Beckworks Cobra build

[JasonInAugusta]

Nothing much right now, just locked the axles, rotated the link mounts, and built some HPI A725 shocks.

Also installed red sqwishys in Erickson Double 6 beadlocks with Moabs.

Then there's that R2 with Holmes Hobbies Crawlmaster. I yanked this tranny from the Jeep scaler for now, will use a R2 with rear disconnect when they're released.

Now if the mailman would arrive...

[cartronicshn]

Something is missing in the pics....hmmm, i see now , you are short one "THE COBRA" tuber and electronics , awesome project JIA , i am planning on getting one of those tubers also, how much were thsoe shocks?

[JasonInAugusta]

Shocks are located here: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...25&FVPROFIL=++

$31/pr

[cartronicshn]

Thanks JIA, last question , are you running internal springs or just shock oil and what weight oil?

[JasonInAugusta]

No springs, just 1000 weight Mugen diff oil...which is strangely similar to 100 weight Trinity shock oil.

What's nice is that these shocks have pivot balls at both ends.

[cartronicshn]

Awesome info, i just happened to aquire some 1000 wt oil myself to try out on my BECKWORKS tuber, mostly because i saw your video trying out the 1000 wt oil a couple months ago and they seemd to wrk really nice , i'am running 100 wt and no springs right now and it's not slow enough on the rebound.

[JasonInAugusta]

The trick to running oil only is to find a nice sweet spot with the weight of your rig (think about weight of the axles in relation to the weight of the chassis...two very different things), weight of your shock oil, and the diameter and number of holes in your shock pistons.

The old video of my King Bling tuber doesn't show how it performs now. It's much better now that the rear shocks are configured like the fronts.

[JasonInAugusta]

[JasonInAugusta]

First thing I did was remove the skidplate and round the front and rear portions of the skid. Ryan bevels the skid but I decided to just clean it up on the old nylon abrasive belt.

I removed the stock 3x20 Phillips head screws that serve as the lower link/skid mounts and put a small arrow pointing forward on the top of the skid with an X-acto so I can keep the skid properly orientated from now on. The old screws will be replaced with 3x20 10.9 button head screws.

Next up is determining body panel location.

My body panel mount locations were marked with a permanent marker, no holes are reamed. The front and rear body panels (as well as left/right side panels) are virtually identical. Put the panels in place and check alignment of the marked holes and panel in relation to the frame before you ream.

[Brandon]

Looks good JIA. Im really starting to like "The Cobra"

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by Nluvwithxlr8ing

Looks good JIA. Im really starting to like "The Cobra"

Now with 100% less quotation marks.

[Unholy]

Man those things are U.G.L.Y. as a bare frame!

They grow on you when they are built up... but still, looking at the bare frame pics makes me laugh!

[blakeski]

im waiting on mine as well... keep the pics coming, the thing looks great one quick question tho... why are you making it a drooper..? i seen the pics on beckworks and the one on thee is also a drooper... is it just preferred in the rc crawling scene?

[JIA's Dad]

UNIQUELY GOOD LOOKING, YES!!!!!!!!!

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by Unholy

Man those things are U.G.L.Y. as a bare frame!

They grow on you when they are built up... but still, looking at the bare frame pics makes me laugh!

Yup...told Dad the same thing..."That's....odd lookin' without stuff under it."

I didn't like the looks at first either. Once I saw it as a roller it was much better looking.

Originally Posted by blakeski

im waiting on mine as well... keep the pics coming, the thing looks great one quick question tho... why are you making it a drooper..? i seen the pics on beckworks and the one on thee is also a drooper... is it just preferred in the rc crawling scene?

Aaron brought some 1:1 crawling tech and ideas to RC crawling when he designed the Team Carnage Crew Hustler. The Hustler runs internal springs to help retract the shocks.

What I'm messing with is playing with shock oil, piston valving, and working between the weight of the axles and weight of the chassis to get the suspension to cycle the way it should through normal use without having adverse effects on handling during sidehills and ascents.

The combo I've found works well on my King Bling tuber Even though the rear shocks weren't properly set up in that video and the BEC circuit was acting up, pay attention to the sidehill abilities of that truck. I put the same basic ideas into Dad's Cobra.

He ran it the first day in competition (without prior testing) and finished 6th.

Then we made changes and took it to the rocks...it performed better.

Here's the video of Dad's Cobra with changes made. Notice how planted the truck is and how well the suspension cycles without wanting to unload on sidehills.

At 1:31, when Dad starts the 2nd course, notice how the truck is biting and clawing up the wet rock face (needs red sqwishies!) but the suspension isn't "jacking"...instead it's staying stable and the rear axle isn't trying to drive under the chassis, which would push the chassis up.

From 1:51 to 2:05 you can see how the suspension is free to cycle and not stiff like you'd think.

Dad rolled at 2:33 but that's because he got a little over-zealous and hooked a tire in the rock face. Luckily for him he designed the frame to help in rollover situations.

I'm curious to compare it to my King Bling rig on the rocks...just to see how close they are to one another.

But yeah, I've messed with the droop setups a good bit and I think I've found a configuration that works.

Maybe Dad can chime in with what he thinks about how the truck handles now.

[eric113]

Jason, between you and your dad what hole pistons are yall running on yalls trucks?

[JasonInAugusta]

Dad is running regular Hot Bodies T-Maxx shocks with Mugen 1K weight oil.

I'm also running 1K weight Mugen oil, but with some secret squirrel shock pistons.

[eric113]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

Dad is running regular Hot Bodies T-Maxx shocks with Mugen 1K weight oil.

I'm also running 1K weight Mugen oil, but with some secret squirrel shock pistons.

Oh boy!! Not another secret on rcc....should known better to ask.
But really, does changing the piston make a big diff with no springs ?

[JIA's Dad]

Originally Posted by eric113

Jason, between you and your dad what hole pistons are yall running on yalls trucks?

Eric,

Like Jason said I ran on Saturday in the comp and the rear axle on the Cobra was trying to crawl under the frame. Which lifted the whole thing causing problems with traction and steering. Causing some rear steer as the axle was moving forward. Saturday night some changes to the setup made it better in testing on Sunday.
But the real improvement came after more modifications on Sunday night. I/we decided to limit the axle travel with tie downs (ZIP TIES), I also changed wheels and tires (went with some old Double narrowed wheels I had and a new set of Mashers). I also decided to change oil in the rear shocks. I now have Mugen 1000 wt. in front and 3000 wt. in the rear with 3/8" spacers inside and out, Still running the Hot Bodies for now.
As you can see in the video, other than my driving fast and reckless the Cobra performed very well. I feel I would have placed a lot better in the comp had I been running this setup at the time. My next modification will be to add one of the new R2 transmissions with disconnect.

Looking good Jason!!!!

[JasonInAugusta]

You snuck 3K in the rear?!

Yet another secret on RCC.

The Mashers do perform better for sure. I'm running Moabs on my build because the LHS didn't have M2Ks.