Apparently "Ultra" wasn't enough

[snicklefritz]

Originally Posted by Rockpiledriver

You won't be the only person testing on race day. Good luck, and see ya there.

It was a fun event! Thanks for all the hard work you guys put into U4RC. I think you're onto something here with this style of racing.

Originally Posted by Bronco Bobby

Good luck at the race

Thanks for your help with my electronics the other night. I ended up pulling the bec out to do the quick start on the MMP. And pulling the horn off the servo seemed to work for the start up. Everything went together and worked fine. The MMP and 3500 pro4 on 2s was a good set up for U4.

My race day setup:
Mamba Max Pro esc w/ 20% dragbrake
Tekin Pro4 3500kv sensored brushless motor
Castle bec @6.0
Savox SC-1232SG servo
Vanquish aluminum servo posts
32p gears 54 tooth traxxas spur, 14 tooth Robinson pinion
Robinson Racing transmission gears
MIP drivelines
Level3RC shock droop kit
Helion aluminum shocks
Vanquish suspension links
STRC steering knuckles, C-hubs, and steering links
RC4WD steel front bumper braces
Spektrum SR300 receiver, DX3C controller
Proline Epic beadlocks (non weighted)
Axial Ripsaw tires
Turnigy 3300 2s lipo

[snicklefritz]

My biggest problem of the day ended up being something I thought was rock solid. In the first heat one of the Vanquish lower links pulled out of the Revo rod end at the skid plate side. This allowed the axle to move forward and the MIP's pulled apart. That put me out of that race. The other problem was my wheels. The front tires were trying to unseat themselves. I put a new rod end on and reseated the beads and waited for the Last Chance Qualifier.

The LCQ went extremely well. My driving style for the day was "keep a cool head and don't make mistakes". Worked well and I ran a clean heat and ended up 2nd so I moved on to the Main. The wheels were not holding the tires again so I had to reseat the beadlocks again. Luckily my neighbor in the pits helped me out with a power wrench and some tire glue.

The main was going well, I was in second again about halfway through when the same link popped out after a tumble down the hill. I tried to pop it back in and get back in the race but it wasn't having it.

Turns out I won't need that stinking link anymore because I scored a Blue Monkey IFS conversion kit in the giveaway after the race. Woo Hoo!!

So I'll sacrifice the front end off my EXO for that conversion and be ready for the next season of U4. I also procured a Jevne Racing battery plate at the races so I'll be putting that in. My other plans are some softer springs on my shocks, Pitbull tires, and retiring those plastic beadlocks. I'll try out my TSS Robby Gordon aluminum beadlocks next time.

[Bronco Bobby]

Good job bro. Do those links have metric threads? All the stock style ax10 links I have ran on my wife's and daughters would either bend or pull out. I only run 8-32 thread in the revo rods now. At least in the lower links. It seems to fail on jump landings (I know jumping a crawler is against the rules)

[snicklefritz]

Thanks dude. Hopefully you can make it out to a race, I think you would like it.

The links were the Vanquish ones and I'm not sure what the thread is. I don't think it had big enough threads, the rod ends went on too easy. At least compared to how you have to force them onto 8/32 all thread.

I'll start reading up on some of these other wrexo builds before I tear into it. I'm pretty excited about the implications, the wrexos at the race yesterday were walking away from the pack. They had good drivers, for sure, but they were set up well too. I may be on the lookout for an exo roller if I don't want to take mine out of commission. Then again, making the exo chassis into a trophy truck sounds like a winner, too.

[Bronco Bobby]

Yea a solid axle exo would be sexy

[snicklefritz]

Dana Delany sexy.

[northkona]

That doesn't sound right with the Vanquish rods and Traxxas rod ends, mine were so damn tight to screw on I had to put a driver thru the ball to get some leverage. Maybe a dud set of rod ends ? I'd look at Traxxas before Vanquish to screw something up.
Was there a 2S limit for this race ? 3S really gets these things moving and still really controllable crawling, thats with the pro4 not the HD.
Great setup, gotta love the VP bling.

[snicklefritz]

I agree with you, I've used a bunch of different VP stuff and their quality is second to none, but I think I got a dud. It was the same link that popped out in both races. The first rod end was the one that came with the kit, the second one I used was a new one from Traxxas, leftover from when I made links for my scx-10. It screwed on too easy. In hindsight I should have used some CA glue with it. Oh well, this was my first competitive race ever so I think I learned some valuable lessons, like leave nothing to chance.

There was no limit to 2s. Electronics were completely open to use whatever you want. 2s was my choice and it turned out ok. I'll stick with that for now because honestly the only time I had the throttle pegged was on the short, flat straight away and maybe 3s would have made me squirrelly. I was able to take the 2 jumps and land them too. It looked like the winning ticket was to be consistent and not flip. A good line through the rocks and not tumbling down the hill were the best ways to shave time off the laps. Maybe next time I'll bring some 3s in case I think I need it. If I dial in my suspension I might.

I didn't take one picture out there but there were 2 photographers who took about 1000 pictures each. When they post up their stuff I'll link it here.

[snicklefritz]

Here's a link to 900 pics. My "Racer 5" Wraith is seen in action!

Flickr: astronut101a's Photostream

Thank you, James Goad for all the pics!

[northkona]

That looks very cool, I saw some video of some racing there and it was a lot of carnage, looked like great fun.

[Rockpiledriver]

Here's a sample of said carnage. Congrats on the Blue Monkey IFS kit snicklefritz.

[ickabob]

Nice write up Snickle, can't wait to see your truck.

[snicklefritz]

I bet you can't wait to get back out there! Can you get out in the garage yet?

[evan03]

Sounds like a sweet race. Thanks for sharing

[Steelfish]

now.. this is a great jump coming from a rock racer... sick!!




btw, how do you reinforce the rear axle shafts for bending from those jumps?
I like to jump my baja wraith but I hate to keep bending and straighten those axle shafts, now I just run them bit bent until finding a best option, there are some custom Ti rear shafts but right now they $$ bit high for me.

[z50king]

you land correctly, that's how. Any rig can safely jump if they can downside a landing.

[snicklefritz]

That is sick!

Check these out for your rear axles. I haven't used them, but I think I'll look into some beef tubes. The price is decent and they add some weight down low.

Beef Tubes:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axles...s-finally.html

[ickabob]

Originally Posted by snicklefritz

That is sick!

Check these out for your rear axles. I haven't used them, but I think I'll look into some beef tubes. The price is decent and they add some weight down low.

Beef Tubes:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axles...s-finally.html

That's the right way to start a u4 rig.

[kakachille]

any updates / pics on this

[snicklefritz]

Maybe later today, right now I've been busy reading other wrexo builds before I decide to really put this IFS kit on. I probably will but it will be a little different than the rest. I want the finished product to be bulletproof but also made with off the shelf parts so I can actually fix something at the track if it breaks, you know? The exo front end is pretty weak and prone to breakage when used on the car it was designed for.