Harvo Monkeying Around with a RockShow

[Harvo]

Alot happened at Battlegrounds that involves tech, so I get to talk about it here and tell my BG story

I keep my rig ready so there was nothing I had to do to it. I assumed Sedonas were the ticket for the quarry rock with big gaps, so I had those on, and I put a full cab cover on the Rockshow SS to help with rollover in the jagged rocks.

Pdog7 and I did some tuning when we got there, and it was obvious the Boss Claws were working better. I changed to the claws and threw on the softest springs I had. I really needed silver brush springs on my Brood Motors for more drag brake on the high traction rock, but I didn't have any with me.

At the comp the Rockshow was handling great. It was eating up the sidehills and crossing the crazy transitions better than I had hoped.

On my last course of the first half, I plugged in my truck and tested the throttle. The rear wheels coasted to a stop No rear drag brake. After a quick check, I found the ESC (Tekin FXR) had reset. I put in all my settings again and it looked good, so I started the last course of the first half. On gate 2, the rear started pushing the front BAD. I had to compensate by turning the rear down to 40% to match the front. Somehow I still cleaned the whole course with no penalties. That put me in the lead at half time.

It was crazy. Going forward the front motor had half the speed of the rear and going backward, the rear had half the speed of the front motor. I recalibrated the ESC's but it didn't change anything. I was pulling out my hair. In the lead and a problem I couldn't solve.

I would have been done had it not been for Art (Palo Alto). He suggested recalibrating the FXR's one at a time. I did, and it worked. I can't thank him enough!

I actually enjoyed the last 3 courses more than the first 3, and the truck had zero issues for the rest of the day. The finals course was fast and a hoot! My team mate Pdog7 and I run similar setups and he finished in 2nd place. I'm not going to touch a thing. I can't see a way right now to make the truck work any better than it already does.

Battlegrounds was a blast and I want to thank my buddy Pdog for running the courses with me then putting up an awsome battle at the end, my wife for being so cool about my crawling hobby and God for giving me the health and means to drive 6 hours and stay on my feet for 12 hours to play with toy trucks




The Rock Show stuck this sidehill in a slow decent to the bottom.





Thanks for the pics 3Jeeps!

[duty]

Congrats on the win!

[53 willys]

wow congrats on pulling it off!! being able to shake off some tech issues can be tough in a comp....sounds like you kept your cool and "did work"


btw those pics of the decending sidehill are cool!!

[jcboof]

Congrats again on the win Harvo!! It was great to meet you and you did a hell of a fine job sir!

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by 53 willys

wow congrats on pulling it off!! being able to shake off some tech issues can be tough in a comp....sounds like you kept your cool and "did work"


btw those pics of the decending sidehill are cool!!

Thanks! I wouldn't really say I kept my cool. I was stressing big time! It took some Taco Bell and a long lunch to settle back down and shake it off.

Originally Posted by jcboof

Congrats again on the win Harvo!! It was great to meet you and you did a hell of a fine job sir!

It was great meeting you too! You kept the pressure on all the way to the end. Congrats on your finish too



Thanks Duty! I appreciate it.

[Stormin2u]

Great job Harvo, a cool head is sometimes hard to find. Your truck is working and it sounds like there were other Rockshow SS chassis in the top 10, a great day for T1E. Nice work.

[xrra_tj]

Congrats Harvo on the Win! It was good to see ya again. Guess we'll see ya in Vegas

[Tydl]

congrats on the win Harvo

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

Great job Harvo, a cool head is sometimes hard to find. Your truck is working and it sounds like there were other Rockshow SS chassis in the top 10, a great day for T1E. Nice work.

Thanks!! The SS is very smooth!

Originally Posted by xrra_tj

Congrats Harvo on the Win! It was good to see ya again. Guess we'll see ya in Vegas

You and the NC crew kept the pressure on all day!

Originally Posted by Tydl

congrats on the win Harvo

Thanks Tydl!


CJ's video of my final's course run.



Check out the UFO above my truck in the first few seconds of the video .

[53 willys]

Wow that sound of the Frogs?? is crazy...when the vid first started I was thinking WTH is wrong with his truck!!! lol

Nice driving
thats a weird finals course..had you running all over the place...did you have to make a lap around that basket after every gate or what?

[4xFord]

Great driving Harvo! Congrats on the win. So you like your modified shock pistons I take it?

Originally Posted by 53 willys

Wow that sound of the Frogs?? is crazy...when the vid first started I was thinking WTH is wrong with his truck!!! lol

Nice driving
thats a weird finals course..had you running all over the place...did you have to make a lap around that basket after every gate or what?

I think that was bonus land at that point.

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by 53 willys

Wow that sound of the Frogs?? is crazy...when the vid first started I was thinking WTH is wrong with his truck!!! lol

Nice driving
thats a weird finals course..had you running all over the place...did you have to make a lap around that basket after every gate or what?

Thanks. Yes... that's a bonus land finals. There was a 5 gate course, and if you finished it with time and points left you progress as many random bonus gates as possible in the time you have left. If you have to touch your truck though, you are done.

Originally Posted by 4xFord

Great driving Harvo! Congrats on the win. So you like your modified shock pistons I take it?

Thanks! Yes the modified pistons are working out great.

[klabeaume]

Looking good! What is your rtr weight? And what is your foam setup for the boss claws? If it's not a secret

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by klabeaume

Looking good! What is your rtr weight? And what is your foam setup for the boss claws? If it's not a secret

Thanks! With the claws and my 450mah battery, the truck weighs 5lbs 8oz.

I run the stock pink foam in the front. They are a little hard, but they break in nicely.

In the rear, I run nova DD foam with tuning disks on the outside edge.

I just recently put in some memory foam that I'm liking... but I haven't figured it out enough to say anything about it yet.

[Harvo]

These are some shots from Battlegrounds that I like that Art took

Thanks Art!!

[klabeaume]

So, I read that you are running the vp front link mount. Is the rear stock? And what is the lengths of your upper rear links. I am asking because compared to the bergs. My truck will not handle an off camber situation very well, what happens in the front springs unload causing me to roll. The biggest difference I can see is my uppers angle from the axle up to the chassis, where to bergs are more level. I think this is causing a the weight of the rear axle to distribute differently. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by klabeaume

So, I read that you are running the vp front link mount. Is the rear stock? And what is the lengths of your upper rear links. I am asking because compared to the bergs. My truck will not handle an off camber situation very well, what happens in the front springs unload causing me to roll. The biggest difference I can see is my uppers angle from the axle up to the chassis, where to bergs are more level. I think this is causing a the weight of the rear axle to distribute differently. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

The rear uppers are 5.25" eye to eye. I have the stock rear upper link mount. In the front I have the VP upper link mount and I am using the top hole.

Your situation is odd because sidehilling and off camber situations are what I think this truck does the best.

A few suggestions.
- make sure your shocks aren't laid back too far on the chassis. My rears stand up one hole straighter than where the shock mounts were when it arrived at my house.
- try slightly firmer springs in the rear... especially if you run a lot of weight in your front wheels.
- make sure your rear motor isn't pushing your front motor or that your front motor isn't stalling when you turn up hill.

When I first built mine, the front motor was stalling just a little and the rear would push slightly. It would unload the front suspension every time .

[klabeaume]

Originally Posted by Harvo

The rear uppers are 5.25" eye to eye. I have the stock rear upper link mount. In the front I have the VP upper link mount and I am using the top hole.

Your situation is odd because sidehilling and off camber situations are what I think this truck does the best.

A few suggestions.
- make sure your shocks aren't laid back too far on the chassis. My rears stand up one hole straighter than where the shock mounts were when it arrived at my house.
- try slightly firmer springs in the rear... especially if you run a lot of weight in your front wheels.
- make sure your rear motor isn't pushing your front motor or that your front motor isn't stalling when you turn up hill.

When I first built mine, the front motor was stalling just a little and the rear would push slightly. It would unload the front suspension every time .

How did you correct this motor problem? Thanks for the advice I will let you know what I find.

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by klabeaume

How did you correct this motor problem? Thanks for the advice I will let you know what I find.

Good motors helped. I also put a 13T pinion in the front. That got more torque to the front end to get it turning easier.

If you are using dual ESC's you could just dial the rear down a little to see if that helps.

[greencrawler]

What pinion are you running in the rear of yours