Vanquish VRD - Reducing Wheel Base

[Spanishcop]

Hello Folks,

Hoping you can shed some light. So I was in the process of getting a TRX4 RTR and ended up talking myself out of it and getting a Vanquish VRD RTR. It is my understanding that the wheel base for the VRD is 322mm and the Jeep Kit body I'm wanting to do is 313mm. What would be the best route to shorten the wheel base on the VRD. I'm also going to be going to 4.75 tires rather than the 5" that comes with it. I have already purchased the Jeep Kit and few accessories for it. I had my mind set to customize the TRX4 with this Jeep Body. It wasn't until after I ordered the Jeep Kit and accessories that I decided I wanted to switch to a Vanquish VRD (probably not the wisest choice jumping the gun on the jeep body). I'm not certain if there is a way to shorten the wheel base or if there are any aftermarket parts to make this happen for the VRD at this time.


Could someone please shed some light on this. NOTE: I'm pretty new to the Rock Crawling RC so please try not to bash me on here. We all start somewhere in this hobby. Just asking for assistance and guidance as I pursue this new hobby. Years ago, I use to be heavy on the Traxxas Slasher racing and jumping course at our nearby track with my step-son about 15yrs ago...... So I'm quite certain many things have changed since then. Anyways, hoping yall can help, recommend or even guide me as to what I need to purchase to make this happen if it is even possible to modify the VRD to do this at this time.

Also.... I do have a 3D Printer if your aware of something online such as on Thingiverse that may help with this. I'm not trying to ruin the performance of the VRD but I have heard some places to participate in events for rock crawling have requirements such as using 4.75 tires instead of the 5" that come on this VRD. Not sure how much performance I will lose by shortening the wheel base to fit 313mm bodies, but I know it will open possibilities for more bodies to fit on it. Anyways, I'll wait to see what your thoughts are.

I do want to try and locate a Rock Crawling Club near southern Ohio in the area of Cincinnati / Mason if anyone knows of any.

Ummmm...... Pink just isn't my color LOL.... how do I change my Profile Pic, or do I have to suffer with this as a Noob for a period of time until I'm allowed to change it. I checked my profile and settings, and I'm not finding anything on it.

Thanks in advance and I appreciate any input and taking the time to do so.
Mike

 

[Col_Sanders]

To shorten wheelbase, use shorter rear links. Both uppers and lowers. The links on the rtr are prone to bending so it is a good idea to replace them anyway. Hardcore rc offers link sets and you can choose your wheelbase. Be patient though. It can take a month to get orders from him.

What Jeep body? For competition, you want a lightweight body with a lot of clearance. Might rethink body choice.

Regarding tires, if you find a group locally, see what most of them are running and follow their advice. Some tires work great in some places, but not so good in others. Tusks are very popular in a lot of places.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I don't like the little guys that make you wait ages for products. Vanquish has links ready to go. Note their links are the overall length of the metal piece not including rod ends. So you will have to factor in the extra length of the rod ends threaded onto these links if you decide to go this route. There are other link makers as well. This is just one option.

Titanium Builders Links (2)

Titanium Builders Links come in 2mm increments to allow you the ultimate in flexibility when building a personalized truck. M4 threads with a 5mm diamter link profile Compatible with all Incision rod ends Length is measured by overall length of the link including the threads Thread length is...

vanquishproducts.com

 

[Spanishcop]

To shorten wheelbase, use shorter rear links. Both uppers and lowers. The links on the rtr are prone to bending so it is a good idea to replace them anyway. Hardcore rc offers link sets and you can choose your wheelbase. Be patient though. It can take a month to get orders from him.

What Jeep body? For competition, you want a lightweight body with a lot of clearance. Might rethink body choice.

Regarding tires, if you find a group locally, see what most of them are running and follow their advice. Some tires work great in some places, but not so good in others. Tusks are very popular in a lot of places.

Thanks for the reply sir.
Yes I read that the links were kind of thin compared to the ones that come on the carbon kit.
My understanding is that if you shorten the links you want to shorten then ones in the rears before doing the ones in the front?

The Jeep Body I ordered is the INJORA 313mm Wheelbase Hardbody w/ tube doors and tube top not the hard-shell top. Watching reviews on Youtube when I was first considering the SCX III and the TRX4 was the bodies being top heavy and causing them to tip over easier. I know CG is important and I'll focus on that as well, but I have my heart set on a jeep body. Now that doesn't mean I have to use that body when I start attending events. The jeep can be just for fun and looks.

I'll definitely consider the recommendation on Hardcore RC. Gonna get a feel for things on the RTR when it gets here Friday and eventually start working on improving things. But definitely the links will be a priority. I've also heard that shortening wheel base down some can be helpful to a degree. I think that 313mm will probably be the sweet spot.

By the way the RTR I bought was the Vanquish VRD Stance in Silver.

 

[Spanishcop]

I don't like the little guys that make you wait ages for products. Vanquish has links ready to go. Note their links are the overall length of the metal piece not including rod ends. So you will have to factor in the extra length of the rod ends threaded onto these links if you decide to go this route. There are other link makers as well. This is just one option.

Titanium Builders Links (2)

Titanium Builders Links come in 2mm increments to allow you the ultimate in flexibility when building a personalized truck. M4 threads with a 5mm diamter link profile Compatible with all Incision rod ends Length is measured by overall length of the link including the threads Thread length is...

vanquishproducts.com

So the rods will still remains the same length??? I won't need shorter rods to decrease from 322 to 313? Just changing the Links will shorten this distance? Sorry I'm confused. I was under the impression the rods need shortened. I know I need thicker ones but they will need shortened correct? Or do thee links have enough to shorten the distance I need?

 

[JatoTheRipper]

So the rods will still remains the same length??? I won't need shorter rods to decrease from 322 to 313? Just changing the Links will shorten this distance? Sorry I'm confused. I was under the impression the rods need shortened. I know I need thicker ones but they will need shortened correct? Or do thee links have enough to shorten the distance I need?

I'm not sure you and I are on the same page. Does the below help explain what I meant? The bottom line is 10". The top is two 5" sections that total 10", but the distance they extend is only 8.7898" because of the bend.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I don't like the little guys that make you wait ages for products. Vanquish has links ready to go. Note their links are the overall length of the metal piece not including rod ends. So you will have to factor in the extra length of the rod ends threaded onto these links if you decide to go this route. There are other link makers as well. This is just one option.

Titanium Builders Links (2)

Titanium Builders Links come in 2mm increments to allow you the ultimate in flexibility when building a personalized truck. M4 threads with a 5mm diamter link profile Compatible with all Incision rod ends Length is measured by overall length of the link including the threads Thread length is...

vanquishproducts.com

It does suck to wait that long but these are side hustles for most of these guys. The vanquish links are great and i have many of them but they're straight, not high clearance. Ive had mixed luck bending my own links.

 

[Col_Sanders]

The "rods" are links.

You may not need to change wheelbase. I've read those bodies are fine with a 12.5", which is close to vrd. Nice thing about jeep bodies is that the front is kinda flexible on wheelbase.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

It does suck to wait that long but these are side hustles for most of these guys. The vanquish links are great and i have many of them but they're straight, not high clearance. Ive had mixed luck bending my own links.

I get that it's a side business for these guys. Some fans/customers will use that reasoning to excuse long lead times and lack of communication. I don't. I hold them all to the same standard. If you claim to have a business, act like a business. With that being said, some side-business guys are completely upfront about their lead times and great with communication. I have no idea where Hardcore falls within this.

 

[Sherman]

Welcome to the forum and greetings from Ohio! I don't own a Vanquish, but I'm similarly working on reducing the wheelbase of my Element Sendero here soon once my parts come in later this week. New territory for me as well.

 

[Spanishcop]

Welcome to the forum and greetings from Ohio! I don't own a Vanquish, but I'm similarly working on reducing the wheelbase of my Element Sendero here soon once my parts come in later this week. New territory for me as well.

How far are ya from Cincy Area? I'm kinda in the middle between CIncy and Columbus.

 

[Sherman]

How far are ya from Cincy Area? I'm kinda in the middle between CIncy and Columbus.

I'm right smack dab in the middle of Columbus , tending to be more on the North side. I do however have a post in the "midwest" section further down the forum that I posted a google map link to some saved "crawling spots" I'm aware of so far in the area. Mostly Columbus area, but looking to eventually expand and do possible day trips.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I get that it's a side business for these guys. Some fans/customers will use that reasoning to excuse long lead times and lack of communication. I don't. I hold them all to the same standard. If you claim to have a business, act like a business. With that being said, some side-business guys are completely upfront about their lead times and great with communication. I have no idea where Hardcore falls within this.

No real comms unless you text him. My last order the website said 2-3 weeks and iirc it took about 5. I only order from him if i want high clearance links and im not in a hurry.

Luckily a lot of chassis builders and vanquish are offering their own links now.

 

[Spanishcop]

I'm not sure you and I are on the same page. Does the below help explain what I meant? The bottom line is 10". The top is two 5" sections that total 10", but the distance they extend is only 8.7898" because of the bend.

View attachment 509410

I was not on the same page as you, but now I'm able to visualize it. As mentioned still waiting on my first crawler to arrive this friday, so I wasn't sure but I see what your explaining now, thanks. I also briefly spoke with Vanquish tech support and it seems that there would be a some performance difference because going of with the body kit I chose, 1 being that its a hard-shell body and its heavier than your lexan bodies, having to shorten the wheel base and then reducing tire size that all this will impact performance from what it is now. I'm gonna wait and see what I can do with what I have ordered. Worse comes to worse, I will save jeep body to use on a TRX4 Chassis that I found for around $165 and build it up from there. I believe that TRX4 chassis comes with a motor, esc, wheels, suspension and frame. I appreciate you explaining things better for me. Vanquish stated it is defintely easy and possible to upgrade these parts without affecting other components on the vehicle but again, he said i will defintely notice the difference in performance.

 

[Spanishcop]

I'm right smack dab in the middle of Columbus , tending to be more on the North side. I do however have a post in the "midwest" section further down the forum that I posted a google map link to some saved "crawling spots" I'm aware of so far in the area. Mostly Columbus area, but looking to eventually expand and do possible day trips.

OK sweet...... Yeah, so I fly RC Jets (6Ft jets) over at Deer Creek State Park where our club is located right next to the beach area. There are ton's of places I've been eyeballing to do Rock Crawling especially with the Dam nearby and lots of trails some with some nice rocky area. So I'm definitely gonna be looking in that area. Our flying club is mostly from Columbus and grove city area. Once we get things going, maybe we can meetup in that vicinity and try a some things out. As far as Clubs in this area, I haven't located any yet but I'm still researching.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I was not on the same page as you, but now I'm able to visualize it. As mentioned still waiting on my first crawler to arrive this friday, so I wasn't sure but I see what your explaining now, thanks. I also briefly spoke with Vanquish tech support and it seems that there would be a some performance difference because going of with the body kit I chose, 1 being that its a hard-shell body and its heavier than your lexan bodies, having to shorten the wheel base and then reducing tire size that all this will impact performance from what it is now. I'm gonna wait and see what I can do with what I have ordered. Worse comes to worse, I will save jeep body to use on a TRX4 Chassis that I found for around $165 and build it up from there. I believe that TRX4 chassis comes with a motor, esc, wheels, suspension and frame. I appreciate you explaining things better for me. Vanquish stated it is defintely easy and possible to upgrade these parts without affecting other components on the vehicle but again, he said i will defintely notice the difference in performance.

Glad that helped.

Yes, hardbodies are more scale, but kill performance. Lexan is the better option for performance, but at the expensive of being less scale in appearance.

 

[Spanishcop]

I also wanted to ask.... Is there a DISCORD channel for RC Crawling that I can join where I can talk to people about this as well as share ideas and images on projects? I tried a search but other than "REAL VEHICLE ROCK CRAWLING" I havent not found any RC Related which is odd. If so and if it isn't against the rules, could you post a link invite if that is allowed here?

 

[89Industries]

Welcome to the forum. I can't give you any info on the Discord stuff but this forum has people that can knowledgeably answer just about any question and you just need a photo hosting site (imgur or other freebies work well enugh) or buy a membership to post photos here. After being here for a bit you will learn who does what and has the most credibility to answer different types of questions. For example if you get real into comps there are a couple guys who are neck deep in that world, Col_Sanders seems to be one of those.

Just to throw out an idea on your Stance wheelbase, since the truck has the servo on the front axle, could you not shorten the front links a bit since you do not have to worry about a panhard bar or resultant bumpsteer from messing with the front link length? This would shift the weight slightly forward which is desired in more competition crawling vehicles, up to a point at least, and even in a capable trail rig.

Shortening the wheelbase will help with breakover but hurt climbing. Shortening the front and the weight moving forward a bit could counter some of the climbing loss from the shorter wheelbase.

I don't have a Stance to know if there are other clearance issues that would arise though. Shortening either end could result in needing to shorten your driveshaft or adjust upper shock mounting locations. Unlikely with small adjustments but something to be aware of.

Also, I'd suggest waiting until you have stuff in front of you before ordering stuff to make adjustments if at all possible. It can save you some money and aggravation and a drawer full of parts that aren't quite right. But if your patience is like mine then you will have a drawer full of not quite right parts and a hope to find a use for them in the future.

 

[89Industries]

Doh, forgot to mention I grew up on the NE side of metro Cincinnati in the Milford/Loveland sort of area. Moved long before I got into tiny trucks but sure thing there has to be lots of places to go check out. Used to ride bikes a lot a Cesar's Creek SP. There were also some trails at Landon Deerfield park that had a bunch of rocky creek areas.

Of course all my info is super outdated as I last visited any of that over 15 years ago before my parents retired and moved out of the area. By now everything is probably super developed with lots of rules.

 

[Sherman]

OK sweet...... Yeah, so I fly RC Jets (6Ft jets) over at Deer Creek State Park where our club is located right next to the beach area. There are ton's of places I've been eyeballing to do Rock Crawling especially with the Dam nearby and lots of trails some with some nice rocky area. So I'm definitely gonna be looking in that area. Our flying club is mostly from Columbus and grove city area. Once we get things going, maybe we can meetup in that vicinity and try a some things out. As far as Clubs in this area, I haven't located any yet but I'm still researching.

Sounds awesome!