New build, new builder, need help

[Fivos Rock City]

HD bevel gears are really nice indeed, much better gear mesh. I'd also recommend getting either od for front or ud for rear diff, or like myself both od front and ud rear! No problems with it so far (1 year or so) tried and worked with both slow brushed and brushless setup "thumbsup"

 

[Eric0424]

Here are my electronics selections so far, heavily going by Harley’s suggestions in his budget Wraith build videos. I would like some second opinions on these choices and some possible other parts I should consider.
Tekin Roc 412 3100kv motor
1/10 Mamba Max Pro ESC
Futaba S9157 servo
Futaba 4PLS radio

Nothing has actually been purchased yet because I first want to get a general parts list to make sure everything is going to work well together. What I need to know from you guys is what parts of the new Wraith Spawn should be upgraded? Am I going overkill on the electronics? Need input.

Your gear looks good, I would add an external BEC to keep up with the high torque servo. You could save a little money on other choices, but you won't find better quality or performance in a motor, servo or radio.

 

[YouAintCAV...]

List looks ok. Keep an eye on rctech.net for sale forums. I picked up a ton of second hand rc stuff (motors, servos, x4 charger) on there and so far its been all good. Just a lot of searching for what you need.
Id also save some money for an upgrade set of drive shafts. Id say you could hack saw an axial link and hammer it down the center spline but they changed the inner diameter of the plastic drive shaft spline on the spawn kit.
So junfacs or mips for sure. You can run the stock ones til they break but with the motor your running expect to use the spares that come with the kit as well.

 

[Benbot]

Your gear looks good, I would add an external BEC to keep up with the high torque servo. You could save a little money on other choices, but you won't find better quality or performance in a motor, servo or radio.

Can you give me some money saving options? I'm confident my electronics list is good, but it may be overkill and push me over budget.

 

[Col_Sanders]

That is definitely not a cheap build. This is the most that I have ever spent on electronics for a crawler. Luckily as much as I spent on Tower I ended up basically getting the motor for free and ~$55 more in ecash to spend there. lol

I like the MMP because of how programmable it is (be sure to buy Castle Link) and you can use it with up to 6s and any type of motor. That will allow you to "grow". You could pick up a used MMP here in the classifieds for ~$80 sometimes. Holmes has Castle ESCs built to his specs and he can waterproof them for you. You can get a good motor from him as well. Going with a brushed motor would be a cheaper way to start. Early in the Wraith thread Harley was recommending 35t motors.

 

[maslin]

MMP is a solid esc, I've been using one for a while now, no issues at all.

If you think you may want to go brushless down the road just do it now. Spending $50 on a quality brushed motor just to wear it out and move on in 6 months is a waste. Spend the $100 now and forget about it.

 

[Eric0424]

Can you give me some money saving options? I'm confident my electronics list is good, but it may be overkill and push me over budget.

Ordering everything through Tower Hobbies would help with the coupon codes they offer ($70 w/code 01658 ) and free shipping. There's a $10 Gift Certificate with the Mamba Max Pro through Tower. You could also shave off $20 with Airtronics servo # 474380 (423 oz-in @ .15 sec) without sacrificing much of anything (3 oz-in and .01 sec. difference). The Hitec HS-7955TG servo would save $40, but it would also sacrifice some torque (333 oz-in @ .15 sec). The Futaba 3PL only $115, but you'll sacrifice some options/versatility you get with the 4PL.

And to be honest, I thought the Pro4 3000kV was just $120 or $130, but I see they're the same price as the Roc412 now. Must have been on sale the last time I looked at them.

Tower also has their Easy Pay option on some of your gear (Mamba Max Pro, 4PL, and Roc412) to help take the initial sting out of a large order and big ticket items.

 

[Benbot]

I know nothing about BECs. What should I look for?


Also, I am seeing a lot of available parts from Hot Racing and Integy. What's the general consensus on either of those brands? I understand Vanquish is second to none, but are those guys a close second to Vanquish? What should I steer toward if I can't quite afford Vanquish parts?


Finally, I would like to replace my stock screws with stainless steel. What are my best options?

 

[sic1to]

Castle creations 10amp bec!!!
VP has best quality product but HR is great stuff too integy not so much with my xp"thumbsup"

 

[Eric0424]

I know nothing about BECs. What should I look for?


Also, I am seeing a lot of available parts from Hot Racing and Integy. What's the general consensus on either of those brands? I understand Vanquish is second to none, but are those guys a close second to Vanquish? What should I steer toward if I can't quite afford Vanquish parts?


Finally, I would like to replace my stock screws with stainless steel. What are my best options?

The most common external BEC seems to be the Castle 10 amp unit, but there are a couple of others on the market. I haven't installed one yet, I'm still waiting for a brownout or some indication my ESC actually needs one.

Hot Racing quality has been okay for me so far, Integy is hit and miss with more misses than hits so I've avoided them. My STRC upper, lower and steering links are fine but the steering link needed a little adjusting to get toe-in set to zero. However STRC CV axle shafts are weak, broke one within a few minutes of use here in the house.

There are a few stainless screw kits available for the Wraith, but I haven't used any of them either. So I can't really say how good or bad they are. I can say stainless screws are softer than 10.9 and 12.9 black oxide so you can actually strip the heads a little easier if your hex-drivers/hex-bits are a little worn or out of spec.

 

[maslin]

Stainless is terrible. Use the black oxide coated metric screws available at your local rc shop.

 

[Benbot]

Oh, I didn't realize that! Are the stock screws just fine, then?

 

[snapon boy]

Re: Benbot’s Planetary Explorer Wraith build

Most people change the screws for crosion resistance or buy a set of stainless for extras. Buy the highest quality screws and if you have one that's in any way bad or rounding out etc trash it don't install it.

 

[Eric0424]

Oh, I didn't realize that! Are the stock screws just fine, then?

For the most part the stock screws are fine, but some of the heads are a little loose on the drivers. This of course can lead to stripping and damage to the screw head and driver tips. I bought spare screws from Axial to replace the ones that were a sloppy fit when I found them during the build.

 

[Benbot]

If I do want to replace the stock screws, what should I look for in a good screw set? Does Tower have anything I should consider?

I finally made my first purchase last night! Just the kit and a few option parts for the body. I'll get the electronics when I'm closer to that part in the build. I'm excited! Thank you all for your advice and help!

 

[maslin]

I've found that the long plastic threaded screws that hold the skid on and the majority of the cage together hold very well. Machine screws should be installed basically everywhere else, axles and trans specifically.

I have also found that, although less "scale", socket headed screws use one size larger tool than the similarly threaded cap screw. Many areas on the axles benefit from the additional torque available.

 

[84yoda]

Get the screw kit for a wraith, stock screws suck, don't even use them. The difference is course which is stock screws vs machine screws in a kit and it makes a huge difference so plastic doesn't strip as easy. Also get some good allen head wrenches, I would get some that have the long tips, makes it a ton easier to tighten stuff without pulling everything off.

 

[Eric0424]

If I do want to replace the stock screws, what should I look for in a good screw set? Does Tower have anything I should consider?

I finally made my first purchase last night! Just the kit and a few option parts for the body. I'll get the electronics when I'm closer to that part in the build. I'm excited! Thank you all for your advice and help!

Tower carries stainless screw kits from RC Screwz for the Wraith and a "Bulk Crawler Kit", but they're all machine thread and I don't think they include the 2.6mm diameter screws (Bulk Crawler kit doesn't, Wraith kit may not).

 

[Benbot]

The kit arrived and I'm trying to figure out if I should beef up the axles and transmission. I understand the Spawn kit has some significant upgrades there, but I'm not sure if it's enough to cope with the power I'm planning to run through it. What do you think?

 

[Col_Sanders]

Most definitely at least buy steel transmission gears!

As far as drivetrain goes the Spawn has the better slipper with 32p pinion/spur gears and heavy duty driveshafts, but the trans internals are the same as the others. I have the Roc412 and MMP on 3s and I didn't make it through one pack before I shredded the puny idler gear. I was not being too incredibly hard on it. I was on grass doing wheelies. Now its down waiting for the HR light weight steel gears to arrive. I have Robinson Racing internals on my main SCX-10 and they are holding up fine. I just wanted to try something different on the Wraith.

As far as diff gears are concerned, I don't know how the standard gears hold up to this kind of power. I have not had any problems with them on my SCX but I am not running big power through it. I did swipe the HD gears from my Yeti and they are going in the Wraith, along with my SSD rear axle. That's just a precaution because I know they are strong. Eventually I will get spools for it too, but I've already blown my RC funds for the next few weeks.