Pimp Cane Manual
Congratulations on buying the Pimp Cane. You will find out this is becoming one of the best chassis for any serious Clod Comp Crawler. If you were looking for a chassis that as the lowest Center of Gravity, lightest weight, Simplicity, and the Cheapest. Well you got it.
A few things you need to know about this kind of Chassis. This style of chassis is called a Torsion chassis.
That means it has no Shocks or links. The main part of the chassis is its backbone. The backbone acts like one big Shock in a way. When a torsion chassis flexes it forces the opposing side or wheel to get traction. It provides more force then a lot of other suspension set ups. Now I didn’t event the Torsion design. Matter of fact large Automotive companies have been using a torsion design called Torsion bars in place of leaf springs and Coils for years.
Now many have tried to duplicate thePimp Cane with little success. Now I’m not saying that no one has, but ever few have. This chassis has been around for awhile now. Before it was even sold to the public there was a lot of research and testing put into this. It takes a special type of aluminum to react the way that is needed. If you don’t have the right type or drilled the worng spot it will crack or bend after a few uses.
When the Crawler starts to flex the backbone will twist and force the tires down or up to get the traction your looking for. At first the backbone will only allow about 6in of travel with a chassis longer then 16in. The more you drive it the more it will break in and in return the more flex you will get. It should never get 90 degrees of flex. It breaks in and gets about 70 degrees. Which is perfect for crawling. Anymore will allow the rig to roll over to easy. Now on the 2.2 Version. Which is only 12.5 Wheelbase. The shorter the backbone the less flex it will get and the longer it takes to break in. Don’t let that discourage you at all. For some reason unknown to me. It still is unstoppable. I have seen the 2.2 Pimp Cane out preform every 2.2 Chassis out with ease. It comes down to driver aswell. The 2.2 is more challenging to drive, but once you get it down. It’s all over for your competitors.
There is a term called "Float" which you need to know Which means :To slowly, hover, or be suspended in a liquid or the air. When a normal 4 link chassis or Stick chassis crawls over a hole they will have a tire drop father in the hole then the Torsion design will. This allows you to keep your line and get better progress. The float also allows you to defy gravity. It will amaze you what it can do every time out. You will be able to do things and climbs ledges that will send other chassis designs rolling down the hill. Now since the early 90's Flex was the rage. With RTI ramps judging your articulation. This has been getting way out of hand with guys having 90 degrees of axle movement.
There is many tips on how to get the most out of your Pimp Cane and more popping up everyday. Of course you want everything mounted as low as possible. Batteries, Rx, Rx packs, ESC’s and the body. Every little thing helps. As this goes for any crawler.Instructions on how to assemble:
1-Backbone
2- Two Mounting brackets
3-All Stainless Steel mounting Hardware
4- Two Nylon Bolts and Nuts
Step one: Remove any existing link mounts and shock mounts. As this design doesn’t need them. The kit comes with everything needed to mount your chassis to your Clod axles. Take the 3/8 Nylon bolt and feed it through one of the Holes at the end of the chassis. With your other hand place the 3/8 Nylon nut under the Clod mounting Hole. Located in the middle of the axle towards the top. Now by hand turn the bolt just a couple of turns to tighten it. Then press the bolt down into the Backbone. Turn the axle 360 degrees to tighten the bolt. Keep turning the axle till it’s snug. Do the same to the rear. There is no need to worry about the bolt ever coming loose. As the bolt can not turn inside the backbone.
Step two: The next thing is to mount the brackets on the side of the backbone and to the axle housings. As shown in the pic’s. No need to use Loc-Tite on anything. As locking nuts are provided with the kit
Tips on how to get the most out of your Pimp Cane.
Chassis Tips: You can have holes drilled in the backbone to lighten the weight and free up flex. It’s an option if you want it. The chassis takes time to break in. You may have to drive it a few times before it breaks in. The more you drive it the better it gets. The drill option is just for shorter backbones.
Wheels and Tires: Use 2.2 Electric Stampede Wheels to stay with the 12.5in rule for the 2.2 Class. Mashers seem to be the best way to go for now. To help keep you planted on the ground and aid in the flex department. Fill you tires about 3/4 or 7/8 full of .12oz AirSoft BB’s. Better then foam or metal BB’s. Using AirSoft BB’s allows you to fill more of the tire then just using metal BB’s. For the Super Class Pimp Canes. Really you can use anything your like. I prefer XTM or Pro-line Velocity’s. Both these wheels work for 40 series tires. They also allow you to run Sub-C battery packs on the knuckles. Most run Moabs or Moab XL’s. If you run just the regular Moabs I would go with a Wheelbase between 16-17in. If you run the XL’s 17-18in is a good wheelbase.
Electronic Placement: Mount everything on the axles if you can. There shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t. Try to spilt your battery pack in half and put half the cells on the front axle and the others on the rear axle. This gives you a better balance over all. Mount servo or servos on the other side of the axles. Your ESC and RX you can mount either on top of the servo’s or where ever they can fit. You can mount these on the backbones. Try to mount them as close to the axles as possible. The ESC and RX don’t weigh much so it won’t mess with you center of gravity. Don’t bolt anything to the chassis. Bolting stuff to the chassis will stiffen it up. I use heavy duty Velco to mount my Electronics. Radio Shack sells an very strong Velco that can hold 20lbs. Notice the truck in the picture below and look to see how everything is mounted.
Mounting the Body: If you mount the body to tight it can limit your flex. So you can either just use two body post. One for the front and one for the rear. If that’s to lose for you. Mount a wide spacer between the body and the mount to give it some stabilization. The body will flex with the chassis. Which it needs to so don’t worry.
Front burns: 2.2's There is two ways that seem to work great. I’m sure there are more ways to do this. One way is to hook up a servo by your rear motor that pulls a brush out of the motor using a 3rd channel. The other way and the way I do it and some others is to hook up a servo. That when used with a 3rd channel swings and hits a switch and kills the power to the rear motor. You have to use a switch that when pressed down it disconnects it and when let off it lets the power back to the motor. Doing it this way is a much cleaner look when finished also. Now for Supers the best way is to run a Dual ESC step up. That way you have total control over both axles. A 4 channel radio is needed for this. Below is the pic of using a servo to hit a switch to cut off power to the rear motor. A write up on this can be found in my Tech and Info section.
Body: 2.2's The rules stat that you most run a 1/10 scale body. You can dove tail the front and rear, but the cab has to remain the same width. So the key is find a 1/10 scale body that has a narrow body. I have found and many others have is the HPI VW bug body. It’s only 6in wide and just long enough to cover most the chassis up so it doesn’t show.
Steering: I would do a BTA (Behind the Axle) Steering set up. But it’s not needed. One of the best things about not having links to locate the axle is that you don’t have to worry about tires turning and hitting the links or shocks. No matter how tight your turning is. If you choose the option of having the rear axle flipped. I would recommend a BTA on the rear axle. Also not having any links and shocks make it easier to set up your own BTA without worry of working around them.
What’s included in your kit.
The Dictionary says Torsion >noun the action of twisting or the state of being twisted, especially of one end of an object relative to the other.
-DERIVATIVES torsional >adjective
-ORIGIN Latin, from torquere 'to twist'
