The Seemingly Eternal Evolution of SVT's Ascender

[Natedog]

Nice, did you conformal coat the BEC too? Been thinking about doing my FXR, I have a bottle of MGChemicals brand coating.

Ooooh I missed the Knights 3d printed inner fenders...nice! Yes, I too love how they bolt on and off without removing the shocks, some real thought went into their design! Your nicely bent panhard with 2mm less length is nice too, got a pic from bottom?

[svt923]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Nice, did you conformal coat the BEC too? Been thinking about doing my FXR, I have a bottle of MGChemicals brand coating.

Ooooh I missed the Knights 3d printed inner fenders...nice! Yes, I too love how they bolt on and off without removing the shocks, some real thought went into their design! Your nicely bent panhard with 2mm less length is nice too, got a pic from bottom?

BEC has not been waterproofed yet, mostly because I want to get out driving tomorrow. I will get to it eventually.

This is what the modified front suspension looks like underneath:



Pro tip: If you are running a Xpert servo, put some thread lock on the case screws. Apparently, they don't think this is important from the factory as all of my upper case screws were incredibly loose and one even fell out. Luckily the screws that hold on the diff covers work as replacements.

Also lurking in the background of many pictures is the battery tray I made out of a sheet of G10. It keeps the battery pretty low while maintaining a centralized position.

[svt923]

The day has come: time to reintroduce the Ascender to dirt and rocks.

I packed up and headed out to Haw River, which is one of the favorite spots around here.



A really good turnout, people came from far and wide. I told you it was a favorite spot.

The orange Ram and Honcho belong to Nick from Helios RC. They were both running their new NC60 axles: bigger pinion bearings and built in XR mod while maintaining stock width for your SCX10. Next gen Axial stuff.



The moment of truth, how does an Ascender perform when you lower it by 10mm, put on small tires, and generally sacrifice all capabilities for the sake of looking good? Better than you would imagine.

I'll get to some pics before I bore you:







In it's current form, my truck is still amazingly capable. I had little problems keeping up with the SCX10s of various levels of modification. The lower approach angle combined with the wide bumpers hung up on some rocks and forced me to change my lines. I got high centered a few times but I think that was more of a result of the situation more than the short wheelbase.

I didn't get too many pics because I was trying to get a feel for what needs to be tuned. As I suspected, the suspension is way too soft. I definitely need to go up in shock oil and possibly in spring rate. Torque twist was in full effect but I don't feel it was as bad as it was when the truck was stock. I'm going to tweak the shocks before venturing down the swaybar road.

I got in about an hour and half of driving on one of the harshest trails around here, no breaks and my electronics ran cool. My day was ended by a pin falling out of a joint in my trans to t-case shaft. A new pin and some threadlock at home and I'm good to go.



The Ascender will now sit on the shelf in waiting for it's next adventure while some of the garage mates receive some quality workbench time. I have a trip to NJ coming up to see some family in a couple weeks and the Bronco will be tagging along.

[jrkilburn]

I highly recommend leaving the shocks on the soft side and adding the sway bar. Also, moving the shock bottoms on the outside of the axle mount will give you the stability you are looking for.

[svt923]

Originally Posted by jrkilburn

I highly recommend leaving the shocks on the soft side and adding the sway bar. Also, moving the shock bottoms on the outside of the axle mount will give you the stability you are looking for.

The susupension will definitely stay soft, it just needs to be firmed up past ultra mushy.

I'm running the GCM rear shock mount so the shocks already mount to approximately the outboard position. I'm going to have to think about sway bar mounting because of the GCM kit. The bar would have to be mounted in front of the axle instead of the standard method. Excuse me while I stare at my truck for a while.

[pete959]

Originally Posted by svt923

The susupension will definitely stay soft, it just needs to be firmed up past ultra mushy.

I'm running the GCM rear shock mount so the shocks already mount to approximately the outboard position. I'm going to have to think about sway bar mounting because of the GCM kit. The bar would have to be mounted in front of the axle instead of the standard method. Excuse me while I stare at my truck for a while.

When i did my gcm kit i left my sway bar off found i didnt need it

LIFE IS GOOD

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by svt923

The Great White North has brought America many great things: hockey, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Molson, poutine, maple syrup, and (possibly most significantly) GCM parts.

My wife is of French-Canuck lineage. She loves her poutine and real maple syrup. Sadly, she is also a Canadiens fan. That is a little hard to stomach as a Bruins fan...

Anyway... The lower stance looks really good. It is a very realistic appearance.

[svt923]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

Sadly, she is also a Canadiens fan. That is a little hard to stomach as a Bruins fan...

That's got to be rough, especially when her team won't be playing in 2 weeks. Make pancakes and serve that weird round bacon to ease the pain.

[svt923]

So the Ascender was back on the trail a few days ago but this time was about 500 miles from home. The location was Sourland Mountain in NJ, a place I had never been despite living in the state for 20+ years. So the car was packed and off we went.

I know, I know; get to the pictures.

Small creek crossing right off the bat, nice


If you look closely, you may see a Trail Finder blending into it's natural habitat


It may be hard to see, but there is a truck in this picture


Freaking Jeeps everywhere, at least this one has good taste in wheels


The Ascender just continues to drive over things


And through things


In case you are wondering where my stock Vaterra Swampers are, they are on that ugly ass SCX10


So many rocks, so little time




My Bomber got to stretch its legs for the first time too


The Ascender continues to run flawlessly despite it's overly soft suspension. 2 hours of driving didn't kill the 2600mah 3S pack so I still don't know my exact runtime on this setup.

Thicker shock oil is only Ascender related thing on the to do list night now. It is refreshing to have a truck that is always ready to go as long as the battery is charged. In a much shorter time on the same trail, my Bomber had several screws loosen up, the swaybar setscrews back out, and a couple teeth break off the RRP pinion.

Such is life with tiny trucks.

[svt923]

My truck is getting some new tires!



Vaterra Race Claws (keeping it in the family) stuffed with CI Deuces Wild 4.25 1.9 inserts. The tread reminds me of the Proline Flat Irons but in a Bronco friendly 4.1 inches. They should serve well in the mix of dirt and rocks my Ascender usually sees once they break in.

A little comparison to the previous 1.55 Growlers (which will now live on my TF2).



While exciting, I actually have a little bit of tech to serve up here.

The Vaterra Race Claws I have are very similar to the Swampers that come on the Ascender; same compound and same incredibly fat bead. We should all know Vaterra tires can be a pain to mount on beadlocks because of their bead design.

I remembered an old thread about using Vanquish inner rings on RC4WD wheels to install Proline tires. I took a gamble and ordered up some Vanquish inner rings to try with my stylish ebay wheels (also the stock inner rings were heavy as hell being steel and incredibly rusty from several aquatic adventures). Well, turns out the Vanquish rings fit just like stock and make mounting tires easy. These fat bead Race Claws with CI Deuces Wild foams mounted up damn near perfectly the first try (and not an incredibly frustrating, ready to smash things with a hammer first try), 1 slight adjustment and they were perfect by the second try.

The Vanquish ring trick should work with most RC4WD, SSD, and Hot Racing internal beadlock wheels and also many ebay wheels. Your results may vary.

With 4 of these, you can avoid much Vaterra tire mounting frustration:
Vanquish Products 1.9 Aluminum scaler clamp ring (1)

[Natedog]

Nice looking tire/wheel combo, the VP 1.9 lockrings worked with my RC4WD white steel wagon wheels on my Blazer too. My Ascenders have been the same way, crawl, rinse, repeat...super durable and reliable...I'm sure I'll break something eventually, but it's refreshing to have a truck that is always ready!

[svt923]

Some quick updates from last time. Shocks have been rebuilt with 70wt oil all around and RC4WD spring kits (1.6 springs up front and 2.0 springs out back. SSD 66mm titanium links were added up front for some extra durability. Since I forgot to mention it before, 60mm RC4WD titanium links were previously added in the rear to shorten the wheelbase. This was also the first time running the Vaterra Race Claws.

It was a beautiful day so I decided that I needed to get some driving in while the kids were out with my wife for the morning. I headed out to Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh which is a fun spot for small tire trucks.

Observations on the changes: the Race Claws are awesome on the typical dirt, rock, roots, leaves, etc you would encounter on the trail. Even wet, they just hooked up on everything they came across. They should just get better with some miles on them. Secondly, the suspension changes have brought torque twist down to an acceptable level. The firmer suspension had no ill effects, I'm satisfied.

I will now let the pics tell the story of the trip.

[hawks]

What a beautiful spot.

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

[svt923]

A few more pictures for your enjoyment.

Scale waterfall


The fun part


This ledge was a complete pain in the ass to get up, too bad the pic doesn't show it.


Perspective on the tree bridge shot, a long way down for a tiny truck


A little test for the new tires: a steep, slick dirt climb immediately after crossing some water. The Race Claws aced it.


Stream exploration


And another final rock perch pic because it looks cool

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by pete959

When i did my gcm kit i left my sway bar off found i didnt need it

Was your TT with GCM kit (without swaybar) equal, less or more twist than with just the rear swaybar?

Originally Posted by svt923

...Shocks have been rebuilt with 70wt oil all around and RC4WD spring kits (1.6 springs up front and 2.0 springs out back. SSD 66mm titanium links were added up front for some extra durability. Since I forgot to mention it before, 60mm RC4WD titanium links were previously added in the rear to shorten the wheelbase....Secondly, the suspension changes have brought torque twist down to an acceptable level. The firmer suspension had no ill effects, I'm satisfied.

Great pics, Bronco is looking sweet perched on the rock. You stiffened the springs and oil damping? Was your TT with GCM kit (without swaybar) equal, less or more twist than with just the rear swaybar?

[svt923]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Great pics, Bronco is looking sweet perched on the rock. You stiffened the springs and oil damping? Was your TT with GCM kit (without swaybar) equal, less or more twist than with just the rear swaybar?

Yes, the whole suspension was firmed up.

Front:
Old - Included springs of unknown rate (likely 1.1) with 50wt oil
New - RC4WD 1.6 springs with 70wt oil

Rear:
Old - Included springs of unknown rate (likely 1.1) with 50wt oil
New - RC4WD 2.0 springs with 70wt oil

I never ran a rear swaybar so I can't compare to that but I would say the level of twist is comparable to running the Dinky cantilevers. TT is barely noticeable during most driving except for hard stabs of the throttle.

[Natedog]

Thanks!

That amount of TT is what I still have with swaybar, well under control but full throttle stab shows a little just momentarily.

[CMGATO]

Hi SVT, thanks for sharing so much info about your build.

If you dont mind me asking, what are the pros and cons of removing the Panhard bar?

Regards

[svt923]

You can't remove the panhard bar because there will be nothing preventing the axle from moving side to side.

With a 3 link and panhard setup like the Ascender has, the axle will move laterally a little bit because the panhard moves in an arc and not a straight line. Ideally, the axle will be centered in the middle of the suspension travel so the lateral movement isn't too much when the suspension travels up or down. When the suspension travel of the truck is changed, the length of the panhard needs to be changed as well to get the axle back in alignment.

[CMGATO]

I see.
Thank you