Turbo Joe

iTrader: (41)

Just use a few shims above or below the bearings...

CraigH

There is an issue with the new servo savers. Mugen knows about it now but no fix yet. I was told today that you can just order the old parts and swap them out.Hope this helps..

ccs77

I actually recieved the old style servo saver today....I'm done messing with this one every round.

This car is dialed now, it's as good as my Jammin ever was.

ira

iTrader: (18)

ccs77, Is the rear of the car hooked up now?
What did you change on the car?

pearldiver

Ryan...so long no input fr u! give us some more tips n pics...will apreciate it very much.

slammer

I was ready to buy a losi 8ight, until i started investigating more. The Losi sounds like a good car, but i really like what i hear about this new mugen. I read every post in this thread and have to say it is the best i have seen, no b.s. like on some other sites, learned very much here, and great setups also. So mugen MBX5R it is. I will be building the lightest mugen i can, i already have the ceramic bearings, and upper titanium screw kit. Can anyone tell me if the $80.00 carbon stone gaurds are worth it, can you see any difference in the handling?

Also has anyone drove an 8ight compared to the mbx5r. Just curious what some say about the 2.

My decision is made and mugen it is.

RYAN BARNES

Slammer- Good choice!! As for the Titanium screw set, I can HIGHLY suggest AGAINST it!! I put the complete set in my old MBX5 Prospec and had quit a few actually BREAK in the car and most of the rest stripped out at the head!! Go with the Tonys Screws kit, I have them in my new MBX5R and their GREAT!!(Get it Tony the Tiger) www.tonysscrews.com

As for the carbon fiber stone guards, I ran them as well. Look cool? YES! Perform any better? NO! So let's see, $80+looks cool and cracks at the screws in about 5-10 races. Or $12 for stock, and race ALL YEAR!! I now strictly run the stock ones. The little bit of weight lost by the screw or guard kits is not gonna be noticed, so save your money and buy a better motor!!

slammer

Thanks Ryan, your posts here have helped me out tremendously in my decision and on what set ups to run. I have a 777sp2 now and from what i hear and read this car has advantages over the 777. Also i am sick of the price of kyosho, the updates every 6-9 months that cost a arm and a leg (sp1-sp2) and for the 700 plus you pay you get shocks that are 2 years behind most other manufactures ,that also cut bladders. And steering knuckles that look like something out of a rtr kit. Any ways i am done with the ranting.

Also i will order the tony's hardware kit to go along with my new car. I know he poasts here and he seems very educated on this car.

Thanks again.

cwalters

iTrader: (4)

Good choice slammer, I don't think that you were the only one in that boat of indecisiveness. I too was there but when I looked at how good the Mugen has been to me over the past two years, I couldn't go wrong. We aren't blowing servos, leaking shocks and tearing up clutches like the Losi camp. My 5R went together really nice and I think it will be everybit as good as my old car. Hope it hooks up the same. I haven't ran it yet- it's been together for 3 weeks now. Snowing today and my track has about 6 inches of water on it.

slammer

has anyone balanced there car front to back and-or side to side, and if so how did you do that. I am a fanatic when setting up a car but have never tried this.

TonysScrews

iTrader: (13)

slammer,

if you want to lose some weight and help the car, try a set of lighter pillow balls. There are 3 that I know of:

1] Lottaballs - Innovative Designs by Ralph Walters
- these are a high grade steel shaft with a polyethylene ball.

2] Chad's Balls - By Chad Bradley when he ran for Mugen
- these are high grade steel shaft with annodized alum ball.

3] K-Factory Titanium Balls
- made of solid titanium.

I have ran both the Lottaballs and Chad's Balls. I'm not sure you can get Chad's anymore. I know the team drivers have a stash of them and use them at big races (Scott Hughes, Bobby Tillman and Kris Moore). For club racing they just use the stock steel balls.

The Lottaballs are the lightest at 22grams, then Chad's at 26grams, K-Factory 30grams and the stock Mugen balls are 50grams.

Performance: less-unsprung weight = more traction and better rough track handling. And obviously they knock about an ounce off the car.

The Mugen is a relatively light car and really doesn't need any weight reduction. Chad Bradley actually liked running a heavy 5-cell AA Rx pack to add weight to the right rear of the car since the heavy motor was on the other side.

As for Titanium screws, only use them on top of the radio tray and other low-stress areas that don't get dirty. DON'T use them on anything aluminum. The ti and alum don't mix well. Only screw them into plastic parts (top of radio tray, fuel filter mount, PT mount, center diff top plate and the servos). Titanium is weaker than steel and will break/snap under stress. They'll strip out fairly easy too if they are used in high use areas wher you constantly take them out.

Best of luck,

n.e.r.d

iTrader: (6)

Hi guys,

my frnd is running the 5R.
i won't say that he's having trouble with the front suspension, but this is what he's perplexed abt.

when the car is pushed down at the front, it does not rebound back to arms-at-horizontal position. (more like a super wide V whn viewed from the frt.)
he mentioned that this might be caused the longer front shocks having some resistance when rebounding. the shocks themselves are smooth but when put on the buggy, the arms doesn't level itself. the arms are okay as there's no stiction when the shocks are off.
btw, the shocks are in the outermost hole on the towers and the lower arms.

anyone encountered the same issue?
or is it just a design trait of the 5R?
thanks in advance!

ira

iTrader: (18)

Try to bleed your shocks firts and make sure the bladders are not collapsed, if this dose not work try the following.


Make sure the front arms are not binding, with the shocks off and just the lower arm on the car. Lift the lower arms (disconnect the sway bar) and see if they fall with out any help, if they do not fall you might have to lossen the nut at the back of the hing pin. Also perform the same test with the upper arms, then with the steering blocks connected. This is a process of eliminattion.

RYAN BARNES

Well he needs to start with the obvious, does he have enough shock clips on the shock body? The new shocks are quite a bit longer, and he should have somewhere in the neighborhood of 16mm worth of clips in the front. As others have stated check all aspects of the front end, 1 at a time. Remove the shocks, put the buggy on a stand, and check to see that the arms are free, (can be raised, then fall on their own). If they don't there could be a series of problems, hinge pins too tight,(on my bottom arms I hold the lock nut with pliers and tighten the hinge pin "JUST" until the nut touches the plastic) The hinge pin should spin freely using a allen driver, with little effort. Also with the tie rod ends off he should turn the front uprights back and forth to make sure that he doesn't have the threaded collars that hold the pillow balls in, adjusted too tight. Good Luck!

n.e.r.d

iTrader: (6)

thanks for the replies ira and ryan.

i'm pretty sure the arms are working fine. no stiction at all.
but i'll ask him to try more shock clips. didn't knw that u'd have to use arnd 16mm worth of clips.
but won't that in turn create a higher ride height? wat's the setup for a proper front ride height?
arms at level or above level?
and are your 5Rs behaving in the same way, the frnt end not rebounding enough after being pushed down?

i actually told my frnd that if the front shocks doesn't rebound fully, it don matter. cos when the buggy is on the move, there'll be frnt to rear to frnt weight transfers and the frnt end won't sag forever. most impt is that the 5R runs beautifully.

actually i wanted to pm Scott Hughes but cldn't find him in RC Tech.
Wld like to know wat setup he ran at the Worlds.

thanks again in advance!