So much easier removing the body the way you did
Glad I could help. I wanted to get the info out there before the myth that the rollcage has to be disassembled becomes too widespread.
I agree 100% with the Baja Reys handling!! Ive spent weeks tuning and upgrading my Yeti Score Kit and was amazed at how the Baja Rey handled out of the box! After just a servo upgrade and lowering the pinion to the optional 10tooth for 3s I am sold on this beast! I will say that Axial still has a chance if they release a center diff to replace the locked center output gear in the transfer case. I think the Rey has better suspension geometry as well, but the center diff is the main reason it handles so well! when throttleing on corners the center diff allows the power to transfer to the front end and pull it through the turn! Take the Axial Score around the same corner with the same throttle and it will spin out. I still like the Axial Score, but Losi has improved the formula. Now, lets cross our fingers for Traxxas and Associated to get on board!
A locked center diff would allow torque to transfer to the front axle more efficiently, actually -- it would force the front and rear axles to share the torque 50/50 at all times -- but that's part of the problem. After trying multiple configurations with my Yeti and Twin Hammers, I realized that solid-rear-axle trucks just don't work right unless the rear axle is locked, because otherwise you get horrible torque-steer every time the chassis twists when accelerating. That severely limits drivetrain-tuning options.
So, with a truck that has a locked rear diff AND a locked center diff, like the Yeti, there is no escape path for excess torque unless both rear wheels come off the ground. (i.e., when the truck is in the air, in which case handling isn't really a concern anyway.) That means, even if the truck corners so hard that the inside wheels come off the ground, the motor can continue driving the truck into the corner, because the locked rear axle is constantly transferring power to the outside-rear wheel, and the locked center diff is ensuring that the front axle can't "diff-out" by spinning faster than the rear axle.
You can see what I mean by lifting up one side of your Yeti and trying to rotate the front wheel that's in the air -- despite being connected to an open diff, it still will force all four wheels to rotate, because the rear axle is locked and the front axle is forced to rotate at the same speed as the rear axle. My Yeti and Twin Hammers were both impossible to drive on pavement, and difficult to drive on grass, without nearly-constant traction-rolling because their motors could drive the trucks into corners so hard they simply rolled over. It was so frustrating I actually entertained the fantasy of driving my Twin Hammers into a curb at top speed just to watch it smash to pieces. (I sold it instead.)
In that same hard-cornering scenario with an unlocked center diff, when the inside wheels start to come off the ground, the center diff and front diff combine to give the inside-front wheel the freedom of movement to diff-out and release the torque from the motor. That means the motor can't keep driving the truck into the corner once the inside-front wheel starts to lift. Of course, having a completely open center diff would mean the rear axle would struggle to get any power from the motor when accelerating, because both front wheels would start to diff-out as soon as the truck leaned backward a bit, and that's exactly what the Baja Rey does out of the box; that's why I filled the center diff with 10K oil, to make it easier for the rear axle to get its share of the motor's torque, without making it too difficult for the inside-front wheel to diff-out in corners. It works marvelously with this setup; it can now climb diagonally over curbs, it can accelerate better because the rear axle can get more torque when accelerating, it can brake harder because the front axle can get more torque when braking, but it can still diff-out when cornering. If I were driving on looser terrain I might want 30K oil in the center diff instead, but I think in all cases that don't involve rock-crawling this truck benefits greatly from a completely open front diff. (and if you're rock-crawling, why are you using a trophy truck?)
The Yeti would benefit greatly from a center diff (does the one from the EXO fit, by any chance?), but the Baja Rey will still have a center-of-gravity advantage. In the Baja Rey, the battery and motor are both sitting right on the chassis plate, whereas in the Yeti they are both above the chassis plate by as much as an inch. Short of someone making a custom chassis AND gearbox for the Yeti, the Baja Rey will always be more stable because of its design. It also helps that Losi nailed the rear-suspension design, with the lower links connecting below the axle, giving the links lots of leverage to prevent axle twist, without needing tons of clearance above the axle for super-high upper links. The shock placement is perfect too; the rear shocks are so close to the rear wall of the chassis tub that even the small amount of sprung-weight above the rear axle is enough to give the rear shocks something to act against, so the rear suspension actually responds to bumps instead of tail-hopping all over the place.
The Baja Rey is much more of a scale-accurate, solid-rear-axle trophy truck (basically what RC short course trucks were supposed to be all along), rather than a fast rock-crawler like the Yeti, and that's fine with me. I tried for months to get my Yeti, and then my Twin Hammers, to be what the Baja Rey is; I wish I'd waited a year and bought this instead, I would've saved a LOT of money.