The Villain EX is going brushless!

[Jacked1]

Nice! I was thinking about one of those motors, but don't have much play money left this month. Bought too many boats/parts last month. The only bad thing about retirement. Can't ask for a raise!

I really like the Apparition. So much I just bought another one.

The Genesis is cool. Waiting on some more parts to make it even cooler. It runs well on the stock setup if run right.

I wanted the genesis soooo bad but got tired of waiting for it to get in stock and got the surge! Came in stock 2 days after i ordered the surge! lol And at least you have time for it! I am working full time at an egineering co-op for school and lifting and throwing everyday for track (i am a thrower on the OSU track team) so i get some time during lunch to make some parts at work each week and maybe an hour and a half on average to work or run the boats every day. And not to mention the girlfriend always wanting to do stuff! AHH!!! (she is asleep right now)

But i do love this hobby!!

[Make-a-Wake]

I just cant seem to find it in myself to like an offset rudder. I am installing the same rudder as my 6s Villain. I have had great results with this rudder setup and i think it is also the best way to get maximum water cooling.....a rudder cutting thru the water 3" deep creating alot of pressure in the the inlet. Plus it tracks straight and corners sharply. Havent run it yet with the new rudder, just now in the process of installing it "just right".

Here are pics of the first setup.................and the one i am installing now

[Jacked1]

That looks good! and if it makes it more stable then Awesome! I should prolly do that with mine but i can't justify puting anymore money in it with the shape my hull is in. Mine is 11 or 12 years old and the abs is really brittle warped now and i get a new crack almost ever time i run it .

I bet if you push that motor hard you could get it to 45mph!

[Make-a-Wake]

I think 45 is a little out of the range........but thanks for the encouragment!! My 6s Villain has "topped out" at 38.9.............with a Neu 1515(1500 kv) on 6s and an x640. The 642 went 2 mph slower.

This old boat has a great hull for the age.............i still have it in rough form as far as paint/finish, thats my last job on it. Probably a metallic blue/white theme.

It has the innards of a Genesis...........motor(2075kv 540xl) and ESC(120a), and i am running it with an x438....................my best guess is it will hit about 33-35 and still keep it in the OK temp range.

[Jacked1]

Oh yea i dunno what i was thinking! lol I forgot you got another villain! I was talking about the 6s one.

I might come back to mine if i have a chance next year because i am going to be doing a lot less building and a lot more running. I am thinking one of those 4mm HORracing stinger outdrives for 30 bucks would be nice in direct drive. On mine that motor coupler with the flex shaft in it isn't centered so it wobbles and has broke a few times.

I just came accross this too that i did not see before.. kinda made my jaw drop that he used nimh cells!

http://www.lousfastrc.com/vil7REV7.htm

[FighterCat57]

Just an update:

I broke a Universal Joint so put a pair of 4mm Graupner's on the wish list. It's been running smooth on 2s but a little hot on 3s. So to get a little more RPM and perhaps more run time... I found a set of lower KV motors, so am planning to switch to 1860Kv and run 4s (same 2s batteries, just in series instead of parallel)

Will give me about an extra 6k rpm. Am curious to see if running lower KV and higher Volts with the same batteries will yield more performance.

[Jesse J]

update on the Villain IV

So Traxxas finally got the EVX2 back in stock, so I got motorvated again.

using stock motors still - probably be upgrading when they die to titan 20 turns. ran silicone cooling jackets to their own through hull intake.

Plexiglass platform holds the servo, rx and ESC.

I been wondering, can you wire the battery inputs to the ESC into series? thus allowing one 4S pack to be hooked up?

Anyway, some pics. She is ready - but the weather is not... rain rain rain...........

[Make-a-Wake]

Hey Jesse, wasnt aware you were going for a clean "stock" setup.....looks very nice. You can just put a jumper on one battery connector on the esc to close that circuit......i have ran 3s this way before, but not 4s. One of the batt inputs makes the light come on, its the BEC lead side. I cannot be exactly positive what will happen if you use one 4s on one lead though as i havent done it. I tried 5s(2s + 3s) once and it got all jittery and crazy when it ran..........folks have done it with success though since 14 nimh cells fully charged can be right at 19.5 to 20v.

Check out this vid of my newest villain with new paint......the new center rudder......etc.......i'm spoolin in an sv27 on 12 cells. My turn fins are crazy good to me...........check out some of the cornering.............good closeup vid at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eJX48g8iyU

[Jacked1]

Those are some sweet turns for that speed!
And i love that it is whipping up on that sv27!
I think i might overhaul mine again during the school year... :)

[Jesse J]

thanks bro, yep, wanted stock so I could have reverse and one ESC. I have other boats to go fast, so this will be the tooler. yours is lookin good, my man! I may be doin some of your trademark turnfins - not much room on the back.

I was hoping to do two 4S in parallel for long runs, but until I get my answer for sure on how that ESC works, I will be doing 2S2P to each lead - for either 7200 mah or 9800 mah. If I could use 4S packs, then I could fill her up and have 14,400 mah... run-fo-evah.

If it stops raining I will get some vid - gotta maiden the MHZ Shockwave too.

[Make-a-Wake]

"Those are some sweet turns for that speed!
And i love that it is whipping up on that sv27!
I think i might overhaul mine again during the school year"

Thanks Jacked!! I love this boat!!

"yours is lookin good, my man! I may be doin some of your trademark turnfins - not much room on the back."

Thanks Jesse!! I'm certain of the ESC having a bec side...........the best bet though is the 2 x 2s. My red villain originally had twin 600's i had put in it.....i ran it with 4 5000 20c batts(2s2p)!!! Two were shoved up into the bow in slits i made in the styrofoam.

Here's a vid i like of a fast "stock" Villain..............14 cells and 17/28 gearing, looks nice at this speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPuUAifFBdw&feature=related

[Jesse J]

here is a quick vid of her maiden voyage. I need to adjust the trim a bit, but she worked great. Don't think I want much more speed, she looks pretty scale at this point. Just need a couple naked ladies on the deck to complete it.

[Make-a-Wake]

Nice job Jesse........that the kind of boat you just hang onto for years, neat little refurb scale job. I was gettin' a little worried at first when it didnt get on plane for the first minute.............was wondering "is this all i ts got?" Maybe you can trim the bow down a bit to stop the hopping......its probably due to the lipos being much lighter than stock equipment heavy nicads from when it was new 10 years ago.

Nice.

[FighterCat57]

I love successful builds.

Exactly what I wanted. Runs about the same as stock, only with massive amounts of run time and low temps using small 2s lipo packs. Is capable of running 4s, but I don't think the drive train would handle it. The outrunners were cool enough to touch after 10 minutes of solid run time.

I'll put a GPS on it and see if I can get any video. On 2s it runs about the same speed as stock, maybe a little faster, like 20 mph give or take.

The only thing I don't like is the ESC's have a slow start for Heli blades. Have to see if I can program it to not do that. Dunno. It's not a big deal, if I pull the trigger a second time, it functions normal, it's only from a dead stop.

Well, it WAS successful. Pulled it out for a run today and one of the ESC's just shakes the motor like it's retarded... This seems to be a common problem. It was running OK on the last run...

So... Two new $10 ESC's coming. At least these aren't the $200 WTF's.

[FighterCat57]

Well, it WAS successful. Pulled it out for a run today and one of the ESC's just shakes the motor like it's retarded... This seems to be a common problem. It was running OK on the last run...

So... Two new $10 ESC's coming. At least these aren't the $200 WTF's.

Ok, some updates, put in the new ESC's and did some wiring changes, this time using a BEC and combining the power leads to both ESC's.

Not shooting for record speed, just reliable fun. It's getting there.