Hi guys, new to the Forum. I am going to buy a super clod buster, but want to know what people do to mod them to give them a bit better offraod atriculation and traction.

Also I have heard people change the motors on them to 55T type from the stock, what are the benefits of this ? Would appreciate and help and any pics of what others have done to their super clod busters.
Cheers
Dan.

Welcome to the forum.
Here's a link to lots of info linky if you ask to many noob questions some of them may jump on you. It's not so bad here.

If you ever decide to build up a New Bright, there is lots of information here. Just a matter of doing a search.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gumbi,

Thanks for the info gumbi, that link has plenty of info on how to mod them up, thanks for that. Got to get it in the mail first, can't wait to start modding it up.

Cheers
Dan.

super clodbuster... basically to make it a true crawler you would have to ditch everything other than the axles...
first, lock the axles, some use hot glue some use jb weld, but i suggest an actual locker made from aluminum, plenty of companies offering them
then i would go to the motors, 55t lathe motors are the most popular choice going, i use them, but they are still a bit fast for me, even just on 6 cells, if you are going to completely designate it to crawling you will want to change the pinions when you change the motors, and in turn you will have to have a motor adapter to allow the new pinion to mesh properly, most popular choice for pinion is 9, i have 8's... but even that is too fast for me
now that you have your axles beefed up and ready to crawl you need some iron to push it around, for an electronic speed control i use a moped because its CHEAP and works, a great choice would be a tekin rebel II or an XL-5, the xl-5 is only 20 or so bucks more than a moped and have a lifetime warranty... so its a good choice if you are going to do it right
next is the receiver, if the stock clod one works, might as well use it till it breaks!
chassis... this one is a huge choice and basically makes or breaks your rig, there is the popular "stick" chassis, its expensive but tested and true, then the four link plate sw2 or sw3 which is a bender chassis which has won national competitions and comps like crazy, i use an m&l art chassis which is a four linked plate chassis also... then there is torsion chassis' they are a weird breed, i personally want to have a clod torsion too, i have a newbright which is torsioned now and it has an extremely low centre of gravity and i like the weird torsion physics that come with it, a "pimp cane" is a straight up torsion that is pretty cheap at around fifty bones, with a pimp cane, you dont need to worry about four links and shocks etc, basically throw it on and go, or you could get out your welder and make a tuber out of brakeline
ok, so servo, the stock one you get wont be up to snuff to turn those giant wheels, you will want to get an upgrade, there are plenty of them to choose from, i got a high torque servo for 20 bucks sean did too, i like it, and from what ive seen sean does too, its an mg945, but there are way better ones for more money, and you will need a servo mount, or you can rig one up yourself with the stock steering links...
tires and wheels, the stock clod tires and wheels are actually one of the best stock tires to crawl with, but way too wide, you would want to narrow them and the rims, i would suggest upgrading to maxx or 40 series, i was at maxx wheels but its hard to find good tires that size so i just installed my 40 series thorns with moab tires, they look huge! but they seem really strong and sticky, you would need adapters to make them fit the stock brass wheel hexes for the clod axles, there are plenty of companies out there that make adapters, i went with super cheap plastic junfac 12mm to 14mm adapters, then superglued them to the brass hexes and then the hex inside the rim, that way they will not strip
shocks, i dont know how stock clod shocks would work, but i know no one uses them... i tried tlt shocks right off the bat and now i know why they are only used in smaller rigs, i would break them every time out! a good set of maxx shocks shouldnt cost you more than 30 bucks, and its well worth it, savage shocks are long and a step up, then there are great ones like piggy back and hot bodies threaded etc... its your choice, if you got a torsion, you wouldnt need any
thats it really, thats all i really can say, there are tons of little things that you can end up putting on there that would make it crazy awesome, but thats lots of time and lots of moula

i have clod axles, locked with m&l locker, thundertech cvd's, 8 t on 55t lathes, m&l chassis, maxx shocks, 945 servo, 40 series thorns with moabs, moped, futaba rec and futaba magnum junior radio, thats it really, future plans are, jd beefy steering knuckles, wideners, rig up my jrxr3 for indy rear steer and throw that on there, and possibly either get 75t lathes, or go brushless... brushless could be a project i will undertake over the winter as its not a cheap endeavor

thats my rant, ive had a couple beers so i might have rambled, i dont know if it helped but i said it anyway!

i am thinking off just getting the clod kit basic thing. cause its cheap and i have a spare radio already also i want a torsion cause i love the cool look they have.

thanks for the info marmech. I am deffinetly going to change to the 55T lathe mtors, have done some research and a lot of people change the motors. Is there anything I need to do to it to do this or do they go straight on ? and do you recomend changing the pinion for it? am more after speed and fun, not really rock crwaling.

Will i shorten my battery life with that too ? I may get a bigger battery.
Once I get the kit i'll see how it goes

Cheers
Dan.

if you want to have it as a quick basher with occasional crawls, you would still need to lock the axles.

as for motors, they pop right on, with the stock pinion of course, if you want to gear down for extra torque, then get definately get a smaller pinion (with a smaller pinion you will need to get adjustable motor mounts). there is one dude running a torsion clod with stock pinions and 65t motors... he says it has ample power... that way no fussing with adapter plates etc...

most find they start out with something they want quick wheelspeed etc, but then you sacrifice crawling ability, its like a jack of all trades master of none... the only great mix of wheelspeed and rock crawling speed would be to go brushless, but with a clod it is expensive, you need an esc for each motor, and those brushless esc's and motors arent cheap!

oh crapp! wait i forgot, john rob holmes from holmes hobbies, one of the best vendors and best minds in the hobby gears down with smaller pinions, then just ups the voltage to gain back wheelspeed... gearing down a 55t motor on 7.2 volts with 40 series wheels, i am not as fast as i was, great speed now, perfect for me. now gearing down a 55t motor on 14.4 volts... you could still have the low end torque, and then be able to absolutely spin that rubber like a bloody nutter. i would even say go to a 65t with higher volts. i would love to do something like that, but my novak 610 (6 to 10 cells) doesnt have a great bec (battery elimination curcuit) so i would probably kill the bec running 10 cells... and im just too cheap to buy a servo battery pack.

now if you are after a clodbuster, the best thing you can do is buy the super clodbuster kit... if you have parts or PLENTY of time to get it running the way you want it. the best thing to do would be to buy a used one, even like a half project, how much are you spending on this? because some rtr crawlers go for VERY cheap. or half projects for less! you can find some crazy deals man, but thats if you want it to be a bit easier on yourself, if you dont mind having a rig sitting while parts arrive go for the kit, then its fully personally customized to your taste!

im going by the lhs to see what bodies they have... my landrover hardbody will just not work for this build... need some body posts too

Thanks for that info again. So you'd recomend changing the batteries for the 55t, am not after huge amounts of speed but something to have fun with, and the 55t seems like the easy swap. Will look into locking the axles, do they snap easily when locked ??
What batteries do you run or do people run with the 55t's ? I'll order some when I order the truck. will also look into the clodbuster kit, but am not sure I want to go that far. I am ordering the kit anyway to build it from scratch , is that what you meant ?
Cheers
Dan.

Hey dandownunder - welcome to the board, and the never ending "buying new upgrades" hobby

best of luck with your build...........

once you get going - take pics along the way of you can - pics are always good ! !

with batteries look for LOTS of mAh's 3,000 or greater ( at 7.2 v ) - and a good quick charger is also a good investment..

Thanks for that, I am hunting at the moment for some batteries. I will deffinetly document the build and put a page up about it, should be fun. I've built a buggy years ago, was a beatle but I broke two axles and never managed to get the parts (I'm in the Falkland Islands so parts are hard to come by) so now want something new to play with, and like the look of the Clod busters.

Anyone got lights on theirs ? am keen to put some in mine ?
Cheers
Dan.

the lower the volts ie 7.2v the slower it is, so if you go up to 9.6v it will be a bit faster, if you want a bit of speed i suggest going 9.6, but then you have to get a good esc that can handle the extra volts... when you upgrade one thing, it seems to create a domino effect and you have to upgrade other parts just to keep up...

if i was you, i would spend 45 bucks on a pimpcane chassis, 25 bucks on a 945 servo, 50 or so bucks on decent esc, dont know if you have a radio and receiver, then a set of tires... with tires, nothing really fits on stock clodbuster rims, you will need to get both rims and tires... then you are basically done.

Thanks for that. Am going to get the standard kit first and will see how it runs, then build it up from there, I will get the higher mAh's battery and faster charger as they offer that in the kit.

If I go to 9.6V I have to change the Esc and new motors or the same motors ? and servos ?

Thanks for all the info guys, it's helping me choose the right parts for my new toy !
Cheers
Dan.

just the esc, but clods come with a mechanical speed control which = no good

what marmech said !!

would it be just as easy to buy a set of stage 3 clod axles from rcp than buying the whole kit if i am going to go with a torsion based rig?

yeah, or even just your basic clod axles and a pimpcane, then rig everything else up yourself (servo mount, steering links) it will come with esc plate, rec plate etc... cheapest way, and a proven winner, they take first place quite a bit.

the pimpcane was my inspiration for the torsion nb i built, still havent taken pictures, but it works better than any nb ive tried yet

stick chassis/tuber/plates = over a couple 100
pimpcane = 45 no links to worry about, no shocks etc...

yup thats why i want a pimp cane. i think i will go with stage three axles because that is still less than the clod kit itself. plus i have pretty much everything else except 40 series rims -moabs and two escs got two servos in the attic sittin in my dads kit sailboat that he never finished hopefully they will be strong enough.

well if you whant a pimp cane make one as i did .easy to do .

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