Fiero Hardcore Edition REDUX

[SRTracer121]

i guess ill start with some carnage pics



http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr198/FieroMan121/fiero/Fiero%20HE%20redux/DSCN2418-1.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr198/FieroMan121/fiero/Fiero%20HE%20redux/DSCN2419.jpg



http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr198/FieroMan121/fiero/Fiero%20HE%20redux/DSCN2424.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr198/FieroMan121/fiero/Fiero%20HE%20redux/DSCN2422.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr198/FieroMan121/fiero/Fiero%20HE%20redux/DSCN2425-1.jpg

As you guys can see from the above pictures I run my fiero pretty hard and I finally decided its time to cut a new chassis. Going to use gpo3 again but I’m going to use 1/8th inch instead since the 1/16th cracked after just a few runs (clipped a recycling bin at about 30mph) and was way too flexible. since I’m finally getting caught up with my rc work and the cars I’m working on for other people are waiting on parts to come in and the sledge needs a battery strap, esc mount, and tie bar (all will be made out of gpo3 as well) so I figure no time like the present to fix Fiero HE.

Now atm I’m thinking of replicating the current design with just a few amendments. The antenna mount was a weak point from day one so now I’m going to mount it down on the lower chassis but make something that braces it at the upper deck as well. like a U cup shape or something. The other issue I ran into was the battery strap and I’m thinking Velcro would look so much cleaner and I could relief the strap area a bit so it wouldn’t get damaged or drag on the ground. I’m also going to stock front wheels with ae made yokomo donuts (p/n 3670) since they will give me the desired ride height for playing on asphalt and I got a few nip sets tracked down over the summer so if I shred them I wont be in trouble. I’m also going to need new rear tires as the rubbers are pretty shot. This brings me onto my next alteration to the current design. The lower deck extends too far back on the sides and even though it looks good it’s wearing the tires when they balloon (the little 540 fixed 22x1 is a sleeper motor for sure) the tires themselves I may replace or cut the beads off and make rubber rings for the foams I first got with this car. I may do both

Don’t know when I’m going to do this but it will be started by tonight or tomorrow I hope

[SRTracer121]

finally got to disassemble the fiero he and put some brain juice into it and right now im kinda at a loss for direction. see the 1/16th gpo3 was too thin and flexible but the car does not allow for anything thicker. the 1/8th inch stuff would be perfect thickness from a durability standpoint but again, the chassis does not allow for it. so i was thinking that if i relief the lower chassis it would be fine but itll only be as strong as its weakest point and since this has evolved from a theme car to my regular runner it needs the durability (i put this car through heck on a regular basis) so now im thinking i can do 3 things. i can either 1, relief the lower chassis like i said, 2, buy a sheet of g10 like i was going to do originally (go figure), or 3, cut the lower chassis out of aluminum (which i have plenty of as well)

now the drawback to 2 is i have to spend money and im putting my lunch money into my truggy atm so thats a bit of an issue.

the issue[s] with 3 is yes, i have plenty of it, but i hate working with aluminum for a number of reasons, im using a 75mhz radio system so i want to avoid any possible radio issues (speeding purple and pink rocket could do some damage), and the weight would be a double edged sword, itll be good to keep the car planted on the rough street but that weight means less powah and more for the motor to push. although with the current chassis shape im sure it wouldnt be much but still every bit counts especially if i get crazy and put my 8x1 motor in it for poops and giggles (could kill a man if it catches air ) also i think aluminum would look so tacky on a pan car

so yeah thats where im at right now

[SRTracer121]

tore down the shock (you want me to say shocks but i said shock, it only has 1 ) and just so nobody asks the shock is from duratrax.


also revamping my electronics with some more appropriate gear. a novak atom, this ought to be enough esc for this car no matter what motor i run throw at it.


someone (you know who you are ) was nice enough during the first round of building to tell me that i could have done better with the servo i had chosen, a futaba s3003, so now im going with something a smidge quicker. a futaba F-s132h high speed low profile. also got me a set of new servo mounts, these are tilted mounts for pan cars.



servo compared to a 2055



sticking to my old friend for power (for now), this 22 single runs nice and gets me a good run time with my 3300mAh hard case. motor may need some new brushes and comm cut, and maybe a hood re-alignment.

[SRTracer121]

im'a be bouncing around with this post so be warned.

i cleaned the plastic parts, prepped for parts assembly and tore down the motor this morning.


the brush hoods were off so good call on my part. the comm didnt need a cut, it was in great shape actually. i noticed my brushes were shot though and my springs were too hard in retrospect. swapped all that out and broke in the new brushes. im trying trinity "stock" silver stand up brushes. they were broken in rather quickly so i think i may be replacing them real soon :d





for those that dont know, when your soldering a shunt right to the brush hood try to use as little solder and flux as possible and dont let it run up the length of the shunt. a nice clean joint is ideal.

got the esc wired up with a trx plug


the servo and links all squared away


stock link compared to the ones im using (cut down rc10gt links)


got the shock rebuilt late last night too as you saw a few pics up. went to a softer spring and a heavier oil (45wt) with a 3 hole piston


cleaned up the front wheels and foams and put in new bearings, i may flat black the wheels to match the srt


now this afternoon i mocked up the front end on the old chassis to get the settings half way right so i didnt spend forever on them like i did on the lto srt earlier this week. look at how beat that front lip is. i run my toys hard and take no prisoners:evil:


got the rear end assembled after that and cleaned up the rims with my dremal. need new tires though, the old ones are just completely shot to heck





look at that funky gear diff, gosh forbid traxxas could have gone with the flow on that one and used a ball diff like everyone else :rolleyes: my pinion needs to be replaced, you can see how much i chewed up the spur. its not like a replacement spur is hard to find or anything. actually thats not true, i have a spare nip set but thats my emergency set. but the ones that pop up on ebay make it almost cheaper to just buy a basket case and part it out.

[harry697]

someone (you know who you are ) was nice enough during the first round of building to tell me that i could have done better with the servo i had chosen, a futaba s3003, so now im going with something a smidge quicker. a futaba F-s132h high speed low profile. also got me a set of new servo mounts, these are tilted mounts for pan cars.

Who, me?


That little guy oughtta work a whole lot better. Now when you go into a corner, you won't have to start turning yesterday.

[SRTracer121]

ya know you can let off the throttle in turns? even a knuckle dragging oval guy like me knows that

[harry697]

ya know you can let off the throttle in turns? even a knuckle dragging oval guy like me knows that

I used to do that. But now that 1/8 has all but taken over around here, I just joined the rest of the animals. Traded whatever driving ability I had for horsepower and ground (pipe) clearance.

[SRTracer121]

i guess im a bit blessed being in a mecca for rc. florida has its perks even if they are far and few between

[SRTracer121]

well i managed to score the last set of nip proline 1/18th road rages on the planet and i also rewired my esc to clean up the wiring. i swapped out my trx plug for 4mm male bullet connectors since i almost have to use hardcases with this thing and both of the ones i plan to use are packs with 4mm bullets coming out of the case.

[SRTracer121]

update time! i have to admit, i havent been feeling motivated to get this done, its sat in the corner for so long being pushed back by race chassis rebuilds and other things like the lto srt. but i kicked my butt into gear and got the lower chassis mostly complete. i want to add some detail to it and also the velcro battery strap slots.

so got the lower chassis done and started mocking up parts onto it




did a poor job on the countersinking frankly


took down the face of the chassis where the flex bar mounts, its also pretty sketchy looking but you wont see it under the battery and after its dyed it wont be as butchered looking


i plan to dye the chassis and a few other odds and ends. im going to paint the wheels flat black. why not dye? well they are hard to find and im not sure how well they will take heat of dyeing or an acetone bath to remove the chrome for that matter and a flat or matte black would look really good.

[SRTracer121]

got the lower deck done. going to get as far as i can with the upper deck tonight

[SRTracer121]

got the upper deck done and took the car for a quick spin. servo isnt working right, it does not want to come back to center after an input, the pot may be messed up. as sensitive as this car is, thats not a good thing either. also found that the car has a lot of front bias and steers very aggressively. dialed it back on my m8 radio and it was better. that 11dbl is just mean (Oh bdw i swapped motors :p). i also realized that not having reverse in this car sucks, no fun for one thing but it also forces you to chase it if you find grass on the shoulder or while cruising on a sidewalk. may need to find a novak duster II or a tekin, something for cheap thats retro.

so im almost there, have a re-pro body to paint up sooner or later, chassis bits need to be dyed, and i need to play with setup big time and find an esc too maybe as i do plan to enjoy this car like i always have.

i made the mistake of doing most of this work today in my room. it needs a top to bottom cleaning so pictures may be a few days off

[SRTracer121]

took some pictures of the mostly complete chassis. still need to paint the rims and mount the rear tires and dye the chassis and paint the re-pro body (ive got some plans for that too)

still using 1/16th gpo-3 on the upper deck, dont need the extra weight of 1/8th inch. also using the first 1/16th upper and lower chassis plates from the pod. they are still in good shape. ill re-dye them with the rest of the chassis when that time comes



pretty much par for the course with the rear shock mount. if it aint broke...



need to get to the servo without pulling the whole upper deck so a simple hole will suffice, that whole front shape works for me



motor is the 11dbl from my sledgehammer, that has a team checkpoint 15dbl now



didnt do so great on a solder joint, didnt tin the yellow (neg) wire like i should have. :d



this is my favorite of all the revisions, i taped a metal whip antenna onto a regular tube antenna and chopped up a ruined blue eagle battery cup as the mount. the original design was a major weak point but the whip kept the car on the rubber side more then id like to admit. the new one looks cooler too even if it isnt anything like the factory whip (which is awesome bdw)

[SRTracer121]

boy howdy does this need an update!


here yall go. a street ready fiero done the way i want!



powahhhh! a bit too much really, going back down to the old stand by or this car, my kyosho 22x1.



shocking! its a whole new mono shock setup. whole new pivot bar. whole new mounting system. it looks great now! the shock body is from a blue eagle ls, the cap is a newer release (different anodizing) that fits on, there was no way id ruin the almost perfect shock cap that was with the shock body just to make it match. as you can see i had to do some dremal work to make it all fit.





the new pivot/flet/"T" bar. that took some serios figuring out too.




inner shock mount. i simply fabbed up a plate from 1/8th inch g10 and screwed it to the antenna mount.



so whats next for this little street rocket? well this is all ill say for now