MINI T, anyone have one?

[kaiser]

so long story short, bought my 3.5 year old a cheap rc and i got an ecx smash (mini t) so i could play with him.
why so slow!

i mean slow, slow. faster then his $20 el cheapo but still, s l o w.

i know i'll need lipo and brushless along with a receiver and a servo in order to ditch the stock running gear.

does anyone have one of these? what did you use?

i notice that kv ratings for 1/18 scale brushless is really high, i don't want a missle, just something with some pep.
i'm going to build a carpet track in the basement with a highwall turn and right now i don't think it will make the climb up the wall. but it's inside so i don't need ballistic speed either.

one thing i will say that's positive is that it's really well made. i like it alot, just can't wait to get some real electronics in it along with bearings and some nice oil shocks.

so, anyone have any pointers for me?

[jamin]

My 4 year old son runs a mini-t with stock motor and using 4 nimh AA batteries, yes it's slow, but TBH it's better that way than him constantly crashing into things. I am going to get him a 2000mah lipo next, but will keep the stock motor until he gets used to that.

I had the Losi brushless combo in my mini-t before I sold it, it was insane, well TBH it was really quick, spot on to be honest, but the little chassis and 2wd couldn't handle it. I think I had the 9600kv motor,I suggest starting a lot lower, especially if your 3.5 year old is driving!

[vwjuice]

I have one that I have ran for about 4 years now.

I would steer you away from brushless............

I got it when they first came out. The first upgrades I did were the slipper clutch, Losi Aluminum shocks, Lunsford turnbuckle kit, and trinity monster horspower motor. It was great in this setup except for one thing. The lunsford turnbuckles are extremely close to the shock springs and can actually make contact if the turnbuckles aren't positioned perfectly. The stock esc/receiver unit died shortly after I put the trinity motor in it. So then I upgraded it to brushless and that's where it all went downhill. I got a 7200kv brushless kit from Nitrorcx.com and I now I break something every time I drive it within 2-3 minutes. The system has insane amounts of power. It tore the rear tires in two, break lower shock ends and rear arms on every run, broke a chassis, and I don't know what else. I now have so many extra parts I could build a couple of these minus a gear box. I upgraded to an evotek chassis that makes it a little longer so I have to run an rc18t body for it, and all of this is now aluminum:front spindles, rear hub carriers, front arm mounts, rear arm mounts, rear axle shafts, front axles, front shock tower, and rear shock tower. I am purchasing front and rear aluminum arms soon and then looking to try and figure out how to fix the problem of the lower shock ends breaking. I think if you go brushless than go with a lower kv rating.

This would be a good one here. http://www.nitrorcx.com/ezrun-brushless-combo-a2.html

Or I would say go with a better brushed motor. The trinity monster horsepower motor was about perfect for what you need. I am going to find a slower motor for mine as well and that should help. Every time Ibroke it was because I would hit the brakes and the truck would lock up the rear tires and start sliding out of control. The ECX Smash tires should help greatly in the braking department.

[kaiser]

i was thinking something in the 4-5000 kv range, 7-9000 sounds crazy.

this truck is mine for now. he's learning on a cheap walmart truck. the only reason i bought the walmart truck was it has a pistol grip radio and i wanted him to get used to that.

juice, do you think the trinity motor will have enough power to climb a wall? you know a high banked turn that runs up a wall.

the other issue is the radio, that thing has got to go. 27mhz is no good in my basement. i wonder if futaba makes a tiny receiver for the 2pl/3pl.

edit, the more i think about it i don't see why 2-3000 kv wouldn't work and still be quick on 7.4 lipo.
unless it's a gearing issue.

[jamin]

Even the stock motor would be quick with a Lipo - the reduced weight and internal resistance and the increase in voltage.

I should be getting one soon - I'll let you know...

[slapshot1979]

I have one with oil shocks, slipper, ball diff, GPM alum steering set up, etc and IMO my 6900kv brushless is way to much power to be any fun in the T. I ended up putting brushless in my RC18 (4wd) and a Reedy mini-max motor in mini-t and with Lipo its more than enough. as someone stated a Lipo does wake up a stock setup.

[kaiser]

thanks for the advice. for now i've ordered a lipo and a bearing kit.

[vwjuice]

i was thinking something in the 4-5000 kv range, 7-9000 sounds crazy.

this truck is mine for now. he's learning on a cheap walmart truck. the only reason i bought the walmart truck was it has a pistol grip radio and i wanted him to get used to that.

juice, do you think the trinity motor will have enough power to climb a wall? you know a high banked turn that runs up a wall.

the other issue is the radio, that thing has got to go. 27mhz is no good in my basement. i wonder if futaba makes a tiny receiver for the 2pl/3pl.

edit, the more i think about it i don't see why 2-3000 kv wouldn't work and still be quick on 7.4 lipo.
unless it's a gearing issue.

I think the trinity motor would do just fine. With the few first mods I did I ran it on the local 1/10 indoor off road track and had no problem clearing 75% of the jumps that my T4 with a 17.5 could do. I was very surprised and impressed by the trinity motor. It is very powerful with a lipo. Those two things would be more than enough for most mini-t's. I would say get a different esc as well. The stock esc/receiver unit is junk.

2-3000kv range with good gearing and a lipo should be good. Enough power for anything, but not too fast or out of control.

I don't even know what the top speed is with my system. I can't get the truck to drive straight enough to find out.

[kaiser]

if i ever ditch the stock esc/rec unit it's going brushless.

but for now i'll just try the lipo and bearings until i either fry the stock esc or motor.

[jamin]

I don't even know what the top speed is with my system. I can't get the truck to drive straight enough to find out.

My friend has a speed gun and my mini-t with 9600kv and 7.4 lipo was clocked at just over 40mph!

[vwjuice]

I don't even know what the top speed is with my system. I can't get the truck to drive straight enough to find out.

My friend has a speed gun and my mini-t with 9600kv and 7.4 lipo was clocked at just over 40mph!

I wish I could keep mine going straight long enough. It is stupid fast and handles like junk. I can't get it running straight so I can't get a tune on the suspension at all.

I bet mine would be right there with you. It has insane power.

[jamin]

I wish I could keep mine going straight long enough. It is stupid fast and handles like junk. I can't get it running straight so I can't get a tune on the suspension at all.

I bet mine would be right there with you. It has insane power.

This is why I sold mine and got a Mini-8, its 4WD and can handle the speed. Such a great handling car for its size. Also alot more bulllet proof than the Mini-T.

[kaiser]

i know all about mini 2wd limitations. i got this just so i'd have something small to run with the boy.
well you know what happens.....rc racer says to himself "i can make this better, this thing is too slow"

i really have no interest in mini scales, but now that i have it i kind of like it.

juice is hooking me up with that trinity motor and i have a lipo and bearings on the way. that should be plenty for the basement basher.

[vwjuice]

I wish I could keep mine going straight long enough. It is stupid fast and handles like junk. I can't get it running straight so I can't get a tune on the suspension at all.

I bet mine would be right there with you. It has insane power.

This is why I sold mine and got a Mini-8, its 4WD and can handle the speed. Such a great handling car for its size. Also alot more bulllet proof than the Mini-T.

I have thought about getting one of those.

[kaiser]

sometimes a guy runs his mini 8 with our 1/12-1/16 4wd tourers on carpet. pretty impressive.
it's probably the second fastest car in that class.