TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
What was the cost of having Dlux mod the stock 3rd member to fit a 5x13 inner pinion bearing?... and how's it holding up?
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Losi Baja Rey 1/10th 4WD RTR desert truck
- Thread starter grunt95
- Start date
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
Just poking around I'm finding that for standard bearings from the same manufacturer:
5x10x4 is rated to 13kgf
5x11x4 is rated to 23kgf
5x13x4 is rated to 33kgf
I can see that the 11mm bearing is a substantial improvement, but I'm all for overkill on this part since it seems to be the #1 failure on the Baja Rey. I doubt we need 33kg of support, so I'm guessing the plastic 3rd member would deform before it saw 23kg of force, so the 5x13 can take that same load and spread it over a larger area = no deformation. Either way, stronger housings with the biggest bearings possible sounds like a winner to me!
I wrote an email to Metal Concepts to see what they thought about stuffing a 5x13 in there, at least at the inner bearing.
5x10x4 is rated to 13kgf
5x11x4 is rated to 23kgf
5x13x4 is rated to 33kgf
I can see that the 11mm bearing is a substantial improvement, but I'm all for overkill on this part since it seems to be the #1 failure on the Baja Rey. I doubt we need 33kg of support, so I'm guessing the plastic 3rd member would deform before it saw 23kg of force, so the 5x13 can take that same load and spread it over a larger area = no deformation. Either way, stronger housings with the biggest bearings possible sounds like a winner to me!
I wrote an email to Metal Concepts to see what they thought about stuffing a 5x13 in there, at least at the inner bearing.
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
Metal Concepts wrote me back almost immediately and confirmed what I suspected (above.) He said they've had no reported bearing failures using the same 5x11x4's in their own trophy truck axle. I think I'm sold, just need to verify that I've got the toy budget.
I snapped a couple pics to show how the Losi LOS330001 light bar fits. You can kind of see in the first pic where the top of the windshield frame had to be trimmed above the 3 mounting points.
Second pic shows how it sits just below the roof line.
I snapped a couple pics to show how the Losi LOS330001 light bar fits. You can kind of see in the first pic where the top of the windshield frame had to be trimmed above the 3 mounting points.
Second pic shows how it sits just below the roof line.
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
So I've got to ask, has anyone tried running 4s yet? The ESC is rated for it according to both Losi and Hobbywing (if it is indeed a re-labeled HW WPSC8.) Using the standard 50k rpm rating of most brushless motors (I know Castle says theirs are good for 100k rpm, bearings being the limiting factor I assume), the stock 3800kv would theoretically see about 56k rpm (64k rpm with the batteries hot off the charger) on 4s, so close enough to consider if you ask me.
I think the truck is plenty fast (almost too fast still) on 3s with a 10t pinion... but with the rear pinion bearing situation under control, what is the next weak link going to be? I'm sure the front pinion bearings/diff housing are next in line, but with a locked center diff and running on soft terrain (front wheels off the ground a lot), I wonder???
I don't actually have any intentions of trying, just curious.
I think the truck is plenty fast (almost too fast still) on 3s with a 10t pinion... but with the rear pinion bearing situation under control, what is the next weak link going to be? I'm sure the front pinion bearings/diff housing are next in line, but with a locked center diff and running on soft terrain (front wheels off the ground a lot), I wonder???
I don't actually have any intentions of trying, just curious.
fyrstormer
RCC Addict
No idea, I haven't actually tried the Metal Concepts third member. But generally speaking, everything in RC needs at least a little shimming to fit just-right.
The best solution for the front is to use premium bearings so they won't disintegrate. I haven't found anyone who makes a better front diff case or can modify the stock one to use larger bearings.
fyrstormer
RCC Addict
The Baja T/A tires are surprisingly slippery, at least in cold weather, but that's fine because the stock tires are pretty slippery too, and the Baja Rey would traction-roll like crazy with sticky tires.
When mounted on Pro-Line wheels, the Baja T/A tires bulge out to the same diameter as the stock tires, especially if you use the closed-cell foams that come with the tires. I opted to use HPI Blitz medium open-cell foams though, for a little more shock absorption for the rear axle.
fyrstormer
RCC Addict
For me, it didn't cost anything, because mine was the prototype and I sent a new third member to Dlux to modify. Last I checked, he's trying to get his hands on some more from Losi so he can mod them, but parts are still pretty hard to get.
It's holding up great. No problems whatsoever, at least on 2S.
so, I put bad horsies diff lock in the center diff but didn't fill it all the way, come to find out.. I think the torque steer problem is officially gone. but that may include my alum servo mount and bellcranks installed.
had a blast Saturday racing it once again. I qualified fifth but I think I ended up in 6th. these guys are getting faster and fast as well as myself. its hard to keep up with this truck. we will see how the summer series goes..
had a blast Saturday racing it once again. I qualified fifth but I think I ended up in 6th. these guys are getting faster and fast as well as myself. its hard to keep up with this truck. we will see how the summer series goes..
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
I went ahead and made my own upper links last night. I was going to just order the Incision links, but it looks like they use Revo rod ends, in which case they would require washers between the mounts (so I thought.) Since I have a whole pack of Jato ends (which are the same as Revo ends, just with more thread engagement) I figured I had nothing to lose... while digging through my spares, I noticed one Jato end was wider than the others, in fact, the same width as the Baja Rey's. So I kept digging and wouldn't you know it, there are 4 of the wider ends in the Jato pack, sweet! (for all I know, the Revo ends have the same wider balls in the pack, but this is what I had, and I was already started!)
I tapped the Jato ends to 8-32, cut 2 pieces of all-thread to ~4 7/8" and put 4 wraps of electrical tape ~1" in from each end (to take up the slack between the tube's I.D., and the all-thread), cut 2 pieces of 5/16" O.D. aluminum tube to 96mm then beveled the ends on my bench grinder, then put it all together. A quick scuff with a Scotch-Brite pad and they look factory.
I tapped the Jato ends to 8-32, cut 2 pieces of all-thread to ~4 7/8" and put 4 wraps of electrical tape ~1" in from each end (to take up the slack between the tube's I.D., and the all-thread), cut 2 pieces of 5/16" O.D. aluminum tube to 96mm then beveled the ends on my bench grinder, then put it all together. A quick scuff with a Scotch-Brite pad and they look factory.
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TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
mewalsh100
I wanna be Dave
Has anyone else installed the Losi Aluminum shock mounts yet? I installed the front and the rears. I've been trying to mount my cage back up and it seems like there are fitment issues at the back. It almost looks like I might need to hack on the rear cage section and modify it.
mewalsh100
I wanna be Dave
Got it figured out. Tolerances to slip the cage between were just tighter and required a good bit of flexing and contortions.
mewalsh100
I wanna be Dave
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
Me too! Me too! I got my MC 3rd member and HW program card yesterday. I ended up driving 40 miles to my nearest hobbyshop to get some shims to try to get the rear end setup just right. I ended up with a 0.2mm behind the pinion and a 0.2mm behind the driveshaft coupling as well. So far, so good!
I tried connecting the program card last night using the throttle plug from the ESC plugged into the card, but all I got were red -- -'s. I'll look to see if there is another plug/port on the ESC next time I take the body off. The Baja Rey manual seems to jive with "Table 2" on the HW card. For now I just made a couple changes the "old fashioned way" and reduced the timing from 18.75 down to 3.75 as well as reducing start mode to level 3 and turning reverse up to 50%... I think I might put that back to 25%.
I also put some weight (2 lug nuts and foam to hold them in place) in the fuel cell, and I changed the rear shock oil to 60wt too. It's definitely getting closer to where I want it.
I tried connecting the program card last night using the throttle plug from the ESC plugged into the card, but all I got were red -- -'s. I'll look to see if there is another plug/port on the ESC next time I take the body off. The Baja Rey manual seems to jive with "Table 2" on the HW card. For now I just made a couple changes the "old fashioned way" and reduced the timing from 18.75 down to 3.75 as well as reducing start mode to level 3 and turning reverse up to 50%... I think I might put that back to 25%.
I also put some weight (2 lug nuts and foam to hold them in place) in the fuel cell, and I changed the rear shock oil to 60wt too. It's definitely getting closer to where I want it.
Orange peel
Pebble Pounder
I took mine to test n tune yesterday and ran a pack through it at the end of the day and I cant believe the crowd this big bent out of shape turd attracts every time. Ive been running a SCTE 3.0 and haven't had Rey out in over a month, so needless to say it was taking me 1/3 of the straights trying to get it straighted out after leaving the corners hard trying to keep up with the pack. But it made for a good show.