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Racer9
03-27-2005, 05:30 PM
my MT has horrible steering. Any way to improve it besides changing the motor? :confused: :(

P.S. I would swap the motor if I could find this great MW (motor works) motor I had. It would be a simple solder and swap job. :(

makg
03-29-2005, 12:35 AM
all mts have pretty bad steering bc of huge tires

Racer9
03-29-2005, 03:06 PM
I know that!

My brothers can actually steer sharply (well somewhat) and mine steers very poorly. His is old too!

Mine has a over 36" radius turn when not at top battery

His has a 24" or less (depending on the surface) turn at about the same battery level.

Can someone help me or donate a MW motor?

Racer9
03-31-2005, 02:34 PM
any help?

zzmods
03-31-2005, 04:45 PM
Well Racer9, I can think of a few options.

1) Replace the stock steering motor with a zz or pager motor. The stock motor is very small (about 3/8" to 1/2" long) and very weak. Doing this will require that you cut a hole in your pcb cover to allow the new motor to fit. This is most likely your best option because the results it provides and is fairly easy to do. Minor soldering skills at best.

2) Remove the driveshaft that provides power the the front axle. Remove the front axle and two little dog bones located in the front end. I have done this to one of my mt's and it does drastically improves your trucks steering and also makes your mt go about 10% faster since power is not lost through driveshaft due to added friction in that gearing train. Some people have negative feedback about this method but I do not understand why. It works, plain and simple but you lose your 4wd. Also, it can be a bit of a pain putting the pieces back in place should you decide you really miss the 4wd.

3) Open up the steering servo and add another gear to drop the ratio increasing tourqe. This would probably decrease responsivness a bit, but would absolutely make sure that when you turn, your truck would turn to it's fullest potential every time. This method is strictly an idea for now as I have NEVER seen anyone try this (myself included), but I'm sure it can be done with a little ingenuity.

Now I have completely dissasembled my trucks to see if there were ANY methods that might provide desirable results, but unfortunatly the only thing I could come up with is option 3. If anybody can actually get that option to work, I'm sure we would all love to hear how you did it (and plenty of pics would help too;) )

Personally, I would just swap the steering motor if you want a MONSTER TRUCK. Remove the 4wd only if you want a fast mt. It will not climb over much without it. If you want a mt that that will give a zzse a run for it's money, then i would remove the 4wd. You would be pleasently surprised! :D

Here are the instructions on how to remove the 4wd. These instructions are found on UltimateRC if you want pics.
"Stage 1: 2WD Stealth
If you're not going over some really rough terrain, removing power from the front tires will keep your steering system from having to fight your drive motor in a losing battle. This is straightforward, but requires precision handiwork. Unscrew and remove the lower chassis cover, taking great care to observe how the front suspension is assembled. Things will fall apart up there, and you'll need to know how to put them back. Remove the long center driveshaft, and while you're at it, take out the front transfer axle and the two little dogbones to save a little weight. When you're done, your truck will look stock unless you get up really close. However, you'll have trimmed at least an inch off of your turning radius.

Stage 2: You've got to be out of your mind
If you really want your truck to be as agile as a shopping cart, first go ahead and do the 2WD mod above. That's childs play compared to what comes next. Turn all of your tires around backwards. Then turn your motor upside-down. Finally, mount your body backwards. You will have created a front-wheel-drive, rear-steer monster truck. Try it out and you'll be amazed. This literally takes about 3 inches off of your turning radius. The only problem is, while reversing the motor allows you to use the throttle control normally, you still have to steer left to go right, and vice versa. If you have a very steady hand and familiarity with basic electronic circuits, take the cover off from your circuit board and reverse your steering wire connections."


Hope this helps. Be sure to let us know what you decided to do and what the result were. :)