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Thread: RMDW T's & T's & set up

 
 
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Old 08-16-2010, 06:03 PM   #1
I wanna be Dave
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: ...the burning end of the rope.
Posts: 5,013
Default RMDW T's & T's & set up

Even if you don't read anything else in this thread,,,READ TIP 1 , TIP 2 & TIP 3 BELOW!!!!!

OK guys,,,,after my last trip through the Tips and Tricks FAQ thread I was lost and confused. As soon as you get through one tech idea you have 2,3,4 or 10 people posting up how good it works or doesn't or "BUY THIS" instead.

So,,as I stated I decided to post up my list of Tips and Tricks and Set up ideas. All of my info will be listed in the first and second posts and I will be adding to it a little at a time until I get all the info in. Ill post pics with the related Tech Tip Number attached to it after I get most of the tech written.

Tech to follow,,,after a couple of forum related tips:

Tip 1,,,,Reading is fundamental! I can guarantee that you are not the first person to have whatever your problem is. Read the threads. Read the threads. There I said it twice so no one can say that they didn't know, or that it wasn't written anywhere. DON'T JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURES EITHER! READ! Almost any question you can come up with has already been asked and answered. If you don't want to "WASTE YOUR TIME" reading then don't waste ours by posting a thread about something we just went through. You can also use the "Search This Forum" button at the top of the VENOM Creeper forum page or use the "Search This Thread" button at the top of every thread page. Both of these buttons are located right by your user name above, to the right. I have absolutely no problem helping anyone but I do get tired of answering the same questions again and again because people either don't want to read or they only look at the pics or they think they are the only person to ever ask the question. If you are new or a NEWBIE/NOOB whatever your title,,,and don't want to take the time to post your own thread like most of us do, then please be aware... you will most likely get treated poorly or possibly FLAMED for asking other's to answer questions you aren't willing to Seek the answers for by doing the research that the rest of us have already done.

Tip 2,,,,You DO NOT need to post a NEW thread for every problem you have. Post a thread about your crawler and then stick with that thread. Post your problems in Your thread. We all will read them and do whatever we can to help you. If you have a question about something you want to do or a tech problem you are having then we will be able to find all your issues in one location. Here's the other side to this idea,,,if people would stop posting a thread for every single problem they have then maybe we can clean up the VENOM forum so that maybe people WILL READ THE THREADS.

TIP 3,,,,Please understand that this site is paid for by people who purchase the STARS. A Green star, a Blue one,,,whatever you are supporting the site. You are paying for the site to exist by paying for the server costs and the bandwidth we all use by posting stuff on here. Read the site rules. Read the forum rules. If it exists at the top of the page and says rules before it or after it,,,READ IT. I am not trying to be an A$$ toward anyone or be in control but I see people do things that they get in trouble for and then cant understand why. People get upset because they do something that other's ask them not too and then cant understand why they get flamed or treated a certain way. I have answered or helped answer a problem for someone and then see someone post the same question within a week of the first one and then that person gets all BUTT HURT when someone tells them to read something. In forums like this all over the world you'll find one thing is normal everywhere...respect is earned from being a useful part of the community. It isn't handed out just because you own a crawler and bought all the latest or best parts.

TECH TIPS

TECH TIP 1 Change your tires. I personally recommend the HB ROVERS in WHITE DOT COMPOUND. They are great tires and can easily be SIPED to make them even better. SIPING,,not SIPPING. Siping can easily be done with a knife or scissors or a pair of cutters. The idea is to cut the LUGS,,The BIGGER LUGS on the tires to make the surface of the tire most flexible. That way it will conform to the rocks better and give your rig better traction. For more info on SIPING please search the TIRES AND WHEELS forum. There a several other tires you can use successfully with the Creeper including but not limited to the HB Sedonas, Flat Irons and RC4WD's RokLox.

TECH TIP 2 The stock foam inserts are fine if you don't want to really comp. But the stock foams don't fill comp worthy tires enough for the proper traction and side hilling that you need in competitions.
I use my own Custom Foams called Paradox Dual Disk foams. Several other vendors have foams available or the mainstream companies like Proline have foams too. Memory foams for the most part are a warm weather foam. When it gets cold memory foams almost all turn into Hockey Pucks. My $0.02.

TECH TIP 3 Change the stock drive shafts. Most of us use some sort of after market drive shafts. I personally recommend the Traxxas units. They are a bit pricey but you will save money in the long run if you don't have to keep buying parts. I use the Traxxas Hardened Steel Yokes,,,Part # 4628X, you'll need two packages of these for your rig, there are two yokes in each package. I also use the Traxxas Long, truck Half-shafts,Part # 1951, one package for the truck contains two male and two female shafts. part # 1953 is a Pro pack of the shafts which has 6 complete M/F shafts.

The Yokes are steel and should be installed with two set screws per yoke, and the shafts are plastic,,but trust me they are strong and will last a long time. I'm running the original set of shafts I installed months ago. At the very least,,,,Use Blue Loctite,,,on the set screws when you install the yokes to your transmission and axle out put shafts. Let the Loctite cure before you drive the rig or put it under power.

TECH TIP 4 The Stock shocks and springs are fine for a lot of crawling situations, but they are plastic and most plastic shocks will pop their caps. I run the Losi 4" shocks "KIT" with White Springs and 25wt shock oil. Losi Part Number LOSA5082.You don't need an extra stiff spring in the rear or the front to get rid of Torque Twist..Ill get into that a bit later. I also recommend mounting the shocks upright and attaching them to the chassis side plates not the battery tray like the manual tells you to do. The lay down angle is better when they are mounted to the chassis. Also, move the shocks to the lower link mounting lugs at the axle. I have mine mounted to the inside of the mount and the links are in the middle of the mount like the manual tells you to mount them.

TECH TIP 5 Torque Twist is bad with the Creeper because the upper links are mounted together at both the front and rear axles. This gives the Creeper a bad roll center. The rear upper links need to be moved so that they are higher than the point where they are in stock form. Raising them about 5/8" to 7/8" will help the links to pull up on the rear lower corners of the chassis. This is called anti-squat. The link also need to be spread apart so they are as close to parallel to each other as possible. They should really be parallel with the side plates of the chassis. Don't worry about making them parallel with the ground. I have mine set up with a custom rear axle plate and some servo mounts to raise and spread the rear upper links and I have almost eliminated the TT. Ask "gottorque" too. I will be offering a rear plate for the axle and mounts for this very soon.

TECH TIP 6 The plastic parts on the Creeper are surprisingly tough. However I do recommend replacing the front C-hubs and Knuckles with some Hot Racing Aluminum parts. They are much smoother and don't have near as much flex as the original parts. Also replace the rear C-hubs and knuckles with some Hot Racing rear axle LOCK OUTS. These 3 parts kits are individual sets and are around $22-25 per set. A really good investment though.

NOTE: The way the HR Rear Steering Lockouts are made they sometimes bind the hex when you install your wheels...they will need shimming to fit.HR lockouts may require a shim or two between the hex pin and the bearing. Some 18 guage brass wire or small washers will suffice. You'll have to add a couple in between the hex pin and the bearing then install the hex and wheel and tighten it all down and check for smooth rotation. If all is good,,Cool,,If not add another shim until it is.

TECH TIP 7 I personally don't care for Brushless motors only because most Ive see have a cogging issue at low speeds. I prefer Brushed motors and I personally run an Integy 55T Single Wind Lathe motor with a 19 tooth pinion, This combo gives me good wheel speed and really good low end torque. I might change though to a 45T Single Wind Lathe motor. A lathe motor usually has more torque per given wind size due to the magnets in the motor. The magnets in a lathe motor are a stronger type than a Roar type racing motor. One thing I hear from time to time is that people have a problem with the motor glitching or running faster in reverse or forward under throttle. For Glitching, Check to make sure that the brush springs are clear and not bound up on the motor end bell and make sure that the brushes snap in and move freely. To check this, grab a hold of the wire attached to the brush and pull out a little and it should snap back into the brush hood. If the motor goes faster in forward or reverse then first check all your settings and the settings on your ESC. I would even suggest rereading the manual for your radio and esc and then reprogram everything first. make sure all of the trims and epa's are set to "0" or middle position before you program anything. If the faster issue still exists then the motor is probably out of time. Most of the motors we use today have small screws that hold the end bells in the motor can. First mark the side of the can and the end bell with a Sharpee marker. then remove the small screws that hold the end bell in. Don't pull outward on the end bell. Just turn the end bell a very small amount, and reinstall the screws. If the motor runs equal now then you are done,,if it still runs "out of time" then repeat the process but turn the end bell the opposite direction, and retest. If you have more problems with your motor search the Electronics forum section for "motor runs faster". If you cannot fix this by yourself then ask about turning the end bell at your LHS or your local Crawling club.

TECH TIP 8 The Creeper comes stock with a top tray for the battery to ride on. Great idea for a basher but if you want better handling form your rig then you need to get your battery as low as possible. On the front axle is the best place. For this you'll need a front axle servo and battery plate. CKRC makes a kit that has one and I also have a new front axle plate coming out soon. You don't have to run Lipos but it will help if you can or do. if you run Nicads or Nimhs then try make them into saddle packs or buy them in saddle packs and then you can mount them to the front axle on both sides of the servo on the front axle.

Last edited by rmdesignworks; 01-29-2011 at 10:06 AM.
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