The Clod came today

TacOffRd · Jun 8, 2006

It showed up a day early...I bought it from a guy on another off-road forum I go to. It is just front steer for now. It came with all the parts to set-up the rear steering minus the servo. Here are some specs:

-Gecko II Chassis
-Permax 600 Motors
-TQ Radio
-Stock Clod Axles (locked)
-Novak Superduty XL speed control
-Tower Hobbies Servo
-Two sets of tires
-Two batteries
-Quick and Regular charger
-Two bodies

Now, a couple questions...

Being a NOOB to these kind of crawlers, I am not sure how the bodies are supposed to mount to these chassis. The two bodies that came with it have holes in the side like the mounts came through the side, and it looks like there may have been mounts attached to the side of the chassis. Could these be the body mounts?...

Also, I guess I just assumed these things had more of a low range kind of like a Nylint, but this thing goes pretty damn fast if I pull the throttle all the way. It crawls good, so maybe that's as low as it goes?

Here's a couple pics of the Clod...

smr4runner · Jun 8, 2006

Yes. These are the side body mounts.
You should see markings on the side plates of the Gecko chassis that indicate where the body mounts were screwed into.

TacOffRd said:
Also, I guess I just assumed these things had more of a low range kind of like a Nylint, but this thing goes pretty damn fast if I pull the throttle all the way. It crawls good, so maybe that's as low as it goes?

You might want to check what toothed pinion gear you have. Most are using between 8 to 10 tooth pinions. Also most are using the Integy 55T motors. Speed range is about 3 to 5mph max speed depending on gears but the integy has sick low torque.

Oh just to let you know dude. You got a great deal off this purchase. You left out some of the items per our PMs, that you listed today. This is the best deal I've seen so far Brent. Congrats. Now swap out that getto wiring job and clean it up with some Deans cables (Wet Noodle)and plugs.

You can buy the Integy motors from Tammies Hobbies. They have them for $16 a piece and shipping is only $6.95. Talk to Ryan. He is very helpful and may have most of what you will need. Tammies Hobbies number is 1-800-521-5614.

Mike

TacOffRd · Jun 8, 2006

smr4runner said:
Yes. These are the side body mounts.
You should see markings on the side plates of the Gecko chassis that indicate where the body mounts were screwed into.

Yeah, I see where they were, but it didn't come with the right screws for them. I have also found a couple other screws missing. Not sure how to tell what size they are and what I need.

You might want to check what toothed pinion gear you have. Most are using between 8 to 10 tooth pinions. Also most are using the Integy 55T motors. Speed range is about 3 to 5mph max speed depending on gears but the integy has sick low torque.

Alright. I will have to look into that. I was rolling slightly in reverse and I hit the throttle, and the thing damn near jumped off the ground.

Oh just to let you know dude. You got a great deal off this purchase. You left out some of the items per our PMs, that you listed today. This is the best deal I've seen so far Brent. Congrats. Now swap out that getto wiring job and clean it up with some Deans cables (Wet Noodle)and plugs.

Yeah, the wires are just twisted together at the ends, so I will definitely be cleaning that up.

You can buy the Integy motors from Tammies Hobbies. They have them for $16 a piece and shipping is only $6.95. Talk to Ryan. He is very helpful and may have most of what you will need. Tammies Hobbies number is 1-800-521-5614.

Thanks for all the help Mike.

TacOffRd · Jun 13, 2006

Hey Mike, I'm planning on calling Tammies tomorrow to order those motors...Do they carry the plugs/wires I need, do I need to pick those up somewhere else? Thanks.

smr4runner · Jun 13, 2006

TacOffRd said:
Hey Mike, I'm planning on calling Tammies tomorrow to order those motors...Do they carry the plugs/wires I need, do I need to pick those up somewhere else? Thanks.

Hey Brent,
They carry Deans plugz/wires or you can buy them locally. Ask for Ryan. He'll fix ya up.

Mike

TacOffRd · Jun 14, 2006

smr4runner said:
Hey Brent,
They carry Deans plugz/wires or you can buy them locally. Ask for Ryan. He'll fix ya up.

Mike

There really is no hobby shop locally to me...The closest ones are in Yakivegas, and the one I went to a while back was basically in some guys house...

I'll be calling them tomorrow to place my order.

One other thing...sometimes when I push the throttle, it doesn't go right away (usually only happens in reverse). Could this be due to the less than spectacular wiring job, or could there be something else going on? Thanks.

Todd1803 · Jun 14, 2006

If you've got wires twisted and taped together, it very well could contribute to other electrical "gremlins". If it were me, I'd install connectors and replace any questionable connections with new wire, and see if the problems go away. Remember that continuous, uncut wire is best. The less you splice it together, the more reliable it is and the less resistance you will have.

Get 12 or 14 gauge wire. Tammies probably sells it by the foot, so you should try to have an idea what you will need of each color when you call.

When ordering from Tammies, I owuld recomment that you also have them send you the capacitors for the motors. They're cheap, and reduce motor "noise" which can cause interference. You can download the instruction for the speed control from Novak's website. They should tell you about the capacitors, and the process to set it up again if you continue to have any delay issues.

So once that beast has the bugs worked out, are you gonna make a treck over for one of the comps? We can use some more rigs, especially in the big "unlimited" class.

TacOffRd · Jun 14, 2006

Todd1803 said:
If you've got wires twisted and taped together, it very well could contribute to other electrical "gremlins". If it were me, I'd install connectors and replace any questionable connections with new wire, and see if the problems go away. Remember that continuous, uncut wire is best. The less you splice it together, the more reliable it is and the less resistance you will have.

The wires are twisted and soldered, but not even taped, from the previous guy. I'm going to get plugs for everything so there isn't any exposed/loose wires.

Get 12 or 14 gauge wire. Tammies probably sells it by the foot, so you should try to have an idea what you will need of each color when you call.

When ordering from Tammies, I owuld recomment that you also have them send you the capacitors for the motors. They're cheap, and reduce motor "noise" which can cause interference. You can download the instruction for the speed control from Novak's website. They should tell you about the capacitors, and the process to set it up again if you continue to have any delay issues.

Will do. Thanks.

So once that beast has the bugs worked out, are you gonna make a treck over for one of the comps? We can use some more rigs, especially in the big "unlimited" class.

I hope so, but we'll have to see when they are and if I don't have to work.

TacOffRd · Jun 14, 2006

Ordered everything from Tammies this morning. They said it will go out today, so I'm hoping I get it Saturday so I can mess with it this weekend. :clappy:

Dude · Jun 14, 2006

Clods are cool, I finally got to drive one in a comp for the first time ever and it did good. only missed 2nd place by 90.

:haha:

I am picking up Clod axles on Friday.

:clappy:

TacOffRd · Jun 16, 2006

Ok, the motors and stuff came yesterday. Couple questions though...

Are the motors front and rear specific?

I need to buy new pinion gears for the motors cause I can't get the old ones off the old motors (and they are 13 tooth), so what is the ideal tooth (I've heard 8 or 10) to get since I will be buying new ones?

Thanks.

riceburners2001 · Jun 16, 2006

I have 13 tooth with lathe motor and its ok but before that I had 11tooth and it was awsome for crawling. but back then it was my only rc and I thought it was too slow so I put the stock 13 tooth in. if your only crawling then I would put the 11 tooth in for sure

I B RACIN · Jun 16, 2006

the best gearing I have found is 11 front 9 rear.

On the motors spin the end bell 180 on the rear motor,
I would also cut the com. on new motors they have a bad taper new.

I B..

TacOffRd · Jun 16, 2006

I B RACIN said:
On the motors spin the end bell 180 on the rear motor,
I would also cut the com. on new motors they have a bad taper new.

I B..

Damn, I hate being a noob to things....not sure what the end bell or the com. is. :cheer:

EDIT: I just found a great write-up via RCC that shows how to rotate the end bell, but I still don't know what the com is....

TacOffRd · Jun 16, 2006

So, now I am on to the wiring portion of things. Is the picture below the best way to wire them...running the ESC to one motor, and then jumping to the other one? I thought I saw on Mike's (smr4runner) that it looked like the two motors were connected with a Dean's Plug....

I am also confused by this wiring diagram for the capacitors...how many are used per motor?

Thanks for all the help guys.

riceburners2001 · Jun 16, 2006

i have my clod wired exactly like the pic
I think you need 3 capacitors per motor, but im not running any on mine......

so off topic but the pinion for the clod is 13 pitch???? I want my 11 tooth back but I lost it when I took them off!!!!!!

so I need to buy more now.....
ps sorry for tread hijack

TacOffRd · Jun 16, 2006

The more I get into this thing, the more I find out is wrong. I noticed that the power capacitor for the ESC is dented, and on Novak's website, it says if the capacitor gets dented it can cause the ESC to fail. So, can I buy just the capacitor, or how do I know if the ESC is fubared?

As a side note, when I took the old motors off, the wires weren't even soldered like I though. They were attached to the motors with twisty ties. :wtf:

riceburners2001 · Jun 16, 2006

well, i dont have any capacitors on mine so if I were yuou i would just run with what you have.....having something is probly better then nothing..:redneck:

i cant believe some1 used twisty tie thingy to attach the wires to the motor tho, thats getto x 1000

TacOffRd · Jun 17, 2006

riceburners2001 said:
well, i dont have any capacitors on mine so if I were yuou i would just run with what you have.....having something is probly better then nothing..:redneck:

You don't even have a capacitor on the ESC? Hmm....Novak makes it sound like you must with theirs (the Super Duty).