Rio EP my thoughts

[soulreaper]

Got my Rio Ep yesterday 10.9.09 from tower hobbies. During my initial checks I noticed that I was missing one set screw for the motor coupler. The coupler is supposed to have four set screws. The left trim plate was bent. The steering system sits on a "U type" bracket. I had to straighten my bracket. Make sure you check every screw to make sure they are tight, because most of mine were loose.

After making all necessary adjustments, I checked the boat over again. This is a nice looking boat. The radio that is supplied with the boat is the same as the tower hobbies 224 radio. I did a review of this radio on the Traxxas Emaxx forum. This radio works very good and is hard to beat for the money. I have NEVER had a problem with this radio. The only complaint I had about the radio is that it does not have any "Center dot markings" The manual does not list any specs for the stock esc that comes with this boat. The manual only says that you can use a 7.2v or 8.4v battery. If you plan on using a 8.4v battery make sure it is a hump pack. You will "NOT" have enough room for a 7cell stick pack. "Dont even try it"

I went to the lake this morning. The lake was completely calm. I threw in my 7.4v 5000mah 30C lipo. I thought this pack might be a little heavy but it was fine. The Rio comes on plane very quickly and it handles great. Its a pleasure to drive. The Rio is very slow. It doesnt even come close to the speed of the AQuacraft video. They might be running 8.4v in the video. After I finish this review im going to see if this esc can handle an 11.1v lipo. 11.1v lipo woke my Apache 24 up immediately That is all for now stay tuned. Remember this is just my "OPINION" I am "NOT" an expert, or a pro. I am glad I bought this boat and if something happens to this one I will buy another, no questions asked. Like everyone else I am going to start looking up brushless motors.

Reaper

[soulreaper]

Went to the lake again, this time I used an 11.1v 3000mah 30C lipo battery. This woke the Rio up, and there was a big difference in speed. The motor was still cool to touch. I dont know if this esc is rated for 11.1v but so far it hasnt been a problem. I'll keep running this set-up and see if the esc can handle it. Stay tuned.

Reaper

[soulreaper]

Just an update. I will be heading out to the lake in the morning, 10.15.09. I will run the boat again with the 11.1v lipo listed in the above post. I will let you know how it goes. There does not seem to be much interest in my post but I will continue to update for a while. Oh yeah all of my brushless components will be in next week and by next weekend the Rio will be brushless. I will post results If my setup works, and people are interested.

Reaper.

[chummer]

Reaper,
Keep us posted. I have ordered 3 of these, 2 for my boys and 1 for me I am interested to see how this holds up. I will probably upgrade mine to with SV27 electronics at some point. What did you order to upgrade yours.

Keep us up to date

[soulreaper]

Ran the Rio today again on 11.1v. So far the esc has worked without a flaw. On 11.1v The boat torques hard to the right. I tried to counter this by adding a little left steering input, but as soon as you let up the boat shoots back to the right violently. Am I supposed to adjust the right trim tab to counter this?? Please tell me how to deal with this. Thanks in advance.

Reaper.

[westbeach]

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ad.php?t=10118

BTW V-Spec has done a thread on the Rio. Maybe you should video your runs to share with us, and the difference the batteries make up in speed.

There does not seem to be much interest in my post but I will continue to update for a while. I will post results If my setup works, and people are interested.

Reaper.

[Steven Vaccaro]

Thanks for all the info. What mah lipo pack are you using?

[soulreaper]

Vaccaro, I am using a 11.1v 2800 mah pack. I run the boat for ten minutes at a time. The lowest cell voltages after a ten minute run are 3.77,3.74,3.77. The voltages are measured with a lipo cell tester. The motor temp is still low after ten minute runs. I can hold my finger on the motor all day long, with NO discomfort at all. However I dont know the esc temp, because it takes to much effort to get to it at the lake. So far the esc has performed without a problem on a 3cells. Only time will tell how long this esc will work on 3cells.

Reaper

[Steven Vaccaro]

thanks for the detailed numbers. I think you are wise to stop at the ten minute mark. Thats why I asked about the mah. With all the high mah packs out there the runtime can get crazy.

[Grimracer]

Got my Rio Ep yesterday 10.9.09 from tower hobbies. During my initial checks I noticed that I was missing one set screw for the motor coupler. The coupler is supposed to have four set screws. The left trim plate was bent. The steering system sits on a "U type" bracket. I had to straighten my bracket. Make sure you check every screw to make sure they are tight, because most of mine were loose.

After making all necessary adjustments, I checked the boat over again. This is a nice looking boat. The radio that is supplied with the boat is the same as the tower hobbies 224 radio. I did a review of this radio on the Traxxas Emaxx forum. This radio works very good and is hard to beat for the money. I have NEVER had a problem with this radio. The only complaint I had about the radio is that it does not have any "Center dot markings" The manual does not list any specs for the stock esc that comes with this boat. The manual only says that you can use a 7.2v or 8.4v battery. If you plan on using a 8.4v battery make sure it is a hump pack. You will "NOT" have enough room for a 7cell stick pack. "Dont even try it"

I went to the lake this morning. The lake was completely calm. I threw in my 7.4v 5000mah 30C lipo. I thought this pack might be a little heavy but it was fine. The Rio comes on plane very quickly and it handles great. Its a pleasure to drive. The Rio is very slow. It doesnt even come close to the speed of the AQuacraft video. They might be running 8.4v in the video. After I finish this review im going to see if this esc can handle an 11.1v lipo. 11.1v lipo woke my Apache 24 up immediately That is all for now stay tuned. Remember this is just my "OPINION" I am "NOT" an expert, or a pro. I am glad I bought this boat and if something happens to this one I will buy another, no questions asked. Like everyone else I am going to start looking up brushless motors.

Reaper

Reaper,

The coupler is uses only 3 set screws.. It is drilled for 4 but only ships with 3 (only need one on the motor shaft.

We used 7.4V humps in the video shoot. Something to keep in mind.. The closer the boat is zoomed in the faster it looks.. “try it some time” Rocken speed!

Thanks for the overview..

Grimracer

[Diesel6401]

Hey good posts reaper, keep them coming. I'm working on my Rio as well. I fried the stock esc after about 2 weeks using a 7.2v 3300mah nimh. Not sure how, I've read other sites that say the stock esc is kinda weak. I changed my esc to a Traxxas XL-5 and havent had any problems. I also changed the motor to a Titan 12T which im going to prob change again soon. Not sure if im going to go brushless wth this boat, im prob going to buy a supervee.

[soulreaper]

Thanks Diesel. Your custom paint job is awesome. I wish I had painting skills, but I dont know the first thing about painting. Nice pictures all the way around. I am now in the process of going brushless. I posted pictures of what I have so far in the "Brushless Soon thread"

Reaper.

[Diesel6401]

Thanks Diesel. Your custom paint job is awesome. I wish I had painting skills, but I dont know the first thing about painting. Nice pictures all the way around. I am now in the process of going brushless. I posted pictures of what I have so far in the "Brushless Soon thread"

Reaper.

Thanx. O I suck at painting, all I did was cut around the existing decals with a razor blade making sure not to cut the hull and leaving the design I wanted on the boat. Then grabbed some waterproof paint for abs plastic and use some scotch brite to scuff up the hull for the paint to stick. After that wipe it down with some rubbing alcohol and use masking tape around the rest. All in all it took about 6 hours to do maybe less. But I did it while I was at work so made it that much better

[chummer]

Diesel,
Your Rio looks good. Can you post a better pic with the hatch on. I am interested in how that 12T will push this boat. When are you going to run it?

[Diesel6401]

Diesel,
Your Rio looks good. Can you post a better pic with the hatch on. I am interested in how that 12T will push this boat. When are you going to run it?

Thanx. I'm currently at work, but when I get a chance I will try and post better pics and with the hatch on. I took it with my cell phone that's y that kinda looks like crap. Shockingly the 12t didn't make that huge of a difference compared to the stock motor. I am going to change the prop to a smaller one and hopefully try and run it tomorrow or monday. I am also going to try and buy a bigger battery, 9.6v 5000mah nimh. Not looking to go lipo just yet, this is my first and only rc boat so I'm still learing.