Enduro in Atlanta

[dboeren]

I got my first Rock Crawler a week ago, the Element Enduro!

We're having a blast so far, I've taken it through some mountain woods and my son and I are working on building a crawler course in the woods in our backyard too.

So far the only changes I've made from the stock RTR are a metal servo horn and a new front bumper. Haven't done the OD gear swap yet, not sure whether it's a net gain for the driving I'm doing or not. Not doing comp style stuff, just climbing over various rocks and logs and whatever.

I am interested in performance tuning tips, not sure at this point whether I should add weight or look at new tires or what in order to climb better. I've heard that most trucks want more weight down low but I've also heard several people saying that the Enduro specifically wants to stay light...

I'll post some pics later...

[Geeman640]

I think the stock tires work really well. I’ve added some SSD brass hubs to the new SSD wheels but haven’t had a chance to test it out yet.

I say add the OD gear if you want it to climb better. It isn’t a huuuuge difference and can’t hurt.

[Old n ratty]

Stock tyre for me anyway was a bit disappointing. Not really bad, but better available. Some brass wheel weights, some lead wrapped in the wheel all help with traction.
Got some super soft Louise Grifffin tyres, that look very scale (similar tread pattern to the stock tyre) and that and a bit of weight transformed it. Plus better bumpers, natch...

[svt923]

Originally Posted by dboeren

Haven't done the OD gear swap yet, not sure whether it's a net gain for the driving I'm doing or not.

If your driving includes climbing and/or turning, the OD will make things better.

[dboeren]

The consensus I think I've been hearing all over is that the stock tire are "pretty good for stock". Not top of the line for comps or anything like that, but better than most RTRs come with.

Today I had a little time to work on my body - I trimmed a little around the side sliders so they won't rub anymore and trimmed out some space in the back to allow me to move the rear bumper three holes further inward. I might go one more, not sure yet.

Hoping to have time to do the gear swap later today, but with a kid going back to school we've got lots of errands and stuff to do.

And a question... When I set my Enduro down the rear shocks don't compress much under the weight of the truck, but the front shocks compress a little more than half an inch. Is this normal because of 60/40 front weight bias (I have a full size battery in there), or is it a sign that there's something wrong with my front shocks?

[durok]

Weight transfer.

Your truck will transfer weight from the front to the rear upon acceleration and during climbs, stiffer springs in the back will combat this.

Not saying the spring rates are necessarily perfect outta the box, but some thought was given to their setup during engineering...

[dboeren]

OK, that's fine. I was more thinking that it might be a sign of an oil leak or something like that. If it's expected to be like that then no problem.

[dboeren]

A couple of pics of my truck in progress. Last night I did the gear swap for 12% OD, swapped the motor leads (supposed to make reverse smoother), did some body trimming, tucked the rear bumper, and sprayed a couple coats of bedliner in the back.

Next step is going to be adding some high-clearance lower links.