My Ascender Bronco
 

Hey all,

I just wanted to start a thread to share some pics, videos and random stuff about my Bronco. I'll post anything I think might be interesting to share from time to time - enjoy! "thumbsup"

Daniels Park - last week
 

We've been having great mild weather the past few weeks, I've been taking advantage!

A few shots from Daniels Park, Colorado - Last Week

<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame07.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame07.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame07.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame10.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame10.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame10.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame08.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame08.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame08.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame11.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame11.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame11.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame01.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame01.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame01.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame06.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame06.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame06.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame03.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame03.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame03.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame02.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame02.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame02.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame04.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame04.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame04.jpg"/></a>


<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frame09.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frame09.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frame09.jpg"/></a>

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

That looks awesome!

It looks like your front axle is really tilted forward though because you have a ton of negative (forward) caster.

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Need some CODYBOY sliders with link risers8). Great rocks ya got there....

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

X2 all the above! Looks like front upper link maybe little too long, should be 61mm + 12mm for total of 73mm. I see some nice upgrades on it already too. 8)

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Nice trim job on the body, looks like it sits just right.

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Thanks for the kind words everyone! "thumbsup"

Jato & Natedogg - Thanks for the heads-up on the caster angle. I ran out to the garage to check and I've got the 61mm rod for the front upper link (as per WB1 specs). The pics I posted were taken from a GoPro Hero 5 which has a notorious "fish-eye" effect. I was using their new linear mode which is supposed to correct this, but I think some it may be due to the camera. To my amateur eyes, the caster angle doesn't look as negative in real life. I'm still going to snap a few pictures tomorrow in the day light to get the expert advice of this forum though! Big thanks for the tuning help!

Caster Angle questions
 

Oh wise Ascender senseis, I come to you seeking advice....
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/bow.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/bow.png" border="0" alt=" photo bow.png"/></a>


Yesterday I thought some of the caster angle may been an artifact of the camera, today I'm not so sure.

I took the rig out into the daylight to snap a few pics and make sure I hadn't made any assembly mistakes (this is a Blazer kit, not an RTR). I used my phone instead of the GoPro to avoid any lens effects. First off, I checked to make sure the front upper and lower links are in spec.


Calipers at 61mm
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/calipers.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/calipers.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo calipers.jpg"/></a>


Front upper link is correct
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/upperLink.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/upperLink.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo upperLink.jpg"/></a>


Rear lower links are correct too
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/lowerLink.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/lowerLink.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo lowerLink.jpg"/></a>




A few shots of the stance. The negative caster looks a little more apparent in these shots.
Front-right
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/frontRight.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/frontRight.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo frontRight.jpg"/></a>


Head-on
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/front.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/front.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo front.jpg"/></a>




Finally, I pulled the front right wheel off to get a good look at the front axle. The caster angle is pretty clear in this shot
<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/wheelOff.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/wheelOff.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo wheelOff.jpg"/></a>




So what do you guys think? Is the current angle a lot different than what your Ascenders look like? If so, would the best approach be to shim out the lower links (1mm at a time)?

BIG thanks for all the help! "thumbsup"

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Thanks for more clear pics. I would find a servo horn that raises the drag link up a few millimeters (or shim your servo up or mount the servo on top of the servo mounts like I did on K10) ideally your draglink and panhard should be parallel to each other or close as you can get. I've found that clamping servo horns are unnecessary on 1.9 setups as long as you have a good quality aluminum arm such as Dynamite. Hudy actually makes an opposite offset arm that I bought just in case, haven't needed it just moving servo above the servo mounts did the trick for me when running steering to top of knuckle like you did. This gets the best steering.

Rear links should be same length upper and lower, can be fine tuned for pinion angle with some spacers. Wheelbase1 (WB1) Bronco front upper links should be 61mm, front lower should be 66mm.

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

First off, Bronco Ascenders are awesome!

...and Yes, that caster angle is too much. It'll cause your tires to want to fold over when turning. You want the kingpins at least straight up and down, or the top pin tilted slightly back.

Shimming your lower links will work, though watch the driveshaft angle at the axle. As long as that's within range, should work fine. I took my C's off and redrilled holes top and bottom to fix my caster angle. That way I could make the change without affecting my pinion angle.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps92545369.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps9f7f844c.jpg

Hope that helps!

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

I agree with OSRC, try to get them tilted back a little. Since you have the Codyboy axle, the easiest fix would be to pull off your chubs and notch the mounting hole with a I/8" dremel and then use a button head screw with a washer instead of the counter sunk screw. That way you're not changing your pinion angle."thumbsup"
Ernie

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

I did try to get the steering link and panhard as close to aligned as I could. The problem is I need to run a long servo horn (currently using 30mm) in order to full steering on both sides. If I run anything shorter, I give up a lot of steering. Even with the 30mm clamp I've still got my steering endpoints at 146% and 143% to get full range.

If I put the servo on top of the mounts the long horn can't clear the chassis. I've tried. You can see in the picture below that I've taken Dremel to the frame and bumper mount to try and clear out as much area as possible without weakening anything too much. Still didn't give me full steering range. I'm assuming this wasn't an issue on your K-10? Any suggestions?

<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/steering.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/steering.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo steering.jpg"/></a>

I've also tried attaching the steering linkage to the top of the servo horn. That puts the link and the panhard in darn near perfect alignment, but it binds up like crazy....

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Thanks OSRC! The explanation and picture helps a lot! I've been getting the front tire fold over on high grip surfaces, but I didn't know what was causing it. Makes a lot of sense now.


Ernie - Sorry, I can be a little thick-headed somtimes. Are you saying to back the countersunk screws out of the C-hubs, rotate them back to the angle I want and then use a 1/8 drillbit to tap a new hole in the axle? Just want to make sure before I go off and do something stupid to a good axle, lol...

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

You could do it that way, but I think it would be easier for you to take your axle apart, but first put marks on your chubs, on the top, behind the flat screw, on the bottom in front of the screw. We do this so when you have your chubs off your axle and in your hand you will know which way to notch them.
A way to think about it is you're making a adjustable chubs."thumbsup"
Now I would put the chub in a vise and use a dremel with a 1/8" bit to extend, or slot the holes so you can clock the chub, turning it so the top is pointing a little toward the rear of your truck.
I'm a very visual person to, so don't feel bad. Try it with one of your stock chubs first so you get a idea of how far you want to go.
Hope that all makes sense to you!"thumbsup"
Ernie

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Thanks Ernie! Reading all that finally made the lightbulb come on for me. Thanks for taking the time to re-explain it, lol! "thumbsup"

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

A quick update:

When I built my Ascender I used STRC chubs and knuckles. The chubs aren't rounded like the stock Vaterra ones, they are squared off. This made the adjustment that OSRC and Codyboy recommended pretty much impossible, given the tools I have in my garage.

<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/strcChubs.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/strcChubs.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo strcChubs.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/strcChubs2_1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/strcChubs2_1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo strcChubs2_1.jpg"/></a>


I went back to the plastic knuckles from the kit - I dialed in the caster angle as OSRC did and really noticed the difference! No more front tires folding under the truck! I still wanted some aluminum knuckles though. I noticed the SSD knucks come with a 5 degree offset to improve caster. I swapped out my STRC knucks & chubs for the SSD units. There's still a -slight- bit of negative caster, but nothing I can't live with - MUCH better than before!

<a href="http://s301.photobucket.com/user/kbennett2000/media/Ascender%20Bronco/20170327_201200.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/kbennett2000/Ascender%20Bronco/20170327_201200.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170327_201200.jpg"/></a>


I also added a set of Voodoo KLRs in the Gold compound on Gear Head wheels to my wheel & tire collection. I haven't had them on the rocks yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they do compared to the Proline TSL XLs.

More to come! "thumbsup"

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

I would like to hear how you like the gear heads. I have had a hell of a time lately getting tires to seat on rims, and have read the gear heads are very easy to mount.

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

I LOVE Gear Head wheels! At this point, I'll never buy another brand of beadlocks - period. The price is killer, the workmanship is awesome and I think they have hands-down the coolest designs!

As far as mounting tires, I have had ZERO problems mounting anything on any of my Gear Heads wheels! I've mounted ProLine and Ottsix tires on my 1.9 wheels, as well as Axial, ProLine, and Pit Bulls on my 2.2 Gear Heads. They were all as easy as could be!

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

RMNixon Love the Bronco. I wish here in Missouri we were blessed with places to run like this. I completed my Bronco Monday night and will run it for the first trail run Saturday. I hope I'm as pleased as you appear to be. Good job.

Re: My Ascender Bronco
 

Luckster - Awesome to hear there's another Bronco out there! We need more short wheelbase Ascenders, they're such cool little trucks! Good luck on Satuday - we might have some good rocks out here in Colorado but they're all under a blanket of snow right now, so you're definitely in the better place! "thumbsup"