Chappy4o's venom build thread

[Chappy4o]

after a good idea givin to me i decided to stop creating a thread for every question i have and just make this build thread.

the date was may 22, 2010 and i got a package in from cali. my venom had arrived. after promptly building it to stock in 3 days, i immediately noticed things needed to change.

after running a couple of times the losi servo i had laying around decided it didnt want to play nice with the aluminum horn and the horn rounded off the servo output splines. now i sit without a servo . . . . so i think ill mess with this suspension.s

first i did some research on the ckrc level II kit and decided to build my own. so i moved my shocks to the chassis plate removed my battery tray and repositioned the upper and lower links. thats pretty much how it sits now and i still haven't painted my body.

so this is my to-do list as of now:
1. new servo - thinking about the hitec 645 or the power HD 9150
2. new driveshafts - i havent broken any yet (key word) but i dont like the way the pins start working out when i just roll it by hand, and when under power . . . forget it, one obstacle and they are almost completely out so thinking of either integy shafts or the traxxas long truck shafts
3. new aluminum shock bodies from FLM
4. new aluminum spools from FLM
5. possibly the billet aluminum bead lock rings from FLM
6. build chassis supports for battery tray-less rig
7. paint body - duh . . . .
8. HB rovers
9. get a better smaller and lighter battery
10. new charger - the one i have is some iffey honk kong thing and im having a hard time trusting it

in the future i forsee a spektrum dx3e and dig but that won't be for a while

so there you have it, ill have pics of my creeper soon just have to upload em.

so from now on im going to ask any questions on here rather than make a new thread.

one question i do have though, is i hear a lot about a bec . . . . what is it, how does it work and would i need one

any input from yall would be well above average.

thanks

[lazynocturnal]

as im like this guy i suck at describing stuff but its a good basic despriction

Originally Posted by ultimate_monkey

BEC = battery elimination circut

what it does is power the servos, the fxr as most ESC has a built in bec altho the fxr a small one, like 6v 3 amp or somthing like that, by running an external BEC, like the CC BEC (castle creations) you route the power for the servos threw that rather then your esc. this takes some load off the esc and have to "work less". with high torque servos and no bec, when your turn and full throttle you wont have nearly as much power as you should becuz the esc is splitting the voltage between the servo and motor.

i HIGHLY recoment to run a BEC with the FXR, for the cost its totally worth it

sorry i really suck at explaining things

also found this thread....Yes you need an external bec

im gonna throw you a idea ive done for a cross brace over the motor, i know you stated you would like to stay with creeper orientes parts,(when i was still using the creeper tranny). its a axial radio mount/chassis brace. could possibly use it for a body mount above the chassis (highly recomend over the 4 side posts)...

now in my experience i would run a metal one. http://www.teamstrc.com/ebproductdet...inid=15&id=129

[Chappy4o]

im not saying your wrong or anything, but what is the advantage of having this as opposed to posts? (other than the available body mount location?) also, how long is this brace end-to-end and inside end to inside end?

and why do you have a yellow zip tie on your axle?


edit: and i dont think i need a bec, but now i know what it is, what it does, and how it works so if i come to the point where i think i need one, i wont have to ask the newb ? . . . . . "what is a bec and do i need one" lol

[lazynocturnal]

the yellow zip tie was used to keep the lower link in place, i had broken the ear off from a bad fall and that was a quik fix....though i had it on there little over a month before i got around to getting a new axle housing lol.

after hunting down my tape measure the the stock creeper trans is 80mm wide and the cross brace is 82mm. now ive heard that the plastic one use to be used in the ckrc stage 2 kit...you will have to just slightly pull the chassis plates apart to get them in but once in place you wont see the difference in length...

now running the body mounts on top is more a preference thing. ive found that i loose less body clips with runing them on top. ive found that ive snagged on rocks with the side posts when im rubbing against objects. and also it lets the body move side ways when rubbign against rocks. i would highly recomend getting a good stock of body clips....also running a rubber band across 2 helps out greatly, when you loose one it will it will just hang there. a friend of mine puts small bright zip ties on the end to help find them if the both happen to fall off...someone out there makes something like this but im just to cheap to buy something like that when in time it will break and rubber bands are a dime a dozen....

[samguan]

I've been looking for the brace! Thanks for the picture!

82mm should be good, some people say 81mm but should be fine because it is plastic so it is flexible, I think fitting it should be no problem.

[lazynocturnal]

Originally Posted by samguan

I've been looking for the brace! Thanks for the picture!

82mm should be good, some people say 81mm but should be fine because it is plastic so it is flexible, I think fitting it should be no problem.

lol oops i was wrong on my measurements....happens when your tired....tranny is 79mm and the brace is 81...either way theres a 2 mm difference....not much

[Chappy4o]

well i just ordered my servo and a set of 101mm aluminum tubes for my upper chassis links. lazy i like those braces you posted but i think the tube will just look a little cleaner, but i may still get those so i can have the upper body posts. idk, i still have some minor things to work out yet.

ill keep everyone updated when new things arise,

and keep any suggestions coming

Chappy

[lazynocturnal]

thats cool. i hear ya on the little things to work out...it took me about 5 to 6 months to get my creeper where i like it. try this, try that...find things that work for your driving style and terrain...good luck with you creeper and keep us posted...and put up some pics if you can!!!

[Chappy4o]

well i finally got around to getting the pics of my venom so here you go!!!

enjoy

[lazynocturnal]

looking good chappy, how bad are you front tires rubbing on thw shocks with them mounted on the outside of the chassis?

[Chappy4o]

they rub a little bit but i can set that with my radio when i finally get my servo in.

also since i took those pics i relocated the rear knuckle brace things to my axle and eliminated the rear skid

more to come . . . stay tuned

[Chappy4o]

so i got to thinkin while i was staring at my rig . . . in the ckrc kit why the heck do they give you the longer upper links? i built my own home brew stage II and im pretty sure it does the same as the ckrc kit. . . right? or am i missing something and the longer upper links actually do something besides moving them to the inner most hole on the chassis?

[rmdesignworks]

anytime you make your links longer or shorter you change the arc angle, of the link and therefore the articulation range canges. a longer link has a longer or wider radius of arc and changes the pinion angle slower then a shorter link will. if the difference between the upper and lower link ae too great in length then theKPI or king pin inclination changes too drastically in too short of an arc. plus a longer link swings farther with less actual movement.

[lazynocturnal]

i agree with what rmdesignsworks said. you can ply with the length of the upper links like i did with installing spacers. if you scroll up the pic i posted shows a 6mm spacer added and that works great for me...

[lazynocturnal]

also i was just thinking chappy after looking at your pics, i would switch your lower around so they are upside down(like in the pic i posted). when i was first runing my creeper and had the links like you do i was hanging up in the lower link in the middle....as you can see in the pic the marks on links.

[Chappy4o]

ok thanks lazy and rm on that link info, i may decide to build my own then if it will help me out. if not im just gonna leave it.

and thanks lazy on that tip im def. going to do that cause that does look like a spot that get nailed

[Chappy4o]

do i need to turn my link ends 180 when i flip the links?

[lazynocturnal]

you can undo one end and twist it. or if i remeber right you can unbolt them turn them over and then around...may have to possibly put put left to right and visa versa....im at work at the moment so imtrying to remeber of thetop of my head....

[Chappy4o]

no worries, i figured it out

[Chappy4o]

well got a new update. . . . got my servo in the mail today and got it installed, bad thing is i wasn't able to use the aluminum horn that i had (just a tad too big for the output shaft of my servo. so i had to use the plastic one that came with it and the goofy looking screw that looks like a wood screw to attach it to my steering link, then i took it across the street to my neighbors house that has a bunch of large decorative rocks and piled them up and started doing some playing, found out i need a bta kit (or build one) and some better tires . . . man these stock tires suck!!!! at least on smoother rocks they suck, on the rougher and more jagged rocks they seem to do ok on the front but the rears just dont seem to bite im thinkin som white rovers should do the trick, also i noticed after a while of running im getting some kind of ticking sound out of the rear end, i see an flm locker in my future (or two).

ill have some pics up hopefully tomorrow of the virgin run body and chassis blemishes. . . . damn i can tell im excited, i was getting a giggly when i would roll it or drag the links across something and then look at it and see the scratches lol.

other than the above it all worked great, def. need to get a new and smaller batt and relocate to the rear axle though

as always keep the suggestions coming everyone i really appreciate all the input thus-far, so keep it comin'

till next time
Chappy