.

I have to wonder if there's another drawback to a heavy flywheel: when going from WOT to idle, the engine is kept spinning at high RPM's by the flywheel's momentum with the throttle nearly shut, with limited fuel/lubrication, and the extra energy in the 40g flywheel is dissipated through the engine.

If it was already aggressively tuned, near a lean condition, I can see the engine being forced to act like an engine brake every time you come off the throttle shortening its lifespan.

Edit : to back up my kyosho-force engine theory: the ke15sp is just a palette-swapped force.15 engine with the badge ground off.

View attachment 149794View attachment 149795
Weird mate, I find GXR 15 which was stock on earlier FW06 models, to have extremely good speed, and snappy take off.
In fact, its the best engine I have had so far in my nitro career, its so responsive and idles well.
I am so surprised that you found flying fish rotary carb engine to be more responsive than Kyosho?
I dont have a KE15 engine, would have thought its even better than GXR15.
 
It's all about the flywheel, the ke15sp may be perfectly responsive, but with a heavy flywheel it'll be weighed down. That's what I mean by response.

It's fast and powerful for sure, it got it up to 45mph with no trouble. I could've just swapped out a lighter flywheel on the ke15sp, but I have more engines than sense and kind of want to eventually do a swap on every RC I get.
 
It's all about the flywheel, the ke15sp may be perfectly responsive, but with a heavy flywheel it'll be weighed down. That's what I mean by response.

It's fast and powerful for sure, it got it up to 45mph with no trouble. I could've just swapped out a lighter flywheel on the ke15sp, but I have more engines than sense and kind of want to eventually do a swap on every RC I get.

Yea, well GXR15 also comes with that heavy flywheel, but the car flies....
Fair enough, thats what this hobby is all about, fiddling with and making improvements.
I have realized I have too many nitros, and to spice things up a bit, have purchased every single HPI body I could find locally.
This is the one we just finished painting.

 
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A bit off topic, but I know you are a flying fish owner.
Did you happen to have manual in PDF for this car, and exploded view with part numbers?

Thanks
 
A bit off topic, but I know you are a flying fish owner.
Did you happen to have manual in PDF for this car, and exploded view with part numbers?

Thanks


I do, here's where I found 'em, along with a bunch of others.

For the C-link version you'll want the second from the bottom. For the pivot ball version, 4th from the bottom.

It's a smallish site hosting them so it's probably a good idea to download the ones you need to save them the bandwidth, not to mention no telling how long they'll be available for.
 
How would I know which version I have.
Tbh not sure if it was a good idea to pull it apart, rather than selling it. Too late now.

Thanks

720972D0-FF55-4D94-A0B9-F16B87A24F47.jpeg


FDB36D83-3AEC-4D85-8EB6-569257373970.jpeg


93544275-0213-4FA9-B08F-8C87C232ECD4.jpeg
 
That's the pivot ball version, which is the nicer one. You will find it is very nimble.

Yours looks like it is in pretty good shape.

The one I built out with an Evo-12P hit 45mph; the stock VX-18 maxed out around 39mph on the stock gearing, though I got it up to 43mph with an 18/23 clutch bell.
 
After pulling all the steering bits, I am not sure if I will ever be able to remember how it all went....
 
After pulling all the steering bits, I am not sure if I will ever be able to remember how it all went....

I know how that feels, but it's not that bad. The exploded view may not be the biggest help though... It's basically got a built-in adjustable-tension servo saver.

Here's a picture of the mechanism, albeit in aluminum, on my still-to-be-rebuilt Mini-Maxxenstein

jdg1BeE.jpg
 
I know how that feels, but it's not that bad. The exploded view may not be the biggest help though... It's basically got a built-in adjustable-tension servo saver.

Here's a picture of the mechanism, albeit in aluminum, on my still-to-be-rebuilt Mini-Maxxenstein

jdg1BeE.jpg
Hi

Thanks for that...

Its the bits and pieces inside, bushings bearings, washers etc.....hopefully I will remember.
I plan to open up the diff housings, and check it out...

Did yo do this, check if there is any grease in there, or bone dry?

Thanks
 
One side gets both bushings, the other gets the threaded rod / spring / washer, which faces "downwards" into the spring. I tighten it down most of the way, I've had it loosen up from steering motion.

The diffs are greased, so it might be worth refreshing them. The bottoms of the front and rear diff cases are actually open and count on the chassis to "close" them, so grit can work its way in and may be worth a clean. If they feel smooth it's probably alright, that whole thing should roll for a couple feet with a gentle push.
 
One side gets both bushings, the other gets the threaded rod / spring / washer, which faces "downwards" into the spring. I tighten it down most of the way, I've had it loosen up from steering motion.

The diffs are greased, so it might be worth refreshing them. The bottoms of the front and rear diff cases are actually open and count on the chassis to "close" them, so grit can work its way in and may be worth a clean. If they feel smooth it's probably alright, that whole thing should roll for a couple feet with a gentle push.

Thats the thing, it does not roll much freely.

But I realized that even when I loosen up the wheels it rolls better.

So wheels too tight is a problem as well, at least on this car.
 
Thats the thing, it does not roll much freely.

But I realized that even when I loosen up the wheels it rolls better.

So wheels too tight is a problem as well, at least on this car.
I noticed that too, I think the plastic hexes are partially to blame; the issue went away completely with aluminum hexes, and I could tighten them down as hard as I wanted.
 

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