Axial AX-10 Scorpion 1/10 Rock Crawler Kit Build, Chapter 2 "The Mod Build"

[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Hey gang,

In chapter one we built the stock Axial AX-10 Scorpion Rock Crawler. I was supplied a VERY powerful Crawlmaster sport BL outrunner from Holmes Hobbies to power it with. The only snag in the system was the CC Mamba Max Having issues with reverse starting on inclines, which is not good. Castle is working on a solution to this issue along with some other fixxes to the Mamba Max esc so I'm positive I will be going back to the motor later.

So in this the second chapter we are going to look at and do a Major suspesion modification and we are going to add some new Aluminum upgrade parts that are available from The Crawler Store (www.tcscrawlers.com) and CKRC (www.ckrccrawlers.com). Both Kevin from TCS and Jake from CKRC are old pro's in rock crawling and if you have any questions about their products they are more than willing to help you in any way. The guys were both nice enough to provide me with some add-on hardware and even a different body for the crawler.

Just a quick run down on what we are going to do in this chapter and why. If you have an AX-10 in stock form you know that it is a very capable unit in stock form and for a newbie into crawling it's fine. But with a little work and some new parts you can turn the stock rig into a competition rig. The main objective is to lower the CG of the rig so that it won't be so top heavy and this in turn will reduce the tendancy to tip over sideways or go over backwards when climbing. This modification also reduces the angle on the drive shafts which reduces the chance of a shaft popping during a high torque situation. Another benefit of the mod is it will allow for more down travel. This down travel lets the tires fall into the holes and stay in contact for better traction on the rocks.

The other part of this "mod build" will include replacing some of the original components that are palstic with some new aluminum upgrades. These upgrades will add strength, looks, and also a bit more movement from the suspension. Oh yeah and a little more groung clearance to.

Now as I stated I was having problems with the outrunner motor starting in reverse. So I purchased a 55T lathe motor a few weeks back while on a road trip with Tony Bjerke (One of our Sponsored Pilots and fellow crawler) This was a first for me in a long time. I haven't held onto a big brushed motor in years. The best part is that they generally run from 16 to 20 bucks. Yup a cheap but very reliable and powerful motor. Thus the reason for the Mamba Max ESC, you can go either brushed or brushless and up to three cells. So I will be going back to brushed for awhile.

Now that you all have a general idea of what chapter 2 will be about lets get going. I'll be back with the build................

www.AxialRacing.com www.tcscrawlers.com www.ckrccrawlers.com www.MaxAmps.com


Jason
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Jason
MaxAmps Marketing Manager
jason@maxamps.com
www.MaxAmps.com
www.NitroKillers.com

[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Ok so the first major part to this build is the suspension mod. This mod is called the "Stage Two" you can get it here at CKRC http://www.ckrccrawlers.com/shop/ind...roducts_id=693 and there is a rough set of directions here at RCCrawlers.com http://www.rccrawler.com/axialcompbuild.html

The Guys At CKRC supplied me the "Stage Two" kit and I upgraded it with bent lower links from The Crawler Store the Bent Links can be found here. http://www.tcscrawlers.com/Axial-Thr...5-p-16626.html . I went with four of them two front and two for the rear. These add a lot more ground clearance.

I should note that All of the add on parts in this mod build either come anodized green, black, and some can be purchased in polished aluminum. You'll notice that to make it easier to see what parts I put on, I removed any of the anodized coating with EasyOff oven cleaner and I then polished all the parts with my dremel and some polishing compound. So yes I've got a bit of "Bling" on the crawler now.

To start off with you need to break down your original Axial AX-10 Scorpion.
Remove the front and rear suspension assemblies and then remove both side chassis plates. Once those are all apart the fist thing we need to do is relocate the lower suspesion links where they mount to the Tranny plate. We are going to move them inside of the chassis plates to eliminate the chances of them getting hung up on anything. You simply need to take a dremel and a cut off wheel and remove the areas as seen in the pictures below.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Now that the tranny plate is cut you need to take both Side chassis plates and mark two holes with a center punch in the following areas with a center punch. I marked on side, drilled the holes and then used it for a template for the other side. Once the holes are drilled you can mount the side chassis plates back up to the tranny plate. Next take you Bent links with the ball link ends screwed on to them and bolt em' up to the new inner mount locations on the tranny plate.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Next we take the new longer upper links and assemble the ball links on them and install these to the new holes that we drilled into the side chassis plates.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

This is where I changed things up a bit. TCS has a servo plate that eliminates the upper 2 into one link on the AX-10 and makes it a side by side mount right on the rear of the servo tray. This gets rid of the sometimes faulty 2 into one link. ( the Stock set-upm has been known to pull through, a washer can be added to prevent this but I went this route) Only thing is that when you do "stage two" you need to place an extension spacer at the ends of the upper links to get the correct angle on the axles. So what I did was cut up the 2 into one "Y" and made spacers from them. You can see in the pictures how I did this. It worked like a charm. Now that the upper links are extended and the new servo plates are on front and rear( the rear will come into play in the next chapter) we can start to hook up the axles to the chassis. The biggest thing is to pay attention to where everything goes and the correct order.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Next we need to do a bit of work to the shocks. The shocks are going to be drained and the layout of them changed. Your going to convert them to limit the travel by placing the spacer that was originally on the outside and moving it inside and below the the piston. What this will do is limit the down travel and lowering the vehicles ride height giving it an overall lower CG. Again here I went a bit different the front shocks got a new inner shock spring (soft) that I got from TCS and the new outer soft Springs that came with the "stage two" kit from CKRC. The rear shocks have the same outer spring. The inner spring and bump stop inside are what help lower them. With the shocks filled back up with your favorite oil we need to mount them back on the chassis. The next step is to make a reciever tray and a tray for your esc to sit on. What I did with a suggestion from Tony Bjerke (one of our sponsored Pilots and a fellow crawler fanatic)was to cut the stock battery tray into three sections use the two ends with the original mounts and relocate them to where you see them in the pictures. it worked great. Thanks Tony.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Some of you with the AX-10 may have already broken a spindle or two already. The horn prt of the stock plastic ones has been known to break. To fix this the guys at CKRC and TCS both have aluminum ones, both in Black anodized and poloished aluminum. They were both nice enough to send me a set from each of there stores. Also you can replace the "C" Hub on the end of the axles with an aluminum one. TCS also supplied a set of those. So I tore the original plastic parts off and installed the new aluminum parts. The front end got the set of aluminum "C" Hubs seeing that it takes more of a beating than the rear.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Now for the rear axle Kevin at TCS sent me a set of straight axle adapters as seen here. http://www.tcscrawlers.com/RC4WD-Str...h-p-16538.html These parts eliminate the adjustable rear spindles. In the additional photo's you'll see the Straight Axle Adapters installed, make sure you don't use screws that are to long. They will hit the axle inside the housing. The same goes for the aluminum "C" hubs that I put on the front axle. But for what I will be doing in the future I installed the aluminum spindles on the rear for the time being.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

So far with the mods done this is what you should have.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Only a few things left to do the most time consuming is to weight the front wheels with the 15.OZ's of stick on lead provided in the "stage two" kit. Remove the bead locks, tires and foam from the front wheels. Take the lead weights and wrap one layer around the inside of the wheel. You'll notice that the weights fit that groove really nice. Do the next layer and then repeat with the other wheel. Once you have this done you can then cut the foam ring down if you like, I removed about 5/8 of an inch from the outer diameter to allow the tire to give a bit more for better traction. And don't forget to re-open your air hole in the rim that the weights sealed back up.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

So now all that is left to do is reloacte the body mounts on the side chassis plates and install the reciever and the ESC back into the rig. Oh yeah and we will need a new body. Well Jake at CKRC was nice enough to send me his slightly used new Losi Rock Crawler Body full painted. I added some stickers and Installed it for the final product.
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[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Again I'd Like to thank Kevin at The Crawler store (www.tcscrawlers.com) and Jake at CKRC (www.ckrccrawlers.com) for the hardware. If you need any help with parts or extras for the AX-10 contact either one of these guys. They will be more than happy to help you out. Well as for my Modified AX-10, It and I will be getting a workout next weekend at an indoor competition in Bismark, ND. Tony will be joing me for the fun and We will get plenty of pictures to show you all.

If you have anyquestions just ask....................



Oh and Stay tuned for chapter 3 Coming soon.....Yup more of what you can do with an Axial AX-10 Scorpion.



Thanks again to TCS and CKRC for your support with this project.

Jason

[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Thanks for looking........As stated this is chapter 2 of a series that is an on going project at www.NitroKillers.com in the crawler section all chapters are posted as sticky threads at the top of that page for reference.

Jason

[yotachump]

nice build thread, look great

[Flatcrawlr]

Thank you for this...nice thread.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Jason,

Thanks much for going through this. Very nice build!

[mickrcarver]

i think there should be holes in the rims right? under those weights?

[MaxxCrawler02]

very nice tutorial/build!!

[JAM MaxAmps.com]

Originally Posted by mickrcarver

i think there should be holes in the rims right? under those weights?

Well it wouldn't make much sense to put a sticky backed wheel weight over a hole would it..........I drilled an 1/8 hole into each rim when I built the Original kit. So All I had to do was go thru the same hole drilling thru the lead. The hole is no longer sealed by the wheel weight tape.

Jason

[binaryterror]

Most of this I was thinking "no kidding its just buying and installing". But in the end its very through and I don't think anyone has done this much detail into the Stage 2 install or the other good mods.

Keep up the good posts.

For holes, you can also put them in the carcass of the tire to help with breathing, I did on my Rock Claws.