Axial Ryft vs. Bomber 2.0

[SteveB1]

For the scope of this question, assume the following:



1. No electronics



2. No wheels or tires


All other aspects being stock, which platform will have the advantage in rough, rocky terrain at moderate speed ( ie, not slow crawling but also not sprinting in a straight line to the top of a hill )?


My guess is that I'm not the only one wondering this, but it's only been touched on a bit and not looked at closely.



My interest is could the Ryft be reworked into a better rock racer than the Bomber?



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[WHITE-TRASH]

I'd get a ryft before a bomber for any use. I have a fully built bomber that sits on the shelf. Even if the ryft sucks at least it'd look good sitting there.

[Phildirt]

I think you'd want to see what the forums are saying in 6 months to declare a winner there. The Bomber wasn't thought of as a shelf queen when it was released. Let the Ryft hype die down and see what is breaking/what needs upgraded. Kind of hard to make that call when they aren't even shipping them to the US yet.

[SteveB1]

I'm thinking the same; to sit a wait a bit for everything to die down. My current U4 buggy ( Lasernut ) is doing very well, but we are building a new track which has many more rock gardens and a few crawl sections.



On our current track, the solid axle platforms really can't keep up in the fast corners, and there are not enough large rocks to give them any advantage over the IS buggy.



With the new track, we are intentionally adding in some very rocky and technical sections to level the playing field, most so the track doesn't favor any one type of vehicle.



That said, once the track is up and good for some testing, I might consider adding in the Ryft ( kit version ) into the mix and see how it does.



s.

[SteveB1]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

I'd get a ryft before a bomber for any use. I have a fully built bomber that sits on the shelf. Even if the ryft sucks at least it'd look good sitting there.

WT,



What about your setup do you dislike? Was the high COG frustrating at speed?


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[rkj__]

Good question. With all the differentials in the Ryft, I think it could potentially be a very versatile setup. I think the Ryft would need a fair bit (a bit more than the Bomber) of suspension tuning to be able to handle corners with any kind of grace. With some shorter shocks to lower ride height, and a sway bar to help the roll in turns, I suspect it could do well.

[SteveB1]

RKJ,



The differentials are on my radar as well. I feel that the Ryft could evolve into something quite interesting.



I'm tracking with you on the lowered ride height, sway bar, and proper electronics could be something fearsome on the track.



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[durok]

With a track width of 12.75" vs 11.00" and a wheelbase of 15.75" vs 14.75", and thicker axle housings and wider tires, the Ryft is likely to be more stable at speed.

Bombers are very prone to flipping over when driven too fast, even with metal axle housings, beef tubes, metal beadlocks, stainless lower links and trailing arms, etc.

(I know this from experience... )

[WHITE-TRASH]

Originally Posted by SteveB1

WT,



What about your setup do you dislike? Was the high COG frustrating at speed?


s

It wants to roll over any time you look at it. It's set up pretty low, has all of the most durable/performance related parts like a high altitude performance skid & trans with forward mounted motor and improved suspension geometry etc. I've don't most everything you can do and it still wants to turtle. Honestly the rolling over doesn't bother me as much as that big flat roof does since it always lands on it and can't be righted without walking over and flipping it over. If it had a narrower roof or higher peak so it landed on its side and could be driven back onto it's wheels I'd probably drive it a lot more. Killer parts and silly power don't amount to squat when the tires are in the air.

[SteveB1]

I hear ya. It's very frustrating indeed, and I have long favored IS buggies for this reason. On our current track, I can rail the Lasernut hard into the corners and launch out with solid control, where as the solid rear-axle platforms put on a cartwheel festival.



I'm hopeful the Ryft can be reworked, but the Lasernut is a beast.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Yea I miss my exo for it's cornering ability at speed for damned sure but the bomber doesn't break.

[SteveB1]

That's a very good key point; durability. The Lasernut is fast and nimble, but I think over time the rocks are going to beat it down. I have not had some of the problems other owners have experience, but I've also upgraded extensively.



Chances are most other owners do not have the drive time with the Lasernut that I have, so I tend to take some negative comments with a grain of salt.



"I slammed into a curb at full-speed and it broke.." Shocking indeed.



s.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Originally Posted by SteveB1

That's a very good key point; durability. The Lasernut is fast and nimble, but I think over time the rocks are going to beat it down. I have not had some of the problems other owners have experience, but I've also upgraded extensively.



Chances are most other owners do not have the drive time with the Lasernut that I have, so I tend to take some negative comments with a grain of salt.



"I slammed into a curb at full-speed and it broke.." Shocking indeed.



s.

Right! Bombers with busted servos and axle housings always make me giggle too.

[SteveB1]

It's somewhat vexing in that the Bomber seems so promising, but I'm not crazy about dropping another 1k into the platform.



I was thinking that maybe the Ryft won't need such extensive upgrades. I'm not worried about replacing axle housings and other parts with OEM items if they last me 6 months on the track, but the idea of needing to really invest on day 1 turns me off.



Who knows, I'll wait a while and see what happens. Cant wait to post a link once the track is done. It's nutty!


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[durok]

I can't wait for more of your Nomad mods and impressions...

Still toying with selling mine.

I need to build my second Bomber-based rig up - SSD axle housings, Hot Racing tranny, Big Bore shocks are all built - gotta extract a setscrew from the MIP driveshafts and a screw from the Hot Racing skid, replace them and then bolt everything to the carbon fiber Xtreme Racing chassis rails and slap a body on it. Gonna be a MUCH different animal from the other one.

[MAC FAB]

It won't be long until chop shops have Ryft parts available. Mix and match axles, trans.... into a Bomber cage. Heck, 86 the trans, run a Losi SCTE center diff like the scratchbuild TT guys run. ...as long as you aren't using U4RC rules for dimensions/specs.

[SteveB1]

Thanks D,



I have been running the Nomad for a while now on 6s with a Hobbywing 2200 Kv system, and it's absolutely superb on gravel and grass. I just want to get a bit more time behind the wheel and gather more insight before I start pulling together the update.






Looking forward to some images of your new Bomber when it's complete. Sounds legit.



s.

[SteveB1]

Originally Posted by MAC FAB

It won't be long until chop shops have Ryft parts available. Mix and match axles, trans.... into a Bomber cage. Heck, 86 the trans, run a Losi SCTE center diff like the scratchbuild TT guys run. ...as long as you aren't using U4RC rules for dimensions/specs.

I hope so. I'm very interested in seeing what can be done with the Ryft. We are going to have a pretty loose Open Class here for our U4RC racers, hoping to get as many drivers involved as possible.



From there we will look to build a few classes to level the playing field as much as possible, with good fun and sportsmanship being the main goal.



s