Rookie Spawn Build

[TheBigRigger122]

Hey everyone, just found this forum about a week back. I am what you would call a newbie in the RC world. To start things off I got an Axial Wraith Spawn back in January. Since then Ive done some upgrades and learned some things. Im also mainly into just crawling with the occasional trail run. Not so much into going fast over rocks.

A list of some upgrades:
VP Titanium Upper and Lower Links
VP Titanium Steering Links
VP Chassis Mounted Servo
VP Pan Hard Kit
Hot Racing Metal Transmission Gears
Moved the battery into the hood/dash area
Removed Cheesy Interior
Tapped the breather holes on my wheels because the stock foams are getting too soft

Right now Im kinda at a stand still on buying parts, just trying to find ways to improve my rig without spending or maybe just spending a little if possible. Im also running into a problem with my pan hard bar limiting my travel. Im assuming that its gonna happen when crawling and articulating but when trail running it tends to travel weird and bounce around. Next big upgrade is most likely going to be new shocks and tires. Also possibly making body panels and inner fenders. Im always open to suggestions and advice. Here is some pictures of my rig from then to now.

[URL=http://s1222.photobucket.com/user/Jbrunner122/media/IMG_1634_zpsctzmurvm.jpg.html][/
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[jvh22a]

like the view.

do you notice a difference with all the upgrades?

[SoCal Crawlr]

Awesome, you started with the right truck. Good job on carefully picking your upgrades, nothing worse than having to re-upgrade your upgrades

[84yoda]

How are you liking the body clips? I was goin to do same thing but wasn't sure if I was goin to like them. I hate loosing body clips.

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by 84yoda

How are you liking the body clips? I was goin to do same thing but wasn't sure if I was goin to like them. I hate loosing body clips.

The body clips are great if you are running the full spawn body. Havent lost any yet.. fingers crossed. I just recently cut the back half of the roof off and had to use some body screws to keep the body firm.

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by jvh22a

like the view.

do you notice a difference with all the upgrades?

lol glad you like it, i try to make my shots scenic. As far as increase in ability, it seems to respond better instead of being "squishy" with all the plastic parts. I did notice a loss when i put the pan hard kit in, I might have the lengths wrong on the links. Still need help with that.

[SCREAMER]

Congrats on the new toy. I just bought a Spawn about a month ago so I know where you're at as far as trying to figure out what mods give the most gains. Moving the battery to the front was definitely the right move for your intended purpose. Made a huge difference in mine as far as climbing goes. I've already put an embarrassing amount of money into mine and spent 10 times as much time wrenching as I have driving it. I would say your next mod should be a good set of shocks. I personally went with the Pro-line's off of a suggestion from one of Harley's threads and I am extremely pleased with them. Much better feel, control, adjustability, and zero leaks. I dropped from the stock 30w oil and filled the PL's with 20 weight. Good luck and have fun!

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by SCREAMER

Congrats on the new toy. I just bought a Spawn about a month ago so I know where you're at as far as trying to figure out what mods give the most gains. Moving the battery to the front was definitely the right move for your intended purpose. Made a huge difference in mine as far as climbing goes. I've already put an embarrassing amount of money into mine and spent 10 times as much time wrenching as I have driving it. I would say your next mod should be a good set of shocks. I personally went with the Pro-line's off of a suggestion from one of Harley's threads and I am extremely pleased with them. Much better feel, control, adjustability, and zero leaks. I dropped from the stock 30w oil and filled the PL's with 20 weight. Good luck and have fun!

That was the next thing Im saving up for along with new axles/chubs and knuckles, was just gonna go with a set of kings.. but everyone seems to be saying the pro-lines. I have no knowledge of shocks for these and oil weight.

[TheBigRigger122]

Also just curious for future purpose. Recommendations for axle housings. Thinking about getting the Vanquish Curries. What would be the advantage of those vs like a metal replacement of the stock style.

[SCREAMER]

I'd recommend beef tubes. Cheap, easy to install, add weight in the right area, and strengthen the housing. Plus you keep the stock plastic outer that glides over everything. Don't get me wrong, Curries are badass but for around $300 bucks for the 2 you can get a lot of much needed "bulletproofing" in many other areas. You mentioned king shocks. I believe these and other branded shocks such as icon are more bling than bang for the buck. Go with Pro-lines and have zero regrets.

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by SCREAMER

I'd recommend beef tubes. Cheap, easy to install, add weight in the right area, and strengthen the housing. Plus you keep the stock plastic outer that glides over everything. Don't get me wrong, Curries are badass but for around $300 bucks for the 2 you can get a lot of much needed "bulletproofing" in many other areas. You mentioned king shocks. I believe these and other branded shocks such as icon are more bling than bang for the buck. Go with Pro-lines and have zero regrets.

Cool, Ill check those out. Do you maybe have a website you find most of your parts, I have a hard time trusting random websites for these kind of parts. I figured the kings were "flashy". Guy at the hobby shop talked them up pretty good but it seems like he just wants to sell the "high end" stuff.

[sdmf]

Pro line shocks. Man you still need cvds and VP stage 1 before thinking about curries. Have you moved your battery up front yet? The tactic servo is OK for a bit, but severely underpowered for 2.2s. Especially when you get better tires, usually bigger too.

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by sdmf

Pro line shocks. Man you still need cvds and VP stage 1 before thinking about curries. Have you moved your battery up front yet? The tactic servo is OK for a bit, but severely underpowered for 2.2s. Especially when you get better tires, usually bigger too.

Oh for sure. It was more of a future based question to get the dream of having curries out of my head if there is a better option. What is a cvds? Battery is moved and I have noticed the servo is starting to struggle, like i mentioned before i think i have the panhard/steering links set up wrong..

[sdmf]

Originally Posted by TheBigRigger122

Oh for sure. It was more of a future based question to get the dream of having curries out of my head if there is a better option. What is a cvds? Battery is moved and I have noticed the servo is starting to struggle, like i mentioned before i think i have the panhard/steering links set up wrong..

Cms can be horrid or OK, depending on your setup, and it is really a visual thing more than performance. I run on the axle, its easy and there's no bumpsteer. Cvds, are the front drive axles, vanquish calls them vvds. They allow better turning radius without binding. Personally, I wouldn't spend the $ on curries. Plastic housings are like 10$ the other 290$ you didn't spend on curries, you could buy a scx10. Or buy a DMG stiffy or bgr cage.

[SCREAMER]

I get a lot of my stuff from RPP. Great service and update selection every day. Best part is the Wraith specific shopping section. They ship fast too. I haven't heard anything great about kings but everyone loves Pro-lines, including me. Lol. Regarding the stock tactic servo, it's not bad once you install a castle bec set to 6 volts. Makes it feel a lot stronger for $20 bucks. A decent servo is at least $50-$60 bucks. I forgot to mention Axial universals. Almost twice the steering angle and much much stronger for around $30 bucks. I highly recommend doing these soon if you can.

[db450]

Originally Posted by TheBigRigger122

Cool, Ill check those out. Do you maybe have a website you find most of your parts, I have a hard time trusting random websites for these kind of parts. I figured the kings were "flashy". Guy at the hobby shop talked them up pretty good but it seems like he just wants to sell the "high end" stuff.

rpphobby.com FTW!! nice rig you got going so far. and another vote for the pro-lines. i got 4 of the slash rears and 2 tuning sets and love them! i had a set of the kings from rc4wd and didnt like them. they looked great but were a pain in the a$$ to tune, and even then still didn't dampen very well. also leaked a lot of oil. also, the icon shocks from axial are a great choice and come on the spawn kit version.

[db450]

also, don't get the curries. get an axle with a larger pinion bearing. will save you headache in the long run.

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by db450

rpphobby.com FTW!! nice rig you got going so far. and another vote for the pro-lines. i got 4 of the slash rears and 2 tuning sets and love them! i had a set of the kings from rc4wd and didnt like them. they looked great but were a pain in the a$$ to tune, and even then still didn't dampen very well. also leaked a lot of oil. also, the icon shocks from axial are a great choice and come on the spawn kit version.

Thanks man! I guess pro-lines are the way to go! lol I really like the scale look of kings. Any thoughts on the g-made shocks? I love the piggy back look of a shock.

[db450]

Originally Posted by TheBigRigger122

Thanks man! I guess pro-lines are the way to go! lol I really like the scale look of kings. Any thoughts on the g-made shocks? I love the piggy back look of a shock.

yeah so do i, and it killed me not keeping the kings since they looked so good, but hated everything else about them LOL i have heard good things about the gmade shocks though, but i've never ran them so i couldnt tell ya

[TheBigRigger122]

Originally Posted by db450

yeah so do i, and it killed me not keeping the kings since they looked so good, but hated everything else about them LOL i have heard good things about the gmade shocks though, but i've never ran them so i couldnt tell ya

Decisions decisions..... lol YOU GUYS ARE KILLING MY DREAMS! I appreciate the feed back though.