the_ocho
Quarry Creeper
Update. Tungsten doesn't work, I am now moving on to 01 tool steel.
With all the want for better hinge pins out there I figured I would let you in on a litte experiment I am working on. I have seen this done before by another person but I don't recall who it was and I remember they didn't say too much about it other than they were trying it.
I bought 6" of 3mm C2 Tungsten Carbide rod, and a package of 1/8" RC air plane wheel collars to retain the rods. The total was under $20 on amazon.
I'm thinking that the hardness of the Tungsten will protect the surface of the pin so it wont scratch up and bind. The second thing is the hardness of the Tungsten wont let it deflect or bend. the downside is since it is so hard it is brittle, if I hit something hard enough to bend the pin it will probably just break. The experiment side is finding out if it is too brittle or not, I mean for less than $10 a pair I can afford to make new ones every once in a while. Given where the pin is located I don't foresee a direct impact from anything that could cause it to shatter, I also don't see my RPM arms being strong enough to put enough shear load on the pin to break it.
Ignore the shock tower and o-rings this is the only picture I have of the supplies before started working.
Here are my stock pins next to one of the cut Tungsten pins. the bends are just from jumps and bouncing off rocks. The difference in how the suspension cycles is night and day.
How I retained the pins, the collar keeps it from coming out the front and the spot in the chassis where the factory nut used to be keeps it from sliding back.
The Tungsten is a pain to cut as I was expecting. it took about 2-3 minuets with a 4.5" cut of wheel to make one cut. Not something I would even attempt with a dremel and impossible with hand tools.
FWIW my yeti is a basher and has a PRO4HD 3000K, MMP, 7955 servo, BM trailing arms, Vanquish steering, STRC hubs/shock tower, RPM lower arms, Traxxas turnbuckes for the rest of the front suspension, and under drive gears with 500K oil in the front diff.
With all the want for better hinge pins out there I figured I would let you in on a litte experiment I am working on. I have seen this done before by another person but I don't recall who it was and I remember they didn't say too much about it other than they were trying it.
I bought 6" of 3mm C2 Tungsten Carbide rod, and a package of 1/8" RC air plane wheel collars to retain the rods. The total was under $20 on amazon.
I'm thinking that the hardness of the Tungsten will protect the surface of the pin so it wont scratch up and bind. The second thing is the hardness of the Tungsten wont let it deflect or bend. the downside is since it is so hard it is brittle, if I hit something hard enough to bend the pin it will probably just break. The experiment side is finding out if it is too brittle or not, I mean for less than $10 a pair I can afford to make new ones every once in a while. Given where the pin is located I don't foresee a direct impact from anything that could cause it to shatter, I also don't see my RPM arms being strong enough to put enough shear load on the pin to break it.
Ignore the shock tower and o-rings this is the only picture I have of the supplies before started working.
Here are my stock pins next to one of the cut Tungsten pins. the bends are just from jumps and bouncing off rocks. The difference in how the suspension cycles is night and day.
How I retained the pins, the collar keeps it from coming out the front and the spot in the chassis where the factory nut used to be keeps it from sliding back.
The Tungsten is a pain to cut as I was expecting. it took about 2-3 minuets with a 4.5" cut of wheel to make one cut. Not something I would even attempt with a dremel and impossible with hand tools.
FWIW my yeti is a basher and has a PRO4HD 3000K, MMP, 7955 servo, BM trailing arms, Vanquish steering, STRC hubs/shock tower, RPM lower arms, Traxxas turnbuckes for the rest of the front suspension, and under drive gears with 500K oil in the front diff.
Last edited:
