So who's broken an axle housing?

[Speedweigand]

I went to the local indoor track today and made about 5 practice laps before breaking the front axle at the passenger side link mount. After seeing it broke it's a pretty weak point in the design.

Never fear I'm next daying some spares and will be back at the track next Weds for redemption. If I break another one then maybe it's just not meant to be. In the axle's defense it's a long way from new.

Do the RC4WD axles have a warranty against bending? ;-)

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BGzLSVC9Rn4" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Just fast forward to the end if you just want to see the carnage...

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I straightened the axle a little at the track, it'll be reusable after another adjustment

 

[demonoid369]

. After seeing it broke it's a pretty weak point in the design.

Um not really, it's just your doing something that it wasn't built for, of course it's going to break. It wasn't built for short course.

 

[Speedweigand]

Um not really, it's just your doing something that it wasn't built for, of course it's going to break. It wasn't built for short course.

Do you feel that it was built for Formula Offroad? I guess I don't see how the track can be worse than smashing it off rocks in my backyard...

 

[demonoid369]

The wraith wasn't exactly made for jumping lol ya it can jump, like I could jump my oldsmoblie off a ramp but doesn't mean it's going to survive lol you'll see videos of them jumping their wraiths but not into a wall/ramp, I can see them landing on the tires on flat ground but not into a wall, that will just about break anything

 

[Speedweigand]

The wraith wasn't exactly made for jumping lol ya it can jump, like I could jump my oldsmoblie off a ramp but doesn't mean it's going to survive lol you'll see videos of them jumping their wraiths but not into a wall/ramp, I can see them landing on the tires on flat ground but not into a wall, that will just about break anything

I didn't say I was mad that it broke lol, I think fatigue played a large role.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gpXQ-CvGrWQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This was my pre-track test to see if it was going to break
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aj4WSO7sMXQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[demonoid369]

I didn't say I was mad that it broke lol, I think fatigue played a large role.

That I can agree on but when you say something like weak spot of a design..... It made you sound like you were saying the axles weren'tdesign good

 

[Speedweigand]

That I can agree on but when you say something like weak spot of a design..... It made you sound like you were saying the axles weren'tdesign good

But there is a weak spot, 1/2 of the plastic's gone where the screws go through the axle. Honestly I expected it to break where the c-hub slips over the plastic.

If there wasn't the bottom hole, and the truss extended further out onto the axle then the link mount could attach using the upper hole and a hole on the truss, then it be bulletproof! :twisted:

 

[Harley]

That's the first one I've ever seen. that is where I would have assumed the weakest point on the housing would be. Being that you were running it on a track it doesn't surprise me. That is going to be harder on it then bouncing around on the rocks at lower speeds.

Adding a bunch of unsprung weight isn't going to do much good for your laptimes though :ror:

 

[highlandcrawler]

I didn't say I was mad that it broke lol, I think fatigue played a large role.

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gpXQ-CvGrWQ" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

This was my pre-track test to see if it was going to break
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aj4WSO7sMXQ" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Around the 1min mark I thought you were going to visit the neighbor:ror: in the second video. Looks like a lot of hard repeated landings just took their toll. The Wraith axle is pretty good and strong but is going to have its limitations when taken out of its element. I would say just stock up on housings and loose some weight if thats what you want to do with it.

 

[strap624]

My wraith has: fell off a 10 foot rock onto rock below then rolled multiple times, rolled down a steep rock face multiple times, I've hit a piece of rebar that was sticking out of the ground square on the axle going full speed. Haven't broke anything.

You must have been beating the hell out of it.

 

[ecoli]

Seeing the cross section shows just how thick and sturdy these axle casings really are. Way more than AX10 axles (of which I've broken several casings !).

I wonder if it's possible to put some reinforcing tubes in the cases (i.e. beef toobs)? I'll have to look closer at the cases to see if this is even possible.

 

[Harley]

I wonder if it's possible to put some reinforcing tubes in the cases (i.e. beef toobs)? I'll have to look closer at the cases to see if this is even possible.

We can't even pull the axles out without removing the link mount bolts. So I doubt it.

 

[crazyorigin]

I don't think there is any room @ all for toobs, best bet would be to just get aluminum axles if its a big concern.

 

[DiEzel]

That took talent. lol.

Honestly, Ive been driving mine like a Richard cranium. Im waiting for one side to just explode, especially at this stage of the game.

 

[skid]

We can't even pull the axles out without removing the link mount bolts. So I doubt it.

I only have to pull 1 link mount screw to get the axles out. Mybe a sleeve that's cut out on the top and bottum to clear the screws?

 

[docsrcrepair]

for what rc4wd gets for alumin housings by the time you spend modifying the stock ones you can just spend a few bucks to get full billet "thumbsup" unless your worried about weight.. :lmao:

 

[Speedweigand]

My wraith has: fell off a 10 foot rock onto rock below then rolled multiple times, rolled down a steep rock face multiple times, I've hit a piece of rebar that was sticking out of the ground square on the axle going full speed.

You must have been beating the hell out of it.

:mrgreen: Um well, let's just say I was beginning to think it was indestructible... and you should probably keep an axle housing in the spares box,

I don't think there is any room @ all for toobs, best bet would be to just get aluminum axles if its a big concern.

I'm thinking if the axle truss ran all the way over to the C-hub it would stiffen the axle up considerably. I emailed Billet Works last night, hopefully they will respond and make a wider truss for us that can't keep it on the ground.

For the record, I think some of you are hung up on the track part of this. I tried the crossover jump once at speed, and I think the bumper took the brunt of the force on that one. The rest of the time I eased up and "tried" to roll it. I included in the video basically the whole time it was moving on the track. There are no hidden from view big jumps. I had every intention of running some "hammer down" laps to see what I have to work with. As strap624 points out,"fell off a 10 foot rock onto rock below then rolled multiple times, rolled down a steep rock face multiple times, I've hit a piece of rebar that was sticking out of the ground square on the axle going full speed" I'm sure he was not crawling at full speed. Mr strap what is your gearing sir?

My rig weighs just over 7 pounds on the bathroom scales with a 4000mah pack, I could definitely save weight with a smaller battery but then my balance is off and the front falls like an even bigger turd. The wheels are 7oz in the frt, 6oz in the rear, I could swap them frt to back and try my friends 2650mah heli pack! Btw that's the total weight of each wheel, any lighter and it flips to easy IMO. I have a set of mini pins off my MT2 they weigh 3.5oz each. I'm going to need to get the cog down pretty low to keep it from traction rolling in the corners. I'm going to try and stick with the Hammers, they hooked up well and I think I can work with their amount of "squirm" while they still look kinda scale. I could totally see me running weighted 2.2 race tires if I'm close to competitive with the Hammers. I could take out the driver and co-driver but think about how awesome it'll be seeing videos of a half scaler Wraith running with some Stadium Trucks! I can maybe even see project "track whore", a super slammed, no interior no holds barred assault on the track.

As a kid I always had to race crap (Traxxas Hawk 2) compared to what my friends had (AE, Losi, Kyosho) and I know it's not always the fastest car that wins I envision Wraith classes at lhs's everywhere. It handles really pretty good with a little shorter tire. I went there running my foff shock build with 20wt oil :shock: with a track tune on the shocks and a 20T pinion I'm allover that crossover jump! What about the sway bars that are coming out, who are they for?.. rock crawlers? I don't think so.

So I was on an ordering frenzy last night at RPP, and I gotta tell ya if they would of had alum fronts in stock I was going to pull the trigger, I had my Discover card in hand. The goody list;
CAC EZ-Loc 2.2 Beadlock wheels (4)
Vanquish Products WRAITH DIFFERENTIAL COVER (BLACK) for the front
Axial Wraith AR60 OCP Axle Housing x2
RC4WD ARB Diff Cover for Axial Wraith for the rear
Axial AR60 OCP Front Dogbone Set just in case, not stuffing cvd's in there til this axle breaking situation is solved
and another set of Super Swampers for the CAC's

The question is how much heavier is the aluminum axle..? Not to mention how ****** I am going to be if I bend a 90$ axle

Here's a little nostalgia, Traxxas Hawk 2 circa 1989
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<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From RC Nostalgia</td></tr></tbody></table>
and the 2000's HPI MT and Super Nitro Rally (same chassis)
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From RC Nostalgia</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From RC Nostalgia</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From RC Nostalgia</td></tr></tbody></table>And my biggest turd of all, 30 pounds of fun!
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From Baja 5T</td></tr></tbody></table>

I know it's a long post but I've been battling the flu and sorta have nothing but time...:roll:

 

[Speedweigand]

I only have to pull 1 link mount screw to get the axles out. Mybe a sleeve that's cut out on the top and bottum to clear the screws?

Hey that's a good idea, be better than nothing. I'll make some of those up when my new axles get here tomorrow "thumbsup"I'll just file a couple of notches in some brass tube.

 

[Speedweigand]

Hey that's a good idea, be better than nothing. I'll make some of those up when my new axles get here tomorrow "thumbsup"I'll just file a couple of notches in some brass tube.

Found 9mm OD heavy wall alum tubing at Hobbytown USA, K&S 9811 slides in with a bit of effort, what I consider a perfect fit. My new axles are here tomorrow, I'll get some pics and the dimensions of the inserts up in the afternoon. They also had some brass 9mm tubing there, K&S 9827 bought some of that too.

Let's have a vote!
What do you think is stronger the heavy wall aluminum, which looks to be about a 2mm wall thickness or the brass tubing with a 1mm wall?

Wish I had my statics and strengths book here from college, lot of good it's doing me in mom's basement tonight.

The weight of the alum per 12" is 18.2 grams
The brass weighs 30.2 grams per 12" obviously for crawling I'd go brass

No word from Billet Works yet. Who should I talk to about a custom cnc'd longer axle truss? Should I post up a new thread? I admit I'm about 93.5% noob when it comes to forums, so a little help would be appreciated.

 

[Speedweigand]

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Now there's some metal for the C-hub screws to bite into, still need to drill the hole, decided it would be easier to get right after it was inserted.
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Moving the old clapped out rear axle to the front
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