I think something that I found interesting where "1/10 4wd" is potentially going is this post found on the Hot Bodies D413 thread:
http://www.rctech.net/forum/12631242-post567.html
Originally Posted by
T. Deguzman
Performance. We didn't really spend too much time thinking about the pros and cons of diff vs slipper. We just tried it. From 1/8 4WD buggy experience we know how much influence the center diff has on the car's handling so why not have one on a 1/10 4WD buggy? The center diff was in fact a suggestion that came from the Tessmanns. The first time I met them after I started working for HPI/HB they had already brought with them a D4 modified to fit a touring car gear diff as a center diff. We tested it back to back with a slipper at WCRC and it immediately showed potential. My first thought was that it must have been forbidden in the rules because it was so obvious yet nobody else has one. I checked all the rule books and sure enough none of them said anything about a center diff so we proceeded with it.
It will be interesting to see how far this goes and if other manufacturers follow suit. But at least to me, I think there is some merit to a center diff setup in a 1/10 scaled vehicle if someone of Tessman's standing thinks so too. Heck, worth at least trying it if its an option in my opinion at least on vehicles limited to only a slipper setup.
But who knows, maybe they are going about it wrong and things will go swing back to where multiple pad slippers become common in 1/8 Buggies, Truggies, etc and 1/10 as well.
Originally Posted by
dan200487
So is there any recommended upgrades or mods or even things that need to be done to improve durability
For durability, the truck in my opinion is already durable. I think you need to make sure though you get the right shims for the diffs. Depending on what you see, you may want that alloy steering rack that STRC sells.
Other than that, i can't really think of anything from a durability perspective that stood out from what people have reported.
For your question on the exotek chassis, the benefits of it are that if you find you need more weight, it adds it at the lowest point possible versus just stick extra weight on the chassis. On rough tracks from what I saw the vehicle was more stable and didn't get kicked around as easily by the heavies like the Tekno and Losi. You also don't need to the chassis brace either.
I always wondered with the weight bias of the AE how it could be biased more forward if Exotek had made an alloy front chassis plate too. the modular design of the AE could lend itself to benefits like that which other flat plate designs like the Tekno for example couldn't.
I'd recommend if you go with a heavier setup to look at a 4 pole 540 motor at a minimum.