OzThrasher's Yeti

[OzThrasher]

First let me introduce myself. I'm 40yo and had a number of RCs when I was young. Now with kids of my own it was time to get the little man his first RC. Now he can't have one without dad having one too.
So after heaps of research, mostly loitering on this site for the past few months, I decided to build a Yeti kit.
A massive thank you to all the members that contribute to this forum and provided me with a lot quality info to put me on the right track.
Having a lot of experience in building 1:1 scale off roaders I have throughly enjoyed getting back into the RC hobby.

Anyway started with ordering a kit and the parts started rolling in.



This is my Yeti kit parts list.

Front end:
Vanquish steering knuckles
STRC caster blocks
Axial machined shock tower AX31170
Axial machined body post mount AX31169
Vanquish steering rack
Vanquish bell crank
STRC Front hinge pin mount
High tensile 12.9 hinge pins
50 000wt diff fluid
HR front sway bar kit - heavy bar

Motor mount and gears:
Axial machined motor mount AX31156
Axial Steel spur gear 32p 64t AX31161
Axial pinion gear 32p 16t AX30842
Axial machined slipper plates AX31164

Rear end:
Axial machined shock mount plates AX31166
Axial machined sway bar clamp AX31167
Axial machined 4 link mounts Ax31165
Vanquish OCP axle housing V2 - silver
Vanquish locker
Vanquish machined differential cover
Vanquish hd axle truss
Vanquish lockouts
Vanquish axle / shock link mounts
Vanquish trailing arms lower - silver
Vanquish titanium rear upper suspension links
MIP drive shaft
VP Currie Antirock Sway Bar

Shocks:
Front spring 14x54mm 4.95lbs-in - Super Firm (blue) AX30230
45w shock oil
Rear spring 14x90mm 1.71lbs-in - White AX30214
30w shock oil

Wheels:
Standard for the time being as I cannot get my paws on a set of VP Method rims anywhere in OZ.
Vanquish SLW wheel hubs
Crawler Innovations Deuces Wild standard

Electronics:
ESC - Tekin RX8 Gen 2
Motor - Tekin Pro4 HD 3000kv
Servo - Hitec HS-7950TH. Hitec aluminium servo horn
Castle BEC set to 7.4v

And the build began.















I put a brass shim I between the outer bearing and the MIP shaft, this stopped all movement with the pinion and it is meshed perfectly with the bevel gear.

I did however have a drama with the inner bearing. I was running a thrust bearing however after half a pack it got a bit of up and down movement which caused the pinion to touch the housing. Back to a standard bearing for now.





I'm absolutely loving his thing. It is beast in the dirt, with Huge power and torque with masses of grip. I've definitely hit the sweet spot with the suspension setup and foams. Just need to sort some rims now, come on VP, send some over to OZ please.




Anyway thanks again and I hope I can contribute to the forum from time to time and help others as you guys have helped me.

[hobbez84]

Great start. FWIW, I had VP method 105 wheels on my yeti, but found it too heavy for a "go-fast" setup. Switched to Crawler Innovations wheels , and I haven't looked back.

[84yoda]

Are the 12.9 hinge pins from carter fab?

[OzThrasher]

Thanks Hobbez, I never really thought about the extra weight and whether it would make any difference to the handling and steering. I'll have to do some more research into it.

84yoda, I got the hinge pins from a local bolt supplier. If you search on evil bay for, m3x60 12.9, you should find some. If you have trouble getting them from the U.S., do a worldwide search as you will find some in OZ and it won't be much to send your way.

[fr8cture]

yeah I think carter fabs are 12.9 also. Ordered a few pairs myself a few nights ago.

[OzThrasher]

Thanks fr8cture for answering that,I have no knowledge of the ones supplied by Carter Fab. Currently building a second Yeti for a mate now and he has a set of Carter Fab panels to go on. I can say those look real nice.

I put 2 more packs of 3s 5000mah through this thing over the last two days and driving it very very hard. I think I can now say I've built a rock solid rig. Nothing broken, with the only drama being a loose screw or three. Bit of loctite and sorted.

Had to add a few stickers though to conceal some battle damage.

[OzThrasher]

Was looking for a little more stability at speed on higher grip surfaces so fitted up HR front sway bar kit.
5 minute job to fit and I think it'll do its job well.



Also ordered the VP antirock sway bar for the rear. Just got to wait for USPS to do their thing and get it to OZ.

[crawl-o-matic]

Let me know how that works out for you...I loved it for high speed cornering, but in the rocks....well, not so much

[OzThrasher]

Will do Matthew thanks for the input.
I spend very little time in the rocks with probably 98% of my driving being high speed dirt and sand. I'll get a few packs through it this weekend and very interested to see how much difference it will make to the handling in both styles of driving.

[OzThrasher]

Quick update with the HR front sway bar.
For high speed stability on the dirt it's a big thumbs up. I'm running the thickest bar and it helps with turn it and keeping both front tyres in contact with the ground.
A I said I don't crawl much so with a little play in the rocks it does effect front articulation but certainly not enough to outweigh the advantage in high speed steering control and stability.

[OzThrasher]

Also just fitted in the VP Currie Antirock Sawy Bar.
Very nice bit of kit as always is with VP parts.

Interesting though the sway bar would not fit in the front "0" setting When using the Axial machined sway bar clamp. The through hole is slightly off centre. Could be easily fixed by filing down the edge of the clamp but as I'm move into high speed dirt running I want a slightly stiffer rear sway so mounted it in the middle "4.5" setting.







Currently tied up with a night work shuffle for the next 8 days so won't get a chance to run it yet. Will try a few different settings on the sway when I get a chance to work out what suits my style.

[mizzandan]

Any word on how that anti rock has worked for you? I was looking at installing one on mine. Thanks

[JesterSpec]

I'm happy with mine. I red locktighted the setscrews in though.

[mizzandan]

Yeah, I've read some reviews of people having trouble tightening them down far enough. But it still looks like a good kit.

[JesterSpec]

Of you want a stiffer swaybar, move the links on the sway bar to one of the more inboard holes. I can't see how the holes in the chassis will change anything with leverage on the bar. I think they are more for a wheelbase adjustment.

[fr8cture]

Originally Posted by JesterSpec

Of you want a stiffer swaybar, move the links on the sway bar to one of the more inboard holes. I can't see how the holes in the chassis will change anything with leverage on the bar. I think they are more for a wheelbase adjustment.

I was wondering what the different spots on the chassis was for. guess nothing. lol

[OzThrasher]

The Anti-Rock has worked out well. I changed the setting to the second hole on the sway to stiffen it slightly and I'm very happy with that setting now. The stock sway had too much flex in the plastics though this is rock solid.
I did initially have a drama with the set screws and movement between the arm and bar, though it is a matter of slowly tighten the screws on both sides of the arm a little at a time to try and get them tightened evenly. Once you get that right they hold very firm.

[8000ft]

part # on that HR anti-sway bar if you please, I'm interested.

[OzThrasher]

Part number for the HR front sway bar is YET311F.

[totallypro]

What color paint is that body? I love the look of it