Thanks! And IMO, the original bandit body is even more timeless. I have one sitting around but too afraid to run it as there are no replacements anymore :(
A mid motor conversion has been an Idea ive had for nearly 20 years for my bandit and rustler but its just beyond my capabilities. Its great that you have made it happen, congrats on an awesome build. First video of this channel ive seen and now to sub.
I did a custom chassis for my Rustler basher a few years ago. I just flipped the transmission around as you spoke about. I find it super easy to use off the shelf parts. I used 1/8 aluminum sheet for the chassis and upgraded to a super long 4S motor to compensate for the weight. when it comes to the body mount I drilled a small hole in the rear body mount and I use a screw and washer through the body into the hole I drilled to hold it down. Works like a champ. Looks like crap. Your's looks very good, nice build!
Siiiick!! This is the coolest thing I've seen on TH-cam! I found the ball diff to not hold up too well to modern power, hopefully yours is working OK. You could always go 272r gear diff if you need to. Which TLR are the shocks from?
Thanks! Means a lot coming from you! I haven't had an issue yet with the ball diff, and this isn't the first car I've used this diff in, either. I had it in a Rustler for a while with an 8.5t and it held up fine. I'm not sure which exact car the TLR shocks are from, I bought them used for real cheap on RCTech a while back. I know they're buggy length and either from a 3.0 or a 4.0.
This is a really badass build and even more high-end/high-tech than Jason Slemmer's MR bandit on the MX Acres YT channel. But I have a theory: Rear motor cars can turn faster than mid-motor cars. To simplify car physics, during grip driving, cars rotate about the NON steering axle. So if you have leverage on BOTH sides of said axle, there will be more rotational authority than just giving the front more force to turn with via weight distribution. I don't have an RC or the money for one at all, and I haven't been able to get someone to test this yet, but if you want to; measure your MR bandit's current weight distribution, then put it back to rear motor and do WHATEVER you have to do (without just adding a crapload of ballast) to get the weight distribution as close as possible to the MR setup while rear motor. I'm talking make the steering system more like a Losi/AE AND flipping the servo up and mounting it between the shock tower. I'm talking moving the other two electronics pieces AND the battery as far forward as reasonably possible without making them higher CG AND keeping the battery transversely mounted, too. (or whatever combo of batt vs ESC+receiver is heavier, mount the heavier object(s)ahead of the lighter one(s) to get the weight bias as close as you can before ballast).
@@nick_cnc I need a kit or a car, first! Preferably one where the front suspension/steering are already designed like I suggested. Any ideas for a way to do that cheaply?
I also run a mid motor Traxxas Rustler with the stock transmission turned around. Mounting the body is simple. You can’t run the stock body so I bought a JConcepts F2 body designed to fit the Rustler and made my own mounting holes and it fits just fine
I'm 46, what I think is so cool is that the Bandit has been around since the 70s basically. I had one in the early 80s, and have had one of the current versions for a few years. My OG one broke if you looked at it, it's insane how far materials have come.
Love this build! My brother and i are building mid motor rustlers for our local clay track. Im curious what arms you are running as they dont look stock to me?
Very cool, I love this kind of creativity and tinkering. I have the same TLR shocks on my Bandit. Curious why you're running a ball diff on carpet, also the slicks? Maybe you run on clay more often.
This is going to be my outdoor dirt car this summer so this was sort of just a test. But also I'm experimenting with running slicks on carpet because I'm tired of how fast carpet tires wear out and how much I have to spend on new tires. Clay slicks don't really wear out on carpet so if I can convince people where I run to start running a buggy class just for slicks then I can just run one set of tires all season long.
What material are the 3D printed parts made out of? I've tried printing RC parts before in PLA and nylon, but even nylon is so brittle compared to the stock cast PA6/66 stuff.
Right now the parts you see in the video are just PLA and while I do think that's pushing what I can get away with in terms of durability, I'm confident these parts will survive when printed from tougher materials like the PC blend I have. On previous builds I've used SLS nylon for the trans case and it survived some gnarly crashes.
Selling conversions is an option I'm considering, but I've sold stuff before and it turns a fun hobby into a stressful job pretty quick so I'm not sure if I want to go that route.
are the files available anywhere for the transmission and other bits you 3d printed? I have my own mid motor bandit, but I used the standard traxxas trans, mirrored the halves so i could get mid motor and have the motors (brushless fixed timing) spinning the right way. I like your design because it looks like its lower and moves the motor more forward.
What material did you print the trans case out of? PLA? PETG? Curious to try this. I’ve got an Ender 3 but my print settings aren’t dialed in very well. Would this conversion work on a stock chassis or do I need to get a flat carbon or aluminum one?
@@samboyd2999 I've been printing in basic pla and can't remember if I've ever broken a trans case. You will need to use the chassis I designed. You could print out a chassis to use as a template to make one by hand, or you could send the step file to a cut service line send cut send. You'd also need to get a shock tower to go with whatever trans case option you decide to go with.
That's not always true. Not all sensored ESCs support running backwards and if you're racing you WANT a sensored setup. I've also seen lots of motors that do not have the ability to adjust the timing correctly to run backwards. Go watch MxAcre's videos on his mm bandit build - he had to take apart and modify his motor to get the timing to work right going backwards.
i would drive one of those trucks but i dont have the skills to wrench on them though, i open something and bits flop out all over the place, i dunno where they go etc, plus i dont have a 3d printer and id have to learn all of that on top of how to install it myself, but i suspect this wouldnt be for a guy like me anyways, i def want a mid motor rustler tho, it's just beyond my abilities to do it myself. buying is difficult also cuz custom work isnt cheap i'm a broke scrub, but thats on me lol
It’s about time carbon fiber comes to rc cars. I fly drones and they been carbon for a long time. The light weight and durability is amazing. It can still break but it doesn’t bend .
Fantastic bit of engineering. It's brilliant you designed everything to fit underneath the standard body, the Bandit body is timeless. Well done.
Thanks! And IMO, the original bandit body is even more timeless. I have one sitting around but too afraid to run it as there are no replacements anymore :(
A mid motor conversion has been an Idea ive had for nearly 20 years for my bandit and rustler but its just beyond my capabilities. Its great that you have made it happen, congrats on an awesome build. First video of this channel ive seen and now to sub.
this is the coolest hobby ever...awesome custom!!
I did a custom chassis for my Rustler basher a few years ago. I just flipped the transmission around as you spoke about. I find it super easy to use off the shelf parts. I used 1/8 aluminum sheet for the chassis and upgraded to a super long 4S motor to compensate for the weight. when it comes to the body mount I drilled a small hole in the rear body mount and I use a screw and washer through the body into the hole I drilled to hold it down. Works like a champ. Looks like crap. Your's looks very good, nice build!
Siiiick!! This is the coolest thing I've seen on TH-cam! I found the ball diff to not hold up too well to modern power, hopefully yours is working OK. You could always go 272r gear diff if you need to. Which TLR are the shocks from?
Thanks! Means a lot coming from you! I haven't had an issue yet with the ball diff, and this isn't the first car I've used this diff in, either. I had it in a Rustler for a while with an 8.5t and it held up fine.
I'm not sure which exact car the TLR shocks are from, I bought them used for real cheap on RCTech a while back. I know they're buggy length and either from a 3.0 or a 4.0.
This is a really badass build and even more high-end/high-tech than Jason Slemmer's MR bandit on the MX Acres YT channel. But I have a theory: Rear motor cars can turn faster than mid-motor cars. To simplify car physics, during grip driving, cars rotate about the NON steering axle. So if you have leverage on BOTH sides of said axle, there will be more rotational authority than just giving the front more force to turn with via weight distribution.
I don't have an RC or the money for one at all, and I haven't been able to get someone to test this yet, but if you want to; measure your MR bandit's current weight distribution, then put it back to rear motor and do WHATEVER you have to do (without just adding a crapload of ballast) to get the weight distribution as close as possible to the MR setup while rear motor.
I'm talking make the steering system more like a Losi/AE AND flipping the servo up and mounting it between the shock tower. I'm talking moving the other two electronics pieces AND the battery as far forward as reasonably possible without making them higher CG AND keeping the battery transversely mounted, too. (or whatever combo of batt vs ESC+receiver is heavier, mount the heavier object(s)ahead of the lighter one(s) to get the weight bias as close as you can before ballast).
Interesting idea, you should test it!
@@nick_cnc I need a kit or a car, first! Preferably one where the front suspension/steering are already designed like I suggested. Any ideas for a way to do that cheaply?
Very impressive. I have a 2WD Rustler and would love to be able to convert if to mid-motor. Keep up the good work.
That is amazing! Nice work!
I also run a mid motor Traxxas Rustler with the stock transmission turned around. Mounting the body is simple. You can’t run the stock body so I bought a JConcepts F2 body designed to fit the Rustler and made my own mounting holes and it fits just fine
I'm 46, what I think is so cool is that the Bandit has been around since the 70s basically. I had one in the early 80s, and have had one of the current versions for a few years. My OG one broke if you looked at it, it's insane how far materials have come.
What are you talking about? Traxxas as a company was established 1986 and the bandit was first released in 1995.
Lmao😂
Love this build! My brother and i are building mid motor rustlers for our local clay track. Im curious what arms you are running as they dont look stock to me?
Rear are stock bandit arms, fronts are Traxxas HD bandit arms.
Great job brother!🙂
I would LOVE a Rustler version of this!
Very cool build 🏁👌🏻
Very cool, I love this kind of creativity and tinkering. I have the same TLR shocks on my Bandit. Curious why you're running a ball diff on carpet, also the slicks? Maybe you run on clay more often.
This is going to be my outdoor dirt car this summer so this was sort of just a test. But also I'm experimenting with running slicks on carpet because I'm tired of how fast carpet tires wear out and how much I have to spend on new tires. Clay slicks don't really wear out on carpet so if I can convince people where I run to start running a buggy class just for slicks then I can just run one set of tires all season long.
Nice built. I Would purchase this from you. You didn’t try proline differential.
Really very cool!
I'm sure bumping the moment of inertia forward maybe 6 inches changed how it acts quite a bit!
it is a nice build.
wish i had a cnc to cut my own part also.
What material are the 3D printed parts made out of? I've tried printing RC parts before in PLA and nylon, but even nylon is so brittle compared to the stock cast PA6/66 stuff.
Right now the parts you see in the video are just PLA and while I do think that's pushing what I can get away with in terms of durability, I'm confident these parts will survive when printed from tougher materials like the PC blend I have. On previous builds I've used SLS nylon for the trans case and it survived some gnarly crashes.
Great video, thank you
You should sale your conversion kit for the bandit
Selling conversions is an option I'm considering, but I've sold stuff before and it turns a fun hobby into a stressful job pretty quick so I'm not sure if I want to go that route.
Awesome build man! How thick is the carbon chassis? I would like to make one for my bandid.
Didn’t realize you had more than one video on this
th-cam.com/video/b4jmcOCSH_E/w-d-xo.html feels so good, you can feel it rotating on the motor as a pivot point
I'd build one, looks like an awesome thing to have, I also have 3D Printers and CNC machines so could make the parts
are the files available anywhere for the transmission and other bits you 3d printed? I have my own mid motor bandit, but I used the standard traxxas trans, mirrored the halves so i could get mid motor and have the motors (brushless fixed timing) spinning the right way. I like your design because it looks like its lower and moves the motor more forward.
What material did you print the trans case out of? PLA? PETG? Curious to try this. I’ve got an Ender 3 but my print settings aren’t dialed in very well. Would this conversion work on a stock chassis or do I need to get a flat carbon or aluminum one?
@@samboyd2999 I've been printing in basic pla and can't remember if I've ever broken a trans case.
You will need to use the chassis I designed. You could print out a chassis to use as a template to make one by hand, or you could send the step file to a cut service line send cut send. You'd also need to get a shock tower to go with whatever trans case option you decide to go with.
yes id love to turn my bandit into a true mm
thumbs up for carbon farts
Almost re-shot that take, but decided it was worth keeping in at the risk of the rest of the video sounding too formal/boring!
You could run any motor esc if the motor runs backwards just switch the wires around
That's not always true. Not all sensored ESCs support running backwards and if you're racing you WANT a sensored setup. I've also seen lots of motors that do not have the ability to adjust the timing correctly to run backwards. Go watch MxAcre's videos on his mm bandit build - he had to take apart and modify his motor to get the timing to work right going backwards.
Looks like a Shumacher
What thickness is the carbon fiber?
I used 2.5mm cf for everything. I'd probably go thicker on the shock towers though. I've broken a few already.
@@nick_cnc what material for the 3d printing do you recommend
@@gateguardninja I've been using regular PLA for everything and it's help up way better than I ever thought it would.
Oh I mightve missed but does the transmission work with the 272r gear diff
@@gateguardninja no, just the 272 gears. There's no option for a ball diff to use in the new 272r.
i would drive one of those trucks but i dont have the skills to wrench on them though, i open something and bits flop out all over the place, i dunno where they go etc, plus i dont have a 3d printer and id have to learn all of that on top of how to install it myself, but i suspect this wouldnt be for a guy like me anyways, i def want a mid motor rustler tho, it's just beyond my abilities to do it myself. buying is difficult also cuz custom work isnt cheap i'm a broke scrub, but thats on me lol
Why not go all the way and design your own rc car? It is a lot of work but I can say it's also extremely rewarding :)
me and my brother 3d printed a bunch of rc car parts and they dont hold up one wreck and they break
Sorry to hear that. I've had very problems with my parts.
It’s about time carbon fiber comes to rc cars. I fly drones and they been carbon for a long time. The light weight and durability is amazing. It can still break but it doesn’t bend .
Start selling these and I’ll be your first buyer lol