Finally, upgrading my Wraith

[ren.dnb]

Well 4 years ago I got into the RC hobby and had to get out of it a year later. My son wanted to get back into it recently so now, I'm back in lol. Started off just bashing with my 2wd basher, but my son wanted to try out a crawler. I'm still waiting to buy his Everest 10, and in the mean time I figured I might as well upgrade that Wraith kit I built up 4 years ago.

I know over time, it will cost me more than just buying something else, but I built the Wraith, and don't want to get rid of it.

So, first up on the upgrade list... New upper and lower links. I picked up the Incision Stainless Steel links (complete with steering linkage!) and popped them on.





I need to adjust the ends on the steering link as there is a little too much toe in.


Next up, doing the hinged hood I've seen on here (got the parts already), and then replacing the plastic stock shocks with aluminum shocks.

Also, eventually I'll be replacing the body... I totally screwed up the paint type on it and its peeling.

[Ptice]

Originally Posted by ren.dnb

Well 4 years ago I got into the RC hobby and had to get out of it a year later. My son wanted to get back into it recently so now, I'm back in lol. Started off just bashing with my 2wd basher, but my son wanted to try out a crawler. I'm still waiting to buy his Everest 10, and in the mean time I figured I might as well upgrade that Wraith kit I built up 4 years ago.

I know over time, it will cost me more than just buying something else, but I built the Wraith, and don't want to get rid of it.

So, first up on the upgrade list... New upper and lower links. I picked up the Incision Stainless Steel links (complete with steering linkage!) and popped them on.





I need to adjust the ends on the steering link as there is a little too much toe in.


Next up, doing the hinged hood I've seen on here (got the parts already), and then replacing the plastic stock shocks with aluminum shocks.

Also, eventually I'll be replacing the body... I totally screwed up the paint type on it and its peeling.

Keep us up to date, what shocks did you go with?

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

[Brake Weight]

I've read that the paint can be removed with brake fluid. Never tried it and you'd need to search for the technique.

[ren.dnb]

Originally Posted by Ptice

Keep us up to date, what shocks did you go with?

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Still figuring out the shocks. I want something decent, and also nice to my wallet. LHS has some in, but they're all 50-60 bucks a pair. Also haven't been actively looking for them yet.

Next week I probably will. Any recommendations?

[Ptice]

Originally Posted by ren.dnb

Still figuring out the shocks. I want something decent, and also nice to my wallet. LHS has some in, but they're all 50-60 bucks a pair. Also haven't been actively looking for them yet.

Next week I probably will. Any recommendations?

I'm in same boat so many good ones just witch one I know it will be 100-103mm


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[Farabomb]

$50-60 a pair is about going rate for something decent. I have 12mm team associated shocks on my wraith and the gmade piggyback ones on my SCX10. Both work very well. The gmade ones seem to leak more but I haven't been able to locate a rebuild kit. The team associated ones don't yet but they're shocks, they're gonna leak eventually. When they do the AE ones will be easier to find a rebuild kit for. They're not in the 100mm range, more like 93-95 but seem to work just fine.

[ren.dnb]

Originally Posted by Farabomb

$50-60 a pair is about going rate for something decent. I have 12mm team associated shocks on my wraith and the gmade piggyback ones on my SCX10. Both work very well. The gmade ones seem to leak more but I haven't been able to locate a rebuild kit. The team associated ones don't yet but they're shocks, they're gonna leak eventually. When they do the AE ones will be easier to find a rebuild kit for. They're not in the 100mm range, more like 93-95 but seem to work just fine.

Yeah, just doing a little browsing just a minute ago, I noticed 50-60 bucks is about standard. Thats fine, it'll be worth it in the end. Just upgrading the links gave a noticeable difference, shocks will obviously just build up on that.

Thinking about going with Integys

[altd896]

I still believe the best value shock for is the Traxxas 2662 XX Long big bore.
$22-25 a pair, silky smooth, rare for them to leak & the Wraith stock & option springs fit, which is easier than finding soft srpings for some of the other 4"/103mm shocks out there.
Traxxas Shocks XX-Long Big Bore:TMX.15,SLH
Traxxas XX Long Big Bore Shocks w/o Spring (2) | TowerHobbies.com
https://www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas...tra2662/p17462

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by altd896

I still believe the best value shock for is the Traxxas 2662 XX Long big bore.
$22-25 a pair, silky smooth, rare for them to leak & the Wraith stock & option springs fit, which is easier than finding soft srpings for some of the other 4"/103mm shocks out there.
Traxxas Shocks XX-Long Big Bore:TMX.15,SLH
Traxxas XX Long Big Bore Shocks w/o Spring (2) | TowerHobbies.com
https://www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas...tra2662/p17462

I'm running Traxxas big bores on my rig.
Very happy with the performance and they don't seem to leak like the SCX10 shocks I had before the Big Bores.
Only down side, no adjustment nut, for those who want that.
I don't miss the adjusters, really.
Get the right oil, limit as needed, proper spring rates, etc......forget about them.

[ren.dnb]

Originally Posted by altd896

I still believe the best value shock for is the Traxxas 2662 XX Long big bore.
$22-25 a pair, silky smooth, rare for them to leak & the Wraith stock & option springs fit, which is easier than finding soft srpings for some of the other 4"/103mm shocks out there.
Traxxas Shocks XX-Long Big Bore:TMX.15,SLH
Traxxas XX Long Big Bore Shocks w/o Spring (2) | TowerHobbies.com
https://www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas...tra2662/p17462

Sweet. Good ol Traxxas lol. I'm running the regular big bore's on my basher and love them. Nice that they make a long big bore for a crawler.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely be checking those out in a couple of weeks. I really want to get those stock shocks off of there as I know that will make a huge handling difference in combination with the links.

[altd896]

I should note the only down side of the Traxxas is no pivot ball on the cap but I just popped in the rubber bush from the stock shock, worked fine.
I believe but have not had a chance to check that the Pro-Line shock mount kit 6063-05 pivot fits the Traxxas cap.
Edit: just dug mine out & checked, Pro-Line pivots fit perfect.

And again places that have the shocks have that kit also
Pro-Line PowerStroke SC Universal Shock Mounting Hrdwre | TowerHobbies.com
https://www.amainhobbies.com/proline...063-05/p188168

[CREEPERBOB]

My setup is a bit different than most as for shocks.
I run 130mm shocks front and rear with a set of Gear Head droop mounts.
Gives me great articulation and a much better job for crawling.
I used a aluminum set from the SMT10 truck and they are butter smooth, but of course you need to assemble them with green slime.
Bob

[durok]

Originally Posted by altd896

I should note the only down side of the Traxxas is no pivot ball on the cap but I just popped in the rubber bush from the stock shock, worked fine.
I believe but have not had a chance to check that the Pro-Line shock mount kit 6063-05 pivot fits the Traxxas cap.

And again places that have the shocks have that kit also
Pro-Line PowerStroke SC Universal Shock Mounting Hrdwre | TowerHobbies.com
https://www.amainhobbies.com/proline...063-05/p188168

Made for the Traxxas Big Bore:

Dlux Fab

Or - even better, DravTech shocks (fully modded big bores):

Dlux Fab

Great price!

[ren.dnb]

Started to do the hinged hood mod. I screwed up and drilled the holes a little too big. The posts I got wouldn't tighten down lol, good thing I have some E6000. So, I dropped a little E6000 around the holes and popped the posts in. That should keep them in place! Just treating it like a body repair, as I'll finish it off with some CA glue for a nice hard candy shell.

[ren.dnb]

Finished up the hood finally on Friday and very satisfied with how it turned out! Finally, no more stripping out the hood screws. The last thing I did before a small break in the work (waiting on that pesky paycheck so I can buy more parts lol), was pop out the receiver on my basher and put it into the Wraith so I could drive it with my new DX4C. Cleared out some weeds and brush from our vegetable garden area which needs to get tilled next weekend, and setup a makeshift crawler course made out of rocks and wooden boards I found in the garage.

Crawled around on that a bit and let my kids play around with the Wraith for a bit, and definitely have to say all work paid off. I love how the suspension responds now.. its not quite where I want it, but a definite improvement. Now just need to buy those shocks on payday to help soften up the suspension even more and get a little more flex. I might look into a droop kit as well...

At any rate, here are pics of the hood in case anyone is curious... also thanks for all the tips on here.. I thought I was lost without Ultimate RC, but theres a load of information and knowledgeable people here at RC Crawler.. Thanks for being a great community!

[ren.dnb]

Another update on my upgrade mission...

Bought some shocks today! I was going to go with the Traxxas Big Bore XL's but they didn't have the springs I wanted there. They did have a case full of crawler gear so I went there and started poking around. They had the RC4WD King shocks which I really liked but they were out of my price range for the time being. I ended up buying the Integy V2 PiggyBack shocks for the Wraith. I know they have mixed reviews (most everything Integy does but I haven't had any problems from their gear yet), but they were the right price, came with everything and look pretty cool. I'll be working on them tomorrow night to get them mounted while I also do some much needed maintenance on the Wraith.

We'll see how it goes! If they work out well, great. If not, then I'll replace them with either the Traxxas or the RC4WD Kings.

[irvan105]

Great post. like seeing you go against the grain as far as reviews on some stuff. New to crawling and slowly getting my wraith ready for upgrades. Ill def be watching this one!

[OSRC]

I have a set of those Integy shocks. I replaced the o-rings and they've been smooth and trouble free since. Not bad shocks. I've had o-ring issues with both Integy and RC4WD, can't say that one is better then the other honestly.

TRX Big bores are great shocks. Really can't go wrong there

[ren.dnb]

Originally Posted by irvan105

Great post. like seeing you go against the grain as far as reviews on some stuff. New to crawling and slowly getting my wraith ready for upgrades. Ill def be watching this one!

Yeah lol. I kinda have to go against the grain on reviews and whats recommended. I do have to thank the guy that works the crawler section at my LHS as he's been really good about giving me objective points of view on all the equipment I'm picking out.

He recommended the RC4WD King shocks at first, and then commented on the Integy's as a good runner up so, being on a budget I went with the Integy's. After a couple of drives this weekend, I'm not disappointed at all. Might have to do an O-ring replacement that OSRC recommended. And if the shocks don't perform how I want them to, I'll replace them eventually. But for now they're working great!

I did mean to buy another upgrade this week, but I ended up getting a front plate for the battery and electronics, and a new precision screw driver set. I was going to get the Integy drive shafts for the Wraith, but the LHS guy didn't recommend them and tried to get me to drop 60$ on the MIPs. Don't get me wrong, I like the MIPs but trying to stay budget conscious. He did tell me that he had Integy driveshafts on his Wraith but "broke one in 30 minutes of use". Not sure if he was trying to play marketing on me and steer me to the MIPs... (thats also a reason I went with something else as I had to think it through lol). But in hindsight, I should've just bought the Integy's and saw for myself if they sucked or not.

Ahh well, I needed a new precision driver set, and also that front mounting plate. Now just working on getting the electronics squared away, and moving the receiver box to the front, leaving the ESC in the back for now. I tried to move it ALL to the front, but there just wasn't enough room with the receiver being in that damn box.

I'll post up some pics of the front plate when I take some later tonight. Around the 31st, I'll grab those Integy drive shafts and see what all the fuss is about. For me, being a recreational crawler, they should be fine.

[ren.dnb]

Originally Posted by OSRC

I have a set of those Integy shocks. I replaced the o-rings and they've been smooth and trouble free since. Not bad shocks. I've had o-ring issues with both Integy and RC4WD, can't say that one is better then the other honestly.

TRX Big bores are great shocks. Really can't go wrong there

Yeah if the Integy's irritate me, I'll grab those Traxxas big bore XXL's. For now, the Integy's are doing what I want them to do so I can't really complain.