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If you're not keen on soldering, Reefs has an XT60 adapter with 2 JST plugs on it. That way you can add to the obscenely long power wires on the Fusion. :ror:

:lmao: it is a long wire on the Fusion! I can solder. I'm just lazy and lack patience. Those adapters are tempting though. Would be nice and handy to have around.
 
IIRC they were the same way on my old Pro kit so they've been doing that for a long time. I know the Phoenix kits came that way too. Guess its nice since it keeps people from having to buy a specialized tool.

You're right, my Origin and Pro shocks came with the o-ring packing already installed. It is nice that they install them and a special tool is not needed, but I think a lot of the leaking that people bitch about is from the o-rings not being lubed up enough and then the shaft threads are cutting them.

I've been lucky with all of my S8E shocks so far, but I'll feel even better about them when I can take them out and lube them before the shaft goes in. I may not have worded that correctly!:ror:

Wheels installed on the VRD. I think these look much better and this makes more excited about the build. And I love the look of these JConcepts Tusk tires!

You can see the black SLW-style hub in this photo. I do wish this was orange, but after you install a black wheel nut it is hard to see anyway. I guess it is kind of more scale as it hides the wheel nut. But there is nothing scale about this carbon fiber, flat-rail chassis.

I also had the NSDRC 700v2 orange limited edition waiting to be installed.

Servo installed, but without the servo horn. It's a direct power servo and rather than plugging into the balance port they make you solder a lead to the battery connector. That's going to suck as I have not soldered in quite some time.

Wheel and tire combo looks great! Can't wait to see how they look with the painted body.

The NSDRC servo also looks great in there. Lovin' all the orange bits!

I hear ya on the servo power. I now just automatically solder in 2 JST plugs on my ESC wires on all of my builds. One for servo and one for lights.
 
Orange is my new favorite color for sure. Great looking truck! Do you have a build thread and/or body-off shots of that one? I forget the truck and can't find anything on this site.

Thank you! "thumbsup"

(days later)

I do not, don't really do build threads much anymore unless it's something fairly unique. I did a small write up when I drove it last year:
Drive Them All!
 
Due to Col_Sanders and others talking about the potential warranty issues when using NSDRC servos with "non approved" ESCs :rolleyes: I ordered up their voltage buster diode. This way I shouldn't have an issue if I have to make a warranty claim. That arrived and I got off my lazy butt and learned to solder again. I cut the XT60 off of the Fusion Pro and soldered on a new XT60 with the power lead for the NSDRC 700 V2 Orange edition. I could not get the grey protective cover off the stock XT60 or I may have just pulled that off, soldered on the servo power lead, and then snapped the cover back on. Any tips to remove that grey cover?

Sadly the included, cool looking NSDRC servo horn does not work with my VRD Carbon kit. It is too long and causes the rod end of the drag link to bind on the tierod. See the photo below. Because of this, I ended up using the servo horn included in the kit.

The VRD Carbon finally moves under its own power and has steering. It is complete minus a gearing change I think. I ordered 4S batteries forgetting that the Fusion Pro stupidly has a max of 3S. Thankfully I also ordered two 2200mAh 3S LiPos. The VRD Carbon seems too fast on 3S so I may gear it down. What gearing would your recommend for the Fusion Pro 2300kV on 3S LiPos?

 
The VRD Carbon finally moves under its own power and has steering. It is complete minus a gearing change I think. I ordered 4S batteries forgetting that the Fusion Pro stupidly has a max of 3S. Thankfully I also ordered two 2200mAh 3S LiPos. The VRD Carbon seems too fast on 3S so I may gear it down. What gearing would your recommend for the Fusion Pro 2300kV on 3S LiPos?

I geared mine up. Lol. I think I'm running 50/15. Whatever the stock pinion was with a smaller spur. The Fusion has plenty of low speed control, and I've got some wheel speed available if I need to pop up something.

As for the nsd servo horn, I didn't think it hit enough to be a concern so I ran it like that.
 
I've been able to get those covers off by prying at the seam with a small flat blade screwdriver. I've also jammed a screwdriver through the wire hole just a little and pried (on the wide side) while holding the yellow part and they will pop off. Obviously dont do that on batteries but on a non powered ESC its fine.

I geared mine up too. Im running 52/15. I will try a 16t pinion later since I want a little more wheel speed for our team comp next month. If strictly slow crawling, I'd probably run 56/13?
 
I've been able to get those covers off by prying at the seam with a small flat blade screwdriver. I've also jammed a screwdriver through the wire hole just a little and pried (on the wide side) while holding the yellow part and they will pop off. Obviously dont do that on batteries but on a non powered ESC its fine.

I geared mine up too. Im running 52/15. I will try a 16t pinion later since I want a little more wheel speed for our team comp next month. If strictly slow crawling, I'd probably run 56/13?
You speed addicts! I thought I was bad. :ROFLMAO:

I tried with an awl, but didn't feel like bleeding so I gave up and cut the stock connector off.

You reminded me that after I soldered the wires for both the motor/ESC and the NSDRC servo power, I realized I had not slipped the servo lead wires through the grey protector cap. So I basically turned the two round wire holes in the grey piece into one obround. Then both ESC/motor wires and the JST servo power plug slid right through that hole.
 
My Carbon isn't really intended for the hardcore/comp crawling. We have a team comp every year that is multiple laps around a course which is mostly a mix of dirt, hills, and some technical crawling. Kind of like King of the Hammers or Ultra4. Thats what I built it for.

I may not end up running it for that event though. My Phoenix recently got some Rock Pirates towers and a Mamba X/Slate 2850. That setup is 4S capable so I may run that lol. Just need to get more time on that to make sure it will hold up.
 
I'm just trying to make up for the limit of 3s voltage. I figure the revolver guys are running similar kv on 4s. My vrd can go as slow as I ever need with the fusion. I've never gone full throttle on flat ground so no idea how fast it would be. Lol

Even geared up it doesn't get hot either which I've seen issues with on the revolver/ mini esc setups If they run longer than
 
I'm just trying to make up for the limit of 3s voltage. I figure the revolver guys are running similar kv on 4s. My vrd can go as slow as I ever need with the fusion. I've never gone full throttle on flat ground so no idea how fast it would be. Lol

Even geared up it doesn't get hot either which I've seen issues with on the revolver/ mini esc setups If they run longer than
Well that brings up the question - is the stubby kit with revolver really a better performer? I know I'm interested in that option...
 
From what I can find, a Fusion Pro weighs 209 grams. A Revolver M is 109 grams and an Exo Belay ESC (same as Silent Assassin and several others) weighs 27 grams. The shorter top shaft and supports for the transmission would probably be a couple grams lighter too so it would be a reduction of about 75 grams (2.6oz) total sprung weight. Then of course you drop the steering servo down an inch or so lower. From a cog perspective, it would be beneficial. No experience with it myself so I couldnt tell you how much of a difference it actually makes in real world performance.
 
For pure comp runs, I think the stubby and bta might offer a slight advantage. Factoring cost, complexity, packaging, I personally don't think it's worth it. If the fusion pro wasn't so good (ex if only the se was available) I might feel different.

I would be curious to see real data if someone measured the cog and weight bias on a fusion rig, and the same car swapped to stubby/bta. Between the lost weight down low in the chassis with the lighter motor, position the esc is mounted, servo position, and the weight of a 4s battery. It might be a wash. The lower servo position seems to be the main improvement in my mind.
 
From what I can find, a Fusion Pro weighs 209 grams. A Revolver M is 109 grams and an Exo Belay ESC (same as Silent Assassin and several others) weighs 27 grams. The shorter top shaft and supports for the transmission would probably be a couple grams lighter too so it would be a reduction of about 75 grams (2.6oz) total sprung weight. Then of course you drop the steering servo down an inch or so lower. From a cog perspective, it would be beneficial. No experience with it myself so I couldnt tell you how much of a difference it actually makes in real world performance.
Damn those "no-name" ESCs are over $100. I thought they'd be cheap.

Thanks for the info on the two different setups!

For pure comp runs, I think the stubby and bta might offer a slight advantage. Factoring cost, complexity, packaging, I personally don't think it's worth it. If the fusion pro wasn't so good (ex if only the se was available) I might feel different.

I would be curious to see real data if someone measured the cog and weight bias on a fusion rig, and the same car swapped to stubby/bta. Between the lost weight down low in the chassis with the lighter motor, position the esc is mounted, servo position, and the weight of a 4s battery. It might be a wash. The lower servo position seems to be the main improvement in my mind.
I read so much good about the Fusion that I gotta get my VRD Carbon painted so I can run it. Now if only it would stop ******* raining! But then I'll want to ride motorcycle so there's that...
 
Exo, Dlux, Silent Assassin, Stlite, and probably more use the same main board. The board is ~$50. Add wires, connectors, programming, heatshrink, etc and $100 isnt a bad deal. The Silent Assassin was ~$150 or more until just recently. Looks like its $135 now. Think they had to lower the price to be competitive with those others popping up.

I too think the bigger advantage is moving that servo down lower, especially if using one of the heavier mounts like the Boco stainless mount. The Fusion is a great setup.
 
Damn those "no-name" ESCs are over $100. I thought they'd be cheap.

Thanks for the info on the two different setups!


I read so much good about the Fusion that I gotta get my VRD Carbon painted so I can run it. Now if only it would stop ******* raining! But then I'll want to ride motorcycle so there's that...
Strap RC truck of choice(and controller, etc) to back of motorcycle. Ride motorcycle. Find place to drive RC truck. Drive RC truck. Put RC truck back on motorcycle. Ride motorcycle home or to lunch, etc.

Problem solved.šŸ™‚
 
I'm really anxious to get this VRD Carbon out on the trails and rocks. Last night I was playing around with the programming of my FlySky GT5 and the Fusion Pro to get steering EPA, slow speed start-up and drag brake to where I like them. It is always hard to get a feel for things in the living room because often, at least for me, it does not feel the same out on the rocks. The Fusion Pro is smooooth like many guys have said. Anxious to try this thing out!

I just have to paint the Stance body...or so I thought. Last night I was adjusting the preload of the shocks and the shock cap came unscrewed. Apparently, I never filled the Vanquish sieves with oil assuming I'd change them out for different shocks. Now I am torn on whether I should fill these S8E shocks and give them a try or just switch these springs and balls to the Traxxas GTS shocks and use those.

I also tidied up the wires to the best of my inability to do so. Not sure what I am going to do with that receiver antenna...

Oh and I thought I'd have to order more batteries, but I found these two GOLDBAT LiPos that I bought for my Capra. 3S and 1500mAh. They should do the trick just fine.

 
sweet build Jato, looking forward to see your take on the body scheme and paint. The electronics choices you got there look good and should be plenty of power for the vrd.
 
sweet build Jato, looking forward to see your take on the body scheme and paint. The electronics choices you got there look good and should be plenty of power for the vrd.
Thank you! Don't expect too much with the paint. I'm like van Gogh with a paint can and I don't mean the painter. I mean I'm a danger to myself, my ear, and others with paint! :ROFLMAO: I can say I already misplaced one of the cans of Tamiya paint... No idea if it's at my house or my girlfriend's where I bought and used the first two cans on my Tamiya DT-03 Neo Fighter! šŸ˜”
 
Seeing a VRD Carbon come together is inspiring me to actually finish the one sitting on my shelf.

Turning a pile of parts into a rolling chassis went pretty quick, turning that rolling chassis into a functioning truck is taking forever.
 
Thank you! Don't expect too much with the paint. I'm like van Gogh with a paint can and I don't mean the painter. I mean I'm a danger to myself, my ear, and others with paint! :ROFLMAO: I can say I already misplaced one of the cans of Tamiya paint... No idea if it's at my house or my girlfriend's where I bought and used the first two cans on my Tamiya DT-03 Neo Fighter! šŸ˜”
I hear you on the paint ... its all about the prep work, pre-organization and taking your time. Just like building is about enjoying it and I also pretty lucky to be here on So-Cal where paint is not a problem due to weather. Tamiya paint usually dries quick here. I admit though sometimes I do rush in between coats.
 
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