Jato's Bumpy Road to Fordyce

[JatoTheRipper]

When I first got the itch to get back into RC, I was searching for new trucks that had been released during my hiatus. The plastic Vanquish rigs kept coming up so I started comparing the Fordyce to the Phoenix. My first Bing search (Bing before Google for the rewards) of "Fordyce" gave me a NSFW shock. I saw bump man meat. :shock: Oh Vanquish this one was an epic fail even if the truck is named after a trail in California. I guess whatever happens on that trail stays on that trail! :lmao: The double entendre (ohhh fancy word from grade school) here is the bumpy road I've had over the last few years.

I preferred the Fordyce over the Phoenix because of the straight axles. My last few rigs pre-hiatus were portals I believe. Plus, the Fordyce has a simpler transmission and I do not think I will need the adjustable overdrive or dig.

So while I was waiting for delivery of my VS4-10 Pro Black, I ordered a Fordyce on sale along with parts. Looking back I should have ordered the lightweight 21% OD not for weight savings, but for less rotational mass in the drivetrain. This would have made for easier "spool up". I am also not sure I would have spent the money on the S8E shock parts as those seem to be hit and miss shocks. Thoughts on these shocks from those of you that have read this far???






First order of business was changing the wheels. This would be obvious to anybody that knows I have a tire and wheel addiction. Vanquish discontinued the Roost wheels, which I always wanted, but never pulled the trigger on, so China to the rescue.




What the stock truck looks like for those of you, probably less than a few, that do not know.




Not a bad looking wheel and tire combo. The tires are shockingly sticky for an RTR.




Good news is the Incision 0.8" wide brass wheel clamp rings will fill the Choost wheels. And the Fanquish aluminum wheel clamp rings will fit the stock, plastic KMC Riot wheels.




Ohh pretty! :mrgreen:








Yes, these images were taken in my kitchen and dining room and I will most likely continue that way. I live in this house by myself at this time so it is like a bachelor pad.

I found a Turnigy 2S 4200mAh stick pack that I have for my Tamiya RCs. Somehow it still had 7.94V in it so I was able to do some pillow crawling in the living room. The stock electronics leave something to be desired. Maybe a healthier battery or 3S will help. I am guessing this truck will need a better ESC, Motor and servo. I can probably live with the radio.

I have a couple of questions to start.

1. Again, any thoughts or tips on the S8E shocks?
2. Does the Phoenix interior fit the Fordyce body?
3. Do the brass tubes for the F10 portal axles fit inside these straight axles?
4. Any feedback on using the lightweight front VFD gear set and/or 21% transfer case underdrive gear set?
5. I will probably stick with the 21% OD kit for this truck, but do you guys have experience combining this with rear underdrive gears? Would probably be overkill for trailing. Thoughts?

 

[Fricker08]

Don’t waste your money on the machined aluminum s8e caps. I bought 2 sets and swapped the seal over from the plastic cap to the aluminum.. I know kind of strange they don’t come with new seals smh.. both sets puked all the oil out between the cap and the body, unlike the bleed screw with the plastic caps. Josh mentioned to just put a dab of ca glue on the bleeder screw for the plastic caps to stop the leaking there.

I did reach out to vp and they questioned if I overfilled the shocks and wanted pics. From what I can tell the seal groove was machined too deep but oh well. I do mod the s8e’s with dlux springs and zero preload buckets.
I think the 21% gears is a good addition, I’d that it would be super beneficial to go with the lightweight set but I don’t think it’ll hurt either.
I can’t remember if I read the phoenix interior would work or if they had one in the works. Anyways, I took my fordyce out for the first time today and I was pleasantly surprised with how it performed. Going to do some small upgrades and use it as a daily beater


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[JDM74]

Do you run on any indoor courses. I was luke warm on the dig until I ran a local indoor course and the dig was so much a life saver on my Pheonix and SCX10.3 Bronco that I immediately installed it on my Capra. If you only run trails I would say don’t worry about it. I am pretty sure the brass will not fit the non-portal axles.


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[indybama]

Ive got the phoenix kit, stuffed in a gspeed v3 chassis. I dont use the o/d much, but the dig does come in handy. I initially built this rig for scale nats, which was cool to meet matt, josh, nicole, n few others there. But after tge first run or two, the s8e shocks lost most of their oil out of the rears. That was 2 yrs ago n i have yet to refill them. They dont stick, theyre not real bounce like toy grade shocks, n ive gotten used to how it handles that way. I can say, its my go-to rig. It works so good, takes a beatin like no other. I run 4s n itll pull back flips off trees n rocks. Took a nasty spill off a cliff n come back for more, other than a few ripped rodends, ripped tire, n rock rashed wheel.

But i do like the simplicity of the vfd over the twin. Ive got a few of both trans n would pick the vfd over the twin for sure.

Im runnin a PL 67 ford body at the moment. Needs a new one soon

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[B-MOW71]

Nice! A new build thread. Looking forward to seeing more. Lovin' the look of the blue. It's been on my wish list since it's first appearance. Problem is I don't have any more room in my garage for another rig!:roll:

The faux Roost look damn good IMO. The VP Roost has always been a favorite of mine. Sad to see them go away and glad I picked up a set way back when they were available. I'm going to have to get a set of these imitations to try out.

I'll answer your questions the best I can.

1. Again, any thoughts or tips on the S8E shocks?

My thoughts on the S8E shocks is that as of late, these are my goto shocks. As I mentioned in your FB post, I have 8 sets of these and none leak fluid. I use Noleen grease on the o-ring pack and use 50-70wt fluid depending on the rig weight. I've seen people complain about getting too much fluid in them causing them to leak, but with the bleeder screws in the caps, I don't see how that is even possible. The bleeder screws makes building these so easy. These shocks IMO are super smooth and look great!

Now on the other hand, the Incision shocks that came with the Origin, Pro and Ultra suck ass! I had a hell of a time getting those sealed up and still have some leaky ones. I did find that there is a hidden o-ring near the packing that gets cut when assembled and does is the cause of most leaks on them.[/COLOR]

2. Does the Phoenix interior fit the Fordyce body?

I've heard that it doesn't, but can be made to fit with some modifying. Knight Customs does offer a 3D printed interior with driver including a Matt head that is a perfect fit.

3. Do the brass tubes for the F10 portal axles fit inside these straight axles?

No, they do not according to Vanquish.

4. Any feedback on using the lightweight front VFD gear set and/or 21% transfer case underdrive gear set?

My first time using the lightweight gear set is in my new VRD Carbon. I haven't run it yet, but I do like the looks of them and you can definitely tell they weigh less than the stock gears.

5. I will probably stick with the 21% OD kit for this truck, but do you guys have experience combining this with rear underdrive gears? Would probably be overkill for trailing. Thoughts?

I don't think I've tried this, but am wondering this myself.

 

[twade984]

I have a couple of questions to start.

1. Again, any thoughts or tips on the S8E shocks?
2. Does the Phoenix interior fit the Fordyce body?
3. Do the brass tubes for the F10 portal axles fit inside these straight axles?
4. Any feedback on using the lightweight front VFD gear set and/or 21% transfer case underdrive gear set?
5. I will probably stick with the 21% OD kit for this truck, but do you guys have experience combining this with rear underdrive gears? Would probably be overkill for trailing. Thoughts?

1. I think I’ve had at least one or two from every set I’ve used leak. Probably 6 or 7 sets now? Idk, I have a horrible track record with building shocks and having them leak. SSD, TRX4 (rare, but still one or two), literally every axial shock, OG incision, S8E… I think the only shocks I’ve ever used that didn’t leak were element and Dravtech. In the S8E’s, sometimes they leak at the bleeder screw, some times at the cap seal, and sometimes at the shaft seals. I’m sure the majority of my problems were user error, but they still don’t have a great reputation.

2. Haven’t tried it myself, but the answer from VP so far has been no.

3. Also no

4. Personally I’ve always thought I preferred 6-10% in my rigs, but after running my VS410 mullet setup with 23%, I think I like that better. And if you’re willing to pay the price, I would absolutely run the lightweight gear set. Even if you don’t feel a huge handling benefit, the lower rotating mass can only help. Power, response, and probably battery life.

5. I think U/D gears give you around 10-11% so you’d be somewhere in the 30% range… definitely more than I would probably run for a rig like this, but I’m sure other people would do it

Glad to see you start a thread on the Bumpy Member, and look forward to future updates


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[Axle Scott]

#1 refill shocks w/ 70w oil, don't be afraid to seal the bleeder screws for leakage, and fill the shocks 5-8 mm from top of shock body. #2 the interior will fit if modified slightly,it will lower the interior about 7mm from the Phoenix. start by relocating the interior rear body mounts to match the existing cage supports, you will need a filler piece on the curvature between the dash and the hood, a couple of pieces of velcro to secure dash to hood. Hope this helps

 

[Speedy-Triple]

hell yeah build thread and the wheels give it a nice contrast with the blue body... the fordyce is been on my radar somehow I like it more than the FJ cab (phoenix)... I have built a phoenix kit that got split into multiple projects and never got to even touch the body. I built a couple of the SE shocks both lengths and to be honest they are great shock ... nice looking and smooth but they leaked the oil out slooowwwly but they did... nothing like the axials, ssds, or even the older incision shocks. so far the only shocks that i have yet to see any oil leak out is the TRXX GTS, Elements and surprisingly the mst from my little bronco are great plastic shocks.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Don’t waste your money on the machined aluminum s8e caps. I bought 2 sets and swapped the seal over from the plastic cap to the aluminum.. I know kind of strange they don’t come with new seals smh.. both sets puked all the oil out between the cap and the body, unlike the bleed screw with the plastic caps. Josh mentioned to just put a dab of ca glue on the bleeder screw for the plastic caps to stop the leaking there.

I did reach out to vp and they questioned if I overfilled the shocks and wanted pics. From what I can tell the seal groove was machined too deep but oh well. I do mod the s8e’s with dlux springs and zero preload buckets.
I think the 21% gears is a good addition, I’d that it would be super beneficial to go with the lightweight set but I don’t think it’ll hurt either.
I can’t remember if I read the phoenix interior would work or if they had one in the works. Anyways, I took my fordyce out for the first time today and I was pleasantly surprised with how it performed. Going to do some small upgrades and use it as a daily beater

Too late though as I bought the blue caps. They actually look purple through the packaging... Hopefully not! That is really weak that they do not come with new o-rings.

A dab of CA would not be required with a good design.

I do want to try the lightweight gears, but I am not sure if I want to start with the Fordyce or Pro.

I beat on all my trucks. There's a reason I had a graveyard of leaf springs when my Sawback was my go-to rig. Good to hear the Fordyce performed well.

Do you run on any indoor courses. I was luke warm on the dig until I ran a local indoor course and the dig was so much a life saver on my Pheonix and SCX10.3 Bronco that I immediately installed it on my Capra. If you only run trails I would say don’t worry about it. I am pretty sure the brass will not fit the non-portal axles.

No, I do not run indoor courses. I am a trail guy.

Ive got the phoenix kit, stuffed in a gspeed v3 chassis. I dont use the o/d much, but the dig does come in handy. I initially built this rig for scale nats, which was cool to meet matt, josh, nicole, n few others there. But after tge first run or two, the s8e shocks lost most of their oil out of the rears. That was 2 yrs ago n i have yet to refill them. They dont stick, theyre not real bounce like toy grade shocks, n ive gotten used to how it handles that way. I can say, its my go-to rig. It works so good, takes a beatin like no other. I run 4s n itll pull back flips off trees n rocks. Took a nasty spill off a cliff n come back for more, other than a few ripped rodends, ripped tire, n rock rashed wheel.

But i do like the simplicity of the vfd over the twin. Ive got a few of both trans n would pick the vfd over the twin for sure.

Im runnin a PL 67 ford body at the moment. Needs a new one soon

Man, this reminds me of the OG SCX10 when the shocks were so bad that almost nobody rain oil in them because it would all leak out anyway! :ror: Not a good look.

Cool truck! What wheels are you running? But how is it scale with a flat rail chassis? I will build one of those carbon, flat-rail chassis trucks one day. The VRD Carbon and, to a lesser extent, the Axial SCX10 Pro have my eye.

The Capra and SCX10 III taught me that a simpler transmission is better. Although the Traxxas TRX-4 transmission has a 2-speed and that thing is rock solid. Even the locking diffs work more reliably than the Capra and SCX10 III transmissions.

Nice! A new build thread. Looking forward to seeing more. Lovin' the look of the blue. It's been on my wish list since it's first appearance. Problem is I don't have any more room in my garage for another rig!:roll:

The faux Roost look damn good IMO. The VP Roost has always been a favorite of mine. Sad to see them go away and glad I picked up a set way back when they were available. I'm going to have to get a set of these imitations to try out.

I'll answer your questions the best I can.

1. Again, any thoughts or tips on the S8E shocks?

My thoughts on the S8E shocks is that as of late, these are my goto shocks. As I mentioned in your FB post, I have 8 sets of these and none leak fluid. I use Noleen grease on the o-ring pack and use 50-70wt fluid depending on the rig weight. I've seen people complain about getting too much fluid in them causing them to leak, but with the bleeder screws in the caps, I don't see how that is even possible. The bleeder screws makes building these so easy. These shocks IMO are super smooth and look great!

Now on the other hand, the Incision shocks that came with the Origin, Pro and Ultra suck ass! I had a hell of a time getting those sealed up and still have some leaky ones. I did find that there is a hidden o-ring near the packing that gets cut when assembled and does is the cause of most leaks on them.[/COLOR]

2. Does the Phoenix interior fit the Fordyce body?

I've heard that it doesn't, but can be made to fit with some modifying. Knight Customs does offer a 3D printed interior with driver including a Matt head that is a perfect fit.

3. Do the brass tubes for the F10 portal axles fit inside these straight axles?

No, they do not according to Vanquish.

4. Any feedback on using the lightweight front VFD gear set and/or 21% transfer case underdrive gear set?

My first time using the lightweight gear set is in my new VRD Carbon. I haven't run it yet, but I do like the looks of them and you can definitely tell they weigh less than the stock gears.

5. I will probably stick with the 21% OD kit for this truck, but do you guys have experience combining this with rear underdrive gears? Would probably be overkill for trailing. Thoughts?

I don't think I've tried this, but am wondering this myself.

The Choost are really nice for the $35 or so that I paid. Can't beat the deal you get with some eBay wheels.

Thicker oil may help prevent leaks. Good to hear you've had great experiences with them. I am not the best shock builder myself, but I can build some leak free shocks when the quality is good.

My Origin and Ultra shocks sucked too.

Big oversight not allowing the brass weights to fit the straight axles. There has to be a good reason why though.

1. I think I’ve had at least one or two from every set I’ve used leak. Probably 6 or 7 sets now? Idk, I have a horrible track record with building shocks and having them leak. SSD, TRX4 (rare, but still one or two), literally every axial shock, OG incision, S8E… I think the only shocks I’ve ever used that didn’t leak were element and Dravtech. In the S8E’s, sometimes they leak at the bleeder screw, some times at the cap seal, and sometimes at the shaft seals. I’m sure the majority of my problems were user error, but they still don’t have a great reputation.

2. Haven’t tried it myself, but the answer from VP so far has been no.

3. Also no

4. Personally I’ve always thought I preferred 6-10% in my rigs, but after running my VS410 mullet setup with 23%, I think I like that better. And if you’re willing to pay the price, I would absolutely run the lightweight gear set. Even if you don’t feel a huge handling benefit, the lower rotating mass can only help. Power, response, and probably battery life.

5. I think U/D gears give you around 10-11% so you’d be somewhere in the 30% range… definitely more than I would probably run for a rig like this, but I’m sure other people would do it

Glad to see you start a thread on the Bumpy Member, and look forward to future updates

Bumpy member... :lmao:

I will probably stay with the 21% OD gears and no UD in the rear, but it is nice to have the option. OD really helps on the rocks.

#1 refill shocks w/ 70w oil, don't be afraid to seal the bleeder screws for leakage, and fill the shocks 5-8 mm from top of shock body. #2 the interior will fit if modified slightly,it will lower the interior about 7mm from the Phoenix. start by relocating the interior rear body mounts to match the existing cage supports, you will need a filler piece on the curvature between the dash and the hood, a couple of pieces of velcro to secure dash to hood. Hope this helps

What do you use to seal the bleeder screws? They should come with a quality o-ring and that should do all the necessary sealing.

Thanks. Not sure I'll go the interior route because I prefer performance over scale, but it's nice to have that option.

hell yeah build thread and the wheels give it a nice contrast with the blue body... the fordyce is been on my radar somehow I like it more than the FJ cab (phoenix)... I have built a phoenix kit that got split into multiple projects and never got to even touch the body. I built a couple of the SE shocks both lengths and to be honest they are great shock ... nice looking and smooth but they leaked the oil out slooowwwly but they did... nothing like the axials, ssds, or even the older incision shocks. so far the only shocks that i have yet to see any oil leak out is the TRXX GTS, Elements and surprisingly the mst from my little bronco are great plastic shocks.

Thank you! Traxxas shocks of any kind are great. The MST shocks and trucks are underrated IMO. I have not tried any Element products, but they should be good with the Team Associated racing heritage.

 

[smog]

The plan for my TOF bumpy weiner is to print the Knight Customs interior. I get the feeling VP has no immediate plans to release one. Perhaps if a kit appears one day it will happen, but i am not counting on that. Sadly I get the feeling 3D printing is getting to a point where company decisions to forgo certain details is getting easier. Personally I like lexan interior pieces for their low weight and simplicity. The Phoenix interior was well thought out and they designed it to work will the tamiya bruiser driver piece. Unfortunately the driver sits a bit too high up, but I can't complain. It's a cosmetic issue and their tolerances are tight where it matters.

I have not had issues with the newer VP shocks leaking. Like many I use a healthy coat of green slime on the o-ring and adjust my oil weight to my preferred damping. I am always careful not to over fill it and usually cycle them in my hands a bunch before I install to be sure I have them built right. I find VP shock caps don't thread-on the most smoothly so I am always very careful not to cross thread them.

Element Shocks are of much better quality imo. They are typically my go to if I need a set for a build, but arguably the VP have better scale appearance. I have zero complaints about the performance of either.

Anyhow, that's my .02. The answers above were super thorough. Look forward to seeing and hearing your stuff here. I have yet to do anything with mine. I am not used to getting RTR's and find myself just staring at the thing and thinking that's the works already been done [emoji1] But I have bunch of parts to install so I will have to get on it

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[indybama]

Those are VP 105s in clear with PL mickey thompson baja pro x 4.75s

The orange ones are VP 310s with 4.75 hyrax

Flat rail may not b scale, but it performs awesome. Im lookin to get the vrd kit myself, not so sure on the scx pro. We do alot of trailin n rock crawls, so scale isnt to important. I do hit a comp or two thru the yr though

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[JatoTheRipper]

The plan for my TOF bumpy weiner is to print the Knight Customs interior. I get the feeling VP has no immediate plans to release one. Perhaps if a kit appears one day it will happen, but i am not counting on that. Sadly I get the feeling 3D printing is getting to a point where company decisions to forgo certain details is getting easier. Personally I like lexan interior pieces for their low weight and simplicity. The Phoenix interior was well thought out and they designed it to work will the tamiya bruiser driver piece. Unfortunately the driver sits a bit too high up, but I can't complain. It's a cosmetic issue and their tolerances are tight where it matters.

I have not had issues with the newer VP shocks leaking. Like many I use a healthy coat of green slime on the o-ring and adjust my oil weight to my preferred damping. I am always careful not to over fill it and usually cycle them in my hands a bunch before I install to be sure I have them built right. I find VP shock caps don't thread-on the most smoothly so I am always very careful not to cross thread them.

Element Shocks are of much better quality imo. They are typically my go to if I need a set for a build, but arguably the VP have better scale appearance. I have zero complaints about the performance of either.

Anyhow, that's my .02. The answers above were super thorough. Look forward to seeing and hearing your stuff here. I have yet to do anything with mine. I am not used to getting RTR's and find myself just staring at the thing and thinking that's the works already been done [emoji1] But I have bunch of parts to install so I will have to get on it

I could not agree more that 3D printing has made RC manufacturers lazy! Some think the fact that the builder can print parts at home is an acceptable solution. Others use printing themselves to make saleable parts (completely lazy, inexcusable and unacceptable to me). 3D printing should be an accessory, not a manufacturing technique.

Good to hear you have also had good experiences with the S8E shocks. I may have to try the Element shocks one day. They aren't cheap though and that bronze would not match many of my builds.

Those are VP 105s in clear with PL mickey thompson baja pro x 4.75s

The orange ones are VP 310s with 4.75 hyrax

Flat rail may not b scale, but it performs awesome. Im lookin to get the vrd kit myself, not so sure on the scx pro. We do alot of trailin n rock crawls, so scale isnt to important. I do hit a comp or two thru the yr though

I was asking about the blue wheels on the carbon fiber chassis. They don't appear to be from Vanquish.

I am sure it does perform well. I was just under the impression that scale comps required C-channel chassis. I would also lean more towards the VRD Carbon than the SCX10 Pro.

 

[smog]

Good to hear you have also had good experiences with the S8E shocks. I may have to try the Element shocks one day. They aren't cheap though and that bronze would not match many of my builds.

It would be nice if Element offered all the colors separately. They do produce them in black, silver and blue too. Unfortunately these colors can only be found in their different incarnations of the Enduro.

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[JatoTheRipper]

It would be nice if Element offered all the colors separately. They do produce them in black, silver and blue too. Unfortunately these colors can only be found in their different incarnations of the Enduro.

I had no idea. I'll checkout the other colors. Thanks! "thumbsup"

 

[indybama]

I forgot about those wheels, sorry jato. The blue ones are lockedup rc wheels. Theyre the ones that took the rock rash. Some of the hardware is stuck in the outter ring, so i cant mount new tires or rings on them. They are a really nice set of wheels. The blue part is ok, just the outter ring got the damage. Theyre also a directional pattern. Iirc, they use a slw pattern hub

They just lay on the shelf collectin dust at this point. For the simple fact i cant get one of the outter rings off

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[indybama]

I was wrong, one wheel did take some rash, but not horribly bad. Still usable, even help hold a foam from movin much lol

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[JatoTheRipper]

I forgot about those wheels, sorry jato. The blue ones are lockedup rc wheels. Theyre the ones that took the rock rash. Some of the hardware is stuck in the outter ring, so i cant mount new tires or rings on them. They are a really nice set of wheels. The blue part is ok, just the outter ring got the damage. Theyre also a directional pattern. Iirc, they use a slw pattern hub

They just lay on the shelf collectin dust at this point. For the simple fact i cant get one of the outter rings off

Thanks! LURC makes sense. It's a shame you can't use them. Can you drill off the head of the scale hardware and the turn out the leftover "stud" with vice grips?

 

[indybama]

Thanks! LURC makes sense. It's a shame you can't use them. Can you drill off the head of the scale hardware and the turn out the leftover "stud" with vice grips?

I tryed to drill them, with no luck, but i was just usin a drill. Need to take it to work n use the drill press. I like the look of them n theyre somewhat beefy

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[Ballistic17]

Nice changes so far. Love those wheels. Had a set when they first came out and then sold them on a rig and wish i didn't.

 

[bgredjeep]

I didn't realize knockoff roosts were a thing. Now I've got a set on the way. Selling the treal wheels to a local. Nothing wrong with them, and I might get another set later, I just didn't end up liking the color on my Phoenix.