Want to create a competitive class 2 crawler. Where do I start?

[BMW11190]

Hello everyone,

I am new to 1/10 rock crawling however I have been around the block with racing RC gas sprint cars (1/10), Truggies (1/10), buggies 2wd and 4wd (1/10) and stadium trucks (1/10) back from 2000-2011. I left racing due to college and life happening as many have as well.

I am wanting to be competitive and would like to go with Class 2 crawler. I have been looking at the SCX10.2 ii, RC4wd C2X, and Vanquish VS4-10. I have also looked at Team G speed Chassis and The Crawl space G10 chassis. I have seen guys on youtube have Gspeed chassis and say in total with all electronics is was about $700. Im looking to build and be able to compete under $900.

I will be grabbing the FlySky NB4 RX/TX combo as it seems to be the best price for $179 with two lipo batteries compared to paying $249+ for futaba or Sanwa and having to spend another $60+ for the lipo battery back. I am open to opinions and guys who naturally crawl in Class 1 and class 2 competitions.

I am honestly not sure if going with a kit or RTR would be beneficial as most likely shocks, electronics, gearing, transmission, motor, high clearance links, adding weight, upgrading tires and wheels along with adding a servo winch. But will all those upgrades from a kit or RTR, should I just go with a full custom build from the ground up starting with a G Speed to Crawl space chassis? Im looking for the best way to get -60 scale points and be competitive to an extent in comps. How does everyone feel about Portal axel's compared to straight axels in comps? What are the positive and negatives? I have been on youtube but haven't founds someone on that platform that is very descriptive or the audio doesn't suck. Are there guys that actually use portal axel's in comps and win?

Any ideas or list of items to definitely go with to upgrade an RTR or if an RTR should even be a good starting point to be comp 2 ready and competitive? Is it cheaper to be comp 1 ready compare to comp 2?

[Almighty Malach]

TCS Game Changer all the way.

*edit* - to elaborate, I built GC4.2 with stock RTR 10.2 axles and it was an impressixe rig without much tuning.

[Robotboy]

X2 on the Game Changer. I just built one and it's a nice setup, very capable.

Robotboy's Portaled Nukiser GC4.2

[revin9k]

Welcome back to the hobby! If I were to start all over again I would of just bought a competitive chassis kit and pieced together my axles and eletronics.

I highly recommend a Toyzuki v2 chassis with a 2.5 transfer case. If you haven't heard of that chassis its definitely worth looking up on YouTube and Facebook. Not only are the chassis super competitive, they have a great support system on their Toyzuki Fabrication fan page on Facebook. Lots of the questions you have will be answered by "pros" who have mastered their setups and are happy to share their setups.

It might be worth buying a used toyzuki and adding your own eletronics. There are a few for sale right now on the fan page.

For axles go with ssd dimonds
Vanquish locker are rnp
Holmes hobbies crawlmaster or puller 400 13t, mini br esc, and their shv500v3 or maybe a shift rc x2 servo and for a winch I'd recommend powershift rc road runner. All my eletronics run on 4s with no bec

Check out Crawler75 and Caleb Kope videos on YouTube. Just watch the videos from nationals and if you study them closely you can get a good idea of what works. Anymore questions pm me

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[themountain]

X3 on the "game changer " here is the link Topher builds a class 2 comp rig - Crawl Space Game Changer 4.2

[VMGontheRocks]

For a chassis I would also recommend the Toyzuki V2 chassis with the 2.5 transfer case

Your best bet is to build from the ground up as most of the stuff from a RTR or kit you won't end up using.

Most guys are still running straight axles, there's a few portal axles that pop up on the podium but it is pretty infrequent.

[BMW11190]

Thanks, everyone. I was wanting to go with a full custom build but didnt know what worked or what would be a good first rig for comp. All this information if very helpful. What do you all prefer for RX TX for comps? I was thinking flysky NB4 however I cannot find it in stock anywhere. In the past I used an Sanwa MT11 but I since sold that back in 2015. Any you recommend that are under $250?

[BMW11190]

Originally Posted by Almighty Malach

TCS Game Changer all the way.

*edit* - to elaborate, I built GC4.2 with stock RTR 10.2 axles and it was an impressixe rig without much tuning.

Luckily I live in Colorado Springs and have TCS right within my city. May have to go check their chassis out. Do you think I could build a rig for under $800 fully ready to go for comps?

[BMW11190]

Originally Posted by revin9k

Welcome back to the hobby! If I were to start all over again I would of just bought a competitive chassis kit and pieced together my axles and eletronics.

I highly recommend a Toyzuki v2 chassis with a 2.5 transfer case. If you haven't heard of that chassis its definitely worth looking up on YouTube and Facebook. Not only are the chassis super competitive, they have a great support system on their Toyzuki Fabrication fan page on Facebook. Lots of the questions you have will be answered by "pros" who have mastered their setups and are happy to share their setups.

It might be worth buying a used toyzuki and adding your own eletronics. There are a few for sale right now on the fan page.

For axles go with ssd dimonds
Vanquish locker are rnp
Holmes hobbies crawlmaster or puller 400 13t, mini br esc, and their shv500v3 or maybe a shift rc x2 servo and for a winch I'd recommend powershift rc road runner. All my eletronics run on 4s with no bec

Check out Crawler75 and Caleb Kope videos on YouTube. Just watch the videos from nationals and if you study them closely you can get a good idea of what works. Anymore questions pm me

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

That is one impressive rig! I will have to go on the FB group and have a look. With this chassis, do you think its possible to get a ready to go comp rig built under $800 and it be competitive?

[Col_Sanders]

If you are going to go full on comp rig, best thing to do is buy a big screw kit (I prefer ScrewLoose) and piece the truck together with aftermarket parts. Not much use in buying a kit/RTR since you'll be upgrading everything anyway.

I built and competed with a Toyzuki V2 and recently built a Gamechanger 4.2. TZ chassis has a bit more adjustability, the build (specifically the transmission) is a bit more straightforward, and the Facebook group is awesome. Very helpful community with tons of good information. A downside is that normal off the shelf bumpers won't bolt right up since it is a bit wider than standard SCX10 rails. The GC is nice because you can get almost everything in one place and dont have to screw around trying to find misc drivetrain parts that may not be in stock. I also like the layout better than the V2. Only complaints I had with the build is that the transmission took a bit of fiddling with and the links included with the stage 3 kit were meh. I couldnt use the steering or panhard links.

The biggest advantage of portals is clearance, but they end up making your center of gravity higher. Sit back and watch some videos on YouTube and you will notice they are not all that popular for C2.

No matter what you decide to do, the most important part of competing is the DRIVER. The more practice you get, the better. A great driver with a stockish rig will do better than a so so driver with a built comp truck. I've been on both sides of that one.

[VMGontheRocks]

Originally Posted by BMW11190

Thanks, everyone. I was wanting to go with a full custom build but didnt know what worked or what would be a good first rig for comp. All this information if very helpful. What do you all prefer for RX TX for comps? I was thinking flysky NB4 however I cannot find it in stock anywhere. In the past I used an Sanwa MT11 but I since sold that back in 2015. Any you recommend that are under $250?

I would get a Futaba. This is https://www.amainhobbies.com/futaba-...4388-3/p897293 right above your budget but a solid radio. The older 4PL and 4PK models are also great (I use a 4PK). A hacked Flysky GT3c works great a budget radio.

Originally Posted by BMW11190

Luckily I live in Colorado Springs and have TCS right within my city. May have to go check their chassis out. Do you think I could build a rig for under $800 fully ready to go for comps?

I think for $800 you could build something to comp. Might not be pointed out. I'd also look for used rigs in that range. For $800 you can probably find a pretty solid used rig.

[Topher Builds]

Have you considered a more affordable radio? For trying to build a competitive truck, having 20% of the budget for just the radio seems a bit high. Flysky gt5 gets the job done well for less than half that cost.

If you get a gc4 stage 3 and a raw builders kit, you could have a mostly completed chassis for about $420 if you manage to sell the parts of the RBK you don’t use, like the full chassis, links, and transmission.

That would leave you $380 to get wheels, tires, foams, electronics, a body, and any upgrades to squeeze in. It will be tight without trying to find some parts used.

Originally Posted by themountain

X3 on the "game changer " here is the link Topher builds a class 2 comp rig - Crawl Space Game Changer 4.2

Thanks!

[MOguy]

I am in the same situation. I have a crawler built to SORRCA class 2 rules but out my way people go by WRCCA rules. They have 2.2 classes and lots of them.

I am more confused now then ever about how I want to continue to build my Crawler.

[tapped-out]

I've built both toyzuki v2.5 and a Game changer 4.2..
I'm using my toyzuki as a C2 rig very capable rig you can't go wrong building a TZ 2.5 based rig.. best information unfortunately is on Facebook @ toyzuki fanpage..

My Game changer 4.2 ( stage 3 kit Aluminum chassis) this will be my c3 rig (4ws).
I just built it and only 1 comp course driven so far. Course didn't go well still working out setup and panhard mount issues. But it should be a great rig once I get it dialed in.

Both TZ AND GC4.2 I had to modify chassis parts to fit my setup. (Chassis mods aren't needed for either kit to build "stock") This is just how it is doing custom builds. No matter what chassis you pick. I'm sure there's many other options out there.

What I liked about the GC4.2 stage 3 kit you get gears links cases ect in one package.

But there's a guys Jim'RC on FB he can toss you a toyzuki v2.5 kit together.





I saved a few bucks building my GC4.2 compared to building my toyzuki v2.5. But to be honest the few bucks I saved after dumping 800-1000 bucks building a scale comp truck what's a $100 bill.

This is a good guy VMGontheRocks to get scale comp building information from.