New Element Truck coming?

[Mopar man]

The Ecto is 12.8? Also what does GKS mean? I have been out of the crawler game a while now been bashing with ARRMA. Last crawler I had was the honcho. Been also looking at the Gmade gs02f Bom kit really looks interesting and I really like the building. Just not sure,I know from experience that Associated makes quality rigs. Thanks for your help

[soze]

Originally Posted by Mopar man

The Ecto is 12.8? Also what does GKS mean? I have been out of the crawler game a while now been bashing with ARRMA. Last crawler I had was the honcho. Been also looking at the Gmade gs02f Bom kit really looks interesting and I really like the building. Just not sure,I know from experience that Associated makes quality rigs. Thanks for your help

It's just the suspension features of their Gatekeeper rig.

I have not built my GS02F Buffalo yet, but I'm sure it'll be a fine rig.

[indybama]

Originally Posted by Mopar man

So the only difference between this and the HD is the body and trailing arms? Is the wheelbase the same as the HD?

It basically the gatekeeper, just without the cage. N it has the black plastics instead of the grey

[Mopar man]

The grey plastic are the stronger of the two?

[indybama]

Yes, the grey is stronger. But it was mentioned, i believe by josh on SNU, that the black plastic has been updated to a lil better quality than previous

[SloDon]

Any closeups of the shock towers? They talk about more adjustability. Thinking add them to my TrailWalker.

[Phyro]

Take a look at the Gatekeeper. The fronts would fit on both the front and rear of the trailwalker. If you go that route, you’ll need the panhard mount, which will require holes to be drilled in the frame on the left side.


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[SteveB1]

I wonder if you could drop this body onto a Gatekeeper? Seems likely so.



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[MAGNUMB]

Originally Posted by Maxx_Action

I think this rig should perform well...

The gatekeeper is ok in stock form, but the heavy cage and narrow width makes it tip happy. The lexan body should weigh a fraction of what the gatekeeper cage does, and as long as the chassis is braced well, it should work.

Why would the chassis need to be braced? Isn't just a regular Enduro chassis?

[Maxx_Action]

Originally Posted by MAGNUMB

Why would the chassis need to be braced? Isn't just a regular Enduro chassis?

Lots of flex in the enduro chassis in stock form.


On the gatekeeper, the cage actually serves to give the rig more rigidity. I made a brace for the front towers on mine, and I can hear the chassis creak when it's flexing hard.

Aluminum bracing front to back, aluminum towers, and bracing between the towers eliminates a lot of it.

[MAGNUMB]

Originally Posted by Maxx_Action

Lots of flex in the enduro chassis in stock form.


On the gatekeeper, the cage actually serves to give the rig more rigidity. I made a brace for the front towers on mine, and I can hear the chassis creak when it's flexing hard.

Aluminum bracing front to back, aluminum towers, and bracing between the towers eliminates a lot of it.

I see....Sometime I don't mind flex in a crawler chassis.

[durok]

Originally Posted by MAGNUMB

I see....Sometime I don't mind flex in a crawler chassis.

Something about the light weight and slight flexibility in the Element makes it a pretty capable rig out of the box - I have a whole box full of upgrades (nearly all the hard plastics, Samix longitudinal aluminum battery/electronics tray and bumper/servo mount, etc) that have just been sitting unused 'til I get bored and want to try it all changed up...

I suppose whenever I get done modifying and painting the body I have for it I'll also do the rest.

[HumboldtEF]

I've never understood this fixation on making a chassis completely rigid. The OG SCX10 was an absolute wet noodle and it did pretty good. Some race cars will actually design in flex into the chassis (dirt oval comes to mind). Even my carbon fiber Sherpa chassis has some flex to it.

[mash914]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I've never understood this fixation on making a chassis completely rigid. The OG SCX10 was an absolute wet noodle and it did pretty good. Some race cars will actually design in flex into the chassis (dirt oval comes to mind). Even my carbon fiber Sherpa chassis has some flex to it.

I actually agree about the chassis rigidity fixation - I ordered some of the stiffer gray stuff for my Element and as I was installing it I started wondering quite what the point is. Usually chassis stiffness is a goal to shift the dynamic "work" to the suspension, mostly for predictability and feel. But for something lower speed like a crawler (especially one we're not actually driving), I'm not quite sure why it matters whether a few extra degrees of twist come from the chassis vs all from the axles. For the same reason I wonder if all of the attention paid to bump steer might be a bit excessive too?

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by mash914

For the same reason I wonder if all of the attention paid to bump steer might be a bit excessive too?

I think thats probably the case, though I have had one instance where I re-assembled my Gen 8 front end with a link on top of the knuckle instead of below (or vice versa).
I was testing on a ramp that requires a little bit of run up, it drove straight until it hit the ramp then it veered off to the right quite a bit. I struggled to understand for a bit and kept trying and failing.


I have a feeling this was extremely bad geometry, like on the far end of the spectrum. Most bump steer that we typically see likely isn't this extreme though.

[Maxx_Action]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I've never understood this fixation on making a chassis completely rigid. The OG SCX10 was an absolute wet noodle and it did pretty good. Some race cars will actually design in flex into the chassis (dirt oval comes to mind). Even my carbon fiber Sherpa chassis has some flex to it.

The theory is that if you want the suspension to work to the best of it's ability, the chassis should be as rigid as possible. Even with bracing, the thin metal of a c channel chassis is going to flex some, but to get the best bite on all four corners, from what I understand, you want the chassis to be as rigid as possible.

[HumboldtEF]

I understand the theory, I just dont fully agree with it.

If a bit of chassis flex is making it so your suspension isnt working its best adjust it or get something better. Suspension has flex, chassis has flex, I dont see that as a conflict at all.

1:1's do a fair bit of chassis flexing too so at least we're keeping it real lol


okay sorry to derail the thread carry on

[Maxx_Action]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I understand the theory, I just dont fully agree with it.

If a bit of chassis flex is making it so your suspension isnt working its best adjust it or get something better. Suspension has flex, chassis has flex, I dont see that as a conflict at all.

1:1's do a fair bit of chassis flexing too so at least we're keeping it real lol


okay sorry to derail the thread carry on

I'm a total newb when it comes to RC crawlers, so I have no clue if it's worth the effort.

However, on my 1:1 car, 300zx TT, chassis bracing, and filling the chassis rails, and body spaces with foam made it feel like a different car when being pushed hard on twisty roads.

[SurlyBurly]

Originally Posted by Maxx_Action

I'm a total newb when it comes to RC crawlers, so I have no clue if it's worth the effort.

However, on my 1:1 car, 300zx TT, chassis bracing, and filling the chassis rails, and body spaces with foam made it feel like a different car when being pushed hard on twisty roads.

Some of that flex is useful for absorbing energies which might otherwise break parts. It's a balancing act finding the right amount, but the right amount is definitely not "none".

[smog]

Originally Posted by SteveB1

I wonder if you could drop this body onto a Gatekeeper? Seems likely so.



s

All you should need is body posts