Losi Baja Rey 1/10th 4WD RTR desert truck

[TheLetterJ]

Yep, as posted just a few posts prior, all new rubber sealed bearings, new Hot Racing aluminum diff cup, new gears properly shimmed, new housing completely superglued around the seam.

I highly doubt it's sands fault since there's never been any inside the cases, and the bearings are still in great shape. All the other front ends broke before the first time I ever took the baja rey to the dunes. Sand also sucks for traction so it can't load up the front end very much, especially when running paddles on just the rear. It wasn't until the second battery running on the track today that I started to hear the ratcheting grinding sound up front. I know it's been said many times that I should just stop running 3s, and I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and run it on 2s... or maybe just nicad so it will never break!

 

[Dbdynsty25]

A little running video from the past weekend. Edited a bit.

https://youtu.be/Y3uWmbSXaiw

 

[TheLetterJ]

Those RC4wd Baja Claws look good on there. I don't know how I overlooked them when I was on the hunt for "tall" short course tires. Unless that's a goof up on their site, they're only $10 a pair?

Edit: I wasn't in the market, but for that price I just had to order a couple pairs!

 

[Dbdynsty25]

Those RC4wd Baja Claws look good on there. I don't know how I overlooked them when I was on the hunt for "tall" short course tires. Unless that's a goof up on their site, they're only $10 a pair?

Edit: I wasn't in the market, but for that price I just had to order a couple pairs!

Right? That's why I bought them. Gotta stick w 2S on them tho as they balloon like crazy when the wheel speed is increased. Didn't seem to do much on 2S. They are super soft and sticky and they drove really well. Kind of a pain to glue too as they seemed to be slightly bigger than the rim. But some rubber bands and quick set CA glue seemed to do the trick.

 

[CM9000]

Yep, as posted just a few posts prior, all new rubber sealed bearings, new Hot Racing aluminum diff cup, new gears properly shimmed, new housing completely superglued around the seam.

I highly doubt it's sands fault since there's never been any inside the cases, and the bearings are still in great shape. All the other front ends broke before the first time I ever took the baja rey to the dunes. Sand also sucks for traction so it can't load up the front end very much, especially when running paddles on just the rear. It wasn't until the second battery running on the track today that I started to hear the ratcheting grinding sound up front. I know it's been said many times that I should just stop running 3s, and I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and run it on 2s... or maybe just nicad so it will never break!

3s kills these trucks. ive said it before, ill say it again. DO NOT RUN 3S LIPO BATTERIES IN YOUR BAJA REY UNLESS YOU LIKE TO SPEND
MONEY AND TIME FIXING IT. this isn't just pointed at you. but to all those people out there that think running it on 3s and the fun that comes out of it outweighs the time and money being put back into it. ive only had to replace the front and rear bearings/ gears once. im still on the stock housing in the front and rear too.

for 3s.. I could see a 2wd setup and with the vanquish rear housing being fun. probably more fun in the dunes though..

 

[CoolRunning]

It's a shame that the problems occur on 3S but without the existence of a metal bulkhead and centre housing plus say the SSD third member, you're going to constantly chew out bearings and gears by the looks of it.

Remember, the Yeti needed all sorts of parts just to reliably run on 3S; it would eat itself without all the metal bits just to run as fast as a totally stock, totally reliable RR on 2S. Imagine then running that stock Yeti on 4S with a 3800kv motor...it's kind of ludicrous TBBH...the thing would still quickly go into eat itself mode once again even with the beef up bits that previously handled 3S. That is how fast a stock 3S RR is.

The RR is darn tough IMO but not crazy fast tough. With any luck, maybe the aftermarket answers and we get the two extra bits that will take crazy performance and we can all run 3S happily. I chatted to the three major players and they all though naturally cagey, said they were looking into replacement parts and had things in the pipeline.

 

[84yoda]

Supposedly losi has an aluminum center diff housing coming out. Still haven't heard anything about a front aluminum bulkhead, but it needs to have bigger bearings.

 

[TheLetterJ]

Even when I lost both of the 5x10x4 trans bearings, I didn't have any issues with the transmission case, so I haven't been pushing for an aluminum variation.

I did write another lengthy email to Hot Racing (they seem to be the fastest growing aftermarket supplier for these trucks) about the front housing/bulkhead, and they wrote me back very quickly. They seem to be aware of the demand for an aluminum/upgraded version of LOS232003 and a poor OEM supply, so fingers crossed that it comes to fruition.

For now, I'm right back to 2wd, and may just keep the paddles on it for now since it doesn't seem to be at a disadvantage being 2wd in that environment... still running 3s.

 

[CM9000]

run it 2wd on 3s till a new front diff case comes out. the front diff case seems to be the only problem even on 2s. hard braking and acceleration flexes the case. ive actually retired my Baja rey from racing. needs a full rebuild. plastics are okay besides the front case.

 

[Arctic Cat ZRT]

run it 2wd on 3s till a new front diff case comes out. the front diff case seems to be the only problem even on 2s. hard braking and acceleration flexes the case. ive actually retired my Baja rey from racing. needs a full rebuild. plastics are okay besides the front case.

I've noticed the skipping of the ring and pinion under deceleration or breaking on my Rock Rey too. I've only run the truck fast/bashing a handful of times don't plan to do it a lot in the future, it's mainly my crawling/trailing rig. So far my front ring and pinion are still in good shape. Someone needs to come out with a aluminium front housing to prevent flexing. Such a cool truck but there are some really bad design flaws that should have been caught during testing and development.

 

[willyg1981]

I've noticed the skipping of the ring and pinion under deceleration or breaking on my Rock Rey too. I've only run the truck fast/bashing a handful of times don't plan to do it a lot in the future, it's mainly my crawling/trailing rig. So far my front ring and pinion are still in good shape. Someone needs to come out with a aluminium front housing to prevent flexing. Such a cool truck but there are some really bad design flaws that should have been caught during testing and development.

Where do you think the noise is coming from ?
Mine was the rear but not now Iv replaced with the vp axle and HR diff cups fingers crossed anyway lol and don't really bash with it just crawl/rock bounce [emoji849]


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[Arctic Cat ZRT]

Where do you think the noise is coming from ?
Mine was the rear but not now Iv replaced with the vp axle and HR diff cups fingers crossed anyway lol and don't really bash with it just crawl/rock bounce [emoji849]


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The clicking noise for me came from the front at the diff housing. Asked if anyone had a similar experience on the rock rey/baja rey facebook page. Everyone agreed it was from the pinion slipping over the ring, which is from the diff housing twisting during braking. That night I pulled apart the housing and the ring/pinion were still in good condition but since I have changed my driving styles. "thumbsup". Haven't had an issue with my rear but I also put in the SSD rear 3rd member when I bought the truck.

 

[willyg1981]

Could it of been from lateral movement back and forth ie lack of shimming I had quite a bit of play when I fitted the hr diff cup I know it doesn't have a direct affect on the movement but noticed when it was stripped so put a few in there and now it's a perfect no slop mesh [emoji106]


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[Dbdynsty25]

Some new shoes...the Baja Claw Mickey Thompsons ballooned way too much. While being closer to the stock size, I just hated how soft they were. So got some Proline KR2s on DE Racing Trinidad Wheels. These wheels are perfect...no offset and work w/ the brake calipers, which a few sets of wheels I've tried don't.

.2 mm shorter but .2 mm wider overall. I like the way this combo looks too...much better than stock.

 

[TheLetterJ]

Has anybody put a Tbone front bumper (meant for the rock rey) on their Baja Rey? Does it look ridiculous?

 

[chrisff87]

Has anybody put a Tbone front bumper (meant for the rock rey) on their Baja Rey? Does it look ridiculous?

I'm interested in knowing this also, it seems like the stock front bumper doesn't absorb impacts very well.

 

[TheLetterJ]

My friend was out of town today and asked if I needed anything from the hobby shop. I gave him a part number LOS232019 for Rock Rey ring & pinion set (which are backordered until September) and they had not 1, but 2 sets! I'll have them in my hands when he gets home tomorrow, so stoked! Of course I'll have to order yet another front bulkhead, but those are still readily available online.

On another note: I picked up a pair of beat up 2wd brushless Slash's with the plan of building one up for my son's birthday in 2 months. They both still drove (sloppy as hell), so I took one out to my usual spot along with the BR, and Yeti SCORE. I must say, the Proline Badlands on the Slash are a million times better than the Axial BFG's that I'm running on the BR and the Yeti! I always liked the look of them (being an avid dirtbiker for over 20 years) but this is the first set I've had, they make an absolute night & day difference compared to all the other SCT tires I've tried thus far. I'll have to borrow them for the BR to see if they have the same performance gain there, which I'm assuming they will.

I hate to say it, but I might build up the 2nd Slash for myself just for a basher/non-competitive track car, and save the BR for dune days and less demanding/ less abusive runs.

 

[mewalsh100]

Anyone else having trouble with the Losi Aluminum lower trailing arms? Specifically, the plastic rod ends? Seems like every 3rd time I take the truck out I break one off. Thinking about just going back to the stock plastic units at this point

 

[willyg1981]

I never liked the look of them get the HR ones much better design they have a rubber bush which has a bit of give and are much stronger design [emoji106]


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[mewalsh100]

I never liked the look of them get the HR ones much better design they have a rubber bush which has a bit of give and are much stronger design [emoji106]


I just checked them out. They appear to be all one piece as well! Not crazy about the "carbon fiber" look, but being one piece, I think that will effectively end broken rod ends."thumbsup"

Thanks!