My Ultra Build

[hezzdown]

So I've just finished up my scx 10.3 build and just dropped this on to the bench to get started on. Pretty excited for this one! My 10.3 build was all about scale, this one however is going to be all about business.

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[hezzdown]

The build hasn't started out on the best foot. When installing the third member in to the axle housing it calls for four m3x8mm screws. However the top left and bottom right screws had no threads to bite on in the axle housing. So to stay on track with the build I ended up using two m3x10mm screws in those locations and it all came together.

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[RCBrutus]

Congrats on the new Ultra! Looking forward to hearing your experiences with the build!

Recommend paying close attention to the screw sizes, as many are very similar to each other. The "measure twice cut once" approach saved me a couple of times during my build

[hezzdown]

Thanks! I fully agree, I've got my calipers on the bench and measuring everything. I've got it all sorted out now. Axel's are built .

Still waiting on some orders from amain to arrive. The only thing I'll be lacking for the build is a ESC and motor. You just can't get anything right now.

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[hezzdown]

Axles are completed, I'm really impressed how smoothly they spin. Like mentioned very aware of the screws as it's very easy to get things mixed up. I've started sorting all like screws and then measuring them before I assemble anything.

Chassis is together and was straight forward. Again, really impressed with how rigid the chassis is once assembled. Dropped in a Reefs triple 5 for steering duties.

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[hezzdown]

Transmission built and lightly screwed in to place since I'm waiting on a motor.

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[Lashlee]

Looks great so far!! It really is a beast on the rocks. Mine impresses me nearly every time I take it out!

[B-MOW71]

Congrats! Nice to see another Ultra build!

I'll be following along to watch the build!

[RCBrutus]

Subscribed!

Following along to live vicariously through you. It’s a very enjoyable build for sure.

Looking forward to more posts!


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[hezzdown]

Shocks are built. I took my time here and gave everything a good dose of green slime and carefully assemble them to not damage any o-rings. I was a little surprised by 80mm shocks. I get the low CG concept however. I just think it could have been achieved differently. Vanquish had to produce the 80mm shocks for the Ultra to lower the portal rig. Why not just produce a 10mm droop kit for the 90mm shocks? I guess I will just go with it and I'm sure the rig will perform just fine. It might be something I experiment with in the future. I have a set of the older proline 90mm scaler shocks sitting in my bin I could try it with.

I'm going for an old school look for the rig and with that in mind I went with RC4WD sliders. They just showed up in the mail. For the front and rear bumpers I went to ScalerFab. I received a shipping notification from them last week so they should be here any day now.



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[hezzdown]

Another pile of parts has arrived. Proline BFG Krawlers, Vanquish methods in black, black rings, and black hubs. Still waiting on scale hardware for the bead lock rings from LURC to arrive. I'm not even messing with the stuff that comes in the kit.

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[JatoTheRipper]

This one is a very fun build. The 80mm shocks and the lack of travel is a bummer, but engineers do what they do often for good reason.

[hezzdown]

@JatoTheRipper I fully agree. I still may experiment. My thought is with a droop setup the rig would maintain the desired ride height while still having the travel. I'm just going to run it as designed first and then see if I want to even bother.

Went and checked the mail this morning and the ScalerFab bumpers arrived. I think their simplicity will compliment the body nicely!

Also in the mail was all the Tamiya paint I ordered. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not looking forward to painting this thing. I have gotten better at it though, so hopefully it comes out as I envisioned. The scx10.3 kit I recently did came out really well if I do say so myself.



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[RCBrutus]

Originally Posted by hezzdown

@JatoTheRipper I fully agree. I still may experiment. My thought is with a droop setup the rig would maintain the desired ride height while still having the travel. I'm just going to run it as designed first and then see if I want to even bother.

Went and checked the mail this morning and the ScalerFab bumpers arrived. I think their simplicity will compliment the body nicely!

Also in the mail was all the Tamiya paint I ordered. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not looking forward to painting this thing. I have gotten better at it though, so hopefully it comes out as I envisioned. The scx10.3 kit I recently did came out really well if I do say so myself.




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Like those bumpers! Going to see how the stock bumpers perform for me before I invest in any upgrades, but I think the ScalerFab bumpers will be where I will go if I do upgrade.

I found this body was easy to paint. The interior was the most tedious, but I used some Tamiya model airplane paint for the seats and sprayed over that with some Tamiya PS paint. I just did a single color on my body to simplify it.

[hezzdown]

Originally Posted by RCBrutus

Like those bumpers! Going to see how the stock bumpers perform for me before I invest in any upgrades, but I think the ScalerFab bumpers will be where I will go if I do upgrade.



I found this body was easy to paint. The interior was the most tedious, but I used some Tamiya model airplane paint for the seats and sprayed over that with some Tamiya PS paint. I just did a single color on my body to simplify it.

For this one I'm going to shoot it pearl white, then back that with a coat or two of white, and then some matte black accents.

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[boldfin]

Vanquish does sell extended shock towers for the VS4-10. They are a bit pricey at $47 a pair - but they are beautifully-machined aluminum, not plastic. I used them on my VS4-10 with TRX-4 axles with the thought that it would allow me to maintain a low ride height with 90mm Incision shocks. It did keep the ride height low, but I also ran into clearance issues up front. The driveshaft and/or front upper link was interfering with the VFD trans skid or spur gear cover. But that's probably because I was using non-VP axles. There are actually work-arounds for those issues. But there may be no such issues with VP axles. You may want to try to those extended shock towers and see if that makes it possible to run 90mm shocks. I haven't seen many people using them.

Once I solved my clearance issues, my rig was good to go with the extended shock towers and 90mm shocks. I've got the added ground clearance of portals, a low CG, and I am able to use every bit of the available suspension travel. It performs very well.

[hezzdown]

Originally Posted by boldfin

Vanquish does sell extended shock towers for the VS4-10. They are a bit pricey at $47 a pair - but they are beautifully-machined aluminum, not plastic. I used them on my VS4-10 with TRX-4 axles with the thought that it would allow me to maintain a low ride height with 90mm Incision shocks. It did keep the ride height low, but I also ran into clearance issues up front. The driveshaft and/or front upper link was interfering with the VFD trans skid or spur gear cover. But that's probably because I was using non-VP axles. There are actually work-arounds for those issues. But there may be no such issues with VP axles. You may want to try to those extended shock towers and see if that makes it possible to run 90mm shocks. I haven't seen many people using them.

Once I solved my clearance issues, my rig was good to go with the extended shock towers and 90mm shocks. I've got the added ground clearance of portals, a low CG, and I am able to use every bit of the available suspension travel. It performs very well.

That is an excellent point. You're right, those shock towers are pricey! About 100$ for all four corners. Add in the price of some 90mm shocks and you have yourself a 10.2 builders kit lol! I still may consider it after the rig is built. Just have to see how I feel after I stretch her legs on the rocks.

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[hezzdown]

Building wheels and tires tonight, in more ways than one :-D

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[hezzdown]

Some progress last night as well as some small set backs. I could have sworn I ordered enough hardware for the bead lock rings but came up short 7 screws lol! Secondly, I do have scale lugs for the wheels but they require a 2.5mm socket driver. For the life of me I couldn't find mine! So another order in to LURC for those items.

I did get the front axle in so I'm that much closer to a slider. I'm in the home stretch. Unfortunately she will be a shelf queen until mid to late August, since that is when I'm being told my motor and ESC will ship.

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[RCBrutus]

Question for you. How much resistance do you have within your drivetrain without the motor installed?

I recently finished my Ultra build and have noticed a fairly significant amount of resistance in my drivetrain. I added the 21% overdrive, machined gears and used a HH Torquemaster PRO 27T with the 15T pinion.

My plan at this point is to tear down the drivetrain and look for any builder errors on my part, but wanted to see your situation for reference.

Thanks!