Docs Wraith review and build

[docsrcrepair]

I had my lhs put one on order as soon as they were announced,well last week after I read that horizon would not be carrying axial anymore I started sweating it since thats where he said he had it ordered. :evil: So Tuesday I give him a call and he says yeap,I got one out of great planes and its here waiting for you :shock: for only $345. I couldnt get off work soon enough and Beelined it straight up there. We unboxed it right there and fingered it like a high school virgin while ooohhhh and aaaahhhing it. Everything seemed packaged well and looked to all be there.
Got it home,unpackaged it right in front of the wife,charged the battery,changed out the battery connectors to anderson power poles and put 4 AA's in the controler.

So here is my review(I will update with each upgrade and what breaks/needs improvements..)

First night I just ran it around the house stock form with 5000mah 35c 2s lipo(china model..lol),climbing over everything just trying to roll it and get a general idea of what its limits were stock form.
Bad
The drag brake will flip this thing endo in a heartbeat,and has good enough acceleration to wheelie.
The slipper seems to slip well just when I dont want it to or get into a hard enough climb.
The steering servo seems ok when rolling but when sitting still it just doesnt have the umphh to turn the wheels.
And the tires definitely need to be changed to the softer compound for my purpose of trail/crawling.
Steering links flex alot

Good
Nice runtime,scared the dogs out of the living room,definitely the most scale rtr to date,flexible links helps with articulation and give when hitting something. Well worth the money. "thumbsup"

Potential upgrades
Aluminum knuckles,C's,Rear lockouts,stronger servo,aluminum steering links, and possibly a brushless to pick up where the brushed motor drops off on rpm.



Second run outside

This thing takes steps very nicely..lol :mrgreen:
I have built my own mini rock course (approx 5'x15') on the side of my workshop so I hit them to see how durable it is and ease into thrashing it.
I took the rocks both at slow speeds and high speeds trying to see how everything reacted and test the plastic out. I even used a ramp to launch full speed onto the rock pile :roll:.

Bad
Box stock setup is not the best for crawling,its not bad by any means but it definitely didnt cling like my losi or ax10's,some of the lines were harder to hold because of the width(this falls between a super and a comp crawler)and some of the rocks that I normally just climbed right over this would get bound in between and the slipper would whiz away.

Rolls really easy on the ground,definitely have to creep around when turning.
Stock tires didnt "grab" and even with the drag break would slide off the rocks.
Doesnt roll off the roof very easily(compared to other crawlers I've had)
Started hearing "popping" coming from the axles
DEFINITELY needs a higher torque servo
Speed control was getting hot after 20 mins of runtime
Good
Took being treated like a redheaded step child like a champ "thumbsup"
longer wheelbase helped with incline and didnt roll backwards like alot of crawlers do.
Wheelies across the yard
If its getting out of control and starts to flip,just keep the thorttle pegged and you'll look like Tom Meents at the world finals :twisted:
As long as the truck is laying on its side it has enough wheelspeed and flex that you can actually upright itself without touching it. Just peg reverse and crank the wheel,it will do a few donuts until the wheel grabs and it will flip right back on its wheels
Jumps level and settles down real good for stock setup
Got about 25-30 mins of runtime out of the battery

potential upgrade:
New HD gears
Dig
New body and body wrap

Must upgrade:
Complete steering upgrade,MORE SPEED..lol

Overall this is by far THE best bang for the buck truck I have bought in a very very long time. "thumbsup" I recommended the lhs to stop carrying the stock ax10 rtr and start stocking this thing. I think it will be a very good item to get people into crawling/trail truck without having a dedicated rig for one or the other.

I plan on doing some trail driving the with guys in different creeks and hitting some sand/dirt play time. I will keep this going as the build progresses and becomes my new money pit. I will post pics and vids as soon as my neighbor can figure out how to use his camera..lol

 

[Harley]

Why didn't you just tighten up the slipper? There is an access cover on the front of the spur gear gaurd.

 

[docsrcrepair]

I planned on it but I put it up as I was running out the door to coach my daughters softball game "thumbsup". I charged the battery last night when I got home and I am tightening it before I go to play again.

 

[gm0688]

I had my lhs put one on order as soon as they were announced,well last week after I read that horizon would not be carrying axial anymore I started sweating it since thats where he said he had it ordered. :evil: So Tuesday I give him a call and he says yeap,I got one out of great planes and its here waiting for you :shock: for only $345. I couldnt get off work soon enough and Beelined it straight up there. We unboxed it right there and fingered it like a high school virgin while ooohhhh and aaaahhhing it. Everything seemed packaged well and looked to all be there.
Got it home,unpackaged it right in front of the wife,charged the battery,changed out the battery connectors to anderson power poles and put 4 AA's in the controler.

So here is my review(I will update with each upgrade and what breaks/needs improvements..)

First night I just ran it around the house stock form with 5000mah 35c 2s lipo(china model..lol),climbing over everything just trying to roll it and get a general idea of what its limits were stock form.
Bad
The drag brake will flip this thing endo in a heartbeat,and has good enough acceleration to wheelie.
The slipper seems to slip well just when I dont want it to or get into a hard enough climb.
The steering servo seems ok when rolling but when sitting still it just doesnt have the umphh to turn the wheels.
And the tires definitely need to be changed to the softer compound for my purpose of trail/crawling.
Steering links flex alot

Good
Nice runtime,scared the dogs out of the living room,definitely the most scale rtr to date,flexible links helps with articulation and give when hitting something. Well worth the money. "thumbsup"

Potential upgrades
Aluminum knuckles,C's,Rear lockouts,stronger servo,aluminum steering links, and possibly a brushless to pick up where the brushed motor drops off on rpm.



Second run outside

This thing takes steps very nicely..lol :mrgreen:
I have built my own mini rock course (approx 5'x15') on the side of my workshop so I hit them to see how durable it is and ease into thrashing it.
I took the rocks both at slow speeds and high speeds trying to see how everything reacted and test the plastic out. I even used a ramp to launch full speed onto the rock pile :roll:.

Bad
Box stock setup is not the best for crawling,its not bad by any means but it definitely didnt cling like my losi or ax10's,some of the lines were harder to hold because of the width(this falls between a super and a comp crawler)and some of the rocks that I normally just climbed right over this would get bound in between and the slipper would whiz away.

Rolls really easy on the ground,definitely have to creep around when turning.
Stock tires didnt "grab" and even with the drag break would slide off the rocks.
Doesnt roll off the roof very easily(compared to other crawlers I've had)
Started hearing "popping" coming from the axles
DEFINITELY needs a higher torque servo
Speed control was getting hot after 20 mins of runtime
Good
Took being treated like a redheaded step child like a champ "thumbsup"
longer wheelbase helped with incline and didnt roll backwards like alot of crawlers do.
Wheelies across the yard
If its getting out of control and starts to flip,just keep the thorttle pegged and you'll look like Tom Meents at the world finals :twisted:
As long as the truck is laying on its side it has enough wheelspeed and flex that you can actually upright itself without touching it. Just peg reverse and crank the wheel,it will do a few donuts until the wheel grabs and it will flip right back on its wheels
Jumps level and settles down real good for stock setup
Got about 25-30 mins of runtime out of the battery

potential upgrade:
New HD gears
Dig
New body and body wrap

Must upgrade:
Complete steering upgrade,MORE SPEED..lol

Overall this is by far THE best bang for the buck truck I have bought in a very very long time. "thumbsup" I recommended the lhs to stop carrying the stock ax10 rtr and start stocking this thing. I think it will be a very good item to get people into crawling/trail truck without having a dedicated rig for one or the other.

I plan on doing some trail driving the with guys in different creeks and hitting some sand/dirt play time. I will keep this going as the build progresses and becomes my new money pit. I will post pics and vids as soon as my neighbor can figure out how to use his camera..lol

Put the speed control on the castle link. everyone commented the servo really needs a regulator. Everyone knows plastic flex's more than metal. If you wanted a crawler specific truck. Axial makes those. This is supposed to be a Killer trail truck. From what I've seen it sure is.

 

[docsrcrepair]

Put the speed control on the castle link. everyone commented the servo really needs a regulator. Everyone knows plastic flex's more than metal. If you wanted a crawler specific truck. Axial makes those. This is supposed to be a Killer trail truck. From what I've seen it sure is.

I didnt plan on keeping it brushed so I wasnt going to mess with the stock electronics,and REALLY?? Plastic flex? "thumbsup" Thats what makes this thing much more forgiving even though I broke the front knuckle flipping it back over off its side using the wheel speed. But over all its been durable for what I've put it thru.
And I already own a LCC,AX10,XR10,Hilifts,RC4WD FJ40,custom steel framed wrangler,and several others so I got a pretty good idea of what a crawler is and what its function is.. :ror: But I like the principle of this one going flying across the yard and still able to crawl up a pile of rocks or down the crick bed and not worry about breaking the body or details ;-)

On a side note the servo slop ended up being the bearing/bushing for the output gear was MIA from the factory..:shock: I was upgrading anyways but just FYI in case someone notices that there servo is a little "sloppy".

Overall this thing isnt too bad to work on,I stuck the vxl 3500 into it just to see how it would handle it and I must say its alot quicker and faster but lacks crawling control,it likes to shudder but then again I didnt expect it to be like my novak or my castle setups. But even at higher speeds it still seemed to be stable to my surprise. It was a very tight fit getting the vxl motor under the body where the seats are but I did manage to squeeze the speed controler into the stock location without much trouble. Now I also stuck my GT3B reciever into it to my surprise it didnt fit that well and wound up buldging the reciever box lid a bit. I did install the hobbyking 959 full metal servo and even with the tires in a bind it was able to move the truck around,it wasnt near what my JR servo is in my lcc but for $22 on a basher I cant complain.
I was able to increase the overall width when I installed my RC4WD Rockstars and a set of proline TSL's, Its much stickier now and will grab the rocks much better. Does anyone remember reading where the wraiths ripsaws were a different compound than what there standard ripsaws are? I thought I read that they were harder than the crawler version?

 

[crazy81]

Does anyone remember reading where the wraiths ripsaws were a different compound than what there standard ripsaws are? I thought I read that they were harder than the crawler version?

Ripsaws come in two different compounds. The hard one (standard on Wraith), and the R35 which is softer..

II did install the hobbyking 959 full metal servo and even with the tires in a bind it was able to move the truck around,it wasnt near what my JR servo is in my lcc but for $22 on a basher I cant complain.

On a side note, this is good to know. Im picking up one from someone locally for $20.

 

[docsrcrepair]

Ripsaws come in two different compounds. The hard one (standard on Wraith), and the R35 which is softer..





On a side note, this is good to know. Im picking up one from someone locally for $20.

Does anyone know if and when they will be released again?? I liked how the hard compound was as far as traction and thread design but I think as a trail rig they would be great.

And I have that servo in alot of my bashers and they seem to do well for the money,I wouldnt go comp'n with them but hey its a little better than the quality these days of the Hitec's and JR servo's in the same torque/price category at about half the price. "thumbsup"

 

[docsrcrepair]

Well after a slight 4 month soccer season detour I finally got back on track "thumbsup"
I added several things since my last post:
RC4WD housings
RC4WD Rockstars/boggers
STRC Knuckles
3R winch
Novak havoc/18.5(larger rotor installed)
Axial 30deg upper and lower links
Dynamic Concepts Blazer Body w/axial light buckets mounted in the grill
Dinky roof
revo rod ends/4mm hardened set screw studs
Axial f universals
Turnigy 959 metal servo
Cheap $9 ebay threaded body alumn shocks "thumbsup"

I widdled out diff covers,shock/link mounts/steering links/upper axle truss's. Then I made a front plate that goes from the bumper all the way back to the interior. It moves the reciever box forward so the battery can mount in front of the interior plus it made for a good winch mounting point.

I did some crawling in the house and climbing furniture :roll:, it is much better than it was before. I can really notice the steering and smoothness since I did away with the bent front driveshafts. Its also much more stable on verticle climbs, doesnt seem so top heavy...enjoy....

 

[muddywaters]

Looks sweet, like the color also..."thumbsup"

 

[OKJeepin]

Looks great! Love that body on it.