new to off road

[atomicandy]

hi all i am a new member to oople and the world of off roading. i have just purchased a b44 and need some advice on general setups ie, gearing, what motor classes are there and which motor is reccomended. the servo i have avaliable a futaba 9550 servo is this ok to use and if not what is reccomended. i usually race touring cars so am a complete novice. any advice appreciated thanks for reading look forward to some help

[jimmy]

Hi mate, welcome!

Where abouts are you? in the UK there's nothing but modified class for 4WD - local clubs etc might run a limited class for 2wd (540 / 19 turn) but generally 4WD is all fast as you like.
What gear do you run in your touring cars? if you want to run brushed then something like a 12 turn orion vantage is a good start with plenty of power / speed for a 4WD. even with 4WD you're limited in the ammount of power you can use just because of the track.
If you're thinking of brushless then probably a 6.5 sintered would be good - but I've only ever run bonded nosram stuff (5.5 and 6.5) so I'm not too up on the latest stuff - I've run brushed all year in my 4wd cars.

The futaba servo is on the limits but should be fine. A few people have used them to good effect. I ran the slightly faster and more powerful KO low profile a lot which was very good - I've bought the latest Futaba which is also a bit more powerful but yours should be perfectly fine. Some people like really fast steering but I don't mind these slightly slower smaller servos., and the low torque isn't a big deal.

[atomicandy]

hi jimmy thanks by the way i am in kidderminster have to set up my account properly. i am going to set about assembling the buggy then see what happens from there, just hope the car is as good as i am led to believe. so now i know its a modified class i will look into what people are running at the local track.looking forward to a new challenge

[atomicandy]

i have nearly finished my b44 and have broke 2 heads off my hex drivers in the 2 screws that go through the front top deck into the motor mount. i have used a little thread lock as reccomended but have since been told i shouldnt have. can some 1 help please.

[SimonW]

Ideally you should only use thread lock when holding metal to metal, most other times, eg: through carbon-fibre and into metal or through plastic to metal there is enough give in the softer material to apply some back pressure on the screw and stop it undoing, think suspension pivot blocks on your cyclone for an example.
I never threadlocked them in. Do you ?
They are usually very hard to remove.

[SimonW]

I've heard somewhere that you can use a dremal or similar and cut a slot so as to be able to fit a flathead screwdriver and remove it that way, a bit drastic but effective.

[Southwell]

Originally Posted by SimonW

I've heard somewhere that you can use a dremal or similar and cut a slot so as to be able to fit a flathead screwdriver and remove it that way, a bit drastic but effective.

Is the only way to remove the screws without damaging parts imo.

[frogger]

I've been using Futaba 9550 servo's in my B44 and B4 for a while and they have been great.

[atomicandy]

ok will try the dremel later let you know. will leave the 9550 and give that ago. by the way never used threadlock before dont know why i did darn instructions they need addressing . thanks for the tips guys

[Mike Hudson]

don't tighten everything up too much that your snapping your allen drivers or stripping screws, also make sure your using the correct imperial sizes for the screws and your driver tips arn't worn

[atomicandy]

i think that the threadlock may have caused the problems i dont usually overtighten just nipped up. looking forward to having some practice with the buggy

[tom_chang79]

A good set of tools are essential to any build, any type of mechanical work. The L-Wrenches that are supplied in many of the RC kits are junk.

Do yourself a favor by investing some money in good tools. A hardened tip allen wrenches are a minimum. Many wrenches are hardened tips, but the other aspect of these kinds of tools are precision. If the allen driver tips are hardened but are made with loose tolerance, you'll most likely get a tip that are too small for the hex head (even though it's labeled as the right dimension).

I experienced this issue since I used to use L-Wrenches that were supplied in the kit. Started to dump a lot of money in screws and time (having to dremel out a slot to use a slotted screw driver to back out a scew).

Since then, I always use MIP's Thorp-series wrench. They are the most pricey, but I have not stripped a screw head since. I can't speak for other wrenches, but I have abused and used MIP Thorp wrenches time after time, and the tips still look like the day I bought it.

A precise, hardened tip screw driver will prevent your screw heads from wearing out, when the screw heads aren't wearing out, it prevents your tool tip from wearing out. It's a cyclic kind of a phenomenon...

[Belsten]

Originally Posted by frogger

I've been using Futaba 9550 servo's in my B44 and B4 for a while and they have been great.

Ive been running the 9551 in both vehicles without any issues either

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by atomicandy

i think that the threadlock may have caused the problems i dont usually overtighten just nipped up. looking forward to having some practice with the buggy

There is a difference between threadlock and high strength retainer.

I use threadlock on parts metal to metal as described, the screws should come undone with moderate pressure but will not vibrate loose. High strength retainer is much tougher and needs force to undo screws. If you have snapped the allen keys then as already stated, i too suspect that your tools arent up to scratch. Ive only ever snapped the smallest AF wrench when using EDS tools.

The threadlock i use is a pink colour, high strength retainer is green ( Loctite brands )

[atomicandy]

it was a hudy hex driver that snapped and the correct size the threadlock was blue in colour by the way the car works really well.