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Old 07-29-2012, 11:03 PM   #61
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I got scared into making a locker. LOL. There was some talk about the stock lockers having issues at the last comp. I really want this thing to be as bulletproof as possible so it was time to get into the diffs and see what weight I could take out and also to upgrade the gears/locker.

When I pulled out the front gears right away I noticed how sharp the teeth were and also how bad the pattern was. I have really not driven this car much at all so I expected the gears to be like new. When I pulled out the rears, they looked much better as expected.

I am not sure how well you can see the teeth or not but here are some pictures.







Looks like it would have really benefited me to shim the pinion inwards. All the contact was made towards the outside of the ring.
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Old 07-29-2012, 11:08 PM   #62
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I bought the higher ratio setup for the front. When I bought the front gears, I figured I would let the rears ride and see how much time I could get out of them seeing as they are in the rear, life should be much better for them.

First thing I tried was to machine the upgraded gear. Not happenin. Those gears are HARD! Too hard for me to deal with. I did machine out the stock gears. They machined like they were aluminum? Anybody have a clue as to what material they are? After trying to machine them, I understand why some might have issues with the stock gears.

Stock locker/gear setup 49g



Machined setup 44g

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Old 07-29-2012, 11:14 PM   #63
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I also figured out that the HD gears are actually lighter than the stockers. Funny since Axial claims one of the benefits to upgrading is to add weight down low.

"Hardened steel for increased strength and additional weight in the axle" LOL

Stock ring gear 16g plus the 5g I took out (above) 21g total



HD gear 18g



Stock pinion 11g



HD pinion 8g



So, looks like 32g stock, 26g HD. This makes it an even better upgrade!
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Old 07-29-2012, 11:17 PM   #64
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Then, to address the locker problem....

I liked the HR design but just didnt want to put my trust into their hands. So, I figured I would just make myself something simple. Too bad this "simple" design took me so long to make. LOL. It was pretty fun though, I do have to admit.

Here is what I came up with. A 7075 one piece locker.







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Old 07-29-2012, 11:21 PM   #65
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Default Re: Dlux Wraith Build

So, with what should be a bullet proof, no slop locker, I was able to shed some decent weight.

Stock 49g



HD gears and 7075 locker coming in at 34g, 15g loss or over .5oz



Machined stock gears and 7075 locker 35g.

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Old 07-29-2012, 11:25 PM   #66
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Here are some more random shots of the locker. I hope I am not overloading you all with the pics.






Last edited by Erik D_lux; 07-30-2012 at 12:35 AM.
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Old 07-30-2012, 12:36 AM   #67
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I ended up only machining the stock gear for the front. I put that gear in the rear axle. I took the car out to run for a bit and test things out. That ring gear didnt make it very much longer. I am glad I decided to do this mod or I think the front end would have gone out in the next pack or two. After seeing the difference in the stock vs. HD gears, I ordered one for the rear too. Now, I am hoping this car is good to go. I think I got rid of all the weak links. I hope I can just drive it and have fun at this point.

Went on my first "scale" run. It was pretty fun. Good excuse to get out and hike. Thanks to Diddy for the pics, pretty sure he does not know what this website even is. LOL



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Old 07-30-2012, 02:08 AM   #68
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I think the gears are made from a process called sintering. If not well at least I know that at least one person out there has gained a little more knowledge

From Wikipedia
Sintering is a method used to create objects from powders. It is based on atomic diffusion. Diffusion occurs in any material above absolute zero, but it occurs much faster at higher temperatures. In most sintering processes, the powdered material is held in a mold and then heated to a temperature below the melting point. The atoms in the powder particles diffuse across the boundaries of the particles, fusing the particles together and creating one solid piece. Because the sintering temperature does not have to reach the melting point of the material, sintering is often chosen as the shaping process for materials with extremely high melting-points such as tungsten and molybdenum.
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Old 07-30-2012, 08:55 AM   #69
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Nice work on that locker Erik! Did you upgrade the hardware?

Yeah, the stock gears really suck. You'll be good with the HD's. I've been running them in my wraith since I built it and tore the front end diff apart to clean/inspect and noticed that there was absolutely NO wear on the HD gears.

BTW, what's the RTR weight on this thing now?

Last edited by JeremyH; 07-30-2012 at 08:58 AM.
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Old 07-30-2012, 12:16 PM   #70
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Originally Posted by Erik D_lux View Post
Here are some more random shots of the locker. I hope I am not overloading you all with the pics.





Please make these my wraith is out of commission, because of all the crap lockers I have ruined. Very nice work man

Later,
Farmer
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Old 07-30-2012, 01:26 PM   #71
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X2^^^ I would be willing to buck up for some lockers not made by HR. I have hr ones and they are surviving but I find myself taking it easy all the time as I don't want to break it!!! BTW Your front gears are toast!!! I had 4 stiches thanks to those cheap POS pulling them out in my wraith but mine were quite a bit sharper then that!!! They are sintered too.
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Old 07-30-2012, 02:22 PM   #72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AR Fabrication View Post
I think the gears are made from a process called sintering.
Interesting. Sounds like another form of casting? Thanks for the info.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyH View Post
Nice work on that locker Erik! Did you upgrade the hardware?

Yeah, the stock gears really suck. You'll be good with the HD's. I've been running them in my wraith since I built it and tore the front end diff apart to clean/inspect and noticed that there was absolutely NO wear on the HD gears.

BTW, what's the RTR weight on this thing now?
Upgrade the hardware as in size or quality? Are people having issues with either? I just used the stock stuff but left room to go to 3mm if needed. The only problem with going bigger is that it wont fit though the holes on the ring gear. That material is so freaking hard that I didnt want to drill through it.

Looks like I should have weighed it when I was approximating.

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The rear steer really bumped my weight up. Right now I am sitting at approx 6lb 8oz with a 1800 battery. Hopefully this is as heavy as this car will ever be.
Just officially weighed it and it was 6lb 9.2oz. More that I obviously thought above. I am not sure I added anything to it but I think I was estimating the battery weight. The 6lb 9.2oz is with 8oz added to the front and the 1800mah battery.


Quote:
Originally Posted by XJ Farmer View Post
Please make these my wraith is out of commission, because of all the crap lockers I have ruined. Very nice work man

Later,
Farmer
Quote:
Originally Posted by mammoth View Post
X2^^^ I would be willing to buck up for some lockers not made by HR. I have hr ones and they are surviving but I find myself taking it easy all the time as I don't want to break it!!! BTW Your front gears are toast!!! I had 4 stiches thanks to those cheap POS pulling them out in my wraith but mine were quite a bit sharper then that!!! They are sintered too.
I assumed that there were plenty of locker choices to satisfy everybody??? I will check into it and see what I can come up with if there is enough demand for them.
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Old 07-30-2012, 02:35 PM   #73
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Originally Posted by Erik D_lux View Post
Upgrade the hardware as in size or quality? Are people having issues with either? I just used the stock stuff but left room to go to 3mm if needed. The only problem with going bigger is that it wont fit though the holes on the ring gear. That material is so freaking hard that I didnt want to drill through it.
Size. There were some that were running 3mm with those Highland lockers...
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Old 07-30-2012, 02:47 PM   #74
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Because they needed the size increase of just piece of mind?

I will have to see what they were doing to make the hole bigger on the HD gears.
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Old 07-30-2012, 02:55 PM   #75
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We increased the screw size to 4-40, I broke a couple screws in my shafty with dig and drilling the gears is a nightmare lol

the rear UD gear was easy to drill, but the front OD gear was unbeilevable. I think they are surfaced hardened, and the thinner OD gear is hard all the way thru, where the UD gear is thicker and not hardened completely. I went thru like 6-7 good bits and had to keep sharpening those while drilling.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:00 PM   #76
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Very cool......Ill be watching for ideas.

Only concern I see is the motor plate, they will flex stock with any kind of good power. Maybe switch to 32p gears to help with that.
X2, Wraith stock motor plate is less flexy than the original AX-10 motor plates, but this flex can waste spur gears so I went with a 1/8" thick East End Machining motor plate for mine. Now the plastic trans case has some flex, but none in the plate lol.

When I built my Wraith I wanted to keep it as lightweight as possible too, for all the same reasons, but mine is not as nice as yours. Mine minus driver, battery and a couple scale items (no spare tire) weighs 5 lbs, 13.9 oz....so just over 6 lbs with driver and rest of my scale items! My lipo weighs 115 grams as per HK's site: HobbyKing R/C Hobby Store : Turnigy 1300mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack ordered 3300mah 3s1p lipos which are 297 grams each per HK. Haven't weighed them to double check their weights, which I should.

Really like your build and wish I had tools to do all the milling and drilling, waiiting for more updates!
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:02 PM   #77
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Yeah, I think I will take my chances. I tried milling on the gear with a carbide end mill and it didnt want anything to do with it. Sounds like a nightmare.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:08 PM   #78
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Natedog View Post
X2, Wraith stock motor plate is less flexy than the original AX-10 motor plates, but this flex can waste spur gears so I went with a 1/8" thick East End Machining motor plate for mine. Now the plastic trans case has some flex, but none in the plate lol.

When I built my Wraith I wanted to keep it as lightweight as possible too, for all the same reasons, but mine is not as nice as yours. Mine minus driver, battery and a couple scale items (no spare tire) weighs 5 lbs, 13.9 oz....so just over 6 lbs with driver and rest of my scale items! My lipo weighs 115 grams as per HK's site: HobbyKing R/C Hobby Store : Turnigy 1300mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack ordered 3300mah 3s1p lipos which are 297 grams each per HK. Haven't weighed them to double check their weights, which I should.

Really like your build and wish I had tools to do all the milling and drilling, waiiting for more updates!
The motor plate seems to be doing good so far. I know not many, if any will agree with me on this but after never being able to keep a spur in my Losi, and seeing my buddy literally smash his pinion against his spur in his AX10 without issue, I have always set my mesh up VERY tight. Ever since I put my mesh tight on my Losi, I didnt have many problems.... until I went 4s. LOL. Then all bets were off.

I would really like to get this car back under the 6lb mark. That rear steer is killing me though. At our last ultra 4 comp there were lots of burly downhills and I am glad that weight was back there. I would probably consider putting weight in the rear wheels after that comp anyway so it may just be a good place to have extra mass? I will just keep plugging away trying to lose weight and be happy with whatever I can get.

Thanks for the props. I was starting to think I was talking to myself in here. LOL
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:15 PM   #79
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Crawlerdad was having downhill issues, so he put a suckdown servo winch back and i believe he is real happy with it. Might solve any issues and not be as heavy as rear steer.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:32 PM   #80
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... I know not many, if any will agree with me on this but after never being able to keep a spur in my Losi, and seeing my buddy literally smash his pinion against his spur in his AX10 without issue, I have always set my mesh up VERY tight. Ever since I put my mesh tight on my Losi, I didnt have many problems.... until I went 4s. LOL. Then all bets were off.

I would really like to get this car back under the 6lb mark. That rear steer is killing me though. At our last ultra 4 comp there were lots of burly downhills and I am glad that weight was back there. I would probably consider putting weight in the rear wheels after that comp anyway so it may just be a good place to have extra mass? I will just keep plugging away trying to lose weight and be happy with whatever I can get.

Thanks for the props. I was starting to think I was talking to myself in here. LOL
Yes after years of racing buggy gear mesh, I found same for crawlers to keep the gears in one piece lol...just the tiniest tick of freeplay on mine with 32p and none with 48p gears.

I have no wheel weight added running XR10 beadlocks, need some VP style weight slugs for them to add a little to each wheel, probably two or three slugs per wheel will do it.

You're welcome, somehow I missed your build thread until today lol.

Quote:
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We increased the screw size to 4-40, I broke a couple screws in my shafty with dig and drilling the gears is a nightmare lol

the rear UD gear was easy to drill, but the front OD gear was unbeilevable. I think they are surfaced hardened, and the thinner OD gear is hard all the way thru, where the UD gear is thicker and not hardened completely. I went thru like 6-7 good bits and had to keep sharpening those while drilling.
Interesting.........

Last edited by Natedog; 07-30-2012 at 03:36 PM.
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