Bully PRO's. "Letting the Cat out of the bag"

[Krakker]

Went out crawling today with my newly chop'd BC's. I clipped off ALL the inside lugs on the front tires and the large blocks on the out sides. At jsut over 5lbs, this thing climbs crazy verticals at very low speeds. The angled tire chop on the outer of the fronts makes uphill digs a breeze.

[blingg]

Mate my bully is as heavy as a boat anchor (standard bullys),what is the best place to start loosing some weight ?i see that ppl lathe the axles but i do not have access to one.
The links you have done are very thin compared to my jps, cool as i like.

[reden]

As Krakker did.
Top of gearcases and thinner wiring to the motors.

[CREEPERBOB]

Originally Posted by Krakker

Went out crawling today with my newly chop'd BC's. I clipped off ALL the inside lugs on the front tires and the large blocks on the out sides. At jsut over 5lbs, this thing climbs crazy verticals at very low speeds. The angled tire chop on the outer of the fronts makes uphill digs a breeze.

LOOKS GREAT KRAKKER, AND 5lbs THATS A LIGHT BULLY RIG.

[asw27x]

Originally Posted by blingg

Mate my bully is as heavy as a boat anchor (standard bullys),what is the best place to start loosing some weight ?i see that ppl lathe the axles but i do not have access to one.
The links you have done are very thin compared to my jps, cool as i like.

the gears and the cases have the most weight
mine with a front cast case is at 6lb 8oz with delrin rear tubes

[Krakker]

Keep in mind that I've done some extensive milling and drilling of the cases, tubes, gears and all the attachment hardware as well as the chassis.
The links I'm using are actually Summit/Revo tierods and turn buckles. I custom bent both the rear and the front link to suit my rig and dialed in the length with Revo long rod ends. I also used a lot of thin materials and wires and trimmed everything to be the exact length I needed.
My gear cases are pretty much swill cheese with packing tape covering the holes.

I still think I need to add some weight back into the front to help the front settle down a bit.

[josh6575]

I'm thinking about getting an xld axle and modifying a set of rims to have alot of - offset. What are your ideas on trying this.

[xirtic]

Originally Posted by Krakker

Keep in mind that I've done some extensive milling and drilling of the cases, tubes, gears and all the attachment hardware as well as the chassis.
The links I'm using are actually Summit/Revo tierods and turn buckles. I custom bent both the rear and the front link to suit my rig and dialed in the length with Revo long rod ends. I also used a lot of thin materials and wires and trimmed everything to be the exact length I needed.
My gear cases are pretty much swill cheese with packing tape covering the holes.

I still think I need to add some weight back into the front to help the front settle down a bit.

I am running at 5lb 6oz....and it is climbing VERY well. I do run a substantial front weight bias. If I was to ditch my VP pro comps and go to SLW v4 wheels up front, the truck would come in under 5 pounds. But like you are finding, the little extra weight is needed up front.I believe that if I go any lighter, that the truck would not perform as well. I have hit this weight without any axle milling or gear drilling. I also run heavy tubes & knuckles up front. SLW front wheels and light tubes/knuckles up front would get me a few ounces under the 5 pound mark if necessary. I just see it hurting more than helping. I did do the Ti link thing...saves me a whopping 3/4 of an ounce....lol.

[Krakker]

Originally Posted by xirtic

But like you are finding, the little extra weight is needed up front.I believe that if I go any lighter, that the truck would not perform as well. I have hit this weight without any axle milling or gear drilling. SLW front wheels and light tubes/knuckles up front would get me a few ounces under the 5 pound mark if necessary. I just see it hurting more than helping. I did do the Ti link thing...saves me a whopping 3/4 of an ounce....lol.

Yeah, I found I got so light that I still need to add a "little" more weight to a couple of the front wheel/tire combos since the backs are bitting TOO much now. Tho I"m running the ultra lite wheels, I find my self wondering why??? I still end up adding weight, so why do we bother with lighter and lighter wheels, only to add that back in???

Originally Posted by josh6575

I'm thinking about getting an xld axle and modifying a set of rims to have alot of - offset. What are your ideas on trying this.

Anything is worth a try, I think the weight offset of the motor and where you mount the servo might make it act a bit unpredictable at one side but it could be counter acted with some properly placed weight. (one wheel weavier than the other perhaps??)
I say go for it and be the guinie pig, we'll help with ideas from there.
Just get the front axle tho, it'll save weight at the rear just running a standard AX offset.

[Krakker]

2012 and there is still no word on a factory bully updated axle set.
I have done all I can probably with the design and function of the wide track conversion except for converting the rears the same width and using some V6 rear shafts. (Athe stock narrow axle tho I think is great for tuning the width of the rear)
This weight and width of the front has been great for point and shoot driving control, and what can I say about this chassis and rear link setup,,,, it makes 90* vertical ledges nothing more than a speed bump.
I am however starting to lose interest in the hobby and my work schedule now has been around 70hrs a week AND I'm supervising crews on the weekends. Knowning how busy I'll be this summer and not being able to comp this rig as much as I'd like to has made me think of selling it and possibly even my Smithy, lathe/mill/drill combo with "all" the material I've got for it.
I still want to go crawling at some point but I'm not one to let something waste away on a shelf so the rig or the roller may go to the chopping block. Perhaps RC4WD, can still provide me with something to keep me in the game but I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed it's taken SOOOO long to complete a replacement/upgrade for the Bully's.
Here may be the final picture of the "Bully PRO's Slant" rig.

[samaruki]

sorry that bully didn't pick up on this was holding out to see if they were going to bring out a new set of upgrades but it don't look promising... anyway i enjoyed this thred...

[sim]

Thanks for all the ideas. I've been working on a wide Bully build for over a year now, after reading about yours. I've already made the longer driveshafts (13mm longer on each side) and will be machining the axle tubes some time (hopefully soon).

I was going to make my own chassis but as I'm getting a bit busy, I'm very likely going to just buy a chassis.

I noticed many of the vendors sell chassis/links combos specific to Bergs and XR10 nowadays. What are the differences between chassis/links made for each of those axles and which ones would work better with my wide Bully axles?

Thanks.

[Krakker]

I"ve had luck with the T1E moonbuggy design, the new RMDesign Vulture looks really good as well as the Sinister. I've found no difference tho in running a high center clearence chassis from one that's high clearence in the rear. Set up is Key with either one, I just found this setup to work well for all around course setups.

Good luck with your conversion, it was definantly a game changer for me. SOOOOOO much better handling and control. (clocked steering and increased steering degree help too)

[sim]

Thanks for the help. I'll check out all your suggestions. Leaning towards the Viper II at the moment.