Losi Baja Rey 1/10th 4WD RTR desert truck

[CM9000]

the only problem I have with the 1258 is than when my truck rolls and lands on its side is that it doesn't have enough torque to help me get the truck back on its wheels by throttling out and steering towards the ground.

[TheLetterJ]

I checked my receiver with my crappy multimeter and it shows 6.07v, the Promodeler shows 180oz at 6v and speed slows to 0.11s. That is still more than twice as fast as the stocker (though slightly slower than the 1258 is) with a nice bump in torque. My reaction time isn't good enough to appeciate .03s difference in speed, so as long as it keeps up with the AVC's voodoo I'll be happy. I've been impressed with their build quality on the 420v3, so I think I'm going to give the 215v3 a shot.

[TheLetterJ]

Alright, 215v3 has been ordered. I already have a clamping aluminum servo horn that should fit too.

I took the truck apart and thought I already killed the front pinion bearings, but on closer inspection, the bearings feel fine, but fit in the diff housing is sloppy. I'm thinking that some bearing retaining compound should do the trick. I might just go ahead and put in a couple fresh bearings since it's such a pain to get to them. Any preference on bearing type? Should I be looking for something that is rubber sealed? Ceramic?

There was also some pretty heavy fluid inside the diff already, maybe 50k wt +? Is it wise to grease the ring/pinion, or was that just recommended for inside the diff?

[fyrstormer]

I use the Hitec HS-7955TG servo on all my vehicles except my touring cars. Never regretted it. It's a beast, and can handle going completely underwater despite not being advertised as waterproof.

If you're using your Baja Rey for "sick jumps bro", then stiffer shock oil may be a good idea, but if you're running it on the ground, leave the shock oil alone -- it's tuned well straight out of the box.

[TheLetterJ]

I thought about going with a "mega" torque servo, but I just couldn't see the cost/benefit being worthwhile for me with this truck's higher speed application. This isn't my primary hobby, but I've got 8 cars going, so it's hard to justify spending more on an upgrade that isn't absolutely "necessary." Just guessing here, but I think that my new servo's speed should be adequate, I'm just hoping that 20oz more torque was enough to be appreciated. Based on people's review of the Savox 1258, I should be in the ballpark.

The rear shocks need slower (stiffer) rebound than how the truck came out of the box. Watching just about any youtube video of the Baja Rey (and now the Rock Rey) shows that this is not unique to my toy truck. Big jump, little jump, hard on the brakes, or square edged bump, all situations show that slower rebound in the rear would help. I know that overly soft compression can often look like too soft rebound when the suspension quickly hits the bumpstop which acts like a spring and launches the truck skyward again, a little firmer in both directions (as when simply changing oil) might be just what the doctor ordered. Getting both ends to play well together is more important than just taking a big hit, so I could theoretically run lighter oil and more preload up front to get similar balance... but I like the way the front end is working as-is.

If this were a 1:1 the bumpstop would have it's own shim stack with massive amounts of rebound so as not to have influence on the primary suspension's rebound. I could just tighten up a bypass screw, or add a couple face shims to the rebound stack and the condition would clear up... but it's not, so I'll start by experimenting with the heavier (60wt) oil that I already have. If it's too much, I can throw some 40-45wt on my next parts order.

At the end of the day I'm just a grown assed man playing with toy trucks!

[fyrstormer]

I've heard that Savox servos are very loud, for whatever that's worth.

If you're going to go down the road of suspension tuning, first drain the oil from all the shocks, then reinstall and drop the truck from a few inches in the air. Tune the springs until it bounces evenly front and rear. Only then should you start playing with damping rates.

Also, if you want to change *just* the rebound damping, you can make a one-way valve using a small piece of a soda can, and bolt it onto the shock shaft underneath the piston so it covers one of the holes. It will flex open during compression, and flex closed during rebound.

[fyrstormer]

So anyway I put new tires on my Baja Rey yesterday. Note the matching spare tire. ;)

[CM9000]

you should get a second spare and mount it in front of the current one or do the side by side mod. a single spare just doesn't look right..

[mewalsh100]

Just picked up my Blue Baja Rey today. Pretty stoked! I lubed up the rear diff real good and then took her for a quick rip on 2s. Seems pretty good. I was going to try and stay disciplined and tear it all down to do the front and center diffs prior to first run, but was too damn excited. Anyway, plan on getting to that this weekend. Ordered a FastEddy bearing kit as well. Are there any "gotchas" I should be looking out for when tearing down to access the front and center diffs? Once I get the bearings swapped and everything lubed up real good, I plan on running some 3s through it. Pretty impressed overall with the truck though.

[CM9000]

rear upper links, and steering links. take the front swaybar completely off. and.. you should be good to go. metal gear servo, and a better servo horn too.

[smitty2919]

Looking forward to updates and even info about the Rock Rey

[TheLetterJ]

I totally forgot about some Amazon gift cards I had, so I ordered the Losi light bar for the Baja Rey. I'll at least try it powered by the receiver before hooking it straight to my 3s balance plug.

I didn't like the noises coming from the front diff after reassembling with bearing retaining compound (bad gear mesh? Retaining compound found its way in a bearing?) so I bought a new diff housing/bulkhead and rubber sealed bearings. Much better.

The new Promodeler 215v3 servo and 15.5mm Team Associated aluminum servo horn (closest to the stock drop/offset and hole center I could find) make for WAY faster steering and it has enough torque to cycle lock to lock while I pushed the truck down to the point of being bottomed out. That should be a nice improvement.

I'm just waiting on my center diff locker to get here and she'll be good to go. I can always change it back if I don't like it, but it seems like a good idea for running in sand (I'm only about 15 miles from the Pismo dunes.) I haven't run an rc in the dunes since my Savage 10+ years ago, but the Baja Rey just might be worthy.

[fyrstormer]

Originally Posted by CM9000

you should get a second spare and mount it in front of the current one or do the side by side mod. a single spare just doesn't look right..

Actually it looks spot-on.

[fyrstormer]

Originally Posted by CM9000

rear upper links, and steering links. take the front swaybar completely off. and.. you should be good to go. metal gear servo, and a better servo horn too.

+1 all of this, except for removing the front swaybar.

[skeeler]

What are folks doing about using higher-current connectors between the battery and ESC? The EC3 is only rated for 60 A--still better than a Deans connector--so it is a poor choice for for a vehicle equipped with a 135-amp ESC. Losi should have at least used an EC5 (rated at 120 A). I like to use Castle polarized 6.5-mm bullets (rated for 200 A) on high-power vehicles.

[Rjohn929]

The EC3 is a 4mm billet if I'm not mistaken. Has no problem in the Rey regardless of its rating. I would have preferred an EC5 since I use them already but it's ok.

Edit. 3.5mm. Still shouldn't be a problem.

[CM9000]

I use trx plugs.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by Rjohn929

The EC3 is a 4mm billet if I'm not mistaken. Has no problem in the Rey regardless of its rating. I would have preferred an EC5 since I use them already but it's ok.

The "3" in "EC3" means it's a 3-mm bullet. You might be getting a small voltage drop across the EC3 connector under high-current conditions, when the resistance increases, and not realize it.

Also my big packs all have Castle 6.5 connectors. Are you using EC5 to EC3 adapters? If so, how well do they fit in the available space?

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by CM9000

I use trx plugs.

Did you replace the ESC's EC3? If so, did you integrate your TRX connector into a plate like the stock setup, or is it just hanging out of the hole? I'd prefer to minimize the amount of wire dangling in with the links and shaft.

[CM9000]

Originally Posted by skeeler

Did you replace the ESC's EC3? If so, did you integrate your TRX connector into a plate like the stock setup, or is it just hanging out of the hole? I'd prefer to minimize the amount of wire dangling in with the links and shaft.

im not running interior. and im not running an adaptor. I shortened the esc cables so that the batt cables are actually going straight into the hole.

there is maybe a half inch of batt cable between the access plate and the hole where the ec3 used to be.