Got myself a Phoenix!

[ALPINEX]

Well after such a good time building and driving my first crawler, a Gspeed V3 I built a month ago, I decided I should treat myself to another one. I ordered up a Phoenix last weekend, after seeing them in stock on the Vanquish site and it showed up today.

Build list is as follows:
Mamba X/Slate 2850
NSDRC RS1 on steering
NSDRC RS100 for OD and Dig
Flysky Noble Nb4 and Fgrb8
Gens Ace Tattu 4s
LitLED Light kit

The girlfriend has been showing a little interest in the Gspeed, so after explaining it was like a puzzle, she wanted to try her hand with the Phoenix so I handed her bag A and the instructions and sat down with Bag B myself.

After a little coaching, she had the rear axle knocked out, and I finished up the front. They went together extremely well, though the only comparison I have are the Diamond SSD’s in the Gspeed. I do love the way the kit is packaged, and that the grease and thread lock are included. The instructions were good enough that she was able to assemble an axle with virtually no experience even using tools!






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[sherbs]

Nice, have fun building! Any color scheme in mind?

[Panther6834]

Just curious...but, why a 2850kv? You trying to launch it into space? It's a 'crawler', not a 'race truck'. If you look at whateveryone else (myself, included) has been installing, you'll notice the motors are all, pretty much, in the 1100-1700kv range. If you'll only be running 2S, I might understand using such a fast motor...but, if using 3S (as almost everyone does), you might want to reconsider, and go with a much slower motor. Just a suggestion.

As for the build, itself, you're both gonna luv it. Will be following.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[ALPINEX]

Thanks Sherbs! I have Tamiya Cobalt Green, white and black on hand. The plan is cobalt green with white flares and roof, but I’m not much of a painter, so we’ll see how it goes.

Panther, thanks for the input! I chose the 2850 solely based on reading threads on here, plus the Facebook group. The original plan was the Tekin 3100kv, which people seem to love in the truck. But a lot of people are running 2700-3100kv and a few are running 3500. I was also concerned with the kv, but I’ve got it now, so we’ll see how it does and if it’s too much I’ll change it up, gotta learn somehow.

After supper, much to my surprise, Taylor wanted to work on the truck some more, so she sat down with bag C. Didn’t take her long at all to have the chassis completed. She said everything lined up well and went together perfectly.

While she did that I opened bag D, and immediately regretted my decision thinking it was going to take hours, and I’m up at 4 for work. Luckily, I was mistaken and the trans was together in 45 minutes or so. I used the manual online, so I didn’t miss the second C-Clip. I built it with the included grommets for the shift arms, but I’m already wanted to replace those with the rubber glove hack. Other than that the trans was great to put together, the included grease is incredibly tacky, and the trans turns smooth!



Thanks,

Cody




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[Panther6834]

"Interestingly", I started with the D-bag (always wanted to build a kit where I could start with the D-bag...lol). I also went with NSDRC for the three servos. I would have used NSDRC for the winch servo, but decided one of the Boom Racing servo winches had a better design (for my wants/needs).

As for your color choices, you've peaked my interest. I'm great at doing fairly simple multi-color designs (primarily on my race vehicles)...but, since I wanted mine to look like a "well taken care of" 1970s FJ-40, I'm having RC Patina Guy paint mine. Which reminds me...now that my servos are all installed, I need to do an update on my build thread.

Enjoy the build. Since your girlfriend is enjoying helping on the build so much, I have an idea for your next build...or, should I say, your next pair of builds. My step-dad has a few RCs, but he hadn't built it a kit...but, he also felt he was ready to build a kit. So, for my (combined) Xmas & birthday gift(s) to him, I picked up two Tamiya TT-02 kits (each with different bodies - Mercedes GT3 for him, (new) Toyota Supra for me), along with a collection of Hop-Up parts. While visiting them (him, and my mom) for 10 days around Thanksgiving, we sat across from each other at the dining table, simultaneously building our kits. Maybe you, and your g/f, could do the same. Not saying you should get TT-02s...just two of the same chassis kits, albeit with different bodies.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[sherbs]

Now I'm nosey, did you upgrade transmission parts? Stand offs , motor plate and bearing keepers or is Vanquish doing it?

[ALPINEX]

Originally Posted by sherbs

Now I'm nosey, did you upgrade transmission parts? Stand offs , motor plate and bearing keepers or is Vanquish doing it?

Sherbs, that's my fault for trying to sneak a post in before bed. I upgraded those parts. I did, however, see a tiny bag of updated shock collars sliding loosely in the bottom of the box. We'll find out more about that after work I imagine.

Panther, I wouldn't be waiting for my paint job. I'm not patient enough with paint, generally speaking, to turn out anything special But I'm going to give it my best shot, hopefully masking and painting before the truck is ready to drive will help.

Hopefully the g/f gets into it enough to have her own truck. We typically spent our time camping and riding (RZR Turbo S) through the desert, but we now have a 1 month old daughter, so we'll be just cruising through the desert for a while, it'd be nice if she had a truck so we could just go sight seeing and crawling on our rides.

More updates this evening hopefully

[twade984]

Originally Posted by sherbs

Now I'm nosey, did you upgrade transmission parts? Stand offs , motor plate and bearing keepers or is Vanquish doing it?

Yeah same here.

Also, not sure what Panther is on about on the 2850kv. Plenty of people using higher kv motors. There’s no reason not to, with a little tuning via castle link you can achieve really good low end control, and still have good wheel speed when desired. Makes a 2 speed obsolete.

The Phoenix is coming together nicely, look forward to seeing it done. And that’s cool your better half is getting involved, lots of things translate from 1:10 to 1:1, so it can be useful to see how these things go together.

[ALPINEX]

Originally Posted by twade984

Yeah same here.

Also, not sure what Panther is on about on the 2850kv. Plenty of people using higher kv motors. There’s no reason not to, with a little tuning via castle link you can achieve really good low end control, and still have good wheel speed when desired. Makes a 2 speed obsolete.

The Phoenix is coming together nicely, look forward to seeing it done. And that’s cool your better half is getting involved, lots of things translate from 1:10 to 1:1, so it can be useful to see how these things go together.

Just missed you on my response. I bought those parts, forgot to include that in my post. I did see updated shock collars in the box though, so we'll see what that's about later.

Thanks for your input on the motor, one of the people I saw running this combo was Frickers build, which you now own correct? I've got a crawler, so I'm hoping this will be just a little bit faster for some trailing between rock sections.

[twade984]

Originally Posted by ALPINEX

Just missed you on my response. I bought those parts, forgot to include that in my post. I did see updated shock collars in the box though, so we'll see what that's about later.

Thanks for your input on the motor, one of the people I saw running this combo was Frickers build, which you now own correct? I've got a crawler, so I'm hoping this will be just a little bit faster for some trailing between rock sections.

That is correct, I also have a 2700kv puller pro in my straight axle Capra and it’s great. And I’m really not a big speed guy, I’d rather have good low end control then top speed. Plus, you can always tune your pinion and spur if needed


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[Lashlee]

I have a 3500kv HH Puller Pro on 4S in my Ultra and Phoenix. I run a 12T pinion as opposed to the 15T that comes in the kit. You'll be fine with what you've chosen.

And congrats for having a chick that's down to build with you. My wife will hang out with me in the garage as I work on my rigs while having some adult beverages but other than that she's not interested. My daughter has a Gen2 Barrage that she drives on occasion so let your girlfriend know she isn't alone. My daughter helped build it, and she was most excited about picking out the color to paint the body!

[ALPINEX]

Originally Posted by Lashlee

I have a 3500kv HH Puller Pro on 4S in my Ultra and Phoenix. I run a 12T pinion as opposed to the 15T that comes in the kit. You'll be fine with what you've chosen.

And congrats for having a chick that's down to build with you. My wife will hang out with me in the garage as I work on my rigs while having some adult beverages but other than that she's not interested. My daughter has a Gen2 Barrage that she drives on occasion so let your girlfriend know she isn't alone. My daughter helped build it, and she was most excited about picking out the color to paint the body!

Thank you! We'll see how far into it she gets. I let her pick the color of both the Gspeed and the Phoenix. My daughter is only a month old, but hopefully one of these days she'll be into RC and the full scale desert stuff, it teaches a lot of good life lessons. Pretty cool that your daughter has a Barrage hopefully she continues with the hobby in some capacity.

Good info on the motor! I put the stock 15t in for now, thinking a little extra speed means the g/f can drive without having to necessarily crawl full time. I do have some other pinions on hand in case it's too much.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by ALPINEX

Panther, I wouldn't be waiting for my paint job. I'm not patient enough with paint, generally speaking, to turn out anything special But I'm going to give it my best shot, hopefully masking and painting before the truck is ready to drive will help.

While some things can only be achieved through using an airbrush, some amazing work can be done with masking & rattle-cans - just depends how much time & thought you're willing to put into it...and how much painters tape your willing to "waste". For my two Spec Slash bodies, several people at the track couldn't believe what I achieved with rattle-cans. But, for my Phoenix body, I'm paying someone else.

Originally Posted by twade984

not sure what Panther is on about on the 2850kv. Plenty of people using higher kv motors. There’s no reason not to, with a little tuning via castle link you can achieve really good low end control, and still have good wheel speed when desired. Makes a 2 speed obsolete.

Never said one "couldn't" go with a higher kvs...was mostly questioning "why" he chose to go so high. If someone wants a "fast trail truck", then, yes, a kv that high would work (I put a Tekin ROC412 HD 3100kv in my Ryft Kit)...but, if going for something competitive, a lower kv motor is better. For my first Capra, I also used a 2700kv...but, for my second Capra, build as a Class 3 comp rig, I ran an 1800kv HH Puller Pro. Each vehicle had a "purpose", and each motor correctly served that purpose. As for a 2spd, not sure why you mentioned that, as the Phoenix doesn't have a 2spd...or, even a 2spd option...but, no worries, all is good.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[ALPINEX]

On to shocks. I wanted to get this done asap so anyone reading this who ordered a second run phoenix knows to look for the bag of replacement collars. Mine was just bouncing around inside the box.

The first step in the manual is completed for you, which is kind of a bummer. I enjoy the building and technical aspect, so I would’ve enjoyed installing the lower seals.

I had no issue with the shock collars, all threaded fine, but that’s where the fun stopped. I used Losi 50wt oil filled the shocks up and purged the air. I then installed the cap compressed the shock and installed the bleeder screw. After it was assembled I stroked the shock a few times and noticed fluid leaking from the cap seal (a small amount). No amount of fettling fix this small leak and now that shock has air in it.

Another shock is already leaking at the lower seals, which as I mentioned, I had no part in assembling. I also started with the preload collars on 1 thread in, 3 of the springs would maintain preload at full extension at this setting, but one spring had 1/8” or so of free play at full extension. After tightening all collars to the same setting, the difference in firmness is evident. The overall quality just seems to be lacking, even the plastic seems very soft compared to the rest of the kit.

Now I know I’m a new kit builder, but I have a hard time accepting all of these flaws are of my own doing (some sure), I’m prior aircraft maintenance and currently rebuild pumps for a living, so I have some ability.

All that said, I ordered a set of ultra short dravtechs and an assortment of springs that will be going on the truck as soon as they arrive.

Thanks

Cody





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[durok]

It really does seem that getting shocks right is problematic for many manufacturers - Axial, with all of it's years of improving crawlers have never seemed to pull it off either.

Traxxas and Element managed better, IMHO.

Even aftermarket brands aren't a guaranteed solution.

Dravtechs heavily modified Traxxas Big-Bores are an excellent choice!

I remember back when everyone was looking out for Kyosho Velvets...

[Panther6834]

You might want to consider picking up the Traxxas GTS shocks, or the Element Enduro shocks. Both are 90mm, and both are 1,000% better.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[B-MOW71]

Congrats on the Phoenix! It’s a great kit and you’ll enjoy building it.

Looks like it’s going together well. As for the motor, I went big in my VP VS4-10 Origin. I put in the Castle Slate 3800kv and added a throttle curve to give it a nice and smooth low end crawling speed and Mach-1 speed when needed!

Lookin forward to following along with your build!


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[ALPINEX]

Thanks for the input everyone! I sort of knew what was going to happen going in to the shock build. That’s been the biggest complaint I’ve seen.

I thought about going for a 90mm shock, but I decided to go with 80 to avoid modifying the axle, and see what this thing can do with stock geometry. I went with the dravtechs because, for me, they’re a proven entity. I have them on the Gspeed, they don’t leak and I have 2 spring kits for them already so I’ll be able to do some tuning with parts on hand. Now, later on I (or at the rate we’re going Taylor) may decide to go up to a 90mm shock. I’m going to look into the ones Panther suggested, I’m always forming another build list!

BMow - glad to see you here, your builds have helped me a ton! What’s your speed like with the 3800? And what pinion?

I just got the front axle hung, Taylors working on the rear. More to come!


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[ALPINEX]

We’ll, that’s the chassis done! Taylor got the rear links, axle, driveshaft and shocks put on while I took a shower and fed the dogs. Everything went smoothly, with the exception of 2 missing 16mm and 2 missing 20mm screws. No worries I had the team knk monster bag handy from my last build. I went through and checked the installed hardware and everything looks to be correct, but I’ll do a more thorough check later.

I also have a small amount of toe in, so I’ll have to loosen the toe rod end links a touch, no biggie.

As I move towards electronic install, are people mounting their receivers in the fuel cell? I don’t plan to mob through much water, but I do have some small stream crossings I could do, and I thought maybe silicon the fuel cell to protect the receiver?


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[twade984]

It’s coming together nicely. I’ve never used the fuel cell receiver box, so I’m no help there. I avoid water like the plague, so I just mount my receiver next to the servo, or on one of the side trays.


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