Papabash's Team BWD 'Low-Pro' Wedge Build

[papabash]

Originally Posted by fallin apart

Hey Dave what screws did you use for you shocks?

I used the Losi Outboard Shock Spacer Kit (LOSB1446) for the tops and bottoms of all 4 shocks. I don't like the "snap-on" shock mounts that come with the Pro Roller, the spacers give me a good amount of room so I don't bind, and the screws hold the shocks securely.
You can see them in this picture:

[papabash]

Got impatient and took it for a test drive on the course in my garage tonight. Absolutely no tuning, just plopped the electronics in and started driving. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical; my regular Mini Wedge has been nothing short of awesome, and it took darn little tuning to get it there. I really didn't see how the Low-Pro could be much of an improvement, except that it might have a little lower COG. While driving it tonight, I was blown away at how much easier a lot of lines were with this rig. It climbs like a billy goat! The only time I had a problem was on one really steep climb I would lose traction to the front tires. Not bad for zero tuning time! I'll move my rear upper links up a notch and see if that fixes the traction issue; might play with the rear shock spring tension, too.
I'm not ready to retire my Mini Wedge yet, but so far I'm pretty pleased with this Low-Pro rig.
Sorry, didn't get any video yet, I was the only one at home tonight, and I didn't want to try to video myself driving. I'll get my son to shoot some in the next couple of days. Now I have to get busy on tidying up the wiring and making some skins.

[limited77]

Looks great man! Good to hear your positive feedback on your first impressions.

[papabash]

Originally Posted by limited77

Looks great man! Good to hear your positive feedback on your first impressions.

Thanks! I'm pretty excited by my first test-drive. I won't have much time this week to tune it, but I'm thinking when I do, it's gonna be killer!

[Gambolified]

Nice! I was wondering if you could get a pic of the front head on. I'm looking at getting the rcbros steering link and plate. Just want to see how it all comes together. How much caster are you running?

[papabash]

Originally Posted by Gambolified

Nice! I was wondering if you could get a pic of the front head on. I'm looking at getting the rcbros steering link and plate. Just want to see how it all comes together. How much caster are you running?

Here you go; sporting a plastic servo horn till my good one comes in.





I'm not sure how to measure caster properly, so this may not be the true caster angle, but if I measure from the servo plate as horizontal, the king pins sit at about a 25* angle. I do this by hand, so each axle comes out a bit different. I just checked my regular Mini Wedge, and it sits at about 30*, so I may have to play around with it to get maximum steering.

[Gambolified]

Thanks. I was wondering if the stock drag link would work. No one out where I live carries 3mm allthread.

[papabash]

It works, and I have had no problems running them with 5645mg servos, but with this bigger one, I will fab something up that's a bit stronger. Here are a couple of pics of another axle I did the caster mod to show about how far back I put the new holes and the flats in relation to the stock flat areas:

[Gambolified]

Thanks for the info. I'm running a 645 right now. Kind of weak but it's what I had. I was looking at a new servo in the near future. I'm also going to clock mine as well. I'll just wait for my parts to get here so I only have to tear it down once...hopefully

[bikerj08]

Originally Posted by papabash

Here you go; sporting a plastic servo horn till my good one comes in.




I'm not sure how to measure caster properly, so this may not be the true caster angle, but if I measure from the servo plate as horizontal, the king pins sit at about a 25* angle. I do this by hand, so each axle comes out a bit different. I just checked my regular Mini Wedge, and it sits at about 30*, so I may have to play around with it to get maximum steering.

front end looks great with those knuckles, caster, steering setup, etc. nice work man

[Gfresh]

looks superb. I miss my mini. . .

[papabash]

Originally Posted by bikerj08

front end looks great with those knuckles, caster, steering setup, etc. nice work man

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Gfresh

looks superb. I miss my mini. . .

Thanks. I will run minis as long as they can be run!

[papabash]

So I went back out to the garage tonight, but instead of the Low-Pro, I took my regular Mini Wedge. I wanted to see how it handled the steep climb that I thought was giving me problems. Guess what?!? It couldn't do it either, same lifting of the front tires that the Low-Pro was doing. I knew the climb was super steep, I guess I was just hoping for too much! So the final analysis of my first test drive is this:
With absolutely zero tuning, the Low-Pro outperforms my fully-tuned regular Mini Wedge. I have to say, that is impressive! Now with a little tuning time, it should be nothing short of awesome (and might even be able to do that climb)! Nice job Don, you really nailed this one!

[billet works]

Thanks for posting your findings buddy...I know it took a lil time to hit production but my personal goal was to simply improve the already stellar mini wedge

[papabash]

Originally Posted by billet works

Thanks for posting your findings buddy...I know it took a lil time to hit production but my personal goal was to simply improve the already stellar mini wedge

Good things are worth waiting for, and this was definitely worth the wait!

[Unpredictable]

looking good Dave.

[papabash]

Thanks Randy, it's funny how much alike Austin and my builds are so far, can't wait to comp 'em against each other!

[neiloid1]

Originally Posted by papabash

So I went back out to the garage tonight, but instead of the Low-Pro, I took my regular Mini Wedge. I wanted to see how it handled the steep climb that I thought was giving me problems. Guess what?!? It couldn't do it either, same lifting of the front tires that the Low-Pro was doing. I knew the climb was super steep, I guess I was just hoping for too much! So the final analysis of my first test drive is this:
With absolutely zero tuning, the Low-Pro outperforms my fully-tuned regular Mini Wedge. I have to say, that is impressive! Now with a little tuning time, it should be nothing short of awesome (and might even be able to do that climb)! Nice job Don, you really nailed this one!

Really wish you hadn't said that as I just ordered the Dub top for my Mini Wedge and now I got the urge to change. However, I think I'll hold off and get the Bombproof Links whilst Don's got his sale on and continue to tune and enjoy my Wedge.

Great thread and build.

Can we have a side on shot with the top on please?

[papabash]

Originally Posted by neiloid1

Really wish you hadn't said that as I just ordered the Dub top for my Mini Wedge and now I got the urge to change. However, I think I'll hold off and get the Bombproof Links whilst Don's got his sale on and continue to tune and enjoy my Wedge.

You can't go wrong with either Wedge, they're both great!

Great thread and build.

Thank you sir!

Can we have a side on shot with the top on please?

Will this one do? I actually have the rig torn down at the moment while I'm tuning it. I'll get some better ones later on when it's back together.

[ClassicGMJunkie]

what weight oil are you using? I was accustomed to running 60+ in my mini wedge, with the lowpro, i ran it almost without any oil... was surprised at the handling characteristics with the quick recovery. won first time out untuned as well. this guy just flat out works !