Newbie advice

[FlexJohnson]

So like the title says I am a newbie to RC crawlers.. This is not a comp rig by any means but my friends and I wheel some pretty extreme terrain// I want to do some relatively inexpensive mods to my AX10.. I have already added weight to the tires (6oz in each front tire and 3oz in both rears,as well as sipped the tires)..I was thinking of changing out the links next to aluminum, 4 linking it, and probably aluminum steering components as well.. I dont really feel like building my own links or servo plates from scratch so who has the best kit and should I get bent links for all 4 lower links?? I see some people run straight links in the front and bent in the rear, didnt know if their is a specific benefit to doing this?? I know eventually I will need to upgrade motor, servo, and the rest of the electronics but I will do that as those parts break.. There is just so many options and I would prefer somebody just give me part numbers if possible.. Thanks

[2006Shelby]

My suggestions to see the biggest upgrade in crawling with a stock rig is get some white dot Rovers and then possibly a 4link setup and replacing those stock plastic parts will happen fairly fast if your crawling alot because they will brake fairly soon links not as fast as knuckles so i would suggest knuckles and chubs and front steering links all to alum 4link battery plate up from and just a reg 4 link plate in there rear i think on ebay you can get a strc for like 14 for front and 6 for rear any color you can think of. if you still using a 55t motor i would suggest a 35t or 45t for wheel spin. Are you using a lipo or a reg pack battery ? Pics are always nice too

[AX10wannabe]

here's what i've done to mine

free/cheap mods:

-spun entire motor/trans skidplate around so spur gear is facing forward
-moved the 2 mounted point of the 3 link on the front in 2 holes (give the truck a raked look)
-swapped out the springs
-inboard your lower links its free just takes a little time.. maybe half hour.. pull the skidplate out, unbolt the motor and trans only 4 screws, then look on the end of skid there will be 3 holes cut out the outside hole and half of the middle hole, leave the inside most hole so you can still bolt the skid to the chassis.. i used my dremel with a cut off wheel but this can be done with a hacksaw.. do all 4 corners, now bolt the motor and trans back on the skid,find some coarse thread screws and bolt the skid back in the chassis.. now you'll have to find some fine thread bolts with nuts and bolt your links back on. you might have to trim a little of the corners to get the link and nut into the space you just cut out but its easily done with a knife.
-the best thing i did was get into lipo batteries especially for the ax10 because the weight of a nicad or nimh kills the truck.. i run 2s 800-850mah lipo's on my ax10 with a 55t motor and it does just fine.


money mods:

-hitec 7955TG steering servo
-tires went with the sedona's


mods that i still want to do are overdrive front/underdrive rear the axle gears, aluminum links, 4 link the rear.

[FlexJohnson]

I just finished moving the links to the inside of the skid plate... Was very easy and kinda fun.. What is the benefit of flipping the the motor/trans so that the SPUR gear faces forward?? I will eventually go to lipo battery but Im kinda torn about the placement of the batter.. I know alot of people move the batter over top of the axle but I personally dont like the look of it and since this isnt a competition rig, I think i like it mounted on top, hidden by the body.. Thanks for the advice so far.. Only reason I have posted pics is because it is a stock RTR AX10 right out of the box, nothing exciting to it yet

[2006Shelby]

the benfit to moving the battery to the front axel in it lowers your center of gravity and also adds weight to the front.

[FlexJohnson]

I understand the idea of having the lowest center of gravity possible but doesnt the battery over the axles interfere with the amount the tires can turn?? I dont want to run low milliamp batteries because my friends and i will crawl for 3 hours at a time and I dont want to constantly have to be recharging batteries or buy alot of batteries just to be able to wheel for that long of a period..

[dunebuggy79]

I would buy tires first!!If you dont want to build your own links I would suggest buying a axial swx chassis or the gatekeeper gc3a chassis they both come with links already done for you,it will be a night and day difference in the performance of your rig,as for batterys I run 3s lipo 1300 mah and can crawl for almost an hour on a battery its small enough to mount on the front links where you cant see it,turning the tranny 180 degrees almost eliminates torque twist add one of the chassis I mentioned and it pretty much disappears,there are alot more things to do but thats a good start to get you going.
https://www.ckrccrawlers.com/duratra...3d05383954f9f4
https://www.ckrccrawlers.com/67772-h...3d05383954f9f4

[AX10wannabe]

so i'll attempt to answer your questions..

-sit your crawler on level ground and on carpet perferably, now turn it on so you can run it, now turn the wheels to the right and goose it wide open throttle, if you watch the right front tire comes off the ground this is called torque twist every crawler has it and it can be a pain to get rid of.
picture this, your going up to a rock and got the front tire up so the truck is at this angle / now when your giving it throttle with the spur facing backwards it will want to drive the ass end under the rock. with the spur gear facing forward the front end will want to drive into the rock and help the front tires grab.. and it also gets the motor on the passenger side to help with TT. there's 2 ways of helping get rid of TT, flip the skid around or mirror the trans.

- you want the battery down low, a trick a friend taught me on new years you know your weight is distributed evenly when you can set the truck on the sidewalls of the tires on a table and it will stay there.. mine will sit there all day and night. my friends and i run 800-850mah 2s lipos and have the stuck to the back of the servo with velcro and we show up at a friends house at 11am and leave at like 4:30pm, we only go through 2-3 batts each. always buy more than one battery. i have 5 lipos right now but dont have a charger yet but got one on order so im running 1500-2000mah nicad batts just fine. having your batt on top works well but its a place where you can shed some weight as these crawlers dont need it and they make you top heavy. my ax10 isnt a comp rig either but i got it dialed in pretty good.

sorry for the long post.. any more questions just ask!! also i was gonna comment on tire rubbing. no they dont..