O.S. lower unit FE Conversion

[mtbenjamin77]

I just picked up a topspeed 3 with an O.S. lower and plan to convert to FE. I will make my own motor adapter but I'm not sure what motor to use for this setup. What have you guys used with good results? I would be willing to try an outrunner if it'll give me good results. Also, can the O.S. be converted to a 3/16" flex?

[jlb7569]

Hello, the stock Aquacraft UL1 Superior hydro's motor/esc combo seems to be a good choice. Atleast that was what I was told and have read about it on this forum somewhere.

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[egneg]

Depends on how you are going to use it. The UL1 combo is a P-limited set up for racing in that class. Any 4S motor/esc combo will do.

[HTVboats]

The OS is an excelent lower. It won't adapt to a 3/16th cable as the prop shaft would not be easy to modify. With the .150 cable it will however take a 4074/1515 motor and not break. Any more power than that and you'll push a TS-3 beyond it's structure. On 4S anything from the AQ spec setup to maybe a 3674/2000kv range will be very quick. A T-120 is inexpensive and for a little over a hundred a SF200 works well with tunnel radio box space limits and will take up to 3000watts. Hyperformance makes a nice adapter availiable here on OSE that isn"t expensive. I have a TS-3 that handles spec power easily and can take a bit more. Prop from a 42X55 up to an M445.
Mic

[Chilli]

Mic Did you have problems with the transom cracking on your TS3? I was warned about it and it took a year to surface but I come to find out there was a gap between the transom and the doubler where the lower bolts on. I ended up cutting out the transom and filling the gap with Marine-tex. I love the boat on P-Limited power.

Ditto on the Hyperformance motor adapter and flex collet. Kris Flynn also make great quality square flex cables for the OS lower/Hyperformance combo. I have had the stock OS Flex spin inside the Hyperformance collet. I think they may be a little too long also.

[mtbenjamin77]

Mic,

Thanks again my friend, This is gives me a great place to start.

The OS is an excelent lower. It won't adapt to a 3/16th cable as the prop shaft would not be easy to modify. With the .150 cable it will however take a 4074/1515 motor and not break. Any more power than that and you'll push a TS-3 beyond it's structure. On 4S anything from the AQ spec setup to maybe a 3674/2000kv range will be very quick. A T-120 is inexpensive and for a little over a hundred a SF200 works well with tunnel radio box space limits and will take up to 3000watts. Hyperformance makes a nice adapter availiable here on OSE that isn"t expensive. I have a TS-3 that handles spec power easily and can take a bit more. Prop from a 42X55 up to an M445.
Mic

[mtbenjamin77]

Mic,

you have any suggestions/tips/tricks to avoid hooking in the corners and what are the benefits of the TS-3 over the TS-2?

[properchopper]

Just in case you are thinking of a full P motor that needs a higher capacity esc, there is (depending how wide you make your radio box) a way to fit a T-180 in by using 90deg. waterline fitings. I've run a 15151Y with one of Kris's flex cables in the OS without breakage, but runs were not that long.

DSC01807.JPG

I tried a Scorpion 3026 (I think it was 1900KV) on a VS-1 a while ago. Looked really cool spinning on the back, but not that powerfull. A T-600 outrunner might be great but they have a 6mm shaft so a custom collet needs to be sourced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4gL7U-Cnzk

[HTVboats]

Mic Did you have problems with the transom cracking on your TS3? I was warned about it and it took a year to surface but I come to find out there was a gap between the transom and the doubler where the lower bolts on. I ended up cutting out the transom and filling the gap with Marine-tex. I love the boat on P-Limited power.

Ditto on the Hyperformance motor adapter and flex collet. Kris Flynn also make great quality square flex cables for the OS lower/Hyperformance combo. I have had the stock OS Flex spin inside the Hyperformance collet. I think they may be a little too long also.

Mike,
I have to say the TS-3 is a great design, but needs to be reinforced around the transom. Mine split the rear seams from a blowover.

MT77 - The TS-3 corners very well. As in any FE tunnel be careful to keep the weight to the rear as batteries too far forward can cause oversteer and hookiing. The TS-2 won't hold a candle to the 3. There is a reason I have seen TS-2's at nitro races not selling with a $25 price tag. FE power is too much for them to handle well in my opinion.

I think FE motors do not put near the stress on a flex shaft compaired to a nitro which effectively has one big power pulse per revolution.
Mic

[Chilli]

I've done three FE tunnel conversions and the TS-3 was the first one that I installed the steering servo toward the rear. Don't know if I would do that again on this model. Like you said, she needs weight in the rear and with that configuration I have to slide the battery all the way back and even add a little lead to the transom. With the extra weight of the transom reinforcement, hopefully I can remove the weight. I cant find too many people that have anything nice to say about the TS2.

[mtbenjamin77]

For my setup I was planning to mount the ESC in the back, battery in the middle and RX & servo up front. I'm not sure about a radio box at all. I may just use a RX box and leave the servo, esc and battery exposed.

[Chilli]

Your layout sounds like a good plan. Leaving all your gear exposed is not. Your tunnel is going to end up upside down and all the exposed components will eventually fail. I was terrifed the first time I put a dremmel tool to a new tunnel hull but I went slow and ended up very pleased with the results. I prefer making a one peice radio box but some will use the box that came with the kit and extend it. Either way works fine. Here is what I did to the hull. If you do a search, you can find other layouts people have tried.

In the configuration below, the esc goes under the steering servo and the batter goes as far back as possible.

[mtbenjamin77]

Your layout sounds like a good plan. Leaving all your gear exposed is not. Your tunnel is going to end up upside down and all the exposed components will eventually fail. I was terrifed the first time I put a dremmel tool to a new tunnel hull but I went slow and ended up very pleased with the results. I prefer making a one peice radio box but some will use the box that came with the kit and extend it. Either way works fine. Here is what I did to the hull. If you do a search, you can find other layouts people have tried.

In the configuration below, the esc goes under the steering servo and the batter goes as far back as possible.

That's prolly not a bad idea, cutting out the hull like that, since Mic says they need to be reinforced at the transom any how. The servo and ESC I plan to use have held up to some severe water exposure that's why I was just planning on leaving them exposed. But I do like the idea of having the entire center section sealed.

I like how you setup the motor bullets howd you get them to stay so good. I tried that once but the bullets just broke loose. It was on a recovery boat so I really didn't put too much effort into

[mtbenjamin77]

do these come with any floatation inside the hull?

[HTVboats]

For my setup I was planning to mount the ESC in the back, battery in the middle and RX & servo up front. I'm not sure about a radio box at all. I may just use a RX box and leave the servo, esc and battery exposed.

As Mike said not a good plan. I have electrified maybe 12 tunnels, Spec,P&Q. My own HTV's,Vision,Hopper,TS-3,Shaman,Hornet,Lynx & Warhead. After building all these radio boxes the best ones are from Dan Hutchinson (Sniper boats) who is reasonable and much better with wood than I am. From my experience the box should be as large as you can fit under the cowl. (bigger means more sealed flotation) Steering servo as far forward as possible and tall enough in the back to mount the ESC at the rear and slide batteries underneath. I epoxy 1/8 brass tubes down the side of the box and use Goldenrod flex cables to steer. You don't know where your weight will end up but the ability to move batteries a bit and maybe use different packs is a plus. I use a lot of foam blocks fore and aft to keep things from shifting. One of the reasons I like the Swordfish esc's is they are narrow and thin. I have one t-180 that I had to rework the cooling lines and still a tight fit. Do it this way and you should never need any extra weight. Trim with your batteries which are the heaviest component and make things simpler.
Mic