The Wraitho (Wraith chassis / HonchO Axles)

[Pointman]

It's time for a build thread for the orange Wraitho. Been holding off because of all the revisions that It's gone through, but I think it's about done now!

Here's what she finally morphed into:



Started with the wraith chassis, and went to work figuring out the link geometry. It's pretty straight forward to get the SCX axles to work, but to get full flex I had to make some shock brackets. Custom links were needed because I didn't like how far forward the axle was in it's stock location.
A hand brothers axle mount services the 3 link on the axle side, but the panhard mount had to be improvised. More on that later....
Lowers are 100mm eye to eye




To get even more flex, I put AX-10 shock shafts inside the SCX housings. Inner springs were inserted to give positive feedback when at full droop. I also had to capture the springs at the cup end and in the center due to separation. I just grabbed some appropriately sized clear shrink wrap and walla no more spring noise.


Out back she's running aluminum Axial wraith/xr10 bent links with aluminum 30deg uppers (round bars). I used a Traxxas long MIP driveline to get the extra length that I needed.


Drivelines' tucked up nice n high!



Wheel base is at 13 1/4"!!!



More tomorrow night. Thanks for looking!

.

[isyeskeert]

I like it. I see a 1.9 Wraith and it makes me wanna build one!

Heard of Brasso? Wraitho makes me think of Wraith polish!!!

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by isyeskeert

I like it. I see a 1.9 Wraith and it makes me wanna build one!

Heard of Brasso? Wraitho makes me think of Wraith polish!!!

Hehehe Good point!
I think it looks more scale as a 1.9. It's definitely growing on me.

[Pointman]

Next up was to make a custom tie rod and install the VP 8 deg knuckles.



I made all of the links from solid aluminum bar that Chris_the_Battery_Man turned me on to from McMaster Carr. (3/16")
It looks really good, and you don't have to sleeve it like all-thread! Just cut it to length and put threads on the end with a 10-24 die.
You will need traxxas ball ends, and they should be drilled out with a 24 drill bit.
>>Multipurpose Anodized Aluminum (Alloy 6061) 3/16" Diameter, 3' Length<<



I used smaller diameter rod for the track bar and drag link (1/8"). I think it looks more scale,
and It's really beefy for being so small! I thought that it was kind of wobbly when I got it,
but after cutting it into shorter lengths and bending it up, it's very stiff! I don't think it will give me any problems.
Use a 4-40 die with the smaller diameter rod, and they can be used with stock Axial ball ends!
>>Multipurpose Anodized Aluminum (Alloy 6061) 1/8" Diameter, 3' Length<<



Steering details tomorrow night!

[Absurd]

in this picture below how do you keep your pitbulls from rubbing on the vq arms? I have had nothing but issues its actually why I retired my 1.9

[Pointman]

Thanks for bringing that up. I forgot to mention it.

If you're running 1.9 rims, you'll have to use traxxas wide hexes to keep the ball end out of the tires.
I also experimented with modding 1.9 rims to accept vp hubs. It worked pretty good, and then you have options for different offsets. I was running the .225 hubs with no issues.

I have since switched to 2.2 rims with cut n shut pitbulls, and they clear without them.


Here's the Traxxas hexes:




MR.VERTICAL did a write up on how to use VP hubs with 1.9 rims:
>>LINK<<

[Pointman]

Next up was the steering.

I ran on the axle for a while, but the C3 points were lacking and it looked like crap!!
Then I bought a VP CMS bracket to get it onto the chassis.
It worked ok, but I couldn't get full lock steering. The arm waiving back and forth at me still looked kinda funny also.

So after a few weeks of thinking about it, I got the steering where I wanted it.
By mounting the VP mount sideways, I was able to hide the pitman arm and it also frees up full steering because the arm does not hit the chassis any more.

Here it is operating sideways like the hand bros CMS kit for the Honcho.




The clamps on the bracket should squeeze the down bars that the mount usually sits against. I also used the small holes on each side of the front of the mount to zip tie it to the frame. (Not Pictured)





I had to trim the round holes off of the top of the mount because I have a servo mounted into my bumper. The large "frame" holes on the VP mount won't be a problem without a servo.






Next up was the panhard mount, or lack there of!
I was pretty lucky that the screws for the Wraith chassis lined up where they did, because it made an easy spot to mount the bar to. The hole lined up perfectly with the Hand Brothers mount on the axle too, so I was in business!

Take some axial aluminum link material, and ream the hole out large enough to get an m3 screw through. Trim it to 17mm.
Now, grab a long screw that is about 45mm long.
Take the plastic screw out of the bottom of the chassis (the Down bar mount) and replace it with the m3 screw and the spacer that you made.
(Your lengths may vary due to different knuckles)
These lengths put my tie rod and panhard at the same angle when mounted to the hand bros axle mount. Both of the bars are 85mm, which makes all of the geometries correct.




Mounted in front of the shock:



Geometry:



More madness tomorrow night!

[2.slowduo]

I was at a ttc with a guy that had one of these with 2.2 pitbulls on it
I loved it. I think I'm going to have to build one.

Good stuff

[1lowta]

What traxxas ball ends are those??

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by 2.slowduo

I was at a ttc with a guy that had one of these with 2.2 pitbulls on it
I loved it. I think I'm going to have to build one.
Good stuff

Thanks man. They just look more scale than a stock Wraith to me. Pretty fun to drive too!!

Originally Posted by 1lowta

What traxxas ball ends are those??

They are 4mm Traxxas ball ends. I think they were for a Jato.
The ends used for the smaller rod are 3mm ends from either traxxas or Axial.

[Pointman]

I figured it was time to button up the loose ends on the rig, and hide the wires and what not.

Everything is under the hood, so I needed to make it easily accessible. Just drilled some holes that tapered screws could slide through, and used Losi mini body clips as hood pins.
The windshield side of the hood is held in place with some velcro.



Still need to clean up the ol' wiring!!!
ESC and Receiver are velcro'd to the fire wall, and the stock battery tray was trimmed and zip tied to the inside of the frame rails.
A small 4S battery fits in there perfectly!




Next up was to add wheel wells. The electronics aren't water proofed yet, and I hate to see the junk under the hood, so the search began.

I found some super cheap black file folders at Office Depot that were really pliable, but stiff enough to hold their shape. I just made a paper template, transferred to the file folder, and cut slits in them to run zip ties around the frame. The top is held in place by the shock mount screws. Only $0.99!!
The opposite side does not have a pattern on it.









Tuck the end under the body panel, and screw it down. Holds nicely!





What's a Washington based wheeler without a windshield to keep the rain off of you??
Made a template from paper and transferred it to some thick lexan sheet that I got from tap plastic years ago.
Then I just drilled super small holes in the frame, and used 2mm hardware from axial bead lock rings to secure the windshield.

[Pointman]

Got Scale?
So the last thing to do was get the points up, and make her look a little better.


Scale DC skate figures, a case of red bull, and you can see the blower on the engine.





Here's a shot of the Exo rads that I cut in two so that they were short enough to get in the Wraith chassis.





Scale bolts in the side from the extras that I had after adding the beadlock rings from Locked Up RC
Oh, and some dice of course!





Gotta have a shotgun right?



Metal front and rear bumpers to get the points up.
The front is solid aluminum rod screwed into the side of the bumper.
The rear is 1/8 flat bar trimmed up and drilled to match the holes in the chassis.

[Pointman]

This has become my C3 rig since tubers are not allowed in C2. Been pretty fun to drive, and It's actually doing pretty good in C3.
Even against the big tire cheater trucks!!

50 points, no rear steer, or dig.

[gbaileyo7]

Looks awesome!

Sent from my fone uzeing spelchek.

[Pointman]

Thanks!

This started as a spare parts build, but the 1.9 Wraiths perform so well I had to upgrade everything!

[Natedog]

Very clean build with a good parts mix and looks well setup...I like it!

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Very clean build with a good parts mix and looks well setup...I like it!

Thanks Nate.
I wasn't expecting much out of it, but it surprises me every time I drive it.

[Pointman]

Been thinking about modding the Wraith chassis for a while now. I love the look of the smaller tires, but my belly clearance was suckin' the big one on C3 courses.

So I finally bit the bullet and bought new frame rails, with the sole intention of hacking the hell out of them.
Gained a half inch of clearance though! I'm now sitting at 2 3/4" skid plate height on 4.75in tires.



Transferred the skid plate hole locations with a square.



Took a dremel to the bottom of the chassis.



The first rail cut off. Mmmmm Clearance



All tucked up nice and tight now.
Just enough room to tighten the screws for the skid if you tweak the rock slider up a bit.





OH Yeah..... I got this!
Might just be a solid Second Place truck now.



I was worried about strength issues only running one rail on the plastic chassis, but after getting it together it's really tight. No weird movement or shifting at all.
I think it'll last just fine.

[Tgreer]

That's a really good lookin rig!

[ka1fornia]

You've got some really good ideas....i wonder how it would work on a 2.2 rig by cutting the frame rails to get the skid a little higher. I like your fenders as well. I'm tired of getting junk under the hood but haven't found a good solution for that yet.