Drvnbeing's Dark Soul

[Drvnbeing]

Alright well I finally got around to taking some pictures today after I have finally got this rig pretty much dialed in the way I want. Still need to play around with the shocks a lil bit but other than that I am happy with just about everything else. Today I ventured and made an OTA for this and let me tell ya, HELL YEA!!! This gave me more steering than I would have imagined. Anyways on to the Specs.

Chassis: Dark Soul (This IMO is one of the best chassis out there!!!)
Shocks: Losi threaded aluminum (internal and external sprung)
Tires: Losi bashers (Tried the flat irons, not for me; will be trying the blue claws soon though)
Wheels: Losi Aluminums
Electronics: Tekin FXR ( A must have IMO ), Spektrum DX3r (another rc life changing purchase), Hitec 645mg (soon to be upgraded to something digital), and I will be installing a CC BEC to see how it improves or does'nt improve things, I have heard different opinions so it is time to corolate my own. Holmes Hobbie Torque Master Mini running 11 tooth pinion (a must have, tried the slider and insane and they were just more speed than one needs.)
Losi Goodies: Rear lock out (the new one piece axle have held up so much better than the first batch), Aluminum C's and Spindles (drilled and tapped out for 3mm screws, had two sets brake with the 2mm crap), metal lockers (front/rear/center).
HR CRAP: The only HR CRAP on here now is the tranny housing, will prob get some gears again but I will not put anything else HR on here.

Now for the pics:

Let me know what ya guys think, and if you have any Q's feel free to ask I am always willing to help a brother out!

[jnev]

Great looking rig! I have a couple questions as I will be building a MRC soon. What are the advantages of have the shocks sprung internally and externally? Also, do you have a link to the rear lockout? How does it benefit the truck in crawling?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance.

[Drvnbeing]

Originally Posted by jnev

Great looking rig! I have a couple questions as I will be building a MRC soon. What are the advantages of have the shocks sprung internally and externally? Also, do you have a link to the rear lockout? How does it benefit the truck in crawling?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance.

No apology needed bro. I am not sure if there is a advantage of having the rig sprung internally and externally, it just suits my driving style and needs. i have tried full droop, just internal, just external, and this is the setup I have found I like the feel for the most. As far as the rear lock outs you can find them at horizon's website. The advantage of having these is that you get rid of a little bit of slop that the stock two piece axles have. And trust me I am just learning about all this myself. Now the front CVD's are going to give you a little more turning radious then the stock dog bones. You can modify the dog bones by grinding some off, but I think the CVD's are just cleaner. Some guys have broke the CVD's and I am not sure how, I think though it's due to their motor setup (TOO MUCH WHEEL SPEED) but thats just my guess. Good look and keep looking around on here you WILL learn alot.

[jnev]

Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you very much for the help.

[chetly]

if your looking for a good servo i have the futaba s9551. it is digital and has good torque almost as much as the 645 it and fit the darksoul plate great. its an airplane servo so its not as deep as the 645 servo. there is at least 3 of us locally that run the darksoul chassis and that servo.


almost forgot good looking rig

[Drvnbeing]

Originally Posted by jnev

Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you very much for the help.

No prob!

Originally Posted by chetly

if your looking for a good servo i have the futaba s9551. it is digital and has good torque almost as much as the 645 it and fit the darksoul plate great. its an airplane servo so its not as deep as the 645 servo. there is at least 3 of us locally that run the darksoul chassis and that servo.


almost forgot good looking rig

Thanks I will look into that, was hoping for a little more torque but it's not really needed.

[chetly]

I'm running darksouls wheels and the fronts are fully loaded and it moves them with no problems.

[Drvnbeing]

Originally Posted by chetly

I'm running darksouls wheels and the fronts are fully loaded and it moves them with no problems.

I might just give that one a try I like that it is not as deep as the 645, how long have you guys been running it?

[nightcrawler86]

You can load wheels with as much weight as you want and it wont hurt because the weight would be rotating mass not like pulling weight behind the truck.

[chetly]

I've had it on for about 3 months now. Average about 5-6 hours a week crawling and its preformed flawlessly.

[soundcolor]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler86

You can load wheels with as much weight as you want and it wont hurt because the weight would be rotating mass not like pulling weight behind the truck.

No, adding wheel/tire weight makes the servo work harder. As long as you dont get crazy then its no big deal. But always remember no-one makes a crawler specific servo yet, and until they do we are left using the best we can find. So, only add the weight you have to. No more.


Drvn... Killer rig, congrats bro

[Drvnbeing]

So I picked up the new proline bug body yesterday and this is how it ended up. I really like this body, it is a nice change from the mini lst bodies I have been using. This thing actually fits the crawler!! It is a tad long but I could have trimmed the motor off but I liked the look of it too much! On to the pics...

[pup]

That body is much more comp friendly and I think I may order one also. But I like the Bronco body that you had on there better.

[Drvnbeing]

Originally Posted by pup

That body is much more comp friendly and I think I may order one also. But I like the Bronco body that you had on there better.

Yeah I know what ya mean, I am quite fond of the bronko body too. But I have had this fetish with buying and ruining bodies with bad paint jobs so I figured I would try it with the bug body too . But seriously I have been wanting a bug body since I got this MRC so it was only a matter of time.

[ReDone]

Good looking rig!

The new bug body might not look as good as the old one, but it may help improve performance.

Sometimes, you gotta sacrifice looks for performance.

[Waychoff05]

the bug body doesn't do it for me on this one. But if the performance is better then that's all the counts!

[Drvnbeing]

Got home yesterday and a nice brown box from proline was sitting on my door step. Opened it up and there they were, my new wheels and tires!!! Mounted them up last night and just took them for a lil test run. Let me just say wow!!! These chisels are very impressive, Compared to the bashers (which i have been running) and the flat irons (I tried out for a lil while), these tires are amazing!!! They grip up like nothing, side crawling and steep crawling where the bashers and flat irons could'nt think about going. The rims are 'aight. I didnt know that they were plastic wheels with metal bead locks, but they look alright and were pretty easy to asssemble. And they weigh just a tad more than the losi aluminums. Overall I am very happy with my purchases. Here's some pics, I'll get some good "action" pics this weekend.

[T-buck]

Looking real good.

I want to pick a set of these up.

[Drvnbeing]

Well I still love this rig, I am going to get my daughters rig going and I am really debating on getting another one of these chassis. I competed in one local comp about a month ago and this rig took first place with me driving it and second with my brother driving it (who actually has not played with it too much). Not too much has changed on this rig since last post. Though I did try a couple different mounts for my electronics. Fist one I cut a piece of plastic and mounted my esc and rx on it but that was too top heavy so I ended up making a couple of trays to sit down inside the chassis. So I have taken my rig to the ocean and a comp and got her a new lid for comps too.

[chetly]

I'm running damn near the same thing that you are. i even have the proline titus wheels and chisels now too. I actually found that if I put the battery on the what would be driver side of the chassis with a velcro strap vs the rear link the truck worked better. I also have the inboard shock mount with losi alum shocks. I haven't been to any comps yet in the local area, but i'm doing tougher lines and some of the same lines easier than other people without this chassis.