Soze adds a RedCat to the fleet - Gen8 Scout II

[soze]

Alright, So I ordered this way back in December, finally got in February, and haven't posted about it until March! I didn't want to post about it before, because I just haven't done much to it. In fact I still haven't, but I might as well start the thread now that I've run it a few times and have videos of it.

Videos of my Gen8 Scout II

Most links to items I used are from eBay. As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Build Details:

RedCat Gen8 Scout II (Blue) RTR - https://ebay.to/2VwOsVY


Parts:

ProTek RC Low profile servo horn - https://ebay.to/2IO8av3
SSD RC M3 Bent Rod Ends - https://ebay.to/2IVGDIm
Pro-Line Racing #10128-14 Hyrax 1.9 G8 Rock Terrain Truck Tires - https://ebay.to/2C3dEg1
Pro-Line 1.9 Dual Stage Foam - http://bit.ly/2PLZsPk
Aluminum 1.9inches RC Beadlock - https://ebay.to/2YcmtNS


Electronics:

DS Servo DS3218 20kg Servo - https://ebay.to/2rjtcpW
Hobbywing Quicrun WP1080 - https://ebay.to/2C4BJn7
FlySky FS-GR3E 3ch Receiver - https://ebay.to/2TdkVDr
FlySky GT3C Radio - https://ebay.to/2VkVopp

[soze]

Here's the first thing that I wanted to adjust. The steering geometry is off out of the box, and it kind of bothered me.

Look how far out in front the servo end of the draglink is. I haven't gotten around this part yet, but sooner or later I hope it can be addressed




Here you can see that the draglink and panhard rod are not at the same angle. The panhard rod has a steeper angle than the draglink.




Part of the reason for a shallower draglink angle is due to the stock servo horn that comes with the truck




Since I didn't have anything suitable on hand, I wanted to see if there was something I could do while I waited for the parts I needed. I ended up figuring out how to get the correct angle just by moving the tie-rod below the knuckle mounting point rather than above. This allowed me to get the correct angle while using the stock servo horn.

Don't have pictures, but here's the video: https://youtu.be/q2BiP4YPJfs


While I was at it, I took the opportunity to swap receivers. I thought the RedCat receiver would work with my FlySky GT3C since it's FlySky based, but apparently not. They must've done something to the Redcat version to make it RedCat specific. See the similarities between the RedCat and the Fly Sky Receivers?




Also took a look at my portal gears to see if they were missing grease. Lots of the earlier batches were reporting dry portal gears. Luckily my February release was all greased and ready to go.

[soze]

The RedCat body mounting system is a good idea, but the execution with the velcro left a little to be desired.

Here are some issues that I had.

Dropping the body straight on never worked well. The front just wouldn't stick.




This is the type of misalignment you get when you drop it straight on from the top




The secret to getting it mounted on correctly was to mount the front first, and then drop the back on.






Another issue is the side trim on the body prevents the body from mounting all the way down. It hits up against the sliders preventing the body from going down a bit more snugly.






This is something I'll address by trimming the sides, but I'm reluctant to do it until I get my magnets in. I'll be swapping out to magnets. It's the way to go.

[soze]

Despite those issues that I posted about above, I had a chance to take it out for a run, and it did pretty well.

I hate the way the stock tires look, and the foams were garbage. So I stuck the Pro-Line Hyrax with Pro-Line Dual Stage Foams on ebay beadlocks that I was using for my MST CFX-W.

[soze]

Another annoying thing. The driveshafts are out of phase, and there's nothing I can do about it on the stock shafts.

The steering geometry and these driveshafts make me wonder if it's just unfamiliar territory, or lack of attention to detail.






I was looking into the RedCat upgraded driveshafts, but HumboldtEF mentioned that they were still out of phase. I'll probably to see what cheap generic driveshafts might work on this truck.

I tried the Axial WB8 Driveshafts, and the length is good. The only issue with those is the different screw size diameter for holding the driveshaft in place. The Axial ones are a bigger diameter.

[soze]

Take two on the steering mod.

I decided to move the draglink from connecting at the tie-rod to connecting at the top of the knuckle like some others here have done.

The ProTek RC low-profile servo horn finally came in and I was all ready to go until I got this...

I couldn't get the angle I wanted, because the rod-ends didn't allow for it.




So I used SSD RC M3 bent rod-ends. They're roughly the same length in order to keep the draglink the same length as the panhard rod.




Now I'm a happy camper for as far as I can go without a new bumper/servo mount design. Side to side suspension bump steer improved with this change.

[durok]

Cool write-up!

However, the last post is a double of the one prior to it...

Otherwise, extremely well-documented and informative.

[Teng]

As always. Just posted this thread on my Facebook face and tag a buddy who recently bought a blue car. I urge him must read through this thread.

[kincer]

Great write up about these, I'm not happy about the front suspension geometry either, I'll get around to doing something with it at some point for sure though.

[roadrashracing]

I did away with the stock rock sliders all together, they seemed to get hung up more than the skid plate.

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[4Aces]

Roadrashracing, what sliders did you replace them with?

[allanon1965]

Interesting on the redcat rx, i used a redcat rx on my monster beetle and my flysky gt3c with no issues...

[soze]

Originally Posted by durok

Cool write-up!

However, the last post is a double of the one prior to it...

Otherwise, extremely well-documented and informative.

Yeah, RCC was acting a little slow and funky last last night... not sure how that happened.

Originally Posted by roadrashracing

I did away with the stock rock sliders all together, they seemed to get hung up more than the skid plate.

Very nice. I still plan to trim the sides of the body though. If I raised the sliders up (which I plan to do for the time being) I would have to anyway. I'm still keeping an eye out for any sliders that I might like, but so far I haven't really seen any.

Originally Posted by allanon1965

Interesting on the redcat rx, i used a redcat rx on my monster beetle and my flysky gt3c with no issues...

Yeah, not sure. It should've been as easy as putting the bind plug in, and binding it. Couldn't get it to take though.

[DukeMinnix]

Originally Posted by soze

Yeah, not sure. It should've been as easy as putting the bind plug in, and binding it. Couldn't get it to take though.

I'll have to fire up my flysky radio and see if it'll bind, I hadn't even considered it.

[SlagMan]

Hey Soze I recently did a custom build with wild boar shafts paired with Gmade axles. I had the same issue with the shaft pin being too big. Luckily I had a pair of Gmade shafts lying around, so I took the screw pin and they fit the wild boar threads and pin fit on the pinion. Hope that helps.


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[roadrashracing]

Originally Posted by 4Aces

Roadrashracing, what sliders did you replace them with?

I think they were ssd scx10.2.

[roadrashracing]

I have found rc4wd bumpers with the outside tabs fit.

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[durok]

That bumper is an excellent choice.

You guys are really making these Gen-8s look G-R-R-R-E-A-T!

Now about the shape of those fenders... (j/k)

[M1tch]

Nice work. I watching how these builds go. Might be a while, but I do like these Gen 8's.

I can't 'like' posts atm. Anyone else got this happening?

[Browneye]

If you let me know when you're hitting El Modina we'll come join you.
One of my crawling buddies just got one of these, I sent your thread link.