First time Rc builder

[Cavedave_185]

I have a buddy who introduced me to Rc cars, talked me into a wraith. So I pulled the trigger on the kit and started building

I found advice on how and what paints to spray my body with. Decided three tone would look sweet. Green, purple, black.



Finished product. Then learned I needed to trim off those awesome fender flares I so painfully masked off
that it now fit my chassis.



Next I decided I have to pretty of a pint job to actually drive with it. So I set about building some aluminum skins

made some templates out of those fancy Christmas boxes the wife has hoarded for years. Shush. Don't tell her that some are missing


Did some crawling with out a body and man does it get addicting fast. Now to buy more parts, weights, tires so forth. Oh an to finish my aluminum sides



I never made a hood because that just seemed to be a pain in the butt






After I got my panels done. I decided to wrap them in some carbon fiber wrap I had in the garage



and a little more poser pictures because those are just required. Right?



I decided the body looked cool but was a waste if I didn't run it. To run it with the battery moved up to the front I wasn't about to pull tools to remove then body so I made a hood fashioned after those others have made






Pardon the wire mess it's been since cleaned up a lot

I also switched from a 2c lipo to a smaller 3c lipo

Freeing up some room and space.




Then it was out for a little Sunday photo shoot.


With a slight amount of tire rub on the front head light buckets. I think I will have to mount a light bar instead of using the factory head lights



I promptly found that you have to have the tire on the correct way. You know the pin in the nut so that the axle doesn't just spin inside the tire?





Keeping the early morning rolling, the afternoon hours snoring, the late night hours feeling the powers.

[new2rocks]

Well done, sir. Looks like you are well on your way to getting hooked. Keep up the good work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Leon Sidursky]

So let me get this straight. This is your first RC and your first RC build? You are talented buddy, that thing looks good!

[Cavedave_185]

I still haven't invested in a personal solder station. I have bummed all that from my buddy. I guess payback for him getting me addicted to this stuff
Mi also picked up my boy a traxxas rustler. It's a bit older but runs great for a 8 year old. I'll post some of it after I get it cleaned up
Thanks for the positive feed back guys. I haven't got much else from this site

I have also built my own stainless upper links. The steering links I bent and built also. I'll take photos tomorrow

[Cavedave_185]

Testing a photo for size requirements

[Cavedave_185]

So reading on line I found what seemed to be a easy fix for me. Was the linked suspension. Looking and reading lead me to buy a brake line bending tool at autozone, used it ask hated it. The bends where large, unpredictable (to me anyway) and hard to reproduce. I tried my hand with my first steering link ( photo above). It looked like trash. It was to short and caused one wheel to toe in. I scrapped it
I built all the upper links and rebuilt the front stealing link. My bottom links came in the kit aluminum and I will replace those if I break them the fronts I tried to mimic the factory bends. They turned out ok.

With a simple vise, a bench grinder and a bit of guesstimation I think I did ok the rear links have one bend in them also. Pretty straight forward I threaded my SS on one end out on a traxxas end link then I used a screw driver to hold them square with the world. Then I kept adding pressure in the vise until it was at the same end. Marked my length needed to be cut to. Threaded the end and then repeat

The new stealing link was a little more complicated I scrapped one or two trying. But in the end it turned out ok.

When I pull these off to make links for my friends wraith I will take some process photos

[RMNixon]

AWESOME first build! Welcome to the addicting world of R/C!

[Cavedave_185]

Originally Posted by RMNixon

AWESOME first build! Welcome to the addicting world of R/C!

Thanks man

[Fluxit9]

Sorry for getting you addicted Dave! But it was my intention! It's so nice having a buddy that is almost as addicted as I am.

[Cavedave_185]

Today I got my 1/4 lead tube I guess I would call it from Amazon. Only five bucks for a 1 lb coil of it. I took my front wheels apart and wrapped the lead weight around the inner wheel

What do you think
Of course I wrapped it with electrical tape to hold it from moving to much then put it all back together

As far as my math is correct based off them actually sending me one pound. I figure I am just shy of six ounces on the front tires.
I played on my Rock on the front yard, it does reasonable I guess. But I think the main issue is these tires and possible the foam inside.

Maybe trim some sections of the foam?
I thought about doing some tire sipping ?
What about trimming some of the lugs off of the tires?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bgreene2]

The lead in the front tires helps a lot, but you're putting a lot more stress on drivetrain parts to spin the extra weight and loosing power also. I would try to find you some brass knuckle weights. I believe Rc bros will be about your best bet. But awesome build for you first. I would have never guessed if you wouldn't have said it was your first.

[Cavedave_185]

I want to do the upgraded axle parts like knuckles and the c hubs then the weights. I have the upgraded inner axles. Still have stock drive shafts to give out too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cavedave_185]

I participated in my first crawl event today out at Wendover Nevada. I think I did ok except my motor smells like death, I had a screw come loose on my rear drive shaft and my pretty paint job is pretty much toast now. I took one poser photo and DNF the course


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Natedog]

Great looking first build but that is way too much weight on the wheels. I try to Krupp 2.2s under 100 grams total wheel weight not counting tire and foam.

[Cavedave_185]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Great looking first build but that is way too much weight on the wheels. I try to Krupp 2.2s under 100 grams total wheel weight not counting tire and foam.

I think I have maybe .75 lbs total. It did really well today actually
That's between both front tires too. Not in each. I need to get a scale.

The spool I got only weighed one pound. I put an estimated equal amount in each tire. With some some left over

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cavedave_185]

After driving in Wendover last week I wanted to go back a crawl my own path. I stripped out two servos in fifteen min!!!!!! I took a spill of five feet and stripped out the first. The spare I had was brand new!! I walked down the dirt road back to the rocks and before I could even get there I had no steering again! Solar d772?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Biomedchad]

Stinks. Keep it up though.

[Cavedave_185]

I took apart my servo this year combo is the problem.

The brass gear was free spinning in the stainless gear. I imagine it was supposed to be a press in fit. Well it's not. So I took a long taper shop punch and moved some material so to speak. And now it's solid. I'll put these back in and give it a run through


Raising boys into RealMen!!

[Cavedave_185]

Installed new drive lines last night and noticed my frame is damaged. Suggestions? Fixes?


Raising boys into RealMen!!

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by Cavedave_185

I think I have maybe .75 lbs total. It did really well today actually
That's between both front tires too. Not in each. I need to get a scale.

The spool I got only weighed one pound. I put an estimated equal amount in each tire. With some some left over

100 grams is about 3.3 ounces, there are 16 ounces to one pound, you have a lot of lead in your wheels, more than is needed and more than I would run. This makes lines too easy and is hard on servos and drivelines, including motors.

Originally Posted by Cavedave_185

...I stripped out two servos in fifteen min!!!!!! I took a spill of five feet and stripped out the first. The spare I had was brand new!! I walked down the dirt road back to the rocks and before I could even get there I had no steering again! Solar d772?

Hitec HS-7950TH

Originally Posted by Biomedchad

Stinks. Keep it up though.

X2

Originally Posted by Cavedave_185

I took apart my servo this year combo is the problem.
The brass gear was free spinning in the stainless gear. I imagine it was supposed to be a press in fit. Well it's not. So I took a long taper shop punch and moved some material so to speak. And now it's solid. I'll put these back in and give it a run through

A touch of silver solder would be good insurance, but as long as it works, buy a good servo as a replacement.

Originally Posted by Cavedave_185

...noticed my frame is damaged. Suggestions? Fixes?

New frame peices and run either the stock battery tray in back with all the screws or make some kinda of plate/braces back there to reinforce similar to stock. Running without it results in the kind of breakage you have from hard falls and tumbles.