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OK, guys... I'd like to get as much feedback as possible on the setups you guys are finding for your Stilettos that work.
Keep it simple, if you don't mind. List the power, bats, etc., but am very interested in hearing about the actual lower unit location, angles, prop, etc.
Go for it! Let's hear what you are running.
dont remember the angles but sure ran great with a ul-1 motor in it
I finally got a chance to drive my Stiletto with the Castle 1512 1800kv that I got from Diesel. I was a bit nervous at first reading the forums but all in all this boat is alot of fun. It just looks awesome on the water. I had no issues at all but have yet to prop up.
Setup:
Motor: Castle 1512 1800kv
Esc: Seaking 120amp
Prop: S215
Batts: Single 4s 5000mah 40C Turnigy/Zippy.
Placed battery all the way forward, Motor all the way up and prop shaft neutral just above the ride pads. I was extremely happy with the way the boat performed! :thumbup: Had some water in the boat but not much, going to use silicone on the front.
Took temps after a six minute run and they were batts 106, esc 108, motor 95. I have plenty of room to prop up but not sure what I should try next. Any suggestions much appreciated.
Here is a quick vid of the end of my first run. Keep this is mind this first time driving a tunnel, gotta little work to do.
Thanks to my Pop for filming.
Let me know what you guys think!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkQ6MNOBT0Y
Quote:
Originally Posted by tunnelvision
It hurt letting her go lol. She came out really good. Glad everything is working out for you. The water maybe coming in back where the esc/motor connections go through the hull. I was kinda worried about that area. Glad the temps came through so good. I forget where I set the timing. It may have been 7.5, seems to like it though. You maybe be able to bump her up a little in the timing. 11.25 would be next.
Yeah, I have to say its pretty sweet. Temps were ice cold after 4minutes and it was mid 70s and water was warm. And there is a lot more speed in her thats for sure.:banana: I am going to leave it as is for a few more runs as I get used to the boat, then start getting more aggressive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel6401
i would suggest u try p220 prop move batteries so they are level with esc tray move the motor mount all the way down and add some positive angle, i also set the timing to high, i tried that set up last time out and it was flying and not too tricky to drive, there is a video of it running this set up in the video forum under propperchopper named tunnels flying at legg lake. hope this helps
this is the link to the video of what i think is a good set up for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wluDNiofuTc
you definitely had her dialed in Chiefy!!....Where do u set the timing at?...on the ESC?.....Im off to look at the manual!
Bone stock, from you. Still have to take out of the box. :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Darin Jordan
Setting it up for 4s, stock everything and will go from there. I understand that the stock motor is a good one.
Not sure how to setup trim, etc. This is my first outboard. Figure I'll start with where it's set and go from there.
Guys... I'm starting to figure out a pattern, and that is that this hull doesn't seem to like props with rounded blade tips. I've had much better handling with props that have less blade area at the tips... X440/3, Prather props, etc. Still playing with it, but just figured I'd post.
I'm also finding out that outboard height is CRITICAL. Too low isn't as bad a too high. I got the boat handling consistently, then raised the lower up by only .050", and the handling went to hell. Lowered it back down and it's golden. Weird, but that's what I've found thus far.
I'll try to get exact numbers once I get it closer to my liking...
Keep the setups coming!!
your 440/3 must be customized somewhere as i cooked a wire with my b & s stock 440/3 blade almost melted the plastic battery box cover where wires were touching the top.....and that was on a 2 min run ...what ya got done to yours back cut or what?
Mine is running ok with a UL-1 2030Kv motor and a Swordfish 120A.
Using a M445 prop and batteries all the way forward, the prop shaft is 1/8" above the ride pads and some positive angle (hard to tell how much). Clocked at 44.5Mph on the eagle tree. But I'm sure it could do better, still flipping in turns if I'm not careful.
It would be helpful to have a standardized way to get measurements so we could all compare.
i set my angle by sitting the hull on the stand that you get with the boat and measure from the top of the cav plate till the surface the stand is on i have found that the tip of the cav plate should be around 95/96 mm and that works for me with mount set all the way down. But i agree we need to standardize the way we take measurements would be a lot easier.
I ran it today with a S220, same setup as before, speed was ok (didn't measure it, looked a little slower, maybe 40?) but handling was way worse than the M445, it was flipping really easily. The prop was s&b by me and it's not thinned, as opposed as the M445.
I guess you need to adjust the setup based on the prop that you're using and not the other way around?
Plus I melted the solder on the motor bullets, but that might have been just a coincidence.
I had some good runs with my Stiletto at the races this weekend... Rough conditions, and I ran hard, and finished, all three heats, so I think I'm getting closer on the setup. Was under-propped, but not by much, running an ABC 1616. Handling was really good. I'll have to meaure the lower unit position for you guys, but I was able to measure the CG last night, and it's right at 7.25" from the backs of the sponsons. That's a 5000 mAh Thunder Power 65C 4S1P pack slid all the way BACK in the battery tray (with the ESC mount removed).
Still not as fast as it needs to be, but it's getting closer. More important than speed, it was able to drive and handle well in race water and windy conditions without hooking. It will grab and start to turn in more when it drops the nose in the chop, but it didn't have any of the rolling or hooking tendencies that it's had in the past.
I have some video and I think Jim Clark shot some pics and posted a link recently that show it. Mine is the one with the red tape around the motor cowl... Racing with two other stock painted Stilettos on the course isn't ideal!! I'm going to paint the motor cover a different color, and maybe add some color to the sponson tips or something to distinguish mine better in traffic.
Very nice pics, I ran tonight with a Prather S225, I also moved the outboard higher a bit and gave it neutral angle. The battery was all the way down, touching the ESC tray.
CG is around 7" 3/4, bottom of the prop shaft (not the stub, the actual prop shaft) is 1 mm below the sponson and it's straight with the "setup board".
Maybe I'm just getting better at driving it but it felt a little easier to drive, still flipped on the first battery though.
Talking about setup boards, I'm just using the counter now since looks pretty straight to me, but I'd like to make one and I wouldn't mind some pictures of yours and some tips?
I hope to put the photos of my mod here soon. Just a text response that fightercat had a great idea to put a waterproof servo in the back to eliminate the cables over the battery tray. If Darin reads this, what would he think about removing the front electronic bay? The battery box is huge and everything should fit perfect. Is that legal to mod the boat that much if you racing?
Funny you should mention that... there are some things that are done to make a production boat that don't necessarily need to be done for a "race" boat...Quote:
Originally Posted by vtomanov
I have a Stiletto that I'm going to remove the entire battery tray and radio box from, and make my own wooden radio box for, to see if I can reduce the weight a bit. While I would prefer to keep the servo in the back, I still feel that the battery needs to be able to be moved to the transom in order to get balance, and the battery is much heavier than the servo, so I'll deal with the cables.
I am also planning on trying the hull with a Lawless lower-unit. The stock lower is cool, and functions great, but is heavy. I want to see if I can get the hull down under 6lbs in RTR trim. Doing something different with the cowling may be required as well. It's TOTALLY cool looking, but is pretty heavy glass. Maybe I'll use one as a plug and make a mold of it, so I can reproduce them in carbon...
Keep em coming guys. I'll post when I get mine on the water.
Attachment 63675Attachment 63676
Darin what motor(s) are you running or have been running? Any info on motor upgrades would be helpful. Thanks
Here's the official (or not) Mercury (or not) Stiletto PRo Boat Outdrive setup. Upgraded to a 2600KV motor, 5S - 6S, Seaking 180 ESC. I'm sure not legal to race. 20 hours on rear drive sanding paint and clear coat. Darins mod stuffing tube with rear oiler. From rear of drive you see 2 water outlets. The left one is actually the oiler, I use the Proboat grease gun to pressure grease down the rear into the stuffing tube. The right outlet and top outlet are both water outlets but only one is used depending on what motor i'm running. The top water outlet is best to see the water shooting out the top as the boat runs by so i like that one better if i can use it. The motor is too tall to house inside the top shroud but i like the look of the shroud so I cut a hole in the top to keep it on the boat.Attachment 63728Attachment 63729Attachment 63730Attachment 63731
Darin to keep this boat legal and to answer the above question about what motor would you use. If you were to race the boat what class whould it be under or sport or scale class? and do you have to use a factory motor like the UL1 or Proboat to race?
My 2600 is more to have fun and see how far i can push the boat, i'm guessing you would have to run a lower KV motor and stick with a 2 blade wouldn't you not?
Next update I'll show you the waterproof server mounted in front of the outboard to eliminate teh drive cables and finally possibly removing the radio box in front of the battery tray to reduce weight and increase the balance of the boat. Darin recomends the battery as far back as possible and the drive as low as possible to get the boat to track striaght around turns without flipping. Correct me if I'm wrong Darin.
Darrin if you were to make a lighter cowling would you be making a few to sell? if so I would be interested in buying one :)
Tom
fitted an Aquacraft UL-1 motor in my Stiletto and with the prather 220 prop I really noticed the difference, water was choppy, but was great fun skipping over the ripples, short vid, bad quality, cheap camera, but you can get an idea of what it was going like.
http://youtu.be/yaUtijx1CkI
what motor height,angle,and prop to use with stock motor and esc and where are the measurements taken from props back cut etc and speeds if known (4s 5000mah) thanks in advance
I'm working on a few videos to explain the setup for a stiletto I'll post the link here soon. Some of the basics are:
1. Drop the motor on the mount to the bottom or a few mil's from bottom. You want the prop digging to help turn without spining out.
2. Angle of the motor all depends on the weight and placement of your batteries. If your running 2-2S flat on the bottom of the tray, I found running the motor with a little tilt down (deeper) to get the nose down is safe to get comfortable with steering.
You want about 8 inches of CG for this boat measured from the back of the fiberglass. Because of the heavy stern drive you may see the boat bouncing too much, either put both batteries on top of each other at the front of the tray, or simply tilt the motor down 1-2 mils to get it to stop bouncing. Basically your bringing the nose down so the back 1/3 - 1/2 of the hull is riding in the water. This is a mild setup for stabilty so you have some fun.
I tried to follow many of the guys setups here but it seems the weight of each hulls vary and it either spun out or bounced like crazy if the motor was angled up like I've heard some people use. No clue how they got it tamed. Better just keep the motor low and angled down a little is a good starting point. It will run low to the water, straight and smooth, but if your running close to 1/2 of the hull in the water tilt the motor up (toward the sky) to get it close to 1/3 for the fastest speeds. When it just starts to bob you know your close to top speed and close to the limit, that's when you either back off or push it and ride the wave hoping not to do the Stiletto submarine dance! (check you tube you'll see the boat go under water when it hit a wave! Real fun!)
thanks for the info i dropped the motor about 2.5mm from bottom and angled it up not sure of the measurement i can check though and at full speed i have about 3-4 inches of the boat in the water with the battery all the way back it is a little touchy in the corners though will try with battery all the way forward before i start messing with the angle what would be a good prop to start with iam leaning towards a 3 blade to help with corner blow outs unless some one has a better set up
I found I had to bring the nose down by tilting the motor down, or like you said put the 2 batteries at the front of the tray. The 3 blade is definitely the way to go for controllability and power transfer. I tried 6s on the 2 blade and it was so stupid to drive, no turning, torque twisting so it was riding on one sponson and jumping out of control on every little bump. Dialed down to 5S with 3 blade, same with 4S, and acceleration was instant, steering improved leeps and bounds. Huge difference. For the stock controller X438-3 or X440-3 if your temps are not to high. Get a cheap chinease temp gun from eBay and zap the ESC after each run to make sure the beast isn't much over 120 degrees. The bad thing about the x438 and 440 is they have a tongue. I detongued the 440 and it runs great because there is less prop, less weight but good pitch and diameter. If you don't want to play with props try the grimacer AQUB9760 40 mil 3 blade it has a very small tongue and good pitch. This would be the biggest prop for the boat to enhance traction. Prather also has the 220 but again you would want to detongue. Hopefully this helps. If your spinning out or bouncing more than 2 times after a wave bring the nose down until it starts cutting the wave. I haven't taken mine out this year yet, your makin me itch! have fun.
My stiletto seems to be doing good, UL1 power and X440/3 detongued, running the motor height all the way up and Nano-tech 4cell 5000mAh pack as far back as you can put it by removing the speed control tray.
updated vid link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwmOLJSaLE4
I decided to chop off the top of outboard cover and fit in a leopard 4074 2000kv with a seaking 180 on 5s and she hauls,runs beautifully in a strait line .i am still trying to find the sweet spot for motor height and prop angle as i am getting spin outs and flips in turns,it bounces a lot while turning too.i will say darins stuffing tube/oiler mod is genius as i have not broken a flex since the mod even with the 4074 in there i am however using hyperformance flex cables.i feel this boat has a lot of potential,i just need to dial it in,any advice would be great,oh also using s/b 642 prop.thanks fellas
I'm guessing you mean X642 by octura. This is high lift prop, coupled with the fact that your motor is high out of the water you will spin out and flip alot. The spinning out is because you don't have much rudder in the water when you turn the rudder acts like a turn fin the boat rides the rudder and then looses grip. Not sure how the other guys are running high motor position, mine is 1/8 from bottom. X6 Series props are high lift most people run X4 series props as they are medium lift. With a 2 blade prop you need to go deep to make it handle easy, if you want to lift the motor a little and get much better grip go to the X440/3 blade prop. I'm running it in a medium low position and it runs great no issues.
Hello from Germany
my Setup is unconventinal
Motor is a Leopard 4060 2Y included modified Watercooling,
Lipo 1 X 3S 5800 Turnigy
ESC Turnigy Marine 120A
Prop = 437 (37mm) TFL cutted to 433 (33mm)
Temps and runnig = perfect but the Lake is to short :-(
here on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpVIuiBfK4
Greetings from Germany