Wltoys 12428b (part 30: Failed CV joint)

 Just a quick one to let you know I'm still here ;) Went for a blast with Hobbit and after 45 mins or so I lost front wheel drive and the thing just kinda sat there spinning the rear wheels.  I thought it was the diff but when I pulled it apart it seemed fine, then one of the drive shafts fell on the bench.

New vs old

Diagnosis; the CV joint lost its pin and so the drive shaft was spinning freely.  Being an open diff meant that's where all the power was going and so no front wheel drive.

Also, Merry Chrismas! :)

Wltoys 12428b (part 29: New Electrics Shakedown)

So the electrics arrived and I didn't bother taking pictures of the install, but once it's sorted out I'll reverse engineer(?) it with some pictures etc.  Also the lights aren't working yet.  But was it worth it?  In a word, yes.  So excited as I that this was composed on my phone while up the bush, and I'll leave it verbatim:

"..i write to you from Knocklofty. 

drag brake is awesome.  in gravel it will retard the rear just enough to make it loose and happy to fishtail for the Scandinavian flick :)

 

Random photo love from the trail

 

Throttle mode fwd/rev makes the car SO much more responsive; already it’s slowing on its own with the drag brake, so then the slightest reverse trigger will bring it to an immediate halt , often spinning the wheels in reverse ;) is epic.  on gravel is fine, on tarmac that might be bad; although these tires are so hard it doesn’t really get traction anywhere ;)

 

i found that getting it to track in a straight line has hard so dialed in -30% expo on steering made it very easy to control.

 

theres so much to talk about, fast servo means when climbing any short sharp inputs are translated immediately, and coupled with the fwd/rev throttle mode means doing multi point turns is trivial.  and the drag brake is not too hard that jt wont roll backwards easily to take another line or whatever. 

 

low speed throttle is amazing!  will lug itself over things with ease, without having to give it more throttle that turns to overspeeding at the far side of the obstacle.

all in all, much more predictable and outright fun than ever before.  at more than the cost if the car it should be good, but it really is.  much happy.."

For the record, here are the important settings from the ESC; 

• Option 1: Running Mode = 3 (Fwd/Brk)
• Option 4: Initial Start Force = 1 (0%, very slow at very low throttle)
• Option 5: Max Forward Force = 4 (100%.. Obviously.. ;))
• Option 6: Max Reverse Force = 2 (50%)
• Option 9: Drag Brake = 7 (80%)
• Option 10: Drag Brake Rate = 6 (Level 6)
• Option 12: Start Mode Punch = 9 (Obviously.. ;)) 
• Option 14: BEC Voltage = 2 (7.4v for the steering servo).