The official 36" zelos twin modding thread

[Erroneous]

Update.. Cut a piece of 20 gauge steel frame track and made a back plate. image.jpg Marine epoxied it in and bolted it in place. image.jpg. While it was setting I drilled out the brass strut bushings. image.jpg . Pressed in the octura lead teflons. image.jpg.. Waiting for the outside coat of epoxy to set for sanding. Will update when done.

[Erroneous]

Can't tell you why but, all images flipped 90* when uploaded from my crapple iphone.

[Erroneous]

KFXguy. Given your experience with the NEU motors. Im thinking of getting a pair for the zelos. I've been looking at the 1521, something in the 1500-1600kv range. Should I just jump into the 1521 or will the 1515 be more than enough? 7s could be in my future. Chris' 1915-17 abc props on the way.

[kfxguy]

KFXguy. Given your experience with the NEU motors. Im thinking of getting a pair for the zelos. I've been looking at the 1521, something in the 1500-1600kv range. Should I just jump into the 1521 or will the 1515 be more than enough? 7s could be in my future. Chris' 1915-17 abc props on the way.

Not sure how fast your trying to go but I'll give you some advice based on my experience.

1) the boat is capable of 75ish speeds with it completely stock with props and a sharpened rudder. You do have to work for it tho. Throwing more voltage and power at things is always a inexperienced way (no offense meant toward anyone) of doing things....also more dangerous because if thing aren't running right, then it won't be stable and you'll flip a lot and damage the boat or sink it.
2) the stock motors are not that powerful, but push this efficient hull nicely. You don't need to double or triple the power of each motor, it's simply not needed. Do you want a fast boat that is manageable and drive able or something that's so grossly over powered that you'll be retrieving it often and risking damage? Not me.

These are things you have to take into consideration. What I'd recommend and what I'm planning on doing myself (and trust me, I always go overkill) is a pair of tp power 3650 motors, just like Paul ordered. I told him which ones to get. One of those motors has propelled one of my boats to 92mph on only 4s so I know that two of them in the zelos will haul ass. Kv choice would be a personal preference depending on what speeds you want and how many cells. Here's what I'd recommend (I'm not looking at the kv chart right now so you'll need to pick something close to these numbers)

6s I'd run 1800-2050kv. This with a 6s pack (or (2) 3s packs in series) per motor would run past 90mph if you take the time and dial it in.
4s I'd run 2500ish to 3000ish kv. I plan on setting mine up for 4s per motor. I'm not dead set on my kv just yet but it will fall in that range. If you opt to go as high as 3000kv, be prepared because that will dangerously put this boat in the triple digits. Without the proper prep on the hull and reinforcements I'd advise against it.

1521's are way too much for this hull. That would not be a choice I'd consider. 1515's should do very well, 2200kv on 4s and 5s should haul the mail pretty good.

What I don't understand is your already in the mid 80's and you can't drive it because of the wind and not so calm water your experiencing, why don't you dial in what you have? It's got plenty enough power to push you past 90.

[Erroneous]

Before. image.jpg.. After. image.jpg. image.jpg. image.jpg.

[Erroneous]

Not sure how fast your trying to go but I'll give you some advice based on my experience.

1) the boat is capable of 75ish speeds with it completely stock with props and a sharpened rudder. You do have to work for it tho. Throwing more voltage and power at things is always a inexperienced way (no offense meant toward anyone) of doing things....also more dangerous because if thing aren't running right, then it won't be stable and you'll flip a lot and damage the boat or sink it.
2) the stock motors are not that powerful, but push this efficient hull nicely. You don't need to double or triple the power of each motor, it's simply not needed. Do you want a fast boat that is manageable and drive able or something that's so grossly over powered that you'll be retrieving it often and risking damage? Not me.

These are things you have to take into consideration. What I'd recommend and what I'm planning on doing myself (and trust me, I always go overkill) is a pair of tp power 3650 motors, just like Paul ordered. I told him which ones to get. One of those motors has propelled one of my boats to 92mph on only 4s so I know that two of them in the zelos will haul ass. Kv choice would be a personal preference depending on what speeds you want and how many cells. Here's what I'd recommend (I'm not looking at the kv chart right now so you'll need to pick something close to these numbers)

6s I'd run 1800-2050kv. This with a 6s pack (or (2) 3s packs in series) per motor would run past 90mph if you take the time and dial it in.
4s I'd run 2500ish to 3000ish kv. I plan on setting mine up for 4s per motor. I'm not dead set on my kv just yet but it will fall in that range. If you opt to go as high as 3000kv, be prepared because that will dangerously put this boat in the triple digits. Without the proper prep on the hull and reinforcements I'd advise against it.

1521's are way too much for this hull. That would not be a choice I'd consider. 1515's should do very well, 2200kv on 4s and 5s should haul the mail pretty good.

What I don't understand is your already in the mid 80's and you can't drive it because of the wind and not so calm water your experiencing, why don't you dial in what you have? It's got plenty enough power to push you past 90.

Thanks. And agreed on the power I have. I do plan on dialing in more to pass 90 with what I have. But with the motors I do have time will tell how confident I can be with them. NEU is a tried true and tested brand with 1000s of hours baking them up. Nothing against the Poseidons, I love em, just not much background. I ALLWAYS find myself going power crazy on EVERYTHING, I have 6.5k watts/ 138db in my Honda just to give you an idea lol. The 1515s seem like the way to go, thinking lower kv and more prop. Thanks for replying to my madness

[Team Lucas]

Need responses please. With everything stock and out drives down 1mm I hit lows 60s before it wanted to blow over. I received and Sharpened new X447s and found a way to add weight as far forward as the noodles go {not quiet to the tip} added 2oz per side. lost 9 mph and still wanted to blow over. Everything is running about 40 degrees or less over lake temp. { not over 120 degrees} Todays pond was like glass, only waves was made by the boat. Should I put drives back to level and add more weight? where is ideal CG on this boat? I understand a little speed loss do to less "waves" but I sanded the bottom surfaces for not to get the suction factor. What am I doing wrong?

[Keagan-Z06]

How much time did you spend on the x447s? I have almost 3-4 hours on those things and still can't reach 60. But that's before I found out my struts were out of whack. Waiting on parts before I take her out again.

[Team Lucas]

How much time did you spend on the x447s? I have almost 3-4 hours on those things and still can't reach 60. But that's before I found out my struts were out of whack. Waiting on parts before I take her out again.

2.5 to 3 hrs each. What was wrong with the struts?

[Keagan-Z06]

On the first day with the Zelos I wrecked it going maybe 35mph. Straight into a rock on shore. Never checked the strut since then. When I finally got the x447s as balanced as I could, I decided to see if maybe the struts were the cause for me not going over 60. One was 1mm off while the other was 4mm off. So got it at the factory spec but never got a clean run because bearings went bad and ESC as well.

[Team Lucas]

how can I determine between lifting props and not? I know octura uses a X I'm looking at abc props

[Fluid]

All Octura X-series and y-series props have low lift. So too the newer ABC props with 17 to 20 degrees of rake. Generally you want to use low lift props on monos and cats.



.

[Erroneous]

Need responses please. With everything stock and out drives down 1mm I hit lows 60s before it wanted to blow over. I received and Sharpened new X447s and found a way to add weight as far forward as the noodles go {not quiet to the tip} added 2oz per side. lost 9 mph and still wanted to blow over. Everything is running about 40 degrees or less over lake temp. { not over 120 degrees} Todays pond was like glass, only waves was made by the boat. Should I put drives back to level and add more weight? where is ideal CG on this boat? I understand a little speed loss do to less "waves" but I sanded the bottom surfaces for not to get the suction factor. What am I doing wrong?

Try pushing your batteries forward. Running two or four? If 4 try cramming the 3rd and 4th along side of the ones in the middle. In stock trim I even pulled the foam rods and crammed little bolts in them and stuffed em back in. "Lost 9mph"?.. Corrosion in your motor connectors?

[kfxguy]

Went ran the zelos on 5s today. Man she handles so good. In this video I needed to move the batts forward. I was close in my guess for speed. It went 57 in this video but I wasn't running it straight very long.

https://youtu.be/deXIApbDONc

[Keagan-Z06]

Can anyone confirm if other RX will work with the Dx2e the Zelos comes with? I read somewhere that Spektrum
Did a firmware to only allow their TX/RX to bind. I can confirm the Orange GR300 don't work with it. It came with my miss geico I bought from a member.