I got my new losi 8ight t 2.0 truggy this weekend.  

Yet to break in the engine, I am still lost in the manuals as of now   and i need some

1) How do I increase the ground clearance? -  Working on the shock springs isn't helping much as the manual says.
Please see the last picture. Anything else that i can do?

2) When I rotate the wheels to check if all wheels are smooth, i hear a click sound from the gears section for every rotation. Is that common or is there something wrong? I am rotating both the rear wheels simultaneously.

3) What is the best way to check the gear mesh? I tried the paper test but was not very helpful  as the paper was not going between the gears.


Other things that i corrected
1) Front left wheel toe out was huge. Corrected it to be symmetrical with the right wheel.
2) Telemetry wires were all over touching the engine and servos. I placed them properly without any obstructions.

Anything else that you guys want me to check? Any suggestions from the pros?  

  8)Well, I'm no pro but I'll try to help you out.

Ideally, you shouldn't get a clicking sound when you turn your gears. Make sure its not from inside your diffs by lifting the car and turning just one wheel. If the diff is working correctly, the other wheel should turn in the opposite direction.

The paper method is supposed to be the best. People do adjust their mesh on electrics by listening to the tone. I'm pretty sure you can't do that with nitro The spacing between the gears is supposed to be the thickness of one sheet of paper. The paper should come out and look like the bellows of an accordion.

With threaded shock bodies, turning the collar( The more you preload your spring, the lesser your ride height becomes and vice versa) is supposed to be the simplest way to change ride height. You can change the shock angles but that will affect other factors in your suspension...

Oh and you made a great buy. I'm pretty sure you are going to enjoy this one. I'd love to see videos of how it does. For a first time buyer, you did the right things and checked the right things. Good to know that you know your stuff and exercise common sense

Dammit I'm jealous! I wanted an electric version, but its tooo expensive! Have fun with your truck! And post some running videos once you find time!

Quote from: iamahuman on October 16, 2011, 08:51:08 PM

Ideally, you shouldn't get a clicking sound when you turn your gears. Make sure its not from inside your diffs by lifting the car and turning just one wheel. If the diff is working correctly, the other wheel should turn in the opposite direction.

The diff is working fine and there is no click sound as well. I can hear the sound only when all 4 wheels are moving.
And as far as the gear mesh is concerned, may be ill try with a thinner paper.

@Divyam - Since this is my first, I thought ill get the best available complete package. Since it comes with starter box and a very good radio set, all these will serve me for a long time. So, its more of a strategic  investment.  

How much did u got it for...? BTW Towers??

One of my friend bought it for me. Payed 43k for the entire package.

Now coming back to the truggy. I managed to solve the earlier mentioned issues. A biggggg thanks to iamhuman  

But for my good fortune as ever I am this time stuck with the engine. I cant get it running whatsoever  
The mechanical pinch is just way too high. The piston gets stuck all the time at TDC. The BDC is smooth.
I spent an entire day working on the engine. Just not able to crank it up
So any advice here?   Is there any easy work around so that the piston in the engine doesn't get stuck?

It's been a week i got the car and now the tires are literally crying for some movement.
Somebody please save this poor soul.(not me the car   )

PS: I am trying to start the engine for the first time to begin the break-in process.

With an engine, I'm of no use.

How about meeting someone who has good experience with nitro engines? They can help you.

Congrats on the new Rig.

First of all make sure you are using more than 2 x 7.2v batts. The best option is 2 x 8.4v packs for the losi started box. Once you have the starter box ready make sure you set the piston at BDC and then use a hair dryer or engine heater to get it up to about 200f.  Make sure that every time you try to start the car the piston is in BDC. Once it starts up once you shouldnt have an issue after that.

Well is your engine Flooded with fuel.,loosen up the glow plug,tilt your car upside down ,using a tissue or cloth put your finger in the hole where the glow plug goes,let the tissue or cloth absorb the fuel.Heat your glow plug let if burn of any fuel in it,put back the glow plug and tighten it.

In the starter box make sure you have atleast 12v of DC supply,the gel based lead acid batteries will most certainly have a voltage below that and the starter motor really won't have the volts to crank the engine.

Use either a pair 7.2v Nimh stick pack,you can also use a 3s lipo battery fully charge state or safe choice would be to use a pair of LifeP04 batteries it gives around 13.3 volts which is kind a perfect not to much and not to less.
Make sure the starter box flywheel aligns perfectly to the flywheel of the engine.

Make sure that the glow plug driver is fully charged,it its some cheap chines glow plug driver it will mostly have some cheap chinese battery,which usually won't really be that good.

start the car ,with glow driver inserted.

start with factory carburetor setting,during run in its better to run it rich.

since u are new to the hobby it wud be best to catch hold of some one who has been in this hobby for smtym .. they can help .. dont fiddle much u myt  end up ruining it just like i did mine .

He has been take care .. Helping out today..

Sidd, are you using 16+volt on your starter box? Are you sure? Best bet would be use a 4S lipo. He didn't have a charger, so I gave him a gel cell which I was using earlier. Gel cell is perfect to start any motor. I switched to lipo for the lesser weight. The starter boxes are usually designed for 14.4v. Good ones like the Ofna one can take upto 15v with ease.

His issue is piston at TDC which even a generator cant release. You will either break the con rod or the starter motor or at least burn the wiring/switch. Preheat is the only way.

Thank you guys, everyone   

I did all the experimenting i could until i was completely satisfied 

Tried most of the above suggestions but not much luck.

Finally, the ever so awesome Murali(JRH)  came to my rescue. I took the rig to him and he did his magic over it.
It's working great now, starting with one small push on a pair of 7.2v Nimh.
Did the 2 tanks of idle so far, now Im moving it slowly on my terrace. Murali gave me some very good tips on break in, so im currently  doing that.

@ajo I took the leap and got the starter box batteries and GT Power charger.

No problem. You should have got a cheap HK lipo since you got the gt charger. The lipos will start any engine and are way lighter. Happy to know you are happy with the nimh.

I see a lot of people suggesting lipos. The first thing murali also told me was to get a lipo.
But you heard of how "lipo-phobic" i am 
Nevertheless, I will soon convert.

My sig is a little contradictory but here goes...

Lipos are like guns. They are dangerous only in the hands of stupid people..

Some basic things you need to do to take care of them...

1) Do not over charge a lipo
2) Do not over discharge a lipo ( below 3.0V/cell. The safe limit is 3.4V/cell)
3) NEVER short a Lipo
5) Don't let it get too hot.
6) Charge a 2s lipo as a 2s lipo. Make sure your settings on the charger are right.
7) Avoid physical shock as much as you can.
8 ) Do not store one fully charged or fully discharged. Store it at " Storage voltage".
9) Always balance charge a lipo. It might take some time but its worth it.
10) If it smells funny, dipose of it.
11) If it puffs up, say goodbye...
12) Avoid charging a lipo at more than 1C( e.g. A 5000mAh can be charged safely at 5A.) There are 5C+ charge capable lipos but anything over 1C is going to reduce the life of the pack.

If you want more details, go here.

kGr99 - The fun thing about this hobby is helping each other out.. Even your closest competitor.. That is the best thing i love about his hobby..

There are few drawbacks of Lipo in a starter box.. I have been victim of Lipo melting the switched an wires. The car has to be properly aligned with the starter box. If the car doesnt crank in one push then you should stop immediately if pushed further, you may end up breaking a lot of parts on your starter box.. I was deeply saddened when my starter box broke during our last race and i just couldn't get my car started.. 

Since you already have GT charger go for Lipo.. Remember this "With great power, come great responsibility".. This is very apt for our hobby..hahahhaha...

Now i have made a quite a amount of Modification to the starter box now. Now it is equipped will all heavy duty wires and plugs.. Hope it works..

@iamahuman,
Well, I'm not a first time user of lipos. In fact i don't even remember how many I used (and destroyed  ) and that's the reason I stay away from lipos if the job is done by other batteries.I basically come from a robotics background.
But then the DO NOT's that you gave are great. I guess I'll print them out and stick it on my charger. 

@JRH,
I had no issues with the stick packs until now. Did the 3 tanks slow running. It did die out a couple of times but was up and running with no effort at all. So, as of now, the starter box is doing great.
Will upgrade to lipos sometime later as I totally drained out my wallet now  . I still am on a paycheck unlike you. 

You can always go for LifeP04 batteries, i use them in my starter box they are as safe as ni-mh.