Cuiken Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I've seen a couple of vids of the Redcat Wendigo and I'm pretty smitten. I really like my crawler and it's ladder chassis but think it would be great to have a bit more speed and a wider axles for stability. I think that pretty much sums up the Wendigo. Unfortunately there's no suppliers in Europe that I can find. Has anyone tried to build something similar themselves? In particular, where would I find wider axles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I’ve got one, to make something similar you need a longer wheelbase chassis 350mm? And wider axles, Axial Ar60’s would work, but they are weak compared to the Wendigo axles, tbh honest it would be easier to just order a kit and pay the import changes, mine came to about £300 all in for the kit 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiken Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 That looks awesome. I might just have to bite the bullet. How do you rate it? Worth the money? I reckon it looks like a great sweet spot between a crawler and something insane like the Lasernut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I love it! It’s a quirky RC, it crawls ok, but has limited steering, but it’s all about going flat out and smashing through terrain 🤣🤣🤣 and even at £300 for the kit it still represents decent value for money compared to what else is out there in the UK.... I’ll go find the seller I bought from on eBay, i used GSP so all the import chargers were prepaid so it turned up in about 10 days 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174367896568 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiken Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 Awesome, thanks. I have a decent servo and a max10 ESC so I'd only need the motor. That said, I'm only guessing the max10 would have enough grunt. What current rating ESC and KV motor did you go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I’ve got a Castle Mamba X in mine which I guess is around 120a with a 1410 3800kv motor, I run it on 3s with a 15t pinion 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiken Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 Sounds like the max 10 will be fine then. Great. Last question. How's it been for durability? Getting parts in the UK is probably going to be tricky. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 I’ve only run mine a few times, I’ve done nothing crazy with it though and it’s held up just fine so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertberr Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 On 21/11/2020 at 12:17, Cuiken said: Sounds like the max 10 will be fine then. Great. Remember the Max10 comes in two flavours - 60a and 120a (SCT). Depending what you plan to use motor, battery, servo wise, I guess the 60a might still be OK...just. But the SCT 120a version would be a better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiken Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) Ta, yes, I have the SCT version. Really, I guess a sensored system like .AJ. would be best but since I have the max10 ESC I think I should use it. Few more observations from 'the internet' on the Wendigo: 1. Steering bar ends appear to have been overtightened on the RTR version causing them to strip out of the ball joint ends. - I guess not a problem on the Kit since I'll be installing them myself. 2. Too many examples of people losing drive shafts (prop shafts) because the pins weren't lock tighted in place - Again, shouldn't be an issue with the builder's kit. 3. Many examples of people stripping the hexes in the rear wheels and/or losing wheel nuts. Consensus is that ny-lock nuts are better but that, even with these, the daft power of the truck is enough to destroy the rear wheels. 4. The top speed of the RTR truck on 3S has been clocked at around 30mph (earlier I thought 45mph form a youtube video but turns out the guy was mistakenly using a GPS meauring kmph). 30mph seems pretty fast. So, either I run it on 2S or I find a low KV motor that let's me run on 3S (and so not have to buy new batteries). It seems pretty hard to find much below 3000kV. Can anyone recommend a low KV, 540 sized sensorless motor? Maybe 550 would fit. In that case I'd maybe go for a Hobbywing 3660. I guess gearing down might be a plan but I'm not sure how small a pinion I could run. The stock pinion is 17T, maybe a 13T or 12T would do. .AJ. I think you mentioned you're running 15T. Do you reckon there is adjustment available to run smaller? Good news is that it has a load of parts in common with the Redcat Gen 8 so should be repairable with UK available parts at least some of the time. Cheers. Edited November 23, 2020 by Cuiken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertberr Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Personally, subject to gearing, I'm comfortable with a 4000Kv can on 3S with a 120a ESC in a SCT, with its smaller tyres, but with the Wendigo I'm guessing 3000-3500Kv would be a safer option on 3S. I've no idea what the Wendigo weighs all up, AJ could advise there, but the RTR BL uses a 3300Kv with only a 60a ESC, so on a 120a ESC you have a bit of headroom to play with, so perhaps a 3800Kv? I wouldn't run it on 2S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.AJ. Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 I’ve seen people on the FB owners group mention running a 12t pinion, so that shouldn’t be an issue 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiken Posted June 27, 2022 Author Share Posted June 27, 2022 (edited) Been an age since I wrote this. Thought I'd update. 1. I bought a Wendigo 2. I fitted and hated an AXE3300KV system (it didn't coast properly whatever their lit says) 3. Fitted a Castle Mamba X combo. Delighted with it 4. Took off the stock tyres and fitted a set of mini monster truck type tyres: 5. Lowered the truck by messing with the shock towers to lower the actual body and fitting front shocks on the rear (the stock rear ones are longer than the front and make it really tippy). 6. Changed shock oil to 25wt (IIRC). The upshot was a really nice truck. Basically a mini monster truck in terms of its handling except possibly a bit smoother as it sort of glides over the terrain in a way that the stock setup did not (really bouncy). It is really quite fast on 3S. Certainly far faster than a ladder chassis truck can corner 🙂 But, like I say, something about the setup means it glides along over lumpy terrain pretty well provided you're careful with the steering input. Took me a while to dial in the ESC setting (It's a bit unhinged with full punch and brake force enabled) but it's now just the right side of crazy. Drivable, but you need to pay attention. Why am I writing all this over a year after the event? I just happened to take it out for a 20 minute blast when I had a rare spare moment on Saturday and remembered what a great fun truck it is. Quite unlike any other truck I've driven including my Axial Wraith which, on paper, you might expect to be quite similar. Should you find one somehow for sale, I'd recommend it as a small space mini monster truck. Edited June 27, 2022 by Cuiken 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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