shadowracer24

iTrader: (3)

Got mine on Friday and had it built and race ready by sunday. The manuel can be very confusing and not very clear on some sections so take your time building. At first I wasnt very impressed with the way some of the car parts attach together so was was not really expecting it to run very well. Let me tell ya, straight of the bat the car was phenomenal on the track and carried all kinds of corner speed on the track. Was running a half second faster than my xpress and I haven't even done any setup changes on it yet. Was very happily suprised.

moparSRT

Jealous, all I had time for is open the box and admire the parts, hoping to build and run it at roar nats this week.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

I started the build on mine yesterday but really didn't get far. Like Mopar I spent some time admiring the part quality. One concern though is one of the lower arms has a very thin area around one of the holes for a inner pivot. I though at first it was a poorly made part. I looked at the manual and it showed the arm looking like that.
Like Shadow, pay close attention to the manual as some of the assemblies are complicated. I still don't know (until I get the belts on) if I have the pulley on the correct side of the spool. It can mount on either side if it's face and the offset is slightly different. It will be easy to correct though.
A couple of hints on manual pages would help a novice builder.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

I opened the box yesterday and started. Like Mopar I didn't get far and spent a fair amount of time looking at parts. It is impressive part quality on a brief inspection.
I have concern for one lower arm as the wall on the hole for a pivot mount is thin at the back side. I though I had a bad part until I checked the manual which shows it like that.
Like shadow, pay attention to the manual as some assemblies are complicated. The manual could use a few hints or blow ups of some areas to make them clearer. The belt tensioner nut on the motor mount has a up and down but no clarity as to which way to install it. It really isn't for tension but defines the belt path around the center pulley. Once the belts are installed it will probably be clearer. Be sure to install the belts before installing the spur. Just a minor step, but a hint.
Looking forward to running the car.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

A little catch in the manual. My kit did not have a flanged center pulley as shown in the manual. I also missed the plate with a recess the first time around which isn't listed as a part anywhere. That plate assembles between the flange bearing and the pulley to make the needed belt guide on the motor mount side of the center pulley.
Also, don't think you are better than the manual in most cases and skip steps. The order is important on the chassis build. You can't put the lower arms on with the bulk heads installed as example. Lol

mr.rev

Really? This is bad.

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

Hopefully they're mistaken, as replacing a broken arm will be a real chore otherwise.

DrFelter

iTrader: (3)

I put my kit together over the weekend, changing a broken arm will be an ordeal. I had some issues with the upper arm assembly where I twisted the ball cup (SAK -C136) into two parts when I went to adjust on the stand. Pay some attention with that assembly, run the turnbuckle in and out a few times, maybe use some green slime to get it to move nicer.

Other than those issues, had all my pieces and the kit went together. Track test over the weekend.

shadowracer24

iTrader: (3)

It is possible to remove without taking off the bulkhead but your gonna need a thin wrench to fit under the arm and go around the ball nut. I have an old schmacher wrench that came in a mi5 and works perfect for this. As another heads up would be a good idea to use threadlock everywhere on metal to metal contact with the screws. The aluminum is very easy to strip out if you use anything other than just snug with the wrench. I already stripped out a couple of places on the car which luckily I was able to fix. Just dont be heavy handed tightning it down. Even as frustrating as the build and those issues are you will be very pleased with how the car drives. Was a half second faster overall than my xpress 2.0 hybrid I usually run which is more times than not the fastest car on the track and I haven't even done any setups on it yet running vta. It corners very quick and squares up fast on hard throttle coming out of corners.

Fast XXXS

iTrader: (51)

I think Arrowmax make a 'Turnbuckle and Nut' tool that might work for this also.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

I haven't run the car yet but one of my X ray friends pointed something out. When they first went to this similar configuration of upper arm, they started breaking the upper arm often. When you hit with the older style of rigid lower (C hub) all the force resolved there. Now without the C hub it is shared with the upper arm. If that becomes a issue I might just get some components from Awesomatix for the uppers. They should just bolt on. They would also offer the advantage of caster adjustment. They are a PIA to adjust but have advantages in durability and adjustment range.

gwhiz

It isn't that bad if you use the rule of thumb in the manual. The only catch is you have to keep the ball cups still while you adjust the turnbuckles. RC Maker has a nifty tool to hold them nice and lined up with each other.
HiH

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

It requires owning a setup station that supports caster measurement, plus a chassis specific adapter to line up with the gauge.

gwhiz

That may be preferred, but I don't know that it's required. Cheers.

Marcos.J

iTrader: (235)

you can do the caster this way also