Ok, so i just got my GTB ESC back from novak. Took it out for a run, 3 mins later, smoke!!

I don't believe it, the GTB has fried itself again. I was running a 7.5R and 70/18 as i was worried that last time it was an overgearing issue. This gearing is fine for the 7.5R (according to Novak) The only issue it could be is the fact that i was running a LIPO (7.4v). In fact when i was running the 3.5R on NiMH there were never any issues, it was only when i put the LIPO pack in for the first time that it fried itself. Same situation here, with LIPO the ESC could not handle it. I do not recommend running the GTB with a LIPO. I'm going to switch to mamba, as its a more reliable system.

My GTB ESC just went up in smoke! Unbelivable, this thing is a fire hazard. Very disappointing since i have not event had it that long. It smells like burnt plastic now. I cannot understand how this happened, i was running on tarmac the motor didnt even get hot. when all of a sudden, a cloud of smoke came out of it. This must have been a manufacturing fault of some kind, i believe, the ESC has thermal protection as well as the motor. Starting to wonder if i should have got a Mamba system........

5 packs later...... and im still smiling, laughing and intoxicated with the thrill of speed.

The Novak 3.5R system, quite simply rocks! From the moment you pull the trigger you have a sense of what is to come, the motor makes a nice whiney whistley sound, almost like a turbo or a jet engine even. Starts are fast, the acceleration is awesome, i spin the wheels from a stop trying to get some traction (albeit with bald tires) No wheelies though, it stays on the ground (if you don't hit a small rock or something) Torque steer was quite noticable, but only from a stop, once you get going its fine. Mid range speed is impressive, it pulls hard until you run out of pavement or crash. Lucikly i have avoided breaking anything after some fast crashes, once into a wall and once flipping end over end after hitting a small branch. Testiment to the durability to the DF-02.

Unfortunately i didn't have enough real estate to get it up to its maximum, it was still accelerating before drag braking to avoid a collision. I estimate it was going at least twice as fast as the TZ used to. The drag brakes are quite good, set on the 20% setting it slows down smartly considering the speeds it gets up to. But wow, this system is amazing. I was suprised, compared to the TZ motor i was running, this 3.5R seems to have more torque even from a stop. I can do dohnuts with ease, something i struggled to do on the ashpalt with the TZ.

Runtime is about 10-15 minutes max on a 4500 NiMh pack. Not bad at all, considering the only thing you want to do with this system is go flat out for the entire pack. I have noticed that the battery gets real hot after a run, however the motor itself remains cool, and so does the ESC, infact the motor and ESC stays cooler than the TZ used to. 

Unbeliveably the drive train is still holding together. I'm still running the stock dogbones, and even the plastic drive shaft. The dogbones have bent a little (vertically) so was probably a result from the collisions. A quick eyeball shows that they have not twisted much if at all either. No sign of anything wearing out yet, it still sounds as smooth as it has always been. I will wait and see what happens after i put on some new dirt hawgs, which should provide a lot more grip.

If you want to scare children and animals or like ridiculous amounts of speed the 3.5R is the way to go.

I have just received my Novak 3.5R brushless system. Only took just over a week, but the wait seemed so much longer. The system came prewired from motor to ESC, problem was that the wires were way too long. Had to cut them up and do an average soldering job on them to tidy up the mess. This is the final result after mounting it. Still trying to get the capacitor mounted somewhere but for now its sitting there loose.

 

 

I have fit a 16t Pinion to the motor, spur is stock 70t. Hopefully this will be enough to keep motor temperatures down, so fingers crossed.

The first thing i noticed after firing it up is, its fast! The wheels expand massively when the revs go up. High revs does however cause considerable vibration through the wheels. Probably due to the dogbones, i have square CVD's on the way should fix this problem.

I haven't yet managed to take it out on a long run yet, only done a little bit of driveway driving. However even on the driveway the power is overwhelming. I managed to get the front end to lift up slightly when i first pulled the trigger. It is extremely drivable even at slow speeds which is good news. This system is amazing, can't wait to get it out to see what kind of speeds its capable of.

 

  

 

  

This is a fun basher, haven't broken anything yet. I did lose a screw out of the rear suspension arm which caused the dogbone to drop out. But this was more or less a screw tightening issue.

Stock tires are looking more and more like slicks (several runs on pavement) but have some dirt hawgs on the way soon.

 

This is a reasonably quick car already, running a 23T TZ motor on stock gearing, quite torquey and good over grass and up hills. I have gone a little mad and purchased a Novak 3.5R brushless setup :) I'll just have to enjoy the car while its in one piece.