Doubts on the next mod

[setecastronomy]

I have deeply modified my tlt and it is almost a good crawler now, with its weelbase of 11", moab tyres and the
battery mounted with velcro on the front servo. The next improvement will be a stampede tranny and a custom built
chassis but before proceeding I need some advises.
Which is a good ride height, measured in the center of the chassis ?
I use a servo saver and sometimes in rough terrain the wheels don't turn because it opens for excessive torque.
I'm wondering if it is better to remove the servo server considering I have a metal gears servo. Don't know if it
is the fastest way to break the servo !
I still have the stock shocks and don't know if it is worth to replace them or if I can change only the springs.
Some people say there is only one kind of spring for the stock shocks, but I'm not so sure considering that mini
quake springs don't fit too bad.
Which are the main benefits of using wideners ? More stability ? I think the only 'wideners' available at Towers
are the TG10 axle which give an increment of half an inch. Is it enough to experience a different behaviour ?
About the stampede tranny: it uses a gear differential which must be blocked for rock crawling, so this technical
sophistication is useless. I'm wondering if it exists a transmission without differential.
Besides that tranny can use the slippery pegs and stell rings as a saver for excessive torque. Somebody says it
is a good idea to use them to avoid very bad breaks on the transmission, but I'm afraid it may slip too much.

Thanks
Filippo

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by setecastronomy

I have deeply modified my tlt and it is almost a good crawler now, with its weelbase of 11", moab tyres and the
battery mounted with velcro on the front servo. The next improvement will be a stampede tranny and a custom built
chassis but before proceeding I need some advises.
Which is a good ride height, measured in the center of the chassis ?
I use a servo saver and sometimes in rough terrain the wheels don't turn because it opens for excessive torque.
I'm wondering if it is better to remove the servo server considering I have a metal gears servo. Don't know if it
is the fastest way to break the servo !
I still have the stock shocks and don't know if it is worth to replace them or if I can change only the springs.
Some people say there is only one kind of spring for the stock shocks, but I'm not so sure considering that mini
quake springs don't fit too bad.
Which are the main benefits of using wideners ? More stability ? I think the only 'wideners' available at Towers
are the TG10 axle which give an increment of half an inch. Is it enough to experience a different behaviour ?
About the stampede tranny: it uses a gear differential which must be blocked for rock crawling, so this technical
sophistication is useless. I'm wondering if it exists a transmission without differential.
Besides that tranny can use the slippery pegs and stell rings as a saver for excessive torque. Somebody says it
is a good idea to use them to avoid very bad breaks on the transmission, but I'm afraid it may slip too much.

Thanks
Filippo

WOW flippo... alot of questions there. We'll take them one at a time.

Good ride height for a 2.2 is somewhere in the range of 3"-4" depending on driving conditions (alot of side hilling or off camber stuff you want to be a little lower, steep verticals you wanna be a bit higher)

If you have a metal gear servo, there is no need for a servo saver- toss it.

Some like the stock shocks, some dont. I am one of the donts. They seem too soft and spongy for my taste. I would suggest upgrading them with a set from R2J or Maxx's.

Wideners give you a more stable truck, especially on side hills or of camber... unimoger sells a nice widener kit or if you want wider, go with CPE.

Th R2 tranny from RCWD was no differential, plus it is all metal gears. There is a nice all tranny sticky in one of the sub forums, I would check that out and decide on what is best for you. I run the R2 btw.

Hope I cleared somethings up for you... I am sure others will chime in as well.

[Big Mike]

My 2.2 TLT sits at 2" exactly underneath, but it's a "drooper" now. 3" to 3 1/4" is probably a decent all-around benchmark, but it depends on how you set things up. If you get up around 4", you've suddenly got a monster truck and it'll tip over easier cause of the high center of gravity.

Servo savers are torque-stealers. And they move when you run your wheel against an obstacle when you want the wheels to stay straight. Since you've got a metal geared servo, toss the savers and just watch the steering inputs when you're bound up.

Stock TLT shocks are just too soft. They are designed for the cantilever set up that the stock TLT comes with. I have never seen replacements for them. Any Maxx-sized units will do the trick. Around 4" to 4 1/2" overall length eye-to-eye.

Wideners can help keep you on your wheels in off-camber spots, they can hinder you in tight spots where you need to squeeze through. It depends on what wheels you end up with (offset) and the terrain you crawl in. I have RC4WD wheels with very little offset, so I run the stock width TLT axle.

I'm still running the stock TLT tranny (cough) so I can only pass on what I've read. If I had money to blow on my rig right now - RC4WD R2 all the way. They are built like bank vaults.

That's my .02 - good luck!

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

That's my .02 - good luck!

actually, that was my .02

I smell a Judge Judy case!

[Big Mike]

So do we have 4 cents then, or do we have to share 2?

[Thorsteenster]

between the two of you, yall aint got any cents

[setecastronomy]

If I had money to blow on my rig right now - RC4WD R2 all the way. They are built like bank vaults.

My idea was to order all the pieces of the Stampede tranny at Tower, but now I'm wondering if it is better to buy a R2.
Is there an electronic shop where I can find it below the 80$ requested by the manufacturer ?
Can I use a slow speed motor such as the Integy 55T ?
Do I need a pinion or is it comprised with the tranny ?
I'm a bit concerned because from the photos I can watch in internet it seems that the R2 has not a complete set of ball bearings, worse still the fastest gear, the one in contact with the motor pinion, is not on bearings.

Thank you
Filippo