Typhon Need help with a speedrun setup that I'm hunting for parts for

[michaelp]

So I'm working with some local guys to build a V5 Typhon for a top speed with a completely unmodified chassis. So the rules I'm following mean that I can't do anything to the chassis or shock tower. So no chassis extensions or cutting sides off to fit wider motors, no limitless shock towers. Our goal is to create the fastest "standard" Typhon. Currently, I'm hitting 90 with the setup I've got, but I'm quickly hitting a wall on range. Older threads also have said Typhon ESCs get unstable around 90s as well so I'm trying to create a parts list for future upgrades. Most of the threads I've read are a few years old and I want some more updated options.

To solve the range issue, I'm looking at Radiolink RC6 or RC8X since we've got access to a near half mile, almost perfectly straight, road to run on. I've never used 3rd party radios on any of my cars so I don't know much about how to compare them or how well they work other than reviews. It seems without extenders, that my two top picks should be best but I'd appreciate other opinions. I'm not sure if the RC8X is worth the extra couple hundred since I don't have 200 cars to bind with, but it looks nicer and having a touchscreen may make adjusting settings easier.

For the electronics, this was the combo suggested by one of the guys:
https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbyw...oZwKy9cIIn1l74XaQZEO4hBMd3UFpEHxoCrFoQAvD_BwE

I don't personally have access to a soldering kit and don't have much experience making my own connectors, so I was hoping for a more "drop-in ready" type ESC option. I can probably make a trip to the nearest hobby store and get them to do it if I need to. The batteries I have are all IC5 connectors on Spektrum packs. I also really don't want to have to upgrade the most expensive parts further down the line so I was wanting suggestions on what the "fastest" motor I could fit into an unmodified chassis would be.

 

[RedondoBeachRC]

The RC6 Radiolink would be perfect.

I’d go with a MMX8s and use the stock BLX motor. However, you’d want to take off the 4mm billets and put on some 6.5mm

Look at a battery upgrade too like an Azure or CHNL

Consider a spool upgrade if that’s allowed. More gearing option with Saga Custom RC gears.

Look at doing a good amount of suspension tuning. Look into adding fuel line tubing to the shock shaft to act like a bump stop and really rake that suspension.

Another thing to consider would be adding ceramic bearings as this will take out some of that load off the drivetrain and electronics

 

[Matt05]

Get your esc from radiocontrolpower.com and they will solder on whatever battery connectors you want.

 

[michaelp]

The RC6 Radiolink would be perfect.

I’d go with a MMX8s and use the stock BLX motor. However, you’d want to take off the 4mm billets and put on some 6.5mm

Look at a battery upgrade too like an Azure or CHNL

Consider a spool upgrade if that’s allowed. More gearing option with Saga Custom RC gears.

Look at doing a good amount of suspension tuning. Look into adding fuel line tubing to the shock shaft to act like a bump stop and really rake that suspension.

Another thing to consider would be adding ceramic bearings as this will take out some of that load off the drivetrain and electronics

Spool is fine. I was questioning it mainly because while we do have a long road to run on, it's slightly curved and slightly on a hill. I was concerned about using a spool just because of needing to make slight adjustments depending on what direction we happen to be running and locking diffs or spooling has been said to really reduce steering control.

Will the MMX8s fit in the chassis? The stock ESC is 58mmx48mm and the MMX8s is 70mmx54mm according to their spec pages. I don't have a pair of calipers on hand, but it doesn't look like I have much room before running into the servo case at the front end or the driveshaft on the side. I'd prefer a drop in replacement, but I don't care if I need to buy an adapter mount to make it fit, I just need to make sure it actually can somehow fit without bumping into things.

The issue I'm seeing right now is that I'm effectively limited to 6s due to the fact that you can't stack batteries in the V5 without making the body impossible to clip back down on the posts. I tried that when I first got it, I stacked two 3s batteries and it wouldn't fit. Ended up getting a single 6s pack and those don't have much clearance from the body. Since I can't cut the side of the chassis out to make room, going 8s is kinda off the table. In the end, I just want to figure out what the fastest possible motor I can fit in the chassis is going to be. If the ESC is built to handle 8s, then it should run cooler on 6s and not give me as many heat related issues. Same with the motor.

Unfortunately we just lost a car. We started with 3 Arrmas/2 non-Arrmas and one of them is now a paperweight. Losing signal at 65mph is a good way to learn what the easily breakable parts on a car are.

 

[michaelp]

Get your esc from radiocontrolpower.com and they will solder on whatever battery connectors you want.

Bought the MMX8s and my local shop said they would do the soldering for me. I'm probably going to have them do some diff work for me too just because I want to swap out the front and rear fluid from stock 7k weight to 30k weight and I hate messing with that stuff. It's a pain if you spill it.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I would recommend the Castle ESCs also for speed run use.
Is there a local hobby shop that could help you with soldering connectors?

 

[michaelp]

I would recommend the Castle ESCs also for speed run use.
Is there a local hobby shop that could help you with soldering connectors?

Yep. That's the plan. So far, the record I could find for an unmodified chassis Typhon was 120mph. Current top speed is 90 with the stock ESC. The parts I have coming this week should let me go past 110.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

The factory BLX 2050kv motor I took to 127 mph with a Typhon (with a custom GT body) on a very short run where I only got to about 90% throttle input using the MMX8s.

That motor is plenty powerful for what you are looking to do. The only issue is the 3mm bullets will melt under the heavy loads. You would want to have those connections improved with something like the Castle polarized 6.5mm bullets. Or just swap motors if that makes it all easier.

 

[michaelp]

The factory BLX 2050kv motor I took to 127 mph with a Typhon (with a custom GT body) on a very short run where I only got to about 90% throttle input using the MMX8s.

That motor is plenty powerful for what you are looking to do. The only issue is the 3mm bullets will melt under the heavy loads. You would want to have those connections improved with something like the Castle polarized 6.5mm bullets. Or just swap motors if that makes it all easier.

I thought the stock 2050kv motor used 4mm? I was looking into ordering a 4mm to 6.5mm adapter so I could hook it up to the MMX8s or was I wrong?

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I thought the stock 2050kv motor used 4mm? I was looking into ordering a 4mm to 6.5mm adapter so I could hook it up to the MMX8s or was I wrong?

That is probably right, I have not used a stock motor in several years and couldn't remember the exact size.
I would recommend going with 6.5 to 6.5 which means removing the original connector and upgrading to the larger size.

Many people have tried to push those stock bullets with high amperage and at some point one will fail on you.

 

[michaelp]

That is probably right, I have not used a stock motor in several years and couldn't remember the exact size.
I would recommend going with 6.5 to 6.5 which means removing the original connector and upgrading to the larger size.

Many people have tried to push those stock bullets with high amperage and at some point one will fail on you.

Motor is going to get pulled as soon as I figure out what the best replacement is. I'm unsure how much bigger of a motor I can fit into the chassis without cutting. I think I should be looking at higher KV motors since the Typhon isn't very large and I would want higher top speed vs torque. I'm currently maxing my speed out with almost half my road space left so higher top speed would benefit me more over higher acceleration.

 

[michaelp]

So I got some of my parts, but since I've never used a spool before, I need to know what size dogbones I need to replace here. The stock ones are both too long. I've seen several posts saying this should fit with different size dogbones, but nobody ever actually says what size I need. Do I need to be just throwing money at new parts and seeing what fits here? Stock is 116mm and 82mm.

 

[RedondoBeachRC]

You’d have to measure it and then search for the size you need. Sounds like 82mm is too long.. now just gotta search after you measure the distance between the two cups and see what you can find.

 

[michaelp]

I'm back and I need some more help. So I swapped out my center diff for a 34T spool and a 28t pinion. Stock motor and ESC are gone and replaced with a Castle MMX8s and a 1515 V2 motor. On the first run, I threw the set screw for my 28t pinion. Even with the set screw cranked down with Loctite I still lost it. When I looked closer at it without the set screw, there is a ton of play on the motor shaft with the pinion. It's an ARRMA Safe-D Mod-1 5mm which is what I thought I could use.

After this happened, I tried looking up past threads and found a single user who reported that ARRMA gears can't be used on Castle motors due to a very minor difference in the internal dimension of the pinion. If this is the case, what can I actually use? Castle doesn't make a Mod-1 pinion past 23t.

 

[Matt05]

Saga customs are the go to for pinions/gears.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I'm back and I need some more help. So I swapped out my center diff for a 34T spool and a 28t pinion. Stock motor and ESC are gone and replaced with a Castle MMX8s and a 1515 V2 motor. On the first run, I threw the set screw for my 28t pinion. Even with the set screw cranked down with Loctite I still lost it. When I looked closer at it without the set screw, there is a ton of play on the motor shaft with the pinion. It's an ARRMA Safe-D Mod-1 5mm which is what I thought I could use.

After this happened, I tried looking up past threads and found a single user who reported that ARRMA gears can't be used on Castle motors due to a very minor difference in the internal dimension of the pinion. If this is the case, what can I actually use? Castle doesn't make a Mod-1 pinion past 23t.

View attachment 398045

A typhon with its 3.3 diffs and a 34t spool with 28t pinion on GRPs with a 2200 KV motor is good for 120+ mph on 6s.
Are you ready for that kind of speed? Have the GRPs been balanced well?

As noted Saga Custom RC is one of the best sources for gears.

 

[michaelp]

A typhon with its 3.3 diffs and a 34t spool with 28t pinion on GRPs with a 2200 KV motor is good for 120+ mph on 6s.
Are you ready for that kind of speed? Have the GRPs been balanced well?

As noted Saga Custom RC is one of the best sources for gears.

I was already doing 90 consistently on the stock motor before I pulled the center diff and dropped in the Castle combo. I've got the space to start doing 100+, I just don't want to ruin my new motor shaft. What confuses me is that the 1515 has a flat side of the shaft just like the Spektrum motors do, but those Saga pinions are round. Maybe I'm not thinking about it correctly, but won't that leave a gap that could cause the pinion to spin on the shaft?

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I was already doing 90 consistently on the stock motor before I pulled the center diff and dropped in the Castle combo. I've got the space to start doing 100+, I just don't want to ruin my new motor shaft. What confuses me is that the 1515 has a flat side of the shaft just like the Spektrum motors do, but those Saga pinions are round. Maybe I'm not thinking about it correctly, but won't that leave a gap that could cause the pinion to spin on the shaft?

Yep all pinions sold are round holes and the set screw goes onto the flat spot on the motor shaft. With the exception of the "Safe - D" pinions from Arrma/Horizon