Are these upgrades worth?

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A bit ago, I lost 2 shoulder screws. I noticed my steering knuckle had horribbllleee threads just now and I found a Hot racing Steering block upgrade. Will this eliminate that issue somewhat? I understand that I should add some thread lock to it, would silicone glue or any other glue work or should I go and buy blue Loctite?
To combat my rear turnbuckle screws popping out I added an m3 x 18mm screw with a small nut on the other side, hopefully, this will hold. If my rear bearing carrier ever fails, is it better to buy an rpm rear carrier with a set of Boca 5x11 bearings or should I go and buy a hot racing bearing carrier? Thanks, Guys!
 
The Hot Racing front spindle carrier is a necessary upgrade in my opinion. Both my ECX 2WD cars (Boost and Circuit) have been fitted with that part. I went from the stock part, to RPM's part and STILL lost the shoulder screws. When I switched to the HR part and put a drop of blue thread lock (Loctite, whatever) I stopped losing screws! Definitely use proper thread lock (blue stuff). Other glues won't be as effective.

I purchased RPM rear spindle carriers and they require different bearing sizes that the ECX part. But were they a massive improvement? There's RPM's argument that larger bearings mean a greater load-carrying capacity (which is true) but it wasn't really a concern for my two light ECX cars. I also had to secure the ballstud with a nut on the backside because RPM's plastic is softer and more slippery and thus the ball studs were working they way out ALL THE TIME. Superglue didn't help (DO NOT use conventional thread lock on plastic parts-- it'll ruin them).

I'd suggest to just leave well enough alone-- don't replace the rear spindle carriers until you really need to. One problem with aluminum parts that are supposed to house cartridge bearings: they bearings will not fit as tightly as they do in plastic parts. Aluminum doesn't stretch or deform and so there has to be just a hair of extra space for the bearing to easily install and remove.

I recommend that you just stay with plastic. (But that's my opinion and you'll get other opinions here.)

Good luck!
 
thanks i_r_beej! Your feedback was great. The stock bearing carriers have held pretty well so I guess they should be fine :p. I got the ecx boost 1.5 years ago but I probably actually used it for around 4 months only, the bearing carriers are just starting to show signs of wear.
Also, what do you think of rpm caster blocks? They look a lot bulkier.
Im currently trying to create a custom bumper for my boost with some aluminum and some foam maybe
 
On my Boost- HR spindle carriers, RPM caster blocks, ECX swingarms
On the Circuit- HR spindle carriers, ECX caster blocks, RPM swingarms

I've raced both cars indoors on carpet and astro, running brushless power systems, and crashed them horribly (hitting metal pipes, retaining walls, the edges of wooden jumps) and I've also bashed around with both cars at an outdoor dirt track. Nothing has failed. Although I'm running T-Bone Racing bumpers on both cars and their bumpers are great! Doubtless saved me some broken parts.

The RPM caster blocks are certainly more substantial (and thus probably stronger) than stock ECX but I don't know that I can really recommend them over stock ECX parts. The RPM parts DO help eliminate some of the excess play or "slop" in suspension components, but wear and impacts will soon cause play in the components.

So the HR front spindle carriers are the only things that I really recommend replacing ASAP. The caster blocks? I'd say replace when the stock component breaks and get the RPM part.

Are you still running the stock plastic shocks? The ECX aluminum-bodied shocks are really good and I run those on both cars. I swap out the stock o-rings for grooved or "x-ring" seals that do a better job sealing the shaft.
 
I’ll second that aluminum steering knuckles are a must have, but here’s my experience with the rear. We have 2 amps and I put the aluminum HR rear hubs on one of them. The truck with HR rear hubs was going through rear bearings twice as fast as the stock plastic one. My theory is that the plastic flexes and absorbs the torque the bearings experience in the rear end allowing them to last longer. I switched mine back to stock and haven’t had to change a bearing since.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Shock upgrades seem pretty important as of right now, I don't really race the boost and I like to jump it a lot, not too high, around 3 feet. The car almost always bottoms out on the back, the fronts seem really stiff and the rear is pretty damp. I was thinking about getting new rear shocks with oil and keeping the front shocks as those seem to work ok for my needs.
I read somewhere that the ecx boost rear shocks are 95mm? is it okay if I get something that is around 100mm?
Also, I'm guessing for bashing, there really isn't too large of a need to get adjustable turnbuckles. If not, I could pick up a Traxxas metal one, they're around 7 bucks and have good reviews.

Sorry for the long post. Would any 2.8 tires work for the boost? Some plush MT wheels could help add some durability when landing maybe.
I don't race RC's as there are absolutely 0 nearby areas that allow this unless I drive 3 hours. I believe, in Oakland.
 
Well, it's not a Boost but it's a buggy. 2.8 Ruckus Speedtreads. 20180224_130340.jpg
Sorry for the half car pic, I was waiting for spares to come. Doesn't bottom out due to bigger tires, lots of fun. Only a bash session in the local skatepark, you can see the results... It wasn't a big crash, I think the piece was cracked already from previous jumping days and it finally gave up in the half pipe ride. I'd like it to wheelie, but I think it won't be easy due to the ball diff.
I almost forget it, gear down if you install bigger tires.
 
Woah those tires are huge. I might just stay with 2.2 tires but get some better for the street, my stocks are completely flat now :/. I went to the sjatepark for a bit last week, skated for 1 hour then brought out my rc when I got tired and did some jumps. damn the thing soars even with a brushed motor, curved ramps are the best.

My rc is really strange now, it's a boost with a circuit chassis so my boost body doesn't fit now ;(. Thinking about whether to custom make a bumper or buy a tbone one.
 
A trick i use to help bearings seat well in aluminum is a little clear nail polish (i guess you could use any color you have avalible or wife/girlgreind has laying around) but been doing this for years and works great no issues.
 
It helps bearings to seat tight and not move since their has to be just a hair of room on aluminum or as the bearing seat gets wore and things fit loser with wear and tear
 
I second the recommendation for HR front knuckles and RPM rears. Had RPM fronts before and had shoulder screws ripping on impact. HR fronts are perfect, strong, definitely need loctite blue.
 
Oh also, if I got the ecx aluminum shocks for rear, what shock oil would be good for some medium jumping? Or if there's any other shocks that would fit and are better for job, anything less then 30 for 2 shocks.
 
I've tried a few different brands and wound up coming back to the ECX aluminum shocks. I just install some grooved o-rings/x-rings to improve the sealing at the shock shaft. I use Kyosho orange P5 grooved o-rings.

For big air, you want a more viscous oil. The kit ships with 30 weight which is okay for general use. If all you're doing is airing it out on ramps and stuff then go for 575cSt (Associated/LucasOil 45wt) or maybe 650cSt (50wt Associated/LucasOil). If you go much more viscous than that you risk completely overwhelming the stock springs.

About bottoming out: tuned properly, your car SHOULD bottom out on the big jumps. Part of the function of shock absorbers is to help reduce the energy imparted to the chassis when it bottoms out. When your car bottoms out and then bounces back up? That's a surefire indicator that you need heavier/more viscous oil.
 
All ECX 2WD cars use the same spindle carrier (AKA steering knuckle, steering block). So the HR aluminum model would fit.
 
i_r_beej said:
I've tried a few different brands and wound up coming back to the ECX aluminum shocks. I just install some grooved o-rings/x-rings to improve the sealing at the shock shaft. I use Kyosho orange P5 grooved o-rings.
Click to expand...

Do you have a part number for these? I can only find P5 non-grooved o-rings. The only grooved o-rings I could find are P3. Thanks!
 

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