fyrstormer
RCC Addict
A few changes to mine:
1) I replaced the stock receiver with a non-AVC receiver and a standalone gyro. The truck is noticeably more powerful without the AVC stifling the throttle input every time I steer. Somewhat ironically, this also makes the truck less likely to traction-roll, because I can more easily force the rear end to slide-out when cornering. Also, the Futaba gyro doesn't do strange things like intermittently deciding to ignore my steering inputs like the AVC did.
2) I weighed the spare tire -- 114g -- then opened the "fuel tank" and added a comparable amount of weight in the bottom of the tank. Then I re-mounted the spare tire. The rear suspension is more responsive with the extra weight, and adding the weight to the bottom of the "fuel tank" box also lowers the rear end's center-of-gravity a little. Both are good things.
3) I added a little more preload to the front shocks to discourage the front wheels from tucking-in and causing traction-rolls. It was a minor improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. I left the rear preload the same despite adding extra weight; I don't need to worry about the truck dragging its butt in the grass, because there is no butt for it to drag -- the back half of the vehicle is open space with a solid axle that's always the same height off the ground no matter what.
Overall, the trick with these hybrid-suspension vehicles is to get more sprung-weight as low as possible in the rear, and to keep the overall center of gravity as low as possible too. The Baja Rey is definitely off to a good start in that respect; I will continue tweaking it to see if I can improve it more. It would be nice if there were room to mount the ESC lower, but the battery tray, motor, and servo occupy all the available space on the chassis plate. I briefly entertained the idea of mounting the ESC in the "fuel tank" box, so the weight back there would be useful instead of dead-weight, but then I decided I don't want the ESC in such a vulnerable position. I may be overestimating the danger, though.
I wish the gears were quieter. I feel bad about test-running it in the middle of the night.
I took mine out for another drive today, once again mostly on pavement because that's what parking lots are made of. I'm getting the standalone gyro dialed-in, and getting the left/right steering travel set so the truck turns the same radius in both directions. It definitely likes having the extra weight in the bottom of the "fuel tank" box.
I'm starting to figure out how to drive it well; you don't want a lot of steering angle, you want just enough for wide-to-moderate turns, and then you make sharp turns by throttling-up to induce oversteer. That keeps the outside-front tire from tucking-in and flipping the truck.
The center diff definitely needs thicker oil than I started out with. 10K was good at first but it's not enough now that I've disabled punch-control on the ESC and removed the AVC radio.
Also, I installed some mudflaps from the TEN-SCTE today, because why not:
1) I replaced the stock receiver with a non-AVC receiver and a standalone gyro. The truck is noticeably more powerful without the AVC stifling the throttle input every time I steer. Somewhat ironically, this also makes the truck less likely to traction-roll, because I can more easily force the rear end to slide-out when cornering. Also, the Futaba gyro doesn't do strange things like intermittently deciding to ignore my steering inputs like the AVC did.
2) I weighed the spare tire -- 114g -- then opened the "fuel tank" and added a comparable amount of weight in the bottom of the tank. Then I re-mounted the spare tire. The rear suspension is more responsive with the extra weight, and adding the weight to the bottom of the "fuel tank" box also lowers the rear end's center-of-gravity a little. Both are good things.
3) I added a little more preload to the front shocks to discourage the front wheels from tucking-in and causing traction-rolls. It was a minor improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. I left the rear preload the same despite adding extra weight; I don't need to worry about the truck dragging its butt in the grass, because there is no butt for it to drag -- the back half of the vehicle is open space with a solid axle that's always the same height off the ground no matter what.
Overall, the trick with these hybrid-suspension vehicles is to get more sprung-weight as low as possible in the rear, and to keep the overall center of gravity as low as possible too. The Baja Rey is definitely off to a good start in that respect; I will continue tweaking it to see if I can improve it more. It would be nice if there were room to mount the ESC lower, but the battery tray, motor, and servo occupy all the available space on the chassis plate. I briefly entertained the idea of mounting the ESC in the "fuel tank" box, so the weight back there would be useful instead of dead-weight, but then I decided I don't want the ESC in such a vulnerable position. I may be overestimating the danger, though.
I wish the gears were quieter. I feel bad about test-running it in the middle of the night.
I took mine out for another drive today, once again mostly on pavement because that's what parking lots are made of. I'm getting the standalone gyro dialed-in, and getting the left/right steering travel set so the truck turns the same radius in both directions. It definitely likes having the extra weight in the bottom of the "fuel tank" box.
I'm starting to figure out how to drive it well; you don't want a lot of steering angle, you want just enough for wide-to-moderate turns, and then you make sharp turns by throttling-up to induce oversteer. That keeps the outside-front tire from tucking-in and flipping the truck.
The center diff definitely needs thicker oil than I started out with. 10K was good at first but it's not enough now that I've disabled punch-control on the ESC and removed the AVC radio.
Also, I installed some mudflaps from the TEN-SCTE today, because why not:
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