The official 36" zelos twin modding thread

[fweasel]

Glad you were able to get some strut maintenance done while they were off. I'll be replacing mine this winter.

[REDLINE1]

Yeah, slow progress. I was going to epoxy them in and go, but more and more I've read that the layup of these hulls are a little thin on the bottom, so I've done a layer of carbon fiber, and am now getting the mounts mocked up and glued in. I'm putting LiPo trays in the sponsons and mounting the ESC's in the middle. Have Swordfish 300A's going in it because I'm going to just about burn up those 1600kv, 4082 Leo's trying to hit triple digits on 8s. I just haven't had a ton of time to put into the build. Someone will have already gotten this hull beyond 100mph by the time I get it in the water, haha. Has anyone, yet? I haven't checked recently. Last I checked the top speed was in the 90's...

Sounds awesome post some pics when u get it done

[banixj]

i quote REDLINE1: today i've tested Jeff wires for the first time: no water inside...
i agree with others: water can go inside passing by strut/transom assembly...
if you run the water can not enter by wires! so a static test is not real: a boat must run, that's the first rule someone teach me!
a strut service is good to add a plate and to seal better the area with silicone, that's what i did...
anyway with Jeff wires the top speed is really increased (+9kmh/5.6mph) : now my keda motors can reach the top rpm of 2160kv for a final speed of 121kmh 75.2mph! so happy today!

[Shoc-RC]

Happy to report, boat is dry as a bone after 10min float test in the tub. Of course you guys were right, guess I just didn't get enough caulk in the right places.I I paid special attention to where the brass stuffing tube comes out and meets inside the stinger, just used a little extra caulk around the stuffing tube so that it got into the actual stinger. Must have formed up nicely as it dried. I thought of a rubber washer as well but that test will be for another day. Added the new 3831's as well so will have it out this weekend.

Building Mods to date: air dam up front, battery tray removed-reshaped (to fit 6S 2p under the front) and new epoxy added at the mount brackets for strength, homemade brackets made for both stingers and rudder mounts and placed inside the hull for strength, filed criss/cross groves on motor mounts at both contact points, sealed stingers/rudder brackets with caulk. Filed water pickups, lightly sanded bottom of each transom.

Upgrades or additions:Motors upgraded to the Dynamite 3831 models, also using thrust washers (from OSE) between collet and motor. Using Jeff's wire drives/dogs and collets. re-routed water cooling system to cool motors then ESC's, added more floatation inside, Receiver Spektrum SR6000T (telemetry)

Stock items utilized: Battery and electronics mounting tray, motor mounts, stuffing tubes and mounts, water pickups, stingers, steering system to include servo rudder ect.

Planned mods this winter: Kevlar/Carbon fiber inlay, tips of cat filled with something (not sure what yet) for added strength, quad transom water pickups (2 per side), 2 water outlet nipples added for the quad pickups, and either a wrap or pain job.
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[banixj]

Nice job done and good job to do!

Is it safe for the ESC to reroute the water path in the cooling system??

This is my last temp summary:
Air temp: 22°C 72°F
Water temp: 17°C 63°F
ESC temps: 55°C 131°F
Keda motors temp: 80°C 176°F
LiPo temps: 56°C 133°F

[fweasel]

Shoc-RC, glad you got the water issue resolved. Dry boats are a good thing. While I don't think its necessary to cool the motors first, given data off my own boat, you still need to rework your cooling lines a bit. Regardless of what order the devices are cooled, water should always enter the lower motor cooling can nipple (aft) first, and exit the upper nipple (fore). You need to clock the cooling cans on each motor so that the forward exit nipple is as close to the 12:00 position as the hull will allow. I used 90* barbs to solve a clearance issue with the lower water inlet getting too close to the tunnel. From what I can see, the flow on your right motor is correct, and the left motor is backwards, and both need a good twist on the cooling cans. I had to put my motor mounts in the bench vice with the motors attached and was able to twist the cans into the position I wanted.


This is not the best picture because most of the cooling can fittings are hidden, but it's all I have on hand at the moment.

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[Raydee]

Guys not sure if this has been asked but can the Teflon liners be removed on this setup? I am not a fan of the Teflon liners as I have had them wad up before and do some damage. What size cables are in these hulls?

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[fweasel]

Yes, the liners "can" be removed. The cables are 3/16". You'd need to sleeve the tube with a smaller brass tube because the stock one is too large for a 3/16" flex without a liner. FWIW, I don't think the stock liner is teflon and has very thick walls. Give it a closer look, maybe you'll feel better about running it as is after seeing how beefy they are and likely to not wad up.

[Raydee]

Well if nobody here has had liner problems then I shouldn't either. First couple runs on the new UL19 and the liner wadded up when the cable snapped. If these have 3/16" cables then they should be good to go.

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[fweasel]

Well if nobody here has had liner problems then I shouldn't either. First couple runs on the new UL19 and the liner wadded up when the cable snapped. If these have 3/16" cables then they should be good to go.

Careful, that logic will bite you in the a$$ in the RTR arena. One of my stock flex cables was not well balanced and wore out the bushings in one of my struts, the other began to break at the weld between the flex cable and prop shaft. This was all after only a handful of runs. Many of us use aftermarket options.

[Raydee]

Last time I talked about modded a RTR boat people were flipping their noodles. Here is where I am confused and maybe it is because I have never run a twin cat before? My buddy bought a UL-19 and the power system is the exact same that is in the Zelos except only one of them. He is tried running 6s on this system and basically burned the motor, broke the flex cable and wadded the liner in a couple runs. I am seeing here that guys are running 6s without a problem for almost 5 minutes in the Zelos, this is the reason I am so interested in this boat. I really don't care about running 80mph, I would be real happy with 60-65mph for 5 minutes. Our current boats run in the 60's for about 2 minutes max and I want something that will run longer at around the same speeds.

I would really like to be about to run 6s packs on each motor but it looks like from what I am reading you can't get them under the deck enough to balance the hull. I do not want to run 4 packs in this hull so I am going to have to drop down to either 5 or 4s, depending on what fits. My guess is if I drop down to 4 or 5s then I will need to replace the motors with a higher KV or will the stock 2000KV motors do the job? I really think I am going to replace the motors with a pair of Neu 1515's anyway so I just have to figure what KV I should be shooting for.

[Team Lucas]

Raydee, I run 2x 6s and after sanding the bat tray a little they fit, (just have to pick the batteries that are smaller in dia.) they slide under the deck. I have tried 2x 3s....4x3s, and the 2x 6s... If you just want a stable boat that does in the 60's for 5 laps or so, this boat kicks ass. I would recommend getting a set of O.S.E upgraded shafts and contact Chris about some props.

[Raydee]

Raydee, I run 2x 6s and after sanding the bat tray a little they fit, (just have to pick the batteries that are smaller in dia.) they slide under the deck. I have tried 2x 3s....4x3s, and the 2x 6s... If you just want a stable boat that does in the 60's for 5 laps or so, this boat kicks ass. I would recommend getting a set of O.S.E upgraded shafts and contact Chris about some props.

What kind of run time do you get out of the 6s packs?

[banixj]

I use 2 packs of 6 cells fixed under the deck for a right balance.
With 3300mah packs i get 3 min and half of run time.
With 4500 i get one minute more...
Not enough space for 5000 packs without deep mods..
I use 43mm props and jeff wire drives

[Team Lucas]

What kind of run time do you get out of the 6s packs?

4 to 5 mins. never really timed them.