Circitmage,

I seal all of the carbon parts. The top decks need sealed to prevent cutting the insulation of leads and power wires. The shock towers benefit from sealing as well. It makes them less likely to chip or splinter when you crash. Plus It just looks clean. I kept it simple and just sealed the outer edges. I didn't bother with the small cut-outs. I did sand them, though.

As far as I know the B44.1 comes with carbide diff balls, not ceramic, but I have a B44 so I wouldn't know for sure, I guess. Both AE and A-Main websites just indicate "Ball Diffs with lightweight outdrives".

what process do you use to sand and seal?

Is there any chance that your chassis is slapping the face of the jump on take off? also, some jumps are so steep that the front never gets a chance to settle before it leaves the jump face causing the rear to unweight early and results in nose down. Do other cars at your track behave similarly? You might try increasing your ft. shock oil weight.

How do you attack the jumps? Do you glide over them, or do you blip the throttle just before?

I lightly sand the edges with a 400 grit sand paper just enough to take the sharp edges off the carbon plates. Most carbon plate is cut with very sharp CNC bits so you don't need to take off a lot of material. Be sure to wear gloves and a respirator because carbon dust it nasty. I wipe everything down with a damp cloth to remove any residual dust, then I hold the plate upright and place a drop of THIN CA glue on the edge I wish to seal and roll the plate slowly to to follow the bead all around the edge, adding glue as necessary until I've completed the perimeter.

Some people will run a Black Sharpie along all of the edges before gluing to create a neat coloring effect. It maybe makes it look a little cleaner, but is certainly not necessary.

Thanks for the reply banshee, I also run a b4, t4, slash 4x4 and an x-factoy x6 and none of those have the same problem. I will watch next time and see if it slaps. I approach the jumps just same with the other cars (minus the slash).
I will try upping the shock oil in the front and see if that helps. If that somewhat works I amy play with spring rates in the front as well.
I wonder if it may also be over sprung in the rear? maybe to thin a shock oil in the rear?
does that make any sense?
Thanks again.

Yes, too much spring for the oil weight in the rear might be part of it. It could simply be the difference front and rear, rather than one end specifically.

What is your shock set-up now? What are the jumps like on your track? Height, steepness, approach? What is the rest of the track like? rough or smooth, bite, size?

First I would make sure your drag brake is low or off.

If it's a new kit just assembled, drive-train drag might be a contributor. This will dissipate with time.

If you run the rear sway bar, make sure you have not overtightened the mounting screws at the back of the diff housing. If the sway bar is not free to float it will add to your spring rate. Your suspension should fall under its own weight with the shocks and tires removed.

So I've been at the assembly of this kit for the few spare moments I've had in the past three days ... a few dumb challenges

a few critical missing screws ... I had Kyosho spares but they are Phillips head vs. hex ... I'll swap out the majority when AE sends me the replacements

the kit included a few *non threaded* shock mounts - I ended up stripping them trying to drive the 4/40 screws in thinking I could just use the screw to cut the threads - mistake ... AE is sending me replacements - I've got a jury rigged mount setup so that I could proceed with the build

the rear sway bar build instructions lead you to assemble connectors that are too long ... they say 1mm gap between the plastic ball connectors - it probably should be 0-0.5mm (I measured mine with a super accurate gauge) because the mounts will rub on the titanium turnbuckles as spec'ed in the build sheet

as for sanding the CF ... I did the bottom plate by hand - it took me a long time, was super messy, dust mask was no fun and the CA glue never really dried fast enough - I was using 5-15 second then glue but it was still tacky after 20-45 minutes? ... suffice to say that this was a waste of time ... the Dremel really kicked it up a notch - the edge is not nearly as "polished" as I was getting with 220/400/800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, but I was done in 1/200th the time the hand job was taking and it was functionally identical if not better from a sanding perspective ... definitely go Dremel if you choose to do this ... the CF is pretty sharp so I could see how it would cut the insulation on wires with enough vibration - and CF is conductive ... not a good mix so I'm glad I knocked down the edges ... I may seal the edges on the front shock mount that is super exposed to chips and the elements, but the rest seems protected enough that I'm not going to stress about delamination

I'm getting my build parts in slowly ... the LiPo's arrived and they are just a few MM taller than the rec'ed Reedy ones ... regardless, I do not see how the banana plugs are supposed to connect when installed in the car without either mod'ding the plugs or Dremel'ling out an "indent" in the rear top plate so that the stock plugs can work ... I'd love any suggestions and pics if you could send them my way

that's sort of all for now ... pics as soon as RCTech considers me to be a real valuable member (I'm currently locked out of posting URLs and pics ;-)

Missing screws and unthreaded shock bushings... never had issues like that with AE. Sorry to hear it.







I used ProTek bullets which are a machined bullet instead of a stamped spring-type. They come notched for inline or 90-degree install. I heat shrink all my connections except these because of the bend. There is no chance of contact, though. Hope this helps.

It sounds like you might have been a little more diligent with the sanding than I usually am. I just smooth the sharp corners a bit so it doesn't feel sharp anymore. If your glue is too thick to run quickly, you can dab a bit on a Q-Tip and apply it that way. Usually the glue helps to round the edges a bit more on the chassis plates. With the undertray and all, the glue might be excessive, but I find it makes a nice, clean finish.

Those pics are priceless Banshee ... thank you!! ... I'm going to setup my rig to have a "in car" set just like yours and discharging/charging/balancing set ... yours would definitely work within the clearances I see in mine

great setup!!!

Sorry some of the pictures are blurry... My camera sux!

I have a friend who just picked up a B44.1 and he likes to find the pipe and other cars.... ok and anything that finds it way on the track .... Anyways he keeps breaking A arms. Does anyone make a stronger arms? I looked on RPM site and did not see anything. Thanks

Stronger A-arms will just cause something more expensive to break (shock towers, shock shafts, front bulkheads, etc.).

As a wise man once told me, suck less .


That said, I just completed my build. The drivetrain is SOOOOOOOO much smoother than my Durango's. I'm just waiting on AE to send me a few parts that were missing/damaged (shock collar and a bad rear arm). It'd be nice if they threw in a few spare screws or washers as well. After the build I'm left with just 2 axle spacers and 2 e-clips.

www.t-bone-racing.com

This site doesn't offer stronger arms, but they DO make larger front and rear bumpers for the B44/B44.1. They extend to help protect the arms and ft. shock shafts.

Hey guys, what setup for hotrod hobbies I should run? I am currently running the maifield setup, But the back is too clunky and soft with 30w shock oil in the back. The front is nice and smooth with 35, I might go to the track tommorow, with 35w in the back, I will post my experience with the 35w.