Lightened gear set

[Neutron]

I'm setting up a bully axled rig and I was wondering if any one as drilled holes in the gears like the ckrc droid. Seems like a good idea if a guy had time on his hands. Weight loss up top and less rotational mass. Can it be done? Has it been done? Any ideas would be great.

[romulus22]

give it a shot. ive thought about it but i really don't feel like tearing mine apart and driving 40miles to my brothers to use his drill press only to mess up my gearset.

if you pull it off let me know what drill bits to use

[slowngreen]

Im pretty sure I saw someones thread in here that did it do their bully's, cant remember who though. Doesnt seem like you would lose enough to make it worth the trouble, just my opinion though.

[stubs179]

How much does a gears set weigh? You could lose an 1 or 2 oz's per end i bet. I was thinking about looking for a used set to test it out i'm unemployed at the moment. Government work doesn't pay to well so i am going to have to wait.

[Gear Jammer]

Drilled mine awhile back. Used a 5/16 and 7/32 bit.
Before


After


Almost an ounce. .99oz weight lost.

[romulus22]

1oz is alot of rotating mass. could you tell a difference in power at all?

[tjmark]

I tried drilling out a new set of gears and they appear to be hardened...
The gears laughed at the drill press..

[Gear Jammer]

Originally Posted by romulus22

1oz is alot of rotating mass. could you tell a difference in power at all?

A slight difference. Still it's worth it; since it's an easy mod.

[crash]

Interesting. Not a bad idea really since I can't see taking away from the strength doing that. I might have to try that but I will need to get another set of the 1 piece gears.

[stubs179]

Originally Posted by Gear Jammer

A slight difference. Still it's worth it; since it's an easy mod.

How did you drill the holes so evenly?

[Neutron]

Thanks for the info. I was guessing about 1 to 1.5 oz. total weight reduction, so 2 oz is great. It rotational weight to boot. I will be giving it a try.

[Rocks R. Good]

Great mod I've been running them like that for months, no problems at all.

Mine aren't nearly that well lined up though

I thought the drilling would be very hard, but with a sharp bit and a drill press it went easy.

[Gear Jammer]

Originally Posted by stubs179

How did you drill the holes so evenly?

Luck Na, I just marked where I wanted the holes and like Rocks R. Good said; A good sharp bit & drill press.
Also, I used a laser to get them as even as possible. I'll try to get some pics of that up later.

Originally Posted by Neutron

Thanks for the info. I was guessing about 1 to 1.5 oz. total weight reduction, so 2 oz is great. It rotational weight to boot. I will be giving it a try.

No problem.

Originally Posted by Rocks R. Good

Great mod I've been running them like that for months, no problems at all.

Mine aren't nearly that well lined up though

I thought the drilling would be very hard, but with a sharp bit and a drill press it went easy.

Thanks for the compliment. I thought it would hard drilling too. I've had no problems with mine either.

[Gear Jammer]

Lightened the gears in my 65:1 SuperBully cases.

Before



After


Before: 4.039oz.
After: 3.175oz.
Weight loss: .864oz.





This is what I use to get my holes as even as possible.

[lil' lucifer]

i just drilled my gears two days ago. still have not installed but they are complete. Drill press just takes time. Its hardened steel. i would drill like 4-5 hole then sharpen my bit with a grinding wheel. Easy mod, can't see it not helping......

[Kraqa]

i cannot see why RCC doesn't offer this as an optional item.

i can not see the gears breaking only the teeth chipping so drillign out the gears seem to be a great option. Combine that with grinding the axle tube to get the servo down low and ur set!

[Gear Jammer]

Originally Posted by lil' lucifer

i just drilled my gears two days ago. still have not installed but they are complete. Drill press just takes time. Its hardened steel. i would drill like 4-5 hole then sharpen my bit with a grinding wheel. Easy mod, can't see it not helping......

You need better bits. I drilled every hole in four sets (2.2 and Super) of the hardened gears with the same two bits.

[lil' lucifer]

Originally Posted by Gear Jammer

You need better bits. I drilled every hole in four sets (2.2 and Super) of the hardened gears with the same two bits.

I know they are shit bits! no need to tell me.