SCREAMER's IFS Bomber "Qwiksilver"

[SCREAMER]

Thanks Wes, I have about $350 in the front end.

[SCREAMER]

Big update! I'm very pleased to say that I have the front suspension dialed in. I can drop the rig from 3 feet now and get zero bounce, just soaks it up with no bottoming. The front and rear are perfectly balanced. She handles extremely well at speed and looks amazing floating over rough stuff at full tilt. The rear sway is doing a great job at mitigating torque twist as much as possible without hindering articulation. I kind of felt like I was banging my head against a wall with the limits of adjustability that the Traxxas big bores offer and wanted something with a lot more spring rate options and infinite fine tuning on the threaded preload collars. Enter the ProLine Powerstroke fronts.

These are just a bit longer than the 2660 big bores I removed but I came up with a fix for the binding on the steering links. I'll post a pic of them if you guys want but it's basically a hollow ball for a Revo rod end that is twice as long as a normal hollow ball. This raises up the link at the knuckle to keep it parallel with the camber link to prevent additional bump steer and eliminate binding. Of course the shocks themselves are very nice. Well worth the $50 a set for what you get. The only reason I got away from Powerstrokes in the past was due to the excessive leaking that I just can't stand especially from a top shelf shock like this. I'm really hoping these hold oil better. My current setup for the front is Powerstroke Slash fronts with 30wt oil and red primary and secondary springs. I'm extremely happy with its current handling characteristics and feel only very minor changes will be made to dial her in more as I get more time behind the wheel.

I also forgot that I had a set of brand new Kyosho Velvets sitting in my parts bin so I swapped out the 2662 big bores in the rear for the velvets with 30wt oil as well. Still running Axial 14x70mm 3.55lbs/in springs in the rear. The velvets gave me a bit more down travel which is a good thing for crawling especially when your suspension is setup in 60/40 droop. The velvets also have a nice threaded preload collar so adjustments front and rear will be quick and easy.

I've got 2 charged packs and I'm ready to get some hard running in today. No more easy testing. Qwiksilver is ready to rip. Results coming later tonight.

[bilinvic]

Good to know....I have a new pair of P-L Powerstroke fronts sitting in my parts drawer.

[SCREAMER]

Save yourself a lot of time and headache and go with those. You have the VP upper shock adjuster, correct?

[bilinvic]

Yes I do, but also hoping to get Jerry's new billet shock tower with my kit too.

[SCREAMER]

Yeah me too. His is supposed to move the upper mount higher allowing us to use a longer shock for more up travel. Maybe Jerry will post here with an update on the new tower.

[the DMG]

S tower is in my hands now - all most !
i had to have him make one more small adjustment to it & the was cutting them this weekend - should have them tomorrow.
taller & wider
should be able to run a variety of shocks lengths,
ill post up a pic when i get the production towers in hand !

[SCREAMER]

Finally got everything in for my alternate front driveline setup so I wanted to post up a pic. The BMRC one piece spool is a very nice piece and the Traxxas Slash CVDs are a much more scale looking driveshaft compared to Axial's unis or VP VVDs. Not that I care about scale at all but it is a cool benefit. The Traxxas CVDs have a telescoping spline in the middle similar to a MIP spline. Everything comes greased and sealed up with rubber boots. These look to be a nice, strong, $40ish option that's readily available. I'm going to try my best to destroy the Axial unis, then see how long the VP VVD pins last so I can get this system installed. I wish I would've had these parts during the initial build but for some reason, they took the longest getting to me.

[bilinvic]

Are the Slash CVDs straight up stock, or have they been modified in any way? And they fit the Vanquish knuckles perfectly? I have MIP Axles in my LCG Slash 4x4....now you have me thinking if a Slash front end would work in lieu of the Yeti's!

[SCREAMER]

I didn't mod the CVDs in any way. Vanquish knuckles need to be modded to fit the larger diameter of MIPs but these go right in. Anything's possible and you could do a slash front end "Yeti-X" style but not with the DMG kit. You'd need to come up with a new kit to mount the slash front end. That might be the next evolution and I'm sure Jerry is aware of the Yeti-X kit and it was considered. It might've been a simple cost comparison that made him choose to go the Yeti route. Another thing to consider is our intended use. Yeti-X was created to bombproof the front end of a Yeti which is really a basher IMO. You and I will hardly be using these in the same manner as a ham fisted Yeti owner. What's the ground clearance and suspension travel on a Slash? Maybe it's just not a good pairing with the rest of a Bomber. I'm just thinking out loud now. I've looked into building an LCG 4x4 Slash here in the near future but it never crossed my mind that it was anything similar to a Yeti or Bomber.

[bilinvic]

All very good points SCREAMER...I am not going to be "bashing" my B1B like I would with a dedicated "basher" like my Slash. I will put those thoughts to bed, besides, I already invested into the Yeti front end and upgrades! lol

[the DMG]

it will be interesting to hear your finding's on the slash 4x4 drive !
thats the only drive system i have not tried yet,
& i built lot of stuff with the slash 4x4 front end - just all ways used MIP drive

[cmbscx10]

Any updates on the CVD's? Running video's? Just trying to get my IFS fix.

[bilinvic]

It's been quiet over here...too quiet!

[SCREAMER]

You're right. I've been trying to get out to the spot as much as possible lately but I have too much BS going on right now. I will be going today in about an hour or so. I'm going to try my hardest to grenade the Axial unis so I can get the Slash CVDs installed. I have learned a couple things I'll repost here in the interest of spreading info.

If you are running 94mm Axial universals in this or the Yeti (same front end obviously) DO NOT install the little rubber bushings into the outputs. The unis are too long to accommodate these bushings when the suspension cycles and will cause binding and bearing failure or universal breakage prematurely. These rubber bushings are only necessary when running dog bones because those have no way of retaining themselves. Axial is slowly replacing all the 94mm Yeti universals with 92mm unis through attrition but still do not require the rubber bushings to be installed in the drive cups.

I also learned there's another option to running Yeti universals in front and that is Axial CVDs for the EXO rear. These are still 94mm but work fine as long as you don't install the rubber bushings into the drive cups. Instead of being a universal joint, they are a CV design like VP VVDs but run about $40 from what I've seen on eBay. I'll grab the part number and edit this post but you can just search "EXO rear CVD". More to come.

AX30417 is the part number for compatible Axial CVDs

[351Beno]

The exo ax30415 and ax30417 dont work with all knuckles. The stock plastic and vanquish I believe work but most others dont.

[SCREAMER]

So I finally got Qwiksilver out for some real driving today. Much less testing and much more driving for fun. I'm going to start with the only negative I can find with this build and it's the steering. This Yeti front end just cannot turn a tight circle and you really notice it everytime you slow down to take an obstacle with more finesse and technical driving skill. The good news is, this isn't often.

The DMG IFS Bomber is so much f*#€King fun to drive and the faster and more aggressive you get with the trigger, the more she shines. Full throttle drifting and steering with the rear on loose pebble gravel or dusty hardpack will have you grinning the entire time. I can't believe how composed and controlled the truck stays at all times. You can push it right to the ragged edge and there's plenty of warning before a roll starts, that you can easily steer out of it before things get ugly. I'm sure much of this has to do with the much wider track and rear sway keeping things level, in any case, the IFS Bomber stays planted like it's put down roots. I absolutely love driving this truck.

I put Qwiksilver through the full gauntlet today, high speed, rock bouncing, jumps, climbs, sideways shenanigans, and aside from the yacht like turning circle I mentioned before, she was flawless. That's not to say it is impossible to crawl this truck, far from it. What happens is you end up using more throttle to kick the rear end around if needed then power your way up and over rock bouncer style. This is where you start to appreciate the character of this rig. It almost forces you to drive aggressively and once you do it responds with very satisfying results. I had to change my driving style to what the truck wanted but by the time I killed the first pack I felt like a pro driver.

The single most important thing I must stress is to get your front suspension dialed. It's a complete night and day difference with this rig once you do, and I guarantee will be the deciding factor in whether or not you enjoy it. Once you have the front perfect then make the rear match. I have found that this truck likes just a bit more rear sag and a bit softer dampening as well. This will also allow the rear to take advantage of the abundant amount of travel that comes from running trailing arms.

Balanced, controlled, planted, predictable, she's got it all. Now if only I could figure out how to get about 10 more degrees of steering sweep, I'd have THE cheater rig. I can't wait to get this rig in a comp and see how she stands up to some drivers with much more skill than I. None of the obstacles I tried today were any kind of match for this beast. The one thought that kept running through my head today was, this is the "Rock Racer" I thought the Yeti was going to be. Thank you for making this a reality for us Jerry. I would never have guessed how awesome this truck turned out to be.

[Terrible1]

Great write up and review Screamer! Tons of solid info with this thread and I'm glad you're enjoying the new rig! This is definitely my next build!

[the DMG]

good wright up Screamer !
& THX
yes - the B1B drives different from any other rig out there.
like you said - you must drive the B1B with a little different driving style !

i will have you shock tower on it way today & i think your going to like the change it makes !

good work my friend
thx - enjoy & crawl on !!

[SCREAMER]

Thanks Jerry, that's high praise coming from an artist like yourself. I can't wait to get the new shock tower! More travel in front will be awesome.