Mid Motor Conversion with B44.1 donor
 

I wanted to try mid motor but didn't want to get the C4.2 kit. After a trip to England racing Astroturf I really liked the Rudebits DB2 and the Team C TM2 so I decided to great the same architecture with AE parts. I got a donor B44.1 and merged to two together.

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...42150135_n.jpg

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...34227716_n.jpg

For the nose piece I sacrificed my B4.2 chassis and milled it to fit the 2.5mm carbon chassis plate from the B44.1. I was able to cut down the chassis to fit as well and flip the front top deck to the rear.

The motor position is farther forward that I want and if I decide to go to the VTS slipper I will move the motor rearward. I just need to cut a custom rear deck and mill out new areas for the motor mounts.

Set-ups like the C4.2 should work. I will be testing it this week and racing it next Saturday.

crazy.....

Nice work.

That's what I was hoping Associated was going to do for their MM car instead of the Rig kit that is the B5M. Had this idea myself for a while but I'd have gone a tad more radical in that I'd make the chassis narrower.

That is one sweet custom build! I actually would have preferred something more like this :nod: Having the motor just inside the rear axles doesn't seem as effective for tracks with high amounts of grip as a car with the motor practically in the middle. I'm looking forward to hearing your test results!

Yeah I wanted the motor more toward the rear. I can shift the motor back about 10mm more and retain the same layout. I would have to cut a new chassis plate and top plate for sure and find a center shaft that is the right length so a bit more work.

I did witness the Team C TM2 and Rudebits DB2 run on medium grip (wet) astroturf and was very impressed with how well they performed. My rear motoro B4.2 was not better IMHO.

While, that is probably true Tom and I do appreciate your effort, why not just get the B5M?

Because he probably sees it as a Rig kit as do many of us rather than a true MM car.

I apologize for being ignorant but what do you mean by "rig kit"?

I would definately be all over the new mm car if I ran mod and/or was running one of the high bite, sugar tracks it was designed for. I only run 17.5 so I'll be sticking with the standard B5.

There are so many theories about where the motor should be. I like that companies sometimes try to think outside the box and try different things. But, I dont race on astro or carpet. I race on dirt. With mix and unreliable traction. I will need a certain amount of weight over the rear wheels. Not if the motor goes forward and the batteries go more rearward, would that be best? I dunno. A local is planning to race the new schuy car here, so I might get to see it run. My point was lol. If you want an AE mid motor why not just get the B5M. If you really want what the euro guys have, just get a schuy.

Does W3 not have enough traction for MM? Or do you race somewhere else? I thought SRS was closed and that the new track was going to be high bite.

I'm going to make a mid-motor car with the battery over the rear wheels and the servo in front of the shock tower just to mess with people.

I really like the B5M and may get one someday. I will also say that the traditional mid motor car with 4 gear transmission has the motor in front of the rear transmission and the heavier batteries in front of that. I wanted to try a design that has the majority of the mass right in front of the rear diff. While my design did not achieve that fully I hope to change the layout slightly to get there. This is based on the cars I witnessed running in England. The mid-motor vs. what they called Mid-Mid Motor was significant. Kev Lee is really showing how this architecture can run.

I wanted to get away from the rear motor car cause I just feel that all that weight handing out the back end is just not the best for performance. Also have have hit the motor a few times.

I am all for Mid motor, if it works. Why? I hate my motor getting all scratched up, lol. Otherwise, I could careless. But I plan to try the B5M. I really want to see if its a purpose built MM car that will work outdoors. After the interview with the engineer, I have major doubts. He really did not "sell" mm as a good thing for the masses. But, I still need to see it for myself.

AVID motor centering kit solves this issue on the B4.2 :D

I think I've decided that I'm not good enough to tell a performance advantage but it helps protect the end of the motor can for sure. :nod:

I am refering to the area under the can where the bumper hits it..... I am currently using JC chassis tape on the bottom of my motor where the bumper rubs it......lol