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Thread: Diamond Build Yeti

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Old 02-16-2015, 06:41 PM   #1
Quarry Creeper
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Plainfield
Posts: 208
Default Diamond Build Yeti

I've had my Yeti since it was first released in RTR form. It's was my first Axial and since then, I've picked up 2 more(wraith and scx). Now I have have been upgrading this from the first day I bought it, watching what breaks and how the aftermarket companies react. My goal for this was always to make it as hard to break as possible, and to my knowledge nothing is harder to break than a diamond.

My good friend has been driving a wraith for years, and I never understood the crawling "thing." When I watched the Big Squid review video, I knew this was going to be my next truck. From the first time I pulled the trigger I was hooked. This truck took a few extra dollars to make it the way I want, but it has all been very worth it.

This isn't going to be a step by step, but more of an example of what these truck are like once upgraded. From here I will update with any new parts/mods that go on the truck. Feel free to ask any questions!

Here is a part list:

Electronics

-Castle Mamba Monster X
-Tekin T8 G2
-Holmes Hobbies HV400
-Castle 10A BEC
-Custom waterproofing

Drivetrain

-Axial HD bevel gear (38/13 front and rear)
-GCM Front diff
-Macks earplug LSD
-VP VVD axles
-RR 56t steel spur gear/slipper (23t pinion)
-STRC motor mount
-MIP rear drive shaft
-VP locker (rear)


Chassis/Suspension

-Wertymade bumper
-STRC front skid plate/hinge pin mount
-STRC bumper mount
-STRC rear upper shock mounts
-STRC shock tower
-STRC steering bell crank set (w/ bearing lockout)
-STRC metal shock caps
-STRC steering posts
-STRC caster blocks
-STRC chassis 4 link mounts
-BMRC trailing arms
-BMRC front links
-GPM Aluminum Front Bulkhead
-UC Fab sway bar
-T-Bone skid plate
-VP Knuckles
-VP Shock adjuster
-VP upper rear links
-VP Currie Centered Axle
-Fast Eddy full sealed bearing kit
-Custom battery strap
-Custom hinge pin mod (inner and outer)
-Titanium sway bar links

Wheels/Tires

-SS Prang wheels
-VP SLW hubs (475-front, 850 rear)
-Ottsix Voodoo U4 silver compound (Cut)

CURRENT PICTURES














Last edited by kstowe; 10-21-2016 at 06:15 PM.
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Old 02-16-2015, 06:52 PM   #2
Quarry Creeper
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Plainfield
Posts: 208
Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

For anyone interested in see this thing in motion, I have a video; http://youtu.be/E2hLRQUUIs0

For anyone that wants some more stills, I have what you're looking for as well.















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Old 02-28-2015, 09:11 AM   #3
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

I had been sitting on some STRC carriers, waiting for SSD knuckles to come back in stock. I saw them pop in stock so I had to jump on them. I kind of wanted to grey ones, to match the rest of the metal, but the detail on these things made me forget all about that. They are incredibly well built and have a very premium feel. Like almost everyone else with these on their truck knows, it screws up the toe up front, adding many degrees of negative toe. The BMRC links I have are bad a$$ but just a little too long. A little grinding took care of that issue.

For any one looking to do the same with their links, I also ground down the threaded ends.













In other news, I have recently taken enough material off the battery box cage (barely). So know I can run the Trakpower 4S packs I own! The power is absolutely savage, I'm assuming she tops out around 35mph now. I will get video soon!

Here are the trans gears from the 1st night with 4S, TOTAL driver error.

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Old 03-26-2015, 02:08 PM   #4
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Update:

So I have gone to running the truck on 4S at all times. Still working out some kinks, but I have yet to break anything other than those trans gears (from the power). I recently got some decent footage of this thing really going.



I ended up breaking the stock bulkhead later in the day, not a big deal; cheap and easy fix.

The only thing I really want to do at this point is swap my Tekin T8 in here. The sensor plug is just mm's from clearing with my 4S pack jammed in there. I will be dremeling out the back of the box in hopes of finding that extra space. Any suggestion on increasing the depth of the battery box are welcome!
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Old 04-14-2015, 03:03 PM   #5
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

I put in an order on RPP and CI the other day, by chance they arrived at the same time. Unfortunately with work, I have only had time to mount the Voodoos. I had to buy AX31112 for the bumper support, it feels kind of wasteful. The limiting straps are pretty short, so I may not be using them at all.





I think the grooving inside is pretty cool. None of the RC4WD tires have had any ribbing. These are the Silver compound, and they're surprisingly sticky. I'm impressed and I've just barely mounted them up, I can't wait to see them in the dirt.





The truck sit so much differently than with those swampers and stock foams. At full compression, the chassis doesn't scrape the ground anymore!



These Old Man Emus look trick, and really help maintain the best combo of stability and flex.



Last time I said I was considering putting the T8 in the Yeti, now, I'm not so sure. I ran it out at a state park by me, I limited throttle to 78% (just in case ) and ran it hard. Lasted over 4 hours without one single issue and heat was nonexistent. Check it out.

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Old 04-14-2015, 08:55 PM   #6
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Super nice build, how do those shocks handle on the sway bar? Where did you get them? Length? Thanks bro!!
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Old 04-14-2015, 10:16 PM   #7
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Thanks man, I love this thing! They really allow it to flex over stuff over obstacles. It still handles the power very well, it takes over 50% of the trigger to the the fronts up off pavement, but that's the result of 4S. I picked em up at my LHS, but I saw them on rc4wd for $35. They're 80mm I trimmed the cage a little, but my cage is pretty beat up. I'm running 70wt in em, but that's cause she tips the scales at 9.9 lbs(4.49 kg) last time I checked.

Last edited by kstowe; 04-16-2015 at 08:49 AM.
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Old 04-16-2015, 09:01 AM   #8
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

I got the time to put the VP Currie together, man this thing is amazing. All of the screw fit so perfectly. I'm going to cringe hard the first time I scratch this thing.

















Fun Fact: if you don't own snap ring pliers, use some 0.05" hexes and regular pliers!

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Old 04-27-2015, 11:40 AM   #9
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

Let's talk about shocks


With all the weight gain this truck has gone though, these front springs have really been pushed hard. Instead of axial replacments, I decided to use what I had around instead. This is one of the fronts right off of the truck.




These are longer 3mm TLR ends that I had in the shop, they really help raise the spring cup thus raising the suspension. They're also much stronger than the junk axial ends.



This is a comparison in the rear (stock on the left, TLR on the right).




Back to the front, This time around I went 70wt in the front and 50wt in the rear.




Here's the donor and a sacrificial spring cup



and here we go!





This honestly works much better than I was expecting, the only drawback is that the extra cup gets stuck on the threads of the shock body. After testing the setup, it actually just helps to keep the assembly all together, rather than restricting/impairing the travel.



This is what they look like all mounted up! Notice it is more of a spring spacer than a dual rate, but I have an idea to help that.







After doing some testing around the yard, I have good expectations of the new gear. The front's are almost perfect, I have to grind the turnbuckles down a little more (too much toe in). While testing I lower the rear springs from 100% to about 50%, then again to about 25% spring tension. Finally this truck is become more and more reliable.

BONUS; I took some time to take apart the wet sauna that was the factory rx box, thanks axial! With my rx dipped in Corrosion X, I can mount it anywhere and this is where it fit best. Now I will be easy to access the HW for the RX8, BEC, etc. I used some large heat shrink tubing to minimize clutter.

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Old 04-27-2015, 04:15 PM   #10
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Nice work! You don't run into any heat issues running that 3500kv on 4s? I just bought a PRO4HD 3000KV and was planning on 3s. Yours must be insane.
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Old 04-27-2015, 04:34 PM   #11
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Quote:
Originally Posted by CamaroTom View Post
Nice work! You don't run into any heat issues running that 3500kv on 4s? I just bought a PRO4HD 3000KV and was planning on 3s. Yours must be insane.
Thanks man, I am definitely getting it dialed in (FINALLY) with all these adjustments. I have never had temp issues, even in the very slow stuff. Where it likes to high center and get generally and uselessly stuck. I waste a lot of throttle I've never seen it get too hot, never too hot to touch. Even on speed runs it has never gotten past the touch test, these motors make a lot of power. You'll be perfectly fine on 3S. Check out the embedded videos for some examples of what 4S is like.
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Old 05-05-2015, 02:43 PM   #12
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

I got some trigger time over the weekend at one of my favorite state parks in my area. She ran hard, the front uni's are getting pretty sloppy, but I have another set ready to go in after some front end service. Anyway, here's some shots, I haven't had it out since I put the voodoo's on and i think they look nice. The CI DW foams are definitely a must for this truck.








I've been dragging my feet lately with upgrades for the Yeti. Honestly I don't feel like there is much left that needs replacing. With that said, I have always had the desire to pop my spare Tekin T8 in it...


a little dremel action got the job done.






And the freshly mounted motor





I've only had enough time for a quick 2 minute test run, but in that time I can already tell

-More Torque, just by the way it accelerates it has a lot more
-Better Response, much better thorttle and brake response over the Pro4, not that it's the motor's fault (I blame 4S)
-2050kv, geared 19/64, lost some wheel speed, but I honestly don't miss it (yet?), as most of that wheel speed was useless

It just barely fits in there, but the sensor wire does clear the pack. I will be doing more testing tomorrow, and hopefully catching some video.

Last edited by kstowe; 05-05-2015 at 02:45 PM.
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Old 06-01-2015, 08:51 AM   #13
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

Got some wheel time in a local state park after some rain. It was mud heaven, I had a blast until the RX8 died. It started acting weird after getting stuck in some of the nastiest mud it's ever been in. Ran hard for another half hour before finally giving out. The new T8 is incredible, it made it over terrain that really surprised me. Gobs over torque over the Pro4 HD, this motor never even warms up and the esc stayed very cool as well. Got some good pics, the first one is the mud that started the trouble.













Just because I haven't posted it before, this is what the chassis looks like RTR. Not a lot of space left over.


Last edited by kstowe; 07-24-2015 at 04:31 PM.
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Old 08-01-2015, 10:22 AM   #14
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Update:

While not too much has happened with the truck since I last updated this thread I did a front and rear bearing replacement. Just some preventive maintenance. The ESC from this day actually quit at the end of the day. Even with conformal coating (I have to believe it was a user error in applying). I feel like I've sorted that out.

Took it out on Wednesday to a local park, it had a lot of awesome terrain, I wish I could have gotten a couple of the hill climbs on video, but I had a tripod malfunction. Anyways, here are some pics.







Also Got some good video of her in action, running on some wood chips on 4S!



These were the trails that ended up leading us the to wood chips.

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Old 09-10-2015, 03:53 PM   #15
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

UPDATE:

I picked up one of these VP front shock adjusters as soon as I saw them released. While I was at it I got the Currie anti rock sway bar, the stock parts had worn out their welcome. This pic is from when I first installed the adjuster, since then I have removed the blue springs, and adjusted the tension about 1/3 down the threads on the stock spring.



My first impression was how it made it drive a bit differently especially at speed. After I removed the blue springs everything settled down just a bit, now its more stable at high speeds.

The anti rock, is a big upgrade over stock as far as quality goes, typical of VP stuff. It stiffened the swap bar effect quite a bit. I also flipped the old man emus around, to see if I could keep the sway bar from inverting on itself. In turn it ended up bending the threads of the shock rod.

After Install:


After shock failure:


This one is something that had been bugging me for some time. If you have the T-Bone A-arm skids, then you should be able to relate. The arm skid plate were never made for the RPM a-arms, but I strapped them on without problems. Besides that they get pushed back every time I go out, reducing the amount of coverage they provide. To fix this, I drilled a hole through each in a meaty spot as to not weaken it. Then I tapped and plugged the holes with some hardware that should keep them where they are.





Finally, I will leave you with the killer film I caught yesterday at a local mountian bike trail. This is probably my favorite video to make, and definitely my favorite to watch, enjoy guys.

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Old 09-10-2015, 10:52 PM   #16
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

I really like the shock sway bar idea, but do you think they would fit with the normal sway bar hardware? Or do they only fit in the quick release
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Old 09-11-2015, 08:48 AM   #17
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Quote:
Originally Posted by totallypro View Post
I really like the shock sway bar idea, but do you think they would fit with the normal sway bar hardware? Or do they only fit in the quick release
You should be able to mount shocks on the stock sway bar no problem. I bought the quick disconnect, but hated it, now that has been replaced. I may be playing with some solid links on the rear to see how it drives. I'm pretty bummed about breaking the emu shock.
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Old 09-11-2015, 09:32 AM   #18
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

You know T-Bone makes a RPM A-arm specific skid right?
TBR Axial YETI Front A-Skids
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Old 09-11-2015, 09:36 AM   #19
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Quote:
Originally Posted by fr8cture View Post
You know T-Bone makes a RPM A-arm specific skid right?
TBR Axial YETI Front A-Skids
I guess I do now lol. How long have those been around? Cause I looked when I bought mine.
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Old 09-11-2015, 09:37 AM   #20
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Default Re: Diamond Build Yeti

Quote:
Originally Posted by kstowe View Post
I guess I do now lol. How long have those been around? Cause I looked when I bought mine.
Not sure just seen them a few times when I was on their site.
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