Weight Reduction Project

[twizm]

im planning on reducing the weight of my chassis to increase power. i know that less weight will mean less grip, and that taking weight from certain places can cause rigidity(sp?) problems. im planning to simply drill holes and replace parts where i can to decrease weight but still maintain a strong chassis that will have plenty of grip. so, anyone got ideas one what parts can be easily replaced or drilled without damaging the cars functionality?

some ideas i have already are
X drilling out most of the pcb cover
X drilling sides and underside of chassis
X replacing the battery with a smaller higher mAh battery

curious if these parts are heavier/lighter
X higher power motors
X front large wheel mod
X pull back tyre/wheel mod
X perfection gold/silver heat sinks
X soft/medium/hard tyres

i dont want to remove the shell (r32 skyline) because it takes away from the aesthetics of the car, and a fair bit of fun to it too.

any help will be very useful 😀 thanks.

[betty.k]

you don’t have to drill the pcb cover, just remove it completely. maybe a little tape to hold it down. you could rewire it with enameled copper wire (maybe a bit thicker than the steering wires,for the batt and motor). you could also remove the metal connectors for the batt and motor and hardwire them in. even the heatsink could be reduced, or even removed and put tape in it’s place, although i probably wouldn’t remove it completely. and when you are drilling, be patient. don’t force the drill through. good luck, let us know how you get on:8ball:

[twizm]

the main parts that weigh the most are the battery and the chassis, so most of the work will be done to the chassis as i cant really drill a battery:smiley2:. then i guess the only real weight reduction can be done in re-wiring and removing/replacing all metal parts. if anyone can provide info on the weight of some of those parts it would be a big help.

[leonli17]

Just use 1/4 AAA batteries. They weight less.

[twizm]

im think if forgetting this project, im going to be doing an internal dual cell, so reducing weight is gonna be pretty useless then.

[ph2t]

You know that you could look at doing a flat chassis design. One based on a similar design as a mini-z chassis. I dunno the terminology they use but that type of chassis is called something.

ph2t.

[twizm]

just posted another thought on chassis design:) the pull back chassis could prove useful.

[SurfmyStrat]

reducing weight seems pointless, the car would start tipping and rolling on every turn and comeon, they already weigh pretty much nothing… plus why would you think doing the front large wheel mod make it lighter if the front wheel is BIGGER??? …think about it…

[twizm]

yeah i realised that after i posted. :blush:

[Jeff03]

I have the contrary problem: increase weight on the machine why with rubbers to high adhesion and the several modifications (mosfet, cell…), every time that inserted delivery with the booster, the machine it pulls up the front wheels…
I and my friends have decided to micro mount two bearings on the front wheels for umentare the weight, diminishing the friction and to increase the directionality of the machine… 👿

[betty.k]

jeff03: make sure the weight you use is not attracted by magnets or it will affect your steering. use something like lead or copper:8ball:

[VR-4]

yeah really only weight you should be reduceing are wheels so you can get more rpm’s at the wheels light wheeles mean less rotateing mass what means more rpms

[HACHI-RYOKU]

I have some thoughts.

Twizm- Even with dual-cells I reduce weight. Besides some of the other suggestions, I cut some of the battery compartment’s walls down (this gets the weight lower too, wich will help keep it upright). Not all the way because I still want it to hold stuff, but they don’t need to be that high. I also use a dremmel or a file to make the plastic thinner, especially on the bottum and especialy with the super bit’s bottums. DO NOT put holes in the steering compartment. It will allow metal shards to collect on the magnet inside, witch will weaken the steering and eventually stop it from steering completely. You’ll have to clean it all the time to fix this.

Jeff03- Sounds like you’ve got a monster. Have you tried putting a 3:1 gear ratio on there? It will turn all that torque into speed and bring the front back down. I see that you are in Italy. In Japan we have these things called “bit racers”(TOMY) that come with 3:1 gears. They work great in those “monsters”. They have them in America too, but htey are called “kit racers” there.

[Jeff03]

My machine is one LXX booster.
I have carried out the following modifications: motor 4,2, battery 200mA, rigid shocks-absorber, mosfet, aerodynamic aluminium heat sink, gear 12:1 and the tires us I to them have constructed (30 shore).
I have found, in Germany, wheels from 6mm in aluminum, but in the shell they do not enter…

We are constructing one shell increased with of the resin from stamp.
😀
I believed was passes time…. but the Bit Char G true passion has become one…
Thanks to all. A salute from Italy. 🙂

[betty.k]

grazie mille! i know what you mean jeff, a few months ago i bought a clone and thought “aren’t these little cars cool!” today i’m staring at 4 bit clones and 2 tanks and thinking “these little rc things are REALLY cool! ciao:8ball:

[HACHI-RYOKU]

I know we don’t like to see he same stuff over and over again, but I just wanted to show off my Lambo, because I did reduce alot of weight from it. I’m sure I could reduce more but it’s already very fast. I wasn’t really trying to reduce weight, I was just trying to make an internal dual cell that I could fit the Lambo on.

Sorry if they’re dificult to see. I used my cell phone camera.

Notice that I cut some out of the middle compartment so the pcb would sit lower.

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/BOB/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/Mini%20car%20stuff/a0007390.jpg

I cut out the space between the motor and the batt almost completely to let the batts sit back a little farther. It’s great for balance.

Edited by – HACHI-RYOKU on 13 December 2003 01:46:57

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