hobby grade bandit

[performerrpm]

thought id start this thread in while waiting for the parts for the first hobby grade bandit, im doing the first one on the cheap, since im still tryin to figure out what the hell im doing, but here is the list of parts on the way, ill probally do this one then try to do an even better one after words


parts that are coming-

mamba esc- micro sidewinder-its programmable and will let me use a regular 9.6 pack

rear oil filled shocks/ball studs-to match the oil filled fronts already done

losi insane 370

pinion puller

hitek mini servo/ with enuff extra parts to connnect front wheels

traxxas tq radio and reciever


this is sorta a budget thing, but even then im into it for around 150 bucks!!!


will post some pics of it when done, hopefully the finished bandit will look like any other bandit with even the red power light in the windshield, parts should be here next week end

[performerrpm]

well i got my parts yesterday, pretty quick id say, anyhow the first bandit that i did the front shock conversion, now has matching oil filled rear shocks, i ordered some blue anodized shock ball studs and rear rc18 oil filled shocks, then took the tabs that the original shocks snap onto in the bed of the body and cut them off flush, then drilled into the thick area they were molded into on the bed and screwed the ball studs in, the new shocks have a ring just like the stock ones do for the bottom but you have to drill the hole out bigger to fit-its just plastic- the top of the shocks just snap onto the ball studs in the bed and actually the ball stud makes up the piece that was cut off, so when done, it looks just as if tyco put them there themselves

the only bounce now in the back is just from the tires, but otherwise it lands just as soft as any hobby grade car, and when it lands theres no clunks, just a dull faint thud.


i test fit all the new elctronics and servo, everything will fit under the original cover of that originaly covered the original board, so when its done the stock antenna and light will work just like an ordinary bandit, you will not even know its been modded. itll take me a few days to finish getting it ready tho

[Tyco Bandit King]

Nice, im in England right now for another 2 weeks but when I get back im gonna convert my wild thing over as well and see how fast it will run on 3 different batteries. 

[performerrpm]

for anybody that was nervous about cuttung the bed shock tabs off, you can also fix the ball studs in place of the screws at the bottom of the shocks by the back wheels, then cut a slit in the hoop instead of drilling it out bigger, then flip the shocks to where the ball end is to the bottom and the slit will pop onto the original shock mounts in the bed, this will put the shock out further at the bottom which i think will work/look better than stock, just wont have as much a stck appearance.


gotta order a castle link  connector for my esc so i can change the settings for the brushed motor......i can say hooked directly to the batter the new motor  feels like it would pull a wheelie from a roll in the bandit

[performerrpm]

just a small update.....no pics yet, im waiting til i get it further along so that whats done actually shows, i sanded the small plastic pieces out of the esc compartment so id have enuff room to mount the radio esc and servo, i mounted the reciever with a small piece of velcro since it doesnt actually have any screw holes to mount permantly, plus it will make it easy to swap with another if needed.


i was trying to figure exactly how to mount the servo when i found out about double sided servo tape, apparently that stuff is strong and whats used on alot of upgraded hobby cars so it should work just fine. the esc is very small and just a small chip board, it will just be loose or wire tied inside the cover since theres no real way of mounting it.




only other thing is, i have to get the castle link so i can program it, while looking for thos i found theres a connecter that you can pig tail to the exterior of the  truck, hiddeden of course, but this will let me plug the truck into the computer and change breaking and power settings without actually  taking the truck apart to get to the esc

[performerrpm]

Nice, im in England right now for another 2 weeks but when I get back im gonna convert my wild thing over as well and see how fast it will run on 3 different batteries. 

the good thing about the sidewinder esc, you can run lipo/nimh/ni-cd batteries upto 15 volts, so ill be using a nimh 9.6 in the battery area, there was batter holder/motor from an outlaw truck on ebay, probally still is, i considered getting it and making away to connect it for the extra 2 and a half volts or so, but probally will stay with just the pack

[czstycor/c]

Yeah I want that outlaw motor for my eliminator traxx don't bid on it!! Haha

[jeffescortlx]

Post up some pic's!

[performerrpm]

the 2 pics of the electronics is of the hobby upgraded badit usig the parts mentioned in the first post, still waiting on my castle link connector and my quick connect to get here so i can adjust the settings, the quick conect will be routed to the battery compartment for easy but hidden access, then i can change the settings whenever i want to, the insane motor is in it already, and as bandit king mentioned in his thread, the tires stayig on the wheels is gonna be an issue. the steering is connected, im leaving that red tab from the servo sticking up, so it can be turned upside down if the lower half is broken somehow. the wheels steer fine and are straight in alignment, the only issue is the servo has a small amount of over steer, i need to make some stops or just dont turn the steering nob all the way since its digital proportional, but ill probally make a stop for it. the only thing left is too put the shocks on and solder the motor wires to the esc, or get the right bullet connectors where it can be swapped out. its using the original bandit offon switch, but im gonna have to figure another way to make the red light come on with the switch, it wires different than origialy and the new esc switch wires dont seam to have enuff to get it burnin.

[performerrpm]

the other 2 pics are of the other bandit with stock electronics, but with both front and rear oil filled shocks, the hobby bandit is already set up for them to i just havent actually put them on yet, ill probally sell the upgraded bandit eventually to hopefully fund the hobby upgrades to the bandit i the pics with the shocks already on it, tho the one im working on now is gonna be kick azz ive already got better ideas for the next one, mainly in the servo dept and motor dept, by then hopefully there will be some metal gears around-bandit king- so it can have the brusheless motor in it, maybee the same esc tho, i like this one, it fits good, lets me use 3s lipos or ni cd or nimh upto 14-15 volts i forgot the exact amount, in any case the one pictured is using a 9.6v nimh pack.


also for the next one im planning on getting the rxtx from wanna of the rc that have lights that can be turned off/on at the remote and run off the battery pack power, may even do it to this first one, but not sure yet

[Tyco Bandit King]

What you need to do is get an fm radio so you can limit the steering. If you try to make stops you will end up breaking things quick. With the fm radio you can not only adjust how far it steers but also how fast. For high speed run you can turn it down to where it only steers slightly, just like you see on a drag car.

Anytime I do a hobby conversion I always use an fm radio because there will always be fine tuning needed to not only make the steering work right but for the car to be able to stay controllable at high speeds.

[performerrpm]

didnt know that bout the fm radios having that ability, or id got one of those to begin with, i think ill get one for it and just use this set up for the nikko scorpion im planning to do

[Tyco Bandit King]

The first rc car i ever did a conversion on was a nikko scorpion 10 years ago, they are very easy to do and modify. I wanna do another one here soon cause ive got 2 that just sit.

[performerrpm]

the bandits running!!!! it doesnt even sound or look like a regular bandit going, its real quick turning and responsive, sucked the battery was about dead and only lasted a couple minutes but even then it wasnt gtting any traction at the tops speed of a regular bandit, i have the throttle settings turned down a bit as far as take off to try and keep the gears, so on full throttle it lags on take off a bit from a dead stop but even then its almost uncontrollable in the traction dept

[performerrpm]

WRECKED THE BANDIT!!!! multiple times too. the good news is it survived and i also found out that this thing will barrel roll faster than a stock bandit will run.

i let the battery charge 2 hours and took it out, i didnt compare it side by side with  the stock bandit but will soon but just guestimating id say 1/4 thr trigger pull on the remote and this bandits already at stock bandit or eliminator speeds, from there if you pull all the way back on it, it will just spin out, you still have to ease into it til about half way, from there your ok. the steering was perfect and still is aside from the clicking stripped sound from the servo that its now making after a 200ft barrel roll.

at its fastest with the oil filled shocks and such, it will run in a straight line pretty easy, and if you slowly turn the steering knob you can control it ok, but to much steering, an it gets air born. you really gotta let off a lil before turning sharp, also the drag brakes a little hi, so i have to re set it to a lower point since at full speed the truck is to light and if you let off the throttle it wants to slide.


there are 2-3 ways to wire the motor to the esc, i went the 2 wire route where i could have revers, but theres a third wire that can be used if you only want forward/brake functions that will make it that much faster and also the fact you can run a lipo makes this thing have lots of potential. i think for me its more than fast enuff with this set up and the gears seam to be doing ok with the throttle settings, in fact it hits easier with this esc than it does with stock, i have reverse turned down to 30% so it has a little more reverse power than stock but not to much.


anyone considering this lil upgrade, its well worth the money, im also using the eliminator rear diff right now, which makes a different sound when you hit the turbo mode on a stock eliminator than what a bandit differential makes, imagine your eliminator on steroids!!!!!!! even then it isnt as loud a whine noise as the bandit difs tho, just real smooth hum. wish i had a decent video camera, ya guys gotta see this



definateley can wait to do the scorpion, it has alot more potential than the bandit except the fact it will use a 7.2 pack