crazydave's Mini-T Log
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:58 am
I'm gonna start a log on this truck, because I got lots of plans for it, but due to budget, they will have to happen over time.
So here's my new Mini-T.
Yeah, its Pink. I asked for Silver, but it came with a Pink one inside the box. I feel a little silly when I say this would not have been my last choice in colors. Its a nice metallic, looks more Purple at certain angles. At any rate, gives me an excuse to get a baja bug body right away.
So here's what I like about it. It is just like a mini XXXT, and very similar to my old XXT
Here's my usual list of nitpicks.
The ESC/Rx combo was not even attached, and flopped around, scratching the inside of the body all up. I restuck it to the servo tape, and it seems good now.
The steering knuckles and axles have a bit too much slop. I need to shim them, or replace them.
The camber angles were all tweaked from the factory. Like negative 5 degree on side, and 0 degrees on the other. So I popped the adjustable linkages off, and made them all the same length. They seem flimsy, will need to replace them right away.
What's up with the antenna? Damn its long.
It was nice of them to include the number sheet, but the paper stickers wrinkled way to much. Some vinyl decals would have been a nicer touch.
What's up with the 4 wire servo? Can I use use 3 wire servos with the ESC/Rx unit, or do I have to upgrade all the electronics to upgrade the servo?
It was a nice touch with the mini directional rib tire, but I'm almost positive, they mounted them backwards.
And last but not least. I know where it was made, but did they have to mold it into the bottom of the chassis?
First Upgrades
- Team Losi Bearing Set $12.95
Always a must, and I'm glad I got them right away. The front wheel was binding bad. These are Made in China, and I'm sure I could have got better for the price, but its good start
-Team Losi Racing Shock Set $19.99
These are nice, just like the big ones, but smaller and made in Taiwan. Teflon coated bodies, and Titanium Nitride coated shafts (or so it looks). They are pretty smooth, but I think the o-rings could have greased more. They seem to leak a bit too.
One shock was missing the collar. I noticed right away, and emailed Losi right away. Its been a week with no word.
First Run
I had replaced the ESC's battery plug with a Dean's pug, so I could use the battery that came with my Mini LST, and already installed my shocks and bearings. I set up a few ramps inside my apartment, and was immediately impressed with its speed. Not quite as punchy as the MLST, but nearly as fast. It had an tendency to lift the front wheels. It handled jumps just the way I'm used to, with a slightly nose high attitude. I just had to let off the throttle a little to bring the nose down. The MLST liked to nose dive, and I had to stay hard on the throttle to keep it level. It did have a tendency to push while steering, and it was slapping the chassis off the bigger jump. So I adjusted out some camber in the front, and added a couple preload spacers to the rear shocks. Its really responsive to adjustments, just the larger version. It now had plenty of off power steering. Gotta expect some push on powewr when the front wheels are lifting.
The chassis wasn't bottoming out as bad, but I think I'm gonna switch to something heavier than 30wt., or switch to a 2 hole piston in the rear.
So it was going good for about 10 minutes, when it started making a light clicky sound. My first thought was that the motor slipped, and messed up the pinion/spur mesh, but mesh was set perfect. So I tore the tranny down, which was kinda fun, I was having flashbacks of tearing down my XXT in the pits with minutes before my qualifier. Everything seemed good in there, except the diff had almost no grease in it, so I greased that up and put it all back together. While I had it apart, I became annoyed with how the motor wires were tied around the shock tower. I cut them off right by the ESC, the replaced them with 14 guage wire. What a difference that made. It now blast wheelies across my living room, which made it interesting when hitting the ramp. It would say its on par with my MLST now. The diff action was better, but there was still the clicky sound. I took the gear cover off and listened. I isolated it to either the motor or pinion. Since the plastic pinion was already looking worn, I put just a tiny dab of grease on it, and that solved everything.
So I gotta replace the plastic pinion and possibly the spur gear right away, but other than a tweaked antenna tube, it took a lot of hard hits and tumbles with no major issues. I'm gonna have a lot of fun turning this into a brushless oval monster.
So here's my new Mini-T.
Yeah, its Pink. I asked for Silver, but it came with a Pink one inside the box. I feel a little silly when I say this would not have been my last choice in colors. Its a nice metallic, looks more Purple at certain angles. At any rate, gives me an excuse to get a baja bug body right away.
So here's what I like about it. It is just like a mini XXXT, and very similar to my old XXT
Here's my usual list of nitpicks.
The ESC/Rx combo was not even attached, and flopped around, scratching the inside of the body all up. I restuck it to the servo tape, and it seems good now.
The steering knuckles and axles have a bit too much slop. I need to shim them, or replace them.
The camber angles were all tweaked from the factory. Like negative 5 degree on side, and 0 degrees on the other. So I popped the adjustable linkages off, and made them all the same length. They seem flimsy, will need to replace them right away.
What's up with the antenna? Damn its long.
It was nice of them to include the number sheet, but the paper stickers wrinkled way to much. Some vinyl decals would have been a nicer touch.
What's up with the 4 wire servo? Can I use use 3 wire servos with the ESC/Rx unit, or do I have to upgrade all the electronics to upgrade the servo?
It was a nice touch with the mini directional rib tire, but I'm almost positive, they mounted them backwards.
And last but not least. I know where it was made, but did they have to mold it into the bottom of the chassis?
First Upgrades
- Team Losi Bearing Set $12.95
Always a must, and I'm glad I got them right away. The front wheel was binding bad. These are Made in China, and I'm sure I could have got better for the price, but its good start
-Team Losi Racing Shock Set $19.99
These are nice, just like the big ones, but smaller and made in Taiwan. Teflon coated bodies, and Titanium Nitride coated shafts (or so it looks). They are pretty smooth, but I think the o-rings could have greased more. They seem to leak a bit too.
One shock was missing the collar. I noticed right away, and emailed Losi right away. Its been a week with no word.
First Run
I had replaced the ESC's battery plug with a Dean's pug, so I could use the battery that came with my Mini LST, and already installed my shocks and bearings. I set up a few ramps inside my apartment, and was immediately impressed with its speed. Not quite as punchy as the MLST, but nearly as fast. It had an tendency to lift the front wheels. It handled jumps just the way I'm used to, with a slightly nose high attitude. I just had to let off the throttle a little to bring the nose down. The MLST liked to nose dive, and I had to stay hard on the throttle to keep it level. It did have a tendency to push while steering, and it was slapping the chassis off the bigger jump. So I adjusted out some camber in the front, and added a couple preload spacers to the rear shocks. Its really responsive to adjustments, just the larger version. It now had plenty of off power steering. Gotta expect some push on powewr when the front wheels are lifting.
The chassis wasn't bottoming out as bad, but I think I'm gonna switch to something heavier than 30wt., or switch to a 2 hole piston in the rear.
So it was going good for about 10 minutes, when it started making a light clicky sound. My first thought was that the motor slipped, and messed up the pinion/spur mesh, but mesh was set perfect. So I tore the tranny down, which was kinda fun, I was having flashbacks of tearing down my XXT in the pits with minutes before my qualifier. Everything seemed good in there, except the diff had almost no grease in it, so I greased that up and put it all back together. While I had it apart, I became annoyed with how the motor wires were tied around the shock tower. I cut them off right by the ESC, the replaced them with 14 guage wire. What a difference that made. It now blast wheelies across my living room, which made it interesting when hitting the ramp. It would say its on par with my MLST now. The diff action was better, but there was still the clicky sound. I took the gear cover off and listened. I isolated it to either the motor or pinion. Since the plastic pinion was already looking worn, I put just a tiny dab of grease on it, and that solved everything.
So I gotta replace the plastic pinion and possibly the spur gear right away, but other than a tweaked antenna tube, it took a lot of hard hits and tumbles with no major issues. I'm gonna have a lot of fun turning this into a brushless oval monster.
