Wicked-Wayz

iTrader: (19)

I would probably still use the rpm gear cover. The associated one is real cheap & breaks easy. I use a gear cover to keep my pinion from getting lost. I would rather pay the 7.00 & have some weight then lose a pinion.

Peace Aaron(W-W)

Ophidian

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't use titanium outdrives. They will wear out just as fast as Aluminium. Don't know about CVD's

Mr. Postman

You're being facetious about this, right? You're only shaving off 1/4 of an ounce from the overall weight of the truck. I know that a big deal for on-road sedans, but not for an off-road truck, unless you're planning on racing it on carpet and not in the dirt (if you are, my bad). Depending on the track conditions of where you're racing at, you are going to pick up extra weight from all of the dirt and grime out there anyways. Any performance enhancement you might get by lightening up an off-road truck will be lost on your first misstep off of a jump or corner.

The RPM gear cover is sturdy and keeps everything inside nice and clean. The extra "performace" benefit is that it also keeps prying eyes from seeing what spur/pinion gears you're running.

JM2C

TC

jamescam

iTrader: (10)

I'm not a big fan of the clear gear cover either and since I already have the RPM I may as well throw them on there I have broken the stock bumper on my B4 more than once so I guess my truck will just have to be bloated by a whole 7 grams

AE Racer

Ive never liked rpm ballcups, but I think the problem on the b4 is the ballstuds and not the ballcups. My ballcups started popping off when I adjusted camer, so I switched to new ones, and the brand new ones popped off with the first turn of the turnbuckle wrench. So, I cut down some losi black ballcups because I always liked them on the bk2 and they popped off a little less, but still poeed off. When I switched to losi titanium ball studs on the rear camber link, they stopped popping off completely.

jamescam

iTrader: (10)

Losi titanium ball studs, sounds like a match for my dream T4

Aaron Waldron

The further the weight is from the center of the car, the more of a difference it's going to have on how the car handles.

Seven grams on the servo brace may not make a difference, but seven grams hanging off the back of the car sure does. I've tried it...haha

JoshR 85

HeY!!!


Well aaron you've been doin this for how long??? or else i personally dont really care what gear cover it is as long as i have one to protect gears and keep dirt out....


LaTa

Aaron Waldron

I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing (I know for our cars..it's usually a bad thing).

I'm just pointing out that it does make a difference (seven grams or not) and why it does.

tony2

iTrader: (1)

I! have just finished build my B4 my first RC 10 car, alter years of Losi is there Supose to be air in the shocks? I cant build them with out air bubbles

jbrow1

iTrader: (28)

AE shocks need air in them to work properly.

Aaron Waldron

If the shock doesn't have a bladder (Losi, AE, whatever the case may be) you need air in the shock...otherwise, the shock won't compress.

MadMikeB

Aaaahhhhh AE shock building. A subject close to my heart. As you've hinted it makes no engineering sense whatsoever to have air in shocks in my opinion. I can't think of another "shock" application where there would be air actually mixed in with the shock fluid intentionally but there you go.

I suppose there are plenty of other people on the board who have tried these things, and various others to get AE shocks to work properly, but the things I've tried include fitting Traxxas diaphragm bladders and using the Yokomo caps.

My experience is that the bladders make the shocks smoother (as you'd expect with no air bubbles), but with not quite enough volume compensation, so the shock can't fully compress using the stock caps. I found that they leaked sooner, presumably because they compressed hard and blew the seals a little.

The Yokomo caps are a great time and mess saver since they have little "bleeder" holes in the cap so you can adjust the amount of air without that "fill up, cap on, test, cap off, add/subtract oil, clean mess, repeat" nonsense.

The other thing I've seen guys do is simply use Losi shocks with various results.

One thing I haven't tried, but willl be giving a go some time is to try the TC3/4 compensation method where there is a compressable foam collar around the shaft on the inside of the shock which squishes when the shock is compressed. It works OK on the road shocks, would probably require two or more of the foams for the extra size of the B4 shocks. Might be worth a try.

*SIGH* If only TRF made off road dampers .......

MIKE

Mr. Postman

I agree with you, weight reduction is almost always a good thing. Just more so with on-road sedans, than off-raod trucks. Also, when I'm out there with my TRF415, I'm not (intentionally) launching it into the air. With the trucks, it's more of a balancing act between "lightweight" vs. "durability", than in on-road.

TC

Mr. Postman

I still wake up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, When I start thinking about having to "freshen up" the shock oil in those things. I took me longer to do the shocks, than it did building the rest of the truck.


Does anyone have a part number for those Yokomo caps?


Ain't that the truth. If only Tamiya made off-road shocks, that would be sweet. With my on-road ones, a couple of minutes and you're finished.

TC