Ascender from Slovakia

[Taurus84]

Electronics:
Dynamite WP 60A ESC
HPI Saturn 35T
Tower Pro MG995
Flysky FS-GR3F Rx
LiPo alarm
2xTurnigy 5000mAh 2S1P HC
Flysky GT2B Rx

Modifications:
- front lead weights 77g each
- rear lead weights 42g each
- shocks without any oil

Photo:
Assembly

Video:
First run

Hello there!

After selling my CC-01 Pajero a real battle arised .. SCX10 vs Ascender. Well .. the outcome is now clear - i jumped on the Vaterra wagon.

After reading all Ascender topics on this forum i was worried about drive shafts and pinion gears, but my kit came with the HD versions of them, so now my only concern are really the spindles, or whatever are they called.

I will be updating this thread as i progress through the build, which will be rather slowly, because you know .. work and stuff around house, wife (no kids though )

So im happy to be here and im sorry for my english - its not my native language ;-)

I did just realized, that i cant post attachments. So here, just some pics from web

Vaterra Ascender Chevrolet K-5 Blazer - Assembly

 

[SilmarilS]

With everything HD, just loosen the slipper a little more than what the manual tells you and you will be fine.

I have run my truck some 6h at a time, and didn't have a single problem beside the stock driveshaft.
Using a ROC412, 2300kv with 14-16-19 pinion on 2s and 3s. Mud/water/rock/trails.

 

[Taurus84]

I did whole 6 turns instead of 5 and 1/2. Hope that will be enough. Thx for the tip

Ok, so i made some progres today. While assembling rear axle i found out, that the pin which holds the rear drive shaft doesnt want to get through the hole. So i had to grind it. Now i hope it doesnt break any time soon :roll:

Then another problem - the set screw which goes into the hex .. i turned one of it too much .. i broke it .. its still holding the hex though, but i will need replacement soon ...

I assembled the whole chassis and put on the electronics. Strange is, i had to cut som plastic on one side of the skid plate, because it didnt want to get into the rail.

Now i need som longer cables for the servo and motor too.

All photos here

Well, that seems like Vaterra arent aware of that, when theyre shipping kits like this 9 months after release

Shocks, links and front suspension finished. One more suspension to go and we can mount it to the frame. And i didnt used any oil for the shocks. Will see how they perform.

 

[SilmarilS]

You had all the problem that I had!

 

[meatmonkey]

Methinks you possibly got a first batch kit somehow that's been sitting on a shelf somewhere for monthes?


Mine was first batch, and I too had to open up the CVD barrels, and fill the skid down.

Don't get worked up about minor assembly fitment issues, once you drive it all will be forgiven. Just be glad all the fitment issues are on the tight side, and easily remedied with removal of small amounts of material. Had you gone with and SCX, it would be the opposite. Meaning that you'd need lots of shims to take the slop out of the drivetrain.

Disregard the manual showing one shim on each side of the ring gear/spool. Many are reporting that both shims behind the gear side works better, in my case I needed three shims behind the ring gear. The ring/pinion are so small that proper mesh is criticial to long gear life.

 

[Taurus84]

I dont know, but i have HD gear and shafts in the kit and they didnt came with first kits i guess. And i put one shim on each side .. will see when i take it out for a trail how it will perform.

Guys, im having hard time putting together the chassis. The 2 pieces of driveshafts .. i thought, they should go together like a charm and going back and forth easily. But i can hardly put them together. Front is about 0,8cm in and it wont budge. Its too tight. I cant even assemble the lower links to skid plate, because i cant move the drive shaft .. wtf? What am i doing wrong? Please help!

edit:
Ok, i have just realized, there is only one way to put them together .. maybe im too tired

Chassis finished .. still to do:
- extender cable for servo
- long battery mount
- change ESC sonnectors for my battery
- glue tires
- paint and finish the body

Btw. whats the point of panhard bar? From what i see, its just screwing up the center of the front axle. I would rather make a 4th link .. but wait .. i cant .. theres no enough long screws in the bag :sad:

 

[motakitty]

The panhard bar centers the axle
Side to side. I had to add a space to my link even though it didn't say to in the manual. My front axle cycles really well and is pretty centered so you might have that link not the right length. I used a spacer from the lower links

 

[zanthrax]

Btw. whats the point of panhard bar? From what i see, its just screwing up the center of the front axle. I would rather make a 4th link

With a panhard bar the axle will move from side to side when the suspension moves. With a 4 link setup the axle will steer when the suspension moves, it's called bump steer. The third option is to mount the servo on the axle but that doesn't look scale.

 

[motakitty]

After seeing both setups of cms and ams I'm a big fan of the cms with panhard bar. Plus it looks more scale

 

[Taurus84]

With a panhard bar the axle will move from side to side when the suspension moves. With a 4 link setup the axle will steer when the suspension moves, it's called bump steer. The third option is to mount the servo on the axle but that doesn't look scale.

I see. Well, i will stick with the panhard then. Thx for explaining.

 

[Taurus84]

So i finished it yesterday. The car performs amazingly well. Even with my poor servo, which cant reach full lock-to-lock, this car turns perfectly. My only concern is about the torque twist. But im very satisfied with everything else. 35T motor is perfect for my driving style, top speed is just about right, maybe in low speed its too sensitive, but i will see what i can do with the trim od Tx. I put 77g in the front and 42g in back tires. Works great. And tires are great too. Not too soft, not too hard. Now i have no oil in the shocks and the car performs well in high speeds. Sometimes i hear bottoming out, so maybe some light weight oil and drilling some new holes will be perfect. But i will have to get used to the ESC. In normal mode (F/B/R) it doesnt have any drag brake and in Crawler mode, the drag brake is instant. If it does have drag brake, with slowly stoping power after releasing the throttle, it would be perfect. But overall, im very satisfied owner "thumbsup"
I have to put some stickers on it, but i couldnt resist to take it out for a shakedown ASAP.

 

[juan r]

Looks nice good job on it

 

[Natedog]

So i finished it yesterday. The car performs amazingly well. Even with my poor servo, which cant reach full lock-to-lock, this car turns perfectly. My only concern is about the torque twist. But im very satisfied with everything else. 35T motor is perfect for my driving style, top speed is just about right, maybe in low speed its too sensitive, but i will see what i can do with the trim od Tx. I put 77g in the front and 42g in back tires. Works great. And tires are great too. Not too soft, not too hard. Now i have no oil in the shocks and the car performs well in high speeds. Sometimes i hear bottoming out, so maybe some light weight oil and drilling some new holes will be perfect. But i will have to get used to the ESC. In normal mode (F/B/R) it doesnt have any drag brake and in Crawler mode, the drag brake is instant. If it does have drag brake, with slowly stoping power after releasing the throttle, it would be perfect. But overall, im very satisfied owner "thumbsup"

Looks good, for the drag brake it's instant with all crawler esc that I've used. You just have to get used to zero coasting, therefore you left off the throttle more slowly or it will try to flip over forwards.

EDIT: You have the kit version, but you bought the RTR Vaterra esc?

 

[motakitty]

Building the kit is half the fun.

 

[Taurus84]

I was searching for a waterproof ESC with a drag brake and was choosing between HPI and this one, because they were available in my local hobby store.

Odoslané z GT-I9505 pomocou Tapatalku

Today i finished work with stickers and so im ready for my 1st comp tomorrow :twisted:

First run video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_tlSwawZcY

 

[Natedog]

OK, good choice I don't have much good experience with HPI electronics, they are more cheaply made (poor quality) than most others.

 

[Natedog]

Thanks for the video and update, nice to have a scale park to crawl at.

 

[Taurus84]

Yep, its a great place! In the meanwhile, i did front and back lights. But im already planing to make changes, as roof light ramp will soon be installed. Ill post some photos when its finished.

 

[Natedog]

Nice, I'm gathering LEDs, wire, JST crimp connectors, etc. to do my lights. (I have the Hobbyking ratcheting crimper pliers which makes it much easier to make wiring harness.

 

[Taurus84]

Video from RC Expedition to Sitno (mountain/hill in Slovakia, with ruin of a castle with the same name)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SrpGERxkec