Tips and Tricks Thread

[ricksonchow]

Originally Posted by oklamopar

Does the heatsink help?

yes, of course it does. During hot summer in Hong Kong the motor temperature goes up too. It is good to have one on the motor and it is really cheap. A good way to cool it do unless you like to go swimming like me.

[duellym]

Originally Posted by cdog

did you do this yourself or buy a kit? could you do a write up of how you did it?

I did my myself. Basically all i did was mount the rear shocks in the holes for the straight axle and drilled a hole in the center of the cross member above the axle, put a bolt through and BAM! more flex, also it lets you put a full drop bed on it. 2 fer 1

[jeff22]

My friend came up with an idea to strengthen the rear links by zip tieing some 1/4 metal rod to the plastic rear links of my trail honcho. I was planning on buying the aluminum link kit but it is $60 and i haven't gotten around to it yet and this worked great to stiffen up the links until i buy the kit.

I was driving my scx10 at my friend's house and we noticed that the rear links were really bending and the rear tires were trying to roll up under the truck and it wasn't performing very well.

So to fix this we cut 2 pieces of 1/4" solid round bar the length of each of the lower links. The stock links have a little ledge on the side that the round bar sit on perfectly. Then we just put 3 small zip ties on each one to hold the round bar in place.

The links are completely rigid now except for at the very ends where the screws that hold them onto the chassis are. This is a great cheap fix until you save up for the proper aluminum link kit.

[Wiley01]

If you have fishing line you can braid it and make it look like real synthetic winch line.

[waw]

Originally Posted by jeff22

My friend came up with an idea to strengthen the rear links by zip tieing some 1/4 metal rod to the plastic rear links of my trail honcho. I was planning on buying the aluminum link kit but it is $60 and i haven't gotten around to it yet and this worked great to stiffen up the links until i buy the kit.

I was driving my scx10 at my friend's house and we noticed that the rear links were really bending and the rear tires were trying to roll up under the truck and it wasn't performing very well.

So to fix this we cut 2 pieces of 1/4" solid round bar the length of each of the lower links. The stock links have a little ledge on the side that the round bar sit on perfectly. Then we just put 3 small zip ties on each one to hold the round bar in place.

The links are completely rigid now except for at the very ends where the screws that hold them onto the chassis are. This is a great cheap fix until you save up for the proper aluminum link kit.

I bought myself a secondhand home-made links for about $25 (upper + lower, front + back) for the 313mm wheelbase.. it'll save you the trouble of zip-tieing and yes those axial or other aftermarket links are too expensive (here in Indonesia)

[natesjk]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

Home brew scuff rings (steel) encircling the axle center chunk's lower half.

Are they easy to pull off and put back on if you have to take the axles apart?

[crazee horse]

My favourite tip is to remove the foams from stock wheels, and with beadlocks attached on one side I pop them in the freezer for 30 mind. I then take em out fast 1 at a time and attach the other beadlock ring. When the air gets to room temperature they inflate slightly giving a pneumatic feel and a better footprint over terrain. You don't lose any noticeable sidewall flex . Well not enough to be even a tiny issue. I run stock flat irons and go anywhere !

[cjmor1804]

Originally Posted by Hotrodvw

A cure to half shaft in/out slop is this. This also keeps your axle pins in place. One o-ring per side. This is applicable for front and rear.

Tried this but it causes unwanted friction on the axles. It doesn't allow the axle to spin freely, so it puts more strain on the motor. Maybe my o-ring was too wide, but either way, I think there should be some slop in that particular area. Perhaps a thin washer would be better?

[Hotrodvw]

I had a small amount of drag, but nothing terrible. Worth the effort imo.
The only drag comes from a bit of the face of the bearing.

[masterplan]

Please help me with some advice on setup for a SCX10 Dingo. I have not done any competition crawling and this Saturday, 1-23-2016, I will be going to the 2nd Annual Krawlfest. I have nearly stock setup thus far.

Aluminum lower links front and rear
Plastic Y upper link, so I will be running a 3 link setup for the comp
Arrma ESC and 15 turn motor with a 20 tooth pinion gear and 80 tooth spur
Stronger Servo
Zippy 2s Lipo Battery located at rear now
Stock tires on heavy weight aluminum wheels 1.9's

Currently the truck and a 50/50 weight split. It does not flip on its side as easy as it did when the battery was located in the front, but now it has almost no bite in the front. I have to also get rid of the stock bumpers as they are catching on rocks that I want to climb.

[Hotrodvw]

A 15 turn motor is way too fast, and that gearing will smoke it most likely. Also, some metal lower links at a minimum would be a huge bonus. Other than that, don't sweat it for your first time out. I've seen bone stock rigs do really well.

[masterplan]

I have a axial stock motor, a corally hand wound 19 turn single and if it fits a 21 turn titan 550 traxxas motor lol. Which is best?

[Hotrodvw]

I'd run the stock one. The lower the turn count, the faster the motor, and the higher the amperage draw. You have go fast motors. You need a 27T or higher............ie, 35t or 55t motor. The higher turn motors will yield better control at slower speeds and more torque.

[masterplan]

Update: I have removed front bumper due to climbing issues. I now have a 12 tooth pinion mated to a 87 tooth spur gear, but still running 15 turn motor. I now bought a 55 turn motor, but would like suggestions on pinion size to run.
also what weight balance should i use?

[ole_gators]

Made some DIY shackles from cotter pins.
Here is the thread where I got the idea: My take on scale tow shackles

[Honcho907]

I'm not sure how to post pictures, but I got 7 1/2 " of travel from my double shackle mod I made using tlt link mounts and traxxas ball joints... can't explain how I made them without pictures, so if someone could tell this noon how that would be awsome

[rerebuilder]

Here is a little idea to have retractable tie down hooks on your truck bed. Start with #1 paper clips. Cut off the desired end to make what ever size hook you would like. I choose the smaller end. Cut the paper clip and next drill holes in your bedside slightly larger then the wire size of the paperclip. Use the paperclip to get your holes drilled. Insert cut clip. Set to the desired height you would like to have it when in use and bend the ends under the truck. Now you have hooks the retract when not in use and can be extended when you need them.

Extended

[m&mkrawler]

How much extra do you think has to be put into the crawler to make it decent...? And whats the most important thing to upgrade first...?

[shiftauto]

Originally Posted by m&mkrawler

How much extra do you think has to be put into the crawler to make it decent...? And whats the most important thing to upgrade first...?

Personally, I haven't found it necessary to do too much @ all. They're very fun and capable out of the box. The first thing I noticed was the weak steering linkage. The only things I've put into mine are upgraded steering links, built my own suspension links with all thread and metal tubing from a hardware store, made cross braces for the shock towers and moved the battery forward and sideways. All of that for about $60 and some tinkering time. I've added a couple other things like a light kit, inner fenders and a knight customs grill but they were by no means needed. My yeti was draining my wallet @ a ridiculous pace, the scx has been cheap and a blast the whole time. It's also nice to go out and not worry about breaking something which leads to downtime and more dust in my wallet.lol.

[mjotrainbrain]

If you have Venom batteries and an Axial AE-5 ESC and are having problems with it not wanting to stay turned on, try just replacing the plug. I talked to the guys at my LHS about this issue and right off the bat they asked if I used Venom batteries. Since I do, they suggested replacing the plug on the ESC. Now it works perfect again!