articulation hunt..lmk what you think

[going2fast]

I just want my wraith to be all around fun but able to go over some cool shit... so let me know if im on the right track for basic trail/creek/root and rock crawling .

so here is my set up now and what I just bought.
she was a poison spyder start off
king shocks
nice waterproof metal servo
jun drive shafts
front lipo straps {under the hood}
strc front c hubs
vanquish steering hubs
vanquish 4 link kit
strc steering links with axial metal ball inserts and proper end links
axial ring weight kit for stock bead locks {just front and no inserts}
super swampers with the foams they come with{normal size not xl}
strc universals {only because my buddy snapped the axial ones on his }

that's about it . I have a hh 13t with sv3 so no crazy power but im happy with speed and trq .

what oil do you recommend for shocks for what im doing {ish}
what shock placement out of the 3 possible mounting holes front and rear do most of you run?
do I NEED any other supporting mods to maximize suspension travel and articulation or am I on point or close enough ?

thanks guys

im not a noob I just went over board on my scx10 and bought a lot of crap I didn't need or didn't help .. just to have it end up looking like a wraith anyway .. so I want to avoid buying things I don't need .. I just want to set it and have fun. the wraith already does more than my scx10 did .. I just want it tuned great for overall

[Szczerba]

More than a tire height of flex is a waste.

[sic1to]

^^^x2 any more than tire is looks only

[going2fast]

so is what I have set pretty good then for crawling ? what weight oil should I use .. and what type .. sil or reg

[Szczerba]

Shock oil depends on how slow or fast you want your suspension to work. In general, I would start with 35 or 45wt, drive/crawl/do whatever and see what you think. It's a test and tune methodology.

[going2fast]

perfect thanks..i have plenty from 27.5-70wht so ill throw in some 35 team associated and go from there.. last but not least .. shock placement .. what do you guys recommend middle front or rear? again using stock three holes

[RockBiter]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

More than a tire height of flex is a waste.

I never heard this, now I am curious is that the general consensus for Wraiths or an opinion? I can see the reasoning because in an actual rock crawl you aren't normally going to be doing the (pint glass on a flat surface) type flexing. Now you got me wondering if my search for articulation is sacrificing performance? Yet another reason to tinker and play with the truck

[johnnyh66]

general consensus for scalers. Around a tire height... personally, I go a little less.

[going2fast]

Originally Posted by RockBiter

I never heard this, now I am curious is that the general consensus for Wraiths or an opinion? I can see the reasoning because in an actual rock crawl you aren't normally going to be doing the (pint glass on a flat surface) type flexing. Now you got me wondering if my search for articulation is sacrificing performance? Yet another reason to tinker and play with the truck

that's my big thing... I don't want to go backwards and hurt performance lol.. did that in my scx10 and I had stock rigs kicking my ass . sucked a lot.

[Sevastra]

Too much articulation and the rig suffers horribly from torque twist, very wobbly to drive at any kind of speed, and constantly gets wheels stuck under ledges, holes, and canyons, and becomes a parts breaker fairly quickly. Keep the weight down low if you can, same with the ride height. It's better to scrape the belly pan climbing rocks and etc than to have it sitting high and top heavy. Will go more places, and won't roll over as easy. The tire height of flex suggestion is a great start. From there tune it for your driving style & environment.

I'm not too familiar with some of the parts you posted. But I do recommend getting a soft compound tire. Be careful with some of the STRC stuff. Some is decent, some is junk. You may end up spending more replacing weak parts than if you buy the good ones from the get go.

Some of the servos advertised as waterproof are weaker than cheaper servos that aren't blatantly advertised as such. Take your time, get a good one. Many modern servos are waterproofed already, read the details.

Overall I believe you'd have a solid rig from the parts you posted.

[Szczerba]

Had this chat with a club member the other day, so the pictures are fresh. All are close to full flex.
Too much flex drops holes in tires, binds suspension, messed with center of gravity, etc.
Here are 4 of my rigs/projects. See the trend. All types of trucks.

[o0wiz0o]

Slightly off Topic but draws attention to flex ain't everything. (2:24s is the fun and embarrassment for owners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNPZFNOK-4

[going2fast]

awesome .. thanks guys . ill test and see how she does next week

[Sevastra]

Originally Posted by o0wiz0o

Slightly off Topic but draws attention to flex ain't everything. (2:24s is the fun and embarrassment for owners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNPZFNOK-4

That's a perfect example. 'Course the blue defender could've greatly benefited from a set of lockers too.

[johnnyh66]

limited flex is great for sidehilling and floating a wheel over a gap.

[o0wiz0o]

Bugs are always good a crawling....no fair.

[RockBiter]

Thanks for the question going2fast and the answers from the crew, I just totally learned something.

[maslin]

4.5" under the tire on mine, works great. Doesn't unload in the air and carries nicely over gaps

[John_Fizel]

I didn't notice mention of good foams. CrawlerInnovations.com has the ticket. Huge improvement. One of the best investments you can make in performance.

John

[SouthernComfort]

I'm almost at 7" and no probs of Over travel.