Grimaces 'POS' Wraith

[Grimace83]

Bit of progress on this today. First thing to discuss was a coat of paint. I asked my 2 year old son what color. He said red. So I went to Bunnings and did not get any red paint.
I got flat white and bright orange. I also had a primer back home.

Originally I always wanted to paint my wraith white. But once I got the primer down I liked it so much I put both the white and orange cans aside.

More to come. Currently removing all the electronics.

 

[Grimace83]

Mocked up to show color better.

 

[Presto]

Looks crap dood, should have done it white......

 

[allanon1965]

I think it looks good...I hate white...looks so plain...this has a military look about it I like!

 

[Grimace83]

Looks crap dood, should have done it white......

You lurve the cawk!

 

[Grimace83]

Ok so I got carried away.
Original plan was to clean it.
First I cut the interior panel out of the way.

Then I trimmed the battery tray

I cut some more out of the middle before I fixed it to the frame.

This is all temporary until I buy the front electrics tray.

I also flipped the rear upper shock Mount.
Then I realized that this panel won't fit.

But that was after I painted it satin black and pulled half the frame apart.
Thinking I might cut it to fit after I sort out the rear Shocks and their mounting.

I will certainly add some more travel. Just got to see how the weight transfer works before I decide how much. I'd guess that at the moment I have already got about 70/30 weight bias front/rear. So if I give the front some more travel and swap the front Springs to the rear (current fronts are soft rear is stock).

Spending too much time and dollars on this.

 

[Sevastra]

Ok so I got carried away.
Spending too much time and dollars on this.

Feels good to have an addictive (yet safe) hobby, dont it? "thumbsup"

 

[Grimace83]

Feels good to have an addictive (yet safe) hobby, dont it? "thumbsup"

Yeah and is fun when it's working that's for sure.

The 1:1 getting a rest for a bit so it seems. Thinking of a new project. I can hear the missus moaning from the kitchen as I type that.
So this wraith is getting a bit more thought put into it. I'll prob just end up ruining it thou.

I got the front end electronics sorta satisfactory but I don't really like it myself.

I also drilled the ripsaws. Not sure why you cause I got some CI foams and RB2s en route.
Screwed the hood back on for now. Need to hinge the hood. Keen to take it out for a test with all the changes.
As it sits today flexing on the coffee table.

 

[Grimace83]

FML! Ordered some Top Cad shocks for this.
Really not a fan of Top Cad even thou I've never used their products before, I put them in the same basket as all the integy, golden horizons and other ling long brand RC stuff I have ever bought that has been rubbish/not used.

But what is worse is the lengths, I went mental and got some longer then I anticipated.
The front (130mm) I can make work no worries but I think the rear (150mm) will need limiting straps.
Custom shock mounts will be made up to suit my application. I am aiming to increase both droop and compression by a small amount in the front and a slightly larger amount in the rear (given how light the rear is compared to the front this will work well IMHO).
The 140mm shocks in the rear would have been sufficient but were not available so 150mm were ordered :shock:

Some may think this is crazy (and I do agree) but I think it will work well so long as I can keep the ride height down and get the tuning right. Which is obviously something that will take some drive time.

Flame away

 

[Grimace83]

Well finally plugged in a battery just now to test out the difference after all these changes.

Was waiting to take it out to a local area but could wait so just tested it out the front yard.
Two lines (not technical just give issues with ramp over) I could never drive before, I drove quiet easily on the second attempt.
The front just pulls itself down and the rear follows, once it gets back to the ground it's crawling again like the obstacle was not even there!

The drilled Rip Saws with my cut foams are too soft. The tyre wrap is shocking. Cant wait for the new treads!

Need more areas nearby that I can use this as it's a waste sitting here doing nothing most afternoons!

So far my review on all the added weight up front is that it's great, do it!!"thumbsup"

 

[Sevastra]

Thinking about sealing up my tires so they ride on air instead of the foams. Will cut the foams and leave them in there just to stiffen up the side walls, but other than that I want the air to do the rest. Heard good things about doing this, but with air alone the sidewalls get too soft. Might be worth giving a try

 

[Grimace83]

Thinking about sealing up my tires so they ride on air instead of the foams. Will cut the foams and leave them in there just to stiffen up the side walls, but other than that I want the air to do the rest. Heard good things about doing this, but with air alone the sidewalls get too soft. Might be worth giving a try

That's exactly how I was running them prior to drilling them, but sometimes when they got real bound up air would escape and not get back in.
I think with better sealing bead locks that have more fixings this would be a non issue.

My Pitbulls come pre drilled so not an option unless I decide to seal them back up again. But I am happy to give the new CI foams a trial, reports tell me they are better then good! "thumbsup"

 

[Grimace83]

Top Cad shocks have arrived!
Firstly I would like to point out that I got them from an Australian enthusiast (now selling hobby parts) at a great price and am very happy to have dealt with them. The sell both online and on ebay and I couldn't be happier with the service.
So I have to say thank you to Twokey's RC Parts.

Back to the shocks. They fell good, and look pretty good. They currently do not have oil in them but considering that, the shaft movement is still rather smooth.
The front springs feel a little stiff while the rears feel good. Won't know for certain until they are under my wraith.

The overall dimensions (hole to hole) are as follows;
Front 85-130mm (45mm travel)
Rear 98-150mm (52mm travel)

Spring Diameters are approx 15mmID and 18mmOD.

The shock eyes feel tight but no doubt they will flog out fast.
The threaded section on the 130mm shocks is only short allowing 20mm of adjustment. Where as the 150mm have 50mm of adjustment.

Here they are;

Not even sparks... I was already waiting for the flames! :ror:

 

[Grimace83]

Not looking so fresh after Sundays crawl.

 

[Grimace83]

Lol have replaced the front drive shaft tonight and put Underdrive gears in the rear.
For shits n giggles I done some test measurements on the front Shocks. Then I fit the 130mm up front. Have not lost any compression. But have gained shit loads of droop. It's crazy. 120mm would have been more then enough.

Before

After

 

[Grimace83]

Got a parcel from crawler innovations yesterday.

New tyres and foams;

comparison with the ripsaws;

Final appearance;

So it's obvious I got pit bull rock beast II's
The foams are double duce comp cut soft all round.
Just buy feel they don't feel as sticky as the ripsaws. But they certainly seem grippy.
They actually look better in person then I expected. Never Been a fan of the look of the pit bulls but maybe I am changing my mind.

Keen to test them out. Being bigger they will allow me to run a lower ride height and still have better ramp over. More clearance under the diff is nice too.

 

[Grimace83]

Well i just splashed out on some gear for this POS. Level3RC droop kit ordered today direct from level3. I initially wanted the CKRC it but after no response to an email regarding the ridicules postage cost I went with the level3 kit.

Then I placed an order at tower hobbies for the dig upgrade, a 7955 servo, some mips, a spare motor, axial servo horn and link mounts.

Have been looking at a new DX4S radio too but not yet made the final decision to purchase.

Onto the latest changes, I did manage to get a quick test of the tyres in a Creek bed out the back of my work place. Bigger tyres=more torque twist.
The Under drive rear gears made a huge difference to the vehicle. Hence why I decided to go for the dig setup. I will then underdrive the front diff too (already have the gear set).
The Rock beast don't seem to work any better than the ripsaws, but the sidehillin is 100% better with the new crawler innovations dd foams. Seriously get new foams from CI if you don't already have some!

Will try get some more pics in this thread to make it a little more interesting.

 

[brooksy]

Going all out champion, so you did see my response on Fagbook on the Level3 droop kit, I'd grab the CMS & pan hard from Vanquish or Level3 as well if I were you. Looks heaps cleaner.
I should get around to showing some pics of my sons Wraith but never near a computer & not sure if iPhone can transfer pics here.
Did you see the shock mount mods I did to my sons Bronco ? Unfortunately I think he dried the motor while we were doing some testing due to the crap Integy steering arms flopping around & binding up the buggy. I am getting him a 35T Holmes Hobbies on 2 cell lipo & 15T pinion. Jesse wants rear steer next but I reckon digs are the go.
With the setup he has now I have talked him into just going the 100mm King Piggybacks rather then the 118mm & 128mm shocks I had ordered. I'll post flex pics on FB with current setup & tell me what ya reckon.



brooksy

 

[Grimace83]

I think 118mm Shocks for the front and 128mm fot the rear with the droop kit would be sweet.

I think the dig is goin to be a great addition but the cost of the new servo and potential radio and receiver upgrade are huge lol!

 

[Grimace83]

Got a bit of rc crawling done over easter. I have changed my mind on the new tyres. They grip orsum. Ever since fitting them I have non stop broken front driveshafts.

Gone through all the spats and custom plastic contraption I had available. Now I just have to wait for the MIPs and other bits to arrive.