Originally Posted by CraigMBA (Post 10455945)

Right on!

When I used the carbide thrust balls, I had to rebuild the thrust bearing every race day because it felt like I had replaced them with rocks. Since I changed to ceramics, if it feels notchy, its only at the beginning of the day. Usually, I can grab one tire and lightly gas it, and it clears right up. If it doesn't, then the thrust bearing rings need to be resanded, or I have a bearing going bad.

If you are using grease on the thrust bearing and diff lube on the diff balls, the only difference is the Rockwell hardness of the parts. The ceramic parts are outrageously hard and don't wear, carbide does. You can see this for yourself if you get a magnifying glass and look at the shiny surface on a new diff ball and then inspect it again after you've ran it for a while. The carbide ones start out shiny, and when the diff gets "notched out" they are dull.

I have ceramic diff balls that I installed in 2005 that look the same as they second set I bought to replace them.

Originally Posted by Bob Barry (Post 10457168)

I know I'm going to hate myself for this..........

Which body do you guys prefer on your trucks?


Before you answer, I don't care about looks. So if that's why, I don't care LOL. I'm concerned with how they affect handling, durability, and fit. I am building a racer, not a basher.

Also one other question, those of you who know me from the B4.1 thread, are there specific option parts that everyone uses here that I may have to grab? For example something like " 0 deg alum hub with Carbon Fiber C tower and shaved U brace". I am assuming that you use the same stuff, but I wanted to make sure.

Originally Posted by njnewc (Post 10457336)

What do you guys think of these. They are SS balls, I get between 50-60% off of the listed prices... Are they worth it...

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/THO...JL2?Pid=search


http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/THO...JH3?Pid=search

Originally Posted by bds81175 (Post 10457448)

The FloTek body seems pretty popular and seems to have had pretty decent thought put into the design. Replacing the stock bumper with the RPM unit used to be a must but there is some controversy over that now. Hex are a must here. You will strip out much fewer rims and it makes it more flexible to switch from front to rear with a set of tires. The truck wallows around compared to a buggy. There's been a bit of talk recently about sway bars, at least for the rear to help square up the chassis a bit quicker out of turns. There's a pretty big difference between these and the buggies.

Originally Posted by njnewc (Post 10457524)

They are Stainless Steel Ball Bearings.

If you are interested go to grainger.com and type in:

4RJH3
4RJL2

They would be under $3.00 shipped for 100 balls each. So for $6.00 I can have 200 ball bearings. Seems a whole lot more cost effective than $.50 a ball. I understand they may wear a little faster than carbide or ceramic... Has anyone used Stainless Steel balls?

Originally Posted by Mizchief (Post 10457285)

Do I need new rings to get it silky smooth or should I go back to carbide?

Originally Posted by LOSI123 (Post 10458429)

Is it best to put some grease on the transmission cogs, as manual doesnt show to put any on them, but i thought it might be noisy if dry?

Originally Posted by wrathfull (Post 10458457)

I usually put 3 or 4 drops of 5000 wt diff oil, i have herd of a bunch of others doing that as well