Ordered new custom Truggy Chassis

[mewalsh100]

Originally Posted by littledoins

That's a fantastic build, Great job

Thanks Bud! I appreciate it!

[mewalsh100]

So, I've played around with the internal spring shocks quite a bit, and just can't quite get them where I want them. The shocks themselves look great, and they function fairly well, I just can't get them tuned right for this rig. They'll end up on something else. So, rather than keep chasing my tail, I bit the bullet and ordered up some DravTech shocks for this sucker. Cannot wait to get them on and do some testing. I'll post some pics and a recap/review once I've got them installed and some packs through the rig.

[mewalsh100]

So, I got the DravTechs last night. I ordered with Medium springs and they seem to be ok out back. (At least on the bench). But up front, with so much forward weight bias on this rig, it just overwhelms the Medium springs - even without the battery in. I'm going to order some Firms and try and make it work, if those aren't stiff enough, the DravTechs will find there way to a comp build. I reached out to DLUX Fab, and the way these shocks are designed, there is no way to use a pre-load collar either without collapsing the spring, and thus rendering the shocks useless.

In the meantime, I ended up tuning and playing with some Traxxas Ultra shocks I had and they actually seem to work perfect on this rig. If the Firm springs don't work on the DravTechs for this setup, I think the Ultras are going to just stay on this bad-boy. Running to my LHS later today to get some spring assortments to play with, but they're darn close right now.

[PoorManRC]

WOW Mike, WOW!!!! I really don't know where to begin....
First, and I mention this a lot, I LOVE TRUGGIES!!!! Two, I absolutely LOVE that Frame/Rear Cage! Thirdly, the look and setup you've got is just INSANE!! And D, the Lighting and Accessories you've added just top it off nice!
For a "first Build", that Rig is SICK AF!!!!

You can PM me these details, if you don't want it public....
How much was that Custom Chassis??
How much was the HH Shorty? (I guess I can assume that anything in this Hobby, smaller is usually MORE $$)

Earlier in this Thread, you were mentioning that you may want the rear upper Links longer... Have you considered using Yeti Upper Links? They're roughly 5-7mm longer than SCX10 Links, and nearly ALL of them are High Clearance style, to help clear your Driveshaft at full extension. If you happen to have any issues with Pinion Angles, this will also straighten out your Lower U-Joints, and give more ground clearance for the nose of the Rear Diff!
Just a thought......

This Build is really blowing me away!! Can't wait to see more my friend!

[mewalsh100]

Earlier in this Thread, you were mentioning that you may want the rear upper Links longer... Have you considered using Yeti Upper Links? They're roughly 5-7mm longer than SCX10 Links, and nearly ALL of them are High Clearance style, to help clear your Driveshaft at full extension. If you happen to have any issues with Pinion Angles, this will also straighten out your Lower U-Joints, and give more ground clearance for the nose of the Rear Diff!
Just a thought......

Hey Carmine - I think I've actually got that all sorted now courtesy of playing around with some different rod ends. Pinion angle at the diffs to the driveshafts seems about perfect now. The initial issue was when I put the Losi Baja Rey trailing arms on in an effort to extend the wheel base and make her a bit longer out back. I added some Traxxas (Jato) I think rod ends to the top links and it solved the problem. Thanks for the info on the Yeti upper links - that will go in to the memory banks. Although I may have to purge some other info to make room!

[PoorManRC]

Mike.... wait until you reach MY age!! I swear I've FORGOTTEN more than I've learned!

[mewalsh100]

Some new springs front and rear on the Ultras. I initially checked the rates with no oil in the shock bodies. Once I was happy with the spring rate selection, I tried 60 weight oil. 60w looked to be a little too slow, so I dropped down to 50w. Haven't gotten her out yet, but everything is looking good on the bench. Stance is right, sag is right, rebound seems good. It's funny, I've been chasing getting the suspension where I want it on this thing since I finished it about 2 months ago. Internal spring shocks were first. While these were "ok", I just could not quite get the feel out of them that I wanted. Then, I got the Dravtechs, but the Medium spring rate was completely overwhelmed up front. (I've got the firms on the way, so we'll see what happens there.) Lastly, I threw these Traxxas Ultras on that I had laying around this whole time. Ironically, they seem to be the closest i've gotten to where I want my set up. The trail and rocks will tell, but it's looking good.

[smog]

Such a sharp looking rig!

[PoorManRC]

Mike, that Rig has passed SAHWEET - and going past Amazing!! I'm glad those Shocks that you had "laying around" helped you finally get closer to Dialing In the Suspension!
....... Now I'm going to have to see how m $$$ a set of Traxxas Ultra Shocks would break my back. Even though I haven't yet run my Wraith, except across our Bed, I'm already having articulation issues! And NO, I'm not talking about a "flex Friday" type of BS!!! It's become clear that I have less than adequate Tires... to make up for it, I'm trying to make sure that all four Tires are firmly planted nearly all the time.

I REALLY like your Rims!! I'm convinced that when my Ship finally comes BACK in, I'm going to have to do some serious Wheel shopping.
Your pictures also remind me, besides some Dope-azz Rims, I need some serious Lighting too! One thing about the Desert - Night Crawling, without the Moon, is one of DARKEST things you'll ever see - or NOT see!!! Don't want to lose my Rig... Maybe I'll just drill a bunch of holes in a sheet of Black Styrene, stick a bunch of LEDs in it and make me a Ghetto Light Bar!!

I really can't wait to see YOUR Sweet Truggy outside, doing its thing!

[mewalsh100]

Originally Posted by PoorManRC

Mike, that Rig has passed SAHWEET - and going past Amazing!! I'm glad those Shocks that you had "laying around" helped you finally get closer to Dialing In the Suspension!
....... Now I'm going to have to see how m $$$ a set of Traxxas Ultra Shocks would break my back. Even though I haven't yet run my Wraith, except across our Bed, I'm already having articulation issues! And NO, I'm not talking about a "flex Friday" type of BS!!! It's become clear that I have less than adequate Tires... to make up for it, I'm trying to make sure that all four Tires are firmly planted nearly all the time.

I REALLY like your Rims!! I'm convinced that when my Ship finally comes BACK in, I'm going to have to do some serious Wheel shopping.
Your pictures also remind me, besides some Dope-azz Rims, I need some serious Lighting too! One thing about the Desert - Night Crawling, without the Moon, is one of DARKEST things you'll ever see - or NOT see!!! Don't want to lose my Rig... Maybe I'll just drill a bunch of holes in a sheet of Black Styrene, stick a bunch of LEDs in it and make me a Ghetto Light Bar!! : ror:

I really can't wait to see YOUR Sweet Truggy outside, doing its thing!

Thanks Carmine! You should be able to find some Ultras pretty cheap when you're ready. I think around $13-15 a set. I'm still laughing to myself that I had these the whole time, and now they're working out the best. Just goes to show ya I guess! (a package with 3 different pairs of spring selections from my LHS was $8, so pretty economical there as well).

Tires are DEFINITELY one of the most important aspects of a crawling rig. Unfortunately, the good sticky stuff is $$$. (there's a lot of info on this forum though about guys treating tires to soften them up - Simple Green soak, meat marinade soak, WD-40 soak. Have not really played around with any of these methods, but some guys swear by it, so you could give it a shot) As far as Rims, check out my Wraith. It has the Boom Racing 2.2 sandstorm bead locks. Awesome looking wheel, one of the more economical aluminum bead locks, and by FAR the easiest bead lock I've ever worked with as far as getting the bead and putting them together.

Were you able to find that thread on DIY lightbars I mentioned? I'm pretty sure it's under electronics. If you didn't let me know and I'll poke around and try and find the link. I can't remember what he said it cost him to put it together, but I remember being shocked at how cheap/cost effectively he did it!

[mewalsh100]

I need some serious Lighting too! One thing about the Desert - Night Crawling, without the Moon, is one of DARKEST things you'll ever see - or NOT see!!! Don't want to lose my Rig... Maybe I'll just drill a bunch of holes in a sheet of Black Styrene, stick a bunch of LEDs in it and make me a Ghetto Light Bar!! : ror:

Carmine - here is that link I mentioned. Jim85IROC is the thread owner. He posted a youtube video of it:

https://youtu.be/2xyY2dTb8Nk

[PoorManRC]

I just subbed his Channel. Thanks Mike!
What an awesome idea!! 1:1 Driving Lights are designed to be seen from at least an eighth of a Mile away. That would be BRILLIANT for my Rig. In more ways than one!
Then I guess it's just Aluminum Window Channel. Doesn't have ALL of the fit and finish of a "Store bought" one, but definitely looks good. It represents a Race Team that doesn't have a lot of money....
It reflects REAL Life!!

[mewalsh100]

So this is one of those silly little non-performance related items, but why do I like it so much!?

RC4WD steering stabilizer

[mewalsh100]

Originally Posted by PoorManRC

Possibly for the same reason I like it...... It's a bit of "ooooh ahhhhh" Bling!!

I think that about sums it up Carmine!

[mewalsh100]

Finally got a driver in the Yota. Meet "Dirty Ted" folks!

[mewalsh100]

The Trug was out throwin down some roost today on the trail and playing on the rocks.

[AnimalHippie]

Your rig is badass bro! Totally digging it! Keep up the Awesome work!

[mewalsh100]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

Your rig is badass bro! Totally digging it! Keep up the Awesome work!

Thanks Dude!

[mewalsh100]

Ever had one of those days when everything just seemed to be workin!? That was this thing today. Wow! It had to be a magical combination of these tires being perfectly scrubbed in, temperature, humidity, the stars aligning and who knows what else. This RIG just couldn't place a wheel wrong for me tonight. I got two climbs up my rock wall that have even shut down my Wraith. And, that's with the knuckle weights off since I've been trailing with her more than crawling lately. Super stoked!

To that end, I just ordered a Proline Hilux SR-5 Lexan cab for her. Don't get me wrong, I love the hard body and it's sweet for trailing. But, with the interior, a driver, the roof-rack, lights, and other scale goodies, the hard body cab weighs in at a whopping 1lb 40zs! I'll definitely still be using it for trailing and screwing around, but I think the lexan SR-5 will be my go to when I know I'm going to be focused on crawling. Keeping it simple with no interior, etc. My guess is I shave a pound!

[hillbillyrc]

Did Dirty Steve give your driver a pep talk?