steering upgrades or brushless system?

[djb2]

hi guys,

so i should be ordering my wraith on thursday and i think i'll have about $140 bucks left over to spend. I could either get a vaterra rally car OR i could get some extras for the wraith. I plan on using the wraith mostly just for bashing, taking camping, crawling over rocks in the yard, definitely not any serious crawling. so that said, I'm thinking i may want more speed/power. for my usage should i focus on upgrading steering and knuckles, things like that? or i could get a new waterproof esc and a brushless motor. what would you recommend? thanks!

[Timo Creemers]

IMO, you can better first upgrade the steering/knuckles and c's , otherwise, if you have well powered brushless system, you're going to break them and can't drive at all.

[redsawacs]

Lots of folks will try to spend your money for you and tell you that you have to go fast or you're not a man...BS!

If I think about this, if you go brushless, you'll need upgrades to handle the power. Then the handling parts will suffer. If you upgrade the handling parts, you'll enjoy the rig a lot more...plus you won't break everything and have no money to fix it.

I would say start with the small upgrades and go brushless down the road. I personally like the speed a stock Wraith has. If you want to go fast, buy a car designed for that. If you want a fun rig for all around use, the wraith is right for you....no need to blow cash on more power until it's time.

Oh, research brushless systems before you buy. Make sure you get one with crawler features. Rarely will you find a waterproof system with crawler capabilities...

Congrats and welcome to the addiction!!!

[djb2]

still trying to get all the terminology down, the knuckles are also known as axle carriers right? but what are c's? also, would you recommend changing that front steering link?

[Timo Creemers]

Well, on the front you have 2 things at the wheel, the C-hub is sitting at the axle side and carries the knuckle, and the knuckle is the part at the wheels side.

[PoOkY]

Assuming you have a rtr, I'd go for:

- VP steering link, stock one has way too much flex
- a real steering servo
- plan A:adapt the tranny gearing for the stock motor (see post #4 here : Choosing a motor and ESC for your Wraith - Gearing Added! )
Plan B: change just the motor (same link than plan A)
- get a bec
- move que battery and electronic under the hood

Then you can have a lot of fun and go step by step according to your budget. Dont rush on those expensive knuckles on the beginning, priority is not there IMO.

C-hub is the part that goes on each ends of the front axle body. Knuckles are the rotating parts attached on the c-hubs

[lunatick]

Originally Posted by PoOkY

Assuming you have a rtr, I'd go for:

- VP steering link, stock one has way too much flex
- a real steering servo
- plan A:adapt the tranny gearing for the stock motor (see post #4 here : Choosing a motor and ESC for your Wraith - Gearing Added! )
Plan B: change just the motor (same link than plan A)
- get a bec
- move que battery and electronic under the hood

Then you can have a lot of fun and go step by step according to your budget. Dont rush on those expensive knuckles on the beginning, priority is not there IMO.

C-hub is the part that goes on each ends of the front axle body. Knuckles are the rotating parts attached on the c-hubs

What he said

[Gravebane525]

if you got the RTR start with a screw kit or atleast some real screws and replace the ones that attach to moving parts.

after that upgrade to your tastes. new steering linkage will burn out the stock servo faster. more power may very well cause the knuckles and chubs to fail.

once you take care of the screws it should be a fairly reliable rig that you can build up as you like.

[cox308]

I'd buy the VP steering linkage first as mentioned above. Then spend the rest on a 400+ oz servo. Then spend a few bucks on some M3 screws for the c-hubs and rear lockouts. Move battery up front. When you save more money buy a CC 10A BEC then a nice brushed motor from Holmes like the Crawlmaster Sport. Gear it 6/1 to keep it cool and happy. From there just upgrade what brakes which will likely be your c-hubs/knuckles, plastic trans gears, and finally the driveshafts.

[J_Fitz]

Get a good servo and wheel weights to keep the shiny side up and thats it.

I have a tekin brushless setup in mine and I have no issues with any of the stock driveline stuff. I run a 17.5 redline motor on 3s and nothing has ever happened. Good fun, durable, versatile machine.

[djb2]

What recommendations on a servo? Is the stock one crap? As for upgrading the other parts whats the recommended material aluminum? Or I saw alloy on ebay also. Finally best site pricewise for these upgrades? Thanks!

[hpiguy]

Originally Posted by djb2

What recommendations on a servo? Is the stock one crap? As for upgrading the other parts whats the recommended material aluminum? Or I saw alloy on ebay also. Finally best site pricewise for these upgrades? Thanks!

Depends on your budget, and what you're willing to invest in one. The stock servo is garbage, not enough tq, and the bushing wears out fast. The Solar 772 is a decent budget servo, and you can go all the way up to servos that are over $100, it's up to you. Also, with any high tq servo you'll need to run an external BEC as well.

Whatever you do, don't buy any Integy stuff, it's garbage. Most of the aftermarket stuff will be aluminum of some sort when in comes to upgrades. Something that hasn't been mentioned is the front axles. Axial sells they're own universal shafts, I think they're around $40, and the stock dogbone / stub axles are a weak link.

[J_Fitz]

Any servo you can afford with over 300 oz/in torque. Some guys will say over 400 oz/in but I personally feel that is a little bit overkill. The higher the torque, the better. You'll want to get a good aluminum servo arm to go with it.

You will need an external BEC if you are running more than 2 cell lipo's. In case you don't know what a BEC is, it powers the servo by bypassing the speed control. It's a good idea to have one no matter what the number of cells you are running. It makes it easier on the speed control and seems to let everything run a little more efficiently.

[2Crawl]

Originally Posted by djb2

What recommendations on a servo? Is the stock one crap? As for upgrading the other parts whats the recommended material aluminum? Or I saw alloy on ebay also. Finally best site pricewise for these upgrades? Thanks!

Budget high torque Servo: Savox SA-1230sg for about $70

A much better high torque servo; HiTec HS-7950TH for about $130.

There is a vendor on RCC selling stainless steel steering linkage. They are cheaper in price than the titanium steering linkage and much better than stock.

IMO I would run a RTR Wraith until something broke. Then steering links, Knuckles and C-hubs. Then go from there..... Good luck!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

[rcmedic]

This is the best budget servo around.http://www.hobbypartz.com/33p-solarservo-d772.html Run it on 7.4v, and it has pretty much the same amount of torque as a hitec 7955. Gears are super thick, and I've been running one for months, almost submerged. I run it on the rear of my wraith, the same place where i stripped out a 645, and a 5645 all in a matter of hours.

[2Crawl]

Originally Posted by rcmedic

This is the best budget servo around.Solar Servo D772 High Voltage 0.17sec@7.4v 64g Digital Metal Gear Run it on 7.4v, and it has pretty much the same amount of torque as a hitec 7955. Gears are super thick, and I've been running one for months, almost submerged. I run it on the rear of my wraith, the same place where i stripped out a 645, and a 5645 all in a matter of hours.

That Solar Servo specs are off compared to the video. Video say's 189 oz-in Torque @6v and 214 oz-in Torque @7.4v. So at $18 you are getting another RTR type of servo not worth the effort. Not the same as a HiTec......


EDIT
Never mind the video is of the Solar Servo D771......I would still question how well it will hold up. Maybe I should buy a couple and test them. I run HiTec 7950's....

[Harley]

Originally Posted by rcmedic

This is the best budget servo around.Solar Servo D772 High Voltage 0.17sec@7.4v 64g Digital Metal Gear Run it on 7.4v, and it has pretty much the same amount of torque as a hitec 7955. Gears are super thick, and I've been running one for months, almost submerged. I run it on the rear of my wraith, the same place where i stripped out a 645, and a 5645 all in a matter of hours.

I owned that servo and was hugely unimpressed, even for the money.

[Gravebane525]

I run the solar servo now, its slower then stock, but its stronger then stock. mine has held up thru a decent beating and some pretty major tumbles.

I've never had one of the good $130+ servos though so it might be why I'm impressed with it.

[2Crawl]

Originally Posted by Gravebane525

I run the solar servo now, its slower then stock, but its stronger then stock. mine has held up thru a decent beating and some pretty major tumbles.

I've never had one of the good $130+ servos though so it might be why I'm impressed with it.

That is funny you say it's slower, because the Solar Servo D771 in that video is hailed as being fast. That is not even the hi torque model. That one is the Solar Servo D772. Those both have metal gears. Does the stock RTR Wraith servo have metal gears?

[67mustang]

How can you be unimpressed by a $17.50 servo? You can buy 6 of them for the price of a th7950. Is there any other servo that has such a strong value?

If you have hobbies other than rc, or have multiple rcs, or you plan on going through mud or water, get the d772. If you have to have the best, or if you are gonna sell it off before you put 5 packs through it anyway, get the hitec.

Personally, I run the d772 at 8.0v with no heat great performance and success that I will be going to see how it does at 8.5v. I wouldnt run a d772 under 7.4...not enough power.

I have a th7950 that i got for my wraith, but its in my emaxx now where its more protected.

Its like the debate between a welded diff and an arb. If you spend 3000 bux on dual arbs, you will talk it up. If you weld up diffs front and rear with 20 worth of nicklerod, you will talk it up and scoff at anyone paying for an arb.