I bought a pair of RC4WD aluminum Wraith axles last week and received them today. I ordered two front axles because my Wraith is setup with 4WS. The reason RC4WD specifies a front and rear housing is because these axles include either aluminum C’s (front) or straight axle adapters (rear). These pieces are included due to the fact that RC4WD modified the design to simplify machining of the axle. You can see that an Axial style C hub will not fit (this is a VP unit but is the same as stock). This is not a bad design at all, just worth noting. These axles also include aluminum bearing caps, another bonus!
After receiving the axles I inspected the finish. The machine work is what we have come to expect from RC4WD. These aren’t some crude version of what the stock axle looked like, such as what we see from Integy or Golden Horizon, these are very close copies of the stock Axial plastic housing. Many people may not even realize you are running an aftermarket aluminum case if you get the black version such as I did (that is until you see the scratches the rocks leave!).
I assembled one of the axles loosely shortly after receiving them. The axle went together easily and tolerances felt pretty good. I was missing one of the screws for the bearing caps and had one too many of the short screws used to hold the C’s on but that is minor. I had a VP diff cover on my desk so I used it to test fit, went right on just like you would expect. I will assemble an axle completely with bearings and gears soon.
First impressions of this axle, it’s a complete STEAL for the cost. I honestly can’t believe they are including so much for so little. If you subtract what aluminum C-hubs ($31) and bearing caps ($16) you are only paying $43 for the axle housing. Again, it’s a steal of a deal. I’ll buy these again in a heartbeat.
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