Couple quick wraith questions

[squeaky3]

Ok well last night after bashing around in my buddys garage with a few guys I broke mine. First time lost a screw that held the hub on the axle but got that fixed and lasted for a couple more hours before it started making a clicking sound so I stopped.

Tore it apart today and found that the plastic gear in the trans stripped out in one spot. So now I am looking to upgrade it. I know there is different gear ratios for them. I want to upgrade to a slightly better crawl ratio and metal gears so I dont strip it out again.



Also found that the cage doesnt like rubbing on the concrete. Any way to protect it and the screws that hold the body panels and cage together from getting beat up to much without putting a whole body on it?

Lastly I need to put some weight in the wheels. Its it easier to bake the factory tires and break them down and put some weight in them then reglue them or get new aftermarket wheels and tires for it and weight them. Would rather not have to buy new tires if I can get away with doing the factory wheel.

[Eric0424]

You don't need metal gears but you probably do need 32pitch, the 32p gear are much stronger and can handle the load of ht Wraith. If you want metal gears that's fine, it's they're not mandatory for reliability. The 32 pitch gears are strong enough for the Wraith.

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like you may need to tighten up your gear mesh a little. The bad teeth aren't completely gone, just the tops seem to be ground down a bit. That usually indicates a loose gear mesh.

Not much you can do about the body and exposed screws getting scarred and scratched.

I've never had much luck separating glued tires and wheels, some have but I usually damage the wheels or tires and most of the time it's at least one of each. Some use acetone, others have baked them in an oven and still others have boiled them on the stove. Seems each method has some success and some failures, but some wheels don't like the oven or the acetone or the boiling water.

[squeaky3]

Thanks I do need to set the mesh a little tighter. It might be ok for now but I know it wont last. So I should switch to the 32 pitch gears instead of the 48 pitch? I was looking into metal gears because I broke the plastic ones after short time of use. If the 32 pitch are stronger and no need to upgrade to metal I will do that instead.

I want weighted wheels but these are my only set as I am just getting into rc crawling. Thats why im a lil iffy on putting them in the oven but then I dont wanna spend money on wheels and tires if I dont have to.

[sic1to]

Boil the tires off with no damage at all is how I did it(4 sets). Use youtube to guide you! Btw if you got the poison spider wraith those bfg tires are a lil hard(not r35 compound)so boiling or baking be fine.I would upgrade to beadlocks so can add/remove weight & have tire options later.
Dont sweat the panel bolts.
32p spur & pinion gear is wise, you want it to be strong but not bulletproof! Let the spur gear act as a fuse breaking 1st instead of mo $$$ parts

[Eric0424]

Yeah, the 32-pitch are strong enough, I've been running the same 32p 62 tooth spur in my 4x4 short course truck for more than two years now. It runs an LRP X12L 5.0 on 3s regularly and Tekin Pro4 HD 4300 on 2S, hasn't stripped one yet.

[squeaky3]

Ok thanks guys. I have the rtr with the ripsaw tires. Only thing I have done to it is a 5000 30c lipo and a new front steering link. I need to order the correct new servo horn for it. Factory one stripped out and I ordered a 24t instead of the correct 25t.

I will watch some youtube videos and see if I can get the tires off tomorrow. Suggestions for cheap weight that can be found like around the house?

[Sevastra]

Stop by the autoshop store and pick up a set of automotive sticky wheel weights. They come in a strip, and can be clipped off in quarter ounce incriments. Peel the paper off the sticky side, and put them inside the wheel. If done properly you don't have to dismount the tire, but this can cause clearance issues pending your setup. Best way to do it is dismount the tire and put them on the outside of the wheel between the bead grooves.

32 pitch gears are deffinetly the way to go. If you get the metal gears look up Harley's advice thread on the Robinson Racing gear & slipper setup. Running one on a high powered wraith without any issues, and loving it. However, as mentioned above a plastic 32p gear is strong enough and has one more additional advantage not mentioned so far.. It provides a cheap repair point to keep from damaging more expensive components should you get bound up and etc.

[Eric0424]

Originally Posted by Sevastra

...and has one more additional advantage not mentioned so far.. It provides a cheap repair point to keep from damaging more expensive components should you get bound up and etc.

sic1to mentioned it, just not quite as clearly.

[tow216re]

Or you can still get the weighs tires and rims or save some cash and check utube for a free battery forward mod a little time and no cash and that moves a lot of your weight forward

tow216re

[Dtomblin]

Couldn't he just add some weight on the axle and do the battery forward and accomplish the same thing with no extra rotational mass for the motor to lug around?

[squeaky3]

I am in the process of moving the battery forward but it doesnt seem as easy as it should be to hold it down, gotta figure that out. Gonna watch some more youtube vids on it.

I saw somewhere that someone put hose clamps on the front axle for weight, what else could be put on the axle for weight?

[John_Fizel]

Look into beef tubes. Great for mounting the hubs to, strengthens the axle, and adds weight right where you want it.

[squeaky3]

Ok so I am getting ready to order some 32p gears for my Wraith finally. I want a little more low end than the factory gears but I dont wanna go too deep and loose a bunch of top end. I was looking into maybe a 54/10 set. Currently has 80/20 48p setup.

Also where is the best place to get the gears?

[Eric0424]

Tower, A-Main and Omni have decent prices, you can also find some good deals on e-Bay.

Right now you're at 4.0:1, dropping to 5.4:1 will be a considerable drop in speed. If you want a little more bottom end without loosing too much top end try 54/12, that would be 4.5:1 or 54/11 at 4.9:1. You'll get more torque but still retain some of your current speed.