Col_Sanders Comp Builds of 2025

[Col_Sanders]

Winter is pretty slow here as far as competition goes, so thats when many of the locals do their new builds. Last year i got 1st overall in both classes with my main comp rigs and also got 1st with my VRD in our big team comp, so i decided not do take on a whole new build just yet. Instead, i just made a few changes here and there.

First up is my VRD Carbon. I bought this for our big team comp, which requires a bit more speed and endurance than a normal comp but I also use this as a loaner and backup comp truck. For this season, I swapped over to a rock pirates kraken chassis, some titanium links from hardcore, a BOCO BTA servo mount, vanquish stubby kit, and a new Holmes crawlmaster stubby 2200kv. Steering is handled by a bmf1095l. For now i am reusing a rhino 80a esc i had sitting around. I need to get a new winch mounting solution.




With a 650mah 4s pack, it has a 60/40 weight bias.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Next up is my main Modified Class, which is similar to fusorrca's C2. It is an Exo Half Dome chassis, Exo Alipinst transmission, F10 portals with heavy brass and UD ring and pinion in the rear (~38% total UD), Holmes motor and servo, Exo Belay ESC, Castle BEC, Reefs IS300 winch, Dlux driveshafts, Priceys shocks. The pictured tire setup is Lockedup RC wheels with JConcepts Holds. They are stuffed with BAMF inserts up front and squids in the rear. I do swap tires and wheels depending on terrain. No changes were made for this season aside from the new tires and body.


Last season's final look:

 

[Col_Sanders]

Rig number 3 is my Trail class, which is fusorrca's C1 equivalent. A hard body is required and tires must be tucked at least halfway under the fenders. SOA, angled skid, etc is allowed though. With this in mind, i originally built this as a near clone of my modified truck. The only difference was body, wheelbase, tires, and wheels. Due to electronics failures or me just wanting to try new things, this truck does have a nsdrc rs700v2 servo and rhino esc along with a few other minor differences.

Last year i ran the Mojave body. This year i got a carbon fiber Jeep body and extended the wheelbase about 1/2". Body swap knocked off almost 250 grams and gave better approach and departure angles. IIRC, my width was around 9.25" up front and 9 rear. I had to grind off a good bit of brass and eliminate some screws on the portals to get it that narrow in 1.9s.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Minor update on the Trail Class rig. Swapped over to 4.19 Megalithics. Front width is currently right under 9.5" wide with 350 hubs. Rear is just over 9" with 290 hubs.

I had 290s up front but the tires were rubbing the knuckle pretty bad. Gonna bust out the dremel again and see if i can get it sorted out.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Getting ready to start a new build. Im going to try to make this one really lightweight. Driveshafts and Transmission should be here tomorrow but a few parts are already here. I chose the Dlux OD-4 for the transmission and it will have a Hobbywing Mini 16 Fusion Pro for motor/esc. If that doesn't work, I'll swap to a 2200kv Stumpy and AM32 esc.

Because the OD4 doesnt have much gear reduction, I am going to try this set of AR45 portals that i picked up off ebay for cheap. In stock configuration they have more reduction than F10s can get with UD ring and pinion and standard portal gears. This way i wont have to run a tiny 10t pinion on the motor. Another bonus is that there are more brass options than there are for F10 portals, so i can add a little weight or a lot of weight if i want. Unfortunately, they are ugly compared to the F10s.

 

[Chingon]

Getting ready to start a new build. Im going to try to make this one really lightweight. Driveshafts and Transmission should be here tomorrow but a few parts are already here. I chose the Dlux OD-4 for the transmission and it will have a Hobbywing Mini 16 Fusion Pro for motor/esc. If that doesn't work, I'll swap to a 2200kv Stumpy and AM32 esc.

Because the OD4 doesnt have much gear reduction, I am going to try this set of AR45 portals that i picked up off ebay for cheap. In stock configuration they have more reduction than F10s can get with UD ring and pinion and standard portal gears. This way i wont have to run a tiny 10t pinion on the motor. Another bonus is that there are more brass options than there are for F10 portals, so i can add a little weight or a lot of weight if i want. Unfortunately, they are ugly compared to the F10s.

View attachment 510658

I'll be interested to see what you do with this.

Any chance you can get a weight on the OD-4? I wish Dlux Fab gave the same info on the OD-4 they do for the rest of their transmissions. It's a bit unclear whether the 3:1 ratio they state is for the front or rear output as well.

 

[Col_Sanders]

3:1 is the front output and the rear is 28% lower. It is strange they don't list weight but i saw a post that claimed 45 grams. I also wish they'd put a quick reference chart on their site for output ratios with different pinion gears. That math isn't hard that would save a little time.

I still haven't picked a chassis. The Punks 3D Anarchist is frontrunner right now. It is forward skid but not crazy far forward.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Since Trump keeps screwing around with tariffs, I went ahead and bought the NSDRC RS650 servo. Might avoid some future price increases. Ratings at 8.4v are right up there with the higher performing low profile direct power servos. 940oz in and 0.10 transit speed. The BOCO BTA servo mount already shipped. Also ordered some of the SCX10 Pro style diff covers to clean up the look of the AR45s a little.

Transmission and driveshafts made it to Little Rock on the 6th, then for some reason instead of making their way to my local PO, they took a trip down to Jacksonville, FL. Just a little 1600 mile detour. No wonder USPS is operating at a loss.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I'll be interested to see what you do with this.

Any chance you can get a weight on the OD-4? I wish Dlux Fab gave the same info on the OD-4 they do for the rest of their transmissions. It's a bit unclear whether the 3:1 ratio they state is for the front or rear output as well.

According to my kitchen scale, weight is 42 grams. At its widest point, it is 47mm wide and it is 30mm tall.

 

[Chingon]

According to my kitchen scale, weight is 42 grams. At its widest point, it is 47mm wide and it is 30mm tall.

Thanks for the measurements! I was hoping it would be a bit lighter, but it is about the same weight as a standard NOD-2. At least you get some overdrive though so you can keep the axle gears lower to achieve the same amount of overdrive.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Thanks for the measurements! I was hoping it would be a bit lighter, but it is about the same weight as a standard NOD-2. At least you get some overdrive though so you can keep the axle gears lower to achieve the same amount of overdrive.

The overdrive and size is why i chose it. If i did not want the overdrive, I'd go with Exo's boulderer. It's lighter (32 grams) and geared lower. I just prefer to have at least some of my od/ud in the transmission. Allows me to keep axles geared lower so less torque twist.



Rather insignificant update...i disassembled the axles, greased them with VP grease, ground the steering stops down, and installed the black diff covers. I really prefer F10 portals to these. These are definitely a step or three down in quality. Gearing is the only area where these have an advantage in stock form. Aftermarket support is also better.