Got my rig completed, looking for some insight before sunday comp.

[rdtshaw]

Hey all,

I got my rig up and running good, but I have a couple issues i was looking for some ideas about. I've searched the forums but there is a deluge of threads... Here's what I did:

CKRC Stage 2 mods
Moved the links in
Moved the shock limiters to the inside
Lengthened the upper links
Axial Low CG battery plate
Added 6oz to each of the front wheels
Added 3.5oz to each of the rears
Pede yokes and shafts
Added 2nd tranny plate to mount electronics
Hot racing alum knuckles
Hot racing Narrow alum beadlocks
Losi Rock claws
Mamba Max
3S 1320mah LiPo
Hitec 5955TG
Hobbywing 5A UBEC
Novak 55T Brushed motor

the rig is weighing in at ~6lbs. I'm not real happy with the steering setup. It is not as efficient in one direction than the other. The other issue is the shocks. I see alot of options out there, hor racing has some 120mm threaded ones, and integy has some cool internal spring green ones. I was planning on running 1000wt oil and some firmer shocks in the rear. I went to the white soft axial spring in the front, but after adding the weight; they were way too soft. I went back to the stock ones. I'm going to my first comp on sunday up in Santa Cruz, so I was looking for any last minute insight on these 2 issues. I'm not going up with plans of domination or anything, just fun. But don't want to get eliminated in the first 20ft on each course. ;) Here are some pics of the rig. Thanks all and have a good one!!

Cheers,

Rob

Kamikaze: I fixed the monster truck look. The body is lower now, you can sleep at night.



























*please note, no AX10's were harmed during the photoshoot. ;)

[mtnyote]

hey, where is this comp at and how can i sign up? im 20 minutes from santa cruz

[saul]

just a suggestion....

check your full flex in the front with your steering at full left and right lock

i think your gonna rub your body and u do not want that at a comp

also try flipping your bent links around the other way


oh ..and if ya get a chance ...move your body posts to the top of your rig

u will spend alot of time leaning against stuff....and when u do ...u will pop all your body clips off....

[balang_479]

The steering problem could be because of the very short steering arm, and the servo arm moves upwards before it reaches full lock. I think your better off moving the steering arm to the other steering knuckle so that its much longer and you dont get such a mechanical exponential steering.

But awesome rig!

[rdtshaw]

Originally Posted by Balang

The steering problem could be because of the very short steering arm, and the servo arm moves upwards before it reaches full lock. I think your better off moving the steering arm to the other steering knuckle so that its much longer and you dont get such a mechanical exponential steering.

2nd pair of eyes always helps!! Thanks for the advice. I was thinking I was going to have to move the servo to the otherside to get the longer upper link for the steering.... Duh. Just switch the link side. I'll be fabing up a new link tomorrow.

Originally Posted by saul

just a suggestion....

check your full flex in the front with your steering at full left and right lock

i think your gonna rub your body and u do not want that at a comp

Also, the body does rub a bit up front, but the way it lines up it doesn't bind up the tires. The rear did before I did the last trim. It would hook up so bad the axel would try to travel backwards.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mtnyote

hey, where is this comp at and how can i sign up? im 20 minutes from santa cruz

and I'll get the info for the comp tomorrow. my neighbor is the one that I'm going with, I don't have the exact info.

[Mnster]

Why did you bring the rear links in? I understand about the front (tire clearance) but in the rear it would just make things looser and weaker.

Your bent links are on the perfectly right direction, don't change them.

As others have said the side body posts hook on rock walls and ledges.

Looks like great rig though.

[cato]

For your longe sterring link, if you do not want to fab it Traxxas makes prefab ones (not as pretty as the stockers) that bolt right up, and are adjustable.

[constantmotion]

Think everything has been answered.....Have fun out there....

[josh97]

posted by Mnster. Why did you bring the rear links in? I understand about the front (tire clearance) but in the rear it would just make things looser and weaker.


if u dont i think they will hit the lower shock retainer in a good flex.My boy's axial does and the links are still in the original place.[/quote]

[TwistedXT]

the only other thing i can think of is you may want to turn your tires around... run em backwards... i think they have more bite that way... but it all depends on your driving surface... find a steep incline and crawl up it to where you have a little bit of wheel hop then, swap your tires around and see if it hops more or less... I have done this with many a tires and almost every set hooks up better in one direction then another. but this is per location as all surfaces respond differently... Have fun!! Love the body!

[rdtshaw]

Originally Posted by Mnster

Why did you bring the rear links in? I understand about the front (tire clearance) but in the rear it would just make things looser and weaker.

I was wondering about that. It does hit the shock if it's right next to it, but I could eliminate the outer spacer and bring it in right next to the mount. I was gonna get it out on the rocks and see the difference first.

Originally Posted by TwisedXT

the only other thing i can think of is you may want to turn your tires around... run em backwards... i think they have more bite that way... but it all depends on your driving surface... find a steep incline and crawl up it to where you have a little bit of wheel hop then, swap your tires around and see if it hops more or less... I have done this with many a tires and almost every set hooks up better in one direction then another. but this is per location as all surfaces respond differently... Have fun!! Love the body!

I was gonna give that a shot. I kept seeing pics on the forums with the tires mounted backwards and I was going to post a "Your tires are on backwards, dork!" but I saw a bunch that way. heh-heh..

Originally Posted by Mnster

As others have said the side body posts hook on rock walls and ledges.

I moved them up to help with that, but I don't really have any horizontal mounting points for the body posts. Also already dicked up the first mount attempt, gonna turn that poor thing into swiss cheese with more holes. I kinda like how solid the body is mounted right now, but I'll see how it does on the trail.

My only issue now is the shocks. I like the integy MSR10's but getting the right springs for them is going to be a challenge I think. They are also a bit top heavy, I didn't want to put all that weight up top. Could I mount them inverted? I've had a couple people mention that, but I've never seen a pic of that config on the forum, 'cept in scalers. Figured there was a reason. Would be great if I could with the Axial shocks, would help with the perpetual leaking. ;) I have the bigbores on my 2 emaxxes, and they work great. How do you mount them though? the caps are just drilled with no way to put in a ball. wouldn't that limit the travel a little if they have no lateral movement? Or is this a non-issue? I'll have to find some longer lower mounts. I think the bigbores are 100mm and I'd like them to be around 110mm.

Thanks!

Rob

BTW, Thanks for all the compliments on the body! I'm not very excited about painting bodies, but I was real happy with this one. I decided to embrace the axial green. Was difficult, I'm not a "green" kinda guy. ;)

[NEK5]

Originally Posted by rdtshaw

I was wondering about that. It does hit the shock if it's right next to it, but I could eliminate the outer spacer and bring it in right next to the mount. I was gonna get it out on the rocks and see the difference first.

I`m interested into see how this works out. I just ordered the bent links, and I`m going to move them inboard like CKRC says too.

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by rdtshaw

My only issue now is the shocks. I like the integy MSR10's but getting the right springs for them is going to be a challenge I think. They are also a bit top heavy, I didn't want to put all that weight up top. Could I mount them inverted? I've had a couple people mention that, but I've never seen a pic of that config on the forum, 'cept in scalers. Figured there was a reason. Would be great if I could with the Axial shocks, would help with the perpetual leaking. ;) I have the bigbores on my 2 emaxxes, and they work great. How do you mount them though? the caps are just drilled with no way to put in a ball. wouldn't that limit the travel a little if they have no lateral movement? Or is this a non-issue? I'll have to find some longer lower mounts. I think the bigbores are 100mm and I'd like them to be around 110mm.

Thanks!

Rob

The Axial shocks do not have a rubber bladder in the cap so the top of the shock is meant to capture any air bubbles in the oil. If you turn them upside down the air bubbles will go up to where the shock piston is and will result in spongy action and poor damping. Take a shock off, hold it vertical with the cap up and compress the shock, then turn it upside down and try it. You'll see what I mean.
The Traxxas big bores use a rubber bladder so in theory (if they are assembled correctly) there isn't any air in the oil. You can run them upside down with no problem.
I'm not familiar with the insides of an MSR10.

Cool rig and good luck at the comp.

[Rocksmith Eng.]

But in a droop setup having the shocks inverted is a good thing. That puts the piston at the bottom of the shock where there is no air......

Or just get some of these
15mm shock bladders

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by Rocksmith

But in a droop setup having the shocks inverted is a good thing. That puts the piston at the bottom of the shock where there is no air......

Or just get some of these
15mm shock bladders

Correct.

[josh97]

i run the links just like ckrc and axial red springs all the way around works great

[binaryterror]

Griz: I have to disagree the Axial shock, like a Losi shock, is an emulsion shock. The point is to mix up the air in the oil to change the dampening effect.

The point of an emulsion shock is to have the proper amount of air and oil mixed.

[racerx]

In a slow moving crawler I don't think the oil/air would stay "mixed up" and would seperate easy. Just an opinion. With the Maxx Big bores running upside down insert a small section of nitro fuel tubing where the ball would be run your screw through and use a locknut and don't cinch it down real tight.

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by binaryterror

Griz: I have to disagree the Axial shock, like a Losi shock, is an emulsion shock. The point is to mix up the air in the oil to change the dampening effect.

The point of an emulsion shock is to have the proper amount of air and oil mixed.

That may be true, but as RacerX points out I don't think the shocks mix very much on a crawler.
I have built several emulsion shocks (Axial and HPI) and whenever I turn them upside down and work the shock near the beginning of compression (squeezing it 1/4" or so) I can notice the air bubbles passing through the piston. This makes the first bit of travel very mushy.

I'm not saying it won't work, I'm just saying that from my experience the shocks work smoother with the cap at the top.

[binaryterror]

Originally Posted by racerx

In a slow moving crawler I don't think the oil/air would stay "mixed up" and would seperate easy. Just an opinion.

Ahhh could be, hence the reason to cycle the suspension before beginning your run...you should also do that on all shocks to ensure the o-rings are lubed to start.

I do this also on my Stadium Truck right before setting it down to race...rapidly move the shocks and get them started, makes the truck feel better in the first few laps and basically consistent from first lap to last of the main or qualifier.

They stay mixed, ever open an emulsion shock after cycling it and waiting for the bubbles to come out of the oil...might be a few hours.