2S??

Sorry, meant C!

Did you edit? I didn't catch this, sorry. I'll get some up as soon as I wake up. I am still waiting on my batteries to come in. So I don't have any for the battery wiring. I'll get some of the receiver box though.

The 1900 Tekin sounds like a good choice. Now as for batteries. You're going to want to run 4S (number of cells, 14.8v) now don't get the "C" ratings mixed up. 40 and 60c is the battery discharge rate. 60c should afford you some more power. And 2C is the charge rate or amperage you can charge the battery at safely.

Welcome Doug! I agree with Gregg; from what I've read the Tekin is a great choice. I chose the Castle Creations Mamba Monster, as I've had great luck with CC products in the past (from a RC10B4). I also prefer the bullet connectors on the MMM over the soldered posts on the Tekin.

If you're looking for a battery that's less expensive, I'd highly recommend Zippy or Turnigy from Hobby King. Inexpensive and well made. Probably not as good at Reedy, Thunder Power, et al, but should be just fine for bashing or getting started in racing, IMO. I just got my car assembled and will be using 5S (18.5V) and 6S (22.2V) Zippy LiPos that are 40C rated. Another good inexpensive source for batteries are ProTek from A Main Hobbies. That's what I use in my son's 1/16 Revo, and they've been great batteries.

I wouldn't go lower than 4S (14.8V) on the battery. I think you'd be disappointed with the lack of speed (especially with an 1800kV motor).

Also, watch the RC8 build tips on YouTube. Great stuff, and sand the diff cups. Makes a huge difference, IMO. I was surprised at how "unflat" the diff cup flange was/is. I would also suggest using slightly longer screws. IIRC, the ones I used were 2mm longer and felt quite a bit more secure.

For the updated diff o-rings look for PN 89121. The AE web site has a picture of the updated o-ring kit on the RC8Be parts page. There are 6 small black o-rings and 6 large clear o-rings. Updated o-rings are clear, older ones are black.

Gregg, my problem with the reciever is that there doesn't seem to be a good spot for it in the receiver box. The way I have it mounted right now, the wires coming out of the servo and ESC connectors have to make an immediate 90 degree turn to clear the cover. However it dawned on me on the way to work this morning that the receiver is small enough that I might be able to turn it on its side and mount it that way. That would solve my wiring issue. As for the antenna, I wouldn't want to coil it up inside the box, but I might make a laydown antenna inside the body.

Anyone ever shorten servo wires before?

Also, any idea where I can source the bullet connectors used on the CC motors for the MMM ESC?

The problem about this leaking, is this mostly about the centerdiff? I see there is some sweating on mine, so i think i will try to sand it and do the stuff that has been done here by others

BTW, the vinyl is XXXMain Ice internal graphics.

Lars, when you sand the diff, ensure that the surface you're using is very flat. I used our kitchen counters since they're granite. Sand a little, then check. You'll see that the area you've sanded is matte looking. The areas that have not been touched by the sandpaper will still be a bit shiney. Keep going until the entire mating surface has a matte look to it. I'd start with 400 or even something a little rougher. 600 seemed to load up with the plastic too quickly. I'd say once get get everything nice and flat, finish up with 600.

Thats exactly what I did Billy, I turned my receiver on it's side. Now the plugs point straight out the bottom of the box. I test fit it last night. I'm going to go back in there with some Velcro and probably do that. That way I can remove it if I want too. Same with the esc.

I ran into guys at the track that said they've slammed down so hard that the top of the mamba esc case has popped off. They had said 2 things, 1 put padding underneath it. The shock from no padding can break up the circuit board. The other strap is strap the fan cover to the base somehow. The guy I talked too suggested safety wiring it through the vents on the side. I need to come up with a plan for mine.

Also Lars, I sanded my center diff with 400 grit and that seemed to take care of it. I don't have a Mugen gasket on hand or the upgraded O-rings but mine doesn't seem to leak anymore. I'll keep everyone posted as soon as something changes.

And Billy I just realized you were running that Futaba that cost twice as much as the car. Lol. I don't know about that antenna, but the Spektrum antenna is only 3 inches anyway. I have most of mine coiled up in the box. Spektrum says running it with an inch vertical is plenty. So mines an inch tall. No hole in the body. I'll snap a picture as soon as I feel like getting out of bed. It's not even 8 am yet. I just happen to be off today.

Gregg, I used Kyosho Zeal vibration absorbing servo tape on the ESC: http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ng-Gel-1-Sheet

That stuff is awesome. Super thick and very gel-like. The only bad thing is that it's thick, so it raises the ESC up quite a bit. I used it on the receiver too, but I'll put the receiver on its side tonight and see how that works out.

As for the radio, my kiddo got the 3PM-X when he took my Revo, so naturally I had to get another radio. $489 at Tower minus $60, plus EasyPay. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Yeah, I probably shouldn't have bought a radio that expensive, but it is a very nice radio. The receiver is pretty darn small too. The antenna is probably 8" or so? I didn't take a close look, but it goes from the receiver into the tube, and the end of the antenna is less than an inch from the end of the antenna tube in the pictures.

Lucky guy, I wish I was off today. I'm itching to go for a real test drive! Now that I have the kit mostly finished (need to tweak the alignment, balance tires, etc), I need to get going on my full scale car. First race back after two years off is in March...

I'll check out the servo tape, but I could have sworn I saw the 4pks a few pages back. If you got that for $389. I want one. That's a $500 radio!

Oops, sorry about that. Didn't mean to get you all excited. It was $489 - $60. My bad.

Thanks guys, seems like i'm heading on the right direction. Reason i was thinking of going with 2S is the discharge rate of 60C. Plan is/was to run them in parallel and get the benefit of 14.8v but with greater capacity and discharge than the big 4S 40C pack for pretty much the same price. Only downside is that the 2's will be ever so slightly more heavier than the single 4.

I went and ordered up a Grid motor mount with inner last night. Just wandering if the Novak mod 1 pinions will be suitable as i'm thinking of getting the 18/19/20t pack to play about with..?

Any advice on connectors/wiring? I'm looking to get Tekin 4mm connectors and 12 guage wire for hooking the packs up.

Good advice on the diff housing. Seems like a small oversight from AE if there's that many with problems. I'll get mine sanded to flush before fitting. Is the Kyosho gasket recommended or is the std one fine once the housing has been fettled?

I sanded mine and it did not fix it. I tried sanding twice to ensure it was flat. Simple fix for me was some silicone rtv on both sides of the gasket. No leaks now.

First off, I have to say woohoo!! This car is a hoot to drive. Much, MUCH more fun than my RC10B4. The RC8Be is so much more stable at speed and it can really put down the power! I was able to run full blast down my street without too much drama, and I was able to stay fully in control. Brakes were too aggressive and locking up, but that's just an adjustment issue. Tires were ballooning like crazy, so the next set for the street will need to be taped, belted, or foams. It was waaaaaaaaay too fast for being any use on a track or in the dirt. Setup is 6S Zippy 40C battery, MMM w/1800kV Neu motor, 21T pinion, stock 46T spur, ProLine Road Rage tires on ProLine V2 wheels. The tires were out of balance as well, and I could tell at high speeds.

Doug, I'm glad I can help now since these guys have helped me quite a bit.

I would HIGHLY recommend the EFlite EC5 connectors. 5mm barrel connectors that are easy to solder, easy to connect/disconnect, and they seem to handle the power, no problem. The connectors were not any hotter than the wires after this last run I had.

Not sure if 60C is going to be worth the additional cost over 40C. My car had TONS of punch and seemed to get up to full speed very quickly. For this car, I'd use as large wire as you can. At least 10 gauge (IIRC, the batteries I bought are wired with 10 ga). Heck, I'd use 8 ga if it would fit! I also like a single battery to make the wiring more tidy.

As for pinions, I used what Grid recommended, and they seem to work very well. I ended up buying Hot Racing 1M 17T, 19T, and 21T pinions. Definitely not cheap, but they are very compact, appear to be well made, and I didn't have any problems with the set screw backing off during this run.

I didn't use the Kyosho gasket (although I think you might be thinking of the Kyosho red o-rings, which were recommended until AE updated their o-rings to the clear ones). I highly recommend the Mugen gaskets. They're made with real gasket material vs. the AE paper gaskets.

Now, on to my questions.

Given the setup above, after a bunch of full throttle blasts down the street, and a bunch of heavy throttle accelerations here and there, I brought the car in. Ambient temp was around 35F. Here are the temps:
Motor - 150F on the case, 162F on the end bell
ESC - 118F at the bullet connectors, 110F around the battery side
Batt - 110F around the shrink, 115F at the exposed end
Wires/connector - didn't feel hot at all, maybe warm, but my hands were cold from being outside! I did not measure with the temp gun.

These seem a bit high to me since the ambient temp was so low. No vents or anything in the body, and there wasn't much intermediate driving (i.e. lots of blasts, then very slow driving, so not much air flow after the full throttle passes). I didn't notice the fan on the ESC at all, but the Savox servo is pretty loud, even at idle. What do you guys think?

It was insanely fast, but I'm thinking about buying a couple more sets of 6S batteries. For the track, I can see how 4S would be PLENTY.

Also, the MMM seems to stutter a bit in certain situations. For instance, if the car is coasting backward, and I give it some throttle, it'll stop the car from coasting back, stutter a bit, then start going forward. The stuttering seems to happen mostly with any change in direction, or right after putting on the brakes to a complete stop, then attempting to move forward slowly. This is a bit surprising to me as the MMP in the RC10B4 never seemed to exhibit this behavior. I don't think it's the battery, and I tend to think that it's the fact that it's not sensored. What do you guys think?

EDIT: I just hooked up the battery to the car on the bench, and gave it a go. Even with very, very little throttle, the motor and everything turns flawlessly. No stuttering at all. Tried going backward then immediately forward, worked perfectly. Sometimes a tad bit of hesitation during the back/forward transition, but no stuttering. Now I'm confused...

Not only are the 2's a little bigger, but in my opinion the extra wires and adapter can be a bit messy and a pain to deal with.

They recommend the hot bodies pinions for the grid motor mounts. Beware, hot bodies does not supply a set screw with their pinions.