where to cut

[nitrowishes]

I have a hsp tyrannosaurus with a hammer body. it is fully sealed and i am contemplating cutting the body for air flow. can someone help me as to where i should cut it to achieve best results? also should i cut the roof so i can access the glow plug and pull starter?

 

[Ballen]

i cut the windsheild the and back /roof to have acses to the glow plug . but be carefull if it is a cheap body (thin) to much cutting will weaken the body and it will crack if (when ) you land on your lid.(harde landing.)

 

[mtaylortank]

I cut the grills out and make a spot over the engine or make bigger if already has a hole and sometimes one side of the windshield... with the grills out I am going to add fine wire mesh to keep it looking good and it will help keaping stuff out..

 

[Ballen]

with cutting out the grill i would think that that would make the front real weak and prone to cracking . wouldn't it?

 

[Chucksolo69]

Go to the hobby shop and look at the Traxxas nitros. Check out where they have the holes cut. My Losi Ten T has a square hole in the windshield and a large square hole in the roof over the engine. There is also hole cut out in what would be the driver side window so you don't have to take the body off to refuel. In order to keep a nitro engine cool, you need to drive it at a decent speed too. If you drive too slowly, the airflow will not be sufficient for good engine cooling.

 

[Ballen]

I cut the grills out and make a spot over the engine or make bigger if already has a hole and sometimes one side of the windshield... with the grills out I am going to add fine wire mesh to keep it looking good and it will help keaping stuff out..

not sure how well the grill being cut out will cause air flow but i should look pretty dam cool with the wire mesh in there

 

[Phins Fan]

I can't explain it either but I run a couple of bodies on my MGT and the 2 that I cut the grill areas out of run about 15-20 degrees cooler than my other 2 bodies without that cutout. They are all however different body styles so I suppose the airflow could be different between them all

 

[mtaylortank]

I still have yet to have any cracks or anything around the cut out grills.. plenty of other cracks elswhere but seems to work for me.. and yeah it looks kinda cool expecially on my cuda top!! I did the grills because less mess will end up in there because it is ahead of the tires so I figured less junk would get in that hole.. the other thing I do sometimes is drill acouple holes here and there on the ass end of the vehicle.. that also seems to work.

 

[nitrowishes]

I think I'm going to go with cutting out part of the front and rear windows for flow and look at cutting out section above the engine. just hope i can get to the pull starter through the hole. now the only question is what would be the best thing to cut it out with utility knife or handsaw (manual) as i have no electric tools

 

[mtaylortank]

I would say borrow a dremel tool!! makes it come out alot nicer!!

 

[Phins Fan]

It takes a little time but I use an exacto knife to do 80% of all my cutting. It gives you crisp lines.

 

[mtaylortank]

yeah but if you slip there goes that strait line. with the dremel you can make it so your top wont cut you afterwards.. all my tops before I bring them out look like they came that way.. I just have pet peives about certain things, thats why i stick with the dremel. I have seen abunch of hack jobs with knifes thats why I always recomend the dremel... personal prefrence really..

 

[mayrider]

to help prevent cracking make all your corners rounded.
on my Jato body i cut the grill section two more holes in the windshield both side windows and a section behind the Engine so far it has not cracked anywhere and its been on its top sliding down asphalt parking lot quite a few times.

 

[mtaylortank]

good point I forgot about that

 

[nitrowishes]

i would love to buy a dremel but don't have the fundage. need next best option. thinking drill four holes with drill then cut with scissors? any thoughts?

 

[Ballen]

I still have yet to have any cracks or anything around the cut out grills.. plenty of other cracks elswhere but seems to work for me.. and yeah it looks kinda cool expecially on my cuda top!! I did the grills because less mess will end up in there because it is ahead of the tires so I figured less junk would get in that hole.. the other thing I do sometimes is drill acouple holes here and there on the ass end of the vehicle.. that also seems to work.

could you post a pic so i can check it out. maybe i will go buy a body and give it a try just wish i had a airbrush forthe paint part.do you cut befor you paint or after i di my cuts befor just in case of a scratch the paint still covers pretty well and yes i do make the corners round

 

[Mn Monster]

i would love to buy a dremel but don't have the fundage. need next best option. thinking drill four holes with drill then cut with scissors? any thoughts?

i used my dremel bits in my dewalt drill. little big but still works fine!

 

[Phins Fan]

Personally I think the lexan scissors are a waste of money. Bought a set with a reamer and only used the reamer. Again I use the exacto and cut slow lines penetrating into the lexan a little at a time. After you go over the same area a couple times a little flexing and it snaps leaving that straight line. Again personal preference (and the cheap way out!)

 

[Ballen]

the sissors are ok for the well wells but ya suck for eveything else i used a hole saw in my screw gun on the last one i did worked ok

 

[nitrowishes]

so i have done the cuts. used a stanley knife. came out ok. ended up going for both front side windows and above engine. will take some photos in a couple of days and post. thinking now of meshing the windows for effect and stop crap entering.