Nick Danger comes out of retirement with a 10-2

[NickDanger]

Long story short, I sold everything I had, and I mean EVERYTHING, RC related about a year ago to help get my family moved and because it was just getting overly expensive (duh). Anyways, about a month ago my boss (Jimmy "Chop Shop" for anyone in the Pacific NW) convinced me to get back into it and gave me a screaming deal on a rig that I had fallen in love with. Normally I'm a "Built, not bought" type of person but I couldn't pass on the opportunity to get back into the hobby that I had loved so much. So, figured I'd share some photos. I've put a few of my own personal touches on this beaut and I'm working my way back into being competitive. First comp for me was last weekend at NWSRC WA vs. OR, Lucia Falls. I DNFed both C2 courses cause it's just not dialed in yet and I was WAY rusty, but I've made a few changes and will hopefully be ready for the next scale comp up here, NWSRC East vs. West @ Lake Keechelus.

Just wanted to share some pics though 8)

First day I got it:

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Never drove it with this set up, but it came with the Chinese Methods and BFG Krawlers. Looked ok, but not my style.

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First order of business was the CNC Custom Wheels with Proline Swamper XLs. I tested and tuned it a bit with this set up. Big tires rubbed the body big time and the stock memory foams were garbage, which led to...

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Hyrax's and CI 2 stage foams. 4.5 mediums in both the front and rear. Painted the cage and decided to ditch the bed to go for the truggy style look.

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The other major change I've made since the comp failure was to get a set of Dravtech shocks to replace the stock SCX shocks. Also swapped out the 10-2 kit links for Vanquish links.

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[NickDanger]

Well that was a big fail in adding images from Flickr, let me try that again!

 

[4drmopar]

Whats the advantage of Vanquish links vs the original scx10.2 links?


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[NickDanger]

Better rod ends, metal ball ends instead of plastic, and I like that the ends thread ONTO the link instead of having a threaded stud that goes INTO the link like on the 10.2 links.

I was pretty impressed with the 10.2 kit links though. They are certainly good quality.


Also, for me personally, I had RTR links for steering which bugged the crap out of me, those look terrible. Another advantage I found in these VP links is that they seemed to stretch my wheelbase maybe a 1/2 inch or so and lower it down a bit. That could be because I bought them second hand off my friend who was parting out his ToyZuki V2, so these may have been slightly modified in length and such.

 

[4drmopar]

I hate the plastic swivels, will the VP ones fit the factory ends? Mine was a kit, so no plastic except the ends


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[NickDanger]

Yeah, the VP swivels fit. I actually had to rob a couple of the Axial ends off the kit links for the panhard and servo steering arm because the guy I got them from had them set up longer for his TZ then what I needed. But, I just popped the metal swivels out of the VP and put them in the Axial ends.

VP also makes these Brass Pivot Balls - Vanquish Products which look like a worth upgrade to me at some point. And, relatively cheap. 12 brass pivots for $8 so $16 should cover you for everything.

 

[NickDanger]

New love for the SR5. Beef Patties and HR Brass knuckles. This thing is HEAVY on the front end now. Rig weighed in at 8.45lbs total today with the battery in. This front axle looks super sexy now.

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Also got a Holmes servo on it last night, with a BEC hooked up for that sweet sweet 500 in/oz of torque.

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You can see in that picture too I swapped out my pivots for the Vanquish brass pivots. Reduced all my axle slop, this thing is solid as a rock now.

Going out today for a little test and tune after work, then comp day on Saturday!

 

[4drmopar]

mm thats sexy right there!

 

[doubler]

How are you liking the new shocks? I run big bores on everything and have been eyeballing the ones you just installed.

 

[NickDanger]

Wow, night and day difference at our test spot between yesterday and a few weeks ago when we went. This rig was PLANTED to the rocks. Between the shocks and the weight on the front axle, almost nothing phased it.

I've never been one to invest money into shocks, always just ran stock SCX, but I'm 100% convinced now. These Dravtechs are the real deal.

 

[hijack]

What spring rates are you running?

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[NickDanger]

How we do it up in the PNW. Mattzilla, Toyzuki and Brazin all in one picture, along with my 10.2

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[NickDanger]

What spring rates are you running?

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I'm not 100% sure, I want to say soft. I bought them second hand from a buddy who had them on a pretty light TZ setup. I know they have the green stripe on them, just not sure what that signifies.

I am thinking about bumping them up to at least a medium since my truck is fairly heavy, but they performed well yesterday.

 

[dpcardoza]

How do you feel about the brass knuckles? I'm on the fence on whether to go that route or brass shock mounts. I've resisted buying a beef tube axle because it's preinstalled and am looking to add weight w/o rotating mass.


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[NickDanger]

I liked them a lot on my buddies TZ rig. They definitely give mine some help up front as far as weight goes but I was getting bound up at my comp this weekend and even with that Holmes 500oz servo it seemed like it was having trouble turning the tires when it got into tight spaces, and I don't know if maybe that's a product of the weight from the knuckles and beef patties.

 

[NickDanger]

Some comp pics from East Vs. West, Lake Keechelus, WA. Gnarly terrain for sure!

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It was an ugly Top Ten finish (as in, I came in 10th place haha). Out of 25 or so trucks in C2, I wasn't too disappointed. I was happy to finish the courses at least, there was a lot of DNFs.