Cain

iTrader: (294)

I am going to be checking with my LHS today to see if he got in touch with his dealer about the parts I want from MRC.

There may be some issues since the vehicle is fairly new, but MRC should make sure that they make every effort to get the kits out there. The pent up demand for an affordable shaft 4wd buggy is out there, just get us the parts!

woody0371

MRC is the US distributer, which means that they are the ones directly dealing with the local hobby shops. I wanted the buggy and called MRC direct to see if there was a shop in my area that had one but to no avail. So I asked whom they shipped the buggies too and they gave me a list of shops and Phone #'s that I called until I found one and got the best price I could.

Really, you need to talk to your local hobby shop and get them to contact MRC if you want a local shop to get them.

I have prices on some of the more common parts (direct from MRC) and will post them as soon as I get a moment.

I'm really trying to get this thing finished to run this weekend, at worst I'll post them sometime this weekend.

Got my bearings today and "Man, how it smoothed the diffs up. this thing is smooth as silk!!!"

I have to say, Tim (MRC) is GREAT, I haven't spoken to anyone, anywhere in the hobby business who is more helpful and wants to see customers happy. Even though I got this thing cheaper than MRC sells them direct, knowing what I know about the way they are treating me, I would pay the $200 to get one from them...... I have called almost everyday for the past 2 weeks with questions, and details about either getting this buggy, or parts, and they have been nothing but helpful.

MRC is a #1 company IMHO...

Shawn

bgotori

Hey woody0371

Where are you located??? Ultimate in So. California was the only one that had them(just two) in California. We in California are really lucky because we have the most hobbies shop of any state.

But all the MRC dealers here can't get them... Since you have a list of dealer that has them, let us know if any are in California.

As far a MRC being Great... Well ask any model RR guy that had an MRC DCC system... But maybe its because its a different item.


Great Racing!!!

Brad Gotori
[email protected]

woody0371

I don't have a list of dealers, I just simply called them and told them how much I wanted the buggy, then enticed them telling them that if I bought the buggy for about $150 from a hobby shop then it would free up $50 (which I would save) to spend on hopups. Just give them a call and ask "Whom in my area did you ship the buggies to?" And they should give you a few names and #'s to contact. Ultimate Hobbies told me that they should be getting more in stock this week or next week.

Shawn

Cain

iTrader: (294)

Shawn,

Thanks for the info. The only issue I had with MRC was the lady I spoke with didn't really know anything, but she was polite the whole time. I will see about speaking with Tim. When you get the chance, post the hop ups.

I am assuming then that the diff bearing sizes you stated are the right ones? If so please post again a full updated list of the bearing sizes you know work so other people can see them in one place.

My buggy came in yesterday! The box art is pretty nice. I also opened up the box and everything in there looked like it was packaged well. Haven't got a chance to build as I didn't get back from spec racing till 11pm. I also didn't get my bearing set in either. I asked for it and payed priority mail shipping, should have been here yesterday but it probably come in today. The one thing that sucks about rcboyz is sometimes they don't ship it the way you paid, they refund you the difference but if you needed the item by a certain time it really doesn't help you.

I hope to do some building today, if not I will do some painting of the body. One thing I did notice when feeling the body, its pretty strong feeling stuff. I may be wrong as I haven't messed with an offroad race body in alittle while but it feels thicker than my old T4 body.

I also did a little flexy test through the bag on the arms, they had some flex, but they weren't nearly as flexible as some RPM upgrade arms. This was done through the bag so I will see how it goes.

Most likely I am going to drop a 10T double or 19T motor into this, so should get a chance to see how well it holds up.

Tommi Makkinen

iTrader: (28)

hi guys.

since this thread is about the Academy/MRC 4wd buggy, i figured someone here might help me...

i got this Academy 4WD buggy called "Wyvern EX" from a friend. it was assembled but never used. i was wondering if you guys know any hobby store that carries this kit.



the car has a resemblance to a Schumacher bosscat and a yokomo YZ10

any help would be greatly appreciated... thanks

Cain

iTrader: (294)

Was this vehicle ever imported by MRC or some other company? If it was and you can find out the importer they may be able to tell you where you can get parts.

You may have to import parts from europe or go through some online outfit that imports parts.

Tommi Makkinen

iTrader: (28)

found out the 411 from the guy i got this from. it was bought in Philippines. but the shops there dont carry academy rc parts. just models. which means i have only 2 options... find a mail order shop in Europe or HongKong... thanks for the assist, Cain

i also checked if i can substitute other brands' parts to replace some of the parts of this car that might break... so far:

-front and rear belts can be replaced by belts from the Tamiya 414M

-Front and rear diffs can be replaced by diffs from Kyosho pure 10

-shock towers can be fabricated since its made from fiberglass



the arms might be a bit of a problem though...

Cain

iTrader: (294)

I wonder if anything is compatible with the SB Sport buggy? or if you can fudge a fit of the SB Sport buggy parts?

woody0371

Since it's a belt drive I doubt that you can convert anything...... and the SB being developed off of the ST4

Bearings (4) 10x15x4
(4) 5x10x4
(4) 5x8x2.5
(4) 4x8x2.5 flanged

That should complete the buggy to full bearings everywhere. My bearings came in yesterday and I replaced the bushings in the diffs and the wheel bushings with bearings, OMG, This thing is silky smooth..... we use budget motors and ESC's to keep things on the personal tracks around here competitive so I'm putting in an Atom Smasher (Kyosho 12t) and a Streak ESC. Had good luck with this combo. Cheap too....

As a whole the buggy reminds me of an 1/8 scale just in smaller size, I think the A-arms and Uprights are beefy enough to withstand some serious bashing before they go...... Like I said earlier I think the shocks are not so good..... but thats an easy fix.

I'll post part prices sometime this weekend...... Promise.

Shawn

Boatdork

Thanks to all those posting info. This car looks really cool. I'm sure that there is an SB Sport in my future. This car is nearly everything I want for a 4WD off roader! Shaft drive and it's CHEAP! Only thing that worries me is parts support. I'm a smooth driver, but things are eventually gonna wear out and need to be replaced, and I hope it will not be too difficult to get basic parts as well as the factory upgrade parts. For the price this thing is going for, I have no problems upgrading as I go. I have good shocks from other kits I can throw on it and can round up most of the bearings I need. I read that some may worry about the amount of flex that it has but I don't think that will be too detrimental to it's performance, an issue like that would be more noticeable on an onroad car. As long as the companies can support it, I think that this is just what 4WD off road needs. Not everyone wants to shell out that much cash for the other brands, and if you are a smooth driver, I don't foresee any problems keeping up with a xxx4 or bj4 or whatever else with just a few (what I consider necessary) upgrades.

So thanks again for all the info guys, keep it coming. And for sure, let us know what (if any) problems you run into!

bgotori

Hey woody0371

Who did you talk to at Ultimate??? Went in there yesterday, they said they didn't have any idea when they would come in, and wouldn't take any money on it, because no idea if they would come-in???

Well I guess I'll just wait until the Team(upgraded version comes to the states).

Hope to hear more about this Buggy!!! How it holds up. What parts to keep for spares, and the rest.


Great Racing!!!

Brad Gotori
[email protected]

Cain

iTrader: (294)

The manual looks pretty good guys, it should be fairly easy to follow, just make sure to drill the holes in your rims.

I am going to assemble mine tonite. Will look into painting the body tommorrow.

woody0371

Cain, there are a couple of things that I may point out to you that I found out in construction.

1. When building the shocks, use the long Plastic shock caps and the long plastic shaft ends. This is something that isn't stated in the instructions but I found out the hard way.

2. For some reason the rear dogbones have alot of slop in them, and after running a battery pack in mine last night started to wear the outside end of 1 bone. I put a piece of fuel tubing in the outdrive to push the dogbones into the axle cup to eliminate most of this slop. I left some slop for suspension travel.

3. Keep close eye on the center driveshaft. Upon putting everything together I noticed that the ends of the center shaft engage in the outdrives from the diffs just enough that the ears on the shaft are in the slots of the outdrives. I believe that if you use a couple of washers on either of these outdrives that you can shim them closer together for a better fit. Theoretically it shouldn't be any problem, having a spring in one end and a bushing in the other to keep the shaft centered, but if the chassis flexes (end to end) it could possibly pop out. (I'm going to try this fix soon) (Just shimmed the outdrives, and put springs in both ends, rather than bushing on one end and spring on the other, Seems to have worked beautifully) Another thing, make sure if you are using a parallel battery pack that it doesn't touch the Center Shaft. I was using a split pack from my XX4 and the + and - touched the shaft, WOW..... The spring in the rear cup lit up like a Glow Plug.... HA HA, I pulled it out and compressed it between my fingers it crumbled.... LOL. So make sure what ever pack you use it is well insulated from touching the shaft.

4. I do not like the motor plate setup. You have a hard time aligning the pinion to the spur, and without a (Losi style) ridge in the cam that mounts on the motor seems really easy, that after some runtime to vibrate out of adjustment, or worse yet out of the motor mount completely.

Initial testing: (this was totally, unformal, at a freinds track that was pretty wet, and pretty rocky from recent thunderstorms.)

I had a 12t with a 20 tooth pinion and a 70 tooth spur. As per the instructions this gives you a 9.62:1 drive ratio.
The car was fast as hell. Bottom end a little weak, and the motor was getting hot fast. Changed to a 18t pinion and what little was left of the battery pack seemed to cool the motor alot and gave it alot of punch.

The track I was on has one Large jump (about 25ft from start of front jump to the end of the landing ramp) And the SB cleared it easily, I tried to set up the gearing with the 18t really close to my XX4 and the SB was jumping just as far as my XX on perfect track conditions on this track. And this thing is "Flyable". After driving 1/8 scale OFNA's and B4's, some XXX4's I guage all cars in flight abilities by my XX4. I can come off a big jump and be totally out of shape, and land my XX4 perfect everytime. With the SB there was some question about having the motor mounted parallel with the drivetrain if this would affect "in air" performance. NOT IN THE LEAST. This is the only other car I can fly as well as my XX4.

In the turns it was tight, I could take the turns faster than my buddy and his XXX4 does under good conditions. Like I said the track was beyond damp, and rocky in the faster turns.

However on the whoops the car seems a nose heavy. (I'm running stock shocks and springs). I think this can be tuned out with some simple adjustments.

All in all, I flipped the car, rolled the car, and all but bashed it on the first battery pack and it held up well. I think with some fine tuning and tweaks here and there the car can be a winner. Remember this, it's always easier to tune out steering than to try to get it when you can't. I'm impressed!!!

These are MRC's prices, Tim told me that if the orders are in before 11 am EST they should go out the same day.

Prefix to all parts is 98 SB-003 would be 98SB-003.....

SB-003 Wing Mount set $5.90
SB-004 Damper Stay (front/rear pair) $7.00
SB-005 Front Arm (pair) $7.00
SB-006 Rear Arm (pair) $7.00
SB-012 PC Body (Lexan body and Under car pan) $22.50
ST-T10 Center One Way Joint cup $26.00
ST-T55 Center One Way Shaft $3.50
ST-T42 Damper Part $3.25
RG-T013 Pro Damper Cylinder (SB rear) $15.00
SB-018 Pro Damper Cylinder (SB front) $14.00
RG-019 Damper Parts (b) $4.75
ST-P06 Carbon Center Drive Shaft $26.00
ST-P17 Carbon Upper Deck $35.00
ST-P18 Carbon Battery Strap $20.00
D0508 Diaphragm (4)(Rubber Cap) $3.00
CP331/2 Disk Wheel (W/Y) front $5.90
CP335/6 Disk Wheel (W/Y) rear $5.90


Thats all the parts that I have prices for, I want to order some more extras early next week and I'll have some more prices then.

If anyone else has some tips, trade them here. I check this board most often......

Shawn

fabolousRC

iTrader: (1)

Looks like Tamiya Gravel Hound has a competitor way before it was launch in the US...hmmm for the same price range for a car that comes with ESC (yes, standard in box and reverse disable up to 23T motor)...same plastic shocks...a list of option parts (it shared a few with TT01s) and much better looking body (had to admit...that body is really good looking...but Gravel's much sleeker). I'll take Two Gravel Hound please!

Oh yeah...price at launching is about 102 bucks (based on japanese conversion from 11,800 yen) for kit (8 standard bearings...the rest are bushings, coil over oil shock, and ESC) and about 200 bucks for RTR (painted body, minus bearings and oil shocks)

That should give you another option, Brad