ASK Cubby – Astute Questions, Questionable Responses

“HPI Nitro MT2 Brushless Conversion

Good morning,

I came across your website via a picture of someone doing a HPI Nitro MT2 Brushless Conversion. I’m get back into the rc world after a long absence. I plan to move up to 1/8 scale brushless system (I’m tired of fluctuation gas prices…lol). In the mean time I still love the HPI Nitro MT2 and I wanted to do something different. Do you guy know of any companies out there that might have what I need or can make what I need to convert it? Also I see a lot 1/8 RTR rc brushless off-road like the Arrma Kraton, do they make any “unassembled kit” on the level of the Kraton?

Thank you,

Eric C.”

Cubby- Yo what’s up Eric? Thanks for taking the time to write in, shoot us your snail mail for one of our sticker packs.

So Eric, you say you’ve been out of the hobby for a while. The nitro MT2 was put out a longgg time ago, so I am guessing the hobby is a LOT different than when you left.

OK, first off, you mentioned something about converting your HPI over to electric. I am not going to do a bunch of Google searching, so this is what I would do if that was my task today. I would hit the Tekno website and try to find a suitable mount. Because I can’t remember any company that made a conversion specifically for the nitro MT2, I would look around Tekno’s website to find one that I could make work. You might have to drill a few holes, but I am betting (read- totally guessing) you can find one there.

After that, all you really need is a battery tray. Depending on where you’ll have to mount the tray, if possible, I would go with the battery tray from the original Losi SCTE. Mounting the tray will require drilling a few more holes, but the SCTE tray is properly sized, quite sturdy, and should be easy to mount.

On your next question, does anyone make something like an ARRMA Kraton as a kit, the answer is YES! In fact, coming up with a kit version of the Kraton is super easy. First, you drive down to our LHS and pick up a new Kraton RTR. Once you get home, take it completely apart. Grab a dozen zip-lock bags and start stuffing parts into each bag. There you have it, a brand new ARRMA Kraton kit!

But seriously… most everything in the “bashing” world comes as a RTR. Why? Money, RTRs vastly outsell kits. Now, there are a few bash vehicles that are true kits, the Tekno MT410 immediately comes to mind (is this Tekno day at BigSquidRC or what?), but for the most part, if you want a kit from most bashing companies, you’ll have to make it yourself.

However, I fully understand how life was when you were originally in the hobby. That was a time period when the very first RTRs were hitting the market. Yes, there were a lot of build issues on those early RTRs. Over the years it got a little better, then even better. Today it is actually fairly rare to see poor build quality. Heck, it is even rare to see excessive flash on shock towers and such now days. I am saying all this because, if you want to buy a kit just to make sure it is assembled correctly, from most companies you are wasting your time. Most of the better companies’s RTRs are already built better than what most people can do at home. Shocking perhaps, but true.

“ESC Question

Hey Cubby haven’t sent u a question in quite some time now so I thought I would as I am having a problem.

I have a Mamba X esc and the switch on it broke so now it wont turn on. What are my options? I believe Castle uses a weird type of switch so I cannot just buy any switch to solder on. I would like to have a switch and want to avoid having the truck turn on as soon as I plug a battery on. What should I do?

Keaton Y.”

Cubby- Ya know Keaton, you bring up a good question. Heck, really one I would like answered too. Back in the old days, all the speedo companies would put on a simple switch with two wires. Once the switch went bad, which it always did, usually at the worst possible time, it was easy enough to simply cut the switch off, solder the two wires together, and continue as normal.

Now days, many of the companies have gone to switches that also include a programming button. This involves a more complicated switch, plus more wires. When it goes bad, which they always do, typically at the worst possible time, you can not just make it work afterwards. Instead you’ll need to keep a spare with you, and that just sucks. Why?

I contend speed controllers for surface rc don’t need an on/off switch at all. I mean, that’s what your Deans/Traxxas/Castle/EC5 connector should be for. Furthermore, speedos don’t really need programming buttons either, not with all the programming cards and WiFi apps etc on the market.

/rantover

So there ya have it good folks of rc land, another ASK Cubby has been dealt with. Do you have a question? Have something on your mind that you think the entire world just has to hear about about? My email box is always open (whether I look at it or not is a completely different story)- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com.