RCCrawler Forums - R1 axles any good??

The gear reduction is 2.15:1 compared to a SCX10 axle, which has a reduction of about 2.9:1. So you will get better wheel speed out of the R1 axle. However, portal axles are not built for speed and your rig will consume a steady diet of bearings and possibly gears. R1 axles are well made and actually pretty durable in crawling applications. Link mounts and c-hubs bolt on with nuts instead of relying on self-tapping screws in nylon. But honestly, the steering throw is so bad that these axles are not worth running. Some people try to compensate by upgrading to Four-Wheel Steering (4WS), but this adds weight to the wrong end of the rig and reduces crawling performance. With heavy, labor-intensive modifications, you can improve steering throw, but not anywhere near to the degree (bad pun) that you can with axles from other manufacturers (e.g., SCX-10 axles with XR-10 mod, etc). Beware of the 7* C-Hubs that Gmade sells. They will improve caster and pinion angle, but they will result in reduced steering throw since they cause the drag-link rod end to collide with the upper bolt lobe on the portal housing before the steering reaches lock. You can get around this to a limited degree by moving the tie rod to the underside of the knuckle arms. And before you even begin to look at improving the steering, you need to install CV joints at the knuckles that will provide a better range of motion. The stockers are ridiculous.