OSRC's TRX-4 Defender "Greybeard"

[OSRC]

I don't know that there's much overall benefit per-se performance-wise. Moves the motor up and forward a bit. Little more front weight bias, little big higher COG. I just wanted to mess around with it. Just testing around the backyard, you can notice the difference, but it's subtle. Drives a little different from my other TRX's.

Of course, there's something to be said for putting the motor up front under the hood where the good lord intended it.

 

[OSRC]

Took the Defender out for some playtime... Usual spot at St. Peters. Great day, ran into the EPARCRC guys doing a comp, and also met 2 guys who were there for some trail runs who joined us. Plus my friend who has been newly addicted to the scale scene and the owner of our latest LHS there for his first time out in the woods. Very fun morning!

Coming up our normal hill climb. This is the first time I've run with the GRC front motor setup and an outrunner... I lost my programming card so I had no drag brake, but with so much reduction in first gear, the big outrunner held it in check very nicely. Plenty of power, even on 2S. My setup tried some Redcat Iroks with some dual stage front/single stage rear foams. Didn't work as well as I had hoped....I had decent traction, but it could have been better. Needs some tweaking for sure.

First time seeing a set of tracks... pretty cool. Truck was bone stock, but it kept up pretty much no problem. Definitely struggled maneuvering around in the rocks - tracks are just too big and bulky but shined on the trail sections.

I heard some clicking here and there - mostly in higher stress situation where the tires were all but bound up. Not sure if the GRC kit is all that happy with the torque from the outrunner. I'm not quite sure where it was coming from, truck ran good all day with no failures, but any clicking while running concerns me.

The black jeep used to be an orange Defender, I've been helping my friend add some performance enhancing goodies... I painted the body and donated the tires and a Bowhouse battery tray. He finally showed me up on the trail, going places I wasn't able to follow. Game on! Though we both got to the top of this huge rock.

Not sure what I want to do with this truck... I do like the body, but it kills performance. I have a Sport to perform, and a Bronco that's mostly stock... So this is still my experimental truck. Might move the GRC kit over to the Bronco - I think the weight of this pig and the outrunner are just too much for it, and I ordered the SSD portal delete kit to experiment with. Not sure where I want to install it yet. Will be putting the front diff back in if I use it on this truck....decisions, decisions!

 

[OSRC]

Well, what do we have here? Portal delete kit? Don't think I've seen a build with these yet. Thought I'd give them a shot.

Debated which rig to put them on....was leaning towards the Bronco initially, but after some thought I decided to go with the Defender. It's by far the tippiest of my TRX's so it could use some lower COG. Also, the PDK changes the gearing pretty significantly, and the GRC front motor mount allows a little more gearing options than stock. I definitely want to retain the diff lockers as that's the coolest part of the axle, and currently I'm running a spool up front since the steel axle housing didn't play well with the locker. Time to make some changes...

First off, decided to swap axles with my Sport. The Sport runs a Yeah Racing front axle and the diff/locker assembly fits just fine. Of course, the Sport runs front OD and the Defender does not, so everything has to be stripped down and swapped.

I started swapping axles around and then decided to order the matching rear axle. The Defender does well with weight down low, so the heavier axles will come in handy. Paused until further monies spent. Much wrenching to come...

 

[durok]

So wild, seeing a TRX-4 rollin' so low... "thumbsup"

Looks like it could handle well at speed!

All that swapping of parts reminds me of what is needed when I finally complete Bomber #2 - I'll be swapping new skid, trans, driveshafts, motor, ESC and axles into existing build, and moving the old parts to a new chassis/body combination.

 

[OSRC]

Which one is rolling low?

The Defender will be much lower once the portals are gone.... might have to look into longer shocks. Maybe, I have a plan. Kinda.

 

[lkvisser]

Which one is rolling low?

The Defender will be much lower once the portals are gone.... might have to look into longer shocks. Maybe, I have a plan. Kinda.

That’s awesome.., didn’t realize there was a portal delete kit. The main reason I never like running my defender was the portal axles...

Thank you sir!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OSRC]

Finally got some wrench time in... Picked at it on and off through the weekend.

Starting with the front axle, the YR axle housing interfered a bit with the gear.. not sure why it didn't in the Sport (was running the kit spools) bit with the diff and OD gear it was rubbing a bit. I could have left it wear in, but didn't want any shavings in the axle so I took the Dremel and notched it just a touch. Also pulled the seals off the bearings which spun really stiff, blasted out the grease and re-lubed with some lighter oil. Everything spins much more free now.

The SSD knuckles didn't want to play well with the YR housings. (Fit perfect and nice and snug on the stock housings BTW) A bit of slow steady work with a flapwheel to remove the anodizing and the knuckles then slid on after I tapped them in place with a rubber mallet. Rock solid, they are not going anywhere!

Swapped over the axles onto the Traxxas CVD assemblies....everything fits like a glove as expected.

Front axle done! Painted the gray diff cover to match the axle, though eventually I'll order something a bit more stout. Great steering angle, and the YR housings give plenty of heft. The knuckles have a spot to bolt on weights, but according to SSD there are no plans to make the weights. No matter, the housings add plenty of weight and with the lower COG it should be fine.

Knowing the wheels would be tucking up into the fenders a bit more, I swapped the shocks over to some longer rod ends at the bottom. Might have to look into some 100mm shocks depending on how the ride height works out.

Mounted back on the chassis! Lots of caster, I may adjust that top link a bit.

Compared to the rear portal axle.

Wheels at full drop and full stuff....

Track width is much narrower... wheels have .350 hubs and they tuck in well under the fenders.

However, I plan to run wheels with some Beef Patties inside, which will space them back out. Looks much better with a bit of offset. Pretty much perfect actually, just a slight bit narrower than stock. Not sure what tires I plan to run yet, I'll be experimenting a bit.

 

[OSRC]

(later that day..) After hanging out at an outdoor party in 110 degree weather all day, I was stoked to get back in the cool basement and get some more wrenching in! Movie on, ice cold tea in hand, lets rock!

Rear axle time!! New YR housing showed up Saturday, so the timing worked out perfect. Needed a bit of shaving just like the front. No problem, took 5 minutes. Also cleaned and re-lubed the bearings like I did with the front. Traxxas sealed bearings seem to have a ton of drag, though they seem to last forever too. In any case, there's a lot of bearings in there, and getting them to spin easier really frees up the axle.

Went super smooth just like the front, again I had to remove a bit of anodizing to get the SSD parts seated. Axle is solid and hefty! Glad I went with the YR housings, they are nice and solid and compliment the SSD parts perfectly.

Chassis shot with both axles mounted - added longer rod ends at the rear as well. Can literally see the COG coming down before your eyes!

Wheels mounted! I didn't play with the ride height yet, it's at about 75% dropped out. Definitely lost some clearance, but the truck is now nice and low. I'll measure out some stuff once I get everything sorted. Bonus point for guessing the movie..

About 2 tires worth of flex.

Track width is spot on.... Again, not sure what tires will end up on here, but I think a narrower tire looks better than the thick Traxxas tires. .

With the beef patties on the wheels, I'm at around 8.6lbs w/o battery with a 54.8%/45.2% front weight bias. Still have to put the front shift servo back in and get the shifting sorted out before the first test run. All in all, very pleased with the swap! Definitely something different.

On a side note, I've tried to build my 3 TRX's different, and now - bodies aside - they are about as different as can be. I put together a spreadsheet of the three and the differences between them. Each one is a totally different driving experience....such a cool platform to mess with.

 

[Atitagain]

Great looking rig and a very informative thread.

 

[Inspector86]

I'm really interested in the effect on gearing and reversing the motor.

 

[jchammbone]

nice work.

bad boys...

 

[OSRC]

I'm really interested in the effect on gearing and reversing the motor.

Reversing the motor is easy for me...swap 2 wires, done! A stock TRX would need a standard rotation motor. Well, doesn't need it, but it would run a lot better with one!

Gearing is another matter. Removing the portals changes the FDR significantly. I decided to put the PDK on this truck since it had an outrunner motor, which should lend itself much better to the gearing. I dropped from a 15t pinion down to an 11 and it seems in the ballpark. I think I can go down to a 9t, though I don't have one handy. "thumbsup"

 

[Natedog]

Nice set of trucks, UD rear gears rather than the OD front would help Greybeard with gearing too. Find out what the clicking is?

 

[HumboldtEF]

Thanks for sharing! I have a project in mind for those SSD portal deletes so it nice to see them in a build. I feel like these arent used/purchased enough for some shops to stock so I'm wondering how long this kit will stick around, oh and its also a bit expensive. I hope it sticks around though.

One thing that always confuses me when I look at the portal delete kit is the axles, so do you re-use the Traxxas stubs and combine them with the SSD ends with this kit?

 

[OSRC]

Find out what the clicking is?

Not yet, it's coming out Sunday. Looked into the GRC unit and all looks fine, so I'm not sure. As long as the clicking sound does not manifest itself into busted gear teeth and shattered dreams, it's good! Will be listening though...."thumbsup"

... and its also a bit expensive. I hope it sticks around though.

One thing that always confuses me when I look at the portal delete kit is the axles, so do you re-use the Traxxas stubs and combine them with the SSD ends with this kit?

It is a bit pricey. Welcome to RC crawling. Add a portal kits are around the same price, so I thought it was fair. There are quite a lot of parts involved - metal knuckles, C's, 2 piece lockouts, 4 steel stub axles, bunch of hardware and all new bearings - so the price isn't so bad for what it is.

Yes - you re-use the Traxxas stub axles front and rear. It's pretty slick how SSD designed it.

 

[HumboldtEF]

Thanks, I wasn't so much worried about the price but the product going away potentially

 

[OSRC]

Color me impressed! Spent about an hour testing on the rocks.... I had some issues with the Defender... kept losing the radio bind for some reason, and the slipper clutch started going, but held together long enough to get some testing in.

Losing the portals did give me a little torque twist. I cranked down on the spring collars a bit and it helped. But wow, what a difference in COG. It's hard to put it into words, but the truck is so much more planted. Everywhere - climbing, descending, sidehills.... I do have quite a bit of weight down low, and the combo is amazing. Mounted up my trusty modded Falkens and it was a whole new truck.

I will be going down a few teeth on the pinion. Down to a 9t as it was a bit more zippy than I like. But not as bad as I expected - 2nd gear was certainly usable on the trail. The gearing works well with the outrunner. I think if I had a motor with more RPM's I'd be struggling with the gear ratio.

The rear diff lock was a bit grouchy at times, other than the slipper it's the only mechanical issue I need to address. Very happy with it so far! I'm debating finally losing the Defender body. Not sure yet. I like it, but it's so damn heavy!

 

[SSD]

I'm pleased to see you like the portal delete kit. "thumbsup"

IMO the truck looks much better without portals.

Thanks, I wasn't so much worried about the price but the product going away potentially

It's not going away anytime soon.

 

[OSRC]

Thank you sir! I love the clearance the stock axles have, and they certainly have their place. Having said that, removing the portals really does make it a totally different truck - it drives drastically different. Options are always good!


Now that it's a different driving truck, I figured it was time for it to look a bit different too. I dug around for a while looking for something lighter than the Defender body and finally settled on the Proline FJ. I freaking love FJ bodies, I've got 4 Tamiya ones floating around - knew I'd be getting one of these babies sooner or later. The steering servo up front limited body choices somewhat and I had my fingers crossed hoping it wouldn't be a problem when I ordered it...

Fresh out of the bag. Holy crap this is a huge body... Biggest "1/10" body I've ever seen, bar none. More like 1/8 or so.

How big? My CC01 Sumo fits inside. Note the roof....hmm....

I've ordered a lot of Proline bodies over the years, and never had an issue. Always a first I guess... Finger marks on the body. WTF? It's molded in, assume it came off the mold hot and when someone grabbed it, it left marks. Not sure if is just in the overspray film or if the body itself is marred. Don't want to take off the OS film just yet, I'll do it when I paint. If the body is messed up, I'll have to get PL involved. It's really obvious.

No matter, pressing on! Went the simple route and used the stock body mounts. Dimples are already in the body - nice touch. Already swapped over the SSD slots and TSLs'. Knew I was going with that combo when I ordered the body - perfect match!

Using the dimples, the body is centered perfectly in the rear, but the front wheels sit back in the wells a bit. Noticed that on the Jeep version I painted for a friend too. Assume it has to do with the scrub radius on the axles.. Couldn't move the body back as it's flush on the front servo mount. Hmm..

Yup, doesn't look right.

Took the front links off and unscrewed them just a few twists on each end. Extended out the axle just a bit... Can't go much further, I'm at about the limit of the front driveshaft.

Had to tweak the panhard with a spacer a bit, but it all worked out. Panhard and steering aren't too far out of whack. Everything moves nice and free..

...and the wheel is much better up front for sure.

 

[OSRC]

With no portals, the wheels are much higher in relation to the axle. No way I'm raising up this big honking body - goal is to lower GOG - so the fenders needs some trimming... Took some off and still have a bit of rub. I'll take more off if I need to, well see how it does when driving.

With such a tall body and long body posts out back, making sure the body seats in the sliders is a must. Helps stabilize the body and keeps it from flopping around. I removed the outer screws on the sliders and used the adjustable ones to angle the sliders to match the angle of the body. Fits perfectly! I'll need to trim just a bit off the front as it hangs out under the front fender.

Bumper time! Took the rear SSD Defender bumper off, flipped it on the mount and put it up front. Looks pretty good! Definitely a win for approach angle.

Put the front bumper out back - perfect!

If I was building a comp truck, I'd use the SSD bumper for sure (and still may, only takes a few sconds to swap out) but I had this stinger bumper in my stash from a previous project and think it fits here nicely...

Not too bad approach-wise. May grind off those D ring mounts, they look like they'll just be in the way. Or put some D rings on and deal with it, don't know yet.

Where it stands as of today. Love it! I was not sure about getting rid of that heavy Defender body, but so far glad I did!

Need some source some inner fenders and get painting....