Da BULL Test log!

[Double J]

Specs (so it doesn't get moved)

Jr R-1
65t Lathe
TLT axles
TP 945 servo's (steering and disconnect)
2 9/16 GC
12.5" wb

We all know. "this thread is worthless w/ out pics"

so I hope this holds you over for a short while.


DAY 1 – PM – 1st test after a 1.75 hour build.
Well it being the first "torsion" I've ever driven. I'm not sure LOL...
I did notice the longer I drove it (we were out there for about 45min.) the more flex it had. I also moved the Grins upside down and made the shocks sit at half compression. Which helped it flex more than the way it was set up previously.

It did perform well other than the fact that I'm not the best driver around, it's my first torsion and my wheel hex's stripped. So I was driving 3 wheels 60% of the time then hand tightening the nut to make it not so bad. LOL

Vertical Climbs were insane as well as side hilling. I'm kicking my self for not taking the camera. I've heard that there is a "learning curve" with torsions and I've failed. I did start getting use to taking different approach angles to help compensate for the lack of flex that a torsion has.

One thing I did notice at first that started going away was the "spring" back that the 1/8 rod created. I picked up some 45 oil that will help dampen better than the 22.5 I have in the shocks now.

I'll probably drive it some more tomorrow and try not to forget the camera. I'll give the torsion a week then I'll 4 link the front (I think for my driving style I'll like that better) If I don't like that then I'll 4 link the rear as well.

I also took my VS comp rig with me and my 5yr old to play follow the leader. 5yr did pretty well for his first real outing. But I would run a line with the VS and then my new rig. I shouldn't really compare the two as they are different set ups and I'm more use to the VS. But I did notice that I would out climb the VS in vertical and would side hill better or should I say with more ease. Again the only real problem I had was the torsion's lack of flex when choosing a line to take and I'd tip it over (that and my son running me over and not giving me enough space to reverse ) cause I'm use to placing the old rig at more of an angle.

I wasn't able to get a hold of ****** who has more experience with a torsion than I but I'll be dropping it off with him sometime this week so he can 'play' with it and give me his thoughts.

Sorry for all the rambling but I wanted cover as much as possible.

I do think that the 4link/shocked torsion will be a great combo for a rig. Kinda the best of both worlds. But TESTING will see.

Thanks
7/31/07
Day 1 entry into the torsion test.
Jason

As you can see I started the log a while back..?

[TJ_Shunk]

Tease

[Double J]

Here it is getting tested with 'Bullet' my official test lid

[phishead1101]

More, more, more.....

[microgoat]

Anyone know where I can get some Schlitz Malt Liquor decals?

[Double J]

Day2 – AM – Testing commences.
Well after speaking to ****** over the phone to set up a meeting. He told me why it would act so bouncy (spring like) the rods have to be able to rotate giving it more flex.

BUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAA!!

I took the last 10 min. of my 10am break, went and grabbed a hex wrench (harbor freight $.95) to loosen the bolts at the chassis. Took it on some rocks (sorry not enough time for pics) and noticed a dramatic improvement.

As a torsion I think this crawled absolutely outstanding. I think I can get good at driving this torsion thing!

I believe this will be da bomb as a 4 link (my first love ) This light weight chassis absolutely grabs the rocks even with the newly mounted Lizards on Junfac bead locks.

There were a couple situations where the collars at the chassis grabbed a rock but you can drive around that and it wasn't too bad when it did. I got more hung up on the driveshaft yoke so a slid plate (lexan??) will be installed later to compensate that.

there was a high curb along side the rocks (I've been high centered on the curb with my VS before) It didn't happen with this set up and I was able to ride one side on the curb with the other side going over rocks and falling in holes and it absolutely held its position (I've tipped the VS doing that before as well)

It did its job as a torsion floating over some holes, but flexed enough to grab when needed. I figured since this is a TVP I would have some issues with weight that this type of torsion normally doesn't see. NOT in this case.

At this point the set up may just be good to go. But things change and more testing will commence for a final conclusion.

One other person said they'd try this set up as well so I'll see what they say.

I'll also get *******’s input on it and see what he thinks. He's been driving a torsion for a while and he'll have some valuable info on it. He'll take it from me this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Thanks
8/1/07 10:24am
Jason

Day 2 – PM

With continued success the rig is performing like a Champion… this will be something to put you on the podium with out a doubt.

Still needing to add the heavier weight oil I’ve liked the set up. Had ****** out on my rocks giving it the look over. His comments “nice set up, it’s just about perfect” “perfect center of gravity” he also liked how I set up the 1/8” rod w/ a few minor changes suggested. I don’t think he had anything bad to say about it at all. He even liked the look of it. This coming from a guy, which has shot me a straight stick when I’ve discussed anything I’ve set up. He’s been one of my go to guys for a straight up honest answer since I’ve met him.

With this being my 3rd time behind the wheel of a torsion I must say the learning curve has been narrowed dramatically and I’ll be finishing in the top 5 in no time. Whether I keep its current set up or run it as 4link, or torsion/4link.

The chassis it self has not shown any wear or fatigue at all. I’ve had some hard falls and rolled it down about a 5/6ft pile of rocks today and it’s held fantastically.

I’ll be installing my Erickson Bead locks and Moabs on it tonight for the absolute best traction because the lizards just don’t do it for me.

I’ll also be opening up the axles to find out what the popping noise is, but I’ll need to get some tube work done before hand.

Oh this morning I ran it without the body on it to see how the chassis held up, being that its so tiny I wanted to test its durability. So far so good.

8/1/07 3:55pm

[Double J]

OK I know you all HATE to read so I'll just post up the reast of my TEST LOG. You can read it or just wait for more pics.

DAY 3 – PM
Further testing was about the same this afternoon as it did this morning. Except; I ran it with the body off to see if there were any issues with it.

I did take time to locate the popping noise. It’s the tranny, internal for sure. Easy enough fix except I don’t have the parts available right now. Hoping the LHS has something, we’ll see I guess. The only other one I have available to me is a High lift tranny and I don’t think that will work all that well. I guess I’ll take the one out of my sons rig till I can fix it.

Other than the tranny giving, out it did well, lost some torque because the tranny would get in a small bind and not pulls its weight. But this lead me to see how much easier it was for the collars to get caught up. I do have a fix in mind; maybe I’ll be able to attend to it this evening. Time will tell.

Again no pics. I was on a mission and didn’t feel like dealing with the camera.

8/2/07 3:27 PM
Jason

DAY 9
Update: Days 4-8 were used to fix the popping noise (swapped tranies w/ the VS) and I’ve added some 45 weight oil and different shocks in the rear, I also had customers to take care of so my personal build time is reduced to about 15min a day (if that). Had to re do the disconnect because the tranny is set up a little different and it’s not working that great so I’ll be tweaking it the next couple days as time allows. It still works just not as nice as before, it won’t disconnect at times until it’s not needed or to late. I also painted the lid to go on it. Tried to paint true fire and it came out looking like some sort of camouflaged paint job. But it will work as the body will just get trashed anyway.

Drive time has went well today, was able to squeeze about 30 minutes in. With the addition of the new rear shocks and 45 oil it acts differently and will take a little getting use to, but I’ll be adding 4 new (used) shocks with 45 oil in it, hopefully tonight. I think the others are too short to work properly. It still sticks to the rocks really well. Had a few rollovers but I was attempting lines that I make with the super, so it’s bound to happen. Can’t wait to get some new items hopefully before the August 18th comp.
Still need to install the Squishy foams but I just haven’t had the time to pick up any wheel weights. Also need to buy some rechargeable batteries for the TX as this is the 2nd set I’ve went trough in the last month.

Till next time

8/8/07 4:27pm
Jason

DAY 10
Changes made:
Better shocks w/ 45 weight oil
Collars to lock the chassis in place which also helped the disconnect.
Fixed the dig to work better.
Also added a piece of break line to help reduce hand ups on the collars.
Used 6-32 bolts to hold the tranny down, the 4-40’s didn’t get enough grip and the tranny was moving on me last night when I fixed the disconnect. Time last night from tear down to rebuild was 38 minutes at around 3:30(ish)AM.

Drove it till the batteries were dead today. About 45minutes of total drive time, from both AM and PM breaks. With the added changes the performance is top notch the addition of break line helped prevent hang ups.

The only major problem today was my driving, I just wasn’t hitting the lines like I’d like. I guess it was just an off day for me. ? I think I could use a better servo but the TP945 will have to do for now as I’m out of cash. LOL.

8/9/07 3:49 PM
Jason

[Double J]

toooo long.

DAY 11
I’m getting tired of writing a log LOL.. but I think it will beneficial in the end. ?
Did mostly running around today. P.O., Powder coaters, home and the tire shop to pick up some wheel weights. Jesse (knock222) hooked me up nicely with more weight than I’ll need. Big thanks to him cause the other places wanted to charge me $3 to $7.50 per stick. Now I can mount the Kreepy Squishy Foams on the Erickson’s and new-ish Moabs only like 3 runs on them.
I’ll add more around 3PM today. Didn’t do much but a once over on the rig to make sure everything was sound. So I’m expecting the same results as yesterday.

3:38PM
I drove it for about 29 minutes. Tried some very difficult line and had an all in all great time. The truck performed outstandingly with only little problems. My battery seemed to drain a lot faster and my motor was HOT. Seems like something is bound up, I guess I’ll try to look into it this evening or over the weekend as time allows. I have a NIB TLT that I may build this weekend and try to get a rig running for my wife but set it up as a 4 link. HMMM two trucks to test… I see no down side to this. Will need a motor though.

All I can say about today’s drive time is simply sweet. Hit some verrrrry difficult lines and not quite on others. But that is driver and not the trucks set up. I think the tires need a nice little bath of simple green to bring them to life and since I’ll have the wheels apart and all seems like as good a time as any. They didn’t seem to “grab” like they have in the past, but they do have quite a bit of run time on them. Been running them since December. Maybe it’s time for some Losi Rock Claws to try out.
Anyway more later. Enough rambling.

8/10/07 3:45PM
Jason


DAY 13

Short test this afternoon, I mounted the squishy foams in Fri. and Saturday. Didn’t have time to do it all at one time.
I add 3 oz to the front and 2 oz to the rear.
I only had about 8 minutes of crawl time in but it went well and the weight seems to be just about right. I may add ½ oz to the front just to see the difference it’ll make. But with only 5 days from the comp I’m not wanting to go to crazy changing to many things as I’ve been getting use to the way the set up is now. Plus, I’m liking the way it’s acting.
Go home and top the batteries off to get a little more drive time in tomorrow.

8/12/07 3:13pm
Jason


DAY 14
AM test run. With out touching the truck I was able to go out for my 15 minute break and hit some lines. It’s working really well and I am enjoying it. I may put off the 4 link thing for a little longer just so I can get this really dialed in. But I guess I’ll see what happens at the comp. My rocks and lines that I’m use to is something different then a comp situation and a place I’ve never been to before. Plus I’m sure some of the other competitors will have some input on the set up as well. I’ll drive a little more this afternoon and not try to video tap it. May go to a different section of rocks that I usually take the super on.
PM. Went the same as this morning.

8/13/07 4:01pm


Pic of the disconnect. and yes I've upgrade the shocks

[Double J]

Sits nice and low.



THE NEW LID on it. NO posser shots

[Cslax06]

Glad to hear you got new shocks. Haha. Looking good.

[Double J]

Originally Posted by Cslax06

Glad to hear you got new shocks. Haha. Looking good.

I'll be getting some even better ones from run2jeepn when I can get some more $$$ in and payoff some people.

[Double J]

Thought I'd show a little more chassis.

[truegaintfree]

cant wait to see the CHASSIS!! lol nice lookin rig

[clodstall]

lookin good Jason. good concept.

[cartronicshn]

Cool concept, linked/torsion

[Double J]

chassis pics.

compaired to the VS.




with a pede tranny and the motor is slighly larger than a Lathe.


I wanted to try something a little different. So I thought I would start with a dampened Torsion TVP set up.






.









Flipped the Grins for better dampening to get the shocks at half compression.

[Harley]

AAHHHH The pics are out!!!

Have to say that it looks great, I can tell the designer definetly has an amazing sense of style

[Double J]

Originally Posted by Harley0706

AAHHHH The pics are out!!!

Have to say that it looks great, I can tell the designer definetly has an amazing sense of style

A big thanks to you for the CAD work, With out it I would not be this far along.

[Double J]

Well tomorrow is going to be the Bulls First REAL test in a Comp situation.

I'll report back with how it handled and maybe add a few quotes from the other competitors (where's my release forms)

[Double J]

Well the comp went well. I placed 11th overall.
The moabs weren't hooking up like the Rock claws were and the lack of CVD steering didn't help all that much.

But I'd say the Truck it self performed great. The 11th place finish was do to bad driving on my part. Picked lines that were a little off. I have video of the first 2 courses I drove. I have to find my USB port first though. :-(

DUDE took it for a little test spin before I left and said he liked it. maybe he'll chim in with his overall thoughts on it?