OS builds an Ascender

[Natedog]

I almost traded this truck away (Sorry 1.55 yota, gave me too much time to reconsider)....haven't even touched it since I put the 2 speed in, and I've driven it for all of maybe 20 minutes - 10 of which was in the basement trying out different motors. I figured it was worth at least 1 trail run before I part ways with it.

Before heading out, I made a bunch of changes

• Cut up the shock pistons for a much more active suspension - a little too much up front - oops.
• Limited downtravel on the shocks by 10mm (!) Was way to flexy for me.
• Relocated rear shocks to help with the torque twist
• Mounted the battery on a frame rails
• Added some cheapo rock sliders
• Put the steering links back to stock - the high steer set-up I concocted was banging off the servo horn.

Took it out and put nearly 2 4000mah packs though, it did real good. REAL good. The difference from the first time I drove it was night and day. Tires broke in and finally started giving some grip. Torque twist was seriously reduced as well, and more gains to be had there I'm sure with a little link tuning. Even though this is a first gen truck I had no broken parts either. I had a backup rig on my back just in case (Twin Hammers, it was a Vaterra day), but the truck had no issues at all. A few pics from the run:

Really want to do something with the bumpers if I keep it. Front is ok, rear just looks off.

Crawled right up there, no problem - steeper than it looks. If I got traction, I usually got up there.

Stalking the Axials.....lol. Love this pic

This is about it for flex now, might even limit it a bit more..not sure. Entire suspension is worlds better now that I trimmed the pistons.

Gmade tires were OK. Did good on the rocks, but really struggled in the dirt. Better than I thought they would do though. Perfect size for this body and chassis set-up, I hate to go larger. Really noticed the smaller pumpkins too - very rarely got hung up, even with the smaller tires.

Still not sure what to do with the rig, but feeling much better about it after this weekend. I am debating narrowing the axles and going to a much shorter WB...Tamiya sized.

Very nice, I like it and that is a great picture! IMO an even shorter wheelbase wouldn't be as nice, but whatever you do update this thread.

Too much travel is not good.

Trim the rear of body and suck the bumper in? Or maybe different rear bumper?

Yes, 45t motor, 2S, and 2 speed worked out very good.

I like to run 3s with 45T motor in my crawlers...volt up and gear down, but 2-speed tranny may make that a moot point.

 

[OSRC]

I'm a slow and steady driver, 2S is more than enough for me. 2nd gear is just for getting down the trail.

Hopefully another update won't take 6 months. In need of some shock and foam work, I cut the pistons way too much - there's almost no dampening.

None of this happened without pics...

Modded shocks - these are the fronts, took WAY too much off. Rears I only took of 1 side and they are ok.

1cm worth of aluminum spacers inside the shocks. Could probably go another 5mm.

Outboarded the shocks to help with torque twist. Made a nice difference

Axial sliders....someone PLEASE make some adjustable sliders for this thing!

Battery tray - plenty of room, lays nice and flat.

 

[Natedog]

...Making some progress...

I like that the parts interlock - the shock towers for example key into the servo mounts and reinforce with the brace up top. Makes for a very strong and stiff chassis.

Wire guides are all over. Nice touch

Also, Had a heck of a time with these (and had to drill out 1 side as Rich from Vaterra had mentioned - issue is fixed on newer kits). Lowers link are held in place with a single shaft, which is held in place with a set-screw. I found that using a 3mm driver to line everything up worked great, and then slid in the shaft and pushed out the driver (if that makes sense)

The more I look at the design and included options on this truck the sweeter it looks, many interlocking parts, chassis builds up way stiffer than Axial SCX. Love the interlocking parts! "thumbsup"

The lower link mount could grind a small flat on the pivot pin so that the retaining setscrew locks in and the pin can't slide out if the setscrew gets a little loose.

 

[Natedog]

I'm a slow and steady driver, 2S is more than enough for me. 2nd gear is just for getting down the trail.

Hopefully another update won't take 6 months. In need of some shock and foam work, I cut the pistons way too much - there's almost no dampening.

None of this happened without pics...

Modded shocks - these are the fronts, took WAY too much off. Rears I only took of 1 side and they are ok.

Axial sliders....someone PLEASE make some adjustable sliders for this thing!

Could run some 1000 weight diff oil in the two shocks for now until you get new pistions or the aluminum option shocks.

Sliders can narrow by removing/trimming spacers and/or the mount pieces that bolt to hte chassis rails.

 

[Natedog]

Updates please. This is on narrowed axles now? I hear ya on the shock pistons, I notched my fronts and they seemed under-damped, but it crawls great so for now I"m leaving them. The rears are drilled to #53 bit size and works great, all four running iirc Associated 30wt...maybe it's 40wt have to check the bottle on the bench lol. Those are some pretty 10mm travel limit spacers, almost a shame you can't see them installed. Have you tried Vaterra's spring kit for different rates? I'm on the fence about two-speed or MMP with Tekin ROC412...leaning towards 2-speed though.

Here's the shock shafts and piston set in stock at A-Main, RPPHobby was out of stock, but I filled in the email notification for in stock.
Vaterra Shock Shaft & Piston Set (4) [VTR233026] | Parts - AMain Performance Hobbies - AMain Performance Hobbies

 

[OSRC]

No updates really, it's just 12mm narrower at the axles. Been wheeling it exactly as you see it above. I picked up a second chassis, just a roller - narrowed those axles by about 20mm total. Had planned to use them under a smaller Tamiya body, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[Natedog]

Cool thanks. Re-reading and saw you tried the steering linkage on top of the knuckles, I was thinking of doing this and making axle bracket to raise panhard accordingly to bad it was banging on the servo arm, imagine it hit the chassis rails too.

 

[OSRC]

I did try it, no real benefit and it did hit the chassis, and rubbed some of the tires I tried too. Put it back to stock and it works fine for me.

 

[Natedog]

I was thinking it might help side-hilling, but it puts the rod-end very close if not touching the tires sidewall. I dug in my parts box and found some 10mm spacers for my shocks.

 

[OSRC]

I fully blame Natedog and his relentless pursuit of Ascender perfection for the following post..

So I took the old girl down off the shelf and did a little wrenching..

I had narrowed the axles 6mm per side a while ago so i could mount some deeper offset rims and still keep the tuck in check. Proline body is pretty narrow, but it all came out good in the end.

Now at 220mm wide from the edges of the tires. Note the switch as well to the 1.55 Growlers. Nothing wrong with the Gmade tires, they did great! Just think it looks better overall.

I can live with that!

Needed to do something about the horrific bumpers. Found this RC4WD bumper in my parts bin, and it worked out perfect. Lopped off those hoops out front though, on the first run with them they caught on EVERYTHING. Nice weight up front too. Added a Bulldog winch later - it just fit - the Warn was way too big.

For the rear, I had a leftover Integy trail bumper as well. Since it was flat, I just drilled 2 holes (70mm wide if anyone wants to know) and bolted it to the existing mounts. Worked like a charm. Had to trim up a little bit to get everything in there and square, but it's worlds better than the previous abomination that was hanging off the back.

Current stance - interior is out in these pics, everything needs a bath before reassembly:

Natedog, I hope you don't mind but I borrowed your swaybar idea. I wasn't getting a ton of torque twist, but I was getting enough that it was noticeable. This feels pretty good, maybe just a touch too stiff. I've got a bunch of adjustment options here - I think it's a winner. We'll see how it does. Great idea!

 

[BrotherAndySLB]

Very nice looking! Is the hot racing sway bar the entire kit or is it just those outter two links?

 

[new2rocks]

Nice work as usual, OS. These things just work really well. You might have a look at the new GCM goodies (bumper mounts, universal axle input shafts, sliders, bumpers). They open up some nice options.

Natedog - do the 2-speed for sure. I ran the 412 w/2-speed at first before putting in the Crawlmaster 16T. The gear ratio spread isn't as wide as on a TF2, but it makes a difference. Shifting gears in a tiny truck never fails to put a smile on my face. "thumbsup"

 

[OSRC]

Very nice looking! Is the hot racing sway bar the entire kit or is it just those outter two links?

Entire kit, had it on my Wraith for a while, but took it off. Just cut it down a little bit and tucked it in there.

Love the 2 speed personally. Kicking it into low gear and letting it walk down hills and rock faces sans drag brake never gets old. "thumbsup" Debating swapping out the 45t for a 17.5 BL system. Not sure yet.

 

[OSRC]

Very nice looking! Is the hot racing sway bar the entire kit or is it just those outter two links?

Entire kit, had it on my Wraith for a while, but took it off. Just cut it down a little bit and tucked it in there.

Love the 2 speed personally. Kicking it into low gear and letting it walk down hills and rock faces sans drag brake never gets old. "thumbsup" Debating swapping out the 45t for a 17.5 BL system. Not sure yet.

Edit - I have no idea what happened here, wasn't even on the site at 9:46am!

 

[BrotherAndySLB]

Thanks, I'll have to look up that kit.

I've also got the 2 speed! Running a 27t right now, ordered a 30t Holmes!

I've had mine on Crazy Brushless, and not so crazy. I would think that a lower turned brushless system would be kind of a waste when you can get the same performance out of a brushed system - would it not be? I don't know the whole motor-ology to well though.

 

[new2rocks]

2-speed with the Crawlmaster 16T (35T equivalent) on 3S is sublime. "thumbsup"


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Natedog]

I fully blame Natedog and his relentless pursuit of Ascender perfection for the following post..

So I took the old girl down off the shelf and did a little wrenching...

...Natedog, I hope you don't mind but I borrowed your swaybar idea. I wasn't getting a ton of torque twist, but I was getting enough that it was noticeable. This feels pretty good, maybe just a touch too stiff. I've got a bunch of adjustment options here - I think it's a winner. We'll see how it does. Great idea!

Don't mind at all, I borrowed it from Metalry101 lol, it really is the best swaybar mount solution yet! "thumbsup"8)

...Natedog - do the 2-speed for sure. I ran the 412 w/2-speed at first before putting in the Crawlmaster 16T. The gear ratio spread isn't as wide as on a TF2, but it makes a difference. Shifting gears in a tiny truck never fails to put a smile on my face. "thumbsup"

Thanks! 8)

2-speed with the Crawlmaster 16T (35T equivalent) on 3S is sublime. "thumbsup"

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Traxxas Titan 21 turn on 3s is the shiz, but I'm staying 2S on my Ascender. :mrgreen:"thumbsup"


OSRC what did you glue the ends back on narrowed stock bumpers? I don't think CA would hold long, maybe CA and then backed up with SHoeGoo or? Looks great with the 1.55's. 8)

Don't know about you, but I really need a softer swaybar.

 

[smog]

Looks like a fun kit. You did a nice job on it.

Did you paint the FORD on your tailgate on the exterior of the body? If so may I ask what you used? I currently have a Bronco body on my Wraith and I am not exactly sure how to tackle that small detail. Truth is I am kinda concerned I am gonna fudge it up

 

[Natedog]

Looks like Ford sticker from here lol. HPI Savage Bronco body came with sticker sheet and iirc might be from that sheet.

OSRC, how you liking the Growlers?

 

[OSRC]

It's the Ford sticker than came with the PL Body I think.

I tried CA glue to the rear bumper and it didn't make it through 1 run. Didn't stick all that well to the nylon either.

so, mini update - Only got 1 pic as I was having too much fun. Swaybar made a nice difference - not sure if it's too stiff or not, but felt ok. Will really get into tuning in the spring- way too many leaves and garbage on the ground. Can really see it working here once you get up on the rocks though, and felt good there. It was cold yesterday and the Pits were not hooking up at all.... actually liked the Gmades better. We'll see though. Getting tired of the body, debating a body swap over the winter.