Turnigy 4WD 1/16 Monster Beatle RC Truck Review/Overview, Maiden Drive and Speed Trials

[kGCryTeK]

Could I use 3s if i add a fan on to the esc and motor?

[DavidSunshine867]

@kGCryTeK

It's only designed for 2S. If you add enough cooling to ensure you don't overheat the motor or ESC, then it would work save, but it would be easier to just upgrade the size of the motor and ESC.

[DeathlyHall0w]

If this car is the same as the acme pioneer and im 99% sure it is STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!

[DavidSunshine867]

@DeathlyHall0w

It could very well be the acme pioneer, ya I agree, STAY AWAY FROM IT!!! WARNING! EXTREME FUN!!! You'll find yourself totally addicted and may never be bored again! It also causes loss in hours of your day as you go through episodes of rampage on the streets! LOL. Ya it's great fun.

[polacotf2]

what about Li-po 2200mah 20c 2s, works fine ?

[DavidSunshine867]

@polacotf2

Ya, that's what the car was designed for, 2S 2200mAh, but double check on the length, make sure it fits.

It could be designed for the 2S 1800mAh actually, since it's a little shorter, I think that might fit properly.

[rwx4]

Hi,

Nice car, I have a Q about it :

from 22:45 to 25:50 which battery did you use 2s or 3s?

[DavidSunshine867]

@rwx4

It's a 4S, but that'll burn out your ESC and motor, gotta upgrade if you want to use more than 2S safely.

3S works but could still overheat.

[RocketBurn11]

Beetle or 1/18 Stadium Truck???

I'm converting from nitro to small electrics.

[DavidSunshine867]

@RocketBurn11

I only have the 1/16th, never touched the 1/18th, but it's $50 instead of $70 and looks smaller. It doesn't look as complicated either, I would say go with the 1/16th because I'm sure it has hydraulic shocks and that's good for the suspension. The 1/18th might not have hydraulic shocks(Not sure), which means it's crappy like a Radio Shack RC car.

You should be happy with the 1/16th and a cheap 2ch 2.4ghz radio and a 2cell lipo. You can go 3cell but it's risky.

[sigepjoker]

Great review. I appreciate the in depth look and measurements across all the crucial areas. Thumbs up.

[DavidSunshine867]

@sigepjoker

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate that as well!

I'm glad the video shed some wanted light on things for you!

Cheers!

Thanks for the thumbs up!

[tkop]

thanks for posting this great review! thumbs up!

[Wolfgang3648]

sounds like theres an airport on your roof

[yoyoairsoft1411564]

hi hi hi do i need a conecter for the battery?? link 2?

[rcflux]

OMG this is the first 30 minute review I have ever seen! Nice!! So detailed!

[DavidSunshine867]

@09santi Ya it's a good truck, go with 2S, it's too much at 3S, you could use 3S but you might overheat something.

[098santi]

@DavidSunshine867 would you recommend me to buy this truck? what battery would you use.. 1800 3s or 1800 2s? thanks for the information :)

[DavidSunshine867]

@itchyundies

haha nice man, wow, 6S! That's mad. No wonder ur tires blew. I can barely keep them from blowing on 4S, can't imagine trying to stop it on 6S. I glued the crap out of the tires to keep them from blowing.

The stock glue isn't very good.

Did you glue it yourself or was it the stock glue?

I got some Kyosho tires and the stock glue sucked, I ripped it apart and glued it back myself.

I wonder how fast it goes on 6S, did you speedo it?

[DavidSunshine867]

@itchyundies

It's as fast as the revo, but the strength is not up there.

The Revo can take way more bashing than this thing can.

This is about $70, and good bang for your buck, but it'll break easily, since it's low grade plastic.

The Revo is about $300, and has some pretty strong plastic, so it'll hold up better, but it's still plastic so it won't be that much stronger.

If you got the money, and are serious into bashing, stick with the Revo.

If ur on a budget, beatle all the way!

[Skydive4ever]

Excellent review and specs, very comprehensive :-)

[Kentsfield1979]

Very nice review. Thank you for that. Seeking a model for my nephew, but I think that the Beetle is far too fast for it. Even with a 2S LiPo. But perhaps I order it for myself ;-) If I buy a similar model in Germany, it would cost with safety to the 120EUR/160 $.

[DavidSunshine867]

@Kentsfield1979

Thanks man!

Actually, if you got this buggy, and a remote that has dual rate for throttle, you could set that dual rate to limit the maximum throttle travel, thus, reducing the power of the vehicle.

If your nephew figures out what happens when he flips the switch, then so be it!

Haha, cheers!

[random1265]

anyone lookin for aliminium upgrades for this car then go to nitrotek and on the left hand side scroll down and click on 1/16 truggy right at the bottom of the page there will be upgrades all the parts will fit on this believe me i order my plastic parts from hobbyking under monster beetle kk safe you lot peace out

[DavidSunshine867]

@random1265

Thanks for the tip, that's great to know!

[kenstogie]

Great Video, Got one of these on the way and this vid has tons of info, set up, etc A+

kind of the cliff notes for the buggie.

[DavidSunshine867]

@kenstogie

Thanks!

Hope I helped!

Cheerios!

[random1265]

i even order my parts gor my pioneer on hobbyking under monster beatle

[random1265]

this car is exactly the same as the acme pioneer its just different names if you dont believe me check for yourselves look at the photos of them wiv there shells off. except the acme runs on a 11.1 v 3s

[DavidSunshine867]

@random1265

Cool, 3S is way better, 4S is even more crazy! Too much for this car, it'll destroy itself if you don't drive it just right.

Thanks for posting the info.

[Torinocto]

@DavidSunshine867 Hey, you have any idea how to make this slower? Cus when it stands still and i move the trottle a litlle bit, it goes like jerky, when i want it smoth and slow at the begining.

[malvesjpx]

Does anybody know if I can use a regular 7,2v NiMH battery pack?? I want to down-grade it so my daughter can use it.

Thanks

[DavidSunshine867]

@malvesjpx

Um, I'm not too sure about the ESC. It's made to work with 2S, and that's at 8.4V max, and drops to about 6V before it cuts out, so I'm sure it'll work fine on a 7.2V NiMH pack.

Ya you should put that weaker pack in and give it to her to drive around.

You might also consider just reducing the range of your throttle, if you have the Dual Rate feature on your remote.

Sorry it took so long to reply, you probably already tried it. But youtube doesn't work with Iphone anymore!!!

[malvesjpx]

@DavidSunshine867

Thanks I got the car with 2s packs!!!! Perfect! Thank you very much for your help!

[DavidSunshine867]

@malvesjpx

Cool, ya I think she'll be fine with it on a 2S, can't really damage itself too bad at those speeds.

The stock motor is only supposed to be run on a 2S anyways, with a 3S, you can easily overheat it, or the ESC.

Cheers.

[malvesjpx]

@DavidSunshine867

David Thanks for your answer anyway, it helped me a lot. Happy new year to you and to your family!!!

[DavidSunshine867]

@malvesjpx

Glad it helped!

Happy new year to you and your family as well!

[DavidSunshine867]

I was running mine on 4S.

[rcmaniabrasil]

HELLO

BATTERY WITH THE STAND IS THIS GOING?

2S 3S 4S OR.

[titobi25]

I dont think its worn out i just it yesterday. I havent driven it yet.

[titobi25]

i just got my and i notice that the diff cup is a little bit loose is this normal? please check video.

[DavidSunshine867]

@titobi25

Hey.

If I recall correctly, there's a bearing there, is that worn out?

Or maybe it's not seated properly?

I'll have to check mine to see if it's the same. Shouldn't be that loose tho.

You can take out the front end and disassemble the whole diff to check it out. I've got mine apart so I'll let you know, when I get home from work.

Cheers.

[chosen1007R]

Is there a reason you use an airplane transmitter? I have not seen that before. Anyways, I didn't know that youtube allowed videos that long.

[DavidSunshine867]

@chosen1007R

I used the the DX7 because it's what I have, the dual rates and throttle curves also are nice to have.

I would have ordered the 2.4Ghz land radios along with the Beatle, but they were out of stock.

It might not give as much control as a steering knob, but I use it to fly my helicopters/planes so it provides pretty good control still.

[chosen1007R]

8:57 looks like metal or you painted it silver. Wow weird, and this video is sooooo long.

[DavidSunshine867]

@chosen1007R

The shocks you mean? The shafts are metal, ya, but the rest of it is plastic/rubber.

You can upgrade them with kyosho metal shocks for about $40 for both front/back.

Search Kyosho Mini Inferno shocks on ebay, all those are directly swappable with the Turnigy shocks.

Ya, I don't know why it turned out that long. This is the edited and cut down version too. haha.

[gardenelf]

You rarely see review as good as this. It basically tells you everything you need to know and gives great tips for upgrading. Well done sir!

And that beetle looks like a rocket for 70$ car ^^

[DavidSunshine867]

@gardenelf

Thanks for the comment!

Ya it's a great car, which is why I made the review. Of course it's got some bad characteristics, such as the weak plastic parts, but that's to be expected from a plastic car that goes super fast!

I've repaired it and upgraded it with household parts, so it's cheap to keep running even after some accidents.

The spur hasn't broken yet, but I should order an extra one, because if that goes, it'll be hard to replace. I should find some alternatives too.

Cheers!!

[36POINTBLANK]

@DavidSunshine867

It has a slipper clutch. The trinity one was built to race. EVERYTHING on it is adjustable. Has an aluminum chassis versus that shitty plastic one on there. It came with a 3s lipo and a 4400kv motor which i swapped with a mamba 8000kv and it was the fastest car ive ever driven. It would pull backflips like the new e-revo does at around 15 mph

[36POINTBLANK]

@DavidSunshine867 trinity was the first to make a complete brushless rtr with this design. Came with literally everything. And it was alot faster than this. Too bad they dont sell it or parts anymore....i have one and it blows not to be able to get parts to fix it. The motor had enough torque to snap the steel outdrive

[DavidSunshine867]

@36POINTBLANK

Does the Trinity have a cutout on the bottom for it to be started on a nitro starter box? Because the Turnigy Monster beatle does, and I'm wondering why they kept that feature, too lazy to take it out I think?

Also, the Turnigy Monster beatle has a slipper clutch which slips when you overpower the main gear. I put a crazy 800W motor on there, so when I give it a lot of throttle it slips right away, that would save your steel outdrive wouldn't it?

Maybe you didn't have a clutch?

[36POINTBLANK]

knockoff of Trinity's NOW truggy.... wow... just because they went out of business doesnt mean other companies can take there plans...

[DavidSunshine867]

@36POINTBLANK

Oh ya, you're right, I took a look at the Trinity's truggy, looks pretty much the same, except the body posts are in different spots.

But how about the Kyosho Mini Inferno? It also follows a similar design.

Who came first? Trinity or Kyosho?

I haven't followed the RC car evolution, so I don't know who came up with this design first.

Also, what can be patented?  The shocks are pretty much standard. The stabilizer system is also pretty standard.

It's an interesting subject.

[ntczdw]

@DavidSunshine867

The turnigy beetle is actually a copy of the graupner mini st16. Do a google images search

[DavidSunshine867]

@ntczdw

Ya, that one looks like the Turnigy, but what if everyone is just getting the beatle from a generic chinese manufacturer and packaging it under their branding?

Sort of like what they do with generic laptop computers, the same model can be found under serveral different brands.

Or look at the Walkera 36, it's the same heli as the Exceed RC Raptor G2. Everyone rebrands the kits from the same generic manufacturer.

The real question is, who made the first design?

[senseyoung123]

nice and detail review! tks

[DavidSunshine867]

@senseyoung123

Thanks!

If you have any questions, just ask!

Cheers.

David.

[titobi25]

i like your video. what the dimension of the tire planning to put it on mine. my tire dimension is 72x36mm is it the same?

[DavidSunshine867]

@titobi25

Thanks, glad you liked the video!

The stock wheels are 39mm wide and 73mm(OD) in diameter. The inside diameter of the tire is 45mm (ID).

I've put the Kyosho Mini Inferno tires on there, and they work well enough, they rub a bit while turning, I guess the ID is a little less than the stock tires, but that's fine, I'll just limit the servo extremes.

Check your inner dia., you don't want it rubbing either.

Also, the depth of the center hub is 17mm inside the tire.

Cheers.

[pietzeekoe]

Is that a fake kershaw ET?

[DavidSunshine867]

@pietzeekoe

I would say it's a clone on the Kyosho Mini Inferno, the nitro version even. It has a cut-out on the bottom with the spur gear protruding out of the bottom so that you can start the nitro engine; useless for our electric versions of course, and should be covered up so that you don't get dirt in there and destroy the spur.

I'm not familiar with the Kershaw ET, do you have more information on that? I can't seem to find much on it through google. Is it the 1/6th model?

[flyerbug686]

Nice!

[dropdeadcoby]

damn you really know your stuff xD

[DavidSunshine867]

@dropdeadcoby

Haha.

Not really, I know my RC helicopters, and some of that stuff is the same, but I'm new to RC cars, so I'm not too sure about them.

I just noticed that the spur gear is crooked!! I think I'm gonna have to fix that.

When I get all the fixes done, I'll make one video that covers them all. So people know what to expect.

Cheers!

[DavidSunshine867]

Sorry, dont know.

Cho Sung Do Manufacturing, out of Gwong Dong China! Haha

No, JK man, no clue, but from what I can tell, they have stolen a lot of designs from Kyosho and others to put this thing together, they don't want to be known, like most Chinese companies who have cloned things.

But that's ok, we can get it through rebranding at a good price! So can't complain.

[wallaguest1]

do you know who is the real manufacturer?

[wallaguest1]

So beautifull, i want one! nice review

[DavidSunshine867]

@wallaguest1

Thanks man. It's not bad, but the plastic parts break easily, so keep that in mind, probably not on 2S tho. I run mine overpowered so maybe that's why it breaks.

Turnigy sells lots of spare parts, so don't worry too much about support.

You can also fix it urself easily.

I would order it with the HK-300 radio/rx, it's only $30.

Cheers.

[jparks4081]

kinda looks like the Trinity Now brushless buggy...same tires, wheels, chassis setup.

[DavidSunshine867]

@jparks4081

Thank you for the comment! Great INFO you've contributed!

I checked it out, you're right, Trinity seems to be the same as Turnigy, maybe a sister company? Or same supplier, one thing is definite, it's a similar design.

Cheers!

Dave.

[JSquaredDesigns]

nice full length comprehensive video - i had fun with my Beetle until I switched from Gens Ace 2s lipo to a Gens Ace 3s lipo - within 3 min of running it on 3s it stripped the spur gear of all of its teeth - it was blindingly quick on 3s though. Waiting on HK to restock the spur gear right now which sucks. Overall though this is a great RC for little money - wish I could find a metal spur gear to avoid this problem in future

[Torinocto]

Hey.Help. My motor pinion (metal) fell of, any idea how to screw it on? Its the screw with a hole through. And i need to mount a new spur gear but it seems to hard.

[DavidSunshine867]

@Torinocto

It won't be too hard to swap out the spur gear, you just need to take it all apart, draw out the car on a piece of paper, top and bottom, and put he screw onto the layout in the spots they came from, that'll remind you which screws go back into which holes.

You need a 2mm hex allen key or driver to screw the pinion back in, make sure you threadlock it in, like I mention in the video at 18m15s. I show the points where ou should threadlock before driving.

Cheers.gl.

[DavidSunshine867]

@Torinocto

The exploded view can be found at hobbyking, they have a PDF that shows you the parts, the spur is just attached to the limited slip clutch, and locked with a hex nut.

The limited slip clutch is pretty cool, you can tighten it up if you want less slip, I'm afraid that with the 700watt motor, the gears will break, so I'm not going to tigthen the slip up, even though the motor makes it slip quite easily.

Pretty good car, with good features.

I'll make a follow up vid.

Cheers

[omfgg3tlost]

PLEASE READ hey guys i no for sure 90% of this car is kyosho mini inferno parts so if u break a part go to ur local hobby store check it out i am going to buy one for spare parts for my mini inferno trust me check it out on kyosho site

[DavidSunshine867]

@omfgg3tlost

Thank you for posting that info!

Sharing that will save a lot of people grief in finding replacement parts, including me!

Cheers!

[omfgg3tlost]

@DavidSunshine867 np man

[MrDavidfuchser]

25:25 those were hard hits, especially that second to last hit that deflected the whole car up about a foot. I'm impressed that a "cheap" brand rc survived.

[DavidSunshine867]

@MrDavidfuchser

I don't even know how it went flying like that. For a second there I was trying to give it more collective!

For some reason, my RC cars always think they're helis.

From the video close up of the plastic susp. arms, you can see that the plastic is pretty thick, but the point of weakness where the arm pivots on the metal bar is where it breaks. Good since it saves other parts from breaking, but definitely should be noted that this thing is plastic and will break.

Cheers.

[rcflyin]

Great review !!! Was the driving with a 2S or 3S ??

[DavidSunshine867]

@rcflyin

Thanks man!

It was on 4S actually, it doesn't go the theoretical speed because there is air resistance and all sorts of friction forces at work. Air resistance is the same reason why vehicles need twice as much power to just go a little faster. At higher speeds, air becomes pretty liquid. Sorta acts like a newtonian fluid, not really, but gets pretty "thick".

I'll be putting a 700w motor in, instead of the 200w in there, so I'll probably get it going pretty fast!

Hope for the best

[rcflyin]

@DavidSunshine867

yeah true it was realy moving there! Will the stock motor handle 3S well if you dont drive around full throttle much?

[DavidSunshine867]

@rcflyin

It could get pretty hot on 3S and overheat, it's only meant for 2S, but as long as you don't keep it at full throttle, and don't drive on grass or dirt, it should draw less current and stay cool enough to not overheat.

I would personally run it on 2S max for the stock motor and esc, both have very low power handling.

Cheers.

[cobravenomX1]

thats fast, good work

[DavidSunshine867]

@cobravenomX1

Thanks for the comment.

I've got some parts to upgrade it, we'll see what it can do with 720watts of power!

This was 58km/hr on 200watts.

Stay tuned! For the upgrade video and results!

[angrygunsmith]

yeh u told me about the use of carbon fibre, i dont know how far i want to go with the car ill just see how i feel. im not too happy with the power system so if im going to upgrade anything itll be the esc first and ill follow with metal parts

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Ya, CF is the way to go, it's stronger and lighter than steel, for tensile strength anyways.

I agree, the motor/esc can only handle 2S realistilcally.

The max it'll take without special mods is a 30mm diameter motor, but with some mods you could get a 36mm can in there, that would be insane, half the weight of the beatle would be in the motor.

But that'd be about 1000w of power you could dish out to the wheels.

You'll need a metal spur for sure.

I'm at 700w right now.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 wow 700 watts with a 3 cell and stock setup right? Ill have to have a look at a suitable combo from hobbyking, and i think i can use a metal spur from another car with a little adaptation. Could you otherwise suggest a combo? 1000 watts would be wicked, you would need really fast reflexes, a steady hand and maybe some slicks.

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

I've got my 1/16th on my Heli remote, so I've got more control, it pretty sweet, imagine doing pyro flips with an RC car!

Ya 1000w will rock!

[DavidSunshine867]

For a combo that'll give you forwards and backward, with 6S, you'll need the 150A car esc, the 60A only handles 4S.

With the $30 turngy airplane 85A esc, you can do 6S with only braking, but that's fine since you're doing speed runs with it. That kinda sucks but the 150A esc is more than the price of the beatle!

I'm using the 30mm can inrunner with 4900kv motor.

I want to seal it completely and JB weld a motor heatsink on it, that'll make it waterproof and deal with high power really well.

[98Ps3lover]

hey are you in america? thanks :)

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Why was your comment flagged as spam?

You asked if I was in America, that's not spam! Haha.

No, I'm in Canada. You can tell cuz I used metric units, km/hr, instead of mph.

Speaking of which, let's have a turngy 1/16th beetle speed battle!

I'll be the organizer and official for this competition. All you need to do is post a video that clearly shows your beatle with a speed gun, or known distance, to prove it's speed.

I am currently the world record holder @58.09km/hr!

Let's have fun!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 haha i dont have a Beatle, but i do have a mini e revo vxl that i will challenge :)

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Sure man! It's a 1/16th speed battle!!

With the right aerodynamic canopy, lowered suspension, low pro tires, overpowered over geared drive trains, wings, and anything else you can think of, someone will win! Or crash and burn trying!!!

This will be an amazing challenge!

I'm winning at a clocked 58.09 km/hr!! You guys better get upgrading and bring it on!!!!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 battery restrictions?

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

The only restrictions are that it's a 1/16th class vehicle. That's what makes it fun.

You can add on a ducted fan if you wanted!

Cheers.

I'm gonna have to put in a 6S!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 haha thats impossible :)

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Haha, nothing's impossible!!!

I've got a 4S in mine, and i could put in a 6S of the same capacity, 1300mAh, 30C.

It'll make it really fly!

I think the motor is only for 4S tho, but that might be only due to heat;

Which won't be a problem considering how light this thing is.

I've got two 4S packs so I can make one 6S for me to drive it around, then a 2S for when I let my gf drive it around, wouldn't want her to bang it on a 6S!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 what esc are you using? 6s is way too much for a mini. i can barley handle mine on 4s. And with those tires? there arent any upgrades for that car. 6s is impossible. illogical. insane.

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Well, with 6S I'd be using my Turnigy 85A airplane ESC, it will be plenty, the motor is the governing load, which will be 50A peak under load, the battery's are 40C peak, which will be 52A at 20V, that's 1040 WATTS of power into the drive train of the 1/16th model, I will nick name my beatle the Byron, it'll be overpowered and undrivable like the Vyron!

Everything you just said is music to my ears, LET'S do it!!!!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 you need tires and more areodynamic body. I need new tires. Especially you with 6s.

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Oh good advice. Sounds like you know from experience? Will the tires rip apart? The rubber will tear? What kinda tires are you supposed to get for speed? Z rated tires? Haha.

Also, I was going to make a body out of sheet metal, thin steel, and make aluminum brakets to hold it on properly, instead of this silly plastic shell held in by 4 pathetic plastic pegs.

6S sounds like loads of fun! I won't have reverse but who needs that, I'll just need brakes! The esc brake should be fine.

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 you need foam tires. if they rip apart it wont kill you :)

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Oh ya, I've seen RC rally cars with foam tires. But aren't they weaker than rubber tires?

There must be some good tires out there for the ERevo, I've seen ERevos do 80mph.

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 yeah, most of em had foams.

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

I got Mini Inferno Tires instead, they work very well with the 4S.

I got it going 110km/hr. The challenge is on! Search my videos for "World's Fastest "Turnigy....""



[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Hey, you said you'll challenge us with the e revo vxl, you can challenge us now! I'm claiming 110km/hr!

Obviously this is based on the honor system since the measurements can be changed by up to 30 percent without us knowing. Although measuring and video taping the measuring tape would solve that.

Anyways, I challenge you to a youtube top RC car speed duel!

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 HaHa! I sold mine when I heard a Mini Savage was coming out! I have hit 70 mph with mine before though. I belive thats about 112 kph.... :D

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Haha nice man, that's a fast mini savage.

How'd you measure the speed?

[98Ps3lover]

@DavidSunshine867 No, I mean I hit that speed with my merv. The mini savage hasnt even come out yet. I just sold my mini e revo so I could buy the mini savage when it comes out.

[DavidSunshine867]

@98Ps3lover

Ya that's what I meant, the revo.

How'd you test the 70mph?

[pixelsonia]

That´s what i call a GREAT REVIEW ;)

Thank you man you have done a pretty good job :)

[DavidSunshine867]

Thanks!!! @pixelsonia

Sorry for the slow reply, I've been working 16 hour days.

Ya I suppose it's good if you got 30 minutes to watch it hahahha. I put in the shortcuts to jump around, and I gave links to jump back to where you left off for convenience. Hope that helps people out!

Cheers.

Dave.

[garagecrap]

That was the best review I've seen on anything! Very detailed, thanks. Could you please let me know the lenght and width of the motor, also the number on it? It looks very much like the one in my Acme Raptor but hard to tell size in the vid. if it's same than it's a good reliable motor.

[DavidSunshine867]

@garagecrap

Thanks for the comment, glad you liked it!

The motor is pretty good on 2S, but on 4S it smells like burning, so I've probably broken mine. It's got 4 vent holes in the back, 6 screw holes in the front, 16mm center to center. 42.56mm long, 20.45mm diameter. Shaft dia. is 2.3mm, 9.5mm long.

I would say the max power handling of it is 25A@7.4v = 185w. Anything more and you risk overheating, since there's no heat sink on it.

The Raptor is 1/10th and looks bigger tho.

[DavidSunshine867]

@DavidSunshine867

So it's probably a bigger motor in the Raptor.

This one's probably much weaker. The Kv on it says 4811, pretty quick.

[garagecrap]

@DavidSunshine867 that's a bit smaller than the Raptor motor. it's casing is about 58x28mm, 2210KV on sticker, no cooling holes. ESC is 25A, motor takes 25A at 2s (30 peak) , haven't measured it at 3s. I drive it rarely at 3s because the car just can't handle it and gearing wears out in few runs

I thought the Beetle might have the same motor and in case it falls apart I'll have a good motor for my DIY buggy :-). Thanks for all!

[DavidSunshine867]

@garagecrap

Oh ya, that raptor motor is way bigger. I guess it's in a 1/10th car, so it has to be stronger.

I'm going to upgrade the monster beatle to a 60A ESC and a 30 mm dia. motor that is capable of handling 50A continuous, on 4S. We'll see how it works, the gearing may very well get destroyed, but I just want to see how fast I can get it going, it'll be fun.

Cheers!

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 just get a metal spur gear. Also dude i really wanna know where i can find metal upgrades for this car, i dont neccesarily mean every single part but a few metal upgrades would be nice cz i really bash mine around and would love more piece of mind

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Ya a metal spur gear would be nice, and some upgrades too, but I don't think anybody will make metal upgrade parts for this thing, it's not that popular yet, maybe in a while it'll become popular enough.

I don't know if there are any yet, I'll keep a eye out for them tho.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 /watch?v=lGumpeDwSTA

i went to the link he supplied but i cant really find it, i tried searching turnigy beetle etc but maybe its under another listing. I really do think the spur gear at least can easily be adapted from another car.

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Good find man. That site might have some metal upgrades that could work. You should ask the guy what he upgraded to.

I found a lower susp. arm that looks like it would fit, but you never know till you try.

Google for: "Rear Lower Susp. Arms for Vulcan's Photon's 2 pc Blue" and it'll take you to the page where I found some of the parts.

Personally, I think metal parts would just cause other parts to break.

I'd rather have the arms and spur break than the diff or frame.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 well actually i guess the diff or frame would only break after a MASSIVE accident, so even then i think that metal parts are worth it. Yes the parts from that video were also for the photon you mentioned, they are supposed to be real similar, ill have a look at the prices but im guessing by the time tehy are shipped to australia it will be ridiculously high. Thanks

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Ya, you make a good point. I would like to bash this at a skate park or something, and have it stay together for all those bashes. With plastic towers and suspension arms, it just won't take any of that.

I saw some rear susp. Arms for the photon at $12, that's not bad. The towers were about the same, but the real question is, will they fit?

I've posted on the youtuber's site who said he upgraded, askin which parts he used. We'll see when he responds I guess.

Cheers.

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Saski99 has replied with the upgrades he used.

Pasted below:

I changed the front Knuckle Arms for IRCP30908BL

and Front Upright in Aluminum IRCP30905

and switch to Aluminum Rear Hub Carriers IRCP30909

He also warns that other parts will break if you upgrade, but hopefully it can take more bashing with the upgrades.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 thanks man, ill see if i might buy thse parts or not, i want as many metal parts as possible because im hoping to jump this thing, the last time i tried a jump it didnt go so well

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Ya, you should look into seeing what parts you want, Saski99 said that you could replace the upper suspension arms too, if you replace the upper and lower, that would make your beatle pretty tough!

I'm gonna make some better canopy mounts and a new metal canopy too. I'm probably just gonna use the magnets from inside some broken brushless motors to hold the canopy on. I like using old parts for new things. I've used broken carbon fiber blades to repair a lot of things too.

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Hey, I went and made some aluminum towers for mine, those both broke on me recently.

It seems pretty strong now, just need some aluminum front/rear bumpers.

I also got my car going 110km/hr!!!

I claim world's fastest turnigy monster beatle title hahah! I want some challengers!

You wanta top it?

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 what the hel 110? did you use a 4 cell and the stock motor becaue a friend of mine got his to 90 that way but he could only make short passes of course. Dude put a video up of those towers, if you can, id like to know how you made them, well i guess there isnt much to it but it would be nice, did u use any fancy tools? i guess just a piece of flat alloy and a jigsaw would do it.

[DavidSunshine867]

Ya epoxy is good for filling, but I still find it breaks easier than stock. Using thread and thin CA and carbon fiber actually makes it stronger.

Is it the part that connects to the two parallel bars at the front? Mine broke there and the thread and CA worked well, just tight enough so it touches, but it's plenty strong.

I can make a video of that repair. Haha.

[angrygunsmith]

dude so at the end of he video were u running on two cells? also i crashed mine pretty bad into the gutter and had to glue a couple pieces together, now i dont know what it is but the front wheels seem loose and jiggle about a bit, does it come like this or is it after the crash? if i buy replacement parts will it be good as new nice and tight not jiggling?? also i made mine into RWD only, will this be a faster set up"??

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

I was running on 4S the entire time. After the time trials, the motor was overheating tho, I probably damaged the motor, and weakened the magnets by overheating it so much.

But you should only run it on 2S, that'll keep it at about 40km/hr. Going 50% faster will take twice as much power, makes sense because drag forces increase exponentially with respect to speed. My calculations assume zero drag.

RWD will reduce drag, but you need all 4 weeks to accelerate faster.

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

So if you're after high top end speed, RWD is good, if you're after grip around a track, you'll want to keep the AWD.

There should be a couple mm of play in the front wheels, not a lot. I wouldn't bother replacing all the parts. Just try to figure out what's causing the play and tighten that up

I've got play in the ball joints and the pivot points, I reduced one side by putting that green washer in, the other side needs a washer too, and a sleeve in the shaft too.

[DavidSunshine867]

At 10m23s in the video, I turn the right wheel left and right, that's about how much play I've got, it's pretty bad actually, that's why you shouldn't spend money on replacing parts.

To tighten up the ball links, I would use some thin or a little thicker gap filling CA and paint it to the inside far end of the plastic ball link, let it dry and push it onto the ball, it should make it much tighter.

For the sleeve, just use some plastic from a thick bag and roll it up in there.

Cheers.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 thanks a lot with the info man, yeh weill ive got little choice i have to replace parts because ive broken some, i used CA and tehy kept brekaing, but ive epoxied them now and im gna let them dry for about 12 hours, then i think itll be as good as new. Ill get bak to u after ive tried to tighten things up but i dont think it would even matter that much, more for piece of mind i guess

[DavidSunshine867]

@angrygunsmith

Np.

Are you just using CA? Thick, gap filing, rubberized CA, or thin CA?

If you use CA alone, it won't hold together very well.

If it's a straight rod you broke, you'll need bracing(CF works well, or fiberglass from broken heli blades) on either load bearing side, then wrap that in black thread, tie it off, and then use thin CA all over that. Let that dry for a few hours. That joint shouldn't break, it'll be stronger than the rest of the plastic parts.

Give that a try.

[angrygunsmith]

@DavidSunshine867 sounds like a kick ass idea with the thread etc. if this epoxy doesnt hold up ill do that on the next repair for sure, the part that broke was kinda tight so i dont know if it'll allow for much bracing.

[xvlastik]

Excellent, excellent, excellent. I order one already and after your video I am sure I bought right car for fun. Thanks for your perfect video!!!

[DavidSunshine867]

@xvlastik

Thanks man, glad you liked the video. I know that it was looooonggggggg, maybe I talk slow or something, but I've added the buttons to skip to the action for those who aren't interested in the details.

If you run this on 2S, it's still pretty fast, but nothing crazy, that's a good thing, too much power will destroy the plastic parts, I've crashed it head on with a concrete pillar and broken the front lower arms, I glued it together, so it works, but I also ordered new ones.

Cheers

[xvlastik]

@DavidSunshine867

thx for your reply. I bought it for my son mainly, but I am sure I will play with as well. I am interested in RC Rally ( see rallybrno(dot)cz )and also other RC stuff. I ve got 7 different chasiss, but mainly Tamiya and Xray. I was worried about this (quality) but now I know it is heavy enought for my purposes.

Where did you buy spares?

Thanks again for nice vid.

[DavidSunshine867]

@xvlastik

Oh, with a 2S 1600mAh, it'll be fine for your son, although if he does crash it into a wall, it would most likely damage the lower front arms still. You can easily fix it without buying a spare, just get something, drill a hole in it, and glue it onto the lower arm, it's not like it spins at 3000RPM so it doesn't matter what it's made out of. You could duct tape even.

The spare parts are from hobbyking also.

Although the spur gear is out of stock.

Hopefully nobody needs it.

[DavidSunshine867]

I checked out your site, it looks pretty cool, but I can't read most of it, I guess I gotta get my google translate going. haha.

Cheers man!

Dave.

[DavidSunshine867]

Hahha nice!!! That's awesome! I know of one in Vancouver!! (Mine)

[Inakto]

Canda pride!!> so there are now at least 4 monster beetles in toronto that I know of. :)

[nabilgravityoxygen]

Excellent Review.. Probably the best I have ever seen till now.. One question.. The gears are 32P or 48P. from the video it looks 48P. for some reason 48P does not work for me.. perhaps its the place where it live.. the sand destroys them. Also, do you think i will be able to install Traxxas VXL-3S (esc and motor). That motor is i believe called 550 in size (which is 36 in diameter)? Many Thanks again..

[DavidSunshine867]

@nabilgravityoxygen

Hi, thank you for the comment, I'm glad you liked it. I think the spur is a 48P too, but that's just from eyeballing it, no measurement tool or anything. I meant to show how to add a plate to the bottom, but I haven't done it yet, I just put a piece of duct tape over it for now, but I will get around to it, you really need to protect the spur from the sand as you know, it's stupid they have a hole there, bad design.

[DavidSunshine867]

Also, the spur is about 32mm in diameter, if you can find a spur that screws in, and is about 32mm, I bet you could make it work.

[DavidSunshine867]

@nabilgravityoxygen

I put in the align 430xl motor, it's only a 30mm diameter motor, I had to dremel some plastic and the motor mount holes, but this is the MAX the frame can take, anything bigger and you're coming out the bottom plate, that might be alright tho, you'll only be coming out 3.5mm, you'll want to protect that tho. I wouldn't suggest it at all, a rock would take out your motor.

Not worth that upgrade, I only put in the 430 cuz it was the old one in my heli.

Hope that helps!

[nabilgravityoxygen]

@DavidSunshine867 Interesting.. I am not sure what 32p spur would screw in there.. If you ever get a chance to take off the spur, perhaps you can take a pic and share with us...

[DavidSunshine867]

@nabilgravityoxygen

I see, ya if it's really hot your right, I'd go with a low kv large motor and put in higher voltage to make up for it, less losses to heat.

For the esc, I've put in a 60A with heatsink and fan, that would probably work in 40C weather as well.

I took a look at the motor, I think you can make a bracket for it if you have some sheet metal, Al would be easiest to work with.

So could be done.

[elliotbaltazar]

Incredibly comprehensive video. Thank you for taking the time to be so thorough as many people have had questions about this vehicle. Keep up the great work.

[DavidSunshine867]

@elliotbaltazar

Thanks, ya, I hope it answers everyone's questions about it.

Cheers!

[Sour41]

Thanks for the detailed description of the model. And for a fairly complete video

Спасибо за подробное описание модели . И за довольно полное видео

after watching realized that he ordered a machine is not in vain

после просмотра понял что заказал такую машину не зря

[DavidSunshine867]

Hahah, we haven't had much snow this year. We had a few days of up to 4" but it melts the next day cuz it rains like crazy.

[Nicolasr1]

no snow?