Mojave Mojave EXB build

[ErieArrma]

Scorched RC fender kit - check. Another item on the "to buy" list.
I have also ordered a RadicalRC bash bar. Got to protect the expensive aluminium chassis!
I'll be away for a few days, so unless I get something done tonight, there won't be much progress for a bit.

Does anyone make a fender kit like scorched in the US? don't want to wait for shipping!

I ran my mojo one time and decided I wasn’t running it again until I got the fenders. We were at a construction site and it was a mess. My setup is similar to yours but a 4585 1580kv motor and the firma 160a esc. It’s crazy fast almost always on the edge of being out of control.
At this point I don’t see a need for a stronger chassis or towers for what I’m doing, bash bar is probably a good idea if you’re going to really send it. It might make it handle a little stiffer though. One of the mojo differences compared to the other 6s bashers I have is the flex and super plush suspension.

Did you order the Scorched fender kit? If so, how long did it take to arrive from the Uk?

 

[SeriousPigeon]

Does anyone make a fender kit like scorched in the US? don't want to wait for shipping!

Did you order the Scorched fender kit? If so, how long did it take to arrive from the Uk?

I haven't ordered it yet. I also haven't ordered the M2C extended wheel nuts, as they want a $60 shipping charge for a $45 part that probably fits into a small jiffy bag. The UK vendor is out of stock of pretty much all M2C parts for the Mojave EXB.

I did buy a eBay extended motor mount that will take the larger 8S EZRUN 5687 motor and also allow for bigger pinion gears.
I decided to swap out the steering servo for a 45kg all metal casing and gearing servo and I'll upload some photos when this is done. Progress is very slow to halted at present.

 

[ficosk8]

After being away for a bit, I’m now back home for the Christmas break. Naturally I gravitated towards carrying on with the Mojave build.
First task is securing the ESC. I settled on drilled out the mount and securing the esc with 2 m3 bolts and some of the supplier 3M tape.
View attachment 187260
I started off measuring the holes on the esc as best I could and transferring those holes to the esc plate. I could only drill through for the 2 front holes, but I think that’s ok.
View attachment 187261I should have made a little wooden support block to hold the plastic firmly, but I didn’t and one hole drifted slightly.
View attachment 187262

Whilst the wires were just long enough, I thought they looked a bit stressed, so I made some extensions, using the same 6.5mm bullet connectors.
View attachment 187263

I then routed each wire down the side of the motor, which should be out of the way.
View attachment 187264

A few cables ties and black heat shrink and I’m reasonably happy with the results.
The next day I did the receiver and servo work.

View attachment 187266

The servo dropped in pretty easily, but I had to take the whole servo mount out to get the wires in properly and there were so many bolts to undo!
I haven’t aligned the wheels, or set the toe in yet, so that is still to come.
Then it was routed all the cables to the receiver, which was pretty straightforward, although again I had to unscrew all 700 bolts on the entire receiver/battery bracket assembly, to get access to the holes for the wires.

View attachment 187267

Again I just used a cable tie to hold the servo and BEC wires in place, routed under the driveshaft.
Last part was the ESC battery cables. I hooked up the XT90s connector. As I’m going to build a 2 x 3S battery pack for now, I still need to create the 2 to 1 series connector wire.

View attachment 187268
Hopefully, I’ll do that before Christmas and test out the motor and steering for the first time.
I’ll try for a video on the 1st test power up.
You can probably see the radical RC bash bar under the chassis. Seems pretty solid! I’ll attach that soon as well.

I wonder how your motor fits in. My Rocket 4092 (42mm in diameter) fits good but there isn´t too much place underneath. Your 49 should be tider there. And the 5687 would probably only fit with another Motor mount. The bigger 56er motor with 1100 KV would be needing also bigger pinion. I only fitted one 23t from the Kraton 8S. But there isn´t more space on the standard mount...

I haven't ordered it yet. I also haven't ordered the M2C extended wheel nuts, as they want a $60 shipping charge for a $45 part that probably fits into a small jiffy bag. The UK vendor is out of stock of pretty much all M2C parts for the Mojave EXB.

I did buy a eBay extended motor mount that will take the larger 8S EZRUN 5687 motor and also allow for bigger pinion gears.
I decided to swap out the steering servo for a 45kg all metal casing and gearing servo and I'll upload some photos when this is done. Progress is very slow to halted at present.

OK now I see this. Could you put a link of that mount? I´m quite impressed that the mounts hold the heavy motors only on the top/front of the motor.... I´m not a crazy basher, just a gently beginner. But I though have concerns with that...

Hopefully, I’ll do that before Christmas and test out the motor and steering for the first time.
I’ll try for a video on the 1st test power up.
You can probably see the radical RC bash bar under the chassis. Seems pretty solid! I’ll attach that soon as well.

How did your rig went on it first rides??? Have you put any protection under the chassis. I saw a protection foil of another owner. Wouldn´t be bad when riding on stones. My Kraton 8S took a badass blasting (sandblasting) after one ride on gravel :S:S

 

[SeriousPigeon]

Motor mount this is the link for the extended mount. It looks like it should fit, but I haven’t tried it for real yet, so no guarantees.

I have a RadicalRC bash bar to brace the chassis and prevent and bendage.

 

[ficosk8]

Th

Motor mount this is the link for the extended mount. It looks like it should fit, but I haven’t tried it for real yet, so no guarantees.

I have a RadicalRC bash bar to brace the chassis and prevent and bendage.

Thank for the link and that tip! I found also a protection skin for the Mojave: https://www.modellbau-metz.com/rc-m...a/mojave/js-parts-se-protect-skin-transparent it is from JS-Parts...

 

[SeriousPigeon]

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the super long time since I last updated this build, life just gets in the way sometimes. I haven't been able to really spend the time completing this build, but the other weekend I finally did and I pretty much completed it all in one go. Unfortunately I forgot about taking photos during the build session, so I will go through it as best I can with some follow up photos I took.

I completed the 45kg steering servo swap and it is much snappier than the original one.

Fortunately everything lined up the same, including the number of teeth, so it was an easy swap.

I wanted to check the front and rear differentials, to make sure they were properly greased up and filled. Thankfully it all looked good, so that was easy. Taking out the diffs provided me with a good opportunity to finally fit the RadicalRC bash bar. All in all the fit was pretty easy. The spacers to refit the bumpers were a bit fiddly and it wasn't super clear how many were supposed to go in (as there were enough to fit one or two). The bar came with all the replacement screws (to account for the extra thickness of the bar itself), which I thought was a particularly well thought out addition. I will say that if you want to fit one to your own Mojave then make sure to mark up all the screws and there replacements as it is so easy to get them mixed up due to the sheer number and similarity between old and new.

Then came the most annoying and stubborn upgrade to fit to the Mojave - the M2C extended wheel nuts. I finally got hold of a set of 4 from Badtouch Breakers. I followed a guide on Youtube for these and once I got the hang of it, the first 3 came of easily enough. The last one had to be the one that was so impossibly tight that I couldn't remove it. What has happened was some Blue Loctite had seeped its way between the wheel hub and the shaft the hub sits on. Along with a lack of a thin sheen of lubricant, the hub was properly seized on. In the end I had to detach the entire hub assembly and take it out to the shed and pinch the hub in the vice, while I tapped out the shaft with a hammer and suitably size steel tube. There was no way that was going to come out by strength of arms and a pair of pliers. The original hub got pretty much beaten up from all the pliers, grips, screwdrivers, vices etc. Anyway the 4th hub was on and the wheels could be reattached with the double locking wheel nut. I put a small amount of blue loctite on the second nut, to lock the first one in place, but hopefully not too much that I struggle to remove it.

At this point I was ready for the first trial run outside, just going up and down the road. I didn't take a video of this, but it went ok. This rig is very very fast. I couldn't get past quarter throttle before I was up the far end of the road/close.
Things to note and things I would appreciate advice on, is the wheel alignment setup. The steering is pretty tight, with only a tiny amount of slop, however, the wheels are not aligned. I know this may be a topic that elicits some disagreement, but what does everyone do here? Should I toe in, toe out, front, back? Do you set the turnbuckle rod lengths with calipers, or just eye everything up.
Despite zeroing the servo before attaching the servo horn (I swear I did this right and double checked it), I still had to trim the steering a lot to get it to drive straight, so I think I need to rotate by one cog tooth to get it properly aligned. Either the radio gear I have is really good, or the trim adjustment is ridiculously fine.
Also the truck was sitting very low in the back. I have since wound in the rear suspension to make it sit a bit higher, but I assume that the front high, rear low look is correct for a desert racing truck?

Anyway here is the "finished" item -

Apart from finalising the setup and taking it out to hoon around the local park and doing some GPS tracked speed runs, here are the further options I have for this Arrma Mojave.
1. Fit new 8s motor and extended motor mount.
2. Buy 2 4s LiPos and try out 8s
3. See whether I can get to 80mph on the grass!
4. Find out what the most commonly broken parts are and order some stock to keep me going for a few years.
5. Get the Outcast 8s or the Kraton 8s as well!

I will try to video the first speed runs at the park and eventually some bashing around in the woods when I get the chance.

Cheers all