Quick question regarding VRD Carbon

[m4inbrain]

Hey there, sorry if this is the wrong place, just saw that build threads for the VRD are in the 410 section, so thought i might as well try here.

Currently in the "planning phase" for my first "serious-ish" rig, coming from mostly RTR stuff (TRX4s, Trial King, that kind of stuff - stock Capra kit being the most "advanced" i think). Doing a lot of reading, deciding, mind-changing etc currently, but i'm set on a few things - one of which is the fact that i do want to replace the shocks straight away, with Dravtechs. Now, they come in 92mm, and 96mm. Is there a reason to take one over the other? Fitment, for example?

I've seen people run 96mm but upside down, etc - i'm just wondering which ones to order (and they're basically $160usd for me due to shipping and taxes, so i'd prefer to order once).

The build is relatively basic and tame, i don't intend to go to comps or something. Fusion Pro 2300kv, either a Reefs 500HD or NSDRC 800v2, maybe even a Perfect Pass servo (that 56kg job, need to read into that). Dravtech shocks, Vanquish rims, Tusk tyres, and potentially Squid'nserts - just to give anti-foams a shot, never used them, am curious. Body is likely a Cliffhanger (i do like them wraps from freqeskinz).

Anyway, yeah. Shock length. Some ELI5 maybe.

Thank you.

 

[Col_Sanders]

The shocks themselves are the same . The 92mm use shorter rod ends, they are preassembled, and include 2 sets of springs. I'd go with the 92s. People run them upside down because that is the heavier end of the shock and that puts the weight a bit lower.

Hopefully you have a few different weights of oil on hand for tuning.

 

[m4inbrain]

Thanks, appreciated - does make sense, running them upside down. Also probably keeps the oil in longer (albeit not that big a problem with Dravtechs in the first place, as i understand).

I do have a few oils, but i don't think i can run any of them since they're all mineral oil based (mainly for Overdose shocks in RC drifting). That's the least of the worries though, getting a collection of 300cst to 900cst (27wt ish to 70wt) is simple enough, that should cover the bases at least.

92mm it is then, allows me to save a buck (for now) on those pliers too, thanks again.

One more question, the metal rock sliders.. is there a go-to in terms of replacement, or are they not as bad as one would initially think? I can only speak for metal bumpers, mainly on a TRX4 (cheapie) - and i really didn't like how "sticky" they were.

 

[Col_Sanders]

It is a good idea to watch the assembly videos anyway to see how to fill them and get the cap and diaphragm on properly. Doing it the first time is easy but after being filled with oil for a bit, the seals swell a little and reusing the diaphragm is a pain. If it gets pinched, and/or the cap is put on too tightly they will leak. I try to keep some rebuild kits on hand.

As for the stock sliders, they are wide and they do hang up. Plastic would be better. There are a few options out there (like DSM) but I have not tried any of them yet so I can not comment on quality.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

TIL ELI5

The sliders suck and definitely need some plastic upgrades.

For shocks, I'm using Traxxas GTS on my VRD Carbon.

 

[m4inbrain]

It is a good idea to watch the assembly videos anyway to see how to fill them and get the cap and diaphragm on properly. Doing it the first time is easy but after being filled with oil for a bit, the seals swell a little and reusing the diaphragm is a pain. If it gets pinched, and/or the cap is put on too tightly they will leak. I try to keep some rebuild kits on hand.

As for the stock sliders, they are wide and they do hang up. Plastic would be better. There are a few options out there (like DSM) but I have not tried any of them yet so I can not comment on quality.

Did watch a few already, both Dlux' video and from i think Crawler Canyon, or something similar? While certainly not my favourite thing to do while wrenching, i'm reasonably confident. I'll check the options by DSM, thanks for the pointer.

TIL ELI5

The sliders suck and definitely need some plastic upgrades.

For shocks, I'm using Traxxas GTS on my VRD Carbon.

Explain it like i'm 5 - i think it originated on Reddit.

I do like GTS shocks, indeed in my opinion they're one of the best shocks overall (though that doesn't say much, i only have experience with "RTR shocks", not aftermarket ones - at least in terms of crawling), did like them. Frankly, i just like Dravtechs better visually. It's something of a theme with me, when i got my first "proper" drift kit, the first thing i did was splurge $400 on a set of Overdose shocks. Not because i need them, but because i just enjoy having nice shocks, whether i need them or not. We all have our little idiosyncrasies, that one's mine.

I guess i'll go hunting for a set of plastic sliders (maybe DSM to the rescue, haven't checked yet) - or i finally get my 3d printer set up properly and print something myself. Well.. unlikely, but i gotta keep telling myself that, otherwise i'll get frustrated at the amount of money i've spent on something i haven't used once since i bought it a year ago lol.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Explain it like i'm 5 - i think it originated on Reddit.

I do like GTS shocks, indeed in my opinion they're one of the best shocks overall (though that doesn't say much, i only have experience with "RTR shocks", not aftermarket ones - at least in terms of crawling), did like them. Frankly, i just like Dravtechs better visually. It's something of a theme with me, when i got my first "proper" drift kit, the first thing i did was splurge $400 on a set of Overdose shocks. Not because i need them, but because i just enjoy having nice shocks, whether i need them or not. We all have our little idiosyncrasies, that one's mine.

I guess i'll go hunting for a set of plastic sliders (maybe DSM to the rescue, haven't checked yet) - or i finally get my 3d printer set up properly and print something myself. Well.. unlikely, but i gotta keep telling myself that, otherwise i'll get frustrated at the amount of money i've spent on something i haven't used once since i bought it a year ago lol.

Yep, I had to look up ELI5.

GTS are good shocks, period. Just crazy they come on RTRs.

I hear you about nice shocks and bling!

 

[m4inbrain]

Hey there, got another question or two.

Started ordering parts in, hit a small snag. I've never owned Vanquish wheels, and i thought i treat myself to a set - as i understand, i do need to order the SLW hubs (and centre hubs) with them.

Now, in terms of offset, is there any rule of thumb for the Carbon? My first choice would be the shallowest hubs, since i don't want to widen the stance more than required, but since i got no experience whatsoever with these wheels/hubs, i thought that i'll ask before i order and then find out that nothing goes together.

Second question would be regarding the overdrive on the VRD Carbon - in total, 37% front if i recall correctly. Now, for myself, that's a bit too much since i do plan to drive the chassis from and two obstacles, as well as just leisurely drives when having a walk - and i'm pretty sure that the stock overdrive is not capable of handling that (reliably). Would it be possible/make sense to switch the front portal gears (overdrive gears) to the rear portals, and the normal portals to the front? 21% of front overdrive come through the gearbox, so if i overdrive the rear, i should end up with around 10-15% overdrive, no? I don't actually know how to calculate that, it's just a guess. Would that work?

 

[Col_Sanders]

.350 is a good width. That will allow you to go to the heavy brass later if you want. With .225s, you can start running into clearance issues with brass and/or portal hardware. Some people just leave off the top portal cover screws. Others swap out the cap heads for button heads.

There are plenty of people out there that will run trails with 37% OD. The truck can handle it. There are drawbacks (heat, loss of efficiency, tire wear, harder on drivetrain) but it also has advantages. If you replace the standard portal gears in the rear with OD, you will only have the 21% in the transmission. If you were to swap the front and rear portal gears, you end up with ~5% OD.

Just noticed your post about inserts earlier. I'd go Squids over the 3 Brothers. The V2 Antifoams are a bit on the stiff side. I have not ran my Squids yet, but they do feel like they will do good.

 

[89Industries]

Just noticed your post about inserts earlier. I'd go Squids over the 3 Brothers. The V2 Antifoams are a bit on the stiff side. I have not ran my Squids yet, but they do feel like they will do good.

In my experience the squids run on the softer side and do great in my lighter weight trucks. So for a vrd carbon I would agree with this.

I haven't tried the 3bros but I have tried Nebula, robo slug, NoMoFoams, and some other Etsy versions.

 

[m4inbrain]

.350 is a good width. That will allow you to go to the heavy brass later if you want. With .225s, you can start running into clearance issues with brass and/or portal hardware. Some people just leave off the top portal cover screws. Others swap out the cap heads for button heads.

There are plenty of people out there that will run trails with 37% OD. The truck can handle it. There are drawbacks (heat, loss of efficiency, tire wear, harder on drivetrain) but it also has advantages. If you replace the standard portal gears in the rear with OD, you will only have the 21% in the transmission. If you were to swap the front and rear portal gears, you end up with ~5% OD.

Just noticed your post about inserts earlier. I'd go Squids over the 3 Brothers. The V2 Antifoams are a bit on the stiff side. I have not ran my Squids yet, but they do feel like they will do good.

I did order the Squid'nserts, going to take a while to arrive here - but i'm very curious to see how these (or any anti-foam, really) performs.

Thanks for the info in regards to the hubs, i was going to order the 225s - but it definitely makes sense to go "one number up", i actually was slightly concerned about the portal weights.

It was more a question of "is this possible", in regards to swapping the rear gears to OD gears. I'll probably give it a whiff at the stock 37%, see how heat, noise and general mechanical empathy of mine handle it - in the end, i can always swap them afterwards. The main thought is, i just don't want to buy a new gearbox/drivetrain after 6 months. I might order either a set of OD gears or a set of standard gears (depending on how the truck feels), and give myself the choice between 37%, 21% and 5%ish.

Thank you.

In my experience the squids run on the softer side and do great in my lighter weight trucks. So for a vrd carbon I would agree with this.

I haven't tried the 3bros but I have tried Nebula, robo slug, NoMoFoams, and some other Etsy versions.

Cheers, so i did the right thing in ordering the Squids.