Not as little but still small Suzuki samurai 4x4

[T_Tank]

Been working on this a couple of weeks but here is some progress on a replica of my 1:1 88 samurai.

Body wasn't my design that credit goes to the original creator, all I did was shrink it down to have a 8" wheel base and narrowed the body about 4mm but feel like it still looks a little wide compared to my 1:1

Spec wise it will be similar to the lj81 I made with the exception of being full width ecx temper/barrage housings that I will Make custom housings for.

Frame will be same layout as well but in this case I'm printing it out in abs and acetone gluing the suspension mounts to it before I bug shapeways.

Anyways less talk more pictures!

Think the stock ecx tires are a bit huge lol

Oh these will be popping up on thingiverse once I'm home some 1.55 glue on wheels that use rc4wd mount hub bolt pattern already tested and good

 

[T_Tank]

Link for thingiverse for the vehicle as I work through the project
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3188476

 

[T_Tank]

Sorry bout the tripple post thought some folks would ask a few questions.
Anywho just messing with the rear suspension right now will eventually make a new housing but for now will get the ecx rear 3 link going a bit... shrunk down though.

Old scx10 small shock springs are giving me a idea... coily anyone?

Ride height looks about right for scale with 3.3" tires but I do plan on printing a upgrade for my printer to hopefully get ninjaflex rocking to print some 2.8" tires.

I'm thinking some mini e revo shocks this time around with no springs as they are 47mm ish long just will have to deal with that dumb offsized screw holes..

Also... scratching my head a little on the front.. maybe someone with a 1:1 rig can give me some insight but I want to do front radius arm suspension with a panhard bar only issue is... I haven't the foggiest idea how the heck that stuff flexes any. I could just do the same setup I did on the LJ but rather do something that looks more scale.

 

[Zukiiholic]

Also... scratching my head a little on the front.. maybe someone with a 1:1 rig can give me some insight but I want to do front radius arm suspension with a panhard bar only issue is... I haven't the foggiest idea how the heck that stuff flexes any. I could just do the same setup I did on the LJ but rather do something that looks more scale.

Sammie is looking great.
My understanding is on stock 1:1s that the radius arm suspension flexes on the
bushings.
Link rod ends will do the same.

 

[T_Tank]

hopefully so looks like only one side of the axle has two connections and the other side is just one?
I could go a little crazier an maybe try to print a ninjaflex bushing around the right ball ends to make the suspension work correctly ish... maybe would likely need to put a brass tube insert for the outer part.

Have based the coilover setup off rocky road outfitters kit just been slow work.

Will say this ECX axles are a bit odd compared to the MRC stuff I'm used to using gonna be interesting when I work on the steering knuckles.

 

[Zukiiholic]

hopefully so looks like only one side of the axle has two connections and the other side is just one?
I could go a little crazier an maybe try to print a ninjaflex bushing around the right ball ends to make the suspension work correctly ish... maybe would likely need to put a brass tube insert for the outer part.

I was looking at Calminis system. I have everything Calmini on my lil Kick.

I'm sure there 2 connection points on both arms, just can't see from the angle.

 

[OSRC]

Also... scratching my head a little on the front.. maybe someone with a 1:1 rig can give me some insight but I want to do front radius arm suspension with a panhard bar only issue is... I haven't the foggiest idea how the heck that stuff flexes any. I could just do the same setup I did on the LJ but rather do something that looks more scale.

I've experimented with Traxxas rod ends a bit in the past on a Jeep build. Same deal, I wanted radius arms, but couldn't figure out how to get some flex out of it. I removed the ball and used fuel tubing as a bushing. Worked ok, but it had "scale" flex - meaning not a lot. On a small scale rig, might be a good solution. Certainly looked the part anyway!

 

[Brake Weight]

I've experimented with Traxxas rod ends a bit in the past on a Jeep build. Same deal, I wanted radius arms, but couldn't figure out how to get some flex out of it. I removed the ball and used fuel tubing as a bushing. Worked ok, but it had "scale" flex - meaning not a lot. On a small scale rig, might be a good solution. Certainly looked the part anyway!

Use hard threaded rod ends and leave them a little loose so that they have extra twist and ‘flex’.

For reference purpose only. I do not endorse these.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/122558249749
Or
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/141309815437

 

[T_Tank]

The fuel tubing method sounds like something I could do. Use a larger Traxxas rod end but use a mrc ball with fuel tubing wrapped around it.

I'm not looking for insane flex as I'll start rubbing everything but if I can get a scalish amount that's fine.

My 1:1 is a bit of a oddity it's nearly stock just some Dr z lift shackles up front. It runs and drives nice so rather than cut it up and make a mess of it I decided to make a rc scale one I can abuse!
Part of the nice thing with abs is acetone welds so modifications can be welded on like the 1:1

 

[TheLetterJ]

A little suspension theory to add to this: Think of a radius arm as a fork that is pointed dead ahead at ride height. As the suspension compresses, the fork begins to point upward. As the suspension droops, the fork starts to point downward. This is perfectly fine and will move up and down freely if both sides are moving the same direction at the same time. However with a solid axle connecting both arms, one side can not compress while the other side droops because the forks are now trying to go in opposite directions and twist the axle tube into a corkscrew, basically turning the axle tube into an enormous anti-sway bar.

There have been a few ideas over the years trying to find the better mouse trap ("wristed" radius arms, axle housings that rotate in the middle, etc.) but if you simply remove one prong from one of the 2 forks, the axle will follow the arc of the complete radius arm (I would generally recommend keeping the complete arm on whichever side is closest to the diff), and the straight lower on the opposite side will allow the axle tube to pivot the small amount needed to allow the axle to articulate. Longer arms will have less angular change as they cycle, and yes, rubber bushings can deflect to some extent, but the bind will still be there unless you change something else to allow the caster change from side to side.

I've setup a 1:1 solid front axle this way and the outcome gave exactly the desired results: a "linked" setup that was extremely simple to build, controlled axle wrap, kept the driveline angles in check, and allowed lots of controlled articulation, all without having to run numbers through a calculator. It still has more caster change than your typical 3/4link setup, but with nearly 4' long arms and starting with a little more caster than ideal, it stays within an acceptable range through its travel.

 

[T_Tank]

Thanks J that really does make a bit more sense the way you explained it

Only drawback I have with the front is I lack a welder to lengthen one axle shaft so I can have a offset pumpkin.. Got lucky with the lj as it was easy to keep the long shaft full length.

I been scratchin my noggin on how to retain the rear axle shafts on the ecx parts and came up with a idea from 1:1 stuff use 4 m2 screws to keep the outer retainer attached

Not perfect but it's what I managed to do in my lunch break

 

[T_Tank]

Need to work on another prototype of the axle need to lower the shock mounts down another 5 mill and fix some more tolerances around the various parts to make everything spin more freely as well.

Also once I lower the shock mounts down I can put the spring cups onto the axle an frames to look a bit better.

 

[HumboldtEF]

I just remembered GCM Racing has some Radius arms from their Bronco build, they use a diamond shaped bushing at the axle to allow it to flex and pivot freely.

GCM Webstore Canada International - CMAX Bronco Radius Arms Kit

 

[Brake Weight]

Good looking rig up.

 

[T_Tank]

Thanks and I did email gcm to see if I could get more pictures of how they worked their solution but nothing so.... came up with this for now with the 1st prototype of the front suspension.

picture of the radius arm attached to the stock ecx axle

A bit out of order on this picture but about how the car sits moc'd up front with the new rear axle shock height once I have shocks up front I'll be able to do a suspension flex shot.

 

[T_Tank]

Been a little stalled with money to get the front shocks mounted will need to print some none functioning replicas so I can least get the front axle locked in place to get steering taken care of.
Besides that have been puttering about, got the Dash printed (round vent style) and rear floor and front inner fender wells finished working on printing the main floor board next.

I still need to print the grab handle for the dash then either print out the steering colum or... make a new dash with a 9g servo mount for animated steering wheel... that and I need to figure how much space I can squeeze behind the dash for the receiver...

Have been on an off trying to print my jimny's transmission also and finding... a object designed for SLS shapeways printers =/= easy to print in FDM

 

[TurboGrimace]

Nice work! I'd love to have a little samurai rc. My brother had a heavily modified samurai with a beefed up 4 cyl. It was a fun little death trap

 

[T_Tank]

I plan on one year to either get a 100hp 1.3 for my 1:1 or go ev conversion with tesla packs but who knows what the future holds!

Got the front half of the floorboard printed and acetone glued in should be enough clearance for the transmission I use in the lj I built.

 

[T_Tank]

Another small update got my spring mounts put in for the coilover springs on the front and rear on the frames I like how it ended up looking on the rear still haven't made the shock mounts for the front yet keep getting side tracked...

 

[33m]

I like Acetone! Do you ever use MEK?, or does it not work as well with ABS?