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Carisma GT14 Mk2 Brushless Setup Blog

Further reading:
RC Tinkering
Carisma Mk 2 Chassis
LED Light System

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Sponsored by Eclipse Hobbies.

It's not until you come to set up the Carisma GT14 Mk 2 that you realise just how much thinking has gone into this new version of the diminutive 1/14th Radio Controlled car.

Having spent, probably too many, hours pawing over the new Carisma Mk2 chassis I took advantage of an evening's RC Tinkering with friends to start setting up the new car.

The first job was to install the Carisma 4500kv Brushless Sensorless Motor and Carisma V6 Type R Brushless Sensorless ESC. Having had to remove the entire rear differential of my original GT14 Carisma I was a little reluctant to get started.

Happily though, this is where I discovered a design improvement over the original I hadn't noticed in my original musings on the Carisma Mk 2 Chassis. The motor fixings have been re-designed to slide out for easy installation of different motors.

All it takes is the loosening of a couple of retaining screws and the whole motor housing slides out. After some fiddling, I decided I wanted the motor wires at the top of the chassis and attached the motor before reinserted it into the reciprocal aluminium housing on the chassis.

The added benefit of the modularised motor housing is that aligning the pinion and gear accurately is now a lot easier. It simple slides in and out until the position is perfect. Discerning the ideal alignment is still something of an art, but there are a couple of neat tips that can help.

You can cut a piece of paper and run it through the gear and the pinion. If the paper is cut by the gears the setting is too tight and should be loosened slightly. Although not failsafe this method helps ensure that there is the appropriate space between the point of the pinion and the gear.

Another tip to align the pinion and gear is to hold the motor still and move the main gear. There should be a small amount of play so you can move the gear a little. This method also enables you to check the play all round the gear to ensure it is symmetrical.

After some fiddling around, I settled on a setup that basically sounded the best when it was running. Initially the car had a distinctive grating sound. Upon increasing the pinion-gear gap a little it sounded much smoother.

Once the motor was installed I simply had to attach the Carisma V6 Type R Brushless Sensorless ESC and I was pretty much done. It is worth noting that speed controllers are sensitive bits of kit, you must ensure you have an appropriate gear-pinion ratio to avoid damaging it. This is usually stated on the packaging somewhere.

Next on the list was a LED Light System for my new Nissan shell.

Written by Rupert Stelling

You can support Rupert by buying Carisma GT14 Mk2 Brushless Setup



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Rupert Stelling writes the Radio Controlled Gamer column.

"Having grown up racing Tamiya radio and remote controlled cars and trucks I was keen to get my kids started on the same hobby. Here, I share my R/C reviews and guides to getting started in this electric and petrol powered world."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:

• Carisma GT14 In the Wet
• Carisma GT14 LED Light System
• Carisma GT14 Tinkering
• GT14 Mark 2
• Home