MRC / Academy SB Sport 4wd Buggy
06-25-2004, 09:19 PM
#316
Yeah, sounds good, but I most likely won't be there all next week and the week after as I'm going on vacation starting July 2. I might make it out next wednesday, but the chance is slim as I might not have a ride to the track.
06-25-2004, 10:52 PM
#317
Tech Rookie
online parts
I really wish some company or store would list online parts for purchase, spares or hopups. I dont know why but I hate having to call and order stuff, anyone else feel this or know of a remedy ei: (an online store) that would be really cool. Oh by the way has anyone had problems with the small diff screw , man that thing looks whimpy of course Im comparing it to an 1/8 scale diff screw,But it still seems pretty tiny to me. I compared it to an old GT screw I had and the SBs was way smaller. just checking.
06-26-2004, 07:35 AM
#318
To me the diff screw is similar in size to the TC3 one.
Ok, I got a race report from last night, didn't get in till around 1 in the morning so couldn't post till now.
My setup was as follows, anything not listed was set at kit specs:
40W All around
AE Silver springs in rear
AE Greens up front
#2 pistons in the rear
#3 pistons in the front
Front Shock Top mount in middle
Front Shock Lower mount in inner hole
Rear Shock Top mount in middle
Rear Shock lower mount in outer hole
The track was ideal for IFMAR stud tires but I had to run the stock units. The track had some big jumps, with a figure eight jump and two table tops. Very nice
I did some practice runs and managed to knock the motor out of its mount. I took it back in and put A LOT of threadlock on the motor mount screw. This did the trick as it didn't come out again. I do wish however that the spur gear included was the 72T one they list on the back of the manual for gear charts. The ones they include other than the biggest one are just not practical from what I have seen. Also since the holdown can losen up, I wouldn't be suprised to see a few stripped out spur gears. I think I am going to actively look into the KOSE mount and see who can get it for me as that mounting system looks to be ideal. I would also have prefered a recommended starting point for the various motors out there.
Here are some things I noticed:
The vehicle has INSANE amount of acceleration. Once you have that power put down, it really takes off extremely fast. Only thing is the tires were less than ideal. So I think a slipper would help matters alot as I had to be really easy on the throttle, but if you have an ESC that lets you set ideal profiles, you should be ok as once I changed this setting it really cleared it up alot and I think my tire change should also make a big difference.
My setup was off. It had good pack off of the high jumps, but on the sections of the track that were uneven it would get pitched around. So I am going to soften it up a bit and go from there. Once I was getting used to it however I could get it around the track quite well. The 19T Quad Mag really gave the vehicle good power. I think this motor is a good starting point to test it out.
One thing you will love is that this vehicle really loves to fly and fly true. No pitching to one side here. Each jump it took It was easy to land right as long as it wasn't setup for wrong ( ie- not enough speed to not land on top of another jump, OUCH! ). But if you did hit it wrong, in air corrections were fairly easy too.
I would change the wing as it has the degree setup on it, but the screws don't tighten down enough that it won't move in a hard crash. What I think would have been better would have been to have a locknut on the other side so it locks it down completely or something the screw threads into made of metal that you can put threadlock on.
I would also like to see a bumper that sticks out further to protect the front end, similar to how far the XXX-4s does. But this is an issue that alot of race vehicles have. I am going to see if a rigged up RPM B3 bumper will work.
The drivetrain felt like it held up good. I still have to get used to how offroad vehicles still smack down hard off of big jumps. I think my handling issues were do to me trying to setup too much for the big air and not enough for the overall track. Looking at how the other vehicles all bottomed out, I am not suprised the bottoms of chassis look like they do
Ok, now to the bad stuff. coming off of a jump I came down more so on the front wheel, ironically on the same side broke an arm on and the axle sheared clean off. I will get some pictures up but it sheared off right at the point of the bearing outer bearing. Not having any spares I was done for the night.
I think that this has been reported before here. I am not sure if it was due to previous damage from my crashes, but I have never had an axle on ANY of my vehicles do this before. So I think this is something I am going to call MRC about and report. If I get the chance I will post pics of what it looks like.
The good thing is that the LHS owner who runs a XXX-4 brushless quite well I might add likes the academy and will be carrying 4 kits and then 2 of EVERY PART for an initial run to see how it goes. He is a good guy without killer markup, and told me flat out that when he carries a kit, he supports it. So if this happens again, I shouldn't have a problem getting replacement parts.
So in summary, I think that the vehicle is a great contender, just a few teething issues that I think relate mainly to the axle. Picking up a spare set of these is a good idea. I would also pickup a set of extra spur gears as I am not sure where you can get a reasonable motor ratio with the little ones they include.
I plan to call MRC and see if they do carry a 72T spur gear that will fit and see if they can get it for me, may about 4 of them just in case as well as the axle I broke. I will also be changing up my settings to have softer suspension and I just need to get used to the sound of the chassis slapping down I guess like everyone else does
Just curious, can any explain what the benefits of using a 1 way in 4wd offroad is and what conditions it benefits to use it on?
Ok, I got a race report from last night, didn't get in till around 1 in the morning so couldn't post till now.
My setup was as follows, anything not listed was set at kit specs:
40W All around
AE Silver springs in rear
AE Greens up front
#2 pistons in the rear
#3 pistons in the front
Front Shock Top mount in middle
Front Shock Lower mount in inner hole
Rear Shock Top mount in middle
Rear Shock lower mount in outer hole
The track was ideal for IFMAR stud tires but I had to run the stock units. The track had some big jumps, with a figure eight jump and two table tops. Very nice
I did some practice runs and managed to knock the motor out of its mount. I took it back in and put A LOT of threadlock on the motor mount screw. This did the trick as it didn't come out again. I do wish however that the spur gear included was the 72T one they list on the back of the manual for gear charts. The ones they include other than the biggest one are just not practical from what I have seen. Also since the holdown can losen up, I wouldn't be suprised to see a few stripped out spur gears. I think I am going to actively look into the KOSE mount and see who can get it for me as that mounting system looks to be ideal. I would also have prefered a recommended starting point for the various motors out there.
Here are some things I noticed:
The vehicle has INSANE amount of acceleration. Once you have that power put down, it really takes off extremely fast. Only thing is the tires were less than ideal. So I think a slipper would help matters alot as I had to be really easy on the throttle, but if you have an ESC that lets you set ideal profiles, you should be ok as once I changed this setting it really cleared it up alot and I think my tire change should also make a big difference.
My setup was off. It had good pack off of the high jumps, but on the sections of the track that were uneven it would get pitched around. So I am going to soften it up a bit and go from there. Once I was getting used to it however I could get it around the track quite well. The 19T Quad Mag really gave the vehicle good power. I think this motor is a good starting point to test it out.
One thing you will love is that this vehicle really loves to fly and fly true. No pitching to one side here. Each jump it took It was easy to land right as long as it wasn't setup for wrong ( ie- not enough speed to not land on top of another jump, OUCH! ). But if you did hit it wrong, in air corrections were fairly easy too.
I would change the wing as it has the degree setup on it, but the screws don't tighten down enough that it won't move in a hard crash. What I think would have been better would have been to have a locknut on the other side so it locks it down completely or something the screw threads into made of metal that you can put threadlock on.
I would also like to see a bumper that sticks out further to protect the front end, similar to how far the XXX-4s does. But this is an issue that alot of race vehicles have. I am going to see if a rigged up RPM B3 bumper will work.
The drivetrain felt like it held up good. I still have to get used to how offroad vehicles still smack down hard off of big jumps. I think my handling issues were do to me trying to setup too much for the big air and not enough for the overall track. Looking at how the other vehicles all bottomed out, I am not suprised the bottoms of chassis look like they do
Ok, now to the bad stuff. coming off of a jump I came down more so on the front wheel, ironically on the same side broke an arm on and the axle sheared clean off. I will get some pictures up but it sheared off right at the point of the bearing outer bearing. Not having any spares I was done for the night.
I think that this has been reported before here. I am not sure if it was due to previous damage from my crashes, but I have never had an axle on ANY of my vehicles do this before. So I think this is something I am going to call MRC about and report. If I get the chance I will post pics of what it looks like.
The good thing is that the LHS owner who runs a XXX-4 brushless quite well I might add likes the academy and will be carrying 4 kits and then 2 of EVERY PART for an initial run to see how it goes. He is a good guy without killer markup, and told me flat out that when he carries a kit, he supports it. So if this happens again, I shouldn't have a problem getting replacement parts.
So in summary, I think that the vehicle is a great contender, just a few teething issues that I think relate mainly to the axle. Picking up a spare set of these is a good idea. I would also pickup a set of extra spur gears as I am not sure where you can get a reasonable motor ratio with the little ones they include.
I plan to call MRC and see if they do carry a 72T spur gear that will fit and see if they can get it for me, may about 4 of them just in case as well as the axle I broke. I will also be changing up my settings to have softer suspension and I just need to get used to the sound of the chassis slapping down I guess like everyone else does
Just curious, can any explain what the benefits of using a 1 way in 4wd offroad is and what conditions it benefits to use it on?
06-26-2004, 08:21 AM
#319
Tech Master
iTrader: (1)
the one way allows you to run a tighter line in a corner, mid-way round the bend, but then you only get rear wheel breaking.
As for the axle, I think there has been an issue with the axles, if you contact the UK distributor, he had some Titanium ones made up, but the problem should be resolved by Academy.
As for the axle, I think there has been an issue with the axles, if you contact the UK distributor, he had some Titanium ones made up, but the problem should be resolved by Academy.
06-26-2004, 09:44 AM
#320
Cain:
I took my out to the track for tests and initial runs. I had several people drive to give me a proper accessment.
I have to agree with you on the 72 tooth spur gear. I wish I had that one in the kit, because the small spur I can run without risking knocking off spur teeth is an 18. I ran with 19, and 20 last night.
I will look into ordering some 72s.
Once the motor backed out of the mount. I put back-I didnt locktite it but I didn't come back out.
The car has a lot of power. The stock shocks were worthless. the car was very bouncy and upon landing the shocks didn't absorb the impact the lower chassis of the
car took it. I'll be changing those shocks over today. The ride height of the car needed to be set up better
The car s initial setup was just bit on the lose side but It was ok. Lots of power in and out turns.
The clicking of the rear drive bones was irritating. I will be changing those to the sb-016 quickly. I did the fuel tubing trick-sorry but as long as the rear black dogbones and cups-hubs are used that slop and noise going to happen. I found that the rear drive train (with the stock rear dogbone setup) IS the weakest link in the drivetrain.
The shaft drive cup set screws backed out so they had to be reset with locktite.
There were a few expert drivers looking at this car possibly to purchase so they had had some suggestions / opinions on setups to help me out.
Otherwise that what I posted, tthis kit shoulod be able to easily hang with the XXX4s once I can find a good setup.
One question-How do I go about setting rear anti squat?
I took my out to the track for tests and initial runs. I had several people drive to give me a proper accessment.
I have to agree with you on the 72 tooth spur gear. I wish I had that one in the kit, because the small spur I can run without risking knocking off spur teeth is an 18. I ran with 19, and 20 last night.
I will look into ordering some 72s.
Once the motor backed out of the mount. I put back-I didnt locktite it but I didn't come back out.
The car has a lot of power. The stock shocks were worthless. the car was very bouncy and upon landing the shocks didn't absorb the impact the lower chassis of the
car took it. I'll be changing those shocks over today. The ride height of the car needed to be set up better
The car s initial setup was just bit on the lose side but It was ok. Lots of power in and out turns.
The clicking of the rear drive bones was irritating. I will be changing those to the sb-016 quickly. I did the fuel tubing trick-sorry but as long as the rear black dogbones and cups-hubs are used that slop and noise going to happen. I found that the rear drive train (with the stock rear dogbone setup) IS the weakest link in the drivetrain.
The shaft drive cup set screws backed out so they had to be reset with locktite.
There were a few expert drivers looking at this car possibly to purchase so they had had some suggestions / opinions on setups to help me out.
Otherwise that what I posted, tthis kit shoulod be able to easily hang with the XXX4s once I can find a good setup.
One question-How do I go about setting rear anti squat?
Last edited by threeEwes; 06-26-2004 at 09:59 AM.
06-26-2004, 10:17 AM
#321
Tech Master
iTrader: (1)
I must be honest, I get no clicking from the rear 'bones, and running on grass, the loading on them is quite a bit more, my biggest problem at the moment is a slight amount of wear on the front diff out-drives, but through the UK team, we are adressing the problem to Academy, who are going to cure it in the near future.
As for the Shocks, the pistons and seals are the only problem, but with a little fettling, AE pistons can be used, #3 up front #2 in the rear, with MIP shock seals, and to be honest, they are nearly as mooth as B4 ones, for a fraction of the cost.
Gearing, unfortunately it has inherrited some of the touring car spur gears, but to be honest, I use the largest spur gear and have no problems at all, running a 24 pinion on a 13x1, and it works out to be a tooth less for one less wind nearly.
As for the Shocks, the pistons and seals are the only problem, but with a little fettling, AE pistons can be used, #3 up front #2 in the rear, with MIP shock seals, and to be honest, they are nearly as mooth as B4 ones, for a fraction of the cost.
Gearing, unfortunately it has inherrited some of the touring car spur gears, but to be honest, I use the largest spur gear and have no problems at all, running a 24 pinion on a 13x1, and it works out to be a tooth less for one less wind nearly.
06-26-2004, 01:36 PM
#322
So what is the largest spur gear you can get to fit on it? In the manual it only shows the two sets that you get with the car. But it lists a 72 tooth on the gear ratio chart.
I made sure to loctite everything, that seemed to do the trick as nothing has backed out other than those times with the motor mount.
The initial setup is the problem I think mainly other than that axle breaking on me. It is just too soft for US tracks.
I made sure to loctite everything, that seemed to do the trick as nothing has backed out other than those times with the motor mount.
The initial setup is the problem I think mainly other than that axle breaking on me. It is just too soft for US tracks.
06-26-2004, 02:00 PM
#323
I finished disassembling the sport to clean it up and check it out...I've rethought where I think the noise is coming from...I'd say from the left front outdrive hub...there was evidence of chipped hub there. The rear dogbones just dont look like it was the culprit.
Otherwise the model checked out well. Now I've got to finish re-assembling.
Otherwise the model checked out well. Now I've got to finish re-assembling.
06-26-2004, 02:07 PM
#324
Even though I sheared the axle, considering this is a new kit on the market, the stuff I had happen hasn't been that bad.
As long MRC and Academy handle these issues professionally I think all should be ok.
I still however need to know about the 72T spur. Anyone tried mounting a different brand of spur and have it work?
As long MRC and Academy handle these issues professionally I think all should be ok.
I still however need to know about the 72T spur. Anyone tried mounting a different brand of spur and have it work?
06-26-2004, 02:14 PM
#326
ThreeEwes, YGPM
06-26-2004, 03:41 PM
#328
Ok, I am going to give my LHS a call tommorrow and see if he can order that for me. I will also ask him to ask them if it will fit for sure first, if so, I probably will pickup about 3 of them to be on the safe side.
Do you know how it comes packaged? 1 to a pack or so?
Do you know how it comes packaged? 1 to a pack or so?
06-26-2004, 04:07 PM
#330
Considering its an offroad vehicle, I am suprised that the 72T spur wasn't included from the get go as you get better gearing ranges with that.
As long as it fits is the main thing. If they wanted to, it would have been better just to include 4 72T spur gears in my opinion or 2 70T and 2 72T .
As long as it fits is the main thing. If they wanted to, it would have been better just to include 4 72T spur gears in my opinion or 2 70T and 2 72T .