-Lunar Bound- Moon Buggy Build

[HumboldtEF]

I've got a few of those dlux portal transmissions, they are killer! Like you I went from a 2.low to the dlux unit.

I decided to keep the 2.low and use the Dlux Portal tranny in my next build. Looks like I'll need to wait on Capra axles shafts to get re-stocked though. BTW what motor did you use with your Dlux portal tranny? I'm assuming something on the slow side would be best like 1000-1800KV.

Looking good "thumbsup"

Thanks!


I was able to put a few bends in the ESC mount to get the clearance I needed. I cut one end loose to make up for this piece pulling the sides together and then filled the gap with my mig :mrgreen:
I thought I was going to have to move it up much higher and then space the ESC down accordingly but this works much better.

I also did a bit of work to the front servo and servo mount. before I can get to full compression up front the servo horn hits the cage, this limits travel by 5-6mm.


I filed down the VP servo mount around 2mm

Then to get the servo to actually sit lower I extended the mount points on the servo. I 3D printed a jig that uses some metal sleeves so I could use a drill bit without destroying the jig. I also found a lower profile servo horn but when I tried to pull off the VP horn I got the sense I was about to strip out the screw holding it and decided to just live with it.

I got a little bit of crawling in yesterday and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this rig and 4WS. Unfortunately the rocks at the beach had a ton of wet sand washed up on them so the typical grip was not there. The tires got all sandy which I usually try to avoid but there was no avoiding it yesterday.

 

[Lashlee]

I decided to keep the 2.low and use the Dlux Portal tranny in my next build. Looks like I'll need to wait on Capra axles shafts to get re-stocked though. BTW what motor did you use with your Dlux portal tranny? I'm assuming something on the slow side would be best like 1000-1800KV.

I've got an 1800kv revolver in one, and 2500kv on the other two (one AR45p, two Capra axles). I can certainly use some slower motors since I tried to go higher due to the extra gearing with the 2.low.

 

[octigonwallrus]

nice work man, its funny I happened across your video on Youtube yesterday. I was like I should go over to RCC and check out the build. and here it is already brought back to the top. lol
love it man.

 

[HumboldtEF]

I've got an 1800kv revolver in one, and 2500kv on the other two (one AR45p, two Capra axles). I can certainly use some slower motors since I tried to go higher due to the extra gearing with the 2.low.

Thanks Lashlee, I think I'll go for a 1000kv revolver and if thats too slow I can try different pinions or jump up to 4S.

nice work man, its funny I happened across your video on Youtube yesterday. I was like I should go over to RCC and check out the build. and here it is already brought back to the top. lol
love it man.

lol thats funny, thanks for checking out the build "thumbsup"

 

[cooper_xl]

did you finished this?

 

[HumboldtEF]

did you finished this?

I did finish but... Then I got a great deal on a set of F10 portals

I had been considering F10's as an update and then these popped up. Getting the servo off the pumpkin and tucked behind the axle is way better for performance, looks and packaging. The old F9 axles had clearance issues with the hood and servo.

F9 on the top F10 on the bottom

It also came with the Brass F10 portal knuckle weights (120 g per side). I'm looking forward to some extra front bias which wasn't and easy add on the F9's.

I started swapping things over and had assumed the links would be spot on but no, the pinion sticks way up.

I need to order some shorter upper links and some steering links. I played around with stretching the front links a bit and really like the look but unfortunately ended up with some binding on the shock rod ends since I made it double shear and locked in its angle. So I shortened the front links even more than originally to get the shock better aligned. I also took off the offset shock caps and switched back to the normal caps which also helped improve the alignment.

I didn't get a pic with the offset caps and longer links but it was binding to the point the shock shaft was deflectinga fair bit. The shock seals got super worn and sloppy so I'm rebuilding them with new seals. Also the oil was filthy

I though I would need to swap to a different transmission and smaller driveshafts for clearance but it looks like I mostly need to play around with the links and shocks.

I guess one other area that could need tweaking is the battery tray. The servo wasn't going to clear it by 10mm or so but after swapping the shock caps (which raise the rig a bit) it looks like it will just clear. I may be limited to what I can set the pinion angle to as that determines how much clearance I have or not.

More to come

 

[HumboldtEF]

I got the link lengths figured out and ordered. I decided against shortening the upper links, I'm going to extend the lowers instead so the wheelbase doesnt shrink (as I already shortened the front end). I also ordedred a few extra links so I can hit a 12.5" and 12.75" WB.

In order to get my wheels to fit the VP knuckle weights I had to reduce the OD of the wheel hubs. The knuckle weights have a 24mm hole for the hub and the hub was around 24.5mm.
I found an old rear axle and wheel hex and bolted the wheel hub to that. Put it in my wood lathe and sanded and sanded and sanded until they were down to 23mm. I might have been able to use some of my carbide wood turning tools to do this faster but decided to play it safe.

I also 3D printed a 1mm spacer to go between the hubs and wheels again to clear the VP knuckle weights.

The VP portals have larger 8mm stub shafts and specific wheel hexes to fit them. I had already modified these to knock off the axial step at the ends (to fit my wheels) but I remembered that the drive pins provided are way too short as well. I used those anyway for the past few years and due to the short length they started to dig into the hexes on the side making less contact. This explains why they were so damn hard to remove as the drive pins had created a bump on the Inside of the hole that the stub shafts pass through. I'll try to file that down later.
These really could use a 11.5mm x 2mm drive pin instead of the 10mm x 2mm they provide. I did find some 11mm x 2mm drive pins from Element RC, I'm happy they actually call out the size unlike most parts listings.