SCX10-II - Winning is hard.

[chino63]

The wrap looks great! For some reason, seems like it helps hide the pinched nose of the body. Still dont know why they did that (didnt buy one because of the way it looks). Very nice sir, especially the Toyota part and the other parts too.

[Motorider]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

Got it outside today. I'm pretty chuffed. There's a few things I'd like to try with suspension and ride height, but it's pretty boss.

How did you get that wrap? It's amazing and I don't see it on freqeskinz web page.

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[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Motorider

How did you get that wrap? It's amazing and I don't see it on freqeskinz web page.

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I know the right people.

I spoke with Neal and had him do some custom work. I'm sure if you asked, you could get it, minus the sponsor logos.

[Motorider]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

I know the right people.

I spoke with Neal and had him do some custom work. I'm sure if you asked, you could get it, minus the sponsor logos.

Looks like I'll be calling Neal for a custom print. Thanks bud.

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[imthatguy]

I may have gotten this truck slightly muddy at the Team KNK TTC#4.



Before I wrecked it (just muddy, nothing broke), I shot a nice little video at Smiggin's Folly. Thanks to n00b for also having a Toyota and allowing me to drive there without a Lexan Body Pass.

[Say what?]

Hey Larry, and Larry, look like they had to much coffee, there looking a little intense

~D

[Say what?]

Nice video, what a killer place to run your sweet rig.

~D

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Say what?

Hey Larry, and Larry, look like they had to much coffee, there looking a little intense

~D

Originally Posted by Say what?

Nice video, what a killer place to run your sweet rig.

~D

They're extremely focused on driving.

Smiggin's Folly is THE place to play. If you can get a permit that is.

[imthatguy]

So, winning is hard after all.

After a dismal performance at Team KNK TTC #4, (61st of 162) I can definitely say that running a whole new truck with limited testing is NOT a good start. Having your winch controller flake just before the trail run probably doesn't help either. But ultimately, the major letdown was silicone the tire inserts. Too heavy, too much fold over, and any time it rutted itself, it needed a strong blip from the RX4/ROC combo to get it out, which led to a few gate hits.

Before the next comp, I'll be swapping for normal foam-based inserts and possibly looking at the Pit Bull XL's or the Pro-Line Hyrax. A little more height wouldn't hurt. That said, it shined in the Sled Pull and almost got a full run in the Mud Pit (on 4S) so to keep the nose down on hill climbs, tank traps and trail runs, I'll be adding the Beef Patties disc rotors for a little extra weight down low to compensate for the loss of the silicone inserts.

A couple photos.

[imthatguy]

What a ding dong! Double Posting like a Boss.

[Say what?]

Hey your rig looks great 12 times on one page.
My vote is for the Pro-Line Hyrax.
And i think Larry, and Larry, need to try decaffeinated coffee or tea for the next comp

~D

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Say what?

Hey your rig looks great 12 times on one page.
My vote is for the Pro-Line Hyrax.
And i think Larry, and Larry, need to try decaffeinated coffee or tea for the next comp

~D

Good thing it's my thread, here's more pictures for the pile...

After returning from the mudpit at TeamKNK farm, I gave the truck a complete tear-down and deep clean. Good thing the wrap is so filthy already, you'd never know how dirty it was underneath!

So, after much deliberation, I'm dropping the Pit Bull Rock Beast and Rock Monster inserts in favour of a taller, wider, lighter tire/foam combination. The silicone inserts are just too heavy to compete with, and I'm not a big fan of the way they'd drop a tire into a rut, how much they folded over on a heavy truck like mine, or the general performance under steering load. I lost a lot of steering - which shouldn't be a thing with the brushless, super high voltage servo I'm running. I'm not specifically knocking the silicone inserts, I think that under the right conditions, and less portly builds, they probably do exactly what they're supposed to.

I've opted to go back to the Pro-Line Hyrax with their two stage foam, and Beef Tubes' Beef Patties brake disc weights. Yes, still rotational mass, but substantially less than the inserts.



They bolt up very easily, and Dan makes a number of different types for different wheel applications. In this case, I'm using his SLW versions to mount with the Vanquish Method's I'm using.



After everything was bolted up, I took it up to the bathroom scale. I went from 10.4 pounds (which is waaay too heavy to comp with) to a much more health conscious weight of 8.2 pounds. SlimFast really works!




Can't wait to take this one to AxialFest and run some trails!

[imthatguy]

This truck was amazing at AxialFest. Got a lot of attention, and performed flawlessly on the trails. Really dig these tires. Wow. Good in the dry and the wet. Since there was so many Knight Customs parts used, I let it sit at James' booth where folks got a good look at the engine bay detail.

Speaking of Knight Customs, and 3D printed parts, I put together a video detailing how Shapeways and 3D printing is changing how we look at our hobby:

[IVIaarten]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

This truck was amazing at AxialFest. Got a lot of attention, and performed flawlessly on the trails. Really dig these tires. Wow. Good in the dry and the wet. Since there was so many Knight Customs parts used, I let it sit at James' booth where folks got a good look at the engine bay detail.

Speaking of Knight Customs, and 3D printed parts, I put together a video detailing how Shapeways and 3D printing is changing how we look at our hobby:

The truck is looking great, love the engine bay.

Speaking of 3D printing, I just ordered a small 3D printer yesterday. They've become so cheap these days. Really looking forward to designing my own parts (diving into Blender). So yes, I do think 3D printing is really changing things. For me personally, I'm a bit more computer savvy then I'm handy, and I lack the workshop/tools for proper fabrication. So 3D printing really gives me a load of options I wouldn't otherwise have.

All roads lead to Rome (or Amsterdam) in the end. Use the tools/skills you have available. It's the end result that matters.

After about an hour or two messing with blender my first seat test design is coming together

[imthatguy]

It's very cool what 3D printing is capable of, but for my scratch built or shelf queens, I'll always build from styrene for fun. Thanks for showing what you're up to!

So, as expected, winning is still hard, but not as hard as it used to be. At the ECSC, I managed a 15th place of 69. Much better than it's last comp performance. I blew a pinion on one course, 3 gates from the finish, which resulted in a DNF/Point Out. That hurt my score pretty bad, and had I kept it together (literally) I may have cracked top ten. I had a blast, and probably won't change much for next season.

The latest software for the RX4 brings some really cool features that make for an awesome experience. More about that soon. Here's a couple pics from the event:

[Motorider]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

Some updates. My Vanquish parts arrived. Pretty amazing to see that there's very little difference between the prototypes and production axles. Save for the threaded inserts for the front axle and the lasered logo, they're essentially the same. Amazing machine work.

Here's a breakdown of the assembly for those that haven't done it yet.



I started by removing the stock locker and updating to the Vanquish part. I've yet to have a failure on the stock ones, but heck, for the low price these are offered at, why not? Blue Loctite should be used EVERYWHERE, except the diff covers, FYI, including these little screws holding the ring gear to the locker.



Put original pinion gear and original bearings back into housing.



Add the bearing holders to either side of the ring gear locker assembly and plop into place in the new housing. Screw this down and LOCTITE AGAIN. Do not overtighten.



I had a set of LockedUp RC rear shafts handy, so I've opted to replace the stock ones. They look strong.



Everything back together. Screw on the endcaps and remember the bearings beforehand. Did I mention Loctite?



Red Diff covers are back in style.



And installed back on the truck. Perfection! Vanquish includes all the hardware required for the rear to be put back in place.

For the front, the only differences are as follows:



Add the threaded collars before putting the shafts back in. Much easier to do beforehand.



This spacer is included. Also, check the steering knuckles. Lots of detail and effort went into making these, they're awesome, and realistic. Keep in mind Vanquish does not include the hardware for re-attaching them to the axle - keep those from your old plastic axles.



And here's the front reinstalled on the truck.

Very, very happy with the tolerances, machining, and looks of these new Curries. I knew they were going to be bulletproof, after all the abuse I gave the prototypes. Hats off to Vanquish!

One other thing, I've noticed that there's a lot of inherent flex built into the rear shock towers. My simple, parts bin solution is to take a short Axial link and screw it into the open holes. Reduces flex by 100%.

How did you get the Locked up axles to fit into the FI spool?

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[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Motorider

How did you get the Locked up axles to fit into the FI spool?

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I slid them in? To avoid confusion, this is the Vanquish Spool, not the F1.

[Motorider]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

I slid them in? To avoid confusion, this is the Vanquish Spool, not the F1.

Thanks for the response. I guess Ill just have to polish them a bit to get an acceptable tight fit. I dont feel I should have to use a slide hammer to remove them...

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Motorider

Thanks for the response. I guess Ill just have to polish them a bit to get an acceptable tight fit. I dont feel I should have to use a slide hammer to remove them...

Ha, yeah, that sounds like a little too much force. Mine were just fine - maybe something changed?

[Motorider]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

Ha, yeah, that sounds like a little too much force. Mine were just fine - maybe something changed?

So I polished them up a bit. They fit perfect in the front spool I still had out. I slid them into the rear axle and spool I already had installed and they were tight. I couldn't pull it back out, so i installed the other one that was equally tight and used a hammer to carefully push them the last 1mm in. I put nuts on both axles and stood the axle up on end so that the force was only applied to the axles and not the bearings in the diff. I didn't want to mess up the bearings removing the one shaft is why I went ahead and drove them in the last bit. Absolutely zero slop in the rear now. It's incredible how much of a difference it made.

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