Ugly Betty

[winnerone23]

Looks real good to me. Steering seems plenty as well. Much more and ur uni's will bind up. At least from the looks of it and my experience..
Stoked for Sunday!

[MRCrackhead]

Got my c-hubs drilled and mounted today.

No big deal, just waiting until I finalized a few other things before I committed to it.



Here's my method for hand filing tangs on custom driveshafts.

I did some math and used this scrap aluminum piece with a sheet of sandpaper clamped below it to set my depth.

The clamps stabilize the shaft while I hand file it down.

This keeps me from drifting with the file, and ensures a nice even cut.

The long shaft needed two more clamps to keep things secure.

Both OFNA shafts fit super tight in the locker. No slop.



Shaved the cover down, and sanded it up to smooth things out a bit.



I took a chance and shaved my universals 90 degrees to each other.

I was hoping that it may reduce the bucking effect.

Now my tires accelerate and decelerate opposite to each other instead of at the same time.

Preliminary tests seem to be good.

I don't notice the car pushing during the "acceleration" phase of the u-joint on the outside tire, like it did before.

More testing is necessary to be sure it was a good idea.

[MRCrackhead]

I stayed up until 2am last night trying to get the rig ready for today's comp.

Unfortunately, it did not happen.

Today, it was together enough to take it for an afternoon spin.

















I really like the universals turned 90 degrees to each other.

The car felt very smooth, and the turning seemed more consistent, and predictable.

Less push, or pulsing, or whatever....

At any rate, I didn't waste a set of uni's trying the experiment, it's certainly not worse, in any way that I could see today.

More testing is in order, before I swear by the method.

[Jslick]

Missed you today at Ringing Rocks. Hope to see you up at Rausch Creek.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Jslick

Missed you today at Ringing Rocks. Hope to see you up at Rausch Creek.

Sorry John, I tried my best to get the rig done.

2:00am and I still didn't have upper links or the front shocks built.

I threw in the towel.

I had it ready by noon on Sunday......you guys should have waited........hahaha!

It's running now, work is my only excuse from here on out.

[MRCrackhead]

Small update on my sporty.

I finally got tired of leaking SCX10 shocks and dumped them.

I've heard, and read, success stories with them, but not for me.

Bladders, different O-rings, etc.......slowed it down, but they still leak.

Big bores I've been an owner of, and others that friends run, just seem to stay dry.

I picked up a set, and modded them in the usual manner.

Tossed on some orange springs (all I had on hand) and put them in.



Next, I fabbed up some non-zero ackerman steering arms.

I moved the hole 2mm inside the kingpin to keep my inside tire from steering as far as the outside tire.

Seems the inside tire is mostly useless when turning a fully locked rig, especially uphill.

I saw no reason for it to be rubbing the links/shocks and adding to the bucking effect caused by the universals at extreme angles.



So this is version two of my AR60 steering setup.

I'm not a huge fan of running spacers under the rod ends, but I'm not a huge fan of crazy bends in steering links either.

Seems it could be argued both ways for different reasons. I'll try it out before making new links.

Some rigorous field testing is in order.



Here's the inside tire at full lock, fully articulated.

Looks good from my house.

[MRCrackhead]

The previous pictures had shift hubs and a 1/8" spacer putting my track width around 10-3/4".

I did this because the inside tire was rubbing the shocks/links pretty hard.

I needed to drive that day, after waiting so long.

A bit more tinkering netted a surprising result.

Yanked out the 1/8" spacers and got back to very near 10-1/2".



With less tire "throw" I actually gained clearance, at the slimmer width.



Here it is at full lock, full flex, now.

Better.



This is how the steering sits now.

It's getting closer to happiness....

[MRCrackhead]

Got the first draft of my electronics plate made.



Couple of spacers to keep it as low as possible.



Electronics nestled in.



Side view, all sitting lower than the servo.



Looking from the bottom.



Shot from ground level.

[winnerone23]

Great work Kevin! Looks awesome..
Almost time to get some scratches on it!?

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Great work Kevin! Looks awesome..
Almost time to get some scratches on it!?

Thanks Troy.

It's a runner, and has been since last weekend.

Work, rain, etc...not much drive time.

It's ready, whenever I can get some gates on the rocks.

[MRCrackhead]

Preload on big bores, with mini t springs, is a bit much.

I've got softer springs coming, but figured I'd do some prep work.

I drilled out the cups to slide down onto the rod end.

Before



After



This gained about 4mm reduction in preload.

Noticeably softer, even with the orange springs.

[Gfresh]

That
is
genius.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Gfresh

That
is
genius.

That may be saying too much....lol

Shaving the bottom of the "cone" part of the cup would yield a bit more.

Slightly shaving the rod end gains more yet.

I figured this was a good start.

Talking more off is easy, putting it back is operose.

[MRCrackhead]

So I'm really psyched about my home fab steering arms.

They work great, and act as natural steering stops.

The arm contacts the c-hub at full lock.

No chance of pushing a tire past the EPA's with these.

I make so many parts, not all of which work, that I'm elated that these were awesome on the first draft.

Just had to post, and revel in my very small, glorious moment....lol.

[MRCrackhead]

I finally got around to weighing my rig after all the changes.

Didn't pay much attention before, as it wasn't quite built yet.

It would seem it's getting a bit chubby.





I'm not a anorexic weight freak or anything, just noticed my bias was a bit off last time I had it on the rocks.

I swapped one 1/8" RCBros weight for a 1/4" up front to compensate for the loss of the brass beeftubes I used to run in the AX10 axle.

The Sedonas added some weight vs the Rovers, but I need to take a look and see where else I've packed on the pounds.

I was happy with the way it drove at around 3.8lbs, now it's pushing 4lbs...

Maybe I'll turn down the big bores this weekend, since I'm sure they added something vs the SCX shocks I had before....not sure.

[MRCrackhead]

Man, you've gotta love awesome customer service.

I ordered these late on Wednesday night, and they were here today!

Everything, exactly as ordered, and super fast!

Thank you Crawler Innovations....

So I was a bit paranoid about drilling out the Jeepin Doug cups, so I ordered another set just to cover my butt. Testing has shown it was a good move, but I need a set for my mini build anyway, so no loss.

I damaged my 93t spur a long time ago, but just kept running it because I'm very happy with the current ratio. CI had that on hand, so here it is.

Of course, the softer springs I need were in the package too.

With all the bad mojo I've had lately, this was a welcome surprise.

Great job Eddie.

[MRCrackhead]

I tried to test the rig on the rock pile today, but didn't have much luck...

The modified cups, steering, and everything else worked perfectly, but my daughter drained two of the three batteries I had charged. Chasing me, and the dog seemed more appropriated than tuning the comp rig....then the sun went down.



One battery told me I was on the right track.



Excited to get the new springs on, as the orange springs, all the way around, were working surprisingly well, in the short time I tested it.

The rig is very stable, perhaps due to it's overweight nature....lol.

[MRCrackhead]

I wasted no time getting the new springs on the rig.

Had to change my shock locations around, and so forth.

My crawler has a forward bias rake it hasn't had in a long time.

I'm liking it.



Took it for a spin around the basement, and it's very slow, and stable on some of my usual test pieces.

Can't wait to get it out on some rocks with some good friends.



Also, I decided to cut the rod ends, to reduce the preload just a bit more.



Altogether, I have gained around 6mm.

There's virtually no preload now.

It really made a big difference, with the orange springs.

Now, with the pink springs on there, it's soft as goose down.

Best part, it was free.....gotta love that.

[MRCrackhead]

Got a couple batteries charged up, and went for a spin in the back yard.



The softer springs are working great.



Steering is working very well.



Still like the front universals out of phase with each other.

I don't notice the car pushing like it used to.

When it hooks up on a turn, it just turns; and very sharp too.




Poser shot from the bottom.

[MRCrackhead]

Cool sequence to sneak around the backside of the rock pile.

Beautiful day to goof off; but now it's time to mow the yard....lol