Vxl rio ep

[medina619]

well my new Rio EP has not even arrived yet and I'm ready to upgrade. Im new to the R/C boat world but I'm coming from the R/C car world. I've been lurking around and just reading up on the Rio and other boats. i run brushless and lipos in my Car's and plan to do the same in my RIO.

my question is has anyone dropped in a Traxxas Velineon system in their RIO? I figured that a VXL would fit nicely in the RIO especially since its water proof. i also intend to upgrade the servo to a water proof traxxas servo.

do you guys have any recommendations on esc placement or any pointers? :confused2:

:sinking-guy:

[hyrulejedi86]

I know of it being done and the biggest problem was watercooling the ESC. And the fan doesn't do much as it will only be blowing the warm air in the hull back over the heatsink on the VXL unit.

Otherwise, The one I saw that had it ran pretty well, on both 2s and 3s.

[medina619]

im even considering using a sidewinder esc, im hoping some one has had some positive results with any of these ESC's

[Jesse J]

nope. use car ESCs with cars and boat (oh I guess airplane ESCs that are water cooled) for boats. I have ruined a sidewinder in a (what I thought was) mild set up. For boats, that motor is a relative amp hog 3500 KV is high for boats in the upper 20" range. If you do it is a 2S boat. 3S you need to be back at 3000 or less. I have been there and also burnt out a Velineon motor.... no warranty. 2200 KV would be ideal on 4S and a 100amp ESC then it would be just out of control, but a lot of fun. I would recommend reinforcing the hull with carbon fiber or fiber glass.

[medina619]

any BL combo recommendations then?

[medina619]

are these worth trying?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Water-Cool-150A-Brushless-ESC-3A-5A-BEC-/120632733718?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c16457016#ht_3714wt_1139

[goobs]

i tried the vxl combo. WAY TOO MUCH POWER!
i currently have a sidewinder on 2s with the stock motor and have never had any overheating issues. on both sys. im running the 3 blade prop off of the sv27.

[medina619]

i tried the vxl combo. WAY TOO MUCH POWER!
i currently have a sidewinder on 2s with the stock motor and have never had any overheating issues. on both sys. im running the 3 blade prop off of the sv27.

so your running the stock brushed motor?what speeds are you getting?

[goobs]

so your running the stock brushless motor?what speeds are you getting?

no the stock brushed motor that came with the rio.

the vxl sys. on 3s i couldnt go over 1/2 throttle w/o it barrel rolling and torque rolling. the speed would be around 40mph im guessing i know about half throttle it was 20+

right now on 2s it torque rolls, not to bad though just needa tune it.

[medina619]

what speeds are you getting with your current set up( sidewinder+stock motor)?

[goobs]

what speeds are you getting with your current set up( sidewinder+stock motor)?

mid to high 20's on 2s
im going to do some tuning this weekend. ill post up how it goes.

[wakeboardfusion]

I tried the VXL system in my rio, it pushes it pretty well. I used 2s.

[medina619]

I tried the VXL system in my rio, it pushes it pretty well. I used 2s.

any heat problems?

[wakeboardfusion]

Yes, you can only run it for about 5 min before it starts to get really hott.

[NUTZZZ]

I just ran my rio ep for the 10th time or more with vxl system installed. I drilled holes thrugh heat sink fins and ran alum tubes though holes and connected into existing coil around motor can. Running a 2cell lipo 6000mah smc battery and get about 25 min. runtime at about 25 mph maybe more. I love the ruster tail it shots about 6 ft in the air. Not the most stable of boats but fun. I think I need a larger c rating battery.

[NUTZZZ]

Not sure about how long my runtime was. Think it may have been a little shorter than what I said last. Probable more like 15 min. or so. But still a pretty fun lunch time. Water cooling the VXL ESC and placing the original motor cooling coil on helps keep every thing cooled down to around 100°F except the battery. So maybe time for a big 50c battery.

[medina619]

Not sure about how long my runtime was. Think it may have been a little shorter than what I said last. Probable more like 15 min. or so. But still a pretty fun lunch time. Water cooling the VXL ESC and placing the original motor cooling coil on helps keep every thing cooled down to around 100°F except the battery. So maybe time for a big 50c battery.

have any video of your boat??

[NUTZZZ]

No don't have any video. Would like to but only have an old digital camera with video and it dosen't work that good. I'm going to try and take some pics soon and see how a video comes out.

[hobie]

I used a Velineon system in my Rio. Works awesome, used a fan for the ESC, and used the stock motor coil, never barely got warm.... A touch warmer on 3s, but it was always rolling on the 3s, so i stuck to 2s.
But, everything is back to stock, and its now my rescue boat.
I have learned one thing from this.... Car stuff is for cars, and boat stuff is for boats. Period. It doesnt pay to mix and match, MOST times, and i say most, it doesnt work out.
Just my 2 cents worth, thats all.

[Mattman]

Is it even worth putting brushless in a rio ep?

[hobie]

Is it even worth putting brushless in a rio ep?

I wouldn't go and spent a bunch of $ for it, but if you can get something really cheap, or have something lying around, it really wakes it up, and it's a lot of fun too.
The velineon system is pretty crazy, so I've ordered a couple of cheap items from hong kong. Not goin to mix car and boat stuff anymore, doesn't work to well.

[Mattman]

Ok do you think you could post some links to some stuff?

[hobie]

Ok do you think you could post some links to some stuff?

I'm going to start with this motor:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8593

And this ESC:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7360

[medina619]

Is it even worth putting brushless in a rio ep?

depends what you mean by "worth" . The Rio comes with cheap electronics, so it will be worth while to upgrade. Why not go with something more efficient,lipo friendly and to top it off increased speed. I put around 65 bucks in a brushless system and i don't regret it one bit.
:buttrock:

[medina619]

Ok do you think you could post some links to some stuff?

check out my thread. 1st post

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?t=19879

[bobbroadley]

I am new to RC boating , is a new Rio EP RTR a good starter boat

[medina619]

Yup. Great to start on. I still have mine still love it.