★★ The HARDKNOCKZ Switch ZERO ★★

[HARDKNOCKZ]

Whelp kiddies...The wonderful lads at Chaotic Crawlers hooked a brutha up with this fancy team version of the Switch chassis a couple of months ago. Unfortunately...I just haven't had the time to start the build until now.

When Marc 1st showed me the chassis in a text...I called it a few different names like Switch Zero, Skinny Switch, Light Switch, Tweeker Switch etc. I liked Light Switch. Marc liked Switch Zero so behold....THE CHAOTIC CRAWLERS SWITCH ZERO.

Aint she purty? The Switcharoo Zero still rocks the same, 1-piece skid machined from delrin. Such a simple yet cool piece. No screws on the underside of the skid which means less hangups.

Assembled with aloomynumnumb hardware & spacers...she's a sucked up skinny chicken at a whopping 1.6oz. Yup...shes a lean, mean um....chassis.

I figured since I was going with such a lightweight chassis, I'd put the whole rig on a diet.

I'm not shooting for a particular weight. I want her to remain strong & reliable but I'll be testing a few things along the way. I'm thinking she'll end up in the mid 4's after losing a pound or so from her current weight of 5.17lbs.

I plan on keeping the VP axle toppers for now but have a few back up's with the brass insert mod that Shelby so generously shared with us. Whether I'll be shaving those toppers or not...I just don't know. They ARE pretty stout but the idea of taking a Dremel to em makes muh butt pucker a tiny bit.

Starting at the rear axle...I tore it down, cleaned it & went to work shaving some grams...because every pound is made up of ounces, every ounce is made up of grams, every gram is made up of....stuff etc etc etc.

I started with the FINAL GEAR & drilled out the existing lightening holes. I WANNA say I opened em up to 6mm but honestly...I don't remember. I used a step bit & I'm not at my shop to check the sizing. I'll verify that in the next few days.

Before drilling em out...it weighed in at 19 grams...

I was able to remove a total of 6 grams. Taint bad huh?

ESPECIALLY compared to the RC4WD hog I had in there. Yup...that says 26 grams Cut it in HALF. Oh boy oh boy oh boy

For that little extra savings...I also counter sunk the holes. I ended up shaving just over a gram of extra material by adding this touch. Plus...it makes the gear all shiny & I like shiny things.

I gave all 3 of the 36t trans gears the same love & was able to shave 3 grams of weight off of EACH gear.

Before some drill love...

After some drill love...

Total weight for all 3 before...

For a total savings of 9 grams. Again...taint bad in my book. Taint bad at all.

Didn't give em EXACTLY the same counter sinkin treatment but stepped em half way out another size. I didn't catch the before & after weight of this step. But it's SHINY...& shiny makes me HAPPY

I might follow the masses & drill some dimples into the motor plate but here's the gears installed on the unmolested VP bling...

SHINY!!!

I've snapped THREE titanium top shafts so I have ZERO interest in going back to em to save some weight. Like I said...she's gotta be reliable...or at least as reliable as possible without weighing 6.5lbs.

Like I said...I'm outta town & that's all the pics I have on the pooter for now but stay tuned. I have some snazzy new parts to throw down that oughta save some decent weight without sacrificing too much strength.

I also have some VERY badass motors from Holmes Hobbies that are gonna gimme KILLER wheel speed, TIGHT low end control & TORQUE fer days. All that while staying light & just like EVERY motor that leaves Holmes doors...they'll be RELIABLE.

As always...GOTTA show love to those sponsors that show SO MUCH love to me.

Thanks for checkin out the beginning of The HARDKNOCKZ Switch Zero build.

J.D.

[boosted4lyf]

All this talk about grams is bringing back some old memories. Thread pics look WAY better bro, nice to see you step up your game.
Clocks tickin on the box homie. Paydays right around the corner

Hit me up when ya get home. Oh and the dogs are fed and I kicked your cat!

[sidehill]

Looking sweet man! What size drill bit did you use on your gears?

[Wicked Monkey]

Yum, yum. You boy's need to get those things tested out. I want one. That red hardware really pops against the cf. Can't wait to see more man.

[jacobflyin]

Looking great JD and as all ways your write ups are fantastic. Glad you got this started.

[63comet]

Great start

[mfawv]

lookin good J.D.

i like the extra drilled out gears. every pound comes from an ounce comes from a gram......ext.

[scorpion_ax]

what a sweet looking chassis can't wait to get mine......wont be long

its amazing how much you can actually take off those gears. Great job

[paystin]

Glad to see you get this thing started with everything else going on.

I'm next!

[HARDKNOCKZ]

Originally Posted by boosted4lyf

All this talk about grams is bringing back some old memories. Thread pics look WAY better bro, nice to see you step up your game.
Clocks tickin on the box homie. Paydays right around the corner

Hit me up when ya get home. Oh and the dogs are fed and I kicked your cat!

DUDE!!! I told you to feed my cat & kick my dogs. Yer fired!!!

Camera on my phone still sucks but gotta new GoPro Hero3 on the way so THAT should improve too.

Originally Posted by sidehill

Looking sweet man! What size drill bit did you use on your gears?

Like I said...I THINK it was a 6mm. I used a step bit but I'm outta town so I'll have to double check when I get back to the shop.

Originally Posted by messiah1

Yum, yum. You boy's need to get those things tested out. I want one. That red hardware really pops against the cf. Can't wait to see more man.

They are definitely sexy.

Originally Posted by jacobflyin

Looking great JD and as all ways your write ups are fantastic. Glad you got this started.

Thanks Jacob. I appreciate it. There's a LOT of killer threads popping up...yours included so I had to step up my game a little.

Originally Posted by 63comet

Great start

Moocho grassyass. More to come. Gonna be neato too. You'll see.

Originally Posted by mfawv

lookin good J.D.

i like the extra drilled out gears. every pound comes from an ounce comes from a gram......ext.

Thanks Mike. I actually stole the idea from Jake & after talkin to him about it at our last GTG, decided to give her a try. Luckily...one of my 1st sponsors hooked me up with 6 axles worth of Axial HD gears & I've only broken a final & a drive gear...so I have plenty of extras should these fail. I don't SEE that happening since there's PLENTY of "meat left on da bone" but ya never know...ya dig? Yeah...you dig.

Originally Posted by scorpion_ax

what a sweet looking chassis can't wait to get mine......wont be long

its amazing how much you can actually take off those gears. Great job

Thanks man. I THINK you mean you're getting the OG Switch but either way...you WONT be bummed. It's a KILLER chassis & the Chaotic boys done goooood. I'll be watching for yer build thread.

Originally Posted by paystin

Glad to see you get this thing started with everything else going on.

I'm next!

Right? As my Gramps used to say..."I'm busier than a 3 petered puppy." Got CRAZINESS goin on during the CRAZIEST time of year. But...it's all good peckerwood.

Besides the FUNKY FRESH West Coast Shootout presented by Holmes Hobbies & hosted by WCRCC comp that can be seen HERE that I'm working on, drivin the 6 hour round trip back & forth to deal with mom's being in the hospital & a fairly large pinstriping gig...I'm also rebuilding the mini, finishing the sporty...once my super secret chassis arrives & starting a SUPER DUPER super build. Phew...What kinda SMART man takes on all THAT?

Lookin forward to yer build Chris. I'm interested to see if you go any further with shaving weight since you've dropped so much already.

J-Dizzle is OUTTY 5,000 G!!!

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by boosted4lyf

All this talk about grams is bringing back some old memories.

Originally Posted by HARDKNOCKZ

& starting a SUPER DUPER super build.

Looking good dude!

[winnerone23]

1. All this talk about grams is bringing back some old memories.

2. Oh and the dogs are fed and I kicked your cat!

1. Waahahahahaha.

2. awesome job! I woulda done it this way too..


All aside, the Zero an that red aluminum is sick! Should really pop, even more, with the rest of the color on the rig...

[brazwewn]

Really nice start. Looking forward to seeing this one finished. Drilling out the gears is something I want to do eventually.

Wes

[HARDKNOCKZ]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Looking good dude!

Why big thanks buckaroo. Lookin forward to hangin again come March. I'll bring the java. Got some genuine Kona beans comin from Hawaii. No nasty Wendover McDonalds funk fer this cowboy.

Originally Posted by winnerone23

1. All this talk about grams is bringing back some old memories.

2. Oh and the dogs are fed and I kicked your cat!

1. Waahahahahaha.

2. awesome job! I woulda done it this way too..


All aside, the Zero an that red aluminum is sick! Should really pop, even more, with the rest of the color on the rig...

Thanky thanky. She ought to be purty swell.

Originally Posted by brazwewn

Really nice start. Looking forward to seeing this one finished. Drilling out the gears is something I want to do eventually.

Wes

It's not at all hard. I had to sharpen the bit halfway thru the set but that's easy enough. Decent little savings for minimal work.

J.D.

[EverettY]

Wow bought time... And I'm glad to see someone that runs their cab the right direction I just looks killer with the Al hardware Al braces and one piece skid... Not to mention the shiny CF... Can't wait to see it all nice and finished up

[mark reel]

first of all your cab is on ...................................Backwards!!!!!! !

second your red alum. hardware is ugly and not purple like mine

other than that the chassis looks AWESOME!


with that light of a rig you dont even need springs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oooooooooooops............. i see a new trend starting with no springs and
100wt. shock oil or 1000 wt 1/8 scale gear oil in the shocks (gravity suspension)
and you loose .03 grams worth of springs

[HARDKNOCKZ]

I'd LOVE to find the chicken dick that keeps sniping peoples threads with 1 star ratings. Likely some chump that has no build thread & thinks its funny to hit the "terrible" button. I'm callin you out pu$$y. Man up. Claim your stuff. Don't be anonymous. Chump.

Anyhoo...not even 1 page in & I'm already a 1 star builder. Sniff. Whatever am I gonna do?

Stay tuned...maybe if I work VERY hard...I'll get TWO stars & only be a "really bad" builder.

[paystin]

Well you didn't say how much torque you used to tighten the screws so I felt you deserved one star.

You're welcome!

[EverettY]

Gave it a 5 star so you'd better make it good

[TSK]

You have too many sponsors Nd had too much tech in this thread so privateers who can't read good feel J