SLN's Sport Kit

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Hey guys!

I have decided to buy another TRX4, except this time a Sport Kit. This is kinda a curveball from me, but I think on my last TRX4 I never gave it was it deserves and never got to see its full pontential. With the knowledge i have gained since having the last TRX4 im pretty confident i can turn this into something much better than the first go round.

Anyway, on to the build!

I plan on building this for mixed driving; mostly crawling but some trails as well.

Last night i built the transmission and enjoyed every minute of it. I love how these things are built like tanks and the quality is top notch. Comparing to my 10ii, Enduro, and even the TF2 the TRX4 is just so much more sturdy and beefy. This tranny was also way easier to build than the 2speed.

Thanks for looking

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[smog]

Good choice to give it another go. The X4 is well engineered. Look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[twade984]

Right on man. Custom stuff is fun, but there’s something to be said about a nice well thought out kit that just goes together and works like it’s supposed to.

Look forward to seeing it come together


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[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by smog

Good choice to give it another go. The X4 is well engineered. Look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Originally Posted by twade984

Right on man. Custom stuff is fun, but there’s something to be said about a nice well thought out kit that just goes together and works like it’s supposed to.

Look forward to seeing it come together


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks guys

I totally agree with you Smog. The link geometry compared to other kits, the panhard doesnt bottom out before the shocks, the steering link doesnt collide with the chassis before full throw, etc.

I finished the build up this morning. Now im just waiting on the electronics. While I was at it i went ahead and cut the canyon trails up to allow for a little more grip. I havent glued the wheels on yer because I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Im going to run it stock and adjust from there. I might end up doing OS's bearing mod to eliminate some drag in the driveline.

Everything went smooth until it came to painting the body. I didn't do enough coats of green(I did 5) and the black backer shown through pretty much everywhere. It'll work until i get a new body. Shes definitely a 20 footer.



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Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[MOguy]

I like the TRXs. I have one that the only TRX left is the axles, shafts, trans and one micro server. The other tow are mostly just upgraded electronics and a little suspension redesign.

The machinal parts of the TRX are great and like most RTRs the electronics not so great.

I do not like the TRX chassis though. It does not allow enough room for up travel esp if you run 4ws.

This my latest. It is the Sport but I may add a selectable lockers in the rear for the added maneuvering and climbing. It is for the 6 year old granddaughter. It has a fusion in it which I think is a good choice for her. I have gone with aluminum shock towers and raised the top rear upper links on the transmission side. I do have trim the chassis a bit in front to move the bumper back in tighter.



getting this right took a little playing around.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Got my electronics in today!

Went with the Hobbywing Fusion 1800kv and a Flysky 3 channel. For steering duty I threw in a 25kg i had on hand. I also took the wheels/tires off my VS410 and threw on here just to help get some weight down low.

Hopefully going to get her maiden run tommorow



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AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Went for its first run today at the local park. Took my two favorite trails. Not much crawling but the trailing is great with some occasional root sections.

Some takeways from todays run:

HW Fusion is awesome! The speed is plenty good for me and obviously the creep is outstanding.

Stock 17T gear is too tall for the fusion. It was getting hot towards the end of the run. I didnt have a temp gauge, but it was a little too hot IMO.

Bumpers could be moved in a little bit, but overall not horrible.

Slider could come off as well. They're cool but they kinda get caught up on stuff.

The body doesn't really bother me anymore. It may not look the best in pictures, but out on the trail Im too busy having fun.




I haven't got to run the Canyons yet due to not having any CA glue, but i still want to try them out and compare the Chyrax with the CTs.

Ouch, pictures are pretty blurry.

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AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[Benp]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

Went for its first run today at the local park. Took my two favorite trails. Not much crawling but the trailing is great with some occasional root sections.

Some takeways from todays run:

HW Fusion is awesome! The speed is plenty good for me and obviously the creep is outstanding.

Stock 17T gear is too tall for the fusion. It was getting hot towards the end of the run. I didnt have a temp gauge, but it was a little too hot IMO.

Bumpers could be moved in a little bit, but overall not horrible.

Slider could come off as well. They're cool but they kinda get caught up on stuff.

The body doesn't really bother me anymore. It may not look the best in pictures, but out on the trail Im too busy having fun. I call it Grinch, a lil nice, a lil dirty




I haven't got to run the Canyons yet due to not having any CA glue, but i still want to try them out and compare the Chyrax with the CTs.

Ouch, pictures are pretty blurry.

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AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

Nice!

Yeah I’d definitely regear to a 45 spur and whatever lower pinion you like.

At 9/45 my sport will be right there with me as I’m walking down to my rocks and then pull away no problem if I want it to.

Motor is HH 550 Crawlmaster Pro 10t and Mamba X. I couldn’t be happier with this setup. Low speed control forward and backwards is wonderful.

Flipping the front bumper mount helped a lot for crawling but body trimming is required.

I also raised up the stock sliders by putting spacers under the mounts.

[twade984]

Looks great out there

Stock sport gearing is a little hot, it would be worth trying a 15t pinion (which I believe is the smallest you can go on the stock spur), and if that’s not enough definitely go 45t spur like the other trx4’s. The fusion has such incredible low speed, you probably don’t have to go all the way to a 9/45. IMO is only go as low as necessary to keep the temps down.

On both of my sport bodies I found it necessary to flip the front bumper mount and trim as required, as well as adding spacers to the sliders.

I should still have the files to the spacers I printed, as well as a simple lcg battery tray that works with smaller batteries (2200 3s or most shorty packs). I can look for them and send you both if you’d like to print your own.


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[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by twade984

Looks great out there

Stock sport gearing is a little hot, it would be worth trying a 15t pinion (which I believe is the smallest you can go on the stock spur), and if that’s not enough definitely go 45t spur like the other trx4’s. The fusion has such incredible low speed, you probably don’t have to go all the way to a 9/45. IMO is only go as low as necessary to keep the temps down.

On both of my sport bodies I found it necessary to flip the front bumper mount and trim as required, as well as adding spacers to the sliders.

I should still have the files to the spacers I printed, as well as a simple lcg battery tray that works with smaller batteries (2200 3s or most shorty packs). I can look for them and send you both if you’d like to print your own.


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Hey thanks twade

I threw on a 13T pinion i had laying around and it helped a little bit, but it was still getting warm after 20ish minutes of indoor driving. But my god was she screaming lol. It was obnoxiously loud so i went back to the stock pinion since it didn't do much difference. Normally im not one to complain about noise, but it was an unbearable wine.

Originally Posted by Benp

Nice!

Yeah I’d definitely regear to a 45 spur and whatever lower pinion you like.

At 9/45 my sport will be right there with me as I’m walking down to my rocks and then pull away no problem if I want it to.

Motor is HH 550 Crawlmaster Pro 10t and Mamba X. I couldn’t be happier with this setup. Low speed control forward and backwards is wonderful.

Flipping the front bumper mount helped a lot for crawling but body trimming is required.

I also raised up the stock sliders by putting spacers under the mounts.

Thanks Benp!

So far ive replaced the metal rear bumper with the factory one slid in further. It now sits flush with the body. I also replaced the factory front with a more compact plastic front. Ill grab some pictures later. Also flipped the front mount. Took the sliders off as well. Debating doing something with the rack and/or dropping the body farther and doing some cutting.

______________________________________
AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[HugoBiermann]

I do love how a stock sport looks. Looks like you are going to enjoy it!


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[Benp]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

Hey thanks twade

I threw on a 13T pinion i had laying around and it helped a little bit, but it was still getting warm after 20ish minutes of indoor driving. But my god was she screaming lol. It was obnoxiously loud so i went back to the stock pinion since it didn't do much difference. Normally im not one to complain about noise, but it was an unbearable wine.



Thanks Benp!

So far ive replaced the metal rear bumper with the factory one slid in further. It now sits flush with the body. I also replaced the factory front with a more compact plastic front. Ill grab some pictures later. Also flipped the front mount. Took the sliders off as well. Debating doing something with the rack and/or dropping the body farther and doing some cutting.

______________________________________
AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

So I reread your reply and it got me thinking.

Did you swap out the spur to a 45? Or is this by chance the sport trax model that comes with the 45?

If it was still the 39t spur did you just wing the mesh? Traxxas doesn’t list a setting for 13/39 gearing. If that’s the case maybe the godawful noise and heat is from suboptimal gear mesh.

With quiet motor and esc the gear whine is noticeable but not bad. Also I’ve found that sticking with traxxas pinion and traxxas spur was the quietest combo for pinion and spur.

Just some thoughts. Glad to see you back in the trx4 game.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Benp

So I reread your reply and it got me thinking.

Did you swap out the spur to a 45? Or is this by chance the sport trax model that comes with the 45?

If it was still the 39t spur did you just wing the mesh? Traxxas doesn’t list a setting for 13/39 gearing. If that’s the case maybe the godawful noise and heat is from suboptimal gear mesh.

With quiet motor and esc the gear whine is noticeable but not bad. Also I’ve found that sticking with traxxas pinion and traxxas spur was the quietest combo for pinion and spur.

Just some thoughts. Glad to see you back in the trx4 game.

Hey man,

I have not swapped the spur yet. I wanted to ser if the 13 would work. I honestly just moved it down a few holes on the motor(E i think?). Im sure the mesh was not ideal.

Thanks for reccommending the traxxas pinion

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AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Small update for the Sport, with its new name 'Zombie'

I Finally glued the stock wheels and tires together so now my VS410 has its own wheels lol. Looking foward to seeing how they do compared to the Hyrax. also took the rack, snorkel and a few other things off. Flipped the rear bumper and replaced stock front with Sendero front. Much tighter fit.

Also put the suspension in what i like to call, 'poor mans droop. Simply take the springs off and you've done did it. This mod worked great on my 10ii, so naturally i had to try it on this.

Next day I took it out onto my small pile of rocks and I didn't notice any negitives affects it had on the truck. Granted, there isnt any steep climbs on my pile, but in that situation it worked really good. The real test will be at my not-so-local test park where there's a lot of steep climbs. (In which I dont imagine itll be great)

And lastly, I got a foward-mounted battery setup. Miraculously, i still had the inner fenders from my TRX4 Bronco way back when. I opted not to put the front fenders on, but instead put the battery tary up front. Its simply just zip tied until i figure out a more 'professional' mounting. Then I put a nut behind the screw that goes into the battery tray. who likes floppy shock towers? Not this guy. It Gets weight up front and center and ditches the big ol battery box from the rear. Win-Win.



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AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[smog]

the poor mans droop...lol. That expression could have a few meanings...

thE Zombie looks great, it lowered the body quite a bit. Does it run rough when you are at trail pace?

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by smog

the poor mans droop...lol. That expression could have a few meanings...

thE Zombie looks great, it lowered the body quite a bit. Does it run rough when you are at trail pace?

I haven't had any higher speed tests, but I would assume it will be a little more bouncy. But maybe the heavier chassis will keep it more planted? (comparing to the 10ii) only one way to find out..hoping for a test run sometime this week.

Thanks man

______________________________________
AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

***Long post warning***


Well, I looked on my shelf and I saw something that reminded me about my old C1 Enduro build. I had completley forgotten that I still had the body from it and it was staring at me begging to be used again. It was only put thru a few runs, including one competition.

Off came the layer of dust and was set a top the TRX4 platform. Taking the trays off as well as rear shock towers and it was pretty much drop on with no trimming needed...yet.

The next logical step was body mounts. Here was pretty easy because I am one of the few monsters who puts body post holes in hardbodies. Only one problem with that though, opening hood. Took some thinking, but I got it figured out. I didnt want to just JB Weld it shut so I decided to screw it down. I put four holes in the hood and split the hole in half; half on the fender and half on the hood. Put a bolt in and top it with a lock nut and she go.



After body mounting is done I can get a basic idea of how low it can go, battery placement, etc. I got it as low as where the Sport body sat with the springs back on the shocks.

I decided against running a full bed for a few reasons

1) Wheelbase. It's a whole inch off and I definitely wasn't going to shorten it up.

2) mounting it would'nt have been fun.

3) I simply didn't like the look of it.

So I grabbed some things from the parts bin and got to fabbing. An hour later I had this.




This is made from a Sport rack and custom headache rack I had welded up a couple months ago. It is screwed to the body with two nuts/bolts, the same ones holding the gas cans on. Its attached to the chassis by two hand-tight nuts. Easy, free custom flatbed that also helps with body mount rigidity. Only thing I will say is I'm not sold on the headace rack yet. It's kinda there for looks, but it is pretty far from the cab wall.(1" or so)




Great, its done. That was easy...

No its not. I had a thought pop in my head. "How about an interior?" So I gave it a go not expecting anything out of it. I figured it was so easy to make it go on without, I gotta challenge myself to get the interior in. With some trimming of the center console and back seat/floorboard, It fit. Wow, i really didnt think fitting a full hardbody with interior would be so easy. Guess Im wrong.



Enjoy the pictures:





Yeah, i know i know. Its not scale accurate, especially with portals, but i think its still pretty cool looking. Long term goal would be some straight axles. AR45s? I dunno, im getting ahead of myself!

I am still doing some more body mods to it and working on a front bumper; as soon as i find the taller mount lol. Let me know what y'all think and/or have any suggestions.


______________________________________
AR60 VS410
TRX4 Sport
coming soon..

Veterans deserve a whole month too...

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

I took the TRX4 out for a drive not too long after I finished the new body and as I had guessed, its performance was lacking with the hardbody. Flpping backwards everywhere and rolling over on the slightest sidehill. So off it went and back on with the Sport body.



I took it out again 2 days ago with the Sport body and I decided to never put a heavy back on it lol. It drives so good and just plain works. I am still playing around with the suspension to perfect it, but the current setup works great other than on steep inclines, it does like to unload in the front and flip over. A little bit more weight up front would for sure help.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Woah, been a while since I’ve updated this. Not much has changed except I threw on some brass portal boxes. Was having trouble making a few lines I knew I could make with a little more weight up front, so on went the brass. Much better now. They were a beeotch to put on though. Bearings didn’t fit right, had to mix n match hardware, it was a mess.

I do have some gears coming so I can drop to 9/45.



I really don’t like the look of brass, I may go about painting it.


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Veterans deserve a whole month too…

[high plains drifter]

Installing bearings into brass and steel and aluminum can be a bit challenging to be sure. I've used graphite before as a dry-lube when all else failed although usually ( as long as the manufacturer's tolerance is dead-on) it just takes using something like a dowel rod or whatever, to go back and forth from one side to the other.. working around all sides of the bearing while firmly but gently pushing down. Eventually it should go in. I've also used a drill press in certain instances... You just have to be careful and go slowly so that you don't accidentally get it misaligned and stuck.

Rig looks great, bud. Nice job and good tire choice too.