**NEW** DLUX gearboxes and tubes

[JeremyH]

And the all important question.....what's the weight?!? Well, I can't answer that directly, but I did hear Erik telling one competitor all weekend who was driving an XR that he could help him lose 2oz out of his rear end.....

[stubs179]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

And the all important question.....what's the weight?!? Well, I can't answer that directly, but I did hear Erik telling one competitor all weekend who was driving an XR that he could help him lose 2oz out of his rear end.....

I'm not sure if Eric's ready to say yet. But they are stupid light. I think with these axles and Eric's front shafts under 3lbs is very realistic.


Edit: It's on the first page. 4.5oz. That's complete!

[JeremyH]

Ahh....OK. I didnt reread the thread, just the new posts...

[binaryterror]

Originally Posted by Jeepkid

Any chance of a full delrin version? I say this do to the climate in Michigan and carbon fiber separating. I've seen all too many times, and not just on RC stuff.

Huh? Delrin is more apt to bend and warp in heat, then more apt to fracture in cold.

Carbon Fiber might crack the resin, but it doesn't separate if you use good quality CF materials.

Lets not even discuss the hardness or tensile strengths of the 2 materials.

[TedBull]

Nice work Erik, they look amazing. They look like they have alot of drive time on them. Cant wait to see some detailed pics.

[Jeepkid]

Originally Posted by binaryterror

Huh? Delrin is more apt to bend and warp in heat, then more apt to fracture in cold.

Carbon Fiber might crack the resin, but it doesn't separate if you use good quality CF materials.

Lets not even discuss the hardness or tensile strengths of the 2 materials.

Yeah, I know the tensile strength of the shit. Do you know what humidity dose to it. Let alone, what it will do to an exposed bearing seat? Just thoughts, you got take that into factors in the long run. I just think some guy here should test them. A guy at my work is a carbon fiber freak and knows the does and don't of the fiber. I'll pick his brain on the subject tomorrow.

[TSK]

&075 would be a better alternative to delrin in this situation.

[Jeepkid]

Originally Posted by TheSCorpionKing

&075 would be a better alternative to delrin in this situation.

Right on, don't get me wrong guys. I love the gear cases, just concerned about fiber separation at the exposed bearing seat in humid conditions. I know you can't just slap CA on it and call it a day. That would F@$k your tolerance of the bearing seat up. Not being a dick here. Just throwing some ideas around.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by Jeepkid

Right on, don't get me wrong guys. I love the gear cases, just concerned about fiber separation at the exposed bearing seat in humid conditions. I know you can't just slap CA on it and call it a day. That would F@$k your tolerance of the bearing seat up. Not being a dick here. Just throwing some ideas around.

Would he not have seen issues from this already from the grease that is inside gearbox and on the bearings?

[ROWDY RACING]

Erik is a smart dude, he won't put out any junk.

[Erik D_lux]

Originally Posted by Harvo

Nice footprint! Very small Cant wait

So if you needed to run a small spacer between the rear upper rod ends, how can you do that while keeping them centered?

If you wanted to run a spacer and get some separation at the axle it would not be hard at all. In the pics shown, it is probably hard to see, but the upper link mounts match the cases in the fact that it is layered .125 CF/Delrin/.125 CF.

If you look at the front mount, I cut the bottom part of the upper link mount off so that way its ultra easy to adjust clocking and there is plenty of room for putting the servo wherever you want. Also on the front, the 3 pieces need 2 extra screws so they are secure.

Edit: fixed to reflect correct spacing.

Say you wanted to space the upper link mounts .250 in the middle. You would then take one of the CF pieces, move it next to the opposite CF piece, put in your .250 spacer and youre good to go.

On the rear, you (or I if there is enough demand), would need to cut the bottom off so it resembles the front, throw in the 2 extra screws/nuts and do the same.

Thats the quick and confusing version. I will go over this in detail later if its something more people want to mess with. Bottom line is that it will be easy and still extremely functional to put your links where ever you want.

Just for more conversation.... talking to some XR guys (and with the current fad of wanting less axle separation) these axles could allow you to literally place the upper link mounts at the same vertical plane as the lowers in the rear and ultra low in the front so, these axles are extremely flex-able as far as upper link placement goes. Possible to have more separation that a Bully and less separation than a XR all in the same package. I can also go over this in detail if there is interest.

Originally Posted by TheSCorpionKing

Please note that I posted those pics up with upon Srik's request, and quite frankly, the pics do not do them justice. I swear everytime I passed y this truck I had to pick it up and gawk for a bit. And I passed by this truck ALOT this weekend

Excellent work Erik. But you already know that.

Thanks for breaking the ice for me. I like the clear, hi res pics and the fact that they have been beat on severely already. Not the best pics for a product release. I will update post #3 (I think) here with some fresh pics and more info when I am done with this post.

Originally Posted by ittybitty

I'm pretty sure the rear is designed differently in order to get the rear motor up out of the rocks and closer to the rear tubes for smoother transitions. The front gear box is left alone in order to continue using the 86jeep style steering since the servo has to fit between the tube and motor.

I don't believe forward bias would be affected very much...maybe a few grams, but you still have the same number of gears and such...just slightly different arrangement.

Again...I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's it.

Yeah, you pretty much got it. There is some weight lost in the rear just because there is much less material. Maybe 5g, which should help the bias but its main intention, as you said were for other reasons. I will explain the design when I add the pictures in the first couple posts.

Originally Posted by Jeepkid

Any chance of a full delrin version? I say this do to the climate in Michigan and carbon fiber separating. I've seen all too many times, and not just on RC stuff.

Not a chance in a delrin version. Can you guys not own CF wheels or a CF chassis up there? If not, sounds like your best option is to burn your house down and move somewhere else.

Originally Posted by JeremyH

And the all important question.....what's the weight?!? Well, I can't answer that directly, but I did hear Erik telling one competitor all weekend who was driving an XR that he could help him lose 2oz out of his rear end.....

SEARCH!

Yeah, its going to be 2.5 maybe 3oz if I am lucky over a HEAVILY modified XR rear axle. We never did come to a conclusion of what an extreme light weight front weighs. It will be much more savings over an average XR axle.

Originally Posted by TedBull

Nice work Erik, they look amazing. They look like they have alot of drive time on them. Cant wait to see some detailed pics.

Posting pics in the first couple of posts now.... Thanks for the good words Ted.

[Farmer]

Hey Erik I'm from Michigan and have never had a problem with cf from the climate. Only problem I have had was a cracked wheel face or two from a extreme fall.
Later,
Farmer

[superduty03]

I'm from Michigan and haven't had a problem with my cf wheels or chassis... Just took ca glue around the edge of the part that takes the grunt of falls and haven't had an issue.... Good job on the cases bud, top notch as usual!!!

[stubs179]

Originally Posted by Erik D_lux

Not a chance in a delrin version. Can you guys not own CF wheels or a CF chassis up there? If not, sounds like your best option is to burn your house down and move somewhere else.

I agree! Carbon fiber is that important

[Erik D_lux]

Thanks guys!

I have dealt with a bit of CF and never had a problem. I actually think that people are used to horrible quality CF if they have fraying or splitting. I also believe that the moisture is a myth and my supplier agrees. I literally soak my CF wheels in soapy water when I clean them up and to my knowledge I still have zero failures with my wheels.

Anyway, if we could keep the discussion on topic I would appreciate it. If we want to do CF tech I think it would be a great topic in the General section.

[jordi555]

I'd put a strip of teflon sheet under to protect plus it will help it slide across the rocks easier..

I do that now anyway.

[Jeepkid]

Thank for extinguishing the urbinlegend of carbonfiber failure.

[glondark]

So now on the the important stuff...........................When can I place an order???? hahahahaha

[Erik D_lux]

GOBS OF PICTURES AND INFO ADDED TO POST #2

Originally Posted by jordi555

I'd put a strip of teflon sheet under to protect plus it will help it slide across the rocks easier..

I do that now anyway.

Wear on the CF and delrin was a major concern for me. I have some where around 12-13 hours of pure drive time and they show very little wear. I honestly doubt most cars will see that much drive time in thier life.

Originally Posted by glondark

So now on the the important stuff...........................When can I place an order???? hahahahaha

To say I am swamped right now is an understatement. I am going to try and get my testers a set ASAP, hopefully by the end of this week. After that, I want to give them a couple of weeks to find issues or improvements. As long as that all goes smooth these will be available then. If I had to guess, I would say the first production set should be shipping out in a bit over a month.

This has already been a huge project. I am still a 1 man show and I am overwhelmed with what I already have going one. Having said that, I will need people to be really patient with me. At this point I dont even know my time put into each set, its a lot though. I am no slacker and I will work as hard as possible to get these out in a timely fashion.

[ROWDY RACING]

Nice pics those look very interesting, looking forward to seeing some builds using them.