Caster Racing EX1.5
 

So I know some may not have heard of the Caster buggy, or maybe not of Caster Racing at all. But I thought I would start a thread to sort of introduce the buggy.

Just to sort of let you know what I will be doing with mine when it arrives in a few days or so.

I will be posting high quality pictures, possibly a few video's show casing the Caster buggy, and I will also be explaining and going through all the upgrades and other things that I will be putting onto the kit.

The version of the kit I have bought is manufactured as the RTR buggy, though it still being brand new, there are some things that are not as a usual RTR kit. The Radio system & speed controller have been taken out of the kit, and the box is going to be very much damaged as it was caught up in a fire in one of caster's warehouses.

Fortunately for me, this means I get it at about half the price, give or take a few pennies.

So I hope this topic will interest some people, and hope you enjoy how the buggy progresses through its stages.

Pictures and updates will be appearing within a week or so

Cheers

Picked up the buggy yesturday!

Along with a mamba monster v3 ESC + Castle LiNK

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/8042/cimg0001o.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/7281/cimg0007ps.jpg

All is going very well!

So far I am very impressed with the quality of the plastics and overall layout of the components. The steering is very responsive, the spring dampening seems to be pretty good and all seems very controllable.

Though for testing I have been using 2s lipo, simply because I couldn't wait for my 4s to arrive and just had to have a go!

As you can see from the pictures, I have changed out the wheels and tyres for VP Pro Condor XX pre-glued wheels and tyres, and also a JQ wing for the aggressive styling!

The stock motor is only 2000kv, though depending on the speeds I get on 4s I may opt in for a castle creations 2200kv.

It wasnt long before I felt the need to call in the big guns! Savox 12kg, although the stock 9kg servo was a nice addition, It just wasn't up to speed.

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/3343/cimg0002c.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5198/cimg0006rg.jpg

I also found deep down under the crap in my toolbox a set of DE Racing read skid plates for the Mugen MBX5. I was told by a guy that they would fit so I went ahead and installed one of those!

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3046/cimg00222.jpg

Sure enough, they fit. Slightly out of line so not perfectly but what can you expect.

Already taking a few scratches from just running around on the dirt.

Hope you enjoy the mamba monster v3 ESC, it was me that sold it to you :thumbsup:

Ah wicked :) Thanks very much mate, works a treat! Just got it all programmed properly today.

Look out for a red and yellow caster ex1 at the nene over the summer :) It'll most likely be mine! ha

It'll be great when I get the 4s :D

Battery tray mod.

I removed the battery bar, and replaced with 2 velcro straps to eliminate the frustration of loosing clips to hold the battery down :)

http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/6113/cimg00082.jpg

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/84/cimg0015tn.jpg

You may have noticed the plastic mud guards protecting the rear driveshafts and lower shocks from dirt and debris.

I did have a slight issue with tiny stones getting in between the hinge pin and diff casing at the rear of the buggy, hopefully this will resolve that :)

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/6439/cimg00132.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1497/cimg00102.jpg

As you can see, they have a woven texture to them which gives them a rather nice look in my opinion. I found an old plastic crate, which I then cut out the sides and shaped to fit the rear arms of the buggy.

Held on by the rear sway bar mounting screws and some strong double sided tape along the back edge to stop them moving around

The new battery came a couple of days ago so I took the buggy out for a long awaited session of practice.

This is the buggy with the new turnigy lipo - It just about squeezes in the battery tray if its lying on its side.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2995/cimg00033.jpg

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6990/cimg00053.jpg

2000kv should be plenty. with 4s many of us run 1700-1900kv motors. 2200 is just overkill and gobbles up the Mah making your run times shorter and necessitating bigger packs.

I use a longer wider losi tray so I have alot of flexibililty on packs. I don't have a problem with saddle packs like on that model and it is good for keeping the weight and center of gravity down. Your current HUGE pack works ok I'm sure but its very high center of gravity wise and looks less that "snug" sitting there. You might want to try picking up 2-3 of these 3000mah 4s (click text) packs. and setting them up in parallel to give you 6000 total mah for longer mains or you can use just one for 5min qualifiers. with both of them sitting in the saddle pack positions the CG is about 20mm lower then your current pack and you will feel a difference. Plus being your using 2 if one ever did puff in the future you toss that one and your not out a larger expensive pack. They also have 2500 and 2650 4s packs if you want to trim the weight.

I race with 4000mah to make 10-15min Ebuggy mains. Most RC pro and ROAR races here in the states are getting standardized at 10min for Ebuggy. If I had that car i'd do these packs at 1800mah Each with 35-70C rating x 2 via parallel would give me 3600mah (perfect for 10min main with 1-2 hot laps), be Super light at 400g and short enough that I can move the packs up or down the tray to tune weight balance for traction or jumping effects. Thats just me, your cool either way man. Glad you like your ride!

Thanks for all the details, are you running the caster buggy or...

I ask because of the trays you mensioned :)

As for the batts, the big 5000mah pack works good, and as you say, the CG is pretty high the way it is, but on the surface I will be running on it won't matter too much :)

I may go for some smaller packs in the future to run in parallel, though i'm not completely sure yet :) I will get down to the track in the next few weeks and see how it goes with the current batt setup.

I understand what your saying about the mah's for short heats and mains, but I'm not a *competitive racer, I can drive, don't get me wrong but for now it's great to just turn up at practice days at my local track just to have fun with the guys there, doing small races within practice with other guys at the track :)

Though your comment is muchly appreciated, and If I do decide to take racing more seriously I will indeed test out a parallel battery setup with around 3000mah of each.

Thanks again :)

Yeah I thoroughly enjoy running this one, more then any of the other kits I have, and have had. It's setup perfect for my needs and steers on demand.

plenty of torque and top end too!

The buggy is still running strong with only minor issues so far.

- Front lower arm broken
- Wing mount bent to one side
- Screws on underside coming loose + front upper hinge pin grub screw came loose

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4692/cimg0004y.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4310/cimg0018f.jpg

Things to be aware of:

- (at least in my case) Screws on the underside of the chassis, such as the motor mount screws came loose and I was lucky enough to find a direct replacement in my toolbox for the one that completely came out. I advise using lock tight on screws that go into aluminium as they don't have any on to start with.

- Another thing to think about is the centre front hinge pin block is plastic made, I have already snapped the two tabs off that hold it straight on the chassis so will see if there is an aluminium one for the mbx5 buggy from mugen

- The stock 2000kv motor can run pretty hot on 4s Lipo even with the shell off, so be weary of temperatures. I did get the original one replaced due to it burning up on me un-necessarily. So I did go and pick up a head sink + fan to fit on the motor to help keep it cooler.

I can't wait to take the buggy to the track!

Take a look below to see a short video I made today of the caster in 1080p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKtTp6TMx4U

nice vids mate im interested in a 1/8 e-buggy at the mo...you seem to have had a few problems with this though ...whats your overall thoughts on it? ...my other choice would be a hyper which i know are strong as hell...did the front arm break from a massive impact or a small knock?
cheers for any help mate !

Hey mate,

Thanks :) Much appreciated!

Not problems, I would say, Minor hickups ;)

If you did chose to buy this kit, all I would suggest you do is lock-tight any screws going into aluminium.

And as with all rc's, keep an eye on your temps!

It' a true performer from what I have experienced so far. Personally I would go for the caster over the hyper, simply because of the traditional design and layout. Plus you have the parts support of mugen :D

Moving onto the front arm breaking, during the video posted up above was when I broke it, I hit a big rock about the size of 4-5 bricks that was stuck in the ground and sticking up.

I am very pleased with how the buggy handled it because it could have quite easily bent a shock shaft, snapped upper arm, stripped out pivot ball.

I can still use it which is the amazing thing, until I get a replacement part from mugen :D

So I'm veyr very happy with this kit, and with the parts support of mugen, you can't go wrong!!

nice one thanks for the reply sounds good!
where did you pick it up from mate? i cant find a u.k supplier? ;(

If your in the UK, contact Russ at future world models and he will be able to sort you one out :)

You can either pick one up, or get it sent out :)

thanks!
i have a 74mm motor that i was going to fit looks like that will be a bit tight ....also looking at the kyosho inferno .... got the money and the system but not sure what to buy ;)

Aaah that's a shame, I had a look at the kyosho too, but LHS didnt stock parts, atleast they stock mugen, and people at the track mostly run mugen & caster's :)

Good luck

After running the Caster buggy for a couple of packs today, I have taken into account the use of a single 4s pack in one tray is overkill, and decided that it is necesary to swap out to dual 2s packs.

I was flipping left and right today, granted I was running on grass but hey, I still think I would highly benefit from dual 2s's :)

The CG is just way too high

Thanks for who ever gave me that idea :thumbsup:

After having run a fare few more packs through the caster buggy since my last update. I thought it was only right to continue to note my progress with the kit :)

As of now, I have 2 parts that are broken on the kit, Front right A-arm, which is being held together by a cable tie or two (works great!).

The other part currently broken is the front, inner lower hinge pin brace. Held straight to the chassis by two round tabs, though mine now has 1 so I will need to replace that sometime with an aluminium one from somewhere. Though it will hold up for now.

I was having some problems with the high C of G caused by the battery pack, which was causing the buggy to flip and roll when any throttle was applied when going around a turn.

Since i'm not made of money and can't afford new packs every week, I simply had to make do with what I had. I will post pictures later on tomorrow but I have modded the battery tray to accommodate the large 4s pack. its a tight fit but it isn't too hard to change out packs once you get the nack.

Another problem I ran into which was completely my own fault, was that the battery tray holding my 4s beast, was detached from the chassis when I landed upside down from a jump. The tray is held to the chassis by two m3 screws, which is fine if you are running 2x 2s lipo's but I am obviously not. So the plastic tray couldn't hold the weight and just stripped the threads. This was easily overcome by counter sinking the tray from the top, so I have made myself a notch for a small nut to sit in above the tray, and a bolt through from the other side. This is super strong and will ensure that your tray is safely secured down.

Not a compulsory mod, but if your planning to run this kit on a single 4s, it may be something you wish to consider.

Tyres:

From my experience, what I have found is that, on the side of the battery, the rear wheel has a considerable amount more wear on than the others. Now I know this is obviously due to the heavy battery, but just thought I would mention it.

One other thing I have changed on the buggy, is I changed the shock positioning lower and upper. I moved it to its most upright angle (top out, in towards centre). This has drastically improved the jumping characteristics surprisingly, which is great :)

I still have yet to get down to the track and try it out. Especially now with the new pack layout, it should work really good. I will get some video footage of the buggy at the track, once I get another pack, so it's worth my while when I get there :)

Cheers

So, since yesterday's update didn't have any pictures, here's to make up for that!

Here's a mid shot of the buggy, with the battery lying as low as it can.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4458/cimg0008z.jpg

This next picture shows the capacitor I had to put in the kit. The reason being is that the high powered savox servo was cutting power to the ESC when it was pushing a bit of weight, drawing more voltage. The capacitor is the exact same as the spektrum one you can buy except I made this one myself. This distributes the current evenly throughout the electrical components. ESC / MOTOR FAN / SERVO.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/1609/cimg0010nm.jpg

I thought it may be worth measuring the height of the 4s pack in it's new set-up. Taking into consideration the ruler doesn't start at the bottom. So it read about 4CM give or take a few mm from the side mud guard of the chassis.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6515/cimg0013l.jpg

This next picture shows the gap between the battery and the spur gear :)

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5908/cimg0014g.jpg

Here we have my temporary fix of the front a-arm, 3 cable ties does the job :)

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/4831/cimg0015i.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6128/cimg0016n.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/968/cimg0017sv.jpg

Next up, the battery tray mod to accommodate my large 4s lipo. This is only necessary because the pack I have features wires that come from the side, not the bullet style that are directly in the casing which are only used on hard case cells.

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/9375/cimg0026t.jpg

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/362/cimg0027u.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/2918/cimg0028r.jpg

My Spektrum radio and the buggy after It had been out for a pack in the rain :)

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1277/cimg0031fx.jpg

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5925/cimg0033m.jpg

I get atleast 25min runtimes with the 4s 5000mah pack. and the motor stays hot but still touchable. and the battery is at room temperature. Esc is warm.

I am having trumendous fun with this buggy! but I still don't think I'm ready to cast a final thought on the buggy.

So within the next few weeks, I should get to the track, and have my mind set about the buggy.

Cheers

Did your Caster ex1.5R (RTR) come with threaded shocks as standard?

This isnt the 1.5r, just the 1.5, its the RTR and yes, it comes with threaded body shocks :)

I have the ZX1.5r RTR. Its a very durable kit. Here is me doing a few laps at home made track.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jaysminicam

A little rich on the high speed, but nice driving and nice track!

If only I had some astro turf to create a minimal maintenance track :)

Everything is still going strong with the caster buggy.

I took it out today for some speed runs up and down the road outside of my house, impressed some small kids, got some good runs and had fun chasing cars.

I'm more than satisfied with how it performs messing around on grass and small jumps, i'm just very keen to see how it will perform at the track!

The battery issue has been resolved and now the buggy is pretty hard to roll at all with the new layout.

If you haven't seen the video of it yet... check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKtTp6TMx4U

and stay tuned for some more vids, updates, and thoughts on the kit.

Cheers

Today I had a little miss hap with the caster...

I was doing some 4-6ft jumps on grass with the caster and it nose dived in the the ground, and then went into a forward roll for about 10 feet.

Which resulted in this:

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/900/cimg0005kq.jpg

Which later led to this:

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6348/cimg0007f.jpg

What happened was, the battery shifted right into the spur gear on impact. The reason being is that I had to cut the battery tray to hold my lipo. Plus it didnt help that the trays are so freakin close to the spur!!!

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4268/cimg0004ld.jpg

Small wooden block, sized and placed so it acts as a wall to stop the battery moving to the spur again. Solid oak wood, held down by a single screw from the bottom of the chassis.

Anyway, Fixed that, now onto the next thing.

A rather perculiar miss hap this time, the center -> rear dog bone fell out. Went to place it back in, and it apears to be 10mm too short. so I put a peice of fuel tubing around 5mm in each of the outdrives to centre the dog bone. Used for another pack after this and seems to be holding up well. Perhaps I lost spacers from inside or something but this is mighty strange.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7848/cimg0014te.jpg

Next occurance, front left CVD drive pin comes loose! What ever next.

Luckily it didn't fall out completely otherwise I would have been completely screwed but it was lying on the ground next to the stalled caster :/

Took both the front axles apart, re-applied thread lock and away I went.

The rear don't have the CVD cups, they just use out-drives and dog bones.

In an attempt to cool this super hot motor...

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/4011/cimg0003mb.jpg

Surprisingly stable, and doesn't move about but... and this is a big but. It doesn't help at all, in-fact it's probably worse than using the tiny heat sink and amazingly slow fan. If the fan was faster on the heat-sinked one, perhaps it would help a little.

Top shot of the chassis:

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1675/cimg0012c.jpg

View of the underside:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3482/cimg0016da.jpg

Thanks, and hope your finding this useful :)

Got some more video footage :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWPwlAaMTPg

Hi from Lithuania
 

Nice! I am with Caster Fusion EX-1.5R Pro second season. No big problems at all and I can keep up with fastest guys on the track easily. If I only could drive as good as my Caster buggy holds up :)

Wicked mate :)

They are great buggies when it comes to speed and precision! :)

New Shell!

Picked this up from FWM this morning along with a few other bits...

Painted myself :) Nothinng special but I think it stands out which is all that matters when your on the drivers stand!

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6841/cimg0008x.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/8117/cimg0009g.jpg

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4516/cimg0010cb.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/3369/cimg0024y.jpg

And of course I added some graphics bat decals xD

I have had a little change around with the electronics... Let's just say, Me and stock motor's don't get on and I had another fry up for afternoon brunch ;)

A tekin motor will be powering this thing in no time at all and all will be good ;)

I will most likely choose the 1900kv tekin motor though this will no doubt change depending on the mood i'm in when deciding for the final time. lol

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/527/cimg0012i.jpg

So I did say I had a little change around, and this wasn't just the motor situation. I have chosen to stick with the single 4s pack. It seem to be working well whilst still being more than reasonably balanced. I have now moved the MM ESC down into the other battery tray which is currently only holding my ESC switch. I haven't tried it with this setup yet but i'm sure it will even the weight out a little more.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/63/cimg0014w.jpg

To be continued...

...Continued

I also picked up some mugen arms from FWM.

They fitted right on without any hassle and although they have a slightly different design they do feel allot more sturdy!

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/9241/cimg0015b.jpg

I did have a little clean up whilst I have the thing partially apart. here's a view from above.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1426/cimg0020ky.jpg

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/4503/cimg0023w.jpg

Another thing I picked up today was a set of rubber driveshaft boots from FWM for the caster.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5055/cimg0013m.jpg

Now I have never used driveshaft boots before so I have no idea whether they will stay on or what I have to do but i'm sure someone will correct me if I have made a mistake.

More updates to come soon :D

I am running the EX1.5r and enjoying the car very capable. :thumbsup:

You mentioned the drive shaft boots I am using these on the back of the car and they work well on the back and save filling the CVD with sand when running on Astro. After each run I just check they are pushed on ok. Just a note these boots do not fit the new Caster drive shafts with the smaller cups caster do not do an alternative for these shafts but apparently some team durango boots do i am waiting to receive a set of these.

I have had the same issue with the front lower arms broke one the same as you and managed to pull the pin ball from the lower arm. In both cases bad landings on a dirt track. I have had no issues with the car on the Astro. I have had these arms in the pan for a 1 hour simmer to softern them up. Were the arms you used MBX5 or 6? Also caster do a softer set of front arms not tried these.

The plastic part you have broken that aligns the front diff the 1.5r one is 7075 ali and i have had no issue with it.

As far as 74mm motor goes i have one sensored in my ex1.5r and it fits no problem.

I have had some issues with shells i would recommend slotting your holes because the flex in the chassis can split the shell.

One issue related to parts I am having is the upper hinge pins i bought a set as spare put they are to long spoken to the supplier and they have no record of the shorter pins on the EX1.5r so it looks like i will have to cut down the ones i have.:confused:

Okay, nice to know about the boots! :)

I used the MBX5R Arms and they were a direct fit.

Yeah that's the one, I will get one of those soon, definitely upgrade to an ali one :)

What 74mm motor are you running?

A couple of people have suggested slotting the shell... I guess it's just a flexy chassis even with the ali braces?

That's not good! ahh...

Thanks for your information mate :D

What I need to know is whether the EX1.5 motor mount is the exact same as the 1.5R because I dont want to buy a motor that doesn't fit!

I'm looking to buy the tekin 1900 which is 71mm long, which is within dimensions on the kit, and 42mm in diameter. which looks like it should fit :)

Very nice video production for a back yard bashing session. Good job man!

The mugen arms you show in that pic are upside down btw. Not a biggie it wont really matter.

I used to put mbx 6 arms on my mbx5 so you should actually be able to use mbx6 arms if you want, they are easier to get and have thicker plastic up front on the hinge pin than the mbx5 arms.

You should like the 1900 motor it will stay much cooler. (I race with that motor) If the gear ratio on that caster is like its counter part mugens 13-16T pinions should be your range.

Be sure on the booties they are a tight seal. Its only as good as the seal otherwise any dirt that gets in is destine to be tossed around in there till its ground up into dust wearing your joints even more. Are you guys oil/greasing your cva joints or running them dry with or without the boots?

I have been running the Hobbywing 4274 and it measures as it says on the tin 74mm long and i have about 3mm space from the steering parts.

The mount is different on the 1.5r it is all ali without the cut out. best thing to do is measure the space you have got it looks from the pics that the 1.5 you have has the revised top plate which pulls the steering parts forward a bit.

As far as chassis flex yep even with the ali supports it will flex. Some drivers like a bit of chassis flex some do not. if you want to get rid of the flex check out

http://www.diggitydesigns.com/D3_Cas...UpperDeck.html

I have this on one of my cars and it is ace at stiffening the whole thing up and looks the dogs :cool:

As far as lubing drive shaft CVDs with boots, i have been using spray grease which is quite light but like you say if dirt gets in can form a nice grinding paste and kill the drives.

Thanks mate :)

Yeah, Can't wait to get the tekin motor :) will be ace!

Ahh I just noticed that too! HAHA I will swap them over sometime he he

yeah I was planning on using tiny cable ties to wrap around the boots and keep them tight as from what i can see they won't stay on.

I'll be running dry with boots :D

Should be picking up the new Tekin motor tomorrow, fitting it up, wiring and testing.

Wish me luck!

Pictures will shortly follow :) (hopefully)