MST MS-01D Pro Carbon Fiber Upgrade Review
Driftmission.com is proud to present a review of the new Carbon Fiber Upgrade Kit for the MST MS-01D based chassis.
Max Speed Techonology, MST MS-01D Pro Chassis, Chassis kit Review, driftmission.com, Chassis Review, carbon fiber upgrade, ms-01d upgrade, spice rc srd-01d upgrade, review
Introduction
Drift Mission recently featured the Max Speed Technology MST MS-01D Pro chassis kit. The chassis performed very well and seems to work better the more runtime it received. Compared to many high end drift chassis such as the Tamiya VDF or Hot Bodies TC-FD, the MS-01D Pro chassis kit does not include the nice carbon woven chassis plates. This may be a disappointment for some buyers, so MST has recently released a Carbon Fiber Upgrade Kit for the MS-01D chassis. Drift Mission recently had the opportunity try out the new option part from MST.
Driftmission.com is proud to present a review of the new Carbon Fiber Upgrade Kit for the MST MS-01D based chassis. This new carbon conversion kit MSRP at approximately $150USD. If you are using the MS-01D Pro kit as the donor chassis (retails for $350USD), then you will receive extra carbon top deck; which is included with the Pro chassis kit. The alternative would be to purchase all those desired carbon parts separately, which would be slightly cheaper than the kit itself. The upgrade package also includes all the necessary hex screw hardware for fastening. This upgrade kit is also compatible with the Spice RC Desire SRD-01D chassis.
The donor chassis we will be using is the MS-01D Pro chassis kit. Originally set up as a 50/50 drifter, we will be applying the countersteer CS kit included with the pro chassis kit. We have also made several setup changes which we feel will affect the chassis performance.
Carbon Fiber Upgrade Kit Impressions
We received the carbon fiber upgrade kit directly from MST. The carbon fiber is of high quality and the edges are cut to precision. It is clear that MST has paid attention to the quality of all the parts they release for this chassis. The main carbon fiber chassis is 2.5mm in thickness and styled very nicely. Some surfaces have been refined to accentuate the aesthetic queues to make the chassis stand out from many other competitors. Included in the kit is also the carbon fiber damper stays or damper mounts. These damper stays will greatly enhance the performance of the dampers because the stock plastic ones are flexible and tend to hamper performance. The carbon ESC plate is a nice touch and adds to the look, but does not improve performance at all. MST provided us with an additional carbon fiber stiffner that is fastened to the rear bulkheads for additional stiffness. Overall the carbon fiber is of very high quality and the kit is very comprehensive with the hex hardware included. Each package included its own sets of hex screws and extra fastners for their respective joints.
Overall Quality of Upgrade Kit
The carbon fiber is 2.5mm in thickness and of high quality. The cut quality is very good and the extra aesthetic edges add another dimension to the carbon fiber. The main carbon fiber chassis has additional mounting positions for the battery for greater adjustability of the chassis. The new damper stays also have additional mounting positions for better configurability. Overall this is of very good quality, aesthetically styled with nice clean edges.
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Overall Upgrade Build Process
As you can see the conversion kit comes in its own separate pieces, so there was a significant amount of disassembling of the donor chassis. The entire conversion process took approximately four hours, with careful assembling and documenting. Like all of our carbon chassis, we like to clean off and refinish the edge with CA glue to seal it up. Each optional part included some instructions for assembly, but we found it to be unnecessary, especially if you assembled the pro kit yourself. Overall it was easy to transplant the MS-01D Pro over to the carbon fiber chassis.
As stated before, this chassis will be countersteer CS modified. The CS kit is included with the MS-01D Pro chassis kit, and provides a new front pulley, 40T front pulley, and a selection of center pulleys to adjust your desired ratios. We chose to go with a ratio of 1.82CS, which is the maximum ratio provided with the kit.
Another change we made to the chassis is to change the castor angle to 10 degrees from the stock 4 degrees. The castor angle was changed by flipping the upper suspension arms, it was very easy to do and takes very little time to change. Another change we made to the chassis was removing the stock steering stoppers. This effectively removes the restriction of the steering knuckles from hitting the CVDs. We do not recommend doing this step unless you are familiar with setting your maximum EPA on your transmitter itself from restricting maximum throw. Another change we did was to put HPI T-drift tires on for the review, it is the control tire we use at our test track just to ensure a consistent baseline.
Test Drive and Feedback
The initial impression of the chassis is that it feels more responsive to drive. The carbon fiber components add stiffness to the chassis where it was once flexible. It is a noticeable difference from the original plastic chassis; the car becomes more difficult to drive without unless tuned properly. After some small adjustments to some of the chassis settings; namely the damper mounting position, droop settings and camber, the chassis became more responsive than before the upgrade. The additional stiffness in the chassis allows all the other components to function better and become more reactive. Overall it improved the performance over the original chassis and is worth the upgrade for the more advanced drifters, especially those that understand and enjoy tuning their cars.
With the steering stoppers removed from the lower suspension arms, the steering angle is now monstrous. There is Ackerman angle involved with the steering geometry, however it is not enough to significantly affect the performance of the chassis. If you desire parallel steering geometry, then the new aluminum steering wiper assembly would be an ideal upgrade. Hopefully we get the chance in the future to try out this new option part as well. The steering angle without the restrictors now achieves more than 50 degrees of steering; even more on the inside tire. The capture type CVD design really functions very well even at max steering without any chatter or vibration. MST has done a very good job with their CVD to achieve this, and this is stock without any upgrades from the MS-01D Pro chassis kit. Our testers were very impressed with the performance!
Stock Steering Angle:
Modified Steering Angle:
Overall Value
The MST MS-01D Upgrade kit is priced at approximately $150USD. The carbon fiber is of very good quality and is styled very nice. The MS-01D Pro chassis already functions very well and does not need the carbon fiber upgrade. This upgrade is recommended and of great value for those that seek greater performance and tuning from their chassis. This upgrade kit can greatly enhance the performance of the chassis in those that are capable of tuning; it may not be as beneficial beginners that are less skilled. Overall value for this kit is very good and is worth the cost for the performance gained from the upgrade kit.
Conclusion
This carbon fiber upgrade package from MST is very good for those seeing to further develop their skills and need more configurability from the original chassis. This is a very good secondary upgrade to pursue for the novice to advanced RC drifters out there. This kit offers significant style and performance increases, it allows the user to better tune and adjust the chassis to better suit their driving needs. For a beginner it would not make as much of a difference, in some cases it may make it a bit more difficult to drive.
I would highly recommend this kit for those that seek more configurability from their chassis.
Overall it is a very good upgrade package for those that want to take it to the next step.
Video of the MST MS-01D Pro in Action
A detailed setup of the car can be found here
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