Bomber 2.0 Question - U4

[SteveB1]

Greetings all,



We are laying out a new U4 rock racing course here, and from our initial survey and lines, the course is going to be rather rough and rocky.



Most of the course is running through a desert wash, with the focus more on line choices and "survival" rather than brute speed. At our outlaw course ( Desert Racetrack - Mojave Valley RC Adventures ), the top dog is the Lasernut U4 setup, but this new track is completely different.



The main feature of the new track is a solid sheet of rock running nearly 60 yards in a straight line, and this is the "smooth" section of the course. I've enclosed a photo of my Wraith scouting the best lines. To that point, my Wraith easily crawls the entire course, and I can keep some speed, but it's setup as a crawler and not a racer.



Getting to my point, I'm not sure the Lasernut is the ticket on this track, and I've looked at the Element Gatekeeper, but it seems narrow in stance and top heavy. Great for trail stuff, but I can't see it dealing with the many turns as speed.



Setting the Rock Rey aside, I was thinking the Axial Bomber 2.0 is the right ticket. I'll most likely run on 2s and just focus on driving clean lines and not destroying the buggy at speed. I think the Rock Rey is also a good choice, but I'm thinking the bomber will deal with the larger rocks better.



I'm open to suggestions, but I'm leaning towards bomber.

 

[meatmonkey]

The bomber will be similar to your wraith, perhaps a bit more stable over the whoops at speed with the longer wheelbase. The wraiths lower motor and battery position actually give it an edge in lateral stability when cornering at speed.

If the course is rough enough to need locked diffs then I wouldn't consider the lasernut as it seems people are breaking shafts with open diffs.

I've driven a rock rey and wasn't impressed. Very sloppy steering, plastic front axles and not enough gear reduction for remotely technical driving. The front axles are really what kept me away as you can fix its other shortcomings with enough money, but I dont believe you can get decent front axle shafts. I know the kit is discontinued, is the rtr still made?

 

[SteveB1]

Many thanks MM.



I went out to the course yesterday and did a bit more scouting, and took the Lasernut to see how it rolled around the course. It got tossed around a fair amount, but the smooth bottom chassis did slide over some of the rocks rather well.



At this point the Bomber 2.0 is next at bat for this track, and I think that will be the direction if the track becomes too rough.



Here is a photo of some of the rock. This surface is about 50% of the course.

 

[meatmonkey]

I bet the independent suspension takes those small ricks in stride. Guess the question is, do the open diffs cost you more time on the rougher half compared to what the independent suspect gains on the go fast sections?

 

[SteveB1]

MM,



You're right on the spot. I have been less than impressed with the overall quality of the Losi product, but I've been able to upgrade with some Tekno parts, and drive shafts has been one area of upgrade on the Lasernut.



Overall the Lasernut is a C quality build that consistently performs at a B+ level. I just changed out the front bumper and skid plate again, and this should help with rock strikes.



On the tricky sections where there are elevation changes coming into and out of the wash, I will try to use some momentum to pop over these, rather than just slow crawling or mashing the throttle. I will also probably switch back over to my tall USD Sticky's and adjust ride height to get the chassis bottom up a bit more.



We still have a lot of layout work to do on the track, but once it's done I will attach the Go Pro and do a low speed pass on video so you can see the track layout.



At speed, the wear and tear on the buggies and truck will be considerable.

Below is a photo of the USD Stickys on our desert track. I think these will be a good tire on the new rock racing track.



s

 

[Cyclist]

Steve, your Lasernut looks awesome! I know they have had a lot of issues out of the box but I'm still wanting to eventually get one lol. I have a Rock Rey now and it's been solid with some upgrades, but it's kinda a pain in the butt to work on... and it's almost a complete disassembly to change the diff fluids. That course looks like a lot of fun however!

 

[SteveB1]

Thanks! It's been an adventure.



Here is a bit of an ongoing review: Losi Lasernut U4 - Mojave Valley RC Adventures

 

[Cyclist]

Steve, that was a great read! Thanks for sharing the link. I look forward to future updates on the Nut!