PitNamedGordie

iTrader: (8)

I was checking out Red RC and came across this. Do you guys see more companies doing this? Will there be benefits? I wouldn't mind trying one but I don't own an S400. With the light weight of most high end TC's and with the use of lipos car weight won't be an issue. But the weight of the drive-train...will this have a negative effect?

"New for the Serpent S400 is this innovative 35T rear gear differential. Designed with competition in mind, this new diff is only 5 grams heavier than the standard ball differential yet provides more consistent operation and there is absolutely no slippage, which helps improve acceleration. Another benefit is that it requires little or no maintenance or rebuilding and it can be simply set by just changing the oil. To keep the weight down, the differential is supplied with coated aluminium out drives and to get you on the track as quick as possible, the diff comes pre-assembled, with you only needing to add oil. Expect a front gear differential in the near future."

more$thanbrains

i guess it gear diffs would be good for the club racer

less maintainence and settings stay the way you set them

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

i saw that too on the serpent website ,but that's 5 grams of rotating mass that you are adding to the drivetrain.

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

Or, you could run the diff without 2 of the 4 gears ( which I am told works perfect.) and it is lighter then a standard diff.

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

i guess its a good way to replace those thrust bearings

PitNamedGordie

iTrader: (8)

I haven't tried this but I am wondering how much more my oneway weighs than my standard diff? With steel outdrives it's fairly heavy. So this may be similar to that. I like the idea of it being consistent and not getting gritty as quickly as a ball diff. But the performance gains? Maybe the consistency is the performance gain....

tcmerf

I actually thought this looked like a really cool idea. If you are not familiar with 1/8 scale off road you can do a lot of tuning with the oil in the diff. They are working on a front one as well. It would be like having a very forgiving spool. As far as the weight goes i bet a one way weighs more

AdrianM

iTrader: (4)

To make a gear diff that will last and that seals well enough to contain oil it would be VERY heavy. The smallest oil/gear diff in in the Xray NT1 nitro sedan. It is awesome but it is heavier than a ball diff. Ball diffs are super light and when built properly last a super long time.

protc3

iTrader: (13)

gear diffs are much better but like adrian said,to get the benefits from a gear diff it needs to be built tough which will add weight. They are by far the most tunable. Once it is loaded with the diff oil i would imagine the weight would be quite a bit heavier than a ball diff.

Mason

i dunno guys. last time i picked up my tc diff it was pretty darn small. wont take much oil if its anything like the size of current diffs.

Skiddins

My Mi3 diffs;

HD Spool - 21.3g
Ball Diff - 24.3g
One Way - 27.5g

Over 6g difference between a spool (the heavy duty one) and the One-way, and no-one bothers to think about the difference in weight between those two when setting up their car.

Skiddins

AdrianM

iTrader: (4)

It would have to be bigger. You need 3-4 steel outer gears and two steel diff outdrive gears. Then enclose that in a way that it has o-ring seals and a way of easily opening it and closing it for filling with oil. Its gets big and heavy pretty fast.

squarehead

iTrader: (75)

Not necessarily. MIP produced a gear diff unit for their RC10 pre-"Stealth" gearbox about 20 years ago, and they are fairly light and very reasonable for electric cars. IMO, they were the best diffs ever made for dirt oval racing. Freer and smoother than any ball diff I have ever built, and zero slip. Who says they'd need to be filled with fluid to work properly?

It CAN be done—it's been done already. With the materials and manufacturing technology we have today, there is no reason why it couldn't be an option.

There is one in this car...

PitNamedGordie

iTrader: (8)

Not to get off topic but check out that vintage Checkpoint motor with the aluminim endbell. cool!

protc3

iTrader: (13)

It has been done many times but to get the full benefit from a gear diff,you want to tune with fluids like you do in 1/10th and 1/8th nitro. You can really manipulate the handling of a car this way. I am all for trying it out and to be honest,they will function better. I am just not sure how hard it would be to market being that it will need to be beefed up like a 1/10th nitro diff to handle the pressure of thick fluids