Losi LMT Rod Ends?

[Fallen]

Anyone find a good, longer lasting replacement for the stock rod ends? As SVT predicted, my rod ends have stretched out, so I have almost a 1/4" of slop in my suspension.

I'm hoping not to replace them with the same Losi rod ends that will just stretch out again.

Thanks.

 

[ferp420]

Plastic rod ends are disposable i burn through a 20 pack every month reminds me i need another pack lol
There is a company making really nice ones but there not cheap
Replacing rod ends is just one of those things

When i bought my first axial i figured i should get aluminum rod ends after 10 years of abuse they still kinda work but once thatblittle brass ring falls out the slop goes off the charts

For the plastic you have a choice of flexable or brittle
Jato rod ends ive found to be brittle and snapped a bunch of them and ended the run then had to cary the rig back to the car
The rc3wd rod ends are flexable they will streech and bend but you can still drive the rig back to the car

You could up size your links to run bigger stronger rod ends but i dont know of any off hand scx6 maybe ?

 

[Fallen]

I had figured that it may be a "replace every 6 months" kind of thing, and if so, then so be it.

Fortunately, the Losi rod ends are only about $15 for a set.

 

[Fallen]

Well, to answer my own question a bit here, I noticed Vitavon does sell some aluminum links for the LMT. At $144 though, I won't likely go down that road. Considering that it's $15 for a set of rod ends, it'd take several years for me to burn $144 worth of rod ends.

I'll probably stick with changing the rod ends consistently.

On another note, I did score a Vitavon center skid / trans mount for my LMT. More on that in a few days...

 

[Gula]

I don't own a LMT. However I have a LST2, and those rod ends look beefy imho. What about scx6 parts? Again I don't own ant of those.

 

[Fallen]

Thanks, I might just order some of those next time. I'm waiting on a fresh set of LMT rod ends to show up in the mail.

As my package is delayed, I began to consider that any ol' Losi 1/8 scale rods ends would probably work. Hell, any 1/8 scale rod end probably would, but the SCX6 I hadn't considered.

If my package doesn't arrive tomorrow, I'll probably just go see what the hobby shop has on the shelf.

 

[Fallen]

I found what appears to be a decent rod end replacement:

The rod ends for the HPI Savage XL Flux / 4.6 / 4.9. They're HPI part # 100949-3.

Unless you cut them down to length (which I didn't) they stretch the wheelbase by about 1/2". But it's nothing the dirveshafts and shock mounts can't accommodate.

I got them installed tonight, so should be able to tell soon how they do. The stock rod ends only lasted 2 battery packs before stretching out.

 

[meatmonkey]

Here's to hoping those Hpi rod ends are winners.

I too am sick of constantly replacing my lmts rod ends.

 

[ferp420]

Good luck I hope they work for ya

 

[Fallen]

I'll be testing them at the beach today. Sand is pretty easy on vehicles, at least as far as impact is concerned, so it probably won't be a harsh test.

 

[Nova's Ark]

Crawler Innovations owns three Losi LMT's, each set up different. One is still on the stock rtr motor, esc, tx and rx. This LMT is basically Treal everything and heavy because of it. The factory links were the last parts upgraded recently to the treal aluminum links. I too was skeptical of the high cost and longevity. The treal links were a noticeable improvement for a heavy LMT on 4S. The truck was easier to drive and consistent through high speed pulls across the yard. I cannot speak to the longevity of the treal links yet, but so far the performance is noticeably better. There is no flex in the links.

 

[Fallen]

Thanks! I was hoping to maintain some plastic somewhere in the links as a weak point, but aluminum links do sound enticing except for the price. It's nice to hear the performance is better with the aluminum links.

 

[Fallen]

Well, I might be taking Nova's Ark's advice and going for aluminum.

Those HPI rod ends did great in the sand. But sand is soft, very forgiving. The other end of that spectrum, the wood ramps in my front yard. After two very hard landings on the wood, one rod end broke and one was pretty bent.

I ordered a few more just to give them a fair shot, but things aren't looking good for the HPI rod ends. Vitavon might be getting more real estate on my LMT.

 

[Fallen]

Replaced the broken rod ends with 2 more. Broke one of those and replaced it. I think I figured out that the all-thread needs more depth in the rod end, than it does in the link. Once I made that change, they have survived some abuse on the wood ramps, but only 1 battery so far.

I've probably put 4 batteries on these rod ends, and they're sloppy now too. Not as sloppy as the stock rod-ends, but noticeably sloppy.

The slop plus the breakages, and I think I've proven these rods ends to be a bust. They're good for stretching your wheelbase, but that's about it. I'll probably end up with some Vitavon or Treal links in the not-too-distant future.