\\\ Krakkers 2011 feather weight Bully ///

[Krakker]

Gonna start the build for 2011 here really soon, I finally got the custom bushings in the wide track tubes so progress will be pretty quick as soon as Christmas is over with.
I also got my one off (for now) wheels from Eritex. As you all know, I ordered the Charlottes, but along with the .225 hubs for the front and the .725 hubs for the rear, I got the first prototype of the Ultra-lite hoops. Here's the thread on the wheels. All NEW Eirtex Must have wheels

While I'm planning on sticking with the TAG slant chassis, I am going to "flair" it out a bit above the skid and might make a new cab design that's just a bit longer and lower. Also ordered some Jeepndoug spring cups for the Big bores w/ Mini T springs.
I'm going to see just how light I can get these cases' and tubes.
New electronics are also in order:
Twin FXR's
CC BEC
Hitech HS-7980 servo (611oz. @ 7.4V.)
Fantom Blitz 35T motors

[thomas]

those wheels are SICK i love them!
im definatly going to be watching! my bully is on the heavy side, 7.3 pounds

[stubs179]

What is a ballpark weight you are hoping for? Do you know the weight diff. between a FXR and a Punk dig?

[Krakker]

I'm hoping for high 4, - low 5lb range. I'm not sure about the weight difference between the Punk dig and the FXR but that might be available from their sites or the electronics section. I will be pulling my FXR/Punk combo out for the girls Bully, but I can weight the combo then compaired to the twin FXR's.
I know my foam combo is going to be different than most. I'm going to try some Nova soft outers wrapped around some Panther Cougar mem foams that I narrowed by just under 1/2". AND I've got a new sipe pattern I'm going to try on the Sedona's.

[LeandroX]

nice!!

good luck whith the build

[Krakker]

Testing the new siped Sedona's and the Charlottes combo went pretty well. I switched to the .750 Magnums during the practice run and while the weight bias was better, I still need to add weight into the fronts. ( I had taken them out to see where I stood 1st.) I'm leaving one set empty for now and I'll check them both out when I get the rebuild done. 1st up is doing some milling and grinding on the cases and getting the new wide track tubes finished and final fitted.
Here's a few pics of it now. I did get the JeepinDoug spring cups for the big bores mounted and I'm liking them so far with the red springs in back. I also stuck them in the lathe and turned down the hex near the cap so there was a smoother surface IF the tires are rubbing in on them.

[53 willys]

looks awesome bud!!! where are the new krakker pro modded axles??

[Krakker]

Originally Posted by 53 willys

looks awesome bud!!! where are the new krakker pro modded axles??

Thanks. I am getting motivated now that the holidays have winded down to get the shafts resized. Everythings getting the dremel and grinder to them and fabbing a servo mount.

My girl's been pressuring me to get hers done as well now that she's got her 4PL. I've got her gear cases shaved, but I'm waiting on bearings to arrive before I tear everything apart incase I get another chance to crawl.

I got a great list of parts for the 011 season, I just gotta get all the finish parts in and some time on my machine.

[LeandroX]

Very nice, looks great!

[Krakker]

Got busy on the tear down today, removed all the electronics (they're going into my girls dual steer 2.2 Bully) And went to town on the chassis plates. 1st step was to pin them together so I could remove some weight from the sides and give some what of an access to see what's going on inside the chassis or read FXR lights/reach switches.
It took a little bit of measuring, but I got even bends in the VP's, so now I've got a flaired TAG chassis, it meets right up with the inside of the T1E moonbuggy cab. I also redrilled a few holes in the cab to lower it a bit. If they work out, I'll use the dremel and cut away the lower holes.

[Krakker]

Got my ESC's wired today and motors intsalled (not hooked up yet)
Did some weights with the components so far. Total, between the electronics, the chassis and the axles (w/ motors) it's sitting at 44.3 oz. That's 2.76 lbs, I'll try and get a weight on the wheels N tires as well as the servo and the cab and see where it's going to be at by the end. I still need to get a servo mount fabbed and I must be waiting on the midnite train from Georgia, for my bearings.

[Kraqa]

nice!!

[Krakker]

Well, I got the FXR's and the electronics placed in the chassis today, also got the cab attached to the chassis. So since I'm now waiting on the axle bearings and now some new rear links to bend, ( don't ask) I figured i'd weigh it all up and see where it's going ro come in at.
Wheels N tires (weighted) are 33.6 oz.
Chassis, links, shocks, ALL electronics+servo are 17.5 oz
Axles loaded with motors and all "stuff" are 35.8 oz
That puts the whole setup at 86.95 oz, that's 5.43 lbs.

While there are some things that I could do to further lighten the overall weight, I'm pretty happy with what the end result will turn out to be. A thinner material for the electronics/battery trays and the cab top along with losing all or some of the weights from the front wheels AND a smaller servo (back to a 7950 from a 7980) would get me into the mid to high 4 lbs range. Not bad for a Bully with wider axles and metal chassis.

[Kraqa]

i woudl go with a fully plastic chassis. you can save alot of weight.

plus it top weight and woudl keep your weight bias close to the same.

[Krakker]

Originally Posted by Kraqa

i woudl go with a fully plastic chassis. you can save alot of weight.

plus it top weight and woudl keep your weight bias close to the same.

I would LOVE to get this chassis in a Delrin version with some slight modifications.


I got some time today to figure out the servo mount. Since I had already turned the axles a bit, I wasn't too confident in milling away as much of the tube as it looked like I'd have to. These new front tubes are clocked so I was going to be stuck with a traditional style mount but I didn't want it sitting too high.
So I got creative and milled a bit where I wanted the servo to "sit" flat on the tube. Then I milled a small section in the front, 90* from the top milled area. I drilled 3 holes into the center of the tube and tapped them for 3mm screws.
My next step was to cut, mill and drill a servo mount out of thick aluminum angle stock. While I could have slipped the servo through the mount (like an Xirtic style) I chose to trim back the small tab in front of the servo mounting holes and place the servo mount on the 7980 from the front. I used washers at the servo tabs and tapped the mount as well. Now it's tight with screws AND some nuts on the front. Yeah, it's probably over kill, but hey,, it's a "7980".
The servo mount will be atached to the axle through the front of the mount and into the three, 3M holes in the front of the tube. I milled the flat spot there because it'll have a solid spacer between the tube and the mount.
I did grind a notch out of the flange on the tube as well file the top mounting hole in a bit to give enough clearence for the big servo to sit where I wanted it too.
Not sure how much this adds to the weight, but it's pretty beefy and the mount doubles as a servo guard/heat sink, and sits pretty low compared to other mounts.
After I get the spacer in I'll trim the lower portion of the mount and bevel the edge so it's not hanging down too low.

[Kraqa]

seems to me that with that servo mount you added more aluminum then what you took out of drilling the case.

why can you go back to how you had it mounted before? i did some checkign on solidworks and the servo will fit with lots of tube material left.

[Krakker]

Originally Posted by Kraqa

seems to me that with that servo mount you added more aluminum then what you took out of drilling the case.

why can you go back to how you had it mounted before? i did some checkign on solidworks and the servo will fit with lots of tube material left.

Since I had already turned the tubes completely round, they were thin enough that I'd still end up trying to mill a flat section for the 53Willy's style mount anyway. I was already into the mounting holes on the tube pretty good as it was, so a different mount was neede anyway.

I suppose I could have made the same front mounting locations as now and using the angle stock, gotten away with the low style, but I think it will still be plenty low.
As for the weight, yeah, it's a small step back, but I can cut most of it away or drill some more holes.

NOT that it's a factor, but if I were using the 7950 I had before, I probably would have tried it. I figured with the height the servo would have to sit since the tubes were already turned smaller, I tried to keep things as low and flat as possible. If you look it, there's not that much more material than what I would have used going the other route.

[Krakker]

Well the servo mount is done, and assembled on the axle. I'm really happy with how solid and low the setup is. The last couple pics show the difference in height of the servo's them selves.

[Krakker]

Small electronics tip. when looking to tidy up your wires, use a driver, and slowly wrap the pig-tail up to you get as close to the unit as you can. rub it or leave it for a few seconds and wha-la.
Another thing I like to do is cover ALL my solder joints with liquid electrical tape. It helps keep moisture away from the wires and protect them during a fall. IF a joint were ever to break, (I doubt it could with the liquid stuff on it) there's NO way it can arc over to another wire and cause electrical damage.
I've also used it to attach switches and other items to any surface. (both FXR switches are attached to the inside of my chassis plate near the top with this stuff.)
It peels away like skin with some pliers if you need to change anything. GREAT STUFF.

[Krakker]

Got into the final assembly mode today, my Revo turn buckles and push rods I got off the bay came in. Best links I've found for uppers and lowers.
I bent up some new rears with the same arch plus a they're kicked in inear the axle for clearence, and a slightly bent pair for the fronts. As it sits now, it measures out to 12 3/8" at full compression. The front is clocked and the C's king pins are just under 90*. I've got some room to play around with the link setup, so I might end up clocking the C's back a bit and adjust from there.
Still waiting on the bearings (must be the 6" of snow) so I can't get the front axle done and I'm not using the crap from my other axles on these.
I am working on a new battery tray that's more like the T1E style still, I want to be able to insert the battery from the front of the chassis so the hood panel can be stationary.
Waiting on servo adapters as well so I can wire up the 7980 nice and clean with out using a Y-harness.