Exceed Mad Torque From Box to Rocks........
 

Okay, now that a few of us are MT fans, Lets begin. I have been on the mod prowl for a while. I've read all the threads on the MT and this is my start on a thread with the mods that I have been doing. There are a lot of good ideas out there and some I have used. I hope some of mine can be used by anyone who wants to. This photo from Rock City is my out of the box. I will post some more as soon as I have the time

Ready when you are!

Icll post in the AM.

Stock MT 4WS
 

In the beginning the easy mod is do the 4WS since you can do for low bucks.

Dual T-Pro 946's
Servo reversing "Y"
Steer parts from Hobbypartz

Test 4WS
 

Took it to Rock City to test 4WS. Worked ok but don't need it all the time. Need to make some changes.

TQ3 AM trans.
Toggle switch for selective steering

Dual Servos and 4Link
 

After testing I see that steering is suffering from a lack of power. Time to go in to the shop and fab a new servo bracket for the front and rear. Also while in the fab mod, 4 link! Ordered some more rods and some ball ends, went to the hardware store and bought some .125 x 1" AL Flatbar. While I had the tear down going on, I narrowed the chassis to 3". Made a need skid and chopped the chassis. The last photo shows my solution to batteries. This does 2 things, front wheel weight and long lasting power (1 1/2 Hrs). Huh why by batteries when you have Traxxas packs laying around.

My only suggestion is to remove the connector from between the two servos and just attach them at the knuckles. you'll find that is pushes and pulls a little better and obsorb the shock evenly.

I plan to post later on this subject. Its just a start of a long process as you know. Its the fun of changing things.

Wheels and Tires
 

This is what I found in the budget range of most common people: Maximizer 3.2's x2.25 wide ($15 a pair, but have to take the green ones for that price)). Imex Rubicons 3.2 ID x 7" OD 3" wide ($25 to $35 depend on the store). Got my from LHS $26 a pair. Tires are soft compound #7566.

Oh by the way the foams suck. Took the foam out and did a 16 point star cut. We will see if they work.

Chassis Time
 

Well I have looked at all type of chassis and just can't force myself to pay the money. So off to Tapp Plastics I went. Found some 1/4" Delrin and a small piece of 3/8". Now get on the cad program and lay it out. I printed it on 11 x 17 paper and cut out the pattern. Next I cut 2 pieces of Delrin to width and stuck'em together with 2 sided tap. Sprayed the face with some glue and mounted the template. Now drill saw, and sand. Walla we have my version of a functional chassis. Simple but easy and cheap. Take a look below at its profile. I think this might work.

Body Panels
 

Well I was out shopping with my wife and discovered a pack of throw away cutting boards or my dough boards ($5). These are thin and tough. They are about 1/16" thick. Cuts great on a paper cutter. Cut the holes with a paper hole punch.

wow man, you've done some really slick work with this exceed crawler, I really like it.

very good job.

Lookin Good Bro "thumbsup"

Only sugestion I have is that you're gonna need some hex's with 0 stand off. You're gonna find that your rig will strugle with larger tires and stearing will be less efficient. But if you use say a 17mm revo hex then you'll be more stable and you'll get much better stearing. you'll also find out you hand up less on the axle and it's more stable with a narrow track.

Spring and Shock set-up
 

Nobody really knows for now what the best setup. Everyone has their own idea. Well here's mine. I'm trying to get the shocks as close to the axle as possible with out making a new axle mount. So with this chassis i was able to move the shocks to the bottom hole on the lowers and using the holes in the chassis to relocate the angle. To minimize twist, I mounted the rear a little more vertical than the front and giving the front more flex by slating the front and using the same ring rate. Only testing now will tell the tale!

Only Testing Will Tell???
 

My son and I went out to Vasco today to do a little testing.

Lets start with the tires. Tires are 100% better than stock. Now the problem is getting enough power to them. Big diameter means more power needed to turn them... the grip is excellent but still need to work on the foam problem. I can see that the first thing I'm going to do is change to a smaller pinion in the front and even a smaller in the back. With these tires I'm suffering bad clog in the rear on steep climbs. Next the chassis setup seems to work good except the front springs are a little stiff. I'm going to play with some more. some where the right rate will be there some where!!! Wheeling the big meats around need to be desired with the steering. I've got to change the length of the wheel hubs. As i mentioned earlier in A's thread, got to cut them down or buy what he did and make bushings. The steering knuckles have got to go! Axial here I come. During test run had t go to the shade tree garage and change one out. Broke the end off as you will see below!! The stock servo in the rear is a piece of cow patty. No turning power when in a bind. I think I'll take the 2 T-PRO 946's and put them on the back and get some more for the front.

Sorry for not having pics of the crawl test. Here's a few. Had to crop them to post.

looking good I'm turning my redcoat rs10 into a superclass crawler good job "thumbsup"

The Wally World PilloW?
 

After reading about the Wally World pillow, I had to try it. Here's the results. I started with the electric carving knife and trimmed it with scissors. It looks like its not going to fit but it does. these are 3.2 x 7" Rubicons. I cut the foam to 2.8 x 8"

Steering Change
 

After further review and playing, I broke the second knuckle on the left side. If you look at an earlier post you will see the stress point. All the power applied to the left side. Alan suggested making a change so this what I came up with. I have no stress and straight pressure to the links. Works real will.

Nicely done.

I'm even starting to like the unintentional "Robinmobile" color scheme.

Good job, Phat. Clean.