Hey all,
Brand new to the hobby, and so I did what I imagine some folks do and go hog wild with upgrade parts while the enthusiasm curve is high, but please read on...
I bought a Yeti RTR (Yeah right...) in mid-December 2016, along with a nice Spectrum radio, one of those fancy-pants Venom Pro-Quad chargers and a few 3s 5000kv batteries. I figured, I'd just spent close to 850.00, I should be ready to go, right?
Nope.
The left lower rear suspension link broke nearly immediately (5 or so minutes of run time), under standard back yard "hey I got a new toy" use. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed that my brand new medium-buck buggy was broken, as I bought "the good brand" per my local hobby shop.
But, it's plastic, and plastic breaks so...
I bought a replacement stock link from the shop and chalked it up to dumb luck. Battery charged...ready to go?
Nope.
Steering link breaks within minutes in next run.
This.Is.Not.Fun.
Back to the shop I go, and one stock steering link later I'm back on the road errr... in the yard. Ran a FULL battery through it and I'm good (for now).
Through the magic of the interwebz, I find out that I can get about 8 million different aluminum/unobtainium/carbon fiber etc. "hop-up" parts for this thing, so I went back to the same shop and bought some HR carbon fiber/aluminum lower links in a delightful anodized blue, figuring that these might be failure points in the future...
Installed them, and off I go. Good News: These links stay together. Bad News: The rest of the truck is made out of paper machie'. Next to go is the bulkhead bracket, now I hit a tree going fairly fast-ish, so I own that one but it was straight on, so the only damage suffered was that bulkhead bracket (I checked thoroughly). I got that spiffy skeletonized HR bulkhead (also in that anodized blue) and off I went.
Good now? Nope.
Again, it bears mentioning that I did a thorough inspection of the truck after each upgrade/repair. Having installed the bulkhead, off I go for a drive. Now the thing isn't steering right and is really unstable. So notice that the main A-arm hinge pins are badly bent (I know now that this is a common problem), and off I go researching again. I find Strong Arm RC and their great solution and gleefully send them my money. I had already bought the RPM arms and not yet installed them, so when they Strong Arm kit came I Dremeled out the old mangled pins, drilled out the RPM arms and installed the Strong Arm kit (After having done yet more research to find out that I need the aluminum toe block and those little plastic fiddly bits that come on the Wraith parts tree to complete this).
Okay good now? Yes, for about 15 minutes...
Servo falls apart.
ARRRRRGGH.
Okay, now I set out to break the world record for how much of this truck I can replace:
HR titanium 4-piece tie rod set (YET160T06)
HR aluminum/graphite steering bellcrank (YET48G01)
HR aluminum steering knuckle set (YET2101)
HR aluminum steering caster block set (YET19X01)
HR aluminum/carbon fiber upper suspension link set (YET56GU06)
HR aluminum/carbon fiber lower suspension link set (YET56GL06)
HR aluminum axle set (complete rear end) (YET12XR06)
HR aluminum front shock tower (YET2801)
HR aluminum rear shock mount (YET30U06)
HR aluminum bulkhead ((YET14U06)
HR aluminum lower link mount set (YET16A06)
HR aluminum rear sway bar (YET311R06)
HR aluminum sway bar clamp (YET311M)
NO WAIT, I'M JUST GETTING STARTED....
Axial 25t aluminum servo horn (AXIAX30836)
Axial toe block insert set (AX80100)
Axial machine front toe block (AX30811)
Axial universal axle set (AX31135)
Proline PowerStroke shocks front and rear with universal shock mounting kit (6063-00, 6063-01 and 6063-05)
RPM front A-arms (70472)
KNK stainless steel screw kit (KNKYET001)
Savox servo (SC-1256TG)
DMG Yet rear skid plate (SK10003)
Apex 121mm 7 Led light bar (9044)
MIP rear driveshaft (14390)
CC programmable BEC (095-0022-02)
Robinson Racing 18t pinion gear (8618)
Aluminum body panels (Don't remember brand)
Nifty elctroinc in-line gadget from some guy in Canada that allow me to turn the light bar on and off from the radio
Proline beadlocker wheels (Don't remember/have model number)
PLUS... A Dynamite GPS, a hauler bag , a ton of fancy tools and some other crap.
Yup, I'm THAT guy.
So, in the mayhem of parts ordering/research/confusion, what did I do....
You know what I did.
Bought a "consolation" truck.
An Arrma Nero.
Yes, it's funny looking, not to scale and VERY difficult to work on but it does three things that I like:
1: Goes 1,000,007 miles per hour.
2: Stays in one piece.
3: Remains rubber side down most of the time.
Now I'm thinkin' "This is where it's at!" and really would like to have the Yeti be similar (minus the blazing speed). Given that I spent so much money and time on the Yeti, I wasn't going to give up.
So by this time, most of the parts listed above are installed on the Yeti so I figure NOW I'm ready to rock. At this point, the only stock stuff left on the truck is the frame/tub, middle drive train, ESC and motor.
Hot Racing rear end falls apart about 5 minutes in.
And I mean, FALLS APART. There are 4 screws that hold the axle housings to the pumpkin. I threadlocked all metal to metal screw points before using the truck, and three of those screws got so loose in this 5 minute period that the outer axle housings were now bent up about 3 degrees and the whole rear end looked like it was "smirking" at me.
In addition to this, the left locker (or what I assume passes for such) un-threaded and sent the entire left axle, bearing, hub and wheel about 6 inches out to the left. Needless to say, the truck didn't drive very well at this point.
At this point, I am so frustrated and have spent so much time and money that I set the whole hobby down for a while. It bears mentioning that I got into this with a buddy of mine, so there's been a camaraderie in researching, buying, installing, driving (very little by way of comparison) and repairing these little money pits.
So, he wants to go to another hobby store to check out their track, and there it is...
The Losi SCBE.
Had to have it, and so....
Okay now, we're getting closer:
1: WAY faster than the Yeti.
2: Stays rubber side down an acceptable amount of the time.
3: Other than the shocks and front bumper, pretty damn stout build quality stock.
Did a few mods just for S&G, and replaced the junk shocks and bumper, and this thing runs like a dream. Now I know that this is a different vehicle, but I've got to figure that the Yeti isn't complete crap, and can be made usable again. So I fool around with the Losi and short of a few hiccups it's quite enjoyable (and probably the truck I should have bought in the first place).
In the interim, I completely disassembled the HR rear end, cleaned it well, and re-assembled it with fresh thread lock. I am re-energized with my success with the Losi, so after a another VERY thorough inspection, off I go.
Rear end falls apart again in approximately 5 minutes.
Okay, I am done: I call a rep at RC Planet where I bought it, and the young lady I spoke to said they weren't going to do ANYTHING FOR ME AT ALL. Mind you, I received this unit at the end of December 2016, and they punted me to the manufacturer without so much as an apology, all the while tersely reminding me that their return policies are disclosed on their website.
This rear end was part of a 500+ dollar order (one of two I placed within days of one another).
RC Planet, NEVER AGAIN WILL I SHOP WITH YOU.
So, I call HR and the gentlemen was helpful and said that he would talk with his product manager and get back to me. This was yesterday (just for time frame). Again, feeling refreshed that I might be getting to the bottom of all of this, I (gasp) put the stock rear end back on the Yeti just give it a whirl.
So, off I go and now the rear end stays together, but the damn thing flips over at the drop of a hat. It didn't do this (quite as badly before), so back to the workshop I go. I notice that the right front wheel has a LOT of play in it. So I take it apart and find that the bearing race has exploded. While this is a bummer, I figure this is a routine failure as I've heard folks talk about this in the past. Off I go to the local shop again and grab a few replacement bearings. When I put the bearing back in, the wobble was better, but still nowhere near what it should be, and markedly worse than the left. Given the disparity between the two, I figured something must be up, so I took the front end apart and here's what I found:
It appears that the Axial universal axle set (AX31135) is rubbing quite badly on the inside of the HR aluminum steering knuckle set (YET2101) and
HR aluminum steering caster block set (YET19X01) combo.
This has created an convex groove in the HR part that is causing the wheels to flop about like a fish on the deck of a boat. I emailed HR about this as well and provided pictures and haven't heard back yet on either issue (although in fairness to HR, this all occurred yesterday).
So the aftermarket scorecard is thus:
HR: Everything is working as advertised except for the rear end and steering blocks. Not sure on this overall, as my final score will largely depend on how HR handles this. I feel as though they'll do the right thing, as my dealings with them thus far have been good.
Axial factory upgrade parts: Seems to be solid, as I'm not sure if the steering knuckle issue is being caused by the HR parts, the Axial parts or an incompatibility between the two.
Other stuff listed: Solid and as advertised.
So... after this long and sordid tale, I ask of this esteemed community three things:
1: What rear end should I buy, given that I have the above parts? I do NOT want to end up in scenario where I have to re-buy a bunch of attendant parts to use company X's rear end, and would like it to work with what I have. I want something solid, and don't mind paying for it.
2: What is the best front steering setup (again, given the parts I own)? I'm okay with replacing the HR caster blocks and knuckles.
3: Best setup for overall hobbyist-level stability?
Thanks for reading!
Brand new to the hobby, and so I did what I imagine some folks do and go hog wild with upgrade parts while the enthusiasm curve is high, but please read on...
I bought a Yeti RTR (Yeah right...) in mid-December 2016, along with a nice Spectrum radio, one of those fancy-pants Venom Pro-Quad chargers and a few 3s 5000kv batteries. I figured, I'd just spent close to 850.00, I should be ready to go, right?
Nope.
The left lower rear suspension link broke nearly immediately (5 or so minutes of run time), under standard back yard "hey I got a new toy" use. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed that my brand new medium-buck buggy was broken, as I bought "the good brand" per my local hobby shop.
But, it's plastic, and plastic breaks so...
I bought a replacement stock link from the shop and chalked it up to dumb luck. Battery charged...ready to go?
Nope.
Steering link breaks within minutes in next run.
This.Is.Not.Fun.
Back to the shop I go, and one stock steering link later I'm back on the road errr... in the yard. Ran a FULL battery through it and I'm good (for now).
Through the magic of the interwebz, I find out that I can get about 8 million different aluminum/unobtainium/carbon fiber etc. "hop-up" parts for this thing, so I went back to the same shop and bought some HR carbon fiber/aluminum lower links in a delightful anodized blue, figuring that these might be failure points in the future...
Installed them, and off I go. Good News: These links stay together. Bad News: The rest of the truck is made out of paper machie'. Next to go is the bulkhead bracket, now I hit a tree going fairly fast-ish, so I own that one but it was straight on, so the only damage suffered was that bulkhead bracket (I checked thoroughly). I got that spiffy skeletonized HR bulkhead (also in that anodized blue) and off I went.
Good now? Nope.
Again, it bears mentioning that I did a thorough inspection of the truck after each upgrade/repair. Having installed the bulkhead, off I go for a drive. Now the thing isn't steering right and is really unstable. So notice that the main A-arm hinge pins are badly bent (I know now that this is a common problem), and off I go researching again. I find Strong Arm RC and their great solution and gleefully send them my money. I had already bought the RPM arms and not yet installed them, so when they Strong Arm kit came I Dremeled out the old mangled pins, drilled out the RPM arms and installed the Strong Arm kit (After having done yet more research to find out that I need the aluminum toe block and those little plastic fiddly bits that come on the Wraith parts tree to complete this).
Okay good now? Yes, for about 15 minutes...
Servo falls apart.
ARRRRRGGH.
Okay, now I set out to break the world record for how much of this truck I can replace:
HR titanium 4-piece tie rod set (YET160T06)
HR aluminum/graphite steering bellcrank (YET48G01)
HR aluminum steering knuckle set (YET2101)
HR aluminum steering caster block set (YET19X01)
HR aluminum/carbon fiber upper suspension link set (YET56GU06)
HR aluminum/carbon fiber lower suspension link set (YET56GL06)
HR aluminum axle set (complete rear end) (YET12XR06)
HR aluminum front shock tower (YET2801)
HR aluminum rear shock mount (YET30U06)
HR aluminum bulkhead ((YET14U06)
HR aluminum lower link mount set (YET16A06)
HR aluminum rear sway bar (YET311R06)
HR aluminum sway bar clamp (YET311M)
NO WAIT, I'M JUST GETTING STARTED....
Axial 25t aluminum servo horn (AXIAX30836)
Axial toe block insert set (AX80100)
Axial machine front toe block (AX30811)
Axial universal axle set (AX31135)
Proline PowerStroke shocks front and rear with universal shock mounting kit (6063-00, 6063-01 and 6063-05)
RPM front A-arms (70472)
KNK stainless steel screw kit (KNKYET001)
Savox servo (SC-1256TG)
DMG Yet rear skid plate (SK10003)
Apex 121mm 7 Led light bar (9044)
MIP rear driveshaft (14390)
CC programmable BEC (095-0022-02)
Robinson Racing 18t pinion gear (8618)
Aluminum body panels (Don't remember brand)
Nifty elctroinc in-line gadget from some guy in Canada that allow me to turn the light bar on and off from the radio
Proline beadlocker wheels (Don't remember/have model number)
PLUS... A Dynamite GPS, a hauler bag , a ton of fancy tools and some other crap.
Yup, I'm THAT guy.
So, in the mayhem of parts ordering/research/confusion, what did I do....
You know what I did.
Bought a "consolation" truck.
An Arrma Nero.
Yes, it's funny looking, not to scale and VERY difficult to work on but it does three things that I like:
1: Goes 1,000,007 miles per hour.
2: Stays in one piece.
3: Remains rubber side down most of the time.
Now I'm thinkin' "This is where it's at!" and really would like to have the Yeti be similar (minus the blazing speed). Given that I spent so much money and time on the Yeti, I wasn't going to give up.
So by this time, most of the parts listed above are installed on the Yeti so I figure NOW I'm ready to rock. At this point, the only stock stuff left on the truck is the frame/tub, middle drive train, ESC and motor.
Hot Racing rear end falls apart about 5 minutes in.
And I mean, FALLS APART. There are 4 screws that hold the axle housings to the pumpkin. I threadlocked all metal to metal screw points before using the truck, and three of those screws got so loose in this 5 minute period that the outer axle housings were now bent up about 3 degrees and the whole rear end looked like it was "smirking" at me.
In addition to this, the left locker (or what I assume passes for such) un-threaded and sent the entire left axle, bearing, hub and wheel about 6 inches out to the left. Needless to say, the truck didn't drive very well at this point.
At this point, I am so frustrated and have spent so much time and money that I set the whole hobby down for a while. It bears mentioning that I got into this with a buddy of mine, so there's been a camaraderie in researching, buying, installing, driving (very little by way of comparison) and repairing these little money pits.
So, he wants to go to another hobby store to check out their track, and there it is...
The Losi SCBE.
Had to have it, and so....
Okay now, we're getting closer:
1: WAY faster than the Yeti.
2: Stays rubber side down an acceptable amount of the time.
3: Other than the shocks and front bumper, pretty damn stout build quality stock.
Did a few mods just for S&G, and replaced the junk shocks and bumper, and this thing runs like a dream. Now I know that this is a different vehicle, but I've got to figure that the Yeti isn't complete crap, and can be made usable again. So I fool around with the Losi and short of a few hiccups it's quite enjoyable (and probably the truck I should have bought in the first place).
In the interim, I completely disassembled the HR rear end, cleaned it well, and re-assembled it with fresh thread lock. I am re-energized with my success with the Losi, so after a another VERY thorough inspection, off I go.
Rear end falls apart again in approximately 5 minutes.
Okay, I am done: I call a rep at RC Planet where I bought it, and the young lady I spoke to said they weren't going to do ANYTHING FOR ME AT ALL. Mind you, I received this unit at the end of December 2016, and they punted me to the manufacturer without so much as an apology, all the while tersely reminding me that their return policies are disclosed on their website.
This rear end was part of a 500+ dollar order (one of two I placed within days of one another).
RC Planet, NEVER AGAIN WILL I SHOP WITH YOU.
So, I call HR and the gentlemen was helpful and said that he would talk with his product manager and get back to me. This was yesterday (just for time frame). Again, feeling refreshed that I might be getting to the bottom of all of this, I (gasp) put the stock rear end back on the Yeti just give it a whirl.
So, off I go and now the rear end stays together, but the damn thing flips over at the drop of a hat. It didn't do this (quite as badly before), so back to the workshop I go. I notice that the right front wheel has a LOT of play in it. So I take it apart and find that the bearing race has exploded. While this is a bummer, I figure this is a routine failure as I've heard folks talk about this in the past. Off I go to the local shop again and grab a few replacement bearings. When I put the bearing back in, the wobble was better, but still nowhere near what it should be, and markedly worse than the left. Given the disparity between the two, I figured something must be up, so I took the front end apart and here's what I found:
It appears that the Axial universal axle set (AX31135) is rubbing quite badly on the inside of the HR aluminum steering knuckle set (YET2101) and
HR aluminum steering caster block set (YET19X01) combo.
This has created an convex groove in the HR part that is causing the wheels to flop about like a fish on the deck of a boat. I emailed HR about this as well and provided pictures and haven't heard back yet on either issue (although in fairness to HR, this all occurred yesterday).
So the aftermarket scorecard is thus:
HR: Everything is working as advertised except for the rear end and steering blocks. Not sure on this overall, as my final score will largely depend on how HR handles this. I feel as though they'll do the right thing, as my dealings with them thus far have been good.
Axial factory upgrade parts: Seems to be solid, as I'm not sure if the steering knuckle issue is being caused by the HR parts, the Axial parts or an incompatibility between the two.
Other stuff listed: Solid and as advertised.
So... after this long and sordid tale, I ask of this esteemed community three things:
1: What rear end should I buy, given that I have the above parts? I do NOT want to end up in scenario where I have to re-buy a bunch of attendant parts to use company X's rear end, and would like it to work with what I have. I want something solid, and don't mind paying for it.
2: What is the best front steering setup (again, given the parts I own)? I'm okay with replacing the HR caster blocks and knuckles.
3: Best setup for overall hobbyist-level stability?
Thanks for reading!
