Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

What is a Rock Rey?

According to Oxford:

rock - [mass noun] The solid mineral material forming part of the surface of the earth and other similar planets, exposed on the surface or underlying the soil.

‘the beds of rock are slightly tilted’
'a piece of rock'

Seems simple enough, but...

rocks [vulgar slang] A man's testicles.

Well then... Since this is going to be an RC rock crawler and a rock racer we will go with the first definition. If it was a 1:1 you would also need the latter.

Moving on...

That's the easy part. WTH is a Rey?

According to Oxford:

No exact matches found for "rey"

OK let's try Dictionary then:

noun
a city in N Iran, near Teheran.

Um, probably not so let's continue.

OK then let's try the world's largest and most unreliable encyclopedia - Wikipedia.

Noun
rey - vote

Hmmm Rock the Vote! Possibly, but highly doubtful. Let's continue onto more definitions.

Noun
rey - king

Rock King. That makes sense! Probably a winner, but let's dig just a little deeper.

Let's head to the internet's most reliable source - Urban Dictionary. :lmao:

A pimp mother****er.

an awesome guy

A very very cool guy, with a penis the size of Nebraska (The Springsteen album... since it's an LP, it has a diameter of 12")

OK now that sounds just like me so we have a winner! :lmao:

Alas, Rock King makes sense. Anyway, I have a Rock King kit on the wey. Err I have a Rock Rey kit on the way.

I've wanted once since the kit was announced. I should have gotten in when they were on sale - turns out they were sadly on clearance. I did not, but I found a leftover all the way across the country in Washington state. It is supposed to ship today and I should have it this week or next. No hurry as I have a lot of parts in mind that I want when I start the build.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

So far I have the electronics at home. These items were purchased new in the past - and all are still new or barely used - so that's a big chunk of money that won't have to come out of my bank account for this build.

Castle Mamba Monster X
Tekin ROCK412 3100kv (I may also decide to put this in my Axial Bomber to steal back the Holmes Hobbies Puller Pro 3500kv) Thoughts?
Savox 2290 - when one of the sites (dLux maybe) was blowing them out
FlySky receiver for my GT-5.

I ordered the Boom Racing front upper suspension and rear upper and lower suspension mounts. They were considerable cheaper than Losi's even shipped from Chai-nah and I'm a big fan of Boom's stuff.

Also ordered these items:

DSM Off-Road bearings (first time trying them, but they are supposedly ABEC 3)
Exotek clamping 25T servo horn
Exotek stainless steel skid plate
T-Bone Racing 37200 Delrin chassis skid plate

These items are on my list to buy:

Losi aluminum bellcrank
Losi aluminum servo mount
Vaterra Twin Hammers Front Diff Lock for the center and possibly the front

The SSD bulkhead in black and third member (why you no black?) are on my list, but I'm also contemplating splurging here on my first Vanquish axle. It would be in raw so the scratches aren't as obvious. Black axles look like garbage all too quickly when the finish wears off.

This will be mostly a trail rig rock crawler which is why I'm planning on locking the diffs. How do you guys think it will work with the center and rear locked by having the front open with thicker oil? That would turn much better, but I'm not sure just how much crawling performance will be killed. In some spots I think I'd be fine and others it would kill me especially at off-angle approaches. That's probably why front, center and rear will be locked.

Also, I'm not sure if I want 3100kv or 3500kv.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I was going to politely suggest you acquire a new kit quickly as you obviously have waaaay too much free time, but I see you've already squared that away, and I was laughing too much anyway...:lmao:

3300kv FTW. Barring that, 3500. "thumbsup"

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

If we are using Urban Dictionary as an authoritative source, rock can also mean a basketball or a form of cocaine. The "king of cocaine" is a much more impressive title.

Pablo Escobar approves of this build.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be offended by the "you obviously have waaaay too much free time" comment. LOL

The 3500kv is in the Bomber and that's just too fast for it IMO. I don't know if it would be slower or faster in the Rock Rey as I never compared the FDR of the two vehicles.

Dammit! Where were you when I needed you? I shall paint it all white and call it the King of Coccaine! Definitely will require bullet holes and my driver and passenger will have BPV's (bullet proof vests). :lmao:

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Nice. It's one of those kits that I wanted, but I knew I wouldn't run much.... so I missed out on the $250 clearance as well.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

That's my fear. My Bomber has probably been out on the trails twice in the time that I've owned it. And often it gets boring because it makes the obstacles too easy.

But when you have a lot of RCs, like I'm sure you do, it's impossible to give them all a lot of use.

That's why I was and kinda still am very hesitant to build this. Sometimes I think I should just keep it in the box to see if I want to build it or if I should just sell it after the "OMG I GOT A NEW KIT" wears off.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Since I first heard Rock Rey, it has always made me think of Monterey, the city in CA. Couldn't tell ya why beyond the ending of the name. Is it rocky in Monterey?:ror:

Good place for a Mamba Monster, look forward to the build...if it happens....its gonna happen:flipoff:

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I rarely laugh when offense is intended...as far as you know. It's just envy, ultimately :ror:

My crawlers never see any air time, unless I seriously screw up near cliffs, but the ability to slip the surly bonds was kind of a prerequisite for the Bomber so fast was relative. The 3100kv provides more than enough thrust to get aloft on command, so yeah, I can imagine a 3500kv could be overkill.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Never thought of that, but you are right! Now that you say it it also reminds me of the cheese that shares the name of that city + Jack.

Alas, I'm sure you are right! I'm like a kid on Christmas morning every time an RC package, especially a kit, arrives at home.

Don't worry, I wasn't really offended. I'm rarely offended! :lmao:

The Rock Rey with it's IFS would handle the 3500kv better than a Bomber. I just don't know if I can gear it down enough for crawling speeds.

If the 3500kv remains in the Bomber it's more likely due to my laziness and not wanting to pull the Bomber apart, yet again, to change the motor. I tore that thing apart numerous times trying to diagnose the damn ESC issue that turned out to be a firmware bug.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

So I've noticed "thumbsup"

The "some disassembly required" for anything other than a battery swap is for sure the pain point of the Bomber. I would hope the Rock Rey is more maintenance friendly?

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

If the Rock Rey is anything like the Baja Rey the answer to your last question is "no". Cage or body panels have to come off to get to anything other than the motor and battery.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Yeah, by all accounts (by which I mean a bunch of videos I once watched on YouTube), the Rock Rey is even worse to open up than the Bomber. Sad to see this thing discontinued, but it makes sense to see the Losi and Axial lines shake out with some cancellations, I guess.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Don't forget to pick up Traxxas 2523 screws for the diffs. You'll need 12 screws total. They make aluminum diff cups but I wouldn't mess around with that because they're more expensive and the stock screws are the real weak point anyway.

Also there's a guy on the Rock Rey Facebook group that makes some really nice 3D-printed deans plug adapters for these trucks.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I didn't know about the screws. Thanks.

I use XT60 connectors so no Deans here.


I'm about to place an order for the rest of the parts for my Rock Rey build. The holdup is that I can't decide between the Vanquish clear/raw axle or just going with the SSD third member...

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I ditched the body and went to panels. Looks better and it has the added benefit of easier access to the truck. I locked the center and rear diff, I put in bad horsie locking grease in the front for a limited slip effect. Thing is a monster on the rocks due to the LCOG, any break-over hang ups are easily cured by a bit of speed.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

What brand are your panels? And did you have to cut off the standoffs build into the cage?

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Well I placed a $400 order at RPP and I splurged on the Vanquish housing. It will be my first VP axle. I ordered at 1:33 PM and got a tracking number at 3:13 PM (that's fast and also a lot of 3's! :shock:) so hopefully the order arrives Friday or Saturday along with the kit!

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Well flick flickr since it's going pay. I have uploaded my images for this build to imgbb so let's see how it goes. So far not liking it because, as far as I can tell, you can't adjust the thumbnail sizes. You only get the small size you see here. Open for suggestions to new photo hosts/

Here are the wheels and tires I have at home. One of these wheels will be used with this build and most likely mounted do the Pit Bull Rock Beasts. Vanquish SHR Vintage and TSS Hutchinsons.

https://i.ibb.co/tbxpnjk/46243755422-7af070544f-o.jpg

And the first shipment of parts arrived. I know, this is existing stuff :roll: If I have to wait, you have to wait! :mrgreen:

Exotek 25T servo horn
Exotek SS front skid
T-Bone Delrin belly skid (I begrudgingly ended by own T-Bone boycott for this piece)

https://i.ibb.co/8mpJBX0/32422115008-e4000d45f5-o.jpg

Now we wait some more.

Are any of you guys using limiting straps? I'd like to get a set at least for the rear. I don't know what length I need and probably won't until I have the kit built. That's where you guys come in instead.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I made the panels myself out of aluminum sheet. For the limiting straps, I've been trying to find a set myself but you would need about 5" straps. That is if you are trying to use the second set of shock holes to do it on the rear.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

3000+ KV seems really high to me. These rigs are not designed to go fast. I run the 1512 2650kv castle motor and on 3s it's just kind of silly. Thing will not go in a straight line under hard acceleration.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

The kit shows that it's out for delivery today which is a day early! The parts from RPP are still on schedule for delivery tomorrow.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I run the 2400kv on mine and it's pretty quick on 3S so geared it down allot. It's still super twitchy and needs the curve changed. The RR does do fast but would do properly fast if that rear diff could be unlocked.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Well the USPS is screwing around and my parts from RPP and AsiaTees were delayed. So now I wait impatiently.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Well, thankfully, my large order o' parts from RPP showed before the holiday. Look at dis goodness!

http://i.imgur.com/yOAkDrah.jpg

The first thing I wanted to tear into was the shiny, Vanquish Currie axle. Eye candy!

Let's weigh the housings.

Stock:
http://i.imgur.com/SEhzgKBh.jpg

Vanquish:
http://i.imgur.com/vKRpIPnh.jpg

Significant weight increase, but also a significant increase in strength and prettiness.

I didn't have much time to wrench last night and I wasn't in the picture taking mood so I didn't get many in between steps.

I did drill out the four holes in the ring gear so I could use the larger, Traxxas screws. It's the diff screw mod that all the cool kids are doing these days. And I can see why because the stock screws are not only course, but they are tiny - maybe 1.5mm to 2mm max in diameter. Too spindly for something that is, in all reality, an 1/8th scale rig. My only concern is that the screws end up being very close to the edge of the diff cup. I'm not sure how much of the plastic wall is left. We'll find out I guess.

My cheap ass drill bits had a tough time chewing through the hardened gear. I still have do to this mod to the center and front diff gears so those pictures will follow at some point.

Now, magically, onto the completed rear axle.

Damn, that is beautiful! The machining is great. The third member fits on perfectly. It's snug which is a good thing. And the internals are just as good. Everything fits perfectly and lines up where it should. Damn, I should have taken photos of the internals! I actually had to take it back apart because I added shims to both the ring gear and pinion. Plus, I forgot Loctite since I'm not used to aluminum axles. :lmao:

Did you guys with the VP axles use both diff and pinion shims?

I used to be one of the most vocal Vanquish dectractors, but they have won me over. I'm a fan.

http://i.imgur.com/Qt8cbmHh.jpg

And the final weight on this assembled tank. 10.45 ounces...that's .65 pounds! :shock:

http://i.imgur.com/Z3vvI9Fh.jpg

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

That Vanquish axle looks quality and the build looks like it will be super sweet!

I considered the same Vanquish axle but opted for the less expensive SSD third member for the moment for my Baja Rey. I'm little gun-shy about putting big dollars into the vehicle for two reasons.

1) It is my go-fast abuse vehicle
2) I am slightly concerned Losi will discontinue the Rey model line and I will be stuck with shelf jewelry if I break a part that is no longer available.

After reading about your experience drilling out the stock ring gear/diff cups I am wondering if I should try the Exotek aluminum diff cups. Anyone have experience with those?

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Saw the Super Rock Rey in person yesterday at the lhs. It's huge. Not sure where I'd be able to store or drive something like that.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Mine will be a crawler with go-fast moments in between so much less abuse.

If you get the aluminum diff cups then you will have to drill and tap them out to use larger screws.

I'm sure it is. I have a 1/5th scale HPI Baja and that is a beast. Even this Rock Rey looks like it's going to be huge. The axle dwarfs AR60 axles.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Part of the description for The Exotek Rock/Baja Rey Alloy Differential Gear Case on AMain's page says the following:

"The cup uses bigger than stock, steel screws to help prevent blowing out the gear diff under heavy loads. Screws require a quality 1.5 hobby grade hex wrench (do not use allen keys)."

Seems like it would be an easy drop-in upgrade to the stock diff cups if the screws are 2.5mm or larger.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Oh very cool! I wonder what size screws they use. The Traxxas screws are 2.5mm. Good to know for the future if I have issues with the cups, but I don't foresee that.

Heavier cups does add rotational mass though so there is that drawback.

I emailed Exotek about the screw size. I will let you know what they say.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Exotek got back to me already! :shock: Their diff cup comes with 2.5mm screws. Wish I had known this. They seem like a great upgrade.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I put the Exotek diff cup in my front diff a month or so ago... so far, so good! I've previously killed a couple gear sets (before aluminum front bulkheads were available), the stock diff cup, sheared the included screws in the HR TH aluminum diff cup, sheared the 12.9 screws in another HR TH diff cup, and I'm really hoping the M2.5 grade 12.9 screws solve my 'Rey's diff problems once and for all!

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Nice! Good to know about the Exotek diff cups. I may just buy a couple since I'm going to be disassembling the front end and replacing the front bulkhead with the SSD bulkhead I have on hand now.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Night 2 of wrenching.

First up is the SSD bulkhead diff housing. As always is the case with SSD products, it's pretty. This moron was working in light that was too dim for his old eyes and therefore he didn't see the single screw holding the bulkhead halves together. I was wondering why I couldn't pull it apart. Luckily I didn't use any force. :roll:

http://i.imgur.com/5j0RUIsh.jpg

In a previous post I mentioned en-biggening the holes in the ring gears to install larger, mo-better diff screws. Here's a comparison of the Traxxas screw on the left (2.5mm, fine thread) to the stock screw on the left (2mm, coarse thread).

Dem lil' 2mm screwz iz two small for dat there darn 1/8th scale rig!

http://i.imgur.com/sgUqab5h.jpg

Ring gear holes enbiggened and mo-betta screws installed. As you can see the screws don't sit flash with the ring gear because the larger heads won't fit in the countersunk holes, but it doesn't cause any clearance issues like this.

http://i.imgur.com/pww1NxVh.jpg

Here's the diff installed in the SSD housing. I think it's crazy how the stock diff halves are held together by two, spindly screws and nuts, but the SSD housing only has 1 screw holding it together. I'm guessing other parts will hold the bulkhead halves together, but I guess I'll find out.

http://i.imgur.com/dHH1CNXh.jpg

I'm used to removing plastic parts from sprues, which I haven't had to do for this build (Awesome!), but I did run into these odd, plastic barrels in some of the plastic parts.

The front suspension link mount has two of these plastic spacer barrels - one on either side. They have to be removed, but I just found them oddly interesting. It's something I've personally never seen with plastic parts.

http://i.imgur.com/hUiuSC6h.jpg

I won't be using the stock part anyway as I purchased the Boom Racing piece. I choose Boom because it was cheaper that the Losi aluminum option part, it has an extra set of holes for more adjustability and it is black and looks much better than the clear anodized or grey aluminum. Boom Racing part on the left and stock on the right. The bottom two sets of holes are in the same location as the stock part with an additional row of holes above those.

http://i.imgur.com/dvSO6oTh.jpg

Here is the Boom suspension link mount installed on the SSD bulkhead with the chassis top plate sandwiched in between.

http://i.imgur.com/e8tqZAzh.jpg

In the photo above you can see the hinge pins captured on this side by tiny C-clips. These terrified me just looking at them. :shock: I was sure I'd lose at least one of them as it went shooting across the room at 100MPH. Thankfully, that didn't happen and they installed without much effort. But C-clips suck and these hinge pins should be captured in a more modern way with a plate or screws.

http://i.imgur.com/hjCNO3zh.jpg

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

In the photo above you will also see the driveshafts and suspension arms. The driveshafts and links actually come pre-assembled which is odd for an assembly kit. I was going to disassemble the driveshafts and put Loctite on the screws, but they must have done that at the factory because the screws were very snug so I decided to leave them as-is. Nice assembly which you don't always find from the factory.

http://i.imgur.com/AYwoydxh.jpg

More of the plastic "sprue" barrels in the knuckles. Yes, I am intrigued by them. :lmao:

http://i.imgur.com/JbbCgqTh.jpg

The front suspension arms are two-pieces and very sturdy. I would have preferred one, solid piece because I can see dirt and water getting under this cover, but they are nice regardless.

http://i.imgur.com/ORIhvXzh.jpg[/img]

Here are the front suspension arm assemblies with the very cool, very scale brake discs and calipers. "thumbsup" You are just seeing these now, but they were the first things I assembled when I received my kit because the rest of the steps required aftermarket parts that had not yet arrived at that time. Don't hate me for hiding things from you, my adoring fans! :ror:

http://i.imgur.com/lFNfh0zh.jpg

And here is the whole "front clip" assembly. The left side arm moves freely. It's exactly the way I'd want. The right side (your left) has a lot of stiction. I might disassemble it and sand down the arm to get it to move more freely.

In this photo you can also see the preassembled links which appear to be turnbuckles. That is a great thing! They were a little longer than the illustration in the manual, but I did not shorten them at this time.

http://i.imgur.com/yOiOoAXh.jpg

Last thing for today is the center diff gear. This is much thicker than the front and rear ring gears. My cheap drill bits simply would not go through this hardened steel gear. Hopefully my LHS (Local Hardware Store) will have a hardened 3/32" drill bit so I can ream out these holes for the larger, Traxxas screws. To be continued...

http://i.imgur.com/5oWGNM3h.jpg

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Those front arms sure are an odd design. It seems like a normal, open 1-piece arm would have been cheaper to manufacture & assemble, lighter in weight, and just as strong.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

the Traxxas UDR arms are the same as are the Baja Rey's. Not sure why manufacturers have gone to this method.

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

That's gonna be a hot lookin' rig Jato!

Couldnt agree with you more on the c-clips. They should be reserved for transmissions and shock pistons. There is nothing worse than having to search for a clip that has taken for a high velocity spit at some obtuse angle

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

I'm still trying to decide on the paint color(s).

Re: Jato Tries to Define Rock Rey
 

Using Tamiya rattle cans?