Here on the right you can see 2, 2 cell packs wired in series. This gives you a total of 14.8v I believe. Wow! It's pretty simple to
wire up the packs in series. You can see here, that you just take the Positive from one pack, and the Negative from the other pack, and pump each of
those into a single connector that goes to the speed control. Then take the remaining 2 wires, and connect them together. Note the special connectors,
on the 2 wires that go get put together. These make it very easy to connect, and disconnect the packs. They are a little easier to see two pictures above.
You don't have to take my word for it, but 60+ mph in under 2 seconds is pretty dang fast! It's going to take some time,
some practice, and a long, flat space to get used to pulling the trigger on this thing. Like I mentioned above, I'm still running the
3 cell pack, till I get used to controlling the thing. Take your time, get used to the feel. You'll be much happier in the long run.
Your almost ready to go. You are going to need to set up the gearing. The dragsters are very simple. You want lots of speed.
I recommend going with a 96 tooth spur gear. The HPI one or Team Associated ones fit great. For the pinion (the small gear
on the motor) anything from a 11 to 15 tooth Team Associated (RC-18T size) gear will be great. The more teeth, the faster it
will go. For the mesh setup, I have gone with the old standard. Stick a piece of paper between the gears, push them together, tighten, and
spin. Once the paper comes out, your gears should spin pretty smooth. If not, do NOT try and run the motor, you are going to have issues.
You want these to spin very freely.
Ok, we are almost done. There are just a few more things you will need to finish your RC dragster. You are going to want to throw in a
micro steering servo. The lighter the better here. Dragsters don't steer much, so you don't really need anything amazing up here. I have my steering rate
turned way down, so that small movements don't send it off into a curb at 70mph. You can probably find a decent one for $30.
You are also going to want to pick up some traction compound for the wheels. The sticky-er the better! You don't want to be smoking the
tires off the line, you want to be doing 70mph in 2 seconds! Last up, you need a radio system. Just about anything will do, but I'm finding out
that you really want something with a lot of range. You'll be surprised how far away one of these cars is in just a few seconds! I have recently
installed the
Nomadio
Sensor radio in mine. I believe
they currently have the farthest distance for transmitters on the market. It's not cheap, but if you have a lot of vehicles like I do, the
big upfront investment will be worth it later.
And that's about it! So without the radio:
Dragster Kit: $200
Mamba Brushless: $150
LiPo Battery: $40
Servo & Traction stuff $40
For a total of about $430, (And a radio) You have one awesome dragster!
If you have any questions, or if I missed something obvious (me? never!) feel free to talk about it in
the
On Road Forum
.
I'll start a thread there about this project write up incase anyone wants to comment or ask questions.
Here are links to all the companies I mentioned in this project. Make sure to tell them Big Squid RC sent ya when you order!
Grand Motorsports
- Drag Racing Kits
PFM Distribution
- Apogee Batteries
Castle Creations
- Mamba Brushless
Good luck, and have fun! If you see me anywhere out racing, feel free to stop by, say hi, and check out the King Squid!
