Blown Budget (Parts Bin) Voltage

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grihn

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Arrma RC's
  1. 4x4-Mega
  2. Felony
  3. Infraction
  4. Outcast 4s
  5. Senton 6s
  6. Senton 3s
  7. Vendetta
  8. Vorteks
  9. Voltage
I recently picked up a Voltage slider for $20. The guy I bought it from had bought it as a spare, but decided to just keep the electronics, wheels and body, and sold me the rest. I figured I could put together something pretty neat from mostly spare parts I already have. My goal is to spend less than $50 on parts (that didn't happen).

I installed the 570 motor and ESC from my Infraction Mega that's been converted to brushless. I will use the receiver and controller from the infraction as well, since I put a dx3 in it.
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The 570 motor fits great, but is quite a bit longer than stock. I decided to make a skid plate out for it by repurposing the front skid plate. I've ordered a T-bone skid plate for the front ($14).
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I attached it using a loctite plastic bonding kit. I need to smooth it out and remove the ribs so they don't catch, but it's on there permanently. This won't be a basher, so I'm confident it will hold up well.
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I decided on an eBay buggy body and ordered ($25).
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I've used most of my budget, but fortunately I have a ton of wheels and tires. I'm just trying to decide what to use. I'm probably going to go over budget a little. Deciding on a servo now, and ordered a 19t pinion for $5 (stock 16t is installed). I just discovered that two od the shocks leak, so I'm seeing if I have anything better that will work. We'll see how it runs on the 16t first. Waiting on some parts and hopefully will wrap this one up quickly.
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I think I've decided on this wheel/tire combo. Since it's a buggy body, I'm going to try big and smalls and see how it handles. In the rear are 2.8" Proline Badlands that were spares for my Vorteks. Up front are 2.2/3.0 Proline Badlands that I'd originally purchased for my Senton, but that's running on Belted Powerhobby Raptors, so these were going to go to waste.
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Got the new Amazon servo in today and got it installed. It worked great, but I did have to reverse the steering direction on the transmitter. That was a first for me so I was scratching my head for a few minutes.
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Now all there was left to do was a test and tune. It handles decently and it rips pretty well on the 2s battery with the 16t pinion installed, but I will be swapping the 19t in when it arrives and hopefully will get a bit more speed on the top end. My eyeball speedo put this at about 25mph as it stands. It will pull a small wheelie from a stand still. Overall, I'm decently satisfied for what I have into it, but this is where the budget officially is blown. The factory suspension is trash. it's way too firm for the weight of the vehicle, no matter what weight oil is in the shocks (not that it matters, the oil leaks out of them pretty quickly). Did some research and have some Amazon specials on the way that I'm hopeful will do the job ($25). I also ordered a T-Bone wheelie bar since it now has the power to wheelie...it doesn't pull a big enough one to flip, but I don't have the 19t pinion in it yet either. I also decided the chassis doesn't have any good ways to mount the receiver without a box and at the same time realized that I foolishly overlooked the fact that it wouldn't be waterproofed, so I ordered a receiver box ($11). So, all in right now I'm about $40 over budget, but I still only have about $110 into the whole truck, and I'm reasonably confident I've achieved a good balance of upgrades without overpowering the truck or having to worry about constantly breaking things.

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Almost done. Got the receiver box installed and body mounted, and put on the T-bone front bumper. Trying to decide if I want to lower the body to eliminate some of the "air gap." If I do I'll have to trim to avoid rubbing, so still thinking it over. I'm waiting on the T-bone wheelie bar, and am going through some decals to see what I want to put on it, then I'm gonna rob some large googly eyes from the kids to use as headlights. This one is almost wrapped up.
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That's awesome man love to see the older discontinued models get rebuilt and brought back to life.
They still make the voltage. Even had them on sale for 90 bucks here recently at horizon.

I have three Voltages and Used them as my learning curve for learning how to work on an rc car and go brushless etc. I think you’re gonna have some issues with the big wheels high traction and more powerful motor. I went through all that… They are a blast to drive though on 3s and fly high with moderate jumps, I’ll tell you that much. Good luck with your project and I hope it works out!

Thread 'Voltage 2WD brushless conversion, Velo’s learning curve build.'
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/...conversion-velo’s-learning-curve-build.39035/
 
They still make the voltage. Even had them on sale for 90 bucks here recently at horizon.

I have three Voltages and Used them as my learning curve for learning how to work on an rc car and go brushless etc. I think you’re gonna have some issues with the big wheels high traction and more powerful motor. I went through all that… They are a blast to drive though on 3s and fly high with moderate jumps, I’ll tell you that much. Good luck with your project and I hope it works out!

Thread 'Voltage 2WD brushless conversion, Velo’s learning curve build.'
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/voltage-2wd-brushless-conversion-velo’s-learning-curve-build.39035/
We'll see, I'm prepared if I do. But, it's a brushed motor, it's only gonna run 2s, and so far there haven't been any issues. The wheels have more traction than the stock ones, but they're nearly identical in size. I do think I'm going to just stick with the 16t pinion and not install the 19t. If it starts stripping gears, I may play around with different configurations, but honestly this is just gonna be used as a little backyard blaster...me and the kids will watch the dogs chase it and be chased by it.
 
We'll see, I'm prepared if I do. But, it's a brushed motor, it's only gonna run 2s, and so far there haven't been any issues. The wheels have more traction than the stock ones, but they're nearly identical in size. I do think I'm going to just stick with the 16t pinion and not install the 19t. If it starts stripping gears, I may play around with different configurations, but honestly this is just gonna be used as a little backyard blaster...me and the kids will watch the dogs chase it and be chased by it.

In your post, the intent to install a 19t pinion was what caught my eye the most. That and those heavy tires! The stock voltage tires are so freaking lite and low traction for a reason. The worst thing about having to replace the inside differential is the fact that you have to nearly take the whole dang car apart to get to it. That drove me nuts after a while.

Another hint, don’t try to replace the front steering rods Or whatever they call them…the ones that snap on and off at the wheel. If you put ones on there that screw on you'll break steering knuckles. The fact that they snap on and off saves the other front end parts from breaking. It can be a pain to pop them back on but it’s much better than replacing parts.
 
Maybe off topic, I have two voltage trucks... What 2s battery can you fit in there? I have two different kinds and can't fit either in the tray
 
Maybe off topic, I have two voltage trucks... What 2s battery can you fit in there? I have two different kinds and can't fit either in the tray

It’s tricky fitting a 2s battery in the tray all proper like. It’s worth it though since the tray Is an integral part of the chassis once installed. Here, see if this helps…
Thread '2wd Voltage ‘easy ‘2s battery install'
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/2wd-voltage-‘easy-‘2s-battery-install.45263/
It’s tricky fitting a 2s battery in the tray all proper like. It’s worth it though since the tray Is an integral part of the chassis once installed. Here, see if this helps…
Thread '2wd Voltage ‘easy ‘2s battery install'
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/2wd-voltage-‘easy-‘2s-battery-install.45263/
One thing I think I forgot to point out in that post is that I took out all of the stock electronics and replaced them with the stock electronics from my Granite Mega that I upgraded to brushless. That’s why I was running a lipo alarm, The granite mega ESC had a messed up LVC so I ran it on nimh mode.
 
Maybe off topic, I have two voltage trucks... What 2s battery can you fit in there? I have two different kinds and can't fit either in the tray
Spectrum 5000 G2 batteries work perfectly because they don't have the seperate balance lead, so they slide right in with the tray. I've got a few Zeee batteries that fit fine but they're just a bit more tedious to install. My truck seems to like the Spektrum battery better though...there's a noticeable difference in throttle response between the two brands.

Spektrum 7.4V 5000mAh 2S 50C Smart LiPo G2 Hard Case: IC5, SPMX52S50H5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TKHSKBY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_R6HTHVZCV8ND26XWSEYB
 
Spectrum 5000 G2 batteries work perfectly because they don't have the seperate balance lead, so they slide right in with the tray. I've got a few Zeee batteries that fit fine but they're just a bit more tedious to install. My truck seems to like the Spektrum battery better though...there's a noticeable difference in throttle response between the two brands.

Spektrum 7.4V 5000mAh 2S 50C Smart LiPo G2 Hard Case: IC5, SPMX52S50H5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TKHSKBY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_R6HTHVZCV8ND26XWSEYB

Damn those are expensive! Just go with a couple hoovos and deal with the minor irritation 🤣

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Yeah they aren't cheap. They're great for the kids though...don't have to worry about them forgetting to plug in the balance lead and they auto discharge to storage voltage if they end up not using one after charging. I picked up 2 of them on sale for $75, and they do seem to perform better than some of the budget batteries, but even then it can be hard to justify the cost considering the lifespan of a lipo.
 
I'm really starting to love this little guy. I decided to go ahead and install the 19t pinion and see what happens. It's got a small amount less torque and a noticeable increase in the top end, so I think it'll end up being perfect. I'm still waiting on my shocks to show up, and I'm gonna use some metal tape used for automotive body work to block off the holes in the chassis around the battery tray to keep debris out, but otherwise I think it's complete. Now if we can get some snow I'll throw on some paddles and see how it handles it.
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Maybe off topic, I have two voltage trucks... What 2s battery can you fit in there? I have two different kinds and can't fit either in the tray
I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before, but it's actually really easy to get the balance leads inside the chassis without threading it through. You do have to remove the little plastic protector, but then the tray slides right in. And these Zeees fit perfectly in the tray.
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Feel like I hijacked the thread with a battery Convo. Those pics though, my batteries come more out the end with balance leads and battery wires. That's my issue.

Back to the real thread, sweet voltage, like the bug body!
 
Feel like I hijacked the thread with a battery Convo. Those pics though, my batteries come more out the end with balance leads and battery wires. That's my issue.

Back to the real thread, sweet voltage, like the bug body!
Thanks, I like it more than I thought I would. You do kind of have to find a specific battery that fits to run 2s. These Zeee's are pretty cheap though, I paid somewhere around $40 for a pair and they fit great with no modification to the truck.
 
Last parts arrived this morning and my daughter and I just took it for its first drive in its final configuration. With the 19t pinion, it'll ride a wheelie on the bar on pavement, and depending on traction on dirt, will at least pull up the front wheels. The Amazon shocks ended up being ZD shocks. They looked the same when I ordered them but they were sold without a brand. The nice thing about them is I could order them in pairs instead of an entire set, so I could get the exact lengths I wanted, and they were about $8 cheaper overall. Now it's onto the next build (Axial Capra).
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