Those with raptor 2's, share your experience.
 

For those who run or ran Raptor 2 axles, could you please share your experience on how they performed, any issues, and some pictures of your setups? I have a list of axles in consideration and this is on the list so i wanted to gather some info on them.

I am aware of the pins breaking and there's a dog bone shaft upgrade for it.

I don't see any upgrade kits for upper link triangulation mounts. Is that something you have to fab up? there are two holes in the cases for a mount apparently.

Thanks for sharing!

Chris

anyone? someone's gotta be running these...or are they that bad?

I have 1's not 2's, but I'll share my experience.

1- Yes the 2 holes in the case are for the upper link mount, if all you see are the 2 holes it's obviously missing. It sits over the top of the case, 2 bolts go through it and the case to mount. A post sits in the mount for the upper links secured w/ a set screw.

2- For lower link mounts, you're on your own for the most part. I bolted mine to the inside of the C's, but IMO that was too wide. Lots of axle steer as it articulated.

3- The steering range is very limited compared to other axles. The "stock" servo mounting method for Raptors is a huge bulky pair of clamp blocks that hang off the bottom of the axle, or you have to fabricate mounts yourself that bolt up top Clod style.

4- They are geared very high. Geared more for a racing rig than a crawler. Some kind of GRU is a must to get these axles to perform. Upon finding this out the first time I ran them, that was the last straw for me. I gave up and got a pair of Berg axles instead...

Thank you for sharing :)

GRU? Not familiar with that term. I plan to fab my own servo mount, clod style cuz i dislike the way the kit hangs below the axle tube. Robs clearance. When you say geared high, like how? I run dual 35t integies with 10t pinions and dual 4000 mah 14.4 volt motors on my current clod axles. This is quite fast. Let me show you a vid of it's actual speed:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e7...h_DSCF5243.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e7...h_DSCF5256.jpg

2nd vid shows the actual speed as i take off from the puddle.

Would they be anywhere near that speed? That's what i'm looking for. if they are too fast, would using a 55t motor work? I could go with 55t with 8t pinions or something. Regular pinions work with the axles right?


Chris

Gear Reduction Unit

Ahhh..thanks :)

Like Jeremy says, Gear Reduction Unit - a small gearbox that bolts to (and adds an inch or more to the motor length) the front of the motor and reduces the shaft RPM.

I did'nt run my Raptors very long, a quick test in my living room floor convinced me they were not worth any more effort on my part. The first time I tapped the throttles it almost jumped through my TV.

Not quite as fast as your Jeep, but I was trying 65t lathe motors and 6t pinions. I had to Dremel the cases to make the 6t pinions mate up. If you geared the Raptors right and ran a faster motor you could probably get speeds like that. If the dogbones did'nt break.

Thanks for the info. Maybe a 65T or 75T motor with 10t pinion will get it about the same speed at mine and it would be perfect. I know what you mean by first noticing how fast it is. When i was done building my JK Rubiclod, the first time i turned it on and pressed the trigger it flew backwards (throttle was opposite) off the table and broke the bumper....really fast!

I thought the dogbone replacement axles were stronger than the "xvd" setup it comes with? I know if i have an issue, RC4wd will take care of it so i'm not real worried about that or downtime. Downtime = upgrade/fix time :)

If you have any pictures, feel free to share. I'd love to see how some of you setup your axle and just how they look under the rig.

Do you still have your raptor axles? If so, you looking to get rid of them?

Thanks!

What a coincidence. After i posted this i went outside to get the mail and the raptors were in front of my door :)

I am very impressed just looking at these axles. They are a bit heavy, which I do not mind, and beefy. They came assembled though. I was hoping i could put them together to get an idea of what's inside. But it's cool.


Mine came with regular clod style axle shafts, not the XVD's shown in the picture. Hmm....

you should take them apart anyways and loctite everything...

btw they can be modded to run as small as a 6t pinion i beleive i sold mine but i think they had 6t's on em.

and they werent so fast then. still fast just not like they were stock.

- tre

What kind of mod did you have to do to it to run 6t's? I don't think i'll need to go that low in pinion gearing but would be helpful to know in case i ever do. I'm building another 1:6 rig, but using a Gladiator pickup body instead. Gonna be huge and these axles will help with the scale-ism. Speed is something i want with this rig so i can blast through mud/snow/dirt. I don't think i will have the guts to take these under water like i do with the stock clod axles because i dunno where to get replacement bearings and such.


Did your axle shafts come as xvd's or stock?