maxxdout
12-21-2008, 10:53 PM
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/Intro.png
With the Winter season in full throttle, many drivers are finding that more snow equals less RC. The cause of this may be that their electronics aren't waterproof, the temperatures are too low, or perhaps the snow is too deep. Another problem that people have is that their RC has a lack of traction. Tires aren't designed for snow, although a wide variety will work well in the white powdery fluff. Well, with a little time, money, and a little patience, your 1/10 scale RC truck or buggy with no longer be stuck in its tracks!
Materials:
You will need a few items to make your Snow Paddles.
Windshield wiper blades: You can find a pack of one or two rubber blade replacements at your local auto parts store. I was lucky and had two brand new blades in my basement. These can be new or used, but new will last longer. Be sure to ask your parents before taking them off their car.
Utility knife with a new blade: The sharper, the better!
CA glue(tire glue) or any other kind of super glue: I used Great Planes Medium PRO CA.
New or used rims: I used new Proline 2.2 truck rims, but others will do also. Try not to use chrome rims or painted rims as the snow paddles might not secure well to the rims.
Ruler(Optional): For cutting up the wiper blades.
Marker(Option): For marking the blade locations on the rims.
Step One
What you want to do first is grab your blade and your rim. Place your rim on its beads and line up the front of the wheel to the end of the blade. Using your utility knife, mark off where the blade meets the back of the rim. In other words, cut each piece or blade the same width of your tire, with this exception: when you mark the cuts, be sure to take off about 1/8 inch from each because you want the blades to be inside the outer beads of the rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/1.jpg
Another thing to note too is that some blades have a skinnier piece of rubber on the opposite side of the wiping part. You will want to cut this off so that you have a wider piece of rubber, or foot, that will stick better to the rim. After you cut this off, sand/cut off any excess material so that the foot is smooth.
Step Two
Cut on the line where you marked off the first piece of blade. Use the first piece you cut as a template for the next pieces(or you can use a ruler). I was able to get eleven pieces from a 24" wiper blade. The amount of pieces all depends on how wide your rim is. A skinnier rim, such as a 2.2 buggy rim, the more pieces you will have to work with. Vise-versa with a truck rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/2.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/25.jpg
Step Three
Test fit the pieces you cut from the step two to make sure they all will fit the width of the rim. As you can see, the blades are resting on the beads of the rim. To make the blades rest on the actual rim, you must cut out little pieces of each foot so that the beads can pass under each blade and the feet of the blades can be securely glued to the rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2105.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2107.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2106.jpg
Step Four
Alright, here comes the fun part. Grab your glue, your rims, and your pieces you just finished cutting. Before you go right to gluing, place your blades on the rim and space them out evenly. I used six blades per rim which should be just fine. I first put two blades directly across from each other, then measure the length between each other blade so that all six blades were evenly spaced apart. You may mark off where the locations are with a marker to make the gluing process easier.
Now that you have planned where you want the blades to be glued on your rim, start gluing the feet of each blade to the rim. Don't overdue the glue; you only need a little to have a strong bond. Let the glue dry after you are done mounting the blades to the rims.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2141.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2142.jpg
Step Five(Optional)
This step is optional and requires another wiper blade. You pretty much want to follow the steps above again, but instead of cutting each piece the width of the rim, cut them so that they fit in between the beads of the rims. Glue these pieces in between the first pieces you've glued on. Your rims should now look something like this:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2206.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2207.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2209.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2231.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2230.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/Conclusion.png
If you followed the steps above, you should have perfectly functional snow paddles. These wheels will work best with brushed motor systems and may also work with brushless too, but make sure not to over-stress them because they might get ripped off! These paddles can probably also be used in sand and other loose types of terrain. You can also do this for smaller scales. Just scale down the above instructions and your mini will be blowing rooster-tails, too! Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
With the Winter season in full throttle, many drivers are finding that more snow equals less RC. The cause of this may be that their electronics aren't waterproof, the temperatures are too low, or perhaps the snow is too deep. Another problem that people have is that their RC has a lack of traction. Tires aren't designed for snow, although a wide variety will work well in the white powdery fluff. Well, with a little time, money, and a little patience, your 1/10 scale RC truck or buggy with no longer be stuck in its tracks!
Materials:
You will need a few items to make your Snow Paddles.
Windshield wiper blades: You can find a pack of one or two rubber blade replacements at your local auto parts store. I was lucky and had two brand new blades in my basement. These can be new or used, but new will last longer. Be sure to ask your parents before taking them off their car.
Utility knife with a new blade: The sharper, the better!
CA glue(tire glue) or any other kind of super glue: I used Great Planes Medium PRO CA.
New or used rims: I used new Proline 2.2 truck rims, but others will do also. Try not to use chrome rims or painted rims as the snow paddles might not secure well to the rims.
Ruler(Optional): For cutting up the wiper blades.
Marker(Option): For marking the blade locations on the rims.
Step One
What you want to do first is grab your blade and your rim. Place your rim on its beads and line up the front of the wheel to the end of the blade. Using your utility knife, mark off where the blade meets the back of the rim. In other words, cut each piece or blade the same width of your tire, with this exception: when you mark the cuts, be sure to take off about 1/8 inch from each because you want the blades to be inside the outer beads of the rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/1.jpg
Another thing to note too is that some blades have a skinnier piece of rubber on the opposite side of the wiping part. You will want to cut this off so that you have a wider piece of rubber, or foot, that will stick better to the rim. After you cut this off, sand/cut off any excess material so that the foot is smooth.
Step Two
Cut on the line where you marked off the first piece of blade. Use the first piece you cut as a template for the next pieces(or you can use a ruler). I was able to get eleven pieces from a 24" wiper blade. The amount of pieces all depends on how wide your rim is. A skinnier rim, such as a 2.2 buggy rim, the more pieces you will have to work with. Vise-versa with a truck rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/2.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/25.jpg
Step Three
Test fit the pieces you cut from the step two to make sure they all will fit the width of the rim. As you can see, the blades are resting on the beads of the rim. To make the blades rest on the actual rim, you must cut out little pieces of each foot so that the beads can pass under each blade and the feet of the blades can be securely glued to the rim.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2105.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2107.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2106.jpg
Step Four
Alright, here comes the fun part. Grab your glue, your rims, and your pieces you just finished cutting. Before you go right to gluing, place your blades on the rim and space them out evenly. I used six blades per rim which should be just fine. I first put two blades directly across from each other, then measure the length between each other blade so that all six blades were evenly spaced apart. You may mark off where the locations are with a marker to make the gluing process easier.
Now that you have planned where you want the blades to be glued on your rim, start gluing the feet of each blade to the rim. Don't overdue the glue; you only need a little to have a strong bond. Let the glue dry after you are done mounting the blades to the rims.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2141.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2142.jpg
Step Five(Optional)
This step is optional and requires another wiper blade. You pretty much want to follow the steps above again, but instead of cutting each piece the width of the rim, cut them so that they fit in between the beads of the rims. Glue these pieces in between the first pieces you've glued on. Your rims should now look something like this:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2206.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2207.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2209.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2231.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/12-20-08_2230.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff122/maxxdoutrc/Photos/Conclusion.png
If you followed the steps above, you should have perfectly functional snow paddles. These wheels will work best with brushed motor systems and may also work with brushless too, but make sure not to over-stress them because they might get ripped off! These paddles can probably also be used in sand and other loose types of terrain. You can also do this for smaller scales. Just scale down the above instructions and your mini will be blowing rooster-tails, too! Good luck, be safe, and have fun!