Buggy Malone

That's a clever bit of kit - I didn't even know such things existed.

Cheers Iain, there must be some issue in the plastic that makes it brittle when much colder. I'm hoping to be out tomorrow (family day today) but at least this time it'll be running in 4WD with my new coupler fitted. I've got to admit that I really like the low buggy stance of the Vantage over the Outlaw in terms of its stability and race pace. Thanks for the note mate, Andrew

A really fantastic post - thanks mate, you're a star I'll be sure to strip and examine all the bits when I get it (all part of the fun eh) as I want to try and get some incidnet-free runs out of this one. The car will arrive during the first week of January so I'll report back on my progress. Thanks again, you've given me some great pointers, Andrew

The missus and I don't do pressies any more but, that said, I've just received 'permission' to buy a new Associated MT10. That'll do

That was cutting it a bit fine. Enjoy Xmas day

Yes mate, I agree entirely. In my case the FTX Outlaw has taught me a load of things about RC'ing; even me reading the entire Outlaw thread proved invaluable. I didn't get to take it out today (too much Xmas prep to be done) so the Vantage has lived to run another day, lol. Have a good Xmas, Andrew

Outstanding!! My replacement part has just arrived in the post. It has taken only 41 hours between me emailing Time Tunnel Models to them contacting CML for me to then receive the part from CML. I've never experienced such efficiency before! A good point to raise from all this is that the FTX model range is particularly well supported - which is a huge plus IMO. I'll be back on the road after lunch. This has made my Xmas.

Cheers Steve, that's a great report on the MT10. I've made up my mind now mate, I'm having one. All the best, Andrew

That's good enough for me. I can't say the same about my first car as it spends it's life on the work bench in pieces. The only other question relates to the availability of spare parts but being Team Associated I'm sure that will be OK. Thanks again, Andrew

Update: The battery discharged and charged as it should do so it seems that all it needed was a few seperate balance charging sessions. That said, I would always charge and discharge the battery under controlled conditions and not via a 'blast-out' in the car (as advised by the supplier) as it's good to keep an eye on all stages of the process. Thanks for your help guys, Andrew

Thanks mate, I'm looking for something which is much more rugged than my FTX Outlaw so the MT10 seems to fit the bill. Am I right in thinking that? Cheers, Andrew

I've just watched the reviews by Tomley RC and the MT10 looks to be a real solid truck......and on 3S it drives like lightening. The MT10 may be my next RC purchase.

Just the efficiency alone was amazing.

Thanks mate but sadly I don't. I'll just run it for a few minutes and then check the voltage immediately after. The battery is now on balance-charge and both cells seem to be doing well. Give it an hour and I'll be able to report on whether the charge has gone well.

A quick update guys: I emailed the supplying model shop yesterday (Time Tunnel Models) and by 11pm last night I received an incredibly helpful reply saying that they'll speak with CML. (Bear in mind that TTM was closed for the holiday season). TTM have since emailed me again a few minutes ago to say that a new replacement part is already in the post. It's safe to say that I never experienced such a fantastic service in my life - amazing!! Well chuffed, Andrew

A quick update: It has taken 194 minutes for both cells to attain 4.2v from a fully controlled discharge. I now have the battery on discharge mode again and both cells are discharging equally so that's good news. I'll take the battery voltage down to 7.6v and then store it until tomorrow. That said, I've not had the battery in a car yet but I'm hoping that the battery is OK; fingers crossed. Thanks for your help guys and I'll post-up a further update once I have more charge data. All the best, Andrew

......so modern technology will be fantastic in 10-years from now, lol

Thanks AJ, I'll keep the charger connected for now mate and report back. It just seems quite dodgy for a new Lipo to behave like this. All the best, Andrew

I'm using the discharge function on my Overlander VSR Mini. I now have the battery on charge again. Cell-1 has reached 4.20v a long time ago but Cell-2 is now at 4.10v and the charger is just adding about 4mah per minute. On a positive note it seems to be raising the Cell-2 voltage but at a snail's pace

Yes, that's what I thought but the ModelSport guy has advised on the above process. It's a bit confusing for a newbie like me as I never expected a 0.32v variation.

Hi All, I bought a couple of brand new Gens Ace 4000mah 2S 50C Lipos last week and today I charged them for the first time. Both came with a delivery voltage of 7.6v. I balance-charged both packs at 1C or 4A. Battery-1 charged as expected and finished at 8.4v with both cells equalling 4.20v Battery-2 could only reach a maximum voltage of 8.1v with Cell-1 registering 4.2v and Cell-2 registering 3.88v I contacted the supplying retailer and they suggested that I discharge-charge-discharge the battery several times until both cells fully re-balanced themselves. I've discharged and charged Battery-2 again and now I've got 4.2v and 4.07v. Is this process normal for Lipos? Cheers All, Andrew

Cheers for that mate. I'm not going to the trouble of replacing the wing but instead I intend to brace the suspension struts and add some rubber bump stops to help absorb the impact energy away from the top shock mounts. It was only a small rollover today but the factory supplied wing just disintegrated into 5 bits. The pin mount was sheared off so that must be made of cheese.

Thanks mate, I thought I had already tightened everything the other day when I added the brushless motor and the esc but in this case I was just tightening something that was already damaged. I've already given the supplying modelshop an email with pics (for info rather than a complaint) but thanks for the inside line on CML. Otherwise, the buggy seems OK for the price point albeit the rear wing evaporated when it hit the ground. Thanks again for your advice. All the best, Andrew

Sadly for me the factory has fiited the grub screw at the wrong angle and whoever did it has sheared off the grub screw internals. Looks like a new part so both of my FTX buggies are now broken. I don't want to sound glum but these FTX kits are proving to be a right pain in the ar$e to own. Thanks again, Andrew

Thanks good mate. I've just found the same issue as you describe, pic attached. It appears that the grub screw was never fitted properly at the factory and it appears jammed open. This is the first time the car has been used so it would be proper crap if this was a Xmas pressie. Thanks for posting up, you're a star