A tale of two Javelins...

[ahenderl]

I have a question for anyone who is familiar with either the Optima/Javelin re-re and using brushless power.

The stock spur gear included in the kit is 61 tooth. I've read a review at BigSquid.com of a re-re Optima using stock gearing with an 8.5t brushless motor and their review stated that they felt it was almost perfect. With the included stock spur gear & 15t pinion gear, the final ratio of factory set-up is 9.24. However, the Kyosho instructions suggest Kyosho part number OTW126 51t spur gear for brushless set-ups.

I am installing a Reedy 8.5t Sonic 540 M3 motor. I am curious which spur gear would be better. I've looked at the OTW126 on the Kyosho website and it appears to be made from a different material that the stock 61t gear. The stock gear looks to be black plastic white the 51t brushless gear (which is also plastic) is blue and obviously a different material or a different composition. Is the OTW126 made of a more durable material?

Secondly, if I do use the 51t gear with the 8.5 brushless motor, would anyone have a recommendation for the pinion gear. I know I can play with different gears and check motor and esc temps, but I was wondering if anyone was running something similar and had an opinion about what works well. I'd rather learn from others' real-world experiences than run countless packs with every conceivable pinion gear constantly checking temps.

FWIW, my re-re Javelin is for bashing on dirt, grass, concrete & asphalt. I have a set of front & rear Proline Dirt Hawgs and will use 2.2" wheels for running...I was hoping to use the Turbo Scorpion re-re rear wheels in satin chrome but they are on backorder right now. Kyosho says FAH203BK (front) and FAH204BK (rear) will work on the Javelin, so I may go that route so that I can start playing.

[ahenderl]

Get a load of this...

Kyosho America only shows peppermint green, white & orange bodies for the Javelin, however, red, yellow and black are available in Japan. I ordered a black cage & think I'll have to build another Javelin just as soon as it gets here. The black is just too bad-a! My wife is gonna kill me.

[klavy69]

I've got all the colors myself at this point on the way. Can't believe what some of these flippers are charging for these re-re cages. I didn't pay over 39 bucks a cage set myself and can't wait for some more pix to surface of builds. I was thinking and all black annodized set along with a black cage all murdered out would be cool but need to stock up on some more javelins/optimas before I can do that

Todd

[ahenderl]

I was thinking and all black annodized set along with a black cage all murdered out would be cool but need to stock up on some more javelins/optimas before I can do that

Todd

Hey Todd...nice to meet another Javelin junkie.

Yeah...I paid $38.20 for the black body set.

Pargu sells a black anodized aluminum set for the Javelin & I was thinking the same thing. However, the more I look at the stock aluminum pieces I think they add a nice bit of contrast...especially if you are going to run satin chrome wheels. I'm kind-of thinking about building one just like the photo except maybe adding an aluminum rear spoiler...we'll see

I really dig the way it looks in black, white and satin aluminum. I think it would look even better to paint the Sand Super letters white on the tires. The small amount of red on the shocks as well as a few red decals would really set it off. IMO, red anodized wheel nuts would look pretty sweet, too.

[klavy69]

Good to see some more javelin addicts out there. Not much into kyosho but have always had a spot for a cage car and I think the javelin looks about the best out of all of them. Picked up my first "mustard and ketchup" javelin off of ebay for $90 shipped and since then have amassed several parts lots and other javelins to pick up the parts I needed to fix up the first one so it kinda just snowballed from there. A weekend and a gallon of purple power cleaner to remove the 8 different colors of paint on the parts and it just kinda never stopped.

Yep, $38.20 a set straight outta Japan. Was gonna do a yellow cage and blue pargu set and an all black murdered out javelin with the pargu black alloy set but need to finish up some of my runners first. For some reason I thought it was a good idea when my wife said that the daughters and granddaughters would love to run them together as a group but pry won't use my javelins for that now since I don't have enuf for all of them at once...unless I pick up another one

Todd

[ahenderl]

Today I received care a package from Kyosho. I ordered a stabilizer bar kit, a spur gear designed for a brushless set-up and front & rear 4wd Dirt Hog wheels. The stabilizer kit & gear are still in the box, but I wanted to see how the 2.2" Dirt Hogs looked on the Javelin.

I have to say I was hoping to use Turbo Scorpion satin chrome rear wheels front & rear on the Javelin for running...but they are on backorder and who knows when they will be back in stock. I mounted a set of front (now discontinued) Dirt Hawg tires and rear Dirt Hawgs on the Dirt Hog wheels...I know...lots of hawgs and hogs. The Dirt Hawg tires have been in my inventory for a decade and were looking for a good home.

The look isn't exactly anything that trips my trigger, however I'd bet that they will do pretty well for a basher. I've used Dirt Hawgs before on the rear of 2wd basher buggies and they last a long time and work reasonably well on a variety of surfaces. I like to play around the house on a long concrete driveway, on an asphalt cul-de-sac in front of the house as well in grass and dirt in our yard and woods around the house. The Dirt Hawgs are a pretty good all-around basher tire.

I'll keep the kit wheels & tires for the shelf...and probably paint the Sand Super's white for good measure.

[XLR8]

Cool! I also have those wheels on a Mid and Javelin. I like 'em alot.

[ahenderl]

Cool! I also have those wheels on a Mid and Javelin. I like 'em alot.

They bother me less the more I look at them. However, they would look better satin chrome...think I'll paint them. If the get all messed up after the fact...who cares? These are my basher wheels on a basher buggy.

[XLR8]

Yeah, I agree, if you prefer a different color then just paint them. Actually, I think you will find that the paint will hold up very well. Probably should use the toughest paint you can find though. I painted the exterior of the Mid body with Krylon epoxy enamel (allowed time to cure fully) and after many runs, it hasn't a single scratch; it's held up beautifully. I wouldn't hesitate to use the same paint for wheels.

[ahenderl]

Yeah, I agree, if you prefer a different color then just paint them. Actually, I think you will find that the paint will hold up very well. Probably should use the toughest paint you can find though. I painted the exterior of the Mid body with Krylon epoxy enamel (allowed time to cure fully) and after many runs, it hasn't a single scratch; it's held up beautifully. I wouldn't hesitate to use the same paint for wheels.

Thanks for the encouragement. I looked in the garage and still had a can of silver (supposed to replicate chrome) Krylon that I used to refinish my original Javelin wheels back in 2007. It was still good.

While it does a poor job looking like chrome, it has just enough shine to look like brushed aluminum. I think they turned out pretty good. The picture doesn't really do a great job capturing the finish. They actually match the brushed aluminum on the chassis and body pretty darn well.

It's a shame Kyosho doesn't offer these wheels in any finish other than black. There is a lot of detail in the design of the wheel and it gets lost in an all-black finish.

.

[XLR8]

Holy smokes! Yes, tons of little details that you just can't see when they were just black. I think they look great in satin silver.
For a little added protection, you also could apply a couple coats of duplicolor clear that is made for wheels. I use this for my polished motorcycle parts and it works great.

[ahenderl]

Here's what it looks like with the Dirt Hogs painted silver...

...(in my humble opinion) much better than they looked in black...

They may be hard to see, but the stabilizer bars are in place. I also installed the 51 tooth spur gear intended for brushless motors. The instructions said to step up to a 30-32 tooth pinion but that was based on a 15.5 turn motor. Since I'm running a 8.5 I installed a 25 tooth pinion...we'll see how it goes.

...still hoping to hear opinions regarding gearing on the brushless set-up...


.

[XLR8]

That looks fantastic! Well done.
When it comes to gearing, I tend to sneak up on it. It's ridiculously simple. Start with a small pinion then check motor temps often during the initial run and take note of run times. My technique is also very unscientific; if the motor is too hot to touch, I've gone to far and it needs the smaller pinion.

[Coelacanth]

I have a question for anyone who is familiar with either the Optima/Javelin re-re and using brushless power.

The stock spur gear included in the kit is 61 tooth. I've read a review at BigSquid.com of a re-re Optima using stock gearing with an 8.5t brushless motor and their review stated that they felt it was almost perfect. With the included stock spur gear & 15t pinion gear, the final ratio of factory set-up is 9.24. However, the Kyosho instructions suggest Kyosho part number OTW126 51t spur gear for brushless set-ups.

Secondly, if I do use the 51t gear with the 8.5 brushless motor, would anyone have a recommendation for the pinion gear. I know I can play with different gears and check motor and esc temps, but I was wondering if anyone was running something similar and had an opinion about what works well. I'd rather learn from others' real-world experiences than run countless packs with every conceivable pinion gear constantly checking temps.

If you give me your tire outside diameter, I can calculate a theoretical close-to-ideal pinion gear size with an Optima gear & rollout ratio calculator I made in Excel. Motor power doesn't really have any bearing on ideal rollout ratio because all motors have the same diameter and therefore rotational distance. All else being equal--spur/pinion, tire diameter being constants--one rotation of the motor will always rotate the wheels the same exact distance, regardless of motor. (Unless of course you slap in a 550-size or anything non-540-can size.)

[ahenderl]

Last night my black body arrived from Japan...

I've ran a couple of packs through it and feel that 8.5 brushless was a good choice. It's fast but controllable. A full throttle pull even with the buggy at speed will easily cause a wheelie.

The handling is light-years beyond my 2wd Kyosho re-re Turbo Scorpion and Beetle. The Javelin is actually really fun to bash.