The LST-Maxx Project: Final Configuration Details
The final configuration details of the LST-Maxx Conversion Project are now available. I have listed prices that I paid during my assembly, as well as the source of the part, and a verbose title of the part used. This should serve as a guide for those of you considering building your own LST-Maxx conversion. It should be noted that there are many methods which have been explored to convert an LST or LST2 to brushless, but so far I believe this is the most inexpensive and easiest to assemble. Another bonus is that it requires very little fabrication and can be built without any special tools!
| Part Specs: | Part Price: | Source: |
|---|---|---|
| Novak HV-Maxx Brushless System | $200.00 | eBay |
| LST2 - 4x ATX Wheels on White Dish Rims | $40.00 | eBay |
| 4 Monster-Bore Losi Shocks - Yellow Springs | $36.00 | eBay |
| E-Maxx Transmission | $35.00 | eBay |
| Silverado Lexan Body - ProLine | $35.00 | LosiPartsHouse.com |
| LST -> LST2 Wheel 20mm Adapters | $30.50 | LosiPartsHouse.com |
| 4 Complete RPM A-Arms | $30.00 | eBay |
| Miscellaneous Hardware - Screws, Washers, Bolts | $30.00 | LosiPartsHouse.com |
| LST2 Complete Chassis | $24.00 | eBay |
| Front and Rear Bulkheads Complete | $17.50 | eBay |
| New Wheel Bearings - LST1 | $13.50 | eBay |
| Front and Rear Shock Towers w/ Hardware | $6.50 | eBay |
| Velcro Strapping Material for Battery Mounts | $5.50 | Home Depot |
| 2 LST2 Diffs and Drive Shafts | N/A | On Hand |
| 4x LST CV Axles and Driveshafts | N/A | On Hand |
| Estimated Total Price: | $503.50 | |
| Estimated Price w/ On Hand Parts Included: | $600.00 | |
The LST-Maxx Project - Low-Quality Quicktime Video Available
I used my digital camera to make a quick video of the truck in action. Keep in mind, this is the setup before I installed the new brushless motor system and I am doing both the driving and filming. That said, the quality is pretty low and the driving is a little bit rough, but you finally get to see the truck in action. I'm working on a newer video with sound and a camera man to track the vehicle, but that won't be for a while yet.
Video of the Brushed Motors and original configuration. Not full-speed footage, I can't drive and film at full speed!
The LST-Maxx Project - New Brushless Motor, Speed Increase!
After making quite a few runs on the new electric LST with the stock 550 motors that I originally purchased, I went looking for some extra motor power. Some of the forum goers over at RC Universe suggested going brushless, which sounded like a decent idea. I looked at some sensorless setups, but in my final decision, I picked the Novak HV-Maxx brushless setup. I purchased it on ebay, so I got it for 225 shipped, including the full brushless setup and 2 Fusion 3800mah battery packs. Not a bad deal at all. The two battery packs needed some repairs on the lead wires, but otherwise the entire setup looked very nice.
Checking out Novak's website lead me to believe my stock E-Maxx transmission wasn't going to hold up, so I purchased a new 12t pinion for the brushless system as well as the Robinson Racing Products steel spur gear (72t) and dual disk slipper upgrade. In my opinion, this was a questionable upgrade. The problem I'm experiencing now has the stock Traxxas pinion being grinded down by the steel spur. I have already checked and rechecked the gear mesh, but inevitably the pinion has worn prematurely. This will be my next upgrade purchse (a hardened steel pinion) as well as some new steel idler gears for the tranny. Otherwise, it runs very good. I experience a MAJOR speed increase with this latest round of upgrades and now I can safely say it runs about 2.5 times faster than the stock setup! Better acceleration as well as top end speed are clearly evident.
Pictures of the newly installed HV-Maxx brushless system. Click for larger images.
The LST-Maxx Project - Battery Mounts Installed, More Images
The mounting straps for the dual battery setup on the new Electric LST project are installed. Using velcro brand wiring straps, I installed 2 on each side of the vehicle. The straps are pinched between the upper and lower plates, allowing them to complete wrap around the battery at front and back. Additionally, I used small non-adhesive foam squares between the battery and the chassis to keep the plastic wrap on the battery intact. This also serves double duty by keeping the batteries secured during crashes and sudden stops, as it prevents them from sliding out of the straps. With the battery strapping in, I am looking at ways to revise my transmission mounting solution.
The current transmission mounting solution uses cut pieces from the E-Maxx chassis as well as the original LST bottom plate and a XXX-T battery strap. An unusual combination of parts that seems to work fairly well. There is very little play in the transmission, but I would like to eventually revisit my method for mounting. In the 6+ runs that I have made with the truck thus far, the transmission has been rock-solid. The E-Maxx 2 speed transmission really pulls quite well with the two 550 size custom motors installed. In 1st gear, acceleration is very good and once the top of the gear is reached, the shift-on-the-fly transmission can be placed into 2nd gear. With this, very good top speeds can be achieved. In fact, I rolled the truck twice yesturday making sharp turns at top speed while I was trying to film it in action.
More pictures of the transmission, mounts, and battery situation per request. Click for larger images.
The LST-Maxx Project - 1:8 Scale Electric Monster Truck
My electric monster truck project is nearly completed and I have decided to post some of the first images of the build. It is based on the Losi LST kit and the Traxxas E-Maxx kit. I started building this after my dismal experience with the Traxxas Stampede - Electric RTR kit. I know many RC Fans have enjoyed the Stampede, but it just wasn't what I was looking for from an electronic monster truck. While I didn't consider much of the Traxxas line past the Stampede, the E-Maxx probably would have suited me. In retrospect, however, I enjoyed piecing this project truck together. I fashioned some braces for the new transmission, and built the truck using extra kit pieces from my Nitro-LST2 parts bin. Originally, I thought the project would remain relatively cheap, but RC has a way of sneakily sucking all the money from your pocket book!
I started with the leftover parts from my LST1 upgrade kit. I had CVDs from the LST as well as the A-Arms, Spindles, and Carriers. I also had some old LST2 differentials from my recently upgraded Nitro truck, so I thought I had a good start. I ended up going to Ebay for most of the remaining parts. Over the month that I built the truck, I carefully watched ebay to see if I could nab the parts I needed at a reasonable price. This was really a mixed experience. In the end though, I ended up getting a Free Novak EVX Electronic Speed Control when I won an auction for an E-Maxx transmission. The total for the two parts only came to $91.00 and these were really the parts that brought the whole electric project together. Other parts I had to obtain were: The Main Chassis, Shock Towers, Shocks, LST2 ATX Wheels/Tires, Front/Rear Bumpers, Steering Assembly, and many other trivial parts. I'll post a list of the price and parts breakdown when the project is more near it's final form. Suffice it to say, the bill for the project ran about $341.00 not including any of my existing parts! While this wasn't cheap, I think the final project is worth the price of admission.
Everything fit very well during the project and only minor modifications and workarounds had to be done to get the project up and running in this tenative form. I originally toyed with the idea building a simple center slipper transmission from scratch, but my limited access to the proper tools and raw materials for the project quickly deterred me from this idea. I posted a question in the RC Universe forums regarding the size of the E-Maxx transmission, and the response that I got was promising. 1.83" was the width of the transmission from one side to another, which after some careful measuring and calculating looked like it would fit in the existing placement for the LST transmission. I visited Traxxas online to download some part explosions for the transmission and examined it. This transmission ended up being exactly what I needed in a nice simple, 2 speed design. Off to ebay I went for a quick shopping spree.
More to come! Check back soon!
Here are some pictures of the project and the obligatory comparison shot to my 1:10 Scale Losi XXX-T Sport. Click for larger images.
