Old Daggers / New Mods - Got Questions

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vtblazer

Active Member
Trying to get up to speed with all the current electronics of the day, been outta the hobby for awhile.

Just picked up two used Daggers for me & my son.

What I want to do is to build these up with the focus on "dependable", fast isn't the 1st priority, fun & durability is.

Run time is a close 2nd, want to spend our time racing around, not changing out batteries.

My main questions right now are,
1 - Motors
2 - ESC's
3 - Batteries (have several 7.2's around & a few 8.4's)

I've read some comments about 'waterproof' motors and for the boy, that sounds like the way to go hands down to suite his driving style.

I'll throw out the 'gotta stay within budget' thing too, being two of everything could add up fast.

Our Daggers aren't here yet, looking forward to seeing that big box sitting on the porch soon! :cool
 
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mcfig

mcfig

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't worry too much about the motors being "waterproof". I have seen motors run under water and work just fine afterwards. Granted it shortened the life of the motor, but not dramaticly.

As far as type of motor, you can get all kinds. Lets start with some info, in case you don't know. The lower the turn the faster the motor. For example, you can get a 22T and a 15T motor. The 15T motor is a faster motor. Now when you get a faster motor you will need an ESC that can handle that faster motor. So, decide first what motor you want and then pick out an ESC. Also, the faster the motor the more expensive it is and the more expensive the ESC is going to be. If you are looking for dependable, then I would say just go with a stock sliver can motor. They are 27T, so not the fastest things in the world, but they hold up really well. Plus being 27T your choice of ESC is really open.

Speaking of ESC, if you are worried about water, then you need a waterproof ESC. LRP makes one that many use, but I can't find it on Tower right now. If your not worried about water, then almost any ESC will do if you use the silver can.

Batteries and run time go hand in hand. You are going to want to use 7.2v batteries, also called 6 cells. The bigger the size or mAh the longer you can run. For example a 4000mAh will run longer then a 2000mAh. So, get the biggest batteries you can. For really long run times, you can go lipo, but then your diving into a lot more expense.

To sum all this up....
Motor - Silver Can
ESC - Waterproof
Battery - Biggest you can get

By the way, I have a couple of the silver cans I can ship to you for free. Just pay the shipping. :tmb
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
Yeah just stick with the stock motors(if that's what's in there when you get them) for now. It's not a really fast setup but it's fun enough for bashing around the yard. Motors can be run underwater and a lot of people break in brucshed motors by running them in water, but running them in water does shorten the life of the brushes.. If you see your trucks being run in water and mud it's another reason to run the stock motors since they're cheap and easy to replace.

For an esc, if your going to run stock motors than the waterproof version of the Traxxas XL-5 esc (blue one) should be just fine. I run a nonwaterproff version in my Dagger ad haven't had a problems. If you search eBay you can get them for around $40 or maybe even cheaper.

Batteries. NiCads are out, unless you have them and they hold a charge, don't buy them. I recommend NiMh, you can get large capacity(around 4000 mah is good, any larger and they don't last as long) and they are dependable. But you will need to have a charger that can charge NiMh batteries. Lipos are great but you need to know how to care for them as they can be a bit finicky. But if you go for lipos you will also need a charger that is for lipos and an esc that can run lipos or you will have to get a cut off switch and add it to the esc you choose. Check out the Maxamps section here on the board.

If you get a charger I recommend you get a charger that can charge Nimh and Lipos AND has a built in balancer for charging lipos. Might as well have the ability to grow even if you don't get lipos right away.
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, post up which batteries you want to get BEFORE you get them. Although there are a lot of opnions on who makes good batteries you'll also want input from those that have had bad experiences. I know Venom batteries are junk.
 
V

vtblazer

Active Member
Great info, thanks.

Just looked over the pics the guy sent of the two WD's and they both still have the mech. speed controller.
If I can, I may for now steal the parts out of the two Evaders but the ESC may not work with two motors...?
Both have a basic radio named Python.

Okay, I'll post up what I already have...don't :rof now.
The kids rides are stock Evaders.
Batteries we have are:
Piranha 6 cell - 1500SCX's
Piranha 7 cell - 1900SCX's
Ultra-Sport 2000's

The parts in my RC10 are:
Radio is a JR - XR2 with a LRP Runner ESC.

We have two chargers, both are made by Dynamite.
One is a Mega Peak (charges one battery)
The other is a Twin Peak and deos two at the same time.

Great suggestions on the motors but I don't mind spending a couple bucks extra for a better one with more power/torque than stock.

I'd throw more cash at em but I bought us each an AX10 for X-mas. :D
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
I don't think that LRP esc will cut it. You want at LEAST a 15T motor limit for the stock motors. If you go with modified motors you'll end up having to go a much better esc(more money).

I guess the batts will do but you really wont get a very long runtime and that's even if they still hold a full charge.

The AX-10s will probably end up taking up more of your budget for aftermarket stuff.
 
V

vtblazer

Active Member
Fair enough,

If I want to go online and pick up everything I need all on one site, where would you suggest I shop/purchase?

Are there board vendors on this site?

Plans are to order up new batteries and ESC's for both trucks and run the motors that are in them for now and see how they work out.

Someone mentioned asking about battery makers...?
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
mcfig said:
Here is the waterproof ESC I was talking about and it can handle down to an 18T motor, but my policy is only go down one above the limit. Meaning, I wouldn't go lower then a 19T motor.
Click to expand...
Daggers are twin motor, so using that esc wouldn't be advisable.

Not sure what to recommend as far as NiMh batteries. I love my GP 33000s but they don't make GPs anymore. I have a set of Tenergy 3500s I got off eBay. They're alright but they don't live up to the rating, at least compared to the GPs. I got them because they were cheap back then but they raised the price quite a bit since then.
 
SteelCityRCJunkie

SteelCityRCJunkie

Well-Known Member
Traxxaas EVX-2 is water proof and is wired for 2 motors and 2 batteries standard.

I have one I can hook ya up with, if you're interested.

Mark
 
V

vtblazer

Active Member
Like the EVX-2, will order two of those...

Found a Tean Orion Drift Machine GP3900 battery for $30.00 bucks, how's that sound?

(sitting here with my boy jonesin' for the new parts :tmb)
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
vtblazer said:
Like the EVX-2, will order two of those...

Found a Tean Orion Drift Machine GP3900 battery for $30.00 bucks, how's that sound?

(sitting here with my boy jonesin' for the new parts :tmb)
Click to expand...
If that's the price for a new battery that's pretty good.

About the EVX-2, you might want to check up on that one. I remember reading somewhere that you can't modify it to a single pack(it's a dual pack 14.4-16.8Volt esc) like you could with the older EVX. I'm not sure about that, that's why I said you should check.
 
V

vtblazer

Active Member
Thanks, I'll check it out and the other EV ESC they offer too.

What about running dual batteries?
Sounds good to me. :D
 
mcfig

mcfig

Well-Known Member
You can run two batteries, but the chassis isn't designed for it so you will have to jerry-rig some way to get both on there. The other concern would be weight.
 
HawnMT

HawnMT

Well-Known Member
Uh oh.... now your getting dangerous.....

More power, more money, more speed, more broken parts, more money, it will never end.

Might I suggest if your going down that road you might as well get a 11.1V 3s lipo battery. In the end it'll only cost a little more than 2 good 7.4V batteries but you'll only have one battery pack.
 
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