How "good" are Axial's sintered gears?

[RCWilly]

I recently got an SCX10 ii Raw Builder's Kit (my first Axial), and the gears do not seem very smooth, especially the spiral-cut diffs. The front diff is so notchy that you can feel the vibration from the axle on the body posts, and I can only steer a little bit before the front axle starts pulsing from the gears binding. If I steer 90% in either direction with the tires off the ground, the front axle (literally) starts jumping and hopping. Is that supposed to be normal?

(I'll try to post a video of this problem too)
Thanks!

[RCWilly]

Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Q_6fBOpdI

Also, what would be a good upgrade option for the diff gears? Any recommendations, thoughts, or opinions on parts by SSD, Vanquish, and Boom Racing (and any other companies that make good gears for the SCX10 ii)?

[lonleycreeper]

The stintered gears will wear in after a couple miles on the trail. I think your u joints in the axle are binding at full lock thus the jumpiness, try setting your epa back a little to help.

I just put Vanquish gears in the rear of my Trail King, and I would highly recomend them, super smooth from the get go.

[TITANIUM94010]

They're ok for normal crawling and light driving, but a brushless system or some hard running wear down the gears and can easily strip them.

I've gone through pretty much 2 stock Axial AR44 Diffs on my Prerunner build (Axe550 brushless system geared very high 2wd, really tough on the gears). If they slip/strip once, the whole gear will start falling apart shortly after.

As for the binding/hopping, this is normal at around full steering lock, just like on the TRX4. To be completely honest, while the 10.2 RBK is a good all-around kit for both custom builds and a beginner crawler, it's just not perfectly refined and has a few iffs here and there. Due to the diffs being helical, the pinion has to be on a sweet spot somwhere on the ring gear, or it doesn't want to spin smoothly. They also work better in one direction than the other, which is the reason for the front vibrating more than the rear. I'm sure you could refine it with some shimms, but to me it's not worth the trouble for something that isnt a massive deal.

So far my Boom Racing diff hasn't stripped, and it looks to be holding up well (So far it's been 2 weeks of hard bashing at scale speeds). I haven't seen my front diff bind too much from when I had a front axial diff, but the Boom racing gears are definitely pretty smooth. Maybe not a huge noticeable improvement in smoothness but definitely better in terms of strength. I also pack my diffs pretty much to the brim with grease, it makes them a little smoother and helps with the heat.

[Gula]

Sounds like you may be missing a bearing. Or you may have a bent shaft.

[WHITE-TRASH]

The gears will wear in after a bit so just run it. The way universal joints work the farther from straight that the wheels get the more they speed up and slow down as they rotate. It's normal, run it.

[RCWilly]

Thanks for the confirmation, everyone! Really appreciate it! I'll probably add more grease for now, and see how it does. Once it's worn/has issues, I'll upgrade the gears to the Vanquish ones.

[Kemora]

as others have said, that looks like binding somewhere, not the diff gears. That being said I have munched sintered gears with brushless power when I got my tires bound and didn't realize it, but that's not a knock on the gears, it's a knock on me.

[NickelPlate]

Sintered gears are fine in crawlers. Not so fine in high powered/speed bashers, rock bouncers etc IMHO. Like other said though it sounds like you have a binding problem going on somewhere.

[ferp420]

axials sintared gears were always temperary just there till you can aford to replace them

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

When I had my 10ii, I went through a set of gears per axle before I got the SSD gears. That was on 2S brushed. The SSD gears with the 6 bolt locker are super tough. That being said I'd for sure get some gears asap.

[suprachrgd82]

The sintered gears are lousy. Generally, a ring gear will chip following a tumble down the hill.


Thus far, I have used Axial 2-piece spools, Hot Racing 2-piece spools, Boom Racing Spools, most recently a Chinese unbranded gear set.

From what I've found, the ring gear wants to pull the pinion into the carrier while coasting, causing the gear chatter you are experiencing. The aftermarket pinion shafts that accept a E-clip by the driveshaft help to keep gear backlash consist under load. I recommend looking for a set that uses the E-clip.

I hate to say it, but this set has proven to have the smoothest operation: https://www.ebay.com/itm/36350005132...IAAOSwJKFhDuWb

The guys above are right - first set your servo left/right EPA. Then consider new gears if yours don't wear in or fail during normal use.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Originally Posted by suprachrgd82

The sintered gears are lousy. Generally, a ring gear will chip following a tumble down the hill.


Thus far, I have used Axial 2-piece spools, Hot Racing 2-piece spools, Boom Racing Spools, most recently a Chinese unbranded gear set.

From what I've found, the ring gear wants to pull the pinion into the carrier while coasting, causing the gear chatter you are experiencing. The aftermarket pinion shafts that accept a E-clip by the driveshaft help to keep gear backlash consist under load. I recommend looking for a set that uses the E-clip.

I hate to say it, but this set has proven to have the smoothest operation: https://www.ebay.com/itm/36350005132...IAAOSwJKFhDuWb

The guys above are right - first set your servo left/right EPA. Then consider new gears if yours don't wear in or fail during normal use.

E clips reduce the diameter of the pinion shaft creating a failure point. Easy button is a pack of Traxxas 1985 shims. Shim the slop out between the driveline and outer pinion bearing and you'll be good.