501x: Stick pack lipo

[mole2k]

Since saddle pack lipo's look doomed for this year I've been thinking of a contingency plan

Only just trying this out the cars yet to have had a run and everything is just roughly set together.


The basic idea is to have to Trakpower 3600 30C pack fit underneath the slipper clutch adjustment. By default it fits underneath but the heatshrinking fouls the slipper clutch.

I'm attempting to raise the slipper clutch and pulleys up a tiny bit to give enough clearance to hold the lipo in place. As a temp measure I've put two old diff balls in there to raise it up although I need something a bit smaller as the belts run a bit high at the front and might rub when the cars actually running. Also a ball would put a lot of pressure on the bearing so I need to ideally make a small bit of plastic/metal/magic to just raise that part of the groove up.


I've also yet to put any shims/spacers in underneath the screw of the plastic bit that screws onto the top.

I'm off to my LHS to look for something smaller to wedge it up with and hopefully will get running it tonight to see how it works. The alternative is to try shimming up the central transmission a tiny bit to give clearance.

[°°.°°sicotange°°.°°]

Ah finally someone reported the awesome TRF501X skick pack idea .

I own a 501 and have used 2 different kind of stick pack configs :

-The first one is to put the stick pack under the rear belt. Let me try to explain (keep in mind French is my mother tongue^^). I used 1 Losi belt tensioner and another tamiya belt roller to raise the belt to achieve clearance. This way the pack could slide under the drive belt (it's close but it works). But this is only achievable if you use the 16 teeth center pulleys instead of the 18T. Another option would be to use a longer belt. (The stock belt is 369mm)
(I actually raced 1 day in Kampenhout without any breakages with this configuration )
-The second idea is the one mole2k explained nicely (I wish I had your shooting skills). The only thing I did differently is using another slipper clutch spring instead of raising the whole layshaft. The height of a Trakpower 3600 lipo stick pack is 20,8mm and the problem is that the silly slipper spring is in the way...To solve this i used a tamiya differential spring (the ones that come in any trf car). These are a bit smaller than the slipper spring and allow 1 good mm clearance between the pack and the spring.

Anyway, I raced with both layouts and it worked fine for me. Ideally, an expert should test it because im not really Hupo Honigl. Some will problably say using a stick pack in the 501X will change weight distribution and therefore the way the car handles... (personally I couldn't even notice a difference)

[mole2k]

I had the car running and it seemed to go fairly well even though the weight distribution would be a bit different. I had thought of your other method as well but I didn't have a tensioner or a roller to move the belt out of the way of the battery.

When I get something made properly to raise the transmission up that little bit i'll post some better pictures.

[°°.°°sicotange°°.°°]

Ahoi,

I thought of reviving this topic. I now run my TRF511 with stick packs. In my humble opinion it goes very well like this. I couldn't notice any difference in comparaison to a saddle pack configuration Below some pics to clarify what it's all about.

[Colinevan]

OMG... that doesnt look to clever for the belts.

Does is not tighten them up at all, I imagine its going to strain a lot and add extra drag when accelerating...

If it works fine, no probs..

Col.

[°°.°°sicotange°°.°°]

I thought exactly the same at first but i actually managed to finish 2 race meetings with no transmission trouble at all. In fact the transmission is still free, there is no binding at all. The only problem in my opinion is that you need smaller center pulleys and diff pulleys to make this work. (I used 16T center pulleys and 35 diff pulleys for instance) If you wonder I also used 2 Losi belt tensioners. Anyway, this is just a config alternative for guys like me that can't stand saddle packs I guess hardcore racers will confirm this is an idiotic idea that will destroy weight distribution and therefore the cars handling

[Colinevan]

Ha ha, well to be honest i prob could not tell the difference anyways then..

I bought a t4 recently, You can have various battery positions with this truck as it has 3 foam spacers as oppsed to the usual 1 with the B4..

I couldnt tell the difference when moving the batts ( although they were lipo ) ha ha.

[bald eagle]

[quote=mole2k;197303]Since saddle pack lipo's look doomed for this year I've been thinking of a contingency plan


Please explain? (i dont know what is going on?)

[mendocino]

Hello,
I just made this conversion today. It's not really definitive but I'm quite there.

Just decide to do this when my second saddle pack decided to inflate I'm sick of those packs now, and want a stick one in my 4x4 too
I had the orion stick pack waiting so I just fitted it.

I think the next step is to make a cf battery bar as this one is really too shinny (alu).

The 5 mins practice in the garden went quite well, no noticable change in the handling, still to see what it can do on the track.
To preserve front/rear weight balance I added 70 gr on the back (under the belt, see 2nd pic); left to right is almost 50/50.

I'm amazed how much space I've got for the electronics with that configuration... there's just too much of it now!



Excuse the sh... phone camera pics, if anyone is interested, I'll take good ones (once the car is cleaned... )

[mole2k]

I like the look of that conversion, quite similar to what im running. I've noticed no real difference in the handling i had to stiffen up the front a little bit more with the weight being further forward. It does give you masses of space for electrics.

I've been meaning to make a battery bar, at the moment I tape mine in with fiber tape like a TC.

[QUOTE=bald eagle;244599]

Originally Posted by mole2k

Since saddle pack lipo's look doomed for this year I've been thinking of a contingency plan


Please explain? (i dont know what is going on?)

That post was when it looked like there wasnt going to be any legal saddlepack lipo's for this year.

[mendocino]

Originally Posted by mole2k

i had to stiffen up the front a little bit more with the weight being further forward. It does give you masses of space for electrics.

I've been meaning to make a battery bar, at the moment I tape mine in with fiber tape like a TC.

Interesting, I had to do the opposite... the car is actually a bit lighter than before and the front/rear repartition is exactly the same so I had to drop down a spring at the rear and use the middle hole on the front wishbone.

I tough of using a tape to secure the pack but then I didn't dare to dremel some slots on my chassis... Instead I machined and alu bar witch works really great but is just plain ugly and a bit on the heavy side.

Thanks sicotange for the diff spring idea btw, it is mandatory for using this mod!

[mole2k]

I expected that was what I had to do but for some reason the front end of my car seemed quite soft compared to before and the car transfered a lot of weight under acceleration/braking.