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OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Other TRX4 Builds: Defender Bronco Overview: https://i.postimg.cc/KjWfgy4N/TRX4-Spreadsheet.jpg A Traxxas kit. Who would have seen that one coming. https://i.postimg.cc/528fY5qK/20190316-150246sm.jpg As a guy who prefer to build kits, I had to order one just to see what a Traxxas kit was like. Turns out it was pretty nice! Jato is doing a good job posting details of the build, so no need to re-hash that. Will add a few thoughts:
So anyway, it's a very nice kit. Pleasure to build. Now that that's out of the way, Jato and I go wheeling and we've agreed to a little build off of sorts. We're starting as stock as possible and heading out for a run to compare and get a baseline. Difference being our electronics - mine is distinctly budget friendly and he's got a higher end setup. Then we'll do some chassis mods within a certain budget, and then go for a second comparison run to see what works. Really it's just an excuse play with trucks. :) Anyway, here it is built. Stock chassis and setup mostly, we agreed on swapping in beadlocks ilo glue-on wheels, though the tires and foams are stock. Waiting on the motor and servo to arrive. Gotta say I like the Sport body much better in person than I do in pics. Fender flares look great and the light buckets are very nice as well. About as good as it gets for an unlicensed body. https://i.postimg.cc/05J51qKq/20190317-190721sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/MK26Wr1f/20190317-190757sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/8zwNmp9L/20190317-190825sm.jpg "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Love the wheel choice. I agree that the body is appealing in person. Looking forward to seeing both the builds |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Nice! Can't wait to see it finished! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Motor arrived today. I thought I had ordered a Holmes 21t sport, but apparently I clicked on the 45t instead. Whoops! Not sure if that's going to work... Since we're planning on wheeling this weekend, I need a plan B! Good news is it's painted already. Just got to get to the details. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit The wheels are awesome. I almost ordered a set of those Fachetes, but I have so many new and used sets of 1.9s lying around at home that it would have been foolish of me to buy more wheels! Not that I've never made foolish purchases before. :ror: You gotta finish electronics and I gotta finish paint and then we're ready. I can't wait! At this point it looks like it should be a good weekend for trailing. "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Well, I thought I had ordered a Holmes 21t 550, but I somehow ended up clicking the 45T. Whoops! I'll use it somewhere, but not here. Not quite enough RPM...so I need a plan B. https://i.postimg.cc/VsSVCwWD/20190318-174544.jpg Plan B. I have an old Kyosho 22t 550 laying around. It's only been run once or twice. It'll do for now! Set up the gearing at 15/45 to get started. Subject to change of course! :) https://i.postimg.cc/k4LwcVvw/20190319-102845.jpg Electronics in..left the wires nice and long in case I decide to change up something later. Said used motor, WP1080 and an Hobbyking HK15298B servo (250oz Torque).. Total cost for electronics factoring in the motor I bought is $80. Defintely a budget setup. We'll see how it all does. https://i.postimg.cc/05JVNf94/20190319-113646.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/3J5n0vRx/20190319-113652.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/MK7t7pMb/20190319-113705.jpg Ah...removing the overspray film from a freshly painted body. One of my favorite things to do in this hobby... https://i.postimg.cc/7Z4sd28W/20190319-084003.jpg Didn't realize how many scale items are bolted to this cage. Some decent stuff here! I didn't really detail anything since I don't plan to run the cage per-se after our initial test run. Just bolted it all on for now though with a bit of detail work, should look pretty nice! https://i.postimg.cc/yYcpLT5R/20190319-094331.jpg ...and finished up and ready to hit the trails! https://i.postimg.cc/fbTHTQb7/20190319-102003.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/YSndvD45/20190319-102012.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Y9vbYNYh/20190319-102029.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/j2Ncks8T/20190319-102045.jpg Final weight with battery comes in at 3163g (6.97 lbs) with a 51/49% front weight bias. Kinda surprised at that, figured with all that weight out back on the cage it would be rear heavy, but apparently not. Gotta give props to Traxxas... I picked up this kit for $254 shipped. Metal gears all around, metal servo horn, metal links and pivots, excellent shocks, a decent (if unlicensed) body with light buckets and a ton of scale details. Very solid when built... I'm no Traxxas fanboy, but frankly, it's a tough deal to beat. Can't wait to get it dirty! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit That sweet magnetic mayhem has some non-adjustable timing built into it. I only know this because I have the "reverse rotation" version for my regular kit version. If your crafty you can manipulate the end crimping to free the endbell and install a locking ring with regular screws and recrimp to make motor serviceable and adjust timing to allow it to live long and prosper. Otherwise, build looks good. No inner fenders included, correct? |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Looks great! 2 of my favorite colors! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit For an unlicensed body, that thing looks pretty dang good. I like what you did to the grill. Great color choice. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Great job on the paint. Love the colors. I like the fender flare bolt idea that you painted on it. I was one of the Sport body haters when they first came out. But after seeing many cool paint schemes with clear windows I picked one up for my TRX-4 Kit. Love the body now and it does really well on the rocks. Looking forward to seeing more pics. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit I hope my paint turns out that well! It looks great. So we can change gearing? I forgot what we agreed upon. LOL |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Another great looking Sport body! I can't believe how much better they look over the RTR versions. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Way cool looking paint scheme! Totally agree the Sport body looks MUCH better in person and with some scale details added. I have 3 bodies, all with different configurations. Lol |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Quote:
Quote:
I wasn't planning on changing the gearing, but when building the kit the slipper pads are stick on - wasn't going to stick them on a spur gear I'll never use again. Feel free to re-gear as needed! I would think your power system will have no trouble moving the truck with the stock gearing however. My brushed system might need a little help. :) |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Quote:
You know I do now remember us talking about you changing gearing. Sorry! I think I will change gearing eventually as well just because the truck is fast as-is. But with the ESC settings and the motor it's still really controllable so I'll see how it does on the trail run before making any changes. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Decided to make some motor changes before heading out. I tuned around on the timing as best as I could on the Magnetic Mayhem, but wasn't convinced I had gotten to zero timing. Instead of possibly wrecking this motor, I decided to see what else I had. Found a Mabuchi 5 slot 550, and a larger 560 motor in my stash. The bigger motor didn't fit, and the 5 slot was just too slow. Super smooth, but very low RPM. 80t maybe? IDK. I did find a new reverse rotation E-maxx motor that did work out though - pretty much the same as stock, so in it went. https://i.postimg.cc/wjSWGGdc/20190321-111641sm.jpg No bullet connectors means changing motors is a bit complicated. :) https://i.postimg.cc/prXkjNDx/20190321-113720sm.jpg E-maxx motor now put to good use! https://i.postimg.cc/bvk6c9yX/20190321-114202sm.jpg Out on the test course in the back yard...just setting the steering trims and ESC settings. I remove all the punch for a soft throttle tip-in, and set the drag brake to about 50%. Let's play! https://i.postimg.cc/FFDT4R4K/20190323-151824sm.jpg Stock tires rub the fenders under compression just a touch. Nothing a little scissors work won't cure. https://i.postimg.cc/NMtdg2FK/20190323-151904sm.jpg In 10 minutes of testing, I was proven wrong. I expected a rollover queen with a somewhat high COG, but the Sport was surprisingly sure-footed. https://i.postimg.cc/D0j6dCgG/20190323-151942sm.jpg All that weight on the rear with the cage and scale stuff does affect climbing ability, but it's very manageable. Gives you plenty of notice before calling it quits. https://i.postimg.cc/j5hZCqnZ/20190323-152023sm.jpg On steep climbs, the rear suspension compresses and you get some 3 wheel action. I think the stock suspension is a bit on the soft side - almost has too much flex. Time will tell... https://i.postimg.cc/5NynNV4S/20190323-152207sm.jpg Testing's over, let's head out to a trail. https://i.postimg.cc/c4zTvb6y/20190323-152342sm.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Met up with Jato at out St. Pete's (crawler heaven) for a few hours of playtime on Sunday. Trucks were box stock, though I was running brushed/WP1080 and he was running a Holmes outrunner/Castle ESC. https://i.postimg.cc/GmsKGxsB/20190324-091905sm.jpg Honestly, I felt we had comparable power. His truck was a bit faster in a straight line, but mine seemed smoother on the low end. Really, the power in both trucks was a non-issue - don't think it helped or hindered in any way really. I was very happy with my cheap set-up...smooth, controllable, and quiet. I will say that the outrunner motor is loud. It was like driving with a dental drill all day. :shock: My older outrunner motor makes noise, but nothing like that. I believe his throttle curve had a ton of expo IIRC so it spent a lot of time at very low RPM. https://i.postimg.cc/rynNHP10/20190324-094654sm.jpg So anyway, I felt that the Sport would do pretty good just based on testing in the backyard, and even box-stock it did not disappoint. Hit all of our usual test rocks to compare to our other rigs...this is a tricky side hill line and as long as you took your time and let the truck plant itself, it was very capable https://i.postimg.cc/MTzYkk3R/20190324-092717sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Pqs44vmS/20190324-092727sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Hx39dSFN/20190324-093038sm.jpg Simple off camber incline with a progressive incline...most of my trucks can get up here with a bit of patience, though the Sport just could not do it. Wanted to pull the front wheels up. I think without the cage out back, it would have pulled it off. The suspension out of the box is quite soft, and it wallows around somewhat.. good thing is it's very predictable. You can wheel right up to that edge of failure and ride that fine line pretty easily. https://i.postimg.cc/1zGKYRBs/20190324-092841sm.jpg Enough with the raw crawling, let's get on the trail. No surprises here, the Sport is a great trail truck. The soft suspension that hinders it on climbs works much better out in the wild. The suspension is quite active and it's stable and surefooted. Plus all the clearance underneath makes short work of roots, rocks, and just about anything the trail throws at it. https://i.postimg.cc/RhD1nWSQ/20190324-093942sm.jpg Stock tires were pretty good, even with the stock foams. I was impressed actually. I think the lighter weight of the sport compared to the other models makes a lot of difference. Not comp tires certainly, but very decent. If I didn't have another set ready to go on, I'd have no qualms about running these for a while. https://i.postimg.cc/qqRXRsTv/20190324-094256sm.jpg Back at the truck...ran for only about an hour but no breakage, no problems. https://i.postimg.cc/bN4HySFq/20190324-095814sm.jpg Now for some mods. Stock was fun, but Jato and I are going to throw some mods at out trucks and bring them back for round 2. We decided on simple rules:
Basically, what's the best performer we can build for an extra C note? Time to go order some goodies! "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit You truck looks great! "thumbsup" I had a ton of fun yesterday. I am feeling it though. Hiking through Pete's for a few hours after doing nothing for a year left me sore! Old man syndrome! :ror: Looking forward to Stage 2 of this build-off! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Awesome stuff fellas. Enjoying watching this play out "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Nice! Both of them look great! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Great work! "thumbsup" It's awesome that you and Jato can do a "build-off" like this. My buddy and I are kind of doing one with the other Kit, but he doesn't read or post here. I'll be watching both of you guys to see how they progress. Thanks for sharing and keep it up! oh, and "LIKE" ;-) 8) jim |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Loving these Sport builds guys. They both came out great and each has their own, unique look. Great Job! “LIKE”! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Very cool pair of build threads between the two of you... And the detail work on that Sport body you did is excellent! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Thanks for the kind words, it is fun to do a build-off.... There should be a few more of them on the site. Scale4x4 used to do 1-2 a year, always great fun. Pushed me to do better work than I would normally do, which is the whole point I guess. So I've added all the upgrades I want to add...but I need to keep it on the down low until we hit the trail again. Made some good changes, truck feels great on the bench. I'll have to figure out how to post some pics of the progress without tipping my hand. :) |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit LIKE and LIKE :lmao: :shock: jim |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Jato and I decided to keep our mods to ourselves until we meet up to run. Sorta, I think I blathered a bit on some of the stuff I bought.. :) Anyway, I had ordered mine with the truck so they were here and ready to go! To keep within our budget, I only installed 3 of my 4 upgrades, at a cost of $104.97. Should be the best "performance for the buck" ones. I guess we'll see! I was happy with the brushed system, though I had this Novak Timbuk2/13.5 system sitting in my box for ages. It's a great system - good RPM's on 2S and a lot of torque. Decided to swap it over since it was just collecting dust, and the power in our rigs was a non-issue. Should give me more run time compared to the brushed system. I used the old wax trick to quiet down the gears. Traxxas pinions are somewhat loud for some reason..I previously installed a Tamiya aluminum pinion and it was dead silent. But I'd much rather have some more noise and a steel pinion than the quiet of a softer aluminum pinion. https://i.postimg.cc/XNCfGVGV/20190326-102539sm.jpg Removing the cage takes 206g off the top/rear of the body. Since were building for performance, it was a no brainer to take it off. I think it adds character to the body though, and after we're done playing I'll probably put it back on. If nothing else, to cover up those holes in the body. https://i.postimg.cc/MTcyYw9m/20190325-113250sm.jpg We're allowed to use any wheel and tire combo we already have since we have a ton of them laying around. I have some Hyrax ready to go (see above) but the wheels they are mounted on had some ...fitment issues with the mods I chose. So I washed, cut and siped the stock tires, and swapped over to some CI 4.5 medium foams. Honestly, they feel great. I know Jato is going to be running Hyrax Predators, so it should be an interesting comparison. I'll figure something out with the Hyrax in the meantime and probably bring them with me when we test out again. https://i.postimg.cc/6qnnD0J7/20190326-101533sm.jpg Lean and mean, it's ready for round 2. All I can show I guess. I left the suspension as is for now - I was debating tuning it a bit since it seemed too soft, but I want to run it w/o the cage and see how it does. Should wallow around a lot less with so much weight removed up top. In theory anyway. https://i.postimg.cc/9Mvy8kS5/20190326-095743sm.jpg Weight-wise, I'm down 300g from stock and sitting at 2865g (6.3 lbs) and the weight balance shifted significantly to now 55.5% on the front wheels. Can just feel on the bench that it's got a much better COG as well. Comparatively, my Defender is 3947g (8.7lbs) and 52.3% up front. The Sport is a significantly lighter truck, even with all the scale goodies. Just waiting on Jato now... "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Looking really good! |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Nice competion. Also a BIG LIKE Gesendet von meinem Pixel 2 XL mit Tapatalk |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Since I'm waiting on Jato to get his parts in, I decided to do a tire test in the meantime to see what works best on the Sport. I had a few sets of tires out from testing with my Defender so I ran in, swapped trucks and had some fun. Tire/wheel/foam setups are in the Defender thread linked above. https://i.postimg.cc/pXs4FmG1/20190404-141222sm.jpg First subject - Hyrax. I thought this tire would kick ass on the Defender, but I was less than impressed. However on the lighter Sport, they seemed to do much better. As expected, great grip pretty much everywhere. Maybe they broke in a bit, I don't know. https://i.postimg.cc/Vv1pjnP2/20190404-133203sm.jpg Next - Redcat IROKS. Again, the only tire that conquered my wood ramps. :shock: Hyrax tires weren't even close. These tires have a TON of raw grip. Excellent in the loose stuff, as you would expect with such a deep tread. However, they seemed to struggle on the rocks. It's interesting, they seem to have loads of grip, but no forward bite. The Sport had so much grip it was "grip hopping" on the steep inclines, but just not getting anywhere. Might add a few sipes to see if I can increase forward bite - if so, these tires would be killer. https://i.postimg.cc/vTzjXTQT/20190404-134539sm.jpg Cut Traxxas tires... Biggest surprise of the day. Grip everywhere, and kept up with the Hyrax in all situations. I'm not sure how cutting them has changed the grip level since I didn't really do back to back runs, but call me impressed. https://i.postimg.cc/Dfdt7jqh/20190404-135523sm.jpg Winner? It was frankly a toss up between the Hyrax and the Traxxas tires. Both were a cut above the Redcats. I decided on the Hyrax as I assume that's what Jato will be running and the puts us on equal footing. But the modded stock tires did fantastic. That they matched the performance of the vaunted Hyrax is no mean feat. I'll be bringing them as well when we re-test our sports. I'd like to run both out in the wild and see if my test comparisons hold up. "thumbsup" https://i.postimg.cc/hPDNvLrd/20190404-140422sm.jpg I cannot talk about the $100 in mods yet, we agreed to keep them under wraps, but I will say this truck is a whole different animal from the last time we went running. Jato better be bringing his A game. :) |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Nice update! I'm interested to see how the siped Canyon Trails do out in the field. Do you have them mounted reverse direction or normal? |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Mounted in normal rotation. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit this and Jato's thread convinced me to go ahead and order a TRX4 sport kit, should be here Monday - looking forward to the build. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Quote:
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Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Haven't forgotten about this project. Been sitting on it for a while until Jato was ready for a run, but I can only keep secrets for so long. :) So the goal was to spend $100 on our kits to get better performance, and include any "free" mods we wanted to do along the way. Here's what I did Bowhouse battery tray was a no brainer. First time I've gotten a molded one - it's much nicer looking than the 3-D printed one. I've got three of these now and each time the quality looks better. https://i.postimg.cc/mgF08Y6Q/20190325-092112sm.jpg Decided to go with front overdrive. TRX4 already steers pretty well, so it's more about helping the somewhat short-ish WB on steep climbs. https://i.postimg.cc/X7PRfHxj/20190325-092751sm.jpg SSD knuckles were the last purchased mod. Also pretty much a no brainer. Perfect fit and finish as always. "thumbsup" https://i.postimg.cc/WpWCVWBG/20190325-152316sm.jpg A few free mods. Moved the bumpers in as far as possible, and just trimmed the body to allow them to tuck in. Kinda wish I hadn't done it, it looks a bit daffy though there is a nice increase in both approach and departure angles. Of course, removed the rear adventure cage for now. https://i.postimg.cc/FK5wqY2w/20190325-095051sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/436jTJGy/20190325-095858sm.jpg The stock power was fine, but I had this old Goat system sitting here doing nothing, so decided to swap it in. Has much more punch and just as smooth. Power was a non issue between our trucks, so this is more about efficiency than anything. Still a great system imo. https://i.postimg.cc/qq55Gqsb/20190325-101935sm.jpg Have a choice of 2 wheels and tires. Hyrax or cut stock tires. Both filled with PL dual stage foams. In testing on my little course, I couldn't tell the difference between the two to be honest. We'll see how they do on the trail - I'll bring both when we run. https://i.postimg.cc/0QZ3bcbq/20190325-113140sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/DzPpMBQb/20190326-095723sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/76BsxhWH/20190326-095733sm.jpg And though it's not a mod per-se I did wire up some basic lights and put those light buckets to good use. Yes, it says "Axial recovery vehicle" on the back. :) https://i.postimg.cc/Jn7YVZKY/20190328-095450sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/d3LWDFb8/20190328-095511sm.jpg I'm ready to get this truck dirty!! After our test run, I'll put the cage back on (the holes in the body annoy me to no end) and have a few more goodies waiting around. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Very mods so far. Why not cut the body molded in 'bumpers' completely off, lower the body little, trim the sides and raise sliders up a little too? Also can trim the backsides of bumpers and slide them in farther (drill new holes in bumper mounts), flip bumper mounts too? :) |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Jato and I have not quite been able to get our schedules to line up (and mother nature is not helping...) So I went ahead and messed around with the Sport a bit more. Added a YR front axle to add a bit more weight up front since I put the rack back on. Feels nice and balanced now... if I need a bit more weight down low, I have a set of Beef Patties here as well. Shouldn't though, it feels just right. Cut off the fake fairlead as well. https://i.postimg.cc/cH7ZFfH9/20190530-102906sm.jpg Added a black pinstripe between the blue and silver which sets it off very nicely imo... Also touched up the flairs and painted over the faux bolts for a cleaner look. https://i.postimg.cc/nchZ1jt2/20190530-102929sm.jpg Put the adventure rack back on...just looked so plain with out it. I did paint and weather the accessories a bit so they didn't look so plastic-y. Not great, but better! https://i.postimg.cc/xjRnHGBq/20190530-102940sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/d34FYvGG/20190530-102948sm.jpg Ready for the next trail run! Been beating the heck out of the Bronco and Defender. Time for them to take a break... There's not nearly enough scratches on this one. :) https://i.postimg.cc/GtcRV9Tc/20190530-102859sm.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Quote:
Plus, I'm sure I'll be adding a nicer front bumper eventually. Thinking a pre-runner style. I'll trim and adjust then. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit Finally got out to play a bit. With the cage back on and the extra weight up front down low, the Sport is now a monster. It was pretty good stock, but now it's very stable and very capable. https://i.postimg.cc/brVWnmzW/20190608-085834.jpg Would have never done this stock...with the adventure cage out back, it tended to lift the front wheels and flip on steep climbs. Now with weight up front and down low, it's very capable on climbs - it'll still roll over backwards, but the threshhold is much higher. My well tuned Defender was the best performer out of the bunch, but I think the Sport will now walk all over it. https://i.postimg.cc/KvVCvppg/20190608-090115.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/NMY3vyJJ/20190608-090444.jpg Stock tires, after some trimming, have now broken in and are quite good. No reason to put the Hyrax back on imo, plenty of grip as-is. https://i.postimg.cc/wT3SzY2p/20190608-090628.jpg But what is good can always be better... I thought the body looked too plain without the cage, but was a bit too rear heavy with it. What to do? Compromise...out came the dremel and the Xacto. A few minutes later, I had this: https://i.postimg.cc/h42HNt9s/20190610-164519.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/T13BhzXn/20190610-164538.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/zBj9zJ4J/20190610-164553.jpg Think it looks better than the plain body, with none of the weight out back. Pretty happy with it. Hoping to get it out this sunday for a full trail run. |
Re: OS's TRX4 Sport Kit I like the look of it with the cage cut off. It looks a lot better and should perform very well without all the extra weight. Great job on the cut! Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk |
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