Newbie SCX10 Build!

[xjcralwer7]

What's up guys, glad to find this site, got some sweet ideas from browsing this place. I got me an SCX10 for christmas and wanted to post a build thread so i can get some tips/ideas/criticism from all of you experienced RC gurus. I have always been into 1:1 crawling since i got my XJ at age 16, and now i get to start into scale crawling and i'm pretty excited! First off, i got the RTR kit so i had somewhere to start since I didn't know where to start. I got an MJ body and an axial 55T motor and thats kinda where it all started. Anyway, you all know what a stock RTR honcho looks like so I won't bother posting pics of that, cuz it only stayed stock for about 10 minutes.

First thing i did (besides the motor and body) was position the shocks at an angle to allow better articulation, no big deal, not sure it even helped but i did it.

Second, was cut the foams (used the star method), and add weights to the front tires. I added 2oz sock sinkers (from a fishing shop) to each tire, just wrapped it around and it fit perfectly! Works like a charm and i'll probably never change that.

Third thing, I removed the bump stops from the shocks and that did wonders, flexes like a monster now, not as much as I would like, but it does fine! Easy mod, with great results.

Fourth thing i did was give the axles a bit more width by adding a hex nut to the end of the original hex thingy that was on it. Added almost half an inch of width, much better stability and looks like it's got full width 1 ton axles

Then i just added some stickers and some other things for looks, made a funky little bumper outta the little plastic part that came with the kit that was supposed to be for the 4 link conversion, which i wanna do eventually but i'm gonna do it with aluminum links. Painted the coils, and relocated the cool little LED's it came with.

Pretty fun so far, done a couple of runs with my brothers, who all have HPI wheely kings that they are converting to crawler kings right now...those things tear it up! But here's some pics...

Anyway,..I'd love to hear some ideas and anything else you have to say. Later projects are waterproofing, maybe 2.2s, more LED's, and probably a lot more!

EDIT: photobucket pics were all lost..removed links

[WILDMAN442]

Hot dog man. Very nice so far.

That 1:1 is gunna need new meats soon.

Welcome.

Justin

[rckjeep]

Welcome to the site and the addiction. First thing I'd do is lower the crap out of the body. You'll be surprised how much better it handles. First thing to learn about scalers and crawling in general is articulation is over rated. Don't worry about getting more flex. Try a line you can barely do now then lower the body and make the shocks more vertical and see if it gets up and over that same line any easier. I'm betting it'll will. As far as going to 2.2's I'm a huge fan of 1.9's because I can do just about everything I could back when scalers were 2.2's and my rigs look WAY more scale now. Plus it's so much easier to find challenging terrain with 1.9's. You may want to look into the Hand Bros CMS kit for the front, especially since it'll be that much closer to you 1:1 XJ suspension.

Have fun with it.

[xjcralwer7]

Thanks guys! Haha yeah well my 1:1 is basically an empty shell sittin on jack stands right now, buildin her up for 40's!

Anyway Yeah i hate that my body is so high up, but the stock body mounts were not workin out, so i'm lookin for ways to lower it! Also, i agree with you on the 1.9's the whole reason i got the scx10 was for the scale look..so maybe i'll stick to em, who knows. So you are saying to keep the shocks vertical? I'll check out that kit. Thanks again guys.

[xjcralwer7]

Crap, i just noticed i spelled crawler "cralwer" in my user name. Haha oh well

[xjcralwer7]

Alrighty, i took your advice and lowered it a bit, was easy in the rear but the front was a bit of a struggle, had to mod it a bit, but got it done. I'm sure i'll end up tweaking it a bit later. But now i'm too flexy for the body and might end up narrowing my stance back to stock so the tires have somewhere to tuck...ah well! Or i'll trim the flares...what do yall think?

EDIT: Photobucket pics were all lost, removed links. (Sorry)

[sniper101]

Looks a lot better now! Nice work!

Can't figure out why yours has so much articulation in the front axle, my steering servo rubs the frame holding my flex back . . . Plus the drag link and servo horn rub the cross-member in front of the the servo. What the crap? lol

[xjcralwer7]

Thanks man, mine rubs there too, I hate it..i've been trying to figure out how i could move the servo just a tiny bit to get it to clear...but no luck. I'd say that is a pretty bad design flaw for the scx10...drives me nuts!

[sniper101]

Originally Posted by xjcralwer7

Thanks man, mine rubs there too, I hate it..i've been trying to figure out how i could move the servo just a tiny bit to get it to clear...but no luck. I'd say that is a pretty bad design flaw for the scx10...drives me nuts!

I've been contemplating the same thing. Moving it (servo or axle) forward 1/8" would help miss the crossmember the servo mount bumps into, but it's not a 100% solution, servo will contact the frame next. A CMS would help, but then the servo horn/pitman arm will still be a clearance issue with the tie-rod, and drag link on the frame . . . plus the added bump steer.

If you come up with anything, post it up!

PS - Got any pics of the wheel spacers you used?

[xjcralwer7]

Originally Posted by sniper101

I've been contemplating the same thing. Moving it (servo or axle) forward 1/8" would help miss the crossmember the servo mount bumps into, but it's not a 100% solution, servo will contact the frame next. A CMS would help, but then the servo horn/pitman arm will still be a clearance issue with the tie-rod, and drag link on the frame . . . plus the added bump steer.

If you come up with anything, post it up!

PS - Got any pics of the wheel spacers you used?

I'll try to figure something out...and my wheel spacers are just a regular hex nut, cant remember what size..don't make fun of me ;) but i just glued them on. Didn't expect it to last long, but they've taken lots of abuse haha. From what i've seen they have helped a lot, they gave me that extra little push i needed to get my stance/COG where i wanted it. But i'll take some pics of them on there if you want!!

[xjcralwer7]

Okayyy, i found a solution (kinda) for that stupid servo problem. Rather than waste my time trying to move the servo and all that junk, i thought, Gee, its only contacting about 1/8 of an inch of that crossmember, no big deal! The crossmember that has the battery tray support on it was what was in the way, but just barely. The frame has screw holes for adjustment of the battery tray, but I liked it where it was so that wasn't an option for me, but could be for you. I decided that 2 crossmembers weren't needed up front at all, 1 was plenty (the other "crossmember" being the front bumper mount) so i thought about taking it out, but that completely eliminates the front support for the batter tray. Pulled out my plastic welder to "fab" a new support, but decided against it. So my final solution was simple, more simple than all of these and it worked like a charm. I whipped out my Dremel, and notched out a 3/4" section of the crossmember, never going wider than 1/2 of the width of the crossmember. Now even with the wheels turned fully left or right, the frame and the servo don't hit. Now I have another problem, it articulates enough that the frame makes contact with the "tie rod" i dont know what its called in the RC world haha, but thats only under full load, so it shouldn't be a problem for now! I have a few pics of what I did if my rambling didn't make sense, but I wont bother posting them until someone asks!

[Slow and Steady]

Originally Posted by xjcralwer7

Okayyy, i found a solution (kinda) for that stupid servo problem. Rather than waste my time trying to move the servo and all that junk, i thought, Gee, its only contacting about 1/8 of an inch of that crossmember, no big deal! The crossmember that has the battery tray support on it was what was in the way, but just barely. The frame has screw holes for adjustment of the battery tray, but I liked it where it was so that wasn't an option for me, but could be for you. I decided that 2 crossmembers weren't needed up front at all, 1 was plenty (the other "crossmember" being the front bumper mount) so i thought about taking it out, but that completely eliminates the front support for the batter tray. Pulled out my plastic welder to "fab" a new support, but decided against it. So my final solution was simple, more simple than all of these and it worked like a charm. I whipped out my Dremel, and notched out a 3/4" section of the crossmember, never going wider than 1/2 of the width of the crossmember. Now even with the wheels turned fully left or right, the frame and the servo don't hit. Now I have another problem, it articulates enough that the frame makes contact with the "tie rod" i dont know what its called in the RC world haha, but thats only under full load, so it shouldn't be a problem for now! I have a few pics of what I did if my rambling didn't make sense, but I wont bother posting them until someone asks!

What you said makes sense, but I would like to see it if you have time.

[xjcralwer7]

Okay sure! Now I just was out side testing it and I honestly couldn't tell a difference, but when you look close and test it with your hands, it did help a bit. Still kind of a problem though.

EDIT: Photobucket pics lost, removed links.

[xjcralwer7]

Edit: No pics

[sniper101]

I did similar. Not to threadjack, but I ended up removing that X-member, flipping the battery tray around and mounting it as far rearward as possible and ziptied the rear end of tray down to eliminate it from bouncing.

Also, because the top corners of the servo was bumping the crossmember between the front shock hoops:I cut the little 1/2" forward of the triangulated bit on the crossmember between the shock hoops off. So only the rear most bolt of the shock hoops connect to that crossmember, and put a small M4 bolt through the front bolt hole of the shock hoops to secure that. Still getting servo contact to the inside of the frame rail, but I think the springs are too stiff to allow the axle to articulate enough for this to be a clearance issue.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Sorry for the thread jack OP!

[xjcralwer7]

Originally Posted by sniper101

I did similar. Not to threadjack, but I ended up removing that X-member, flipping the battery tray around and mounting it as far rearward as possible and ziptied the rear end of tray down to eliminate it from bouncing.

Also, because the top corners of the servo was bumping the crossmember between the front shock hoops:I cut the little 1/2" forward of the triangulated bit on the crossmember between the shock hoops off. So only the rear most bolt of the shock hoops connect to that crossmember, and put a small M4 bolt through the front bolt hole of the shock hoops to secure that. Still getting servo contact to the inside of the frame rail, but I think the springs are too stiff to allow the axle to articulate enough for this to be a clearance issue.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Sorry for the thread jack OP!

Don't worry about it, I want ideas! I like that idea, but I always take the easy way out haha, i'm lazy!

[xjcralwer7]

Also, i just decided to trim my fenders....got one side done and it reminds my of both my 1:1's and its looking good! I'll be able to lower it a bit more now, talk about low COG.

[xjcralwer7]

Here's some pics of the cut, hated to cut my manche, but this, afterall, is not a scale build as much as it is a performance build, so thats why id did it.

EDIT: PHotobucket pics lots, deleted links

[xjcralwer7]

Looks like crap unless you squint haha

[xjcralwer7]

Got some updates for those interested..its been a while, but i have done a few things..also i just ordered a Wraith kit..so be on the lookout for that build..its for my wife actually, she got into the hobby a bit too! Anyway..enjoy

Got a Dingo bumper cuz i destroyed my other one! I like it so far!


Also i chopped it and caged it ..no really.. my hack job turned out okay i think..combined my manche with the stock honcho body..






Still needs some touching up on the tailgate, but you get the point.