Chiefs Sawback Build - Spring-Under Susp

[Chief]

Here's an update y'all. I've got a flat belly now, and all my electronics are mounted. I'll solder my deans plug on the esc tonight and its ready to roll. The big news is I mounted new shoes on it. My buddy @ the LHS hooked me up with a set of 1.9 Mad Beasts!! They're sticky and soft. Here are the pics.

[Chief]

[raceeng18]

I really didn't realize how low your truck sat until I saw your last set of photo's. I now see your front fenders are missing and that you had to cut the body for the rear shock hoops, wow. Looking forward to your first test run report.

[Chief]

Yeah Raceeng, it sits low! I love low-cog rigs. This is on the extreme side of it, but I love the way it looks, and hopefully it'll perform good. Here are some pics showing ride height and clearance under the skid. I measured 1.75" under the skid.

[raceeng18]

That is low. Mine measures 2.25" under the skid with the Proline TSL SX tires.

[Chief]

Thats a great looking rig. I looked at the TSL xl's, but decided to try the mad beast out. The TSL's have always been my go to tire, in 1.9 or 2.2. I want to add an axe and shovel to the side, but also add some scale goodies in the back. I want a mix of military looks with scale mixed in, with better performance.

[raceeng18]

Thanks Chief. Yours should work very well with the low cog.

[gforce]

Looks great!

Question about the under spring setup. Obviously it gives lower COG but does it give you more articulation? I see you aren't running any shocks with the under spring setup. Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

I've got all Axial trucks (Wraith and SCX10) but was looking to build my first spring suspension rig and have read a lot of great things about the Sawback.

Thanks!

[Chief]

Thanks gForce and raceeng. I don't believe SUA (spring-under) allows more articulation. Usually, atleast in 1:1, SOA (spring-over axle) allows more articulation because you can use a flat leaf-spring, allowing both compression and droop. With SUA, the leafs tend to have more of an arch, limiting some of the articulation. The Sawback flexes well running spring under because the leafs are pretty much flat at ride height. I am only running the one long leaf, with none of the helpers.
I will be adding shocks tonight, but they are there just to keep the suspension from bouncing. Hope this helps, ask anything you want buddy.

[raceeng18]

So Chief, how did it perform last night? Inquiring minds need to know.

[Chief]

Well, apart from the steering being reversed, it did great. I wheeled it about 5 mins outside (temps were about 7 deg). Tires gripped awesomely, rig flexed very well, and it was extremely stable. I plan on going to my usual crawling spot tomorrow and seeing how it does. I'll have pics of the run posted tomorrow afternoon for all inquiring minds! LOL

[raceeng18]

Originally Posted by Chief

Well, apart from the steering being reversed, it did great. I wheeled it about 5 mins outside (temps were about 7 deg). Tires gripped awesomely, rig flexed very well, and it was extremely stable. I plan on going to my usual crawling spot tomorrow and seeing how it does. I'll have pics of the run posted tomorrow afternoon for all inquiring minds! LOL

LOL Thanks for the update and looking forward to tomorrow's pics.

[Chief]

The rig performed awesome on its maiden voyage. The spring-under setup is super stable, whether climbing, descending, or side-hilling. Having the flat-belly and taller tires made up for the low-stance. I ran every line that I've always ran, and climbed up everything. I was truely impressed with how well this thing crawls. Here are some pics I took, and a little video I recorded while driving. It's not the best, but it shows how stable the rig is. Enjoy!









It walked right up this rock notch. I'll get videos of it next time.

[Chief]

Mechanically, I had 0 issues. I do want more steering, but I expected that based off of other builds. Here are some pics of the body damage. I love it, adds character.

[raceeng18]

Great news Chief, I've been waiting to hear.

[Chief]

LOL, thanks buddy. Unfortunately, I was alone, so no one to take videos and pics of the good stuff. I want to show how well this rig sticks to rocks and just climbs up pretty much anything I point it at.
I'm going to work on trimming the u-bolts, and pushing the front bumper closer to the body.
I'm also looking at stretching the w.b. in the front just a tad, to help with the approach angle. I'll keep this thread updated as I go.

[raceeng18]

You can put your bumper on top of the frame rails to help with the approach angle. One of the guys here did that and it looks good.

[Chief]

The problem I see with the bumper is how far past the shackles it sticks out. I can move it back about an 1/8th, maybe a little more. Plus, with the w.b. stretch in the front, I should be good.

[jp0160]

I'm really starting to like how the sawback body looks with the front fenders cut out! And yeah, if you mount your bumper upside down you gain a nice approach angle boost, like this

[Chief]

Nice rig JP. What color is that? My old CJ7 (1:1) had the front cut like this, and the day I have my CJ2A, it'll be cut the same way.
I feel as if the bumper just sits too far out ahead of the body. I want to trim the frame back as much as possible, and remount the bumper in the stock location. I'll start messing with it tonight and get some pics up.