cheap or free mods that work well

[cruiserbrandon]

I've done a lot of tinkering and found creative ways to make the wraith function much more impressive in stock form. Obviously tire weight and trimming body are a given but let's see some out of the box thinking.

My proudest would be the bottle of Lucas engine oil conditioner for shock oil . I might be crazy but my buddies $2500 wraith still can't quite stick to stuff and walk lines as well as my bone stock wraith with lowering kit and very heavy shock oil. The reason this works is when cruising they articulate very well but when you cant make a line just back off and bump it and it carries a tire right over the obsticle. Another huge plus since it's so heavy it can't leak therefore making the stock shocks a huge bargain.

Second would be a fairly common conversion but it just further emphasis the heavy shock oil and that is putting long bolts through the lower shock ends and running them to the lower control arm speed hole. Allows for a droop style suspension and basically doubles the travel when flexing.

Anyone want to add your creative cheap or free home grown ideas?

[curts1g]

I have used spare servo horns for upper shock mounts. They give about a inch more droop.

[Ty@Tekin]

Flipping the link mounts on the axles lowers the ride height a bit and you can also flip the uppers in the rear for a bit more lowering.

Move the battery up front under the hood sideways in front of the firewall.

[CapnSwagga]

^^ first thing that should be done out of the box

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[yellow1000]

Don't you bottom out more with the reduced ride height ?


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[maslin]

Originally Posted by yellow1000

Don't you bottom out more with the reduced ride height ?


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Don't you flip over more with increased ride height?

Plastic slides, gravity doesn't.

[Nix951980]

Swapping out the 2 hole piston in your shocks with the 3 hole piston on your parts tree helps soften the suspension.

[3stage]

In terms of free mods, the battery up front mod is supposed to be the first on any wraith owner's list.. It really helps keep that front end down when climbing steep grades.

Right now I am running 80W gear oil (Belray!) in my plastic body shocks together with the 3 hole pistons and I am really liking the damping and rebound rates I am seeing. I am still testing it out to see how it affects crawling performance but so far I like how controlled the vehicle is in the rough stuff. It still flexes very well at slow - medium speeds and I have not picked up on any downsides as yet. (a side benefit as mentioned prior is the heavier oil is not leaking past the seals, so the shocks stay fully functional longer)

An important tip for all is to keep a check for bearings seizing up! I just changed out 9 bad bearings in my wraith!! 5 of which had seized up completely! ((2) 10x15 carrier bearings from rear diff, (1) 15x21, (1) 8x16 and (1) 5x10 from inside the transfer case is what had seized. The rest are running rough and were changed out also.) I did a lot of water crossings and mud runs within the last few weeks..

Then there is the driveshaft mod you do by using the spare female ends included in the RTR kits to sleeve the exposed spline on the driveshaft. Leave at least a 1/4" of exposed spline to accommodate the slipyoke movement. The male spline is prone to getting twisted and this mod has held out nicely for me.. I had twisted the rear shaft a few months back..

Last is to check your slipper clutch to ensure it is not seized up.. I had to pry mines apart with a fine screwdriver, it was well stuck! I added a very fine coat of grease to it to ensure it doesn't bind up again. I set the clutch spring tension by chucking the wheels and giving it some heavy throttle until the slipper just starts to slip, this way you are sure it will do its job when you bind up!

[Odd-M]

This is the free drive shaft mod 3stage mentioned. I actually run these with a strong Tekin 4-pole now and they seem to hold up just fine.

[Bansh88]

Some heavy oil! I run 10wt. I'm pretty much riding on springs. Stays low. I'm geared almost as low as possible with a 45t Holmes.

[curts1g]

You can also make links for cheap. I used 1/4" steel tubing, 8/32 all thread, and revo rod ends to make mine. Also you can make inner fenders out of sheet metal for a little bit of a scale appearance.

[Geck0Jeep]

i did the battery forward mod, and Star Cut tires foam as well....seems to work pretty good so far.

[3stage]

Cut tires if you feeling to go more extreme.. I cut my S40 BFGs and they bite much better in the dirt now.



Rears


Fronts


I cut more out of the rear.. Left more lugs in front in an effort to not compromise steering performance too much while at speed.

[mckameyzhiy]

I have used spare servo horns for upper shock mounts

[Tweeternpi]

I have the PS Wraith with the bead lock wheels, Removed the foams out of them. For me it help a lot. The tires are a harder compound so with the foams out that flex over rocks better.

[3stage]

Originally Posted by Tweeternpi

I have the PS Wraith with the bead lock wheels, Removed the foams out of them. For me it help a lot. The tires are a harder compound so with the foams out that flex over rocks better.

I had tried this. Forward bite had seemed to improve but I lost a lot of stability.. my wraith kept rolling in places I used to pass before. What I noticed was a rear tire would collapse under load in an off camber section and that would make me roll over quite easily.. got frustrating after a while and I reinstalled the cut foams I had..

[Axial Rose]

Originally Posted by 3stage

Then there is the driveshaft mod you do by using the spare female ends included in the RTR kits to sleeve the exposed spline on the driveshaft. Leave at least a 1/4" of exposed spline to accommodate the slipyoke movement. The male spline is prone to getting twisted and this mod has held out nicely for me.. I had twisted the rear shaft a few months back . . .

I'm not familiar with this mod. I'm building a Wraith kit and it came with two driveshaft trees. To make this mod, would I cut off the end of a female shaft and slide it over the exposed part of the male shaft (leaving a 1/4" clearance) or should I use two female shafts, cut off the end of a male shaft and put it between the female shafts (still keeping a 1/4" clearance between female shafts when fully compressed)?

Thanks

[3stage]

I left a 1/4" gap at resting height.. that was enough to accommodate for compression. The smaller the gap, the more strength, just make sure nothing binds under full suspension travel.

You can perform this mod both ways mentioned. The free floating male end inside two female ends works as well.. but I personally preferred the 1st method.. sleeving the exposed male end with a female.. which ever method has the greatest spline engagement will be strongest.

One other mention. I saw some guys place a solid metal rod inside the hollow driveshaft. That solid metal rod keeps the overall shaft straight and also helps prevent twistage..

[DTB1]

Originally Posted by 3stage

I left a 1/4" gap at resting height.. that was enough to accommodate for compression. The smaller the gap, the more strength, just make sure nothing binds under full suspension travel.

You can perform this mod both ways mentioned. The free floating male end inside two female ends works as well.. but I personally preferred the 1st method.. sleeving the exposed male end with a female.. which ever method has the greatest spline engagement will be strongest.

One other mention. I saw some guys place a solid metal rod inside the hollow driveshaft. That solid metal rod keeps the overall shaft straight and also helps prevent twistage..

That's what I did. 2 females with one brass solid rod inside of the male end that floats between the two female ends. Very strong hasn't broke yet on 3s 10 turn brushless motor.

[_m_urph]

I also did the driveshaft mod. I cut some M6 hex bolts to use in the hollow of the male section. I used the free float method.