SCX24 Chassis Rail Options

[AK KRAWLER]

Hello all,

I have been looking around at chassis rail options for my SCX24. It originally had the Jeep body, but I am planning to run the Carisma F-150 body, so a buggy type chassis is not required.

Since the options for straight chassis rails are actually fairly inexpensive, I was wondering if there are any disadvantages to going with carbon fiber? More concerned with future modifications (drilling and cutting) if required. Is there any special process when working with carbon fiber?

There are also the options of factory steel, I believe aluminum is out there as well and then there are the 3D printed options.

I know when asking for opinions, they are all subjective to a persons specific build, project direction and driving style.

For me, the Carisma body has a little bit shorter wheelbase and I plan to run a tiny bit shorter tire that the stock Jeep tires, so I will likely lose a little performance with those two, but I will also be adding some aluminum and brass weight down low. This will not be a speed rig, more of a slower, crawler type of build.

Due to the cost of frame rails, which I do not consider to be very expensive, what are the opinions of our R/C Family?

[HumboldtEF]

Carbon fiber dust is nasty stuff you definitely dont want to breath it in. if you're gonna drill holes or cut wear a good dust mask and clean up the dust afterwards. You could setup a vacuum so you can do your work with it running and sucking up the dust.

When drilling a hole use a piece of wood as a backer to avoid it blowing out the back side. I've made jigs to locate and drill holes, i'm not sure how it drills without one (whether it wanders or not)

A hole or cut end can also fray so you may want to apply some glue to hold it together.

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

Carbon fiber dust is nasty stuff you definitely dont want to breath it in. if you're gonna drill holes or cut wear a good dust mask and clean up the dust afterwards. You could setup a vacuum so you can do your work with it running and sucking up the dust.

When drilling a hole use a piece of wood as a backer to avoid it blowing out the back side. I've made jigs to locate and drill holes, i'm not sure how it drill without one (whether it wanders or not)

A hole or cut end can also fray so you may want to apply some glue to hold it together.

Thanks Humboldt, that's the kind of information I was looking for. Since I know I will not be "comp'ing" with it, I am leaning towards a 3D printed frame.

This one:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/QQ...li=marketplace

Or this one:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YN...li=marketplace

I like to support "The Little Guys" when I can. I am not sure what Shapeways gives back to the designer, but I hope it is reasonable.

Carbon fiber would likely be a better way to go, but I am not sure of what I want to do yet. If I went carbon fiber, it would likely be this one:
https://www.teamgaragehack.com/colle...gh-24x-chassis

I do plan to go brushless with this next update and I am not sure the actual stresses put on the chassis from that, but it is something I am weighing in as well.

[Scx24_Jono]

Personally running a furitek komodo and looking at moforc ugly af chassis and furitek scythe cf rail chassis. Both somewhat expensive but lower your center of gravity. You looked into either?

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by Scx24_Jono

Personally running a furitek komodo and looking at moforc ugly af chassis and furitek scythe cf rail chassis. Both somewhat expensive but lower your center of gravity. You looked into either?

Definitely a bit more than I was looking to spend on the chassis, but not completely out of the realm of what I would spend. I think the Ugly AF Chassis is a bit too extreme for what I am doing. It looks like it would be tough to mount the F-150 body and hide most of the chassis. If I went with MOFO, it would likely be the 333 LCG 4x4 Chassis Kit. That one does not look too bad.

The Furitek Scythe CF Rails look pretty nice, but I'll have to think pretty hard before pulling the trigger on them.

Time to do a little more research... Thanks for the extra options

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by Scx24_Jono

Personally running a furitek komodo and looking at moforc ugly af chassis and furitek scythe cf rail chassis. Both somewhat expensive but lower your center of gravity. You looked into either?

Man, my pocket book really hates you right now...
Honestly, I usually do most of my R/C stuff as used, or wait for discounts and or sales. I know this was the more expensive way to go and I try not to weigh the project by the initial value of the vehicle purchase.

I just pulled the trigger on the Furitek Scythe CF Rail Chassis.
It should be fun to play with some new technology and see what I can make this little short wheelbase rig capable of.

[2471:24]

Originally Posted by AK KRAWLER

Thanks Humboldt, that's the kind of information I was looking for. Since I know I will not be "comp'ing" with it, I am leaning towards a 3D printed frame.

This one:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/QQ...li=marketplace

Or this one:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YN...li=marketplace

I like to support "The Little Guys" when I can. I am not sure what Shapeways gives back to the designer, but I hope it is reasonable.

Carbon fiber would likely be a better way to go, but I am not sure of what I want to do yet. If I went carbon fiber, it would likely be this one:
https://www.teamgaragehack.com/colle...gh-24x-chassis

I do plan to go brushless with this next update and I am not sure the actual stresses put on the chassis from that, but it is something I am weighing in as well.

You made your decision already but carbon fiber is a very strong material. I bought basic carbon fiber frame rails that look a lot like the original ones. They weigh half of what the original weigh.

Last summer I didn’t even see in what situation I managed to bend one of the original frame rails up front. It hasn’t fallen from big heights, more of a tumbling down sometimes. This might be info somebody might need in the future.

Btw: can you remember what the weight of the scythe is?
Matt from 2fm rc likes the one you chose, so it’s probably very good.

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by 2471:24

You made your decision already but carbon fiber is a very strong material. I bought basic carbon fiber frame rails that look a lot like the original ones. They weigh half of what the original weigh.

Last summer I didn’t even see in what situation I managed to bend one of the original frame rails up front. It hasn’t fallen from big heights, more of a tumbling down sometimes. This might be info somebody might need in the future.

Btw: can you remember what the weight of the scythe is?
Matt from 2fm rc likes the one you chose, so it’s probably very good.

Good deal. It looks like Furitek shows that as 12 grams, so not super light, but lower cg and a designed a bit more "comp'ish". I have not had any issues with the factory stamped steel frame either, more just wanting to do something different.

[_e_w_]

I realize the moforc ugly af chassis and Furitek chassis are new, but would it have killed either of them to provide some photos of the chassis fully assembled with the Komodo and/or photos of the chassis with the stock parts installed, so we can see how everything bolts up? I would think that if they had photos of everything bolted up to the chassis people would be more willing to just pull the trigger rather than think about pulling the trigger.

I saw the video on Furitek's site, but stock parts weren't used, the Komodo wasn't used, shocks weren't mounted to the towers, and it's also easier to inspect a photo to see if the chassis will work for an individual's setup. Photos showing the chassis with the stock parts would probably be best, since most of us could figure it out from there. Yes I realize that I could compare photos of chassis rails, but wouldn't it be easier for everyone to just have proper product photos for everyone to see? As we all know the skill/knowledge level in this hobby has a very wide range.

Really interested in the Furitek chassis, but not sure if it will work with my set up. Currently using a Komodo with the backdoor motor mount, electronics in back mounted on a slightly modified battery plate, and battery up front mounted on the esc mount. I would love to be able to lower the CG on my SCX24 and keep my setup as is.

Will all the motor mounts made for the Komodo work with the chassis or does one need to purchase a specific motor mount?

Does the stock esc plate/rear shock tower bolt up to the chassis?

Can I use the stock battery plate if desired?

More product photos please or send me a Furitek chassis, so I can take some useful photos. Please don't take this post as a knock on the video. I enjoy his videos and he seems like a good dude.

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by _e_w_

I realize the moforc ugly af chassis and Furitek chassis are new, but would it have killed either of them to provide some photos of the chassis fully assembled with the Komodo and/or photos of the chassis with the stock parts installed, so we can see how everything bolts up? I would think that if they had photos of everything bolted up to the chassis people would be more willing to just pull the trigger rather than think about pulling the trigger.

I saw the video on Furitek's site, but stock parts weren't used, the Komodo wasn't used, shocks weren't mounted to the towers, and it's also easier to inspect a photo to see if the chassis will work for an individual's setup. Photos showing the chassis with the stock parts would probably be best, since most of us could figure it out from there. Yes I realize that I could compare photos of chassis rails, but wouldn't it be easier for everyone to just have proper product photos for everyone to see? As we all know the skill/knowledge level in this hobby has a very wide range.

Really interested in the Furitek chassis, but not sure if it will work with my set up. Currently using a Komodo with the backdoor motor mount, electronics in back mounted on a slightly modified battery plate, and battery up front mounted on the esc mount. I would love to be able to lower the CG on my SCX24 and keep my setup as is.

Will all the motor mounts made for the Komodo work with the chassis or does one need to purchase a specific motor mount?

Does the stock esc plate/rear shock tower bolt up to the chassis?

Can I use the stock battery plate if desired?

More product photos please or send me a Furitek chassis, so I can take some useful photos. Please don't take this post as a knock on the video. I enjoy his videos and he seems like a good dude.

All good points and suggestions! I was wondering the same thing.

Not sure if this helps or not, but it is still missing everything else...

[_e_w_]

Thanks for posting that ad.

Just looked at my SCX24 and from the looks of it the backdoor mount probably won't work with the Furitek or MoFo chassis. The motor in the Furitek ad is close to center and the backdoor mount is off to the side, if it does fit it may not clear the included tray. The MoFo chassis has a plate where the motor would sit.

I think I see holes on the Furitek chassis that will work for the stock ESC/Shock tower, but none that will work for the rear shock tower. I'm hoping someone is able to provide some better info on either chassis.

Are the guys that designed the Furitek and MoFo chassis on this forum? If so please show us some love, not all of us have social media.

[_e_w_]

Sometimes I wish I knew how to design, so I could make what I want and what I think others may want.

I think both the MoFo chassis and the Furitek chassis look great and I'm sure they perform great. From what I can tell after further inspection, the Mofo is intended for comp minded people and the Furitek has no effect on CG and it's only purpose is to offer more mounting holes for shocks, but I don't think that's what some of us are looking for.

I am new to crawling and still learning, but from what I have learned a lot of people seem to like their rigs as light as possible with low CG and forward weight bias and the best/easiest/cheapest way to achieve this is to have the battery mounted up front.

Maybe I'm wrong, but what I think a lot of us are looking for is a chassis that gives us this ability easily using stock mounting locations. I think the best way to achieve this with the SCX24 platform is to reverse the motor, which the backdoor mount does and lower the rails. This will also allow the body to be lowered.

Thoughts?

[skurge]

Originally Posted by AK KRAWLER

Man, my pocket book really hates you right now...
Honestly, I usually do most of my R/C stuff as used, or wait for discounts and or sales. I know this was the more expensive way to go and I try not to weigh the project by the initial value of the vehicle purchase.

I just pulled the trigger on the Furitek Scythe CF Rail Chassis.
It should be fun to play with some new technology and see what I can make this little short wheelbase rig capable of.

I have the CF rails, so far i like them though i have not used my truck much since installing them

[2471:24]

Oh, I completely misunderstood you. I didn’t know that furitek made those rails. I 4-linked mine, and now I have to drill holes in my CF rails, because other wise the shocks I bought are mounted too far back. The 40mm telescopic shocks work best in the stock mounts. I even have to modify the rails to fit my 050 motor, because the rails have same holes as the stock rails, but they aren’t similar otherwise.

These furitek rails would have been perfect, install only and a lot of places where shocks can be attached to, with different shocks and different bodies. I like too do like this to get some variation.

[_e_w_]

May have just found the chassis rails I was wishing for. Great price as well.

https://saganmfg.com/tft-carbon-fibe...r-axial-scx24/

[AK KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by _e_w_

May have just found the chassis rails I was wishing for. Great price as well.

Those look pretty good man

[4RunnerKid]

Originally Posted by _e_w_

May have just found the chassis rails I was wishing for. Great price as well.

https://saganmfg.com/tft-carbon-fibe...r-axial-scx24/

i've been eyeing the Sagan Mfg. chassis myself, they also make a non-flipped version:
https://saganmfg.com/tbd-carbon-fibe...r-axial-scx24/

[_e_w_]

Once my tax return comes in, I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the Sagan and will make a build thread.

One of the things I plan on doing, which I haven't seen anyone do, is to dremel off a portion of the stock chassis rail and attach it to the new chassis rail, so that I can extend the front of the chassis rail so I can mount a bumper up high.

I would think this would have been a nobrainer aftermarket part, but it doesn't exsist.

I also thought about using a couple of the rear body mount parts from the C10 to extend the front of the chassis, but I don't know if they are long enough, and don't like having a bunch of extra parts lying around I'll never use.

[botlebruiser]

Take a look at Hard Park Crawler (formally DSFabworx). The Tappen is your best option in my opinion. I am in the process of building two Tappens and a Dementor. They have the best 1/24 scale chassis right IN MY OPINION. Take a look.

https://hardparkrc.com/?fbclid=IwAR3...Oe0lKxigWmSDDo

[_e_w_]

Thanks for the link.

They look cool, but I have the same problem with them as I do with Mofo and Furitek, no proper product photos showing how everything goes together. I can't tell from their photos if I can run the motor the way I want and they make no mention of it like Sagan does in their product description. Looking at the photos provided my main concern is that my motor setup won't clear the side bars. Can every motor mount made for the SCX24 be used with this chassis or does the motor need to be centered like the Furitek chassis?

I don't think asking people/companies to do what Sagan did is asking too much. Show us your product built. If you made a chassis for the SCX24, I'm sure you have one lying around you can use as a donor and most everyone has a camera.

One thing I can tell from the photos provided is that I like that Sagan includes the battery and electronics plates for pretty much the same price.