Absolutely Essential Yeti upgrades, what are they?

[FlexdXJ]

I'm patiently waiting(hurry up fools) on my Yeti to show up. I have been looking through this subforum and see lots of different opinions on what upgrades are needed. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I have already ordered A-arms and a few misc things.

[SteveC6R]

1. Steering Rack (VP)
2. Double Sheer Steering Rack Kit (VP)
3. Trailing Arms - many choices, VP, Blue Monkey or the skids that are being made.
4. Servo Saver - lots of options here from locking it to pre-loading the spring. Personally I put a 5x10 bearing in mine to pre-load it.
5. High torque servo, pick your flavor.
6. Steel Spur Gear

These are the must do things to me, there's a host of other upgrades that can be done also which I have done but can't say that they're necessary out of the box.

[FlexdXJ]

I have a sheet of aluminum to brace the trailing arms and make body panels, I have enough fab skills to do that part. Trying to compile a list in my head of stuff I want to put on it since it will mainly just be a basher. The Jeep and E30 take most of my hobby money!

[Black n Blue]

Maybe you already ordered these, I would just add some metal hubs and hexes like VP and new wheels. CI deuces wild foams are not a must, but they do make a big difference if you're doing anything but crawling.

Also, it seems like most guys change the pinion up or down based on preference and your specific goals. Plan to buy a 32p hardened steel pinion for a 5mm shaft. Robinson racing has a full line that will fit.

[SteveC6R]

Forgot about that, that upgrade was automatic for me but should be #1 based on all the issues I've read about people having with the stock wheels and pins.

[binaryterror]

Originally Posted by SteveC6R

6. Steel Spur Gear

Normally I'd never agree as a must.

But after this weekend's tear down I noticed how out of round the spur is. This is normal in plastic spur gears. But to get the lowest side to fit, it would have to be overly tight (binding) on the high side - or the lowest would be too loose while the high spot was perfect. Which the steel being machined will remove.

Typical trick racers use to check the mesh at various points and find and mark the high/low spot so you can get a good overall mesh top avoid stripping a gear.

[cboggs]

Besides checking the car over when you get it, all you should need are VP hubs and aluminum hex's to make it last through some battery packs. Everything else is just to improve the durabilty and tighten up the flexy parts. I've ran mine with just those two upgrades for a few weeks until the modifying bug bit with no problems other than the bent hinge pins.

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by Black n Blue

Maybe you already ordered these, I would just add some metal hubs and hexes like VP and new wheels. CI deuces wild foams are not a must, but they do make a big difference if you're doing anything but crawling.

Also, it seems like most guys change the pinion up or down based on preference and your specific goals. Plan to buy a 32p hardened steel pinion for a 5mm shaft. Robinson racing has a full line that will fit.

I am aware of the hub issue, ordered two extra sets of them until I convert to the hex style and a new set of wheels. Now to figure out how to keep tires in the stock wheels.

[binaryterror]

Glue works

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by binaryterror

Glue works

But seriously i may want to reuse the tires for a while. I'll rig something up.

[french_connection]

You can bake the wheels at 350deg for 15 ~ 20 minutes on a baking sheet to seperate them from the glue once you are done with the stock wheels. (The foams will be a throw away after as they shrink in the stove.)

Or

Leave them in a bin with acetone overnight if you prefer, the foams will still be ok.

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by french_connection

You can bake the wheels at 350deg for 15 ~ 20 minutes on a baking sheet to seperate them from the glue once you are done with the stock wheels. (The foams will be a throw away after as they shrink in the stove.)

Or

Leave them in a bin with acetone overnight if you prefer, the foams will still be ok.

Thanks for the tip!