Anyone have expierence with running 16mm Big bores on the the 4x4? what combo did you run?

Meaning, 29 mm fronts and rear, then shimmed to proper droop? Trying to find a 26mm front, but cant seem to locate any that will work.

Thanks, Krom.

Greetings, new to the forum, this is my first post. I did a search and didn't find specific info on my question.

On my SC10 4x4 I have had two servos break on me. One (XP that came with RTR) got jammed up and quit working the other (Hitech MG) gears stripped out inside and when I turn the radio left or right I can hear the motor in the servo spinning but no movement.

Both of these failures occurred while running at local tracks. I looked at my servo saver and noticed the nut was tightened all the way down. I was getting no give. I loosened it up and held the servo horn with my finger while turning the wheels and now I got some play.

I have yet to replace the servo and wanted to some other thoughts. Do you think my servos were being damaged due to the servo saver being tightened completely down?

Also, I didn't expect to have an issue like this coming from a ready to run truck. I thought AE would set it up properly. Is this common for RTR's?

Thanks, Jeff

Yes and Yes. I know its kinda absurd, but you should rebuild your rtr completely before the first run to eleminate such issues. Another common issue are screws without loctite. And since the electronics are also pretty bad you could've just as well bought the FT Kit.

Cody's on the money. In general, I would rebuild any vehicle you get in, new or used, that is prebuilt so you know its built right for sure by you.

I am currently going through an overhaul of my SC10 4x4 and planning upgrades to help me maximize the performance of this chassis. After a very extensive review of all the other SCT 4x4s on the market and the fact that I have an SC10 4x4 and love Associated I decided it would be the best to stick with it. This truck has had success and performs fairly good for me already but I want to make it better.

So what do I already have?
1) Original standard kit
2) RPM arms
3) STRC aluminum pulleys
4) Sway bars
5) FT Upgrade kit (brace, VTS, akerman)
6) 8mm mod
7) Dual Shorty packs, Havoc ProSC X-Drive, Ballistic 550 4.5t
8) +3mm Hazard wheels
9) Yellow springs front and rear
10) JC Highflow body


Planned purchases and modifications:
1) RCShox V2 center ball diff --- I want to experience this even though the VTS works fairly well. Tuning options are always good.
2) M2C rear toe block
3) Carbon Fiber plate to add stiffness to the center chassis and mounting for my dual shorty packs.
4) Remount servo lower using AE B4 servo mounts

I have two open questions:
1) two stage pistons? I want to try these and see that MIP and RCShox both offer them. I had assumed that these get installed to allow for a firmer pack for the compression stroke for landings and softer extension for rough terrain. Is this correct? Which set of pistons would you recommend?

2) Exotek Chassis? I understand that this chassis provides stiffness and weight in the lowest area of the chassis. I can see the benefits of the stiffness since this chassis has a lot of twist and I want to reduce that with maybe a carbon fiber plate. The weight part is not as interesting to me since I want to place weight in places to balance the chassis 50/50 and keep it lighter than most vehicles. Is this really worth the costs?

Any additional ideas would be great. I will be adding weight as needed to meet a 50/50 balance as a starting point. I will adapt Diff and shock oils to match conditions and upgrades (ex. V2 center diff requires lower front diff oil). I plan to stay connected to this thread as I progress.

I can only comment on the RC Shox one since I have used it versus the stock pistons. The main benefit I noticed in comparison to stock pistons was how must faster suspension action I got over rough stuff I personally found I was running oil lighter than what I would in comparison to stock pistons, so keep that in mind if you do go with them. MantisWorx also is most helpful as well and can get you pointed in the right direction.

If you are running on a loose big track against the heavies you will see benefits to the chassis. If you are looking to keep the vehicle lighter, then no, you will not see the benefits. HOWEVER, I think you really need to look at what direction you are going to go weight wise overall as well. If you are looking to run dual shorties, etc. you may find that trying to make it light is kind of self defeating with heavy electronics.

The way Shark is going with his setup may be more along the lines of what you would want, assuming going lightweight full on.

I think you are on the right path Tom, when you have driven your initial setup feel free to report back and let us know how it goes.

I would also recommend if you are wanting to get weight down and better bias, go with a 540 Pro4 style motor, heck, depending on how low you go a Pro2 motor may even work well.

Thanks Cain. I do have the option to run one Shorty pack like Shark. I will be testing with that for sure. My Reedy 4000mAH packs seem to be very good so I should be able to run one pack for 7 minutes as long as I choose the right pinion.

On my Ballistic 4.5t motor I still have the stock rotor. On the larger 8th scale tracks I was running a 14t pinion with the stock 62t spur and it ran very well and was able to run for 20 minutes. I am planning to run the SCT 4x4 class at Stateline in Indiana for the Firecracker event July 6th. It is one of the best 8th scale tracks in the Midwest and is large with a medium grip. I know that the 8mm mod will be critical and the M2C toe block should help as well.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the +8mm mod. Outside of the video explaining the +8mm mod we are still waiting on ( ), I personally found that I felt I gained more grip, similar to what I was told it would do by those I have spoken with here who felt the same. That said, I found I got more of what I wanted (consistent rear traction) out of the M2C toe in block so I took it off at that point.

But again, those are just my experiences, it a modification that I personally recommend everyone questioning what it will do to just try it and see what they think.

Have experimented with 16mm Sc 8 shock's

you will have to use internal limiters inside the shocks for proper droop settings.

Hot bodies makes shocks that I believe are shorter as well as springs too. Maybe those would work out better.

I first put on the 8mm mod last summer when I was just testing at tracks in Brazil. They had a high speed corner at the end of the first straight that was a really tough spot for me with the stock set-up. The car would seem to just lift off and traction role really easy. I installed the 8mm mod with only 5mm under the inner camber link and I could stay on power through the turn. It was night and day. I can see how the increase in camber gain helped keep the outside tire virtical with maximizing the contact patch.

After dialing in my RC8.2 I have learned a lot about the rear end and getting it planted. On that vehicle the Avid -1mm rear pils played an important role. I would like the tuning option of the M2C block so I can try different rear toe. I may find the same results and not need it. It comes with a bunch of pils. What are they? Does it provide the stock setting as well as optional settings?

Jeff welcome to the thread



Don't lock the Servo saver !!!!
adjust so 1 to 2 mm of threads show above the lock nut

Servo for RTR is a low cost servo , not very strong .
Can replace the gears for any servo easy and they are inexpensive.

When the traction rolling was an issue for me on indoor carpet which is super high grip, Raising the inner ball stud up to 7mm cured it.

Maybe that is part of where the confusion comes from, as the mod isn't static to just raising the link position on the hub?

I think rear toe is a mod that is often overlooked. People will hunt for a variety of changes to try and get more rear traction, when usually changing that item can provide what they are looking for and more, and, its usually a simple mod to do.

8mm C hub mod


reduces body roll
frees up the rear suspension (less traction)


Use the 12mm ball stud on shock tower with 7 mm of spacers under the stud,lower ball stud makes for more traction.

funny, that's not what I experienced when taking the mod as a whole ...

But it is nice to see you comment on what the stud height on the tower does itself, which I do agree with.

When I tested the +8mm mod, I compared the inner stud height position remaining static relative to what what the risers were giving me on the hub.

this is where I noticed I had an increase in traction, relative to the height of the ball stud on the tower remaining static, in comparison to the stock hub height position.

Pretty easy to test, especially if you are running the exotek carriers. Just get a setup on there, see how the truck feels on the track. Put on the c hub risers (use stock location mind you for link length for a better comparison to take out link length changes as a factor)