Your build your rules haha enjoy it, hopefully I can try it out at carve
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Haha I appreciate the compliment! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get it up there or not yet. Not the easiest thing to transfer
-she
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Nice update. Racing is so much fun. It adds all the nerdiness we need and allow us to go full retardo in setup and riding style. I love seeing how we all learn collectively. And as we are still a young sport we have lots to explore still and findings as yours here are very valuable information .
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Glamor pics thanks @s_m_l_s on instagram
Alright time for a massive update. Been some time since I wrote about my progress on this build, but it has gotten a big upgrade from the last time I posted.
First off - battery! This board is now running a massive 18s6p battery, made from P42a cells. I’ve wired it so it can be capable of fully supporting the draw of the Solos. Check out the build video here:
Here’s some extra build photos from when I was working on it for those of you reading here on the forum
For this battery, I had my first go at using copper braid to make all of my series questions. I did this for a few reasons, one, to decrease build time, which it fully succeeded in doing. Only having to cut 18 pieces of braid, rather than cutting 54 pieces of cable and having to strip them all individually saved a ton of time and made it way easier to get the job done.
The only real downside I found while using the braid is that it can be a bit tougher to solder properly. It’s important that you don’t let the solder soak into the braid on joints that you intend to be flex-capable, because if you let it soak in too far, you’re going to have problems with the soldered braid cracking in very short amounts of time.
The rest of this build was pretty straightforward, pretty wild having an enclosure big enough to fit 9 cells across in groups of 6. Balance wires on 18s take forever. After I ran all the balance cables, double checked the wiring order, glued everything down, taped it all… You start to see why we charge so much for these - I was able to pack some foam in and get it situated in the enclosure in a more permanent fashion.
I don’t think it is always necessary to fully secure batteries in their enclosures (glue or silicone), rather, better to pack in foam to hold it in place. This makes it easy to remove, but keeps it in place and helps reduce the vibrations transferred to it.
That’s pretty much it when it comes to the battery. It has performed awesomely since I installed it, and gives me an incredible amount of power. When I reconfigured the Solos for 18s, Vesc tool decided to set my max current to 1.5x what the motors were detected at, and I street faced on my first launch in the parking lot of i2s. Oh well. I executed a perfect slide out and escaped completely unscathed.
After setting them to 175a per side, I now only receive ABS OC errors when I do riderless burnouts, and the wheels disengage/catch on the asphalt. I’ve also adjusted my fault time though so hopefully if I do get one while riding I won’t get thrown. Pretty tough getting thrown with one foot in a binding.
Next up: RiderFest! This event was a first-year racing exposition put on my RiderGuide (mostly a scooter thing) and located at the AVS (Apple Valley Speedway) drift track. Many of you will know AVS from the annual RacenRide event that is usually put on by @MoeStooge and their team. This event was different.
For me, this was my first experience at AVS and was a really good practice session for me to get used to riding at much higher speeds than our normal ARD short track sessions at i2s San Diego. For example, the laps we generally do at our i2s sessions are about 30 seconds, but at AVS, @MarioChacon has just set a new record time of 1:11 on the SuperSpine.
This kind of gives a bit of context for how much more racing stamina you’ve gotta have, and how much stamina your board components need to have in order to perform well. Not only are the laps long, they are also much higher speed, AND it’s in the desert, so it’s even hotter than normal. This all results in motors getting cooked, at least, that was the experience for several of us.
During the morning, we got 1.5hr approixmately to get laps in on the track, and I took full advantage and was able to go out about 4 times to get laps in. Very quickly, I found out that the combination of extremely high speed and longer track resulted in me only really being able to get in 5 laps before overheating of my motors took over. I’ve attached a couple metr logs below showing my heating on several occasions. I think the highest I ever got them was 88c, with my Solos staying perfectly reasonable in the 60s.
Metr logs
Additionally, I hit a brand new top speed, reaching 44 mph on the straight, and consistently hitting 40 on non-max laps. Before going to Riderfest, I had only barely scraped 40mph on this board, but after riding all of the laps, I got a lot more comfortable. Board feels pretty comfortable on the straight, even past 40, I didn’t really feel anything sketchy.
3 Link config stayed at top notch in front and dead in the back, seemed to work pretty well for me. My times were not the most competitive, but I still did decently, coming out with a best lap of 1.24, which is only a couple seconds off of old avs records, so I’m not too upset about that. I think I can definitely do better, which is what I intend to do when I go back in November.
I still haven’t had a chance to drop my 3 links into my deck, upgrade to an HD hanger in the rear, or even consider changing my motors, but I did receive some advice from @Skyart who said it might benefit me to upgrade to some 6385 reachers, but at 190 or 205kv. Along with this, I’d probably increase the gear ratio a tiny bit to 4.2 and change out the wheels to 150mm (BRP).
Main reasoning for this, is that even at maximum launches, I’m barely sipping motor amps (weird, considering how hot they get). If you look at some of the metr logs you’ll see that I’ve barely even crested 80a per motor. Now of course 80a per motor on 18s is VERY different than on 12s, but still. I think I’m leaving some performance on the table by having too much low end torque with 170kv on the board right now. Once budget allows I’ll be making some changes.
#1 is changing to BRP wheels. I really love these Meepo tubeless tires, they give a great amount of grip, are comfortable, comply to the road well, soak up bumps, and are impossible to tear tubes on since they don’t have em. However, it has become blatantly evident that I’m leaving a lot of time on the table by not having the best-in-grip that you can get. Unfortunately, upgrading to these is probably going to cost well over $300. While they have performed great, I do worry about the slow leak that the two front tires have from time to time. Not really sure why they leak, but they run well either way, and I can run them at 20-25 psi
#2: Upgrade to HD hanger in rear. This one is mainly because my motors just refuse to stay in place, and I think I’ve slightly bent my hanger, looking at the wear on my left rear tire. The Boardnamics drives are not compatible with these by default, but @Boardnamics is making me a new set of adapters to work properly. In addition to those new adapters, I’ll probably pick up a set of the reinforcement pieces from @Savage1 to make sure they really stay in place. It’s very disconcerting when you brake hard and feel the tail wiggle because the motors are shifting up. +$145 +$100
#3: Already mentioned but I will likely be reconfiguring the drivetrain to 190kv motors and 4.2? gear ratio on the Boardnamics straight cut gears. I will only do this at the same time as I do the wheel swap though, so that’s going to be a little bit. +80?
#4: Free one here, I think I will upgrade my Puck firmware to the new linear version to make it feel a little more peppy. I still might hold off on this before AVS though because I’ve been racing with the puck as is for so long already.
#5: I’m still super intriguied by dropping the heim bolts into the deck, and getting it a bit lower to the ground. If there’s one thing I can feel on the high speed straights, it’s that I’m quite high off the ground. I can handle it, but I think this will make a difference where it counts. This is a ton of work, requiring a lot of things to be disassembled. +$25 for drill bit and clamps
NEXT:
Phase three is coming soon. This phase is going to be focusing on completely painting everything, including a deck skin. Now, this probably will happen in December to be honest, because it’s SO much work. I think the payout is going to be awesome though and hopefully I can finish it before our BOTY contest. “Technically” the build is already done because I’ve been racing on it for so long, but it’s fugly, with janky grip tape and some unfinished business going on. I can’t wait to get it colorful and reveal its final form.
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So much to unpack here.
First that battery is sexy af.
Second looking good out there on the track, can’t wait till November.
Third congrats on hitting 44 butt clenching mph on your RE44, must definitely feel good.
Fourth, doooo it bump those Kvs 
.
Finally, can’t wait to see what you have in store for this skin/final look.
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Yeah it’s a lot of work. Been there haha. It will change your radius rod angles too FYI. For example if you’re running maximum angle on the front and you lower then you will lose some steer. If you’re on middle position currently then it wont matter as you can adjust to top position when you lower to achieve a similar angle. Hope that makes sense.
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Haha thanks for the comments. I think I’m most excited about the skin and paint because no one will have a board like mine when I’m done - not in the same way I mean.
I was thinking of doing the morgan flippy trick to get some steer back if I need it. I probably will since I am running max steer on the fastest track haha
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You can also do what @Shadowfax and @PedroMcJimenez do and remove the bracket entirely. I rode Evan’s board and there’s lots of steer that way.
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Another random thing I’m concerned about is how many practice laps I’ll be able to get in. Vs how I should conserve battery to still be able to push hard during time trials or racing. I’m guessing y’all didn’t have charging out there?
Well, ARD had charging because we brought extensions and a strip, and were able to plug into a generator
Not sure for everyone else. I’m curious how much practice we will have too. I’m assuming there will be more time for practice on Saturday since it’s just the relay race
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niiiice. 
GJ.
maybe iron losses? (on my brain from my own heating problems ) What ERPM u hitting?
does look like motors a beating out ESC temps by a decent amount.
maybe different motors with different iron loss charactaristics. and/or lower ERPMs
definitely don’t do that day of. you need a t least a session or two to adapt to changes like that.
I do think you will notice this. lower COG feels a lot better IMO. but do note how it affects steering angles as @zero_ads mentioned.
I doubt it at 170kv, I think you can show RPM on the metr log. not sure on erpm.
Yeah lol I’m leaving it for now
yeah when I take it apart I’ll drop it and play with the angles. If short track suffers I’ll just have to run higher angles I guess haha
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You could just multiply RPM by 7 for ERPM right?
I’ve thought about making the deck hole large enough for the nut to come through for even more drop, but that seems blasphemous and ugly lol
Oooh maybe a thinner jam nut… Whats that called @poastoast Know your Nuts November
Im missing the weld-nut.
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Bet yall did nut know that one. You only live so long, so better start learning fastener.
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That’s a good one, I raise you one better though, there’s no rivnuts on there either
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It might be no nut november, but that doesnt mean you cant watch sex bolts.
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Be careful with this one, you cannot turn this one back. Maybe you get your nut stuck where you dont want it.
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