Underground Crawlers RC4WD/TSL spacers

[C*H*U*D]

Earlier this year, I got a set of the 2.2 Proline TSL Swampers for my 2.2 Scaler. My favorite scale wheel is the RC4WD Stamped Steelers but unfortunately they don't play well with the 2.2 Swampers.

I finally got one tire/wheel combo mounted with some help of the various tricks here on RCC but they were still too narrow. The sidewall bulge was just way off. I needed a better solution, sooo....





I wanted a spacer that not only made mounting easier, but added the width I wanted. This spacer is 1.25" wide (compared to the stock 1") which I think makes for a much better sidewall bulge.



The 6 mounting holes are threaded which means you can mount one side at a time instead of fighting the floating ring. The 6 larger holes are .5" so cutting your own brass weights is pretty simple. I mounted up 4 of these tonight and they went together extremely easily...very happy with how they turned out.







I've already decided that the 6 1/2" holes don't align well with the outside ring, so I plan to make 8 evenly spaced 3/8" holes. That way the spacer will not be visible, but 3/8" brass rod will still be easy to get an make wheel weights with. The stock screws are not long enough, so for now I'm mounting each side with 3 screws.


My 2.2 Scaler isn't finished yet so I decided to test these on my Sporty tomorrow night. No weight and scaler tires against comp tires but that's ok...should be fun anyway.

[FlightInstrukta]

been waiting for product like this for a while... BRILLIANT!!! i want a set if you make them available?

if these will be selling soon, please PM me with details?

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by FlightInstrukta

been waiting for product like this for a while... BRILLIANT!!! i want a set if you make them available?

if these will be selling soon, please PM me with details?

I've been waiting too but they never showed up....necessity is the mother of invention!

I'll do a run of these if interest is there...at least 10 full sets to start.

[Nabil]

What are you thinking price wise? Maybe make the holes 9mm to use the tungsten Pinewood Derby weights?

[Cordwood]

If price is reasonable I'd buy a set of 2.2's, and a set of 1.9's if you made them.

[TexasSP]

Sign me up, my favorite wheels just got better!

Do you plan to make these in 1.9 as well?!?!?!?! Would buy two sets of 1.9's right now.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by e-hills4x4

What are you thinking price wise? Maybe make the holes 9mm to use the tungsten Pinewood Derby weights?

One of the biggest appeals of the Steelies is price. I want to keep the price of these as low as possible, so that the cost of the wheels plus these are still lower than a comperable 2.2 beadlock.

The tungsten weights are 9mm? I was looking last night and saw them at 3/8"

http://www.derbydominator.com/Weights.htm

Originally Posted by TexasSP

Sign me up, my favorite wheels just got better!

Do you plan to make these in 1.9 as well?!?!?!?! Would buy two sets of 1.9's right now.

I have a set of the 1.9' myself so I probably will.

[Meatwad]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

One of the biggest appeals of the Steelies is price. I want to keep the price of these as low as possible, so that the cost of the wheels plus these are still lower than a comperable 2.2 beadlock.

With that kinda thinking how could anyone not wanna be in on a set?! I always stayed away from the steelies for the sake of making them work. Count me in for a set of 2.2's

[Nabil]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

One of the biggest appeals of the Steelies is price. I want to keep the price of these as low as possible, so that the cost of the wheels plus these are still lower than a comperable 2.2 beadlock.

The tungsten weights are 9mm? I was looking last night and saw them at 3/8"

http://www.derbydominator.com/Weights.htm

i have the pinewood derby brand ones and they too are listed at 3/8 but actually measure 9mm +- .1 mm. i can take pictures with a caliper measurement or mail you some to see

have you thought of making the spacer out of a more dense metal than aluminum? perhaps brass or steel? it would be nice to be able to have all the weight central in the wheel and not have to add it inside the tire

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by e-hills4x4

i have the pinewood derby brand ones and they too are listed at 3/8 but actually measure 9mm +- .1 mm. i can take pictures with a caliper measurement or mail you some to see

have you thought of making the spacer out of a more dense metal than aluminum? perhaps brass or steel? it would be nice to be able to have all the weight central in the wheel and not have to add it inside the tire

I ordered two sizes from the link above to get measurements off of. They should be here by Friday, but I do appreciate the offer

After I found out that I couldn't mount the Swampers on to the RC4WD wheels, I decided to use them for a Formula Off-Road scaler build. Unfortunately they are way too narrow for that. That's when I started thinking about this setup to make them wider. If they go into FOFF tires, I wouldn't want them to be too heavy. If there is enough interest in these, then brass might be an option. I'll model these up in Solidworks and get weights for each material.

I ran them on my Sporty last night. They made the truck too narrow and no weight was a problem but I really just wanted to see if they would pull the bead free. I had it bound up pretty good a few times and they held great.

[DRCrawlGood]

Great idea I love that wheel tire combo myself. Where do I sign up?

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by DRCrawlGood

Great idea I love that wheel tire combo myself. Where do I sign up?

I picked up 5' of aluminum this morning. That's enough for about 11 sets. Once I get an exact measurement on the Tungsten weights, I'll start machining them...actually I'm going to start right away, so actually I'll finish them once I have the measurement.

[crawlski]

Count me in on set of these. Looks like a great idea!

[808DA6]

Any chance you could turn out some 1.55" pieces? I need a wider option for 1.55 and I have some 1.9 TSL's that have been reduced to 1.55, but no wheels yet.

[BigSki]

Great idea! I'd like to see how well it looks when you make 8 holes to line up with the stamped holes in the wheels. Maybe you could even take it a step farther and machine a brake rotor 'face' into the side that shows through the wheel?

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by BigSki

Maybe you could even take it a step farther and machine a brake rotor 'face' into the side that shows through the wheel?

Funny you should say that because I was thinking the same thing It would have to be a cover though since the spacer itself won't show once the 8 holes are machined in.

[johnnyh66]

whew, I was about to put my 2.2 steelies up for sale!
Put me down for a set

[vader2728]

I would go out and buy a set of steelies just to get these spacers... Count me in!

[NorZepol]

Id be in for a set of those in 2.2 for the future FOFF. I have a DMG Aluminiti sitting around since I purchased your FBII.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

Funny you should say that because I was thinking the same thing It would have to be a cover though since the spacer itself won't show once the 8 holes are machined in.

great minds think alike??

actually I've been trying to come up with a semi-safe way to use my mini lathe to make a 'spacer' for my steelies on the Willys that would add about .250 to the width and have a brake rotor 'look' to it. You've got the programming experience and the equipment to make it happen!