Fitting of VRC pipe to TBII [Archive]

bens_rc

11-18-2009, 06:05 AM

Ok, have finaly arived back home and had the new TBII and VRC pipe here waiting for me. (Have the standard non silenced version) Have done a done a dry fit up and have some good and bad news.

The good news

The pipe will fit in nice and neat along the side of the shell and there will be plent of room to access the filler cap :D

The bad news

The pipe is a bit to long and the tail pipe will exhaust straight on the front supension and at full compression will hit the upper arm. Also will need to cut a hole through the shell for it to come out but will still look nice and neat.

I have a couple of options that I am going to try, one is to modify the tail pipe to angle it back away from the Suppension & the second one is to remake the engine pipe to move the pipe back further.

I am going to try the first option to start with as it will be the simplest and won't alter the design of the tuned section of the pipe.

I will post some pic's of the dry fitment later tonight

NUTECH RACING

11-18-2009, 08:13 AM

Need to see some pics. :excited:

bens_rc

11-18-2009, 09:32 AM

Here are some pic's of the dry fitment, not the best photos but will show how it will sit
Hopefully get a chance to make the mounts ect by this weekend to see how it goes :D
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01775.JPG
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01776.JPG
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01778.JPG

NUTECH RACING

11-18-2009, 11:12 AM

body on pics?

mradlin

11-18-2009, 01:51 PM

will the exhaust be hitting the front suspension? It looks like the end of the exhaust is pointed at the inside of the front wheel.

46u

11-18-2009, 03:04 PM

I guess you over looked it but according to his first post yes it will hit the front suspension. He says the pipe is too long. ;)

mooman007uk

11-18-2009, 03:48 PM

how long is your pipe overall from back of the header to the tip of stinger?
the propipe i have coming is 15"

mooman007uk

11-18-2009, 04:02 PM

should have added looks like the easiest way would be to bend the stimnger back using a small hand pipe bender, looks my rigid #406 3/8 pipe bender might just slip in there with everything still in place

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/mooman007uk/DSC00546.jpg

bens_rc

11-18-2009, 08:37 PM

That is the plan to continue the bend on the tailpipe so it faces back (the pipe is 1/2")and it should miss the supension. I also looked at shortening it up and fitting the rubber elbow that is fitted to the standard muffler

bens_rc

11-18-2009, 08:40 PM

will check the length when I get it back together but I think it is about 16" long when fitted

mooman007uk

11-18-2009, 09:32 PM

that extra inch makes all the difference:D

RCKIWI

11-18-2009, 10:49 PM

Looks great Ben! Deffo only a few small mods to get it fitting good, personally i think the 5T pipe would fit a shade better going by the pic's.

How does the body fit? is there enuff clearance under neath?

bens_rc

11-19-2009, 12:36 AM

have just fitted the body up and it is a snug fit and looks neat but once the front mount is fitted it will make it difficult to remove without pulling the pipe off
Had to charge the batteries up in the camera so will post some pic's of it fitted later

RCKIWI

11-19-2009, 12:50 AM

Great can't wait for the pic's!

Cheers

mooman007uk

11-19-2009, 01:01 AM

so how long is the pipe? I nearly typed your pipe which would have been well iffyLOL

mradlin

11-19-2009, 04:14 AM

I guess you over looked it but according to his first post yes it will hit the front suspension. He says the pipe is too long. ;)

Yup, my bad. :o

bens_rc

11-19-2009, 11:18 AM

Here are some pic'd of it fitted up. Will be doing a few more adjustments including remaking the mount to look a bit neater. The total length of the pipe from the bend on the engine pipe to the tail pipe is about 17 1/2"
I couldn't get the pipe benders on the tailpipe due to the mount being in the way so I had to go with my second option of using the rubber elbow off the original muffler
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01779.JPG
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01780.JPG

bens_rc

11-19-2009, 11:20 AM

More pic's with the shell on

http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01781.JPG
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01782.JPG
http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01783.JPG

mradlin

11-19-2009, 01:02 PM

Looks good Ben, The only thing that would worry me is how exposed the pipe is on a roll over.

mooman007uk

11-19-2009, 03:34 PM

17 1/2" wow it's 2 1/2 longer than the pro version so i shoud be good, though i think the pro will sit lower and give tank cap issues as mentioned by gas jockey...time will tell i suppose.
trouble with all side pipes on buggies is vunerability and i know the vrc pipes are like.020 or .025 thick so will dent pretty easy...with the MT it's not a problem cos it's under the body.
I guess in a simple roll over the wing and wheels will hit the ground first leaving the pipe protected between the 2 so to speak looking at it from the front photo but sideswipes might be a bit naughty...maybe you can take a pic or 2 on it's side and roof so we can see the clearance between pipe and ground:good idea:

forgot to add you did a nice job of mounting it up...it does tuck in quite nicely

RCKIWI

11-19-2009, 07:41 PM

Looking good Ben nice job mounting it up!

Can't wait when you unleash this puppy:excited:

bens_rc

11-19-2009, 09:05 PM

Looking at how it stitting it can't get any lower due to the way the shell is designed without any major mods to the pipe. I wanted to fit it up with as little mods to the pipe as posible and the only mod that I did to the pipe was cut about 3/4" off the tail pipe and new bracket. If VRC wanted to make a pipe to fit the TBII the only thing that they will have to change on the pipe is rotate thesecond have of the body around about a 1/4 of a turn to make the front half hug the body closer.
I thing it may have problems in a roll over with the pipe getting damaged as the pipe is a bit exposed but I don't thing you would be able to design a side pipe that will be protected because of where they have to sit, but time will tell :D
The biggest problem is that I can't remove the shell witout pulling the pipe off but have designed it so that I only have to undo one screw to pull it off (have left the spring off that holds it to the engine pipe, the rubber joiner and front mount seams to hold it together well)

bens_rc

11-19-2009, 10:12 PM

Ok took the TBII for a quick run this morning and I'm impressed :excited::excited:
It was only a quick run on the road out the front (is a bit loud to run in town being unsilenced) and seamed to handle well and had plenty of getup and go :D Will give it a good run out at the track this sunday and give it a good workout.
BTW the other mods that I have done to it so far are
27.5cc ESP moded Zenoah
Lauterbacher adjustable off road 4 shoe clutch
center diff with 500,000wt silicon oil

mooman007uk

11-20-2009, 12:32 AM

I'm looking forward to seeing your buggy go with this pipe, vrc sure know what they're doing.
When we get some volume sales on the tb2 and MMT's i'm sure Sean at OBR will oblige us with a dedicated regular and propipe for them, he's well in with the factory in Holland, they designed the pro specifically for his full mod 27.2 zen motor (I'm thinking this might be the engine I order for my MMT) and is a super nice guy to deal with so i'm sure he'll help us out...I'll shoot him an email in the next couple of days and run the idea by him see what he says.

RCKIWI

11-20-2009, 12:43 AM

Great idea about the pipe Moo! Maybe the European Distributors have already looked into it?

bens_rc

11-22-2009, 06:12 AM

Took the TBII out for it's first run today and it didn't go as planed :(
Did all my pre checks and tests befor the first run and all ok. Got out on the track and did about a 1/4 of a lap and the failsafe kicked in and also cut the motor out and smoke started pooring out from under the shell :( :(

This is what caused the smoke

http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01878.JPG

I didn't have another steering servo to chuck in that was the end of my day. I didn't evan get to see how the pipe was going to perform.
Have fitted another servo in and may get a chance to take it back out this arvo otherwise I will have to wait till a later date :(

RCKIWI

11-22-2009, 08:07 AM

:mad: Fire Quality Controller 01 LOL LOL LOL

mradlin

11-22-2009, 04:12 PM

mooman007uk

11-22-2009, 05:32 PM

ouchie! I'll be throwing my digi4 in before I run mine after seeing that...you have to laugh though at the QC1 passed sticker right next to the melted parts

46u

11-22-2009, 07:48 PM

I know I will all so be installing my Rhino because mine does not come with servos! LOL

bens_rc

11-22-2009, 08:35 PM

have an old servo back in it now and have a new Rhino and a few other bits on there way :excited: but I didn't get a chance to get back out to the track. (Missus wanted the lawn mowed :( ) Hopefully get out there sometime this week. I'm itching to see how it will go

mooman007uk

11-23-2009, 12:06 AM

we are all itching too...you've given us a rash:D

bens_rc

11-23-2009, 01:24 AM

I have decided to take it for another run this afternoon evan if I have to set up light to see :D:D

bens_rc

11-23-2009, 10:13 AM

OK, took the buggy for another run this afternoon and started well :dance:, ended badly after about 5mins :mad:

Had good power and takeoff at the start and then started to loose power to the back wheels. I thought that it was the silicon oil in the center diff starting to break down, but I was wrong. :( :(

Stripped the rear diff down and found that the planetary gears had stripped out (haven't taken a photo yet) :mad::mad:
Just from the inital inspection it looks like they wern't meshing properly. Will have another look tomorrow and work out how I can adjust the meshing. I will be stripping the whole buggy down and going through it with a fine tooth comb before I run it again as it isn't real good advertising haveing it break down every time I run it as I got it for a demo to show potential buyers.

So I still haven't been able to test the potential of the pipe yet

mooman007uk

11-23-2009, 05:11 PM

damn you have no luck...I know the factory is working hard on upgrading the diffs but apart from dc haven't heard of the internals stripping...QC1 strikes again:o

RCKIWI

11-23-2009, 07:02 PM

Ben you must have got one of the last first production units Mike had:( and yes there was a problem with the gear mesh on the internal gears. By increasing the slim washer's this takes care of that. I have increased the slims from 1 to 2-3 on each output cup and also the spider gears. You will need to pull all the diff's down and check them!

bens_rc

11-23-2009, 08:57 PM

I think this may have been a Friday afternoon buggy as I had found a few missing screws ect. when I first got it :eek:

Pulled the diffs down last night and found a little play in the mesh on the front diff. I hope that is all it was with the rear and not flexing the housing :(
I think I will upgrade at least the rear diff to the alloy housing as this is the one that has the most stress on it, if I can get one
Shot mike an email last night to see what he has in stock

bens_rc

11-27-2009, 08:22 PM

Ok buggy is all back together with the extra shims in the diffs thanks to PSR getting the replacement parts up to me ASAP it :yahoo: :yahoo: it is still the standard housing but will see how it goes.
but will have to wait untill tomorrow before I take it for another test run as I am going to play with my other toys today :dance:

bens_rc

11-27-2009, 08:23 PM

Wow that picture ended up a lot bigger than I wanted

mradlin

11-27-2009, 11:18 PM

Wow that picture ended up a lot bigger than I wanted

I fixed it for you ben. ;)

bens_rc

11-28-2009, 09:09 AM

thanks for that, will have to learn how to do that

bens_rc

11-29-2009, 08:06 AM

Ok, got my first good run in today, put a tank of fuel through it and no breakdowns. :yahoo: :yahoo:
Didn't take any video as the camera was flat when I loaded everything up this morning.

I am impressed with the handling and the tuned pipe works well nice and smooth powerband realy impressed :D

The only problem I had was the pipe warped the shell slightly from the heat but other than that was all good.

bens_rc

12-16-2009, 09:19 AM

Since I last updated I have had a few problems and haven't been able to get any good video footage due to the diffs (Rear & Center) not holding together long enough with the upgraded engine. So I got some alloy housings sent up to fix the problem.
They turned up today and I will fit them in the morning and take it out for a run and hopefully get some footage with the VCR pipe loaded up tomorrow night :dance:

mradlin

12-16-2009, 02:32 PM

mooman007uk

12-16-2009, 03:37 PM

Chris mentioned the plastic being too soft and that they have now used tougher stuff which so far is holding up during testing...wonder if it's the spider pin slot giving out, then the gears can do the funky chicken and cause major problems

bens_rc

12-16-2009, 09:57 PM

The rear diff gave out due to not being adjusted properly (not enough shims in it) and stripped the spider gears out. My fault for not checking them properly. :mad:
And the center diff, the spider gears wore into the the plastic housing and causing them to strip out.
Ethan said the are trialing some new housings that have a metal insert moulded in them to stop this from happening.

RCKIWI

12-16-2009, 10:46 PM

I have had no problems with the std plastic diff cases since re-shimming the gears and the new ones with steel inserts are holding up well, as there was also wear in the plastic end where bearing sits from output shafts on the first case.

bens_rc

12-16-2009, 11:35 PM

This is what happened to the center diff

http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01902.JPG

http://www.bensrc.com/HSP/DSC01897.JPG

mradlin

12-31-2009, 05:12 PM

I know that Chris and Ethan have the updated diffs available. I am getting a set for mine. ;)
Any updates Ben?

mooman007uk

12-31-2009, 06:17 PM

even though i had a ring gear round a few teeth off all my internals, front, centre and rear are 100%..the case s wore at the spider pin slot but i still have the type 2 cases with metal insert...waiting on the revised versions to try...they were all shimmed perfectly so i think the shimming issue has been solved. the new cases have large metal inserts, i believe there have been 2 revisions...a metal insert which i have and a much bigger one and are harder plastic now...Ethan posted it in the testers forum under revisions...you can see the 3 cases side by side

bens_rc

12-31-2009, 07:46 PM

have now got the alloy housings in the center and rear and has been running great, haven't had any more problems. I would recommend when upgrading the motor on a standard TBII to upgrade the diff housings as well but everything else seams to be handling the extra power without any problems. Have run about 5 tanks through it now.
I haven't been able to get any good video footage due to the kids taking the camcorder for a swim in the bath a couple of weeks ago :mad: hence dosn't work any more but I am real impressed with the way it performs and handles :dance: :boxing:

mooman007uk

12-31-2009, 10:04 PM

I got some alloy cases coming too for rear and centre...front probably doesn't need it

bens_rc

01-01-2010, 07:49 AM

I still have the standard housing on the front. It isn't under as much load as the other 2 and hasn't showen any signs of wear yet

Clubin

01-02-2010, 01:42 PM

Hey Bens, looks like you have that thing working good now. It would be great to see a vid.

NUTECH RACING

01-02-2010, 02:35 PM

Can't wait to see Ben's "virgin " video.

bens_rc

01-03-2010, 09:36 AM

So am I :excited:
Have taken some footage on my phone but wasn't any good and couldn't work out how to get it off the phone :beat dead horse:
but i will get some up soon hopefully as it has been running great since I have fixed the diff problem and I have had some good stacks but haven't broken anything yet