Redcat Gen7 Sport project

[Jim85IROC]

I did it for a number of reasons. Cost was my primary motivator. My Youtube channel focuses on budget based RCs, and I felt that the Sport was a better overall value. I was able to do this whole upgrade series for about what a Pro costs out of the gate, and the net result was a much better truck. The only benefit that the Pro offers aside from cosmetics is the metal lockers and the CV axles. I was able to add both of those to my truck for $35. Additionally, all of the Pro parts make the truck very top heavy. The roof rack, the tire, and the cage under the body all raise the CoG, so I would have stripped it all off anyway. The only cosmetic part of the Pro that I like are the inner fenders and the fender flares, but those seem to increase tire rub during articulation too.

[StomperCrawler]

Great job on this thread and videos! I like how you took one step at a time and addressed the critical issues first. BTW you can get outer wheel fenders on eBay for about $8 shipped if you still want them, and lots of folks make cheap DIY wheel wells out of one-time-use Tupperware/Ziplock containers.

Any chance you could wait on upgrading the lockers until one breaks or at least gets too sloppy? We (RCCers) would love to find out how long they'll last in this budget rig without having to spend more money on it.

PS Out of curiosity, why didn't you post this thread in the Redcat RS10 forum here:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/redcat-rs10/

Was it because the forum section title was too specific instead of something like, oh... I don't know, "Redcat Crawlers"?

[jlwatchman]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

I did it for a number of reasons. Cost was my primary motivator. My Youtube channel focuses on budget based RCs, and I felt that the Sport was a better overall value. I was able to do this whole upgrade series for about what a Pro costs out of the gate, and the net result was a much better truck. The only benefit that the Pro offers aside from cosmetics is the metal lockers and the CV axles. I was able to add both of those to my truck for $35. Additionally, all of the Pro parts make the truck very top heavy. The roof rack, the tire, and the cage under the body all raise the CoG, so I would have stripped it all off anyway. The only cosmetic part of the Pro that I like are the inner fenders and the fender flares, but those seem to increase tire rub during articulation too.

I see. The Pro also has adjustable aluminum shocks.

[Jim85IROC]

Yeah. Aluminum bodied shocks are nice to look at, but as long as plastic bodies are made correctly, they work just as well. I'm quite happy with how the shocks on my Sport work.

[brokemudder]

Any updates on durability etc?

[StomperCrawler]

Originally Posted by brokemudder

Any updates on durability etc?

Big Squid recently compared the top 6 scale crawlers here:

http://www.bigsquidrc.com/1-9-rtr-sc...-final-results

... and had this to say about durability:

"Normally in our shootouts we also have two other categories – durability and parts availability. In our scale crawler shootout, we decided not to include either of these. During the entire shootout none of the trucks “broke”, thus the reason a durability category was not included. Sure, we bashed the trucks, we rammed them into each other, we bound them up in the rocks, and we drove them full speed at a wall (which they tried to climb instead of break), yet still all six trucks are unbroken."

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by brokemudder

Any updates on durability etc?

I haven't broken a thing yet!

[Jim85IROC]

Today I posted my cosmetic upgrade video. This video covers the LED light installation and the vinyl wrap. These simple and cheap upgrades transformed this truck from a boring gray box into a custom looking rig for $17.

https://youtu.be/ku2svrhIdRY

This is the end of my upgrade series, but I'll still be using this truck in more of my channel videos. I'm doing a DIY light bar installation and I 3D printed some nody accessories that I'll be installing. I also want ti soften the suspension by changing springs and shock oil, so this truck will continue to see more refinement

[Natedog]

Nice job, would you update us occasionally as you crawl it with some pictures and any parts broken or upgraded? I saw a broken front axle housing today, but the plastic is higher quality and seems little thicker than Axial OG housings. A new housing is cheap and guys kids were driving it.

[hillbillyrc]

I thought the pro had some metal goodies. Had a redcat dealer in the mall by me try telling other wise. Might explain why I haven't bought anything there.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Nice job, would you update us occasionally as you crawl it with some pictures and any parts broken or upgraded? I saw a broken front axle housing today, but the plastic is higher quality and seems little thicker than Axial OG housings. A new housing is cheap and guys kids were driving it.

Winter officially hit on Monday. I have 15"+ of snow in my yard. Chances are I won't be wheeling it again until spring. I'll still be doing some projects over the winter though, so I'll be able to provide some updates.

[Jim85IROC]

I haven't made many updates to the Gen7 lately, but I did build a DIY light bar for it recently. I've got that info in this thread:
How to: Super bright DIY LED bar

Here's a pic of it on the truck:


Last week I ordered the new Redcat high-steer knuckle & link kit:
https://www.teamredcatshop.com/store/p746/180090s

Once they get here I'm going to do a comparison of how they work compared to my current steering mods. Since my mods already let the wheels turn as far as the CV axles can go, this will be a good test to see how the modified ackerman geometry can impact the steering.