Best under $5 mod for the MLST
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:39 am
I had heard the stock wires were too thin, and can be a fire hazard, but I had no idea how thin they were. I thought maybe 20-22 guage, but after looking at the insulation I see its actually 24 guage wire. That is kinda thin even for a Mini-Z.
So I took the ESC apart and replaced the wire with some 14 guage Novak Super-Flex wire. It really was a bit nerve wracking, because back in my 1/10th scale days, I always read, "Never disassemble the ESC or Rx, send them to the factory for servicing." that coupled with the fact that the wire seemed massive in comparison to the PCB I was soldering to, made me really kinda nervous while doing it.
I hardwired the motors, and kept the leads short as possible. I cut the battery wire down to less than an inch, and installed a 4 pin Dean's plug on it.
I was hoping for a slight performance gain but wasn't expecting much, but holy crap, what a difference. It's so torquey that when I gunned it in my hand it tried to rip itself right out of my hand. On the ground the difference was noticable as well. It launches instantly, and now has enough torque to break the tires free on the low pile shag carpet. Which also altered the handling, its now less proned to flipping, and the rear end pitches out, letting slide it around to tighten my turning radius.
Anyone with a brand new MLST, this is the first mod they should do.

It looks much cleaner now too.

So I took the ESC apart and replaced the wire with some 14 guage Novak Super-Flex wire. It really was a bit nerve wracking, because back in my 1/10th scale days, I always read, "Never disassemble the ESC or Rx, send them to the factory for servicing." that coupled with the fact that the wire seemed massive in comparison to the PCB I was soldering to, made me really kinda nervous while doing it.
I hardwired the motors, and kept the leads short as possible. I cut the battery wire down to less than an inch, and installed a 4 pin Dean's plug on it.
I was hoping for a slight performance gain but wasn't expecting much, but holy crap, what a difference. It's so torquey that when I gunned it in my hand it tried to rip itself right out of my hand. On the ground the difference was noticable as well. It launches instantly, and now has enough torque to break the tires free on the low pile shag carpet. Which also altered the handling, its now less proned to flipping, and the rear end pitches out, letting slide it around to tighten my turning radius.
Anyone with a brand new MLST, this is the first mod they should do.


It looks much cleaner now too.