The Mini 8ight is still giving me a headache...

[bombercountynick]

Well after only a few runs my Mini 8ight ended up stripped down, in pieces in a box waiting for repair.

 

Either the stock ESC/Motor was faulty as it would just cut out when running ( saw mental high temps too! ) this was on both 2s lipo and the stock Nimh pack.

 

I picked up a replacement motor a month or so ago and yesterday winged my way up to modelsport to pick up some plastics that I needed (due to rounded screws!), a screw set and a new ESC, New servo.

 

Now the ESC is where I think i've made an error! I picked up the hobbywing ezrun 60a, Which although plenty capable of running the LC motor, is almost twice the size of the stock dynamite esc that the car comes with 

 

My plan was to fit it inbetween the motor/servo however it is just a tad too big!! I removed the fan and still no joy, So i've ended up placing it where the stock one is mounted, but on it's side (see pics below) 

 

My question is... is this a bad idea? It is pretty much touching the stock shell, can't be advisable in the inevitable event that it's going to end up on its roof a few times?

 

My other option is to return to the stock sized motor and hope that it fits where the receiver is currently sat.

 

I did buy a Phat bodies shell for it which I have absolutely NO chance of fitting with this ESC as it's much lower slung than the cab forward style of the losi shell 

 

Another thing I noticed when swapping out the stock servo for the Hitec one was that the Hitec servo is a tad smaller and doesn't fit into the servo mount properly, has anyone else noticed this?

 

Wish i'd never bought this thing, once it's up and running it's getting sold!!!

 

This is how it's ended up...

 

five by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

one by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

three by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

two by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

 

I did cut the heatshrink of the power cables from the ESC, Can anyone tell me what this is? (i'm a brushless/leccy virgin!)

I could ideally do with the power leads being a little shorter if possible?

 

four by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

With the shell sat back on.... not ideal at all.

 

six by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

seven by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

nine by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

eight by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

 

The shell I wanted to fit... No chance 

 

ten by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

 

Would people recommend I ditch this 60a ESC and opt for a smaller one?

 

Any advice will be super, cheers guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MattyV6]

Remove the fan, we run those esc's at the nationals and they very very very rarely get hot enough to cut out without a fan. I can't remember a time when mine cut out.  With the fan removed it should fit under the shell.

 

I run the same in my EMB. I run a sensored Carisma setup in my GTB now but i used to run the same esc in that and ive never run a fan on them.

 

You can also run the heat sink from the 35 amp version, this is slightly lower still and again, your find it very hard to get it thermal. I'll upload some pics of mine.

[MattyV6]

That's the one in the EMB. Don't ditch that esc. They are extremely good!

 

If you cut the wires to a short as you think you can get away with that will also help loads with spacing things.

 

Edited December 13, 2016 by MattyV6

[MattyV6]

Slightly better angle, if you can get it something like this your fit it in.

 

 

[Oh How Original]

When you actually get to use it it's unlikely you'll sell, they are such fun buggies!

As above, removing the fan won't cause any issues, especially on 2s, I never had any problems without a fan.

Some people actually totally de-case the ESCs and then add some Plastidip to the sensitive areas for a bit of moisture protection.

FYI; If you do decide to sell, hit me up

[bombercountynick]

Thanks for the pics and info Matty. Can you tell me what that little doobery is what is in the middle of the ESC power leads on my buggy? Can I chop it out, shorten and then resolder the ec3 plug onto the end? Are the 35a heatsinks available to buy separatley?

 

I have charged my lipo up and she goes! However I'm a tad confused as I was under the impression you had to programme these hobbywing esc's before you use them?! I've only driven it around my kitchen thus far will take it out for a proper test later in the week. 

 

I'm not sure whether I have got the slipper assembly adjusted properly, its on slightly odd gearing and still needs some tweaks. 

 

@Oh How Original it will be going once its all sorted, Im after a yeti / monster truck

 

I've had to buy spare dif cases, the motor Mount assembly (£22!!!) And a few other bits of plastic due to having to drill rounded screw heads off. 

 

I'm not heavy handed and have a proper Mac bit set, these screws are made of cheese! The rear dif case is scrap again as there's another rounded screw I can't get out now that I will be driling out and replacing tomorrow. 

The chassis is too small too cut a slit into the head with a grinder without making a mess!

 

I've had my metric / imperial bits out and I still can't decide what the proper size of the hex heads are. 

 

It may be fun to use but its a pain in the arse to work on, I'm a bit of a perfectionist hate rounded bolts I don't like running anything thats bodged so I think I'm better cutting my losses on this thing before I lose my sanity 

Edited December 14, 2016 by bombercountynick

[MattyV6]

17 minutes ago, bombercountynick said:

Thanks for the pics and info Matty. Can you tell me what that little doobery is what is in the middle of the ESC power leads on my buggy? Can I chop it out, shorten and then resolder the ec3 plug onto the end? Are the 35a heatsinks available to buy separatley?

 

I have charged my lipo up and she goes! However I'm a tad confused as I was under the impression you had to programme these hobbywing esc's before you use them?! I've only driven it around my kitchen thus far will take it out for a proper test later in the week. 

 

I'm not sure whether I have got the slipper assembly adjusted properly, its on slightly odd gearing and still needs some tweaks. 

 

@Oh How Original it will be going once its all sorted, Im after a yeti / monster truck

 

I've had to buy spare dif cases, the motor Mount assembly (£22!!!) And a few other bits of plastic due to having to drill rounded screw heads off. 

 

I'm not heavy handed and have a proper Mac bit set, these screws are made of cheese! The rear dif case is scrap again as there's another rounded screw I can't get out now that I will be driling out and replacing tomorrow. 

The chassis is too small too cut a slit into the head with a grinder without making a mess!

 

I've had my metric / imperial bits out and I still can't decide what the proper size of the hex heads are. 

 

It may be fun to use but its a pain in the arse to work on, I'm a bit of a perfectionist hate rounded bolts I don't like running anything thats bodged so I think I'm better cutting my losses on this thing before I lose my sanity 

 

Hi yeah, they are the capacitors/power cap for the ESC, they keep the input power going into the esc smooth, or at leas that's how i understand them working. If you chop them out you will need to replace them with some more. The ones that you see on the top the my servo are made by Hobbywing and i bought them from MB Models (link below). The ones that are with the esc are a bit of a nightmare in such a small space.

 

https://www.rccarshop.co.uk/electrics/power-caps/hw86030030-hobbywing-power-capacitor-p

 

I've not seen the 35 amp heat sinks sold separate, you might need to buy a 35 amp esc to get one but tbh if you can make the 60 amp esc fit then just stick with that and it's original heat sink. Nah you can use the esc straight out the box. The ESC will be set to factory settings so the punch will be fairly high, i think factory is either 6 or 7 out of a possible 9. Your have the Low Voltage cut off set to i think 3.4v and the over heat protection is on from factory. If you need a program card, either one below works with your esc.

 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/hobbywing-xerun-ezrun-quicrun-program-card-for-esc/rc-car-products/377036

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/191809574688?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=39159866351&rlsatarget=aud-105106656306%3Apla-268911529378&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=9045285&device=c&campaignid=698622927&crdt=0

 

I race a Carisma GTB so all the technical stuff like the slipper on the Losi / EMB needs to be answered by someone else, i'm pretty clueless on this model lol. Although i have both an EMB and a mini 8 i don't race them but the electric side of things i know well.

[bombercountynick]

Thanks for the reply mate

 

I think i'm going to stick a little bit of foam on the underside of the shell so hopefully that will protect the ESC a tad. I whipped the fan off today and positioned it upright as it should and it's exactly the same fit as it is laid on it's side with the fan, so i've left it laying on it's side with the fan on... for now! It's well  tied down so should be ok.

 

I also chopped off the ariel post off the centre brace today so it sit's a little further back now (it was fouling on it prior to me cutting it off)

 

I've re drilled the brace and moved the ariel further back...

 

aerial mod by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

I'm going to strip the back end down again tomorrow, replace the slightly worn spur gear, look into shimming the diffs? and adjust the slipper properly. 

 

I picked up some spare pinions today, 14 + 15t, I think it's a 16 or 17t on there at the moment. Don't want to cook this motor/esc so need to make sure it's running properly before I give it some beans!

 

Other than that I got around to fitting the new shock towers and painting one of the 2 phat bodies rear wings. This is the smaller (and nicer IMO) of the two I received, made a bit of a hash job of painting it though 

 

 

The only other thing bugging me which I want to sort is how much slop there appears to be in the front left side wheel? much more than from the right hand side. Its looks like the tiebar/ackerman plate doesn't tighten up 100%? May need to wind a longer screw through the plate and put a nut on the underside to make sure it's nice and tight.

 

Hey, least it's back together and in one piece, makes me feel better instead of having a brand new £200 box of bits 

 

esc positioning by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

front shock tower by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

mini 8ight 3 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

mini 8ight1 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

mini 8ight2 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

rear shock tower by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

 

[MattyV6]

It doesn't look it but the Losi shell must be a fair bit lower than the EMB and GTB shells. The Emb that i have, almost the same car to the Mini 8 runs a Carisma GTB shell and my esc fits under fine, there a fair bit of room between the esc and the top of the shell. The mini 8 shell must be a lot lower because that esc would usually fit in. It might be worth Googling how people fit them?

 

Is the play from the wheel coming from a bearing that broke or is it coming from the hex? It might just need a washer between the hex and the wheel to pack it out a little. Thumbs design do crush tubes that go between the bearings but not sure if they fit the mini 8?

 

It might just be my eyes, i am fairly blind lol but have you still got the protective film on the outside of the wing? Where the stickers are stuck on?

 

I like the carbon towers! Very posh

[bombercountynick]

I'll check the steering in a minute!

 

Yes the film was still on the clear wing there I was just seeing what it would look like, didn't like it so painted it black 

 

 

[bombercountynick]

Well I've had it out in the street, think the slipper wants tightening a tad but it goes!! And a heck of a lot better than it did with the standard ESC. Just needs a bit of fine trimming up and pinion experimentation!

 

I am relieved it's finally running again, wasn't a nice feeling knowing you'd just spent £250 quid (batteries included) on a new RC only to have it stripped down in bits 2 weeks later!

 

 

Edited December 15, 2016 by bombercountynick

[bombercountynick]

Just ran one full pack through it , kept checking the temps of both ESC + motor , I didn't see anything higher than 35 c? Yes the shell was off and It is cool out but that seems very low to me? 

[bombercountynick]

Not going to lose it in the dark now

 

shell1 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 7 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 6 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 5 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 4 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 3 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

shell 2 by Nicholas Simpson, on Flickr

 

[silone74]

This is how I run my m8, started with a 35amp then put a 60amp in exactly the same set up, I have a 6800kv cm26 motor that runs a 14t pinion, it was over heating a little with the 35amp even with holes, I swapped to the 60amp and it has improved a lot with no over heating now, I don't use a fan.

 

Si 

 

[bombercountynick]

Resurrected this for a 3rd time this morning.

What a hateful little car to work on  Trying to get the steering servo to centre is nigh on impossible, without having the trim adjusted to left/right on the Tx, given up trying again for now until I sort some of the steering slop out.

 

On a good note - got the front/rear diff's shimmed, replaced the crown wheel on the rear diff and swapped the spur out for a new one just for good measure. gearing 17-58 at the moment.

 

Also fitted some RPM rear arms to match the front, so fingers crossed should be pretty bashable now, that's if the diffs last 

 

If you buy one of these either leave it bone stock, go no where near a lipo pack or be prepared to spend a shed load on sorting it out!

 

 

[bombercountynick]

Anyone want to set this up for me? My fat thumbs and arthrtic fingers make it hard work. It's the only car that continues to give me a headache. 

[Oh How Original]

Having my own woes at the moment with the big version  can't find the rear diff and pinion gears needed!

Well, I can in the states, with nearly 60quid just in postage ! 

[sunny]

I run my mini 8 buggy on 2s lipo a lot and never given me any hassle apart from regular maintenance.

[Alex97]

22 hours ago, bombercountynick said:

Anyone want to set this up for me? My fat thumbs and arthrtic fingers make it hard work. It's the only car that continues to give me a headache. 

What do you want doing to it? I've never owned one before, they can't be that hard

[bombercountynick]

They're just utter plop to work on. It annoys the life out of me that I have to have the steering trim adjusted to 3/4 to the right hand side on my tx because there seems to be no way around it. 

 

Centre the servo with the horn off but it never tracks true. There is no adjustment on the linkage from the servo to Ackerman plate (whatever its called) so you can't dial the tracking in as such that way. 

 

The servo horn is positioned on the inside of the chassis its nigh on impossible to get to without removing the top plate, which then means you have to move all the ESC etc etc.. just a pain in the ass, especially when the std. screw set is appaling quality and try rounding when you look at them...I'm a sucker for being careful with bolts I very rarely round anything but the mini 8ight I challenge anyone to not mince one of the std screws even with the correct imp/metroc bit. 

 

It could just do with someone going over it who's got a bit of race background to set up the droop screws on the wishbones, the toe is all over the place (no idea what it should be standard) the rear dampers feel real nice but the fronts hardly rebound at all. 

 

Bar all that it actually goes quite well and does turn on a 6 pence. I'm just struggling to find the patience to tinker with minute screws 

 

I've shimmed/re greased the diffs, replaced the rear so that is all fine. Motor / ESC wise it runs sweet just needs some geo sorting out!!

 

I'm in waaaaay too deep to sack it off now 

Edited April 14, 2017 by bombercountynick

[bombercountynick]

The woes continue... Snapped a shock cap tonight, No hard landings it's never been bashed!

 

What shocks can be fitted to this, LC racing emb buggy shocks, upgraded losi items or how about the carisma 14th scale buggy items?

 

 

[capri-boy]

40 minutes ago, bombercountynick said:

The woes continue... Snapped a shock cap tonight, No hard landings it's never been bashed!

 

What shocks can be fitted to this, LC racing emb buggy shocks, upgraded losi items or how about the carisma 14th scale buggy items?

 

 

 

This should fit pretty well

 

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/254130/

[Deafty]

 

you suggesting he replace the whole kit then?  hahah.

 

I'd go with the carisma shocks over the lc ones imho. 

Is it possible your steering rods are not equal in length?  or just a pants servo perhaps?

[bombercountynick]

2 hours ago, Deafty said:

 

you suggesting he replace the whole kit then?  hahah.

 

I'd go with the carisma shocks over the lc ones imho. 

Is it possible your steering rods are not equal in length?  or just a pants servo perhaps?

@Deafty Can't find no shocks in stock anywhere! Will probably end up opting for replacing the losi caps and get a few spares in.

 

I've managed to fix the steering, I use the Hitec mighty mini servo that is more than up to the job... I didn't realise that the tie rod was adjustable until the other day so i've tracked her all up now! Still has the Losi Mini 8ight slop of course.... 

 

Keep looking at the LC trucks though.... they look much better quaility than the losi!!

Edited April 25, 2017 by bombercountynick

[Deafty]

Yup, I've got 3 of them

 

emb1 kit is at 139 euro at the moment