My wiring dream/nightmare...
 

Hey guys... It's been a long time since I last posted... I've been workin on my car for quite a while now, ever since I got it last Christmas(Christmas of '03)... I'm hooked, what can I say... I've been checkin the boards every day since I found the site, and I'm impressed... You guys have brought some complexity and just plain coolness to Xmods that wasn't there before... I for one, can't stand people who play-up basic upgrades that any rich snot can buy... No, I like the kinds of mods where you have to think, and actually use your hands to make something really incredible... Now, mind you, this thing is only about 40% done as of now... I've got most of the basics down, upgraded motor, all wheel drive, and my favorite... The custom HotSwap lighting kit from Ebay... I waited anxiously for that thing to arrive in the mail... Foglights AND a tailpipe light... But I wasn't happy... So I did a ton of splicing, cutting, and rewiring, to bring you this...

Real End
 

The back was especially difficult because it's such a tight space, and as we all know, the rear holes are bigger than the actual lights, which make it hard to keep em in place...

Like I said, a nightmare!
 

Out of everything, getting the wires to stay put was the hardest... I found when doing the outer lights, the ones directly above the wheels when the body is on, rub on the wheel, and I spent days trying to figure out how to keep that from happening, and still giving me some suspension play in the front... I finally broke down and got my dremel out... After making the mounting hole on the body lower down, I put some heavy tape on the top of the mounting hole, so it would be a tight fit... It's hard to even notice that the front is raised up, but it does a world of difference underneath...

Ok, my ranting is done...
 

I want to end this with a picture of my custom hood scoop... I know, it's honkin big, but that's what makes it cool! I'm considering running the unused tailpipe light into it and makin it light the road! Believe it or not, I got it off a 1/25 scale model of a Mercedes race car... It fit like a dream on the hood, or the roof... The color was right too, but after I screwed through it with an oversized screw, I had to sand it down and paint it... I think it looks good, I don't care what nobody else says! :-p Ok, I'm done... Critique it however you like... Thanks for your time guys! ;-)


The Ugster <---|
---->

Looks great, man. Nice job on the lights. I always a dab of glue when I put the lights in.

Anyway, you ought to switch to Li-Ion batteries now to run all those lights! :D

Here is one of my chassis...

Nice ride...
 

[b][size=1][font=times new roman][color=green]Man that is sweet! It's so clean and professionally done! Yes, I've wanted to do Li-Ions for a while now, but they seem so high maintenence for me... I have a few questions about those, if I may...

Do you need to build a charger, or is it possible to buy one?

Is it possible to get a cell setup equivalent in voltage to a 5 or six cell setup without being impractical or cutting down run time by much?

Thanks for the comments, and keep that thing cool... Literally :-p


-Ug

I bought the cells and the charger from AtomicMods. He has a couple of different chargers...I bought the $20 one, and it works just fine. It will charge the cells in about 30 minutes.

The cells alone are $8.95 ea. No too bad. And you only need two. They are AA in size. They are also more powerful than a 5 or 6 cell setup. Plus, the weight savings is there as well. Have you tried to fit six cells under your car body? It is not easy...

Anyway, the wiring harnesses I made myself. I found some Deans connectors online for $1.40 per pair. I can solder pretty well, so those were not too bad. If you don't like to solder, AM sells the wiring harnesses as well. There is a tutorial on AtomicMods.com on how to install the Li-Ions. It is very detailed. I have four Li-Ion cars now out of the twelve that I have.
(Jeez, I have too many)

But anyway, you will freak out when you run the Li-Ions. The speed is pretty amazing, especially if you combine it with a different motor. I have two cars with an AtomicMods SS130 motor, and it rocks. The first time I fired them up, the tires blew off the rims!...No kidding! If you need any more help, just ask.

Always glad to share the knowledge...

Here is a pic of one of my Skylines with Li-Ions and A 180S Hi-Torque motor. I think I may do my RSX next...the Li-Ions will fit under there perfectly...

My RSX
 

Here is my RSX...

Whoa...
 

Hey man, thanks for the quick and detailed replies! I've wanted to get the black RSX, but it just doesn't make sense to me since I already have the regular one :-p Ahh well... Hey do you know exactly how much voltage those cells put out, and for how long? AtomicMods looks like a good place to start with buying Li-Ions and stuff... My soldering skills are pretty good, mostly because I've messed around with the car so much, and other soldering projects for a while... Practice makes perfect... Or melts plastic and/or destroys whatever you're trying to build ;-) Thanks again


-The Ugman

nice lug nutz. where did you get them?
:D

Believe it or not...
 

Hey,

I got them off an old tech deck bike, believe it or not... It's a nice fit... I even tried the "pegs" that come with the bike, and they fit too, though I don't know why you'd need em :-p

Ug

The Li-Ions put out 7.2V, I do believe....the cells that AM carries are of the 750maH variety, so you have some good run times. I am guessing at least 20-30 minutes of hard throttle...anyone else?