Why are axial pivot balls garbage?

[NitroDarwin]

So I have replaced all but the shock pivot balls on my scx10II with stainless ones. Rod ends that seemed worn out were fine with new pivot balls. And my bombers (RTR) links/pivot balls are flopping all over the place. I plan on replacing the links/trailing arms. I don't understand why axial would use such a soft plastic for the pivot ball.

 

[mikemcE]

So I have replaced all but the shock pivot balls on my scx10II with stainless ones. Rod ends that seemed worn out were fine with new pivot balls. And my bombers (RTR) links/pivot balls are flopping all over the place. I plan on replacing the links/trailing arms. I don't understand why axial would use such a soft plastic for the pivot ball.

Answered your own question, key word was plastic.
Answer is cheap !


Hang up and Drive

 

[travis c.]

Traxxas aluminum rod end pivot balls are the shizznitt."thumbsup"

 

[Vagos2]

I've had better luck with traxxas 5347 or Rc4wd plastic rod ends and they do resist wear much better. I also consider these a "sacrificial" part and prefer them to break instead of, say, the axle link mounts..

 

[Ninomaniac]

Well. Because axial makes... likable products. Largely shitty engineering and quality, but good marketing and cool looks.

 

[NitroDarwin]

I've had better luck with traxxas 5347 or Rc4wd plastic rod ends and they do resist wear much better. I also consider these a "sacrificial" part and prefer them to break instead of, say, the axle link mounts..

I understand having a intentional weak point, but that would be the rod end not the pivot ball, the axial pivot balls wear before the rod ends do. Luckily for me most of the scx10II and bomber links are double shear mounted and cant go anywhere when rod end wont stay on the ball

 

[svt923]

I get that plastic is cheap but replacing those pivot balls is not cheap compared to how fast they wear. You need at least 2 trees to replace the entire truck which costs $10-12; replacing everything with Traxxas ends is only a couple dollars more.

 

[BigSki]

They used to have steel pivot balls back when the AX-10 first came out. Apparently you can still purchase the steel versions as an upgrade, maybe that's the angle Axial was working.

 

[Natedog]

I don't understand why axial would use such a soft plastic for the pivot ball.

Yes, gone from steel to plastic now. :evil:

Answered your own question, key word was plastic.
Answer is cheap !

Hang up and Drive

Cheap, sloppy and quickly worn out, very sad.

I get that plastic is cheap but replacing those pivot balls is not cheap compared to how fast they wear. You need at least 2 trees to replace the entire truck which costs $10-12; replacing everything with Traxxas ends is only a couple dollars more.

X2 "thumbsup"

They used to have steel pivot balls back when the AX-10 first came out. Apparently you can still purchase the steel versions as an upgrade, maybe that's the angle Axial was working.

Yep, but this is a step backward from how Axial started, they were improving on the TLT axle and Stampede transmission days. :ror:

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Axial has become the king of cutting costs. You, the customer, suffer.

Maybe it's time to switch brands.

 

[NitroDarwin]

Well not exactly like axial is in a position to spend money they don't have

 

[crawlhog]

ditch the plastic for metal one, problem solved

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Well not exactly like axial is in a position to spend money they don't have

They weren't always in financial trouble, but they always had rigs that were mostly made of shitty plastic. What was their excuse then?

 

[Ditchrat]

I can not discount any of the argument put forward, however I think you all have over look a simple answer.

Using plastics actually increase the longevity of a stock rig, run in stock configuration, with a stock motor and battery(recommended voltage)

I have recounted this story before, but it is worth repeating.

Stock deadbolt, no changes ran without breakage for 8 hours a week of the course of 4 months, plus it ran a recon G6 with a trigger happy kid.

Added new tires that actually had traction and 3s, stripped out tranny gear.
Added new metal links, broke c hubs.
Added alum. c hubs- Bent the steering linkage into a pretzel.
Added metal steering linkage- bet the servo to death.
Somewhere in there we stripped a spur or two.

Point being is that all that plastic is acts as a dampener for impact, torque and every other force that's applied.

A stock truck left alone will run a very long time before things fail. Our "upgrades" put a lot more stress on the rigs causing items not designed for that stress to fail.

The we place blame on them and call them crap. When the reality of it is they are functioning as designed and failure is more due to operator error then design.

 

[youngblood]

They weren't always in financial trouble, but they always had rigs that were mostly made of shitty plastic. What was their excuse then?

Your constant negativity really gets old around here.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Your constant negativity really gets old around here.

:lmao:

I'm only speaking the truth. It just so happens the truth hurts some people.

Axial makes great rigs and my Bomber is still one of my all-time favorite RCs. I absolutely love it. But the fact is Axial plastics are subpar. You quickly learn that when you try other brands.

 

[nate94gt]

:lmao:

I'm only speaking the truth. It just so happens the truth hurts some people.

Axial makes great rigs and my Bomber is still one of my all-time favorite RCs. I absolutely love it. But the fact is Axial plastics are subpar. You quickly learn that when you try other brands.

their plastic rod ends are subpar, no doubt, and I love axial vehicles. Pound for pound, IMO, nothing beats a 10.2 crawler. I don't necessarily think their plastic all around is bad, its just bad for rod ends.

 

[redemon]

Boom Rod Ends
Have the correct bends like the axial ones.

 

[ThatJeeper2017]

Axial rod ends have always sucked, along with their plastic links, but every other plastic part on their cars seem to hold up pretty well. If you want something that will hold up try Traxxas rod ends they are made of a reasonably durable plastic, and have stainless pivot balls.


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[fyrstormer]

I put an O-ring over the lip of the pivot ball to keep the plastic eyelet from wiggling or flopping around. Works great.