E-LST2 Conversion Build Thread
 

I finally decided to bite the bullet and convert my LST2 from nitro to brushless.

This was a great decision I think. This is my first bout with electric, I've always been nitro to the bone. A few weeks ago I went out and had nitro related troubles that killed my day. Fuel tank cracked in half on my LST and the ROSS starter on my Ten-T decided to say "fk you!" and not work.

So I decided to just do it and convert. The power is amazing, I've never seen anything so crazy in my life, lol.... Diff maintenance is sure to be interesting with this setup but I can live with that for how well this system runs.

Conversion parts:
-Castle Mamba Monster ESC
-Castle 1717 1580kv Motor
-RC Monster 24T Pinion
-RC Monster Battery Tray
-The Dude Racing Motor Mount
-Losi Single Speed Hub w/ 63T Spur
-Traxxas MERV RX Box
-Zippy 6S 40C 5000mah LiPo's
-Hyperion 0730i NET3 Charger (30a/550w)

I think the total completion time if it were all bundled in to one lump sum ran between 7-10 hours including rebuilding of the diffs and some other random truck maintenance that took place during the conversion.

A few pix along the way:

Buhbye nitro!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/...3c4bc823_b.jpg
IMG_0118 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

Mounting up the MERV RX box on some plexiglass @ the rear
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5279/...2f850cbf_b.jpg
IMG_1660 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

General idea of how things were to be laid out in the rear
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/...e708705f_b.jpg
IMG_0122 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

ESC mounted, motor mounted, single speed installed
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/...863b7ec2_b.jpg
IMG_1666 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/...3536586a_b.jpg
IMG_0125 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

Now to do something about that battery.... I left the throttle servo mount in place and added a servo mount back to the forward/reverse servo mounting hole and then cut a couple piece of aluminum stick to span across the servo mounts and bolted them down. Then I drilled 2 holes in the middle of each of the aluminum pieces to mount the battery tray to them. Everything fit like a glove!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/...dd3e188e_b.jpg
IMG_0126 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5120/...b67ba91a_b.jpg
IMG_0127 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

Now the battery is secure!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2115/...9bcea3d5_b.jpg
IMG_0129 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1395/...4afa7f03_b.jpg
IMG_0132 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

And now she's ready to bash!!!
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5192/...a87c8b50_b.jpg
IMG_0134 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5032/...80f4d9bb_b.jpg
IMG_0138 by 10 Gauge, on Flickr

:tire::tire::cool::tire::tire:

MANY MANY THANKS GO OUT TO MY FRIENDS @ LSTFORUMS FOR GIVING ME GREAT IDEAS AND ADVICE FOR THIS PROJECT!!!

Looks great man!! I knew you would come around....lol :nod:

Thanks Kylar! This truck is absolutely 100% ridiculous now hahaha.

Make sure the spider gears in the diffs are shimmed correctly(not talking about the ring/pinion shimming that goes on the outdrive cup bearing)or they wont last very long.

Well done mate, Your gunna love this thing:nod:

@ntrain: Noted!

@millzee: Thanks for your help on this build sir. :)

Just make sure you shim those spider gears when they are clean and dry, the instant torque of those breshless motors will slightly flex the composite cups and the gears will spread and you can easily strip em out on the top bevel. Even with my LRP/Picco engines I had to put 2 shims behind each spider gear for correct lash. Stock diffs normally come with one(and in some cases some have come with none)which many times is not correct or enough.

Currently they are unshimmed, however upon assembly they were nice and tight with no play. I will have to wait to get more drive time on them before determining if I will need to shim them up. Thanks for the info.

If you didnt check em bone dry and clean your not going to be able to tell. Id be really shocked if they were tight with no lash with no shims. Check those spider gear pins too to make sure they aren't starting to groove. I find I need to replace em every 3-4 gallons worth of use. I believe they exibit the same potential wear issues the new SCTE displays, instant torque brushless power will probably wear em quick. If those pins are showing wear, then those spiders aren't going to last very long regardless of shimming, especially if your using heavy diff fluid at or over 10k.

I rebuilt both diffs with brand new parts so the diff pins are nice and shiny and new for the time being, the ones from my old diffs still looked good though which no noticable grooving or deformation. I also used the HPI hardened pins on the outdrives to try and minimize pin shattering in that area. I definitely plan on keeping a close eye on the diffs now that the truck is brushless as this is certainly going to be the weak link of the whole setup.

Sounds good to me.

Yeah, the pins and spider gears will need to be looked at on a semi regular basis, id check around whatever the runtime would be equal to around 2 gallons in a nitro setup. The fact that now you only have a slipper and no clutch and a ton more low end torque is going to put wear on em. The spider gear diff pins look very similiar in size to the SCTE, Ill have to get out the calipers and check, but if they are the same a set of "chrispins" might be a good cheap investment........Im still waiting on my set from him for my SCTE, but Im gonna check the sizing when I get em, or possibly inquire if he can make some sets for the LST platform.

PLEASE let me know the outcome of your finding on the Chrispins. Either if they will fit as they are, or if he can get some fabbed up because I will definitely order more! Actually I have a spare set of pins for my Ten-T which would be great if they were the same pins but I am pretty sure the LST's pins are larger, I can do a side by side comparison when I get home to see if they are visibly different, if they look the same I'll leave the mic'ing up to you. :)

Yeah, if you can do that when you get home that would be great, if they are in fact different sizes, then I will find out the exact sizing of the LST pins and PM Chris. :)

Yeah, just got a PM back from Chris, sounds like he can make em, just asking for measurements if they arent the same size as the TEN-T/SCTE. :)

Glorious. :sneaky:

I was just informed that I won't be going home tonight, lol. I have to take a work trip this afternoon and I won't be getting back home until tomorrow afternoon.

I will certainly compare the pins tomorrow when I get back.

I might have a spare set kicking around thats not installed, Ill check tonight, if I do, Ill post the result HERE on this thread and PM Chris as well, if I dont respond back to this thread, do a visual check for me when u get back home, don't feel like pulling out a diff if I don't have to.

10-4 and I definitely don't blame you for not wanting to pull a diff. I think I have some LST pins sitting right on my work table from this weekend, if not I know I have a diff sitting there that I can bust in to for a looksy.

Yeah, just waiting on one more PM back from him, if he says he can have em made, then Ill just pull a diff this afternoon and measure them. The pins honestly are probably the only real weakpoint on the entire LST drivetrain. Ive gone through a few sets of pins on mine, but tired of having to buy the gears to get replacements.

Good plan, I will definitely buy a few sets to further bulletproof the drivetrain.

I am really interested to see how long these diffs will last before something gives way in them. I already know my rear ring and pinion is weak, it has a half-chipped tooth on the ring gear as it is so it's only a matter of time before it gives. Figure I'd get every last cent out of that ring and pinion before I replace it, lol.

That thing is amazing, Nice job.

Thanks man. I'm quite fond of the ol' LST2 myself. :)

im going to run you over with my slash

Teeheehee.

I respect the power and the speed those BL setups have, but man, they sound like a sewing machine on its last leg. :lol: My friend did an LST BL conversion, he got real tired of the truck always trying to do backflips if he wasnt careful on the throttle. I might suggest you upgrade that LST2 to XXL status with XXL chassis rails, plates and center driveshafts, it will at least make the truck alot more stable and a bit less prone to the insta flips.

I have definitely thought about an XXL conversion on it but I'm just not ready to give up my HCR titanium chassis plate. I realize it's a really weak ass reason to try and justify not going XXL but I honestly feel like my truck is "unique" with the HCR chassis due to the fact they can't be had any more and that they are super rare.

I think what I need to do is just stop driving it like an asshole and use some self-control, lol!

i was going to get a new nitro engine, but looks like i may try this.. does anyone know where to get the conversion kit?

Motor Mount & Single Speed Hub Conversion: http://www.tdracingrc.com/TD%20Product%20Line.htm

Battery Tray: (50x150) http://rc-monster.com/proddetail.php...MFPbatterytray

You can have your pick of receiver mounting options and ESC mounting options by fabbing up some plexiglass.

Very easy conversion and well worth it IMO.

thanks man.. do u have any new vids for ur e lst? what engine are u using and what esc?

Castle MMM v3 ESC and Castle 1717 1580kv motor.

No new videos yet but we are going out bashing this weekend.... I have a broken frame rail that I am praying will hold long enough to get some video in this weekend if I can't get it fixed first.

yeh i watched tht last video.. im really interested.. so how much did it cost u with conversion kit and motor/esc

Considering I had no support gear it cost me a bit more since I needed batteries and a charger.

My total cost ready to run for the conversion was around $800 (inc. battery charger and 2x6S batteries).

You can save yourself $100 right off the top of my figure just by buying a less expensive charger. I decided to just man up and buy the last charger I'll ever need which was $190, you can get a perfectly good and capable charger for $50-100.

You can save yourself another $100 if you are willing to either buy your ESC/Motor used, or get a smaller motor like a more common 2200, or switch to an off brand like a Hobbywing ESC / Motor or a Leopard ESC or Hobbyking ESC and something like a Tacon motor. Easy ways to save some money.

i had e revo with a mmm and it went really well.. i hope the mmm works well for the xxl considering its heavier then the e revo.. im looking at some vids.. pretty sickkkk

The 2200kv combo that's in the revo will work just fine in an XXL you just aren't going to have that ball breaking low-end torque which I personally feel is where it's at on such a big truck. You will also see higher temperatures without gearing a lot lower and running batteries above 4S from what I've been told.

I think the 1717 was a match made in heaven for the LST. :)

Is the 1717 more money?

Yeah, they are discontinued now too so some people are trying to charge a premium for them.

oh i see. what are other good motors equivelant to the 1717

There are some other motors that are good and cheap, I would look at these if you want to save some money:

http://www.hobbypartz.com/96m220-4475-1600kv-9t.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/07e-c-sl-4...v-blue-v1.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/96m801-4074-2000kv.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-lp4074-2000kv.html

Penz did a good writeup on parts he used for his budget conversion here: http://hdrcvideos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=21585