lccguy
Pebble Pounder
I have alway had a soft spot for crawlers, but could never find the time with RC racing to fit them in.* Once I saw that Team Associated developed a sister company with a crawler line then I just had to get one.* I plan of fitting in a crawler competition or two over the summer and if I do well then I will take it to the next level.
I dive into it by ordering the kit, all of the Factory Team parts and all of the hard plastic parts, this way I have the most tuning options possible from Element RC.* I decided that an Sendero body and utility bed best suited my style for now.* I have my eye on a hard body for the future.* There are a few tire choices I want to try out, hyrax, KM3 and interco tires.* I'm starting off with the KM3s for the scale look.* As for wheels, I'm looking at the Vanquish Method 101 V2 wheels.
I'm going to start the build with mostly stock parts.* I will test out the hard plastic options and decide what the best fit is for me and my driving style.* I immediately installed the hard plastic option parts that will be sliding over stuff since that difference wont be seen on the handling side of things.
Here are some build pics and notes.
Hard sliders right away
Installing these gears with the text on the outside makes remembering which idler gears to use easier.
There is some chatter on putting this bearing in the freezer and shrinking the outdrive to get the fitment better, I just used a vise, it wasn't too bad.
When installing the C-hubs, I was careful not to pinch them on the steering knuckle, but maybe I was supposed to be careful not to pinch them on the axle housing? one of them pinched on the axle housing and cracked a small bit. I see Beeftube hubs in my future.
When installing the knuckle I screwed down the shoulder screw until flush on the inside then backed it off 1/16 of a turn.
I opted for the FT wheel hex upgrade right away too since that was just going to be a strengthening upgrade and not a tuning option.
Another FT upgrade I installed were the steel pivot balls since they are smoother and more durable.
When mounting up the lower links to the chassis, the manual has the flanged side next to the screw head. I turned them around so that the wide base of the flanged side mounted to the chassis for increased strength.
I used the Reedy clamping servo horn for keeping the AE theme as strong as possible...although I did opt out on their electronics (I have a soft spot for Holmes Hobby stuff)
Shock time! Time to add some functional bling. In racing, we spend a small fortune on shock upgrades. Typically, Kashima shock bodies (bronze coloured), X-rings, machined inners and upgraded shafts. I grabbed the FT shock kit, matched up the bronze bodies with the blue anodized accessories; next I replaced the o-rings with X-rings for lower friction; there are no machined spacers so I leave those; and no shaft upgrade so I polished them to get rid of the unseen grime. You will see the grime on the towel.
The FT shock kit also comes with 1mm offset pivot balls. I initially was thinking of using them on the bottom to widen the bottom of the shocks for better side hill stability, but you need them on top to clear the shock caps...but maybe I'll get more for tuning options.
Almost done...and the silver shocks didn't stay on long. I just wanted to see how the FT shocks looked like in the package with the blue stuff on them "thumbsup"
Lining everything up to see how she's going to roughly look. I went with the satin body accessories.
...and here is where she will sit until I get home from working in the field, to be continued.
and with my Losi Comp Crawler
I dive into it by ordering the kit, all of the Factory Team parts and all of the hard plastic parts, this way I have the most tuning options possible from Element RC.* I decided that an Sendero body and utility bed best suited my style for now.* I have my eye on a hard body for the future.* There are a few tire choices I want to try out, hyrax, KM3 and interco tires.* I'm starting off with the KM3s for the scale look.* As for wheels, I'm looking at the Vanquish Method 101 V2 wheels.
I'm going to start the build with mostly stock parts.* I will test out the hard plastic options and decide what the best fit is for me and my driving style.* I immediately installed the hard plastic option parts that will be sliding over stuff since that difference wont be seen on the handling side of things.
Here are some build pics and notes.
Hard sliders right away
Installing these gears with the text on the outside makes remembering which idler gears to use easier.
There is some chatter on putting this bearing in the freezer and shrinking the outdrive to get the fitment better, I just used a vise, it wasn't too bad.
When installing the C-hubs, I was careful not to pinch them on the steering knuckle, but maybe I was supposed to be careful not to pinch them on the axle housing? one of them pinched on the axle housing and cracked a small bit. I see Beeftube hubs in my future.
When installing the knuckle I screwed down the shoulder screw until flush on the inside then backed it off 1/16 of a turn.
I opted for the FT wheel hex upgrade right away too since that was just going to be a strengthening upgrade and not a tuning option.
Another FT upgrade I installed were the steel pivot balls since they are smoother and more durable.
When mounting up the lower links to the chassis, the manual has the flanged side next to the screw head. I turned them around so that the wide base of the flanged side mounted to the chassis for increased strength.
I used the Reedy clamping servo horn for keeping the AE theme as strong as possible...although I did opt out on their electronics (I have a soft spot for Holmes Hobby stuff)
Shock time! Time to add some functional bling. In racing, we spend a small fortune on shock upgrades. Typically, Kashima shock bodies (bronze coloured), X-rings, machined inners and upgraded shafts. I grabbed the FT shock kit, matched up the bronze bodies with the blue anodized accessories; next I replaced the o-rings with X-rings for lower friction; there are no machined spacers so I leave those; and no shaft upgrade so I polished them to get rid of the unseen grime. You will see the grime on the towel.
The FT shock kit also comes with 1mm offset pivot balls. I initially was thinking of using them on the bottom to widen the bottom of the shocks for better side hill stability, but you need them on top to clear the shock caps...but maybe I'll get more for tuning options.
Almost done...and the silver shocks didn't stay on long. I just wanted to see how the FT shocks looked like in the package with the blue stuff on them "thumbsup"
Lining everything up to see how she's going to roughly look. I went with the satin body accessories.
...and here is where she will sit until I get home from working in the field, to be continued.
and with my Losi Comp Crawler
