Jato VRD Carbon

[JatoTheRipper]

Ever since I got RC again and started browsing the internet, I have loved the look of the JConcepts Tusk tires. So those will be going on this build. I think this tread pattern should work well in the East Coast woods. Wheels will be Injora. Those are either on the slow boat from China or stuck somewhere in the process as it is the Chinese New Year.




Body may or may not be the Stance. I haven't trimmed it, but at this point I am less than impressed with the fit. It swallows both front and rear bumpers. And why oh why did Vanquish not mold indentations into the body for the VRD Carbon stock body post locations? This little bump in the body is almost completely unnoticeable after paint if you choose to use different body mounting locations. Small, but important ease of use feature missed by Vanquish IMO. There are three other bodies that have caught my eye, two of which are yet to be released at this point.

[smog]

Sweet build Jato. No corners cut on performance. JConcepts green compound is top of the heap. You can't get better value, to boot. Should be a beast. Sucks the shocks leak.

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[Col_Sanders]

The Stance body is a bit large. I'm running one right now and just got another painted, but may end up going with a smaller body for my comp truck. I highly recommend a set of magnetic body post markers if you dont have them. I bought a set a few months ago and dont see why I went without them for so long.

Tusks are great until they get wet (at least thats how they are here). As for the Dravtechs...They dont leak and they are tunable. The Chinese copies seem to have bad tolerances from the reviews I have seen, but seems like a rebuild kit from Traxxas will fix that. I'm thinking about buying a set to try out since they're cheap.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by smog

Sweet build Jato. No corners cut on performance. JConcepts green compound is top of the heap. You can't get better value, to boot. Should be a beast. Sucks the shocks leak.

Thank you! Some people say the shocks leak and others don't. I think running 50wt or higher oil helps judging by what the masses are saying.

Originally Posted by Col_Sanders

The Stance body is a bit large. I'm running one right now and just got another painted, but may end up going with a smaller body for my comp truck. I highly recommend a set of magnetic body post markers if you dont have them. I bought a set a few months ago and dont see why I went without them for so long.

Tusks are great until they get wet (at least thats how they are here). As for the Dravtechs...They dont leak and they are tunable. The Chinese copies seem to have bad tolerances from the reviews I have seen, but seems like a rebuild kit from Traxxas will fix that. I'm thinking about buying a set to try out since they're cheap.

The Stance does seem a bit large. I DO have magnetic body post markers now that you say it! Thanks for the reminder. I just...have to find them on one of a couple dozen boxes.

[JatoTheRipper]

Col Sanders inspired me to find my Dynamite EZ Body Post Marker Set. Surprisingly, I found it easily. I am finding a lot of my old RC stuff. Unfortunately, I still haven't found my battery chargers! Obviously, that's a show stopper at this point.

First thing I noticed about the body was this feature. Why oh why oh why in the hell did Vanquish not make this straight across?!?! Any guesses?




Next thing I noticed is that the rear body post holes won't be nicely in a flat section of the bed. Now plastic warps and tolerances are much larger than on machined metal so your experience may be different than mine.




It did lead me to investigate though and I noticed my rear body posts were leaning in. The left side appears to be leaning in because of the chassis rail itself being angled inward. It was at this point that I noticed the chassis rails are much more flexible than expected. The plastic cross braces are even flimsier. This kind of sucks. It should lead to increased durability during tumbles. Otherwise I do not think this flexibility will affect performance at all, but upgrades to the cross braces may be in order.




The Stance was pretty easy and fast to trim even for a hack like myself. Looks decent, but I definitely think it could have been narrowed up a bit. She's a biggin'. The sliders seem to stick way out there...and they're metal.

This may lead me to change the body and sliders at some point. I'm definitely interested to see what slider options people are using. Not interested at all in buying 3D printed sliders from some dude that thinks he is operating an empire though. I can design and 3D print my own if I go that route.

So now I just have to paint the body once it warms up. Excited to drive this one. Obviously, I am still awaiting the servo, which is due to be delivered on Valentine's Day and the Injora wheels on the slow boat from China. Still undecided on 3S or 4S LiPo batteries. I have some 3S 2200mAh that will work as a start for sure.

[Col_Sanders]

Unless something has changed, hobbywing limits that to 3s so looks like that decision has been made for you

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Maybe you'll have better luck than me. I'm sure you have more patience than me. But seriously, I tried for a good while to get the pliers to work with the snap rings in the shocks. I'm anxious to see how you make out. But you may not have to use the pliers at all if you just keep the shock bodies assembled like they come from the factory. That, IMO, is a stupid decision all on its own. The o-ring seals will be dry unless you disassemble them anyway. You could just soak the shock bodies and hope the seals are completely covered, but that's messier than I like.

The pre-assemble o-rings was exactly why I bought the Knipex. No way to get a good coating of slime on them o-rings. I did try to use a toothpick to spread grease up into them, but wasn't the best way to do it. I agree it was a dumb decision to have them pre-assembled. I'm sure that is why a lot of peoples shocks leak from the get-go and then people complain that these shocks suck because they leak.

I let you know how I do with the pliers once I give them a try.

[diezel666]

Originally Posted by Col_Sanders

Unless something has changed, hobbywing limits that to 3s so looks like that decision has been made for you

Sadly, this is true.

Per HW: 2-3S Lipo/6-9 Cell NiMH

This is now why I have a surplus AXE FOC system.






Can't wait to see that body painted and trimmed up Jato!

[bgredjeep]

Originally Posted by diezel666

Sadly, this is true.

Per HW: 2-3S Lipo/6-9 Cell NiMH

This is now why I have a surplus AXE FOC system.

While limited to 3s, I've found I can over gear the fusion pro a good bit without sacrificing low speed control, and still get the wheel speed I need on occasion. I'm going to test that theory on my vrd with 50/15 once the body shows up.

Still holding out hope that Holmes will drop a 4s capable all-in- one motor soon but for now I've been very pleased with the fusion line.

[Col_Sanders]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

The pre-assemble o-rings was exactly why I bought the Knipex. No way to get a good coating of slime on them o-rings. I did try to use a toothpick to spread grease up into them, but wasn't the best way to do it. I agree it was a dumb decision to have them pre-assembled. I'm sure that is why a lot of peoples shocks leak from the get-go and then people complain that these shocks suck because they leak.

I let you know how I do with the pliers once I give them a try.

IIRC they were the same way on my old Pro kit so they've been doing that for a long time. I know the Phoenix kits came that way too. Guess its nice since it keeps people from having to buy a specialized tool.

My Carbon should be here Saturday. I've got a set of 96mm Dravtechs with offset caps sitting here that might make their way onto it. With those caps and short rod ends they are ~81 or 82mm extended but they compress to be a few mm shorter than the 80mm Dravs at full compression. That was too much travel on my Exo build but may be good for the VRD.

[Col_Sanders]

Originally Posted by bgredjeep

While limited to 3s, I've found I can over gear the fusion pro a good bit without sacrificing low speed control, and still get the wheel speed I need on occasion. I'm going to test that theory on my vrd with 50/15 once the body shows up.

Still holding out hope that Holmes will drop a 4s capable all-in- one motor soon but for now I've been very pleased with the fusion line.

Maybe if we pester Hobbywing enough, they will release a 4s capable unit. They seem like they actually listen to the consumer.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Col_Sanders

Unless something has changed, hobbywing limits that to 3s so looks like that decision has been made for you

Thanks for the heads up! Glad I didn't order a 4S battery.

[indybama]

Cant wait to see this thing all painted up jato.

Man, i had a nice write-up for u the other day on this thread n rcc went down. By the time it came back up, i done forgot wat i was sayin n the phone lost where i had saved it to the clipboard.

The one thing i do remember was the body. Im runnin the PL coyote n it fits the sliders good. But first run out, i busted the grille section from a tumble. The body sits just above the tube part of the bumpers, n the tumble slammed the body against the bumper. So where it folded part of it up under the grille, i trimmed it off. Not to bad now, but still have a split corner n crack across the hood

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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by indybama

Cant wait to see this thing all painted up jato.

Man, i had a nice write-up for u the other day on this thread n rcc went down. By the time it came back up, i done forgot wat i was sayin n the phone lost where i had saved it to the clipboard.

The one thing i do remember was the body. Im runnin the PL coyote n it fits the sliders good. But first run out, i busted the grille section from a tumble. The body sits just above the tube part of the bumpers, n the tumble slammed the body against the bumper. So where it folded part of it up under the grille, i trimmed it off. Not to bad now, but still have a split corner n crack across the hood

Wow RCC has not been down for me in a while.

I am blown away that your Proline body cracked like that! Did you try emailing them and see if they'd stand good for it? That should not happen to a new Lexan body. I hate that Proline was bought by Horizon. I used to Love Horizon, but they have severely gone down hill the past few years and my fear is that they are going to drag Proline and others down with them. Hopefully your body isn't a sign of that.

[indybama]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Wow RCC has not been down for me in a while.



I am blown away that your Proline body cracked like that! Did you try emailing them and see if they'd stand good for it? That should not happen to a new Lexan body. I hate that Proline was bought by Horizon. I used to Love Horizon, but they have severely gone down hill the past few years and my fear is that they are going to drag Proline and others down with them. Hopefully your body isn't a sign of that.

I didnt even contact them about it. Ive got a cliffhanger body the busted above the tailgate section, months after it took a 60 ft tumble off a cliff. The tumble only put a inch or so rip in the body n some scuff marks.

As for the coyote body, i plan to get some clear gorilla tape for it. Its not to awful bad really. I did manage to crack the top of the cab above the back window, but that was more my fault. I was kinda pinned in a spot n tryd to power my way out. But the grille section feels a bit thin imo

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[JatoTheRipper]

There's a thread on this site called "Don’t you hate it when you are missing an item." That thread is for venting about items that you don't have to complete a build. That has happened many times in this case. Part of it is because my focus is not on RC, part of it is because I've been out of the game for a while and forgot all the things I need for a build, and partly because boats from China are slow.

In this case, I ordered Injora wheels direct and I received the wrong ones. I ordered 10-spoke wheels and received these 5-spoke wheels. Sadly, Injora said the 10-spoke version has been discontinued.

These wheels came with the compy kinda ugly 5-star outer beadlock rings. No matter how I spun them, I didn't love them. Thankfully Injora refunded my money without question.








I decided that aligning the ring with the spokes on the wheel looked best. This kind of grew on me over time, but I already had a new set of wheels on order.




I found these 12-spoke wheels on Injora's website. I ended up ordering them from scAmazon rather than waiting for another 2 weeks. They were listed under another seller name on Amazon, but one of the reviews said the wheels came labeled Injora. Mine came labeled with the seller name, Hotstorm, but the quality is as nice as Injora and everything is exactly the same including the black SLW-style hub and rear half of the wheel. I was disappointed that these new wheels are a lighter shade of orange. At first I did not like them all when comparing them to the Injora 5-stars, but these also grew on me and I am happy with them.




I even tried putting one of the black beadlock rings from the new wheels on the Injora 5-stars and I still am not a big fan. In this photo you can sort of see the difference in shades of orange between the 12-spoke and 5-spoke wheels, but iPhones suck ass at color reproduction.




Wheels installed on the VRD. I think these look much better and this makes more excited about the build. And I love the look of these JConcepts Tusk tires!




You can see the black SLW-style hub in this photo. I do wish this was orange, but after you install a black wheel nut it is hard to see anyway. I guess it is kind of more scale as it hides the wheel nut. But there is nothing scale about this carbon fiber, flat-rail chassis.




How's it hanging?

Low! Remember this truck has portal axles and 4.75" tall tires. Pretty impressive that it's low yet still house a bunch of gound clearance.




In this photo you can see the black wheel half. I kinda like that. The clearance between the portal weight and wheel is tight, but it clears nicely. Oh and this reminds me that I did install Injora brass rings inside the two front wheels. Both rear wheels are using the included aluminum rings.




I also had the NSDRC 700v2 orange limited edition waiting to be installed. They included stickers which is cool although not the best looking that I've seen so these probably won't get used. Injora also included stickers with the 5-spoke wheels and those are pretty cool. Forgot to take a photo of those, but the one is cool enough that it may get used on this body once it is painted.




Servo installed, but without the servo horn. It's a direct power servo and rather than plugging into the balance port they make you solder a lead to the battery connector. That's going to suck as I have not soldered in quite some time. I'm not looking forward to that nor painting the body. Good looking servo though. They did ship the servo in an envelope that wasn't the most protective which is frustrating especially when they make you pay for shipping. That's just being a cheap ass.




I started pillaging from my VS4-10 Ultra truck. First up was the FlySky FS-BS6 receiver. I forgot these cases are cheap as hell and the bottom pulled off when trying to peel it from the double-side servo tape.




That's all for now. I have to solder the servo power lead, center and install the servo horn, tape down the electronics, tidy the wires with zip-tires, fill the shocks with oil and bleed those or just buy different shocks and paint the body and then I'm ready to rock!

[OSRC]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

That's all for now. I have to solder the servo power lead, center and install the servo horn, tape down the electronics, tidy the wires with zip-tires, fill the shocks with oil and bleed those or just buy different shocks and paint the body and then I'm ready to rock!

and find the batteries and charger...

Looking good -get a move on, spring is almost here! I'm curious to see how my beat up carbon TRX does vs. the fancy pants VP truck. Orange rims FTW!

[Col_Sanders]

Those 12 spoke wheels definitely look better.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by OSRC

and find the batteries and charger...

Looking good -get a move on, spring is almost here! I'm curious to see how my beat up carbon TRX does vs. the fancy pants VP truck. Orange rims FTW!

I felt spring on Sunday. I got the itch to ride my Harley and Grom! Saw tons of bikes out too. Still don't know if I'll be able to ride the heavy Harley with my still recovering right arm though.

Yeah finding my chargers is kind of important! I know where the batteries are which is a good thing. I should probably order one or two extra though especially compact versions for this truck.

Orange is my new favorite color for sure. Great looking truck! Do you have a build thread and/or body-off shots of that one? I forget the truck and can't find anything on this site.

Originally Posted by Col_Sanders

Those 12 spoke wheels definitely look better.

Thank you!

[Col_Sanders]

If you're not keen on soldering, Reefs has an XT60 adapter with 2 JST plugs on it. That way you can add to the obscenely long power wires on the Fusion.