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  #76  
Old 10-19-2009, 05:33 PM
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kavvika kavvika is offline
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Wow, I can't believe it's been over 6 months since I last posted. I did manage to get the Recoil running after that major crash, but never purchased new foam tires. I tried running it with 3S on a set of bald stock rubbers as I was too cheap and anxious to get it running properly. The front right tire blew out near 50mph, caught my LED wires, ripped them out of the shell and wound them around the axle, which caused the car to veer right underneath a car parked on the side of the street. I pretty much shelved the Recoil after that, and spent the summer working, selling lots of R/C and flashlight stuff on eBay, and researching my newest hobby, home audio. I finally purchased and setup a pretty sweet 2.1 bookshelf system, and prompted by a some guys getting together and running their R/C's outside my apartment last week, decided it was time to get back into R/C myself.

Unfortunately I no longer have my 3S LiPo, as I killed one of the cells when I was pressured into running it in my Rustler VXL. However, that's probably for the better as 3S is killer on tires. I still needed a new body shell and Spektrum antenna to get my Recoil up and running again. I was bored in class today and decided to do a bit of window shopping on eBay, when I stumbled across a listing for a near-mint Recoil Pro roller with the complete Exotek package. The body was in decent shape and it even came with a set of foams, though they didn't have much life left. I placed my bid, as I still had a bit of play cash left over from the summer, and now $60 later, this is mine!

I just couldn't pass that up, as for just the price of the bare Exotek chassis, I got a complete roller. I needed new differential bearings and a rear differential soon, anyways, as both were worn. Saves me alot of time and money. It's amazing how much these cars have depreciated. Can't wait for it to arrive. What I'm thinking of doing is fixing up my current Recoil with parts from this roller, then keeping all the best/newest parts on the new Recoil and only driving that one inside on carpet or the gym. I don't want to scratch up the Exotek CF or rip up the new rubber tires on pavement. Good thing I still have a spare MMP ESC and plenty of motors to play with. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about that part three I promised so long ago, if I can even remember what I was going to write!

Edit: It's been even longer than I thought, now that I'm going back through my most recent posts. I had been meaning to post updates all summer but never got around to it. I rewired the shell, adding dual taillights, new fogs, and side markers lights like the Euro Mazda 6, purchased a parted-out drift shell and began to wire that up for display, then pulled the shock shafts from my old RC18R shocks. I'll have pictures next time I visit my parents house, as I left most of my stuff there this year.
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Last edited by kavvika; 10-19-2009 at 05:50 PM.
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  #77  
Old 10-20-2009, 02:34 PM
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Hope it's not too soon for another post. I can't get this car out of my head, and have been itching to drive an R/C ever since my last post. Taking a look at HobbyCity I discovered a very nice 3S Lipo pack that should work great for cheap, and the price of the 3S pack I previously purchased has dropped, I believe, to less than $12. It's unbelievable how cheap 20c Lipo's are now. It's going to be very hard to stop myself from purchasing one this week.

I sold all but 3 of the brushless motors from that lot, made back my money, and still have yet to try the "monster" 3mm-shaft motors. I'll be sure to drop one in the second Recoil, slide a Traxxas pinion from my Rustler on, and see what it can really do. I still want to try out those Orion Vortex and Losi Xcelorin motors, even though they're slightly smaller. There's a handful of 6000kv Vortex motors on eBay right now for around $30, which is half the retail price, at which they were moving slowly. 6k kv should be about right, geared tall (22t pinion?) on 3S for 2-3 speed runs before getting too hot. The motor won't be too happy, but Orion makes good motors and it'll last more than long enough to have some fun with if I keep the runs short.

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself; the Recoil hasn't even been shipped and I'm already planning out various power systems! Before I can drive it, I'll need to go back and re-read through all the Recoil threads to remember everything I forgot over these last 7 months. Once my pair of Polk speakers sells I'll have some more cash to play around with.

I'll leave you all with a video of another 100 mph Recoil, in case you hadn't seen it yet. One day I'll join those ranks. Peace! (Until next week)
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Last edited by kavvika; 10-20-2009 at 02:37 PM.
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  #78  
Old 10-21-2009, 06:29 PM
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Good to see you back again Kav! Then again, same goes to me I guess.

I was last on this webpage near the beginning of September, but been too busy with college to really do any kind of surfing on a regular basis. I got myself in a HVAC 3 year program and so far have survived the first 2 months... LOL!.

What a sweet deal on the Recoil!!

Let me know what you think of the Exotek chassis vs the stock Spashett Pro Edition chassis.

Indoor practice begins here after Remembrance Day and I would assume real racing starts up after christmas. I'm looking forward to it! As long as I don't have too many tests/exams to do.....
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  #79  
Old 11-06-2009, 07:29 PM
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Good news, the roller arrived last week. The bad news is it was shipped to my parents house. Not sure how, as I've been living in my apartment for a year and a half now. And on the eBay payment details page it says it was supposed to be shipped to me. Strange. I'll visit for Thanksgiving so that's when I'll take pictures and will be able to drive it for the first time. Not much of an update, I know, but didn't want to keep you all waiting another 2 weeks. I'm really excited to compare the two chassis and eventually have two running Recoils.
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Old 01-05-2010, 09:43 PM
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So I guess not much Recoil driving has been going on lately, myself included. I ended up forgetting the roller at my parents house when I went back after Thanksgiving, and the last two weeks have been full of errands, holidays, and remodeling. In fact, I don't think I've even driven any of my R/C's since the fall. However, I did get a chance to look over the new Recoil, and it seems I got a fairly nice example. The only problem is that the half of the motor mount that attaches to motor is missing. Not that big of a deal as I can swap mounts between the two cars in about a minute. Then there's the usual wear on the outdrives. I haven't torn the diffs apart yet, but they feel a bit gritty which means the stock balls haven't been replaced. Other than the shell having a bit more wear than I thought based on the picture, everything else looks nearly mint. The bearings are smooth, the steering is slop-free and doesn't bind, and the chassis has nary a scratch. The rubber tires look like they've never been used, so they should grip fairly well on a polished wood basketball court, so I'll charge up a 2S LiPo, mount my electronics, and head on over to the park. After all, it's indoor season!

I'll try to have some pictures up tonight.
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  #81  
Old 01-20-2010, 11:29 AM
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Not my best pictures, but they'll have to do for now.

Shell isn't in the greatest shape, but tire tread is hardly worn despite the scuffs on the wheel.

Thick CF chassis plates and shock tower; definitely stiffer than stock.




I'm back at my apartment, but didn't bring a transmitter, batteries, or charger, so I won't be able to drive it for a while. The other shell needs some work replacing the ruined LED wiring, so that will keep me busy for now.
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  #82  
Old 12-03-2012, 01:18 AM
Shawnparker Shawnparker is offline
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Originally Posted by kavvika View Post
After retiring Projekt Graphite-Tec to the shelf after a near fatal accident that destroyed a Sidewinder ESC, I craved another on-road. I really started to take a liking to the apartment-friendly size of my RC18T, but a ‘R wouldn’t cut it. I needed a proper touring car that was large enough to drive on a paved street without getting upset by a small pebble. The Sportwerks Recoil fit the bill, and is in a class all of it’s own at 1/14th the size of a real Mazda 6. After a bit of research, I decided on the Pro ARR “David Spashett” version, since I would be getting rid of the stock electronics anyways. By getting the pro version, which is already hopped-up with all of Sportwerk’s option parts, I would save money in the end. I had most of the components ready to drop in: Sidewinder Micro ESC, AON4900 BL motor, and Spektrum RX. It was just a matter of choosing a servo and then ordering the car. The eBay store “HopMeUp” was running a sale on Recoils at $98 plus nice led lights shipping. Along with the car, I picked up a pre-painted body and a set of Losi 22t pinions. Here’s what I’ve learned after countless hours reading a handful of excellent threads:

Shocks: The blue-anodized aluminum shocks seem nice and don’t leak, which is a nice change coming from my ‘18T. But the springs are too soft, too long, which doesn’t allow the chassis to “droop” under its own weight, and the oil is much too thin for a TC. RCtech member “duneland” discovered that cutting Associates VCS springs in half gave the perfect tuning spring for the shocks. There’s a handful of rates to choose from and droop can be tuned by further trimming. For ozite, he recommends copper (16.00) up front and red (14.00) in rear. He cautioned that this set-up, when using 50wt. oil up front and 45wt. in rear, gave little warning before traction rolling, but handling was much improved. For general indoor and outdoor bashing and speed runs, I went with gold (12.00) in front and blue (10.00) in the rear. 40wt. and 35wt. oil should be a good match to these spring rates, respectively.


Differentials: The stock recoil comes with plastic gear differentials, while the Pro comes with ball differentials with metal outdrives. An awesome upgrade, but it could’ve been implemented better. The 3mm balls, which are common in the 1/10th field, are of poor quality and the chrome plating flakes off, causing a gritty feel and grooving to the diff plates. Before running the car, disassemble the diffs, install Robitronic Scalpel Diff Balls (#RA2049), and lube with Associated Stealth Differential Lube (#6591). The other issue involves the metal outdrives. I have seen two instances where, when running brushless, the CVD pin wears a groove in the outdrive quicker than expected. Duratrax Vendetta differentials, which are an easy swap, solve this problem with their beefier outdrives, but are a pricey upgrade at $25 per. Until spare parts dry up, keep an extra set of outdrives on hand to swap in.

Servo: The stock servo is slow and weak, and should be one of the first upgrades on the RTR version. Thankfully, Sportwerks lets us choose out own with the Pro, and includes a few mounts to allow many different sizes of servos to be installed. Futaba’s digital S9650 and metal-geared S9602, along with JR’s DS285MG are three of the most commonly recommended servos. I went with the S9602 as I favored speed over torque and found a used one for a very reasonable price. A more involved discussion can be found below, in Post #9 of this thread.

Rolling Stock: Simply put, the wheels are weak and the tires wear out very quickly. One tag of the boards and you’re almost guaranteed to need a new rear wheel. They break off right at the hub. A set of Sportwerks foams solves both of these problems. They’re offered in 35, 40, and 45 shore. 35 offers many times more traction that the stock rubbers, and yet still lasts longer. A set of 45 shores, which are great for general outdoors bashing, are what my Recoil will be wearing once I wear out or break the stock gear. The wheels are made from a different blend of plastics and are reinforced near the hub. Before the foams were offered, it was discovered that Carisma M14 rear tires (CIS14014) were an adequate replacement rubber that lasted a bit longer then the stock A-spec tires. Just tossing some other options into the mix.

Spares: Sooner or later, you’ll hit a pesky mailbox, light pole, or curb. Most likely, the first, and possibly only, part you’ll break is the rear hingepin mount. Make sure to have at least one package of item #SWK6010 to keep your ride running. I also recommend stocking up on spurs. No aftermarket replacements have been found, so once Sportwerks runs out, that’s it. $3 is cheap insurance to make sure your now-discontinued model can continue to tear past the competition.

Motors: Larger in scale (1/14th vs. 1/18th) and heavier than the R/C’s 180-sized brushless motors are made for, which ironically are 370-can brushed motor replacements, a large-can brushless motor must be used to prevent overheating. The AON4900 (24x33mm) is a great choice, as is the HXT 24x35 (370S) 4400kv motor from hobbycity.com. The Wraith 7k, although now discontinued, is a popular choice, but might need some modification to fit mounted to the Pro’s sliding motor mount. A Sidewinder Micro ESC should have no problem spinning this powerplant, but if the motor does draw too much current, an Associated XPS heatsink or small computer RAM heatsink can be CA glued to the ESC shrink to dissipate any excess heat.

I believe the rest is common sense, such as batteries and the TX/RX. This little model is very unique, and it’s a shame Horizon dropped Sportwerks and discontinued the Recoil. The ironic thing is, I purchased mine the morning of the announcement. But I have done my research, and was pumped about adding this gem to my fleet. The cars, when properly tuned, seem to have no problem taking on 1/10th scale competition. Shaft drive makes them impervious to the pebbles, dirt, and twigs that can take out a belt.

As mentioned before, my stock Recoil Pro is wearing the black pre-painted shell. The reason being that I have never painted a body before, and I wanted to have this car running as soon as it arrived. The AON4900 motor is connected to the wheels with a Losi 22t pinion from the mini-LST. The AON should have no problem pulling this gearing thanks to its massive amount of torque and low kv, but if things do heat up, a heatsink will be snapped on. For short speed runs, I might even gear up. After all, I do have 7 more of these purple cans! A Futaba S9602 servo was purchased just for this car. Only the best will do for my builds. It’s a 1/12th scale pan car servo, and with metal gears, both heavier and larger then a micro servo as commonly seen used in a R/C mini. The Rhino 2S 1550mAh LiPo will give the motor plenty of juice. I’m expecting speeds of around 40 mph. Once I get more comfortable with driving a car of this size, I’ll step up to a 3S.

Some of my first runs will be inside, on a wood gym floor. The stock rubber tires will get the most traction of any rolling stock, and I don’t plan on hitting anything, so I’ll wait on the foams. I’m not sure when I’ll take the car outside to drive. This is the first new car I have ever purchased, and now that’s it’s discontinued, I don’t want to go scratching the graphite chassis plate or breaking some irreplaceable part. I learned that lesson with my RS4 MT.

Not much of a “build” thread, I know, since the car came assembled and ready for electronics. A small reason for purchasing this car was that I already all the electronics laying around unused and waiting for a chassis. In the coming days and weeks, new parts such as springs, oil, and spares such as tires, spurs, and hinge pin mounts will begin to flow in. I’ll give driving reports and part casualties as they happen. My main purpose of this thread was a repository for all the information and tips I’ve learned over the past week. I wanted a convenient, easy to read way to recall what works with what and necessary steps before running the car for both me and others. Of course, pictures will follow soon!

Helpful Links:
Sportwerks Recoil review on R/C Universe

Associated Spring Rate Chart

30+ Page RCTech Recoil RTR Thread
Short Recoil Pro thread on RCTech
Let's talk about the Sportwerks Recoil on R/C Universe
Sportwerks Recoil discussion on R/C Universe #2
The Brits discuss the Recoil



Body shell options, aftermarket parts such as swaybars and Exotek, and other potential upgrades now discussed in post #16

To come: ride height and gearing, and other necessary pre-run checks.
Information is very well organized and very helpful too

Last edited by Shawnparker; 12-04-2012 at 12:30 AM.
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