Twisted the steering knuckles on my Wraith.

[fyrstormer]

So, this happened:



Kinda inevitable, I suppose, but what can I do to prevent it happening again? I was thinking of getting the Vanquish scale steering knuckles, because they have two mounting points, which should prevent the steering link from being able to twist the knuckle. Are there any other options I should consider?

[Percymon]

Not sure what brand you had but I suspect that the likes of GPM Racing /topCad /integy are all pretty much the same.

[fyrstormer]

It was TopCAD, but unless someone has invented some magical kind of aluminum that's as strong as steel, I suspect something like this will happen to any aluminum knuckle with this design eventually. I mean, I'm running the highest-torque servo I could find, with no servo-saver and titanium linkages, so there is no part of the steering system that will gracefully absorb shock to the steering system.

Speaking of which, does anyone make piston-style servo savers that fit in place of the steering link?

[gillbily23]

I have the STRC ones and they have held up with no issues. New STRC Precision Aluminum Steering Knuckles Axial Wraith STA80061BK | eBay They make them in the green as well but not sure how well the color will match up with the TOPCAD green.

[fyrstormer]

I saw those. Why do the stock steering knuckles have those extra mounting points behind the axle, which the Wraith doesn't use? And why did STRC copy them? They serve no purpose on this vehicle. Stuff like that annoys me.

[Percymon]

Originally Posted by fyrstormer

Speaking of which, does anyone make piston-style servo savers that fit in place of the steering link?

Gmade / Junfac used to do a couple , normal rated at 1.2Kg/mm and a hard version at 1.7Kg/mm, but they are discontinued I think. They were 135mm eye to eye so maybe not suitable for a Wraith anyway.

[Towjoe02]

Pretty sure there are different grades of aluminum from soft to hard. A lot of good quality parts are made from 7075 aluminum which I was told is like aircraft grade aluminiun.

[mr dave]

Originally Posted by fyrstormer

I saw those. Why do the stock steering knuckles have those extra mounting points behind the axle, which the Wraith doesn't use? And why did STRC copy them? They serve no purpose on this vehicle. Stuff like that annoys me.

You're right, they serve no purpose on the Wraith, so that's why most people cut them off. But if you had an XR-10 front axle, that's where the drag link would go.

For buying hop-up parts, I like to think of it this way...there's a guy just like you working in a US factory making parts from high grade aluminum that needs to pay his bills and support his family, just like you need to.

[Percymon]

I've bought the Stage 1 Vanquish kit - it arrived yesterday, looks pretty good quality - Amain hobbies shipping was reasonable, and I avoided the dreaded UK import duty - quite happy with the end result. I've used KMRacing (appear 99.9999% the same as STRC) parts on both my Cr-01 builds and I've been ahppy with those too.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by fyrstormer

So, this happened:

Kinda inevitable, I suppose, but what can I do to prevent it happening again? I was thinking of getting the Vanquish scale steering knuckles, because they have two mounting points, which should prevent the steering link from being able to twist the knuckle. Are there any other options I should consider?

Originally Posted by Percymon

Not sure what brand you had but I suspect that the likes of GPM Racing /topCad /integy are all pretty much the same.

Thanks for the pic, I love carnage pics!

Those are some cheap Chinese brand low grade aluminum and that was going to happen sooner or later. Buy the new VP double shear mount type knuckles and be done, I'd buy matching c-hubs while you're at it.

[gillbily23]

Originally Posted by fyrstormer

I saw those. Why do the stock steering knuckles have those extra mounting points behind the axle, which the Wraith doesn't use? And why did STRC copy them? They serve no purpose on this vehicle. Stuff like that annoys me.

You can use them instead of using the Ackerman mounts. I just switched the left and right knuckles and casters so that the double tabs would be facing forward and it still keeps the camber the same.

[fyrstormer]

Originally Posted by Towjoe02

Pretty sure there are different grades of aluminum from soft to hard. A lot of good quality parts are made from 7075 aluminum which I was told is like aircraft grade aluminiun.

There are, yes, but one of the inherent properties of aluminum is that it WILL eventually fail after enough load cycles, no matter how light the load is. I think iron may be the same. With steel and titanium, however, below a certain load the part will never fail. So yeah, harder aluminum will resist failure for longer, possibly outlasting the vehicle, but there's no guarantee.

I suppose that's why the more expensive brands use bolt-on steel shear-mounts. I just wasn't expecting this to happen, because I have GPM or TopCAD hubs on all my other vehicles and they've never bent even a little. Obviously I forgot to factor-in the effect of having no servo-saver.

[fyrstormer]

Originally Posted by mr dave

For buying hop-up parts, I like to think of it this way...there's a guy just like you working in a US factory making parts from high grade aluminum that needs to pay his bills and support his family, just like you need to.

I get it, I just don't like to spend money unless it actually does buy me higher quality. This is the first time I've had CCC (cheap chinese c[omponents]) fail on one of my vehicles. Those guys working in Chinese factories need to feed their kids too. For now I'll just go back to using the stock knuckles, until I can decide what I want to try next.

STRC will probably win, because they make green parts and I already have their green shock caps, and they use bolt-on steel shear-mounts. I guess I'll just suck it up and deal with the extra bits hanging off the back, unless someone can persuade Vanquish to make a run of green steering knuckles.

[muddinscx]

Originally Posted by fyrstormer

It was TopCAD, but unless someone has invented some magical kind of aluminum that's as strong as steel, I suspect something like this will happen to any aluminum knuckle with this design eventually. I mean, I'm running the highest-torque servo I could find, with no servo-saver and titanium linkages, so there is no part of the steering system that will gracefully absorb shock to the steering system.

Speaking of which, does anyone make piston-style servo savers that fit in place of the steering link?

Well sir, there is good and bad types of aluminum. There is different types of aluminum. Not saying you are ignorant, but you may need to freshen up on your metal types and what company uses what kind.

Its like a car, there is high quality cars that last a long time and there are some, like you Yugo, that should have never been made.

[fyrstormer]

I addressed different grades of aluminum in a subsequent post.

[lawhorn_derrick]

Wish I had known you needed green sooner. I just stripped a set of strc over the weekend and polished them to sell as I figured nobody would want the green.

[fyrstormer]

Damn. Oh well.