e-GT buggy build

[jwscab]

finally on it's wheels, shocks are bled. Adding some electronics and still need to make up the battery brace/mounts. I think I'm going to have to run 1.5 degree hubs backwards, as the mounts I have are 3 degree and seem excessive.

[jwscab]

spent some more time with this guy to figure out a body fit. The jammin jumper I wanted to use still had interference in that front corner because of the funky chassis shape so I grabbed my scrap/repurposed/repainted viper I have and mocked it up. One correctly placed slice in the rear of the body, and she fits snugly, neatly and pretty slammed, so I love it. Body mount added on the small plastic trans brace and it fits the same as a standard body post fitment. I'll get that detail on the next go round of photos, still need to add the wing mounts back and trim up a wing.

[XLR8]

... I love it. ...

I agree, that body looks right at home on your car. Just add the wing and you're good to go.
Roll bars on both ends -- are you planning to run on carpet?

[jwscab]

Yes this will be a carpet car. I dont know the mid motor cars are necessarily better for off-road.

[jwscab]

The next few photos/posts I thought I'd share on a typical custom fab for me, in this case, it's a battery strap. these are the methods I use, some a little rough around the edges because it's for me. If I was making this for sale, I tend to use a little more care, trimming the cut lines and radii.

rough battery layout with some foam cushion and cardboard mockups, piece of material (G10, 1/16" thick, masking tape applied to add markings):

[jwscab]

some tools used, uni-bit is great for thin material and large holes, I decided I wanted a large radii on the brace for strength. two step punches, one is very fine for easy location of center (you can get down to .005" accuracy pretty easily) followed by the big dumb punch to give you a solid target for your pilot drill.

[jwscab]

part drilled, and drop cuts done on my band saw (converted porta band to a vertical layout). Rough cleanup with disc/belt sander, with rough radii cut on ends.

[jwscab]

check fit. added small plastic stop, mounted with 1" hex standoffs, and decided on a keyhole mount in the front due to very close body clearance in this location, with a thumb nut to be added when I make it. brace was cleaned up with a file on the edges and radii to smooth out the bit of kerf leftover after disc sanding and sawing.

[NomadRacer]

Great tutorial on your battery brace. I can see it helping some one out that needs to do it but doesn't no how to get started.

[factory team gair]

I Like it!

I also did a tub GT and loved it.

My 3d printed battery brace and waterfall were the biggest challenge, and ultimately they couldn't handle race abuse.
I've switched over to a flat GT chassis for 2.0.

I like the material and execution you've got for the battery and waterfall.

How did your racing with it go?
Mine handled great on carpet and dirt.

[jwscab]

thanks!

Unfortunately, it is built but I haven't raced with it yet. been a busy beginning of the year so far, and the carpet track was/is under construction.

just for hee haws, I should stick it on the clay track with some proper tires to see how it does though......

[jwscab]

Since this topic was cross posted and I re-read all of the thread to see what I did, I do have some nice updates to this car's performance.

First. I'm not a great driver. So take what I say for what it's worth. Second, I don't have any hard numbers or lap times.

I ran this car on a carpet off road track, with the castle 4600kV brushless system, so it's got a lot of pop to it. the track was decently technical, a handful of jumps, a wall 180 and a pretty big back stretch jump section. For me, out of the box, the car handles excellent. sticks where needed and goes where you point it. compared to hard packed clay on dosed slick tires, traction is totally better and razor sharp. There is one issue I have that I need to work around, and that is with the 1.02" rear shock bodies and my adjusted right height. the stock rear springs are already compressed at the highest preload setting, so the spring rate is artificially high due to pre-compression. It makes the car under certain sections of the track a bit too tail happy, making it tough t hit the jumps and have a clean entry and exit.

I tried to adjust by using a front truck spring which is shorter, but the rates are different and the softest front spring is still too hard, so I moved the shock end in to get a little more leverage, which then changes the droop leading to spitting the bone when the suspension is unloaded. The next experiment will be to use big board springs on the rear because there is a wider range of spring rates. That's pretty much where I left it as we haven't been able to sync up and run on carpet since......

in all, that day of running that car exceeded my expectations and it was really enjoyable.

[XLR8]

Thanks for the update Joe. I've been wondering where you've gotten to on this project.
So, do you think the solution to the rear suspension problem will require a shorter spring with the same or similar spring rate as the "stock" rear spring? Which spring were you using by the way?
I wish I could have been there.

[RC10th]

Can you run 1.32 shocks, possibly on a taller tower?

Ghea also make big bore spring collars that thread onto those V2 shocks. Big AE springs on the V2 shocks are fantastic

[jwscab]

I started with silver rears. Yes I have a number of ways to overcome, shorter springs would be the easiest way. Thanks for the tip on the ghea spacers.