Hulksta Engineering "Joker" Build

[Colgout]

Originally Posted by TotoRax

holly carp!!!! how can i forgot the master.


but your good works are not for sale.... so it doesn't count.....

did i save it?

[Hulksta]

lol the Joker has been a work in progress with the team since early 2013 I just had the team keep it quite for all this time while bugs were sorted, I do it with all my gear so once I say here it is.. im almost ready to meet the demand

Like anything though... if you look hard enough you'll find someone that had the same idea (pinching ideas is not the same though)

[TotoRax]

Originally Posted by Colgout

...did i save it?

Yes it's perfect

It was only a remark, I do not assert any copyright. Just that I use this configuration for a long time (2011) and probably that of other uses it too (I do not know all the forum). That pleases me that others uses this configuration, it has some interesting advantages, it makes it possible for example to have a very rigid frame without using much cross-piece of reinforcement, allows to gain weight.

[Hulksta]

I wasn't referring you TotoRax sorry, just that there is a bit of pinching peoples ideas lately.. development of products is great to move the hobby along but out of respect I think the decent thing to do is give credid to where one got the idea rather then BS about it..

I went for a look in your builds after seeing your name pop up here, looks like your having fun with it too!

Cheers
Dan

[LAY80N]

Been a bit quiet in here. Our Nats has been run and won, so time for some pics. In 2.2s i finished day 1 in 2nd place, even after DNF'ing course 1 at the 3rd gate with a blown front shaft. Come the shootout and the front shaft drama came back again (i forgot my spare drive shafts, so was making do with booty fab parts) leaving me to fight back with one stage remaining. A silly gate put me back in 4th (from 2nd or 1st) in the end. Overall im still happy with the performance, and the Joker chassis from Hulksta engineering is still blowing me away with its performance. A huge thanks to Steve Huddy, and the the Gillam clan (110 crawlers) for stepping up and helping a fellow competitor in the shoot out. These guys provided me with some parts, even though i was a direct competitor. I cant tell you guys how much i appreciate your help and offers of parts. Its things like this that make our hobby so great. Big thanks to you guys.

About a month ago Dan @ Hulksta sent me some pics of some new diff mounts and asked if i was interested in doing some testing and trialing. Instantly i said yes, and was straight up to pick them up. The plates replace the factory upper link mount points, as well as lowering the servo and setting it up for excellent steering geometry. After testing and tuning my rig with them, I am very impressed and very happy with the new setup. And as always Hulksta Engineering's production quality is excellent. These plates should be for sale now or very soon. Contact Hulksta for more info on here, or check out his FB page.

Installation consists of removing the longer of the two diff posts, and cutting the post that sits on the diff center parallel to the housing. Before installing the plate to the diff bolt the upper link mount to the plate with 2x M3x6 bolts. Then bolt the new plate to the diff, using a M3x6 in the parallel cut post, Place 4x6mm spacer between the diff plate and the diff before and M3x12mm bolts for the four outside holes. I chose to run a longer bolt in the front left mount with a plastic rod end ball on it. This acts as a steering stop as well as a battery locating post. Dan has since tweaked the design to allow for battery mounts too

These mounts provide a huge range of tunability and are much lighter than traditional setups if your chasing a light RTR weight. My joker now sits at 1439grams RTR and still feels very stable and predictable. This is still with a full size motor and solid stock XR gears.

Anyway, on to the pics. Will post some video's up later when i get them. Sorry bout the etch-a-sketch quality on some pics, had to use my phone.


New lid, bit of scratch art on a Parma Exciter


Front link plate, showing the mounting point of the servo.


Front link plate


Rear link plate.


Weigh 1439grams (3lbs 2.7oz for you guys in States ) 3lbs flat would be achievable with a stubby, some small random upgrades and some lighter gears.

[LAY80N]

Pic of the front mount before installation.

[pajey]

Another awesome product from Dan. Unlucky at the nats. I always seem to never have the spare part I need when I break something. I've always got everything else but what I need. Rig is looking sweet by the way.

Looks like you guys had fun, bummed to miss it but there's always next year. A bit of a drive from qld too.

[LAY80N]

Quick video of some pre nats testing and tuning. Downhill transition in to vertical side hill with some undercut. Just waiting on the Nationals footage then i will link it.

from Layton James on Vimeo.

[stewbaru]

Originally Posted by LAY80N

A huge thanks to Steve Huddy, and the the Gillam clan (110 crawlers) for stepping up and helping a fellow competitor in the shoot out. These guys provided me with some parts, even though i was a direct competitor. I cant tell you guys how much i appreciate your help and offers of parts. Its things like this that make our hobby so great. Big thanks to you guys.

Mate, we are always happy to help a brotha out, it was great just to be a part of the Nationals at all.....

[MountainStorm]

Amazing grip and compliance. Mind boggling really.

[josh6575]

I am curious about that servo you are running. I have seen it around for sale and have not seen anyone using it till now. Is it as fast, powerful, and durable as claimed?

[LAY80N]

Sorry bout the delay, didnt see your post. I have been giving the Protek a fair bit of a workout, and it is holding up fine. Still quick and plenty of torque. I pulled it down when i got it, all gears are metal. I did take a pic, will post it up when i get a chance. So far i am happy with it.

Rig is still working great, taking 1st place in 2.2S in the two local round we have had so far. Some new parts in the works, and the Nats footage should be up in the next few days.

[LAY80N]

Bit of an update, and some awesome new parts i have been testing from Hulksta Engineering.

The Joker is still performing solidly, taking out another win in cANZ Northern series (3 wins from 3 comps this year) as well as taking the win today in the cANZ NSW round (We have our local cANZ comp series, and i also travel the approx 2 hours each way monthly to compete in another cANZ series). Recently Hulksta built a very special C2 scale rig, which featured a sway bar setup in the rear. After some slight redesign and tweaking a universal fit swaybar was designed. A trip up to the Hulksta workshop and some design talk had a set of rear shock arms incorporating swaybar mounts ready to go for the joker chassis. The sway bar has made a big positive impact on the performance of the rig. I was able to drop some spring rate out of the rear, tweak the rear link geometry a bit further and achieve the stance i wanted out of the rig.

Pics








The universal swaybar kit will be available soon, keep your eyes pealed for a thread from Hulksta Engineering.

[MRCrackhead]

That's really awesome.

I've wanted to try a swaybar for some time now.

A very bad experience with the local guy forced me to return his product, which wasn't made right.

Glad to see somebody else offering the product, and the craftsmanship looks much better.

[LAY80N]

Time for a well overdue update.

Apart from regular maintenance, I have barely had to touch this rig at all. For the last half of 2014 season the rig ran like clockwork, chalking up win after win. Considering this rig is the prototype joker and has probably the most hours on it, it still feels as solid as the day I built it.

Leading up to the cANZ Australian Nationals I decided to give it a good tear down and re-fresh. The brood apocalypse skewed 35T was swapped out for a brood vapour 30T 4 mag skewed. The stock iron cross lockers were swapped to HH Alloy spools and a cut down SDI drive shaft for the front end to rid the rig of its nasty old plastic shafts I had been too lazy to change for about 8 months. Everything else was still in perfect condition.

Come nationals practice day I ran a few packs to make sure all was well. I was more concerned with my Pro rig so the sportsman just got the quick test and that was that. Come comp day I was very keen to make up for my breakages that cost me a podium last year. Some very neat driving on tough courses saw me feeling confident at the end of the day. The results were posted later that night, putting me in 1st at the end of the day and on my way to the shootout. This result combined with my 3rd in Pro left me with a hectic night of charging packs, checking over rigs and most importantly drinking beer.

The shootout courses were quite tough, with a good mix of flowing lines and tight technical gates. Course 1 I breezed through, with just one gate and a reverse or two. Course two was a different story. Course two was a ten gate course which then opened out into a "bonus land" type area. Midway through the course i managed to snap the drive pin that connects the final gear to the output shaft in the Hulksta Trans. This was pretty suprising as it was a hardened 1.5mm pin. Thankfully another competitor and close friend had had a 1.5mm driver in his pocket. Luckily I kept my cool, managing to remove a broken section of pin and jam the remaining bits into the gear pocket somehow with the body still on the rig. Quickly repo'ing then driving more like an ultra 4 rig got me through and still managed to nail 2 bonus gates at the end of the course. Come course 3 and I could feel the nerves. The weather was turning bad, I had just finished the pro shootout courses and my 2.2S result was riding on this course. I pulled it together and managed a great run, with only one or two reverses.

Come presentation time I was very happy to hear I had pulled the 2nd place. Both 1st and 3rd were good friends and fellow Hulksta Engineering team drivers. It was great to see the Joker chassis totally dominate sportsman. Dan @ Hulksta put some big hours and effort into the chassis so to be able to bring home the trifecta for him was pretty damn cool.

A huge thanks to organisers and the sponsors that put up their time and gear to support our National Championships


RC4WD.

Crawler Innovations.

Dravtech Custom RC Parts.

Onetencrawlers.

Axial in conjunction with Hobby Head Quarters.

Hulksta Engineering

Super Shafty

RCBros

Mr Links

DCW, Duuuuuuudes Custom Works

Thanks to these companies I was able to have an amazing weekend, and take home some great prizes.

Also thanks to the Dan @ Hulksta Engineering for the hard work behind the Joker chassis, and for having faith in me and giving me the opportunity to test and represent Hulksta Engineer.

Also thanks to the cANZ Northern crew, my local comp and social group. These guys push everything to the limit and always keep you on your toes, with great driving and even better mid course banter and heckling.

Plans for the rig now are to upgrade to Dlux V2 knuckles and non 8 deg chubs, and get some new narrow voodoo's. Otherwise I see nothing else that really needs upgrading at the moment. Though I'm sure that Hulksta Engineering will have some more top quality parts to test soon

So enough of my dribble, on to the bit everyone likes - Pics (videos are almost done too )

[filotr14lsdude]

I'm glad I had the driver in my pocket.

I learnt a few comps ago it's worth having one in your pocket. I remember the big dash to the bags to grab a driver. Nothing worse when you get a vehicle touch and the time is counting down. When you have 5min courses you seem to chew a lot of time off the course.

[LAY80N]

Course 1 - 2.2S shootout

from Layton James on Vimeo.

[Diamond D]

Nice driving. Man that looks like some killer rock to be crawling on let alone the view.

[LAY80N]

Originally Posted by Diamond D

Nice driving. Man that looks like some killer rock to be crawling on let alone the view.

Thanks mate. That spot is Boat Harbour, NSW. Its about an hour from me and is pretty much crawler nirvana. The rock is super high grip and the area is huge. Plus on a nice summer day the view is pretty sensational. Good fishing off the rocks too after a nice day running packs through the crawlers. The whole coast around where I live has rocky areas like that, so we are very spoiled for choice when setting comps and social days.

The Australian Nats has been held there the last two years. Not sure where the location is for next year, but it may be there again. Any Americans (or any others) that are keen are more than welcome to come on over. I know the locals will be more than willing to help out with anything.

[LAY80N]

Bit late, but some moving picture type things from the Nationals.