The Reve D MC-1 Conversion Kit for the YD2
November 9, 2020
This past week has been an exciting one for me here at Super-G. The much anticipated Reve D MC-1 conversion kit for the Yokomo YD2 had landed. I had to finish another project before digging in, so I must say it lit a fire under me for sure. It was Friday afternoon and I had a few hours before we opened, so I got to it.
Being as there is a lot of hype surrounding this chassis, everyone has been quick to put their reviews out. So rather than to just give a rehash of what everyone else has been posting, I decided to just touch on some key points I have found on my MC-1 build.
The build went really quickly. In about 2.5 hours I was ready to hit the track. Since it’s a conversion kit, it uses parts from the Yokomo YD2 kit to complete the build. Specifically, it uses the entire front end and the rear suspension blocks out. The MC-1 is basically the lower chassis, upper deck, a couple braces, gearbox, rear shock tower, propeller shaft, spur gear holder, battery holder, and rear esc mount. I decided to use my SXIII as a donor chassis since I view this as an upgrade.
The conversion is impressive. Everything fits well and there is plenty of attention to detail. The beveled carbon parts are a nice touch and gives it more character. I was pleased to find a aluminum open gear box. It goes together well. Something I have always wished Yokomo would do. There is something about their molded plastic gear box that has always bothered me. I guess it’s because it reminds me of the old RC10 Stealth Transmission gearbox from years back. So this in itself is a great improvement. Using the idler gear shafts as part of the structure is just efficiency at it’s finest.
The motor mount is a very unique design. It is infinitely adjustable and is held in place by a big locking nut. Reve D supplied a thin wrench to make adjustment easy. I had questioned if it would be able to support the motor with all the torque being applied to the mount, but after a hard night of driving, it didn’t seem to even be phased. Reve D had announced the spacing on their mount for the motor was not correct, so knowing this ahead of time, it did not bother me. It was a bit on the tight side, but it worked. I have had worse fitting parts from other manufacturers in the past. I’m glad to see Reve D got ahead of this and let everyone know. It’s useable with the Acuvance Agile motor in case anyone is wondering.
Another welcome addition is Reve D’s battery mount. It is a very good design and really straight forward. Simple and effective, just the way I Iike it.
Including a channel to run the esc wire through is nothing short of awesome! I’m always in search of a better way to do my wiring, and this just made my life a whole lot better! Great job on that!
My Setup
Electronics:
Futaba CT700 Servo
Futaba GYD550 Gyro
Futaba MC970CR ESC
Acuvance Raiz Capacitor
Acuvance Agile 13.5T Motor
Chassis:
Full Reve D front end conversion (Upper and lower control arms and knuckles
Reve D MC-1 Conversion Kit
Overdose HG v3 Dampers #15 F/R
Ok ok, so how does it perform.
Since I had my SXIII set up to my liking, I didn’t mess with the settings other than to increase the rear preload slightly and lengthen the rear shocks a bit to compensate for the added weight in the rear. On my first lap I felt my body was on crooked, so I brought it in and found it was just fine. I put it out again and again it looked strange. Then I realized I was just getting A TON of roll going on. Not just side to side, but all around. Very reminiscent of the DLike Re-r. I would say it’s almost like an Re-r on steroids. (Not a bad thing IMO) It has a lot of traction, and although there is a lot of weight in the rear, I didn’t notice any type of pendulum effect going on.
Versatile
I was lucky enough to be able to be testing alongside of Mikko Yang - Reve D Factory Team Driver x Team D-Style and Shaine Collins - Team D-Style for their maiden voyages on a track as well. Three different setups, three different styles of tuning, and all 3 of us had great results. Even though everyone was wearing masks, it was clear there were some big smiles going on!
Overall, I have to say this is a very impressive conversion for the YD2. I really liked my SXIII, and this was an improvement all around for me. I can’t wait to get a few tuning sessions with this chassis. I’m sure it’s only going to get better. I’m certain this one has found a home in my stable. Highly Recommended.
