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Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 9:21 pm
by XLR8
WOW, the car looks awesome! Nice job!! The Centerlines and GoodYear branded tires really add scale realism.

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 9:44 pm
by shodog
My experience is that it’s isnt wise to run anything on the beach that you care about. The sand will tear everything up. The salt water rusts all your ferous screws. Your beetle looks way too nice to run at the beach. All that power you have planed might spin the hubs on your wheels.

My beach runner buggy is a Rough Rider that I built up using marginal parts. Not indestructible but built stoutly to take the abuse of the beach.

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Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 4:58 am
by Lonestar
it's very sexy 8)

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 9:08 pm
by ahenderl
shodog wrote: Sun May 06, 2018 9:44 pm The salt water rusts all your ferous screws. Your beetle looks way too nice to run at the beach. All that power you have planed might spin the hubs on your wheels.
Pretty or not...this Beetle was purpose built to run in the sand and relive some mid-80's middle school. I've replaced all of the screws, nuts & washers with stainless hardware. The rear tires hook up reasonably well on asphalt & the wheels don't seem to spin on the hubs, however, I do have satin chrome 2.2" Turbo Scorpion wheels en-route that I plan to install for bashing that are hex's in the rear. That should take care of any worries about the hubs spinning on the wheels.
Lonestar wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 4:58 am it's very sexy 8)
Thanks...I do dig the way it came out. The decals supplied in the kit make it very easy to get the box-art look with a single color paint job. The driver figure took more time and effort than the body.

As a whole I've really enjoyed building the Beetle which is pretty much the same as the Turbo Scorpion I built before it. With the changes I made it is the same except for the body, the rear body mount posts and the front post...along with a tub cover which is one reason I decided on the Beetle when I wanted a beach toy.

The rear suspension seems to work really well. It is smooth and very supple. I'm still waiting on the HG shocks to arrive, so I robbed the shocks from the Turbo Scorpion (which are the same length as the HG's...only they use clamps style collars instead of threaded collars) to get it on the road. I don't know if it is the shocks or something inherent to the suspension design, but while the rear works really well, the front seems kind of stiff. The stiff front suspension coupled with the ridiculously hard front tires makes for a buggy that is very hard to control at any sort of speed. With the front shocks removed, the suspension seems to move freely...I don't know. If the HG's aren't any different as far as dampening than the stock Turbo Scorpion shocks, I may play with the springs or shock oil to try to get the front end a tad softer. Hopefully that along with a tire compound that is softer will get the front end working a bit better...I know, I know...it's a futile attempt to make this Beetle into a RC10B6 or even a 1984 RC10 but I think it can be better than it is now.

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 9:24 pm
by ahenderl
Lonestar wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 4:58 am it's very sexy 8)

Dang...you are right...sexy, sexy!! The brighter yellow is exactly what I hoped for...that rarely happens for me.



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Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 9:52 pm
by ahenderl
XLR8 wrote: Sun May 06, 2018 9:21 pm WOW, the car looks awesome! Nice job!! The Centerlines and GoodYear branded tires really add scale realism.
Thanks. Got to admit that the scale look of the re-re's kind of drew me back into the hobby, as well as the chance to build a few kits I couldn't afford as a kid.

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Wed May 09, 2018 8:46 am
by NomadRacer
Really nice, driver figure and all!

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 11:25 am
by ahenderl
The HG shocks arrived yesterday.

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The HG's are buttery smooth. They are tons smoother than the stock Turbo Scorpion shocks I had on the Beetle. I wasn't sure when the HG's would arrive, so I robbed the shocks off of my re-re Turbo Scorpion to use on the Beetle temporarily. The front suspension seems to be much better with the HG shocks. I haven't had a chance to run it yet, but the difference smoothness is very dramatic.

Here they are installed:


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Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sat May 12, 2018 3:09 pm
by Coelacanth
Very purty! They also match nicely with the box-art paint & sticker scheme. 8)

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:29 pm
by Garage Hack
Very cool build. Do you recall what weight oil you used in the shocks? I have HG's on the way but didn't know what oil to use.

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:17 pm
by ahenderl
Garage Hack wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:29 pm Very cool build. Do you recall what weight oil you used in the shocks? I have HG's on the way but didn't know what oil to use.
I used 25wt Kyosho shock oil that was from my Turbo Scorpion kit. I'm no shock oil expert but it seemed to work well.

Btw, I never posted an action shot...
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It did well but was (as others suggested) way overpowered. I've since removed the esc & motor & will replace it with something a little more tame...probably the Kyosho LeMans 240S & 15.5 turn brushless motor.

Big power makes the Beetle very hard for me to drive. I've built a re-re Javelin, Optima & Turbo Optima and they are fun & easy to drive with tons of power, but my opinion is that Turbo Scorpion & Beetle are better suited with 13.5 or more turns brushless.

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:39 pm
by JTSpeedDemon
Overpowered is not a word in my dictionary..... :mrgreen:

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2019 7:36 am
by coxbros1
Nice rig!

Re: New 2014 Beetle build for beach running...opinions appreciated

Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:04 am
by XLR8
JTSpeedDemon wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:39 pm Overpowered is not a word in my dictionary..... :mrgreen:
JT, I think that running an RC buggy with a 5700kV motor would be like running your kart with this motor.
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drag motor.jpg (98.62 KiB) Viewed 1200 times
drag motor.jpg
drag motor.jpg (98.62 KiB) Viewed 1200 times
The results would be the same: plenty of backflips and broken parts. :wink: