Ok, I've not been much of a build-thread type. Not that I don't want to, I just always forgot to take pics while I was building. Back in '06, right about this time of year, I built my first super. The usual, clod axles, my own chassis and links, tiny little 333oz servo on each axle. The big "feature" was the badass 7 or 8 pounds of RC4WD 40 Series beadlock wheels. Remember, this was back when beadlocks were not so common; hence the badessedness.
For more than three years I comped this truck, falling in and out of 2.2 comping, but always keeping this as my "primary" truck. The only real change I made to it was switching from those massively heavy wheels to some lighter Proline Cheyenes and the Moabs were replaced with Moab XL's and then later G8 XL's. Of course getting away from the silly Novak Super Rooster esc's became a priority as soon as drag brakes became interesting and I grabbed a pair of Mama Max'es with some real drag brake. For extra fun, I tossed the stick pack that used to strap onto the front upper links and got myself some LiPos.
At the beginning of 2009, PARC started comping 1.9's and now I had three trucks, so I had to paint them all matching schemes and the old Clod Super got a new body. The Honda Odyssey body had to go anyway.
At the end of the 2009 season, the work of comping three classes in one day, often judging most of the day, and then going home and entering all the scores into our club's score keeping software, was getting to be a drag. I had to retire one of the trucks to make my comp day a little more relaxed and fun.
The old clod was starting to break more often and parts for the clod axles were getting harder to find. I was burning out on comping all three classes and for months was struggling with which truck to retire. Supers were way to cool and way too fun to drive and I usually finished pretty well. Mini's were way too cool and way too fun to drive and I usually finished pretty well. 2.2's were of course by now, the bread and butter of crawling, and even though all the young new hotshots were kicking my ass down to mid-pack finishes, I couldn't get rid of the 2.2.
I was barely keeping the clod together, but the last straw came when the YTC guys started showing up in Phoenix with these crazy bicycle-wheeled, ultra light weight Supers that ran like 2.2's. Suddenly, the old clod that had stayed technologically current for more than three years, was not just tired, it was dang near obsolete. It had gotten to where if I was going to be the least bit competitive against these new-fangled buggies, I was going to have to completely rebuild the clod.
Screw it. The rig, with its third set of broken gears in as many comps, went on the shelf at the beginning of the 2010 season and I enjoyed a season of comping only two trucks and relaxing and having a good time at the events.
Ha! Who was I fooling, I wasn't going to stay away from Supers. During that leisurely season with no Super, my father-in-law built a Super. He loves to build and sometimes builds just for the sake of building. He liked the looks of Jeremy's SuperJuice, so be made something similar of his own.
A bodiless chassis of his own design, SuperBully medium width axles, 3.2 wheels, custom made HB Rover tires, hard annodized high-clearance links, two huge Mamba Max Pro esc's, a Castle BEC Pro, and a pair of powerful 7950 running at 7 volts.
The rig ran well. Throughout the season, he'd offered to let me comp it anytime I'd like, and I kept declining. Finally for the last comp of the season, I gave in and drove it.
That was it. PARC's season was done for the summer and all that was planned was to spend the summer getting ready for Nationals. After driving the "new style" Super, I was re-hooked. I was planning on building a whole new rig from the ground up.
Then my father-in-law mentioned that he had no plans to ever drive that Super again, so I asked him if he wanted to sell it. It was already 90% of everything I wanted to build. His reply, "I'll tell you what, I want one of those XR10's when they come out, you buy me one of those and we're even."
Holy crap!! I'd enter him for Father-In-Law Of The Year if there was such a thing.
So now with only two months till Nationals, I want to change a few things to get ready. This is where the build thread catches up to real time, August 2010.
Step 1: I ordered a 4PK radio. The stick was just not getting it for me. I fought with that thing for four years. I was constantly making more mistakes with the twin sticks than I was getting benefit of infinite control of rear steer and rear motor. First outing with the Futaba was great. I was instantly driving better than I ever could with the DX6. I was able to match Mike (azvader) line for line where previously I'd be finding ways around.
Step 2: The chassis. Of course, once again, I forgot to take picks until I was knee deep in the tear down. To backtrack, I just set the original chassis in the middle of the pile of disconnected links and wires and snapped a couple "before" pics.
The tear down was complete, axles, motors and electronics got a lot of dust cleaned off them and I was ready to build.
An hour later, I had this:
So now that I'm completely up to date on four years worth of build threads for the Super, I plan to keep this up to date.
I still have to squeeze all the electronics into the chassis, and then decide if I want to use the Maxximizer 3.2 wheels and make up some SuperSedona3.2's, or chop up the old Moab XL's and make 40 series Sedona40's on the old Cheyene wheels. Either way it's narrowing wheels. Any ideas from some of you who may have run both 3.2 and 40's in Rover/Sedona chops?
I also have some goodies in the mail for this build. Stay tuned.
For more than three years I comped this truck, falling in and out of 2.2 comping, but always keeping this as my "primary" truck. The only real change I made to it was switching from those massively heavy wheels to some lighter Proline Cheyenes and the Moabs were replaced with Moab XL's and then later G8 XL's. Of course getting away from the silly Novak Super Rooster esc's became a priority as soon as drag brakes became interesting and I grabbed a pair of Mama Max'es with some real drag brake. For extra fun, I tossed the stick pack that used to strap onto the front upper links and got myself some LiPos.
At the beginning of 2009, PARC started comping 1.9's and now I had three trucks, so I had to paint them all matching schemes and the old Clod Super got a new body. The Honda Odyssey body had to go anyway.
At the end of the 2009 season, the work of comping three classes in one day, often judging most of the day, and then going home and entering all the scores into our club's score keeping software, was getting to be a drag. I had to retire one of the trucks to make my comp day a little more relaxed and fun.
The old clod was starting to break more often and parts for the clod axles were getting harder to find. I was burning out on comping all three classes and for months was struggling with which truck to retire. Supers were way to cool and way too fun to drive and I usually finished pretty well. Mini's were way too cool and way too fun to drive and I usually finished pretty well. 2.2's were of course by now, the bread and butter of crawling, and even though all the young new hotshots were kicking my ass down to mid-pack finishes, I couldn't get rid of the 2.2.
I was barely keeping the clod together, but the last straw came when the YTC guys started showing up in Phoenix with these crazy bicycle-wheeled, ultra light weight Supers that ran like 2.2's. Suddenly, the old clod that had stayed technologically current for more than three years, was not just tired, it was dang near obsolete. It had gotten to where if I was going to be the least bit competitive against these new-fangled buggies, I was going to have to completely rebuild the clod.
Screw it. The rig, with its third set of broken gears in as many comps, went on the shelf at the beginning of the 2010 season and I enjoyed a season of comping only two trucks and relaxing and having a good time at the events.
Ha! Who was I fooling, I wasn't going to stay away from Supers. During that leisurely season with no Super, my father-in-law built a Super. He loves to build and sometimes builds just for the sake of building. He liked the looks of Jeremy's SuperJuice, so be made something similar of his own.
A bodiless chassis of his own design, SuperBully medium width axles, 3.2 wheels, custom made HB Rover tires, hard annodized high-clearance links, two huge Mamba Max Pro esc's, a Castle BEC Pro, and a pair of powerful 7950 running at 7 volts.
The rig ran well. Throughout the season, he'd offered to let me comp it anytime I'd like, and I kept declining. Finally for the last comp of the season, I gave in and drove it.
That was it. PARC's season was done for the summer and all that was planned was to spend the summer getting ready for Nationals. After driving the "new style" Super, I was re-hooked. I was planning on building a whole new rig from the ground up.
Then my father-in-law mentioned that he had no plans to ever drive that Super again, so I asked him if he wanted to sell it. It was already 90% of everything I wanted to build. His reply, "I'll tell you what, I want one of those XR10's when they come out, you buy me one of those and we're even."
Holy crap!! I'd enter him for Father-In-Law Of The Year if there was such a thing.
So now with only two months till Nationals, I want to change a few things to get ready. This is where the build thread catches up to real time, August 2010.
Step 1: I ordered a 4PK radio. The stick was just not getting it for me. I fought with that thing for four years. I was constantly making more mistakes with the twin sticks than I was getting benefit of infinite control of rear steer and rear motor. First outing with the Futaba was great. I was instantly driving better than I ever could with the DX6. I was able to match Mike (azvader) line for line where previously I'd be finding ways around.
Step 2: The chassis. Of course, once again, I forgot to take picks until I was knee deep in the tear down. To backtrack, I just set the original chassis in the middle of the pile of disconnected links and wires and snapped a couple "before" pics.
The tear down was complete, axles, motors and electronics got a lot of dust cleaned off them and I was ready to build.
An hour later, I had this:
So now that I'm completely up to date on four years worth of build threads for the Super, I plan to keep this up to date.
I still have to squeeze all the electronics into the chassis, and then decide if I want to use the Maxximizer 3.2 wheels and make up some SuperSedona3.2's, or chop up the old Moab XL's and make 40 series Sedona40's on the old Cheyene wheels. Either way it's narrowing wheels. Any ideas from some of you who may have run both 3.2 and 40's in Rover/Sedona chops?
I also have some goodies in the mail for this build. Stay tuned.
