Not first time Crawler, but I am a First Time Red Cat Owner.

[triptherip]

I know that the shocks are the same length, but I thought you meant they were different internally. Like i missed something when I rebuilt them. I have 1 saggy shock to fix

[Timmahh]

Been busy dealing with 1:1 scale life stuff. lol Took time and reorganized the pile of broken crete into something more usable.
Have a few bugs to deal with on the Axe, other than the steering/panhard bug.
Broke the left side slider off a while back. not many options, stock, Reefs, or the KXY stuff. I went with the KXY. Didn't care for the look of the reefs sliders, and the KXY do have a nice look so I order a set of them for a bit over 20 bucks and they arrived today so on they went.
These are pretty nicely built. the step is adjustable to the slider mount. So once you install the slider, you can shift the step forward or backwards to get the fit/look you want under the body you are running. With the Axe rig, which these are made specifically for, they were almost right on. Well the Drivers side is, just need to move the passenger side forward a few mm. 3 screws secure the foot plate to the slider mount. Overall, Great look, and nice design in that respect. They'll be stronger than stock no doubt, but will transfer that shock load to the plastic mounting side plate. We'll see how it holds up. they are not very heavy, and I didn't weigh them, which I can do at some point soon, but they are heavier than stockers obviously. Overall, until I run them, I'll give them a B+,A- score. only because I have not run them yet to see if they slide well or hang up on every corner. Will report back on that when I get there.


Also ordered some SSD link mounts for her. They arrived today as well as the 16 light kit I bought thinking it was the light kit with a controller. Its just a single plug split out so all on always. So I may return it, or more likely sell it off, or clip it up and use is for other lighting setups that need more than the stock kits have.

Got the SSD stuff installed. Back were great, but I did have to lightly trim the balls down just a smidge on the front to get them to fit into the mounts. FYI for anyone adding them. The ball links may be a smidge to wide to fit into the link mounts. The anodizing is very good on these parts, and it may be a bit thicker on this set, causing the ball to be a bit to wide to slide in the mounts.

They are pretty much duplicates of the stock mounts, so everything went back together as it should otherwise.

Next parts I need to get are the portal knuckles The stock one on the left side is twisting up on the steering arm. This happened before I made the changes recently. The mount off the housing is fairly thin, not real beefy in its mounting to the knuckle itself, so it gives a bit under the stress of steering in pinched lines. A more beefy mount area for the steering arm on the knucle would minimize that issue. but until RC beefs up the knuckle part, the arm will continue to see high stress, and it will likely continue to give.

So the options besides stock are Hot Racing, Treal, one Amazon Special maker, and Red Cat themselves I think make Aluminum portal housings f and r.

Metal will obviously be a more viable fix. And will add some non rotational, unsprung weight low, so will help lower CoG as well in increase Stability.
The RedCat parts look good and i can only presume the are more than adequate. But adding some more weight in that area can only lead to more benefits than detractions. So I am going to use the Brass Housings, and will probably stick with the stock covers. Dont want to add more weight than needed. It does add stress to components, and static load is increased.
The HR doesn't look bad, but Treal makes a nice looking set that are Bass, then powder coated black then finish machined to let the brass pop out from the black. They look really good, and so far, many people seem to like the Treal gear, as there seems to be minimal or no issues with fit, machine work, or quality.

They wont be in stock here stateside for a week or so yet it appears, so I have them on stand by in the cart for when they can be shipped out when ordered.


One other thing I have coming is a set of the Treal 8mm hexes. It's a 4 pack, but I am only going to add them to the front. The extra 2mm will give the clearance needed to stop the links from rubbing the inside of the front tires. Especially when under a load and the tires are biting in. Expect those to be here end of the week, which will help reduce any drivetrain drag caused by the rubbing.

Dripping the steering crops bar to under the links did create a bit of clearance, but the drag link is still attached to the top of the knuckle are, and while it is not as much into the tire, it still rubs. That added 2 mils will solve the rub, and add just a little rotational weight to the front. So the impact will be minimal, but the clearance they add will be crucial.

The stock Traxxas 12mm Slash hexes are 8mm wide, so you can use them if you don't want to add weight or fancy hexes that ar e only seen when the wheels are off. lol


Few pics of the KXY sliders and SSD Links installed.





And the needle goes in.

[Timmahh]

A few other things I did was add the KXY Brass Pumpkin cover to the front. I didn't realize it but the stock covers are aluminum, not plastic painted silver, which is what I thought, and didn't pay an iota of attention to it until I put the KXY cover on. Little more low weight and upfront, so should help keep the front end down on more steep accents.
Also it has a few more rounded edges than the stock cover, so should hang up a little less than the stock cover tends to.

No pics on it, but you can see it in the pics above.

I also added a full light kit plus. I ordered a 12 and 8 light kit with controllers. I combined them into one kit, and one controller for all 20 lights, and added a 4 light bar which I installed behind the front bumper top bar. There is still room for a winch when I order one, though I may need to 3d Print a couple risers just to lift the lights a mm or two, depending on which winch and how I mount it. I am looking at the dual motor Amazon Speical similar to the RC4WD Zeon winch. At less than 1/2 the cost of the Zeon setup, and it looks identical (ie they probably make them for RC4WD), then it's a no brainer. Though if I get this winch, I will probably need the risers to lift th light bar a bit so it fits with enough clearance. I made a post about Lighting Up the Axe on the system, and the minor changes I did with them for the Axe.

Anyways. that's the latest update and I'm sticking to it.

More l8r.

[johnnyluv]

Good updates! When I was first getting into RC, spring of 2013, some of the first videos I saw were of the Redcat Earthquake 8E, on alishanmao's YouTube channel. That thing looked cool, but was a little pricey, as was the E-Revo.Bashing was what I got into at first, but in a few month's time I began to discover crawling, and joined RCC in January of 2014, knowing that I would eventually get one. Axial was hot at that time, so I got a new Deadbolt RTR to get my feet wet. I bought a Everest 10 a few years ago, just to see if it was near Axial quality, but it was just a clone of a commonly distributed Chinese model, so I sold it. I loved the look of the Everest Gen7, and gradually collected some parts to build a custom one, and this past winter I bought a Gen8 P.A.C.K, and have plans to build that up, too.

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[Timmahh]

RedCats come a good ways. I'm Happy to see the improvements they have made.

They still have a ways to go, but so far, they are making good strides it seems.

Added a few things over the last few days. mostly a pair of Treal 8mm hexes to give a bit of clearance for the front wheels/steering links.
Only added them to the front, though they were a 4 pack. May add them to the rears after a run. See how it does.

Will probably order a Winch for it when I buy the Treal Chubs and Knucks.

I did order the Bowhouse RC Pan Hard relocation mount for the chassis. hopefully that can help correct the pan hard setup a bit.

Other than that, I think I will be mostly done with this rig in terms of build/upgrade for now. Don't want to add too much weight, particularly in the wrong areas.
The only other thing I may get is a pair of Treal rear inner portal housings in brass. Equal out a bit of that front weight and help keep the rear planted on steeper decents.

[Timmahh]

Treal Brass Knuckles for the Axe.




After bending the steering arm on the right knuckle figured a little unsprung weight would be suitable as well.
Have a set of the Treal Chubs on order also. Amazon showed a few left in stock on Monday, So I grabbed a set. They went out of stock Tuesday evening.
Ordered the Knuckles the same time as the Chubs. Chubs not yet shipped, and they are out of stock, no expected time to be back in stock. Grrr.

Luckily my stock chubs are ok. Also waiting for the rear hubs (which were a few in stock last week, but was waiting for the Knucks and Chubs to come into stock) to come back into stock now. Figured the added weight of the brass Chubs and Knucks in the front could use some balancing out with Rears. No to wait for them to be back in stock. lol

[Timmahh]

Treal Chubs came in today. Rear Internal Portal Housings will be here tomorrow. Then I will get to installing them.
Still waiting on the Bowhouse RC Chassis Pan hard relocation mount to get here. The shipped it the day after I ordered it, and its been setting in the Detroit USPS Hub for over a week now. USPS had better pull their proverbial Heads out of their FEDERAL ASSES. When FedEx/UPS can have shit here from Cali in 4-5 days, but USPS can have things I bought from Detroit here in 2 weeks, let alone things I bought from Bowhouse or others...
They are getting very pathetic, especially for the annual salaries they make.

[Timmahh]

Put the Treal stuff on last night and finished up the front axle today. Still waiting for the Bowhouse piece to arrive.

Didn't take any weights or other measurements, just removed the axles, put on the Treal gear greasing things as I went, and redid the front shocks with some 32.5w oil. Will see how it does with a bit lighter oil up front. Also added some preload to the rears. May get a chance to test it tomorrow, if it's not raining too much, after I get done helping my Aunt out.












Pic of the Axle Shafts. They are beefy no doubt.



On with the Install















On to the Front Axle













Install the Chub Sleeves from inside the Chubs. Not from the Top and Bottom on the outside.
The Sleeves also are a spacer between the Chub and Knuckle. if you stall them from the out side (top and bottom), the knuckle will be sloppy in the chub unless you crank the screws down, risking stripping the brass threads, or bending the chub arms out of whack.



All back together. At least until the Bowhouse Pan Hard Mount shows up, but that wont be a big issue to install without teardown. At least I don't think.






Realized I had the servo arm flipped around so I put that on correctly. Derp.

[Timmahh]

Not really had any issue over the last year. Haven't ran a shitton, but running enough to find issues. and other than those listed already, been good.

finially installed the bowhouse RC PanHard relocation mount. Made a small difference, but this panhard setup is one of the worst eva. But it is what it is, and otherwise, this thing has been pretty damn solid to be honest.

I was a bit leary on the Redcat, and went with the AXE rig cuz if it sucked really bad, I'd at least have decent radio, esc/motor combo and good steering servo for an SCX10 Kit or another SSD TK. lol But not an issue I am concerned with.

been pretty happy with this gal.
Ordered some new 1.9 wheels and tires for her.
Thinking of finishing up with the Treal alxe replacement and get 2 axle housings, though the stockers are holding up great. Thinking the extra weight down low wont be a negative...

Also going to get rock lights for it to see the trail underneath as well as the rest of the runs with the normal lighting.


Doesn't look much different other than you can see more brass now. lol

[Bob_in az]

I've had my gen8 v1 since the day they were released. I haven't had any failures & it gets ran hard. I did replace the skid & axle housings with the axe/v2 parts when they came out. It's been a beast & it's the truck that hand off to newbies when they go out with me. These days, my boys & my dad run it the most. I have an ssd trail king, a trx4 & the gen8. Quality-wise, there's not much difference in all three. Would I buy another or recommend the Gen8? Absolutely. I consider it to be one of the top four rtr trucks out there right now. I'd be willing to bet sales figures back that up too.

[bapski]

New to RC. Got the the Gen7pro first but noticed my son getting more time on it than i did so i got the Gen8 Axe for me.

We had our first trail run today and found it odd the Gen7pro held up good against the Gen8 Axe. It even out-ran the Gen8 Axe on a speed run and this is with a 2s on the Axe and a NimH on the Gen7pro!

Gen7pro has upgraded servo and esc, DIY weighted wheels.






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[Timmahh]

Originally Posted by bapski

New to RC. Got the the Gen7pro first but noticed my son getting more time on it than i did so i got the Gen8 Axe for me.

We had our first trail run today and found it odd the Gen7pro held up good against the Gen8 Axe. It even out-ran the Gen8 Axe on a speed run and this is with a 2s on the Axe and a NimH on the Gen7pro!

Gen7pro has upgraded servo and esc, DIY weighted wheels.






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Looks good.
Nice pair of Cats you got there.


I spent a little time fixing a burnt out headlight and resorting my number turn signals as I had them reversed.
New metal bumper will be here by this weekend, but it only has one hole for bumper lights while the G8s have 2. But I think I see a simple work around anyways. there are always a few. lol Wheels are on the slow boat from China. Got a new set of KXY 1.9s here for the gal.
Reefs bumper/servo winch mount is also coming so I can mount this HOG/Sow servowinch into this heavy weight.
Think I will get some aluminum portal covers just to finish up the front end (barring the housing itself which is original/stock and so far so good) in some clean metal. Not sure about adding more weight, but I will probably get the Treal F covers in Brass, and a set for the rear that are aluminum but in black.

Also have lights to use as rock lights. Actually will put these up front on the bar, and the ones that are there currently will become rock lights for the wheel wells with on/off switches on both.

put a Pinal style hitch on it. also got a pair of red metal bumper rings for the rear bumper. will have to remove the nub on the rear bumpers for the stock plastic rings, and mount the 2 metal rings.

going to fire up the 3d printer and print out a few new things for scale bits on her as well. Thinking a spare tire mount, but where the weight wont be so detrimental. have to see how that may work out.

Anyways, its been a while since I posted on the AXE Rig.

Did a 1 yr review on my youtube channel a few days ago, and tonight a quick vid on the lighting system.

Not sure If I went through that on this thread above, but basically a Amazon/Ebay light controller and lights, that I added a couple more lights to to fill everything out, including enough lights to add them on the body side markers, which I will also get too in the next few days as parts come in to continue her progress.

pics and vids to come.

[Timmahh]

Originally Posted by Bob_in az

I've had my gen8 v1 since the day they were released. I haven't had any failures & it gets ran hard. I did replace the skid & axle housings with the axe/v2 parts when they came out. It's been a beast & it's the truck that hand off to newbies when they go out with me. These days, my boys & my dad run it the most. I have an ssd trail king, a trx4 & the gen8. Quality-wise, there's not much difference in all three. Would I buy another or recommend the Gen8? Absolutely. I consider it to be one of the top four rtr trucks out there right now. I'd be willing to bet sales figures back that up too.

Ya, mines been solid. Charge run repeat for the most part. Minimal probs.

I do run my SSD TK rig (the class 2, traded the leader class 1 for a Ryft, almost bought it back but didn't) more often, but this G8 is getting solid.

My next new rig is going to be the Axial Early Bronco. Gonna get one for my Bday (on the 4th a few weeks back).

But after this next round of upgrades, I think I am going to run this AXE way more than I have.

[Timmahh]

put a few things on the front of the gal.







Short Youboob vid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgxBvp7gmjI

[Timmahh]

Moved the rear bumper in 1 1/2 holes by drilling 2 new holes in the posts and was able to tuck the bumper a fair bit. Hitch still hangs out a bit.
Will make some sort of mod where I can hang the Pinal hitch on the rig, but remain out of the way and visible/usable when needed. (maybe never)





Ordered a few final parts that should pretty much finish it off except for 3d prints I wast to get to.
Treal Portal covers for the Rear portal to add some rear weight biasing. Pretty front heavy atm.
Black Aluminum cover for the Front portals.
Long Bent Rod ends for the SSD Steering crosslink.
a set of shocks that are 7075 shock bodies (threaded) and 6061 remaining parts that are sold as 112mm specifically for the Gen8 Cats on Amazon.
Anyone see or try these shocks? Stock pic for reference. Have a stock shaft that is bent. I could have bought a set of 4 stockers on the bay for 25.00, but thought these not only looked better, but should preform a bit better than the stockers.


Once these things arrive and I get them installed and setup, the only thing I may add besides the 3d printed items Is a motor to the motor bay with a hood mod is a rear bumper with tire mount and a Gen 8 Specific Front bumper that has the dual led holes on each side.

Kind of the look I was going for, but may head a different route, but this is a nice looking 1:1

[Timmahh]

Tossed the 1/2 shaft earlier in the year. As we are all aware, once they start to pop, they'll do it soon and with more frequency.

So I got a spare for when it does happen again, I'll be able to give it a fix. Still running the stock plastic drive shafts and will leave them as stockers for a weak point.

[Timmahh]

KYX wheels for the 8.




knockoff pitbull xls in 1.9 on the slow boat.

[Timmahh]

got nearly everything here for the AXE to help balance the fatbeech a bit more.

Will see how these RCAWD Gen8 Shocks work out. I can tell you the perch and ends are machined aluminum, BUT. the End doesn't set in the recess on the bottom spring perch as it should. No worries. I'll be installing different ends and using the Treal perches anyways.

Otherwise, they should work out pretty well.
Treal Portal Covers to go on the rear, the aluminum covers in black for the front. and 1/2 shaft is in but I wont swap out to this one until I toss the stock on again. Then I'll have to get into it and it will be an easy upgrade at that point.

The only thing that hasn't came in yet are the offset rod ends in M3 for the SSD steering link (need to make it a bit longer. but have to see if I have a longer m3 allen then I could just use a locknut.
And the set of wheels are still on the way and a set of lights to use for Rock Lights for the wheel wells for night running.

Anyways, a few pics of the goods.

[Timmahh]

Then I added the fairlead to the stock front bumper and fed the line through. Also installed the front Pull rings in metal for more strength.
Just waiting for the new condoms.





Put the pen spring mod in the front shocks a few days ago and went back to the dual springs for these RCAWD shocks as they ended up working out better.
Waiting for new condoms for this set of KYX 1.9s I have here.

[Timmahh]

Chanbull Tires came in from Chy-Na today.
Wow. Not a single difference in these other than the compound itself. If someone didn't know, they would never be able to tell.

Ribbing on the inner sidewall, fairly thick carcass on these 1.9s. even has the "Made in the USA" stamp on them.

This ladies and gentleman, is why so many like myself say be weary as you may not be buying what you thought you were.

cost was less than 25.00 shipped for them. Looks like they've been taken down on Amazon now also.

Foams appear to be a memory foam. but its pretty supple and springs back quick. will give them a shot.

Installing them on these KXY Chanquish 1.9s. No venting yet. when you fit them together, there is no place for air to escape.
Otherwise they feel pretty decent. Thinking they are just Butyl Rubber so some WD40 soaking should help soften them up a bit more.

otherwise they should be ok.
But the issue is, these are Exact Copies. I would have bought the Real Ones if I could have found them in stock.
Seen these while on the evilzon and figured I'd take a look for 25.00.

But if everyone does, and I go out promoting these cheap exact copies, how long would PitBull be in business making and selling new tires options as I very much doubt the Chi-Na companies will be making new licensed options or innovating new gear.