Portal or straight axles?

[Cyclist]

Thinking (dreaming?) about what my next build might end up being. I'm liking what I see of the VS4-10, I just can't decide on the portal axle or not...though I'm leaning towards portal. The Ultra looks damn good though lol.
I currently have a modified TRX4 Sport and it handles the terrain my buddies and I drive really well. East coast jagged rocky rooty trail, 'green' rock that seems to sweat in the southern humidity. We crawl as well trail, but don't have the grippy western rock slabs.
I know there is a center of gravity difference between the two, but is it that noticeable for non competition use? Wondering if the straight axle would get hung up on the jagged rocks that the portals just barely clear? My buddies all run portals as well so nothing to really compare too. Granted, we all new to the crawling thing earlier this year. Getting parts for bashers has been challenging during these covid times lol.
Thanks for your input.

[rcaholic13]

Ummm don't consider bro best rc I've ever had! Oh yea to answer your question portal!!! This is my build in progress. It's an ultra obviously but I upgraded the trans to the pro trans, Holmes hobbies puller pro v2 2700kv motor, mamba x esc, hitech 7950 servo. Gonna buy the vanquish vfd dig for it and 20% overdrive gear set. You won't be disappointed super solid kit!...

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[WHITE-TRASH]

Neither is a bad rig but a better rig can be built out of parts easily for less money. The only way the VP rigs are a deal is if you were going to go full fanboi anyway and buy all their parts.

[rcaholic13]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

Neither is a bad rig but a better rig can be built out of parts easily for less money. The only way the VP rigs are a deal is if you were going to go full fanboi anyway and buy all their parts.

Guilty! Vp fanboi...

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[twade984]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

Neither is a bad rig but a better rig can be built out of parts easily for less money. The only way the VP rigs are a deal is if you were going to go full fanboi anyway and buy all their parts.

Not trying to be an ass, but what parts would you put together to make a better rig for less?

And just out of curiosity, have you bought/built a vp kit?

No agenda, just curious.

[three86]

I have an scx10.3 portal and scx10.2 straight and I enjoy the 10.2 more because it is lower and lighter and I have my weight all up front. I think it would be nice to try portal in the back and straight in the front but I would need gearing to reverse the tire direction. I saw a video of someone with that and their reasoning was that you have more control where the front goes to drive around things but the back follows so higher would be better. The alternative would be bigger tires and I might try that first on just the back and compensate with overdrive gearing. That goes the other way as well you can put smaller diameter tires on portals to counteract the center of gravity but you lose the height gain. Maybe the only reasons you would really need portals instead of changing tire size to get the same axle hight would be competition size restriction or looks.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Originally Posted by twade984

Not trying to be an ass, but what parts would you put together to make a better rig for less?

And just out of curiosity, have you bought/built a vp kit?

No agenda, just curious.

I've owned all the VP parts those rigs are built from over the years and for what I do I'll never own the whole rig.

Toyzuki V1 frame with a forward motor mount and a 2.5 t case, titanium links, Traxxas big bore or trx4 shocks and mini t springs. Ar44 axles with dlux brass knuckles up front.

That's about a $600 setup that kicks major ass. I built exactly that last year and stomped mudholes in everyone I ran class 2 against.

[MOguy]

I have portals and straight axles and the portals give you more clearance that you won't get from a straight axle. if you are not comping and width isn't as big of a deal you can hexes and or hubs to widen you stance to help with stability. Other than bigger tires you aren't getting any more clearance under straight axles but going with larger tires will raise the center of gravity on your ENITRE RC.

The TRX4 and I believe the vanquish set their motor and trans inline so it can sit lower in the frame compared to a side buy side trans motor like many others. This lowers the center of gravity to help off set the portals.

[Cyclist]

Thanks for the responses so far. Here is a picture of my TRX4 of one of the "trail" sections over the weekend. It can be a bit chunky in sections but that keeps the challenge going.

[Inspector86]

If you want to try straight axles, you can buy the SSD portal delete kit for the TRX4 for a lot less than buying a complete new rig.

[Cyclist]

@inspector86 Didn't even know that was an option. Might make for a cool experiment.