wlsmoku's twinny twin

[wlsmoku]

scroll down if you do not want the whole back story 8)

so after being out of the rc world for 20 yrs or so, I have been lurking here trying to find the best fit for me. this one seemed to be a hit, so I ordered it right after it came out. like most, my local hobby shop had no idea what it was and I had to prove to them they were a dealer for this new rig. once it came in and I got it home, I tried tuning the trans and no power at all to the servo. kind of expected though thanks to the reviews here, so I ordered a hitec mini. after a few batteries in the snow all seemed well until I noticed it pulling to the right very hard. broken front shock mount. again I was aware it could be a prob thanks to you all! I fabbed up an aluminum plate and took it to my local indoor track for fun with a friend and his son. it did as expected....pretty horrible hahaha. about 10 laps in I noticed the steering was not working very well, so after inspection I noticed the stock steering servo case broke! at that point I wanted something lasting, so I went to the counter and they suggested I run a savox servo....I put it in and if I tried to turn quickly it couldn't. Turns out the servo wanted too much juice that the esc couldn't supply so I needed a capacitor plugged in to the aux on the reciever. ran good after that except it just rolled waaaay to often so I ordered front and rear sway bars. i'm a little disappointed it didn't come with instructions, but again.....thanks to you all here I was able to see pics and get it right in without a problem. Again....after lurking more threads here, I saw (and loved) that a member put in the HPI mini trophy truck lower control arms which extended it about an inch. after a new driveshaft and upper control arms came in, I installed and looooved how the vehicle handled while bashing, and still crawled pretty well for what it is. next up was a brushless system....after many nights here reading I came to the conclusion theres a million options and different opinions on whats "good". At that point I felt like it was a gamble soooooo.....my friend and his son both run brushless slash short course trucks and are imho wicked fast. I knew this wouldn't be quite as fast, but was ok with that, so I ordered the esc and motor off ebay. After install I am absolutely in love running it on the stock 2s battery and looking forward to trying it on 3s. my only complaints now are the horizontal front shock layout and the steering is getting sloppy.....but I have some home brew stuff that should fancy it right up (coming soon).


current mods are:
hitec mini servo for 2 speed trans
savox servo for steering
velineon brushless system
hpi min trophy truck lower control arms
rc4wd drive shaft and upper links
front and rear sway bars
custom front shock mount
aluminum hex adapters for wheels


running no skins for now, but will make some soon just not a fan of the lights

front plate - but new fab coming soon....can't wait!

front sway bar - a must if your bashing

upper links are too long - time to just make my own now that i know how thanks to you all 8)

side note - I love the stock tires.....not sure why they get so much bashing...might be my inexperience to crawling i'm guessing

also wish there was more gearing dif between low and high gear, but maybe someone will make something for us!

things to come:
3/16 tubular bolt in cage replacement with standard placement front shock mounts, and relocate the steering servo to reduce slop

I know it's very stock now - and a thread may not even be deserved at this point, but without you guys here, I would have had a much tougher time with this. you all have helped me more than ya realize, so a BIG thank you to each and every thread on this site with the tech "thumbsup" "thumbsup" 8)

 

[Blinkfan5150]

scroll down if you do not want the whole back story 8)

so after being out of the rc world for 20 yrs or so, I have been lurking here trying to find the best fit for me. this one seemed to be a hit, so I ordered it right after it came out. like most, my local hobby shop had no idea what it was and I had to prove to them they were a dealer for this new rig. once it came in and I got it home, I tried tuning the trans and no power at all to the servo. kind of expected though thanks to the reviews here, so I ordered a hitec mini. after a few batteries in the snow all seemed well until I noticed it pulling to the right very hard. broken front shock mount. again I was aware it could be a prob thanks to you all! I fabbed up an aluminum plate and took it to my local indoor track for fun with a friend and his son. it did as expected....pretty horrible hahaha. about 10 laps in I noticed the steering was not working very well, so after inspection I noticed the stock steering servo case broke! at that point I wanted something lasting, so I went to the counter and they suggested I run a savox servo....I put it in and if I tried to turn quickly it couldn't. Turns out the servo wanted too much juice that the esc couldn't supply so I needed a capacitor plugged in to the aux on the reciever. ran good after that except it just rolled waaaay to often so I ordered front and rear sway bars. i'm a little disappointed it didn't come with instructions, but again.....thanks to you all here I was able to see pics and get it right in without a problem. Again....after lurking more threads here, I saw (and loved) that a member put in the HPI mini trophy truck lower control arms which extended it about an inch. after a new driveshaft and upper control arms came in, I installed and looooved how the vehicle handled while bashing, and still crawled pretty well for what it is. next up was a brushless system....after many nights here reading I came to the conclusion theres a million options and different opinions on whats "good". At that point I felt like it was a gamble soooooo.....my friend and his son both run brushless slash short course trucks and are imho wicked fast. I knew this wouldn't be quite as fast, but was ok with that, so I ordered the esc and motor off ebay. After install I am absolutely in love running it on the stock 2s battery and looking forward to trying it on 3s. my only complaints now are the horizontal front shock layout and the steering is getting sloppy.....but I have some home brew stuff that should fancy it right up (coming soon).

current mods are:
hitec mini servo for 2 speed trans
savox servo for steering
velineon brushless system
hpi min trophy truck lower control arms
rc4wd drive shaft and upper links
front and rear sway bars
custom front shock mount
aluminum hex adapters for wheels

running no skins for now, but will make some soon just not a fan of the lights

front plate - but new fab coming soon....can't wait!

front sway bar - a must if your bashing

upper links are too long - time to just make my own now that i know how thanks to you all 8)

side note - I love the stock tires.....not sure why they get so much bashing...might be my inexperience to crawling i'm guessing

also wish there was more gearing dif between low and high gear, but maybe someone will make something for us!

things to come:
3/16 tubular bolt in cage replacement with standard placement front shock mounts, and relocate the steering servo to reduce slop

I know it's very stock now - and a thread may not even be deserved at this point, but without you guys here, I would have had a much tougher time with this. you all have helped me more than ya realize, so a BIG thank you to each and every thread on this site with the tech "thumbsup" "thumbsup" 8)

I'm in the same boat. Haven't been into rc for 10 years. Flipped a house came up on money and now I wanted a hobby. My hobby shop had a Glamis and a Twin Hammer displayed. I picked the TW and they advised me to this forum for questions. I'm addicted to This forum cause I can't wait to add something new to my rig. Thanks to this forum my questions usually get answered within the day. I must sound like a need but I can't wait for steel gears to come out!!!

 

[riskyjedi]

What rear drive shaft is that. It's freaking sweet! And I to have read quite a bit on here and hopefully will start my rockstar build soon.

 

[l36pontiac]

is the gearing stock? is the vxl getting kinda warm? mine does and not sure why

 

[wlsmoku]

What rear drive shaft is that. It's freaking sweet! And I to have read quite a bit on here and hopefully will start my rockstar build soon.

I got it off rc4wd.com It was for a wraith, and I just cut it to what I needed it to be.

is the gearing stock? is the vxl getting kinda warm? mine does and not sure why

yes, stock gearing. my vxl gets a lil warm, but nothing major. next time I can, i'll put a temp sensor on it and check it.



*UPDATE*
got some gmade shocks (100mm rear and 90mm front) and got the upper control arms fabbed up from a "how to" here. fit great and should be plenty strong....pretty stoked.

front susp and steering fab coming soon! ;-)

 

[wlsmoku]

update. refabbed the front cage to allow for upright shock placement and servo relocate. front piece bolts in factory place to boot! still working on steering links, and bought some g-made xd piggy backs that need assembled, but wanted to update you all since it's been a while.







first time tuber fabber - don't be too hard on me - I know it's not perfect!

 

[sgtlopez79]

sweet build and by the way those are HPI mini TT trailing arms not control arms. control arms are up front.

 

[wlsmoku]

sweet build and by the way those are HPI mini TT trailing arms not control arms. control arms are up front.

copy that - my lower arms on the rear of my camaro are called control arms, so I assumed - thanks for settin me straight!

well getting my shocks together went faster than I thought it would - wish I woulda waited to post pics til these were on - fills the area much better IMHO.

 

[ccbg]

What exactly did you use for the refab of the front cage portion?

 

[wlsmoku]

What exactly did you use for the refab of the front cage portion?

from the bottom of the window frame to the front skid plate is all 3/16 brake line now.

 

[Dino21]

Can I see some closer up pics of servo mounting and stear links, I love this idea

 

[wlsmoku]

Here is the plate for the servo mount


Still flexes out nice with sway bars off


And for those that like the body panels and spare on it


Ride and steering is greatly improved although I fabbed this without the shocks and the shock mount needs moved up a little because the dog bone popped out once. I should be able to heat it up and slide the mount up just a touch. New panels are next on the to do list!

 

[awdtsi]

It might be easier to just internally limit the shocks a bit. Looks great!!

 

[Pockets70]

Was the front cage welded or brazed? I'd LOVE to have that set up!

 

[wlsmoku]

Was the front cage welded or brazed? I'd LOVE to have that set up!

Brazed with stay silv, I tried welding a practice piece, but its just not as clean IMHO. Thanks for the kind words!

 

[carcueza]

Hello. Very nice car!!! And very interesting modification!!!!!!
How is your steering with the servo in this position?
And the rear sway bar, are you mounting it or not? What do you think about it?

Thank you very much!!!

 

[wlsmoku]

The steering is everything it should be....smooth, quick, and sharp......no way I would go back to the stock plastic slider setup. As far as the sway bars, it all depends on what you do with your th. I like that I can have them on and haul down the street with it without worry of the susp causing roll overs. But in less than a minute I can pop off the end links and let it flex out. This is such a fun rc......it offers a lot for flexibility of driving styles and terrain

 

[carcueza]

Thank you very much!!!!!
Please could you take some photos of the steering system? And what hardware have you used? It an amazing improvement!!!!! I need it!!!!! I love it!!!!

And please, let me another question......the sway bar is better for crawler or it is better for speed?

Thank you very much again!!!!!!!!

 

[Pockets70]

do you have any tire-to-shock binding under full articulation when steering?

 

[wlsmoku]

Thank you very much!!!!!
Please could you take some photos of the steering system? And what hardware have you used? It an amazing improvement!!!!! I need it!!!!! I love it!!!!

And please, let me another question......the sway bar is better for crawler or it is better for speed?

Thank you very much again!!!!!!!!

the pics above are as good as it's going to get without tearing it back apart. I had to make the plate that holds the servo down and tied it in with the stock location bolt holes from the original design shock mount (4 attachment bolts), I flipped the a-arms from one side to the other so that the steering could attach to the front of the arms and the shocks now mount on the backside of the bar. then I made new steering links out of 8/32 all thread and 1/4" brake line to sleeve it. Rod ends are traxxas revo part number 5347. also it helps to get an 8/32 tap to put threads into the rod ends. this has all been done here before - I can not take credit for any of it except the tubing work.

also the sway bars are for speed

do you have any tire-to-shock binding under full articulation when steering?

none at all - the shock comes close to the upper control arm (camber link - what ev's - not sure what it's called), and I will be putting a spacer on that link for safe keeping, but not rub marks yet so I believe it is fine as it is.


also I have read on other threads people think that up right shock mounts will destroy your shocks. here is a pic from roll overs showing it in fact does not have to be like that if your shocks sit under and inside the hoop.

plenty of paint scraped off the tubing, but not a single mark on the shocks