Redcat is making an upgraded axle design for the Gen7 and everest10 (Pics)

[Jim85IROC]

I have a Youtube channel called Budget RC.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2j...SbfMpi8eO9OKhA

[shenlonco]

O no this don't sound to promising..... I got my Gen 7 working like a champ I think I may pass on these axles.

[cjhike]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

I have a Youtube channel called Budget RC.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2j...SbfMpi8eO9OKhA

Ahhhhh! That Jim, I am a sub on your channel!

Hurry up and get that video up!

My axles are on the way but now you are making me nervous...

Love you channel.

Thanks man.

[Gramps]

Finally got a chance to start build mine. Like others have said the build quality is good. Building more by the pictures then reading, but do read were deemed necessary. The only thing I have come across so far is the diff is a little notchy. Not sure you would even notice it driving. Ran it some on a drill and it did start to smooth out some.


These axles require that the steering servo be frame mounted, which makes since. What I don't understand is the panhard bar, these are normally use to keep the rearend from moving sideways. The basic suspension on the Gen 7 is 4 link, with the portals it's still 4 link so why was the panhard bar added?

Excerpt from Wilipedia

Benefits of solid-axle multi-link suspension
The benefit of the triangulated and double-triangulated arrangement is that they do not need a panhard bar. The benefits of this are increased articulation and potential ease of installation. The multi-link for solid axle offers a benefit over the independent multi-link in that it is significantly cheaper and much less complex to build.

[cjhike]

During installation on the truck you have to remove the top passenger link, this makes it into a three link up front. The pan hard bar is added to prevent bump steer, without it when the suspension of the truck flexes it will turn the direction of the wheels. A pan hard bar is necessary when the servo is chassis mounted.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by cjhike

During installation on the truck you have to remove the top passenger link, this makes it into a three link up front. The pan hard bar is added to prevent bump steer, without it when the suspension of the truck flexes it will turn the direction of the wheels. A pan hard bar is necessary when the servo is chassis mounted.

Uh... haha. I missed the step about removing the passenger link. I guess that explains why everything is binding on mine.

As for my videos, that may take a bit longer. My computer shut off 4 times while trying to save the video last night, so it looks like I may need to re-edit in another program.

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by cjhike

During installation on the truck you have to remove the top passenger link, this makes it into a three link up front. The pan hard bar is added to prevent bump steer, without it when the suspension of the truck flexes it will turn the direction of the wheels. A pan hard bar is necessary when the servo is chassis mounted.

Being a 3 link it would then make sense why there is a panhard bar.

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

Uh... haha. I missed the step about removing the passenger link. I guess that explains why everything is binding on mine.

As for my videos, that may take a bit longer. My computer shut off 4 times while trying to save the video last night, so it looks like I may need to re-edit in another program.

Wonder if your binding would go away if you removed the panhard bar?

As far as the computer issue, I would make sure that there was a decent amount of free HD space. Might be as simple as emptying the trash can. Windows can be a fickle mistress sometimes a reboot will help for no apparent reason. Another issue is temp files, they can cause unexplainable issues too.

[Inurhead]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

Uh... haha. I missed the step about removing the passenger link. I guess that explains why everything is binding on mine.

As for my videos, that may take a bit longer. My computer shut off 4 times while trying to save the video last night, so it looks like I may need to re-edit in another program.

Nice video! Waiting for part 2 to see how you fixed the frame rub on your front lower links! Thanks in advance!

[cjhike]

Just finished installing mine. Couple of tips from what I was able to work out to prevent any binding.
- lower front links rotate them to the side, so the bend near the front axle points out the side of the truck. This stops them binding on the frame rails.
- I put the little spacer back in on the drivers side in between the shock mount and the frame. This pushes the shock out on that side and allows better articulation on the passenger side.
- Also I replaced the stiff original springs with some Traxxxas ones form the TRX4 Defender.

Overall pretty happy with them, some quality parts!

Just posted a video on YouTube on the first run with the portals.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jpy1sNE1xNo

[Inurhead]

^^^^ i like too!

Where's my like button?

[Jim85IROC]

Last night I was finally able to get part 1 of my axle assembly uploaded. My editing is... poor. I had to fight my computer during the entire process, so after a while I just wanted to get it done. Anyway, excuses aside, hopefully it will help somebody out, or at least give everybody some deeper insight into what the axles are all about.

[brimdogg]

It wasn't too bad, but could tell where you must have finally said F-it LOL
Seemed pretty straight forward, and insightful for those who haven't done it yet.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[shenlonco]

They look great but the only thing I don't like is the use of those tiny bearings.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by shenlonco

They look great but the only thing I don't like is the use of those tiny bearings.

The only place there's small bearings is to hold the portal gears & shafts in place. There shouldn't be much load on those, so I think they'll be fine. It's not really any different than the tiny bearings in a transmission for the input gears & idler gears.

[shenlonco]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

The only place there's small bearings is to hold the portal gears & shafts in place. There shouldn't be much load on those, so I think they'll be fine. It's not really any different than the tiny bearings in a transmission for the input gears & idler gears.

Yea I hope they are good enough, reason why I say this because these bearings will be exposed to water and muddy conditions and the center gearboxes most never get under water... My CC-01's use small bearing on the diff pinion on the back and they always get worn but I think the redcats are a bit larger so maybe they will hold up better.

[Jim85IROC]

If you pack the portals full of grease it should keep most of the crap out.

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

If you pack the portals full of grease it should keep most of the crap out.

For running in water all the time I would pack the portals with marine grease & probably the diffs too.

[Gramps]

I sometimes like to do things a little different. That is what I did when building the portals. I followed the given directions until the point of making the front suspension a 3 link with a panhard bar. Always thought a 4 link was better. So I built mine as a 4 link and eliminated the panhard bar. When finished I had no binding or any issues with the upper links hitting the servo mount. I too added spacers (1.5mm) to the side link mounts also twisted the links out just a bit. Here's a video of me testing the 4 link setup.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Inurhead

Nice video! Waiting for part 2 to see how you fixed the frame rub on your front lower links! Thanks in advance!

The video will likely go up tonight, but I just turned the lower links around and turned them 90 degrees.

[TheLetterJ]

Originally Posted by Gramps

I sometimes like to do things a little different. That is what I did when building the portals. I followed the given directions until the point of making the front suspension a 3 link with a panhard bar. Always thought a 4 link was better. So I built mine as a 4 link and eliminated the panhard bar. When finished I had no binding or any issues with the upper links hitting the servo mount. I too added spacers (1.5mm) to the side link mounts also twisted the links out just a bit. Here's a video of me testing the 4 link setup.

You just set yourself up for a bad case of bumpsteer. With a triangulated 4 link, the axle moves straight up and down relative to the chassis when the suspension is compressed. With a 3 link + panhard bar, the axle will swing in a sideways arc under the chassis, with that arc being controlled by the panhard bar. With a chassis mounted servo, the draglink also swings in a sideways arc, when combined with a link setup that puts the panhard in a parrallel plane, and equal in length to the draglink, the tires should always hold their heading as the suspension is cycled.

When you combine a triangulated 4 link, with CMS, the draglink will still move in an arc, even though the suspension movement does not, which causes the draglink to push outwards on the knuckle when compressed (making the tires turn right) and pull left when the suspension droops. Push/pull on your front suspension and you'll see your steering partially cycle on its own. That's bumpsteer, and it wastes good servo throw just trying to hold your heading. That is the reason that nearly all rc crawlers run either CMS with 3 link + panhard, OR 4 link with an axle mounted servo... not a combination of both. There are certainly other suspension/steering link setups that can be made to work together, unfortunately, your setup is not one of them.

I'd suggest trying the 3 link setup as recommended in the kit, or find a way to axle mount your servo... Or, show everyone your fabrication and geometry skills and mount the servo in the chassis and run linkage to an idler arm at the back of the links, then to the front of the axle, which then connects to another link setup that converts the fore/aft movement to side to side... which will totally work with CMS and triangulated 4 link.