ECX Temper rock crawler

mikellini said:
For some added weight?
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Exactly. You want to try and keep all of your wheels on something, and the stocks wheels on these things are so light, its easy to loose a foot from torque twist or because you had to tighten some springs up to rid some chassis/body slop. Keeping your fronts on the rock gives you your pulling power. If you rely on your rears, the truck will want to roll backwards on you. I guess the best way to scale a rock is to pull up on to it, not push up on to it. I've watched some videos of some higher end rigs and guys will actually run a bigger gear in the front for a higher wheel speed than the rear. The rig will always be pulling itself.
 
I'll have to give this a try, I was thinking about ways to add weight but this seems too simple! And cheap.

How do you guys have your springs set up? I've been reading about using zip ties to make them tighter, but also perhaps making the driver's rear spring looser to fight torque twist. Does this work?
 
You should make a thread with step by step for the 4 link mod ;) I have done the 4 wheel steering and the wheel wideners and it helps out a bunch with this crawler! I'm new to crawling so I don't know much
 
They are indeed some hex-head cap screws, for added weight and weight bias. They are screwed into the existing holes in the stock rims. It rocks!! (Pun intended!). Specifics:
image.jpeg image.jpeg

Currently, I've filled all the holes in the front wheels with the 3/8", and two each of the 1/2" in the rear (opposing each other side-to-side). I haven't compared weight between stock and current setup. It still has plenty of power, but run time on the Nimh battery has decreased, and the stock servo could stand to be a little more powerful trying to push that weight around. It would be mo' betta to weight the axle itself, as close to the hub as possible.
 
The tires are 1.9 Axial Ripsaws r-35 on stock ECX rims (the bead doesn't quite sit "right", but it works). I was running the ECX foams at first because they're slightly smaller, but I've since put the Axial foams back in. I'll track down my notes sheet later tonight. Be warned that my measurements were taken with a plastic metric ruler and bad eyesight (it's just a prototype after all).
 
Hey guys haven't been on in awhile looks like I got some reading to catch up on. Got out with my Temper just once and it looks like new tire or weight in the front is needed. I'll check with you guys later.
 
Mark said:
Hey guys haven't been on in awhile looks like I got some reading to catch up on. Got out with my Temper just once and it looks like new tire or weight in the front is needed. I'll check with you guys later.
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I know what you mean. Mods have taken a back seat to a new lady friend, but the Temper Tantrum is still driven at least biweekly. My son is #1 so it will continue to roll as long as he wants it too. I think I've done enough to it for a little while anyway. I need to post these videos though with the latest identity update. Glad to see so many more new signups. Good stuff.

How's your rig going Jon? I need to do something about my balls again. I popped one out of my skid/nut plate. I was thinking about copying your idea, but changing the stud mount angle a little steeper so the rods will be paralell to the ball equator and I want to try with Teflon. I just dont know if its hard enough to tap a thread into. Especially that fine. That aluminum was a bad idea on mine. The rocks dig and bite into it. Hangs up more often than I think it should. I wondered if you had a problem with them wanting to pop off at the angle you have there?
 
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@1hitw0nd3r - skid plate measurements: roughly 6mm wide by 3.5mm long. I followed the factory plate for outside dimensions. Where to place the ball-studs was mostly just based on a mental idea (my first cut didn't allow enough room to install the second stud, so I had to make it a little wider) - measurements there weren't recorded, but were based off of the middle of the plate. The rest was "eyeballing" locations that looked like they'd have the least bind. Someday soon, I'll have a set of calipers I can make good measurements on.

@Mark @r8derhed5150 - I've been driving mine mostly since I finished the 4-link and added weights (when I haven't been shopping, wrapping, etc.). I do want to upgrade the servo, possibly do the 4-wheel steer (the rear pushes too much sometimes when I want to turn) or some kind of dig/disco for the rear axle. Considering a power upgrade both to LiPo and a bigger motor (I've heard the Dromida 370 motor will mount, but cant get any details on what needs to be modified other than maybe the pinion gear), although I think the LiPo will wake up this little 280 a bit. Brushless is a whole new ball of wax I'm not ready for yet, but I'm still curious about.

I did have one ball pop off the servo plate, but I attributed that to the fact that I was using the cut-down ball-studs from my old skid plate mod - they were too short to make it all the way through the plastic. I ended replacing those with full-length ball-studs. Those poke through a little too much, but the servo will still mount, and I haven't had a problem since. I did note that my rod-ends at the skidplate side are wearing against the rocks, so the next design may have them mounted up a little higher (so the skid hangs below the rod ends - it may hang up on the plate though...).
 
image.jpeg I don't 4-wheel steer yet, but I think @r8derhed5150 is still on his first stock motor, but maybe looking for a power upgrade. I'm still on stock electronics as well. I am swapping out the Rx/Tx, ESC, and battery today though (Christmas presents - Hobbywing Quickrun 1625 ESC, FlySky FS-GT3B Rx/Tx combo, and Venom 1500 LiPo). Hoping to use the Tx on my Axial Bomber also once the warranty return is processed (Rx fried after about 20 mins).

Your 4-link looks great! How's it working? What was your base material for the skid?
 
@Juanmarteen I went to munell and Sherrill and just picked up a sheet of reminents. I drilled holes half way through and then screwed the screws in so they wouldn't catch on anything. But my motor keeps getting to hot and I'm wondering if there's anything you can do to not get it so hot or maybe an upgrade to the esc? Are you putting that esc in the temper? I don't think the motor handles the 4 wheel steer to well. I just picked up a 2s lipo 4000mah battery and it does give it a bit more torque and power but once my motor gets hot which happeneds fast it loses all power
 
1hitw0nd3r said:
Anyone else having a problem with the motor blowing up since adding the 4 wheel steer? I'm on my 3rd motor.@juanmarteen
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Have you checked for binding in the gearbox? My Temper is substantially heavier than stock and I am still on my first motor. I have since taken 4 wheel steering off since going to the C10 body only because I didn't like how it looked while turning. Little more realism and that's what I was going for this time.

I actually had disassembled my gear box and reassembled to make sure there was no binding. My motor gets a little warmer than stock weight but I never have a problem with it. The only issues I have is with my RX acting weird if I try to drive too close to my wireless router. It likes to cut off and flash the red light for about 10 seconds. Sometimes it will only happen for a few minutes, sometimes it will do for several and I'll give up on it. THinking about getting a spectrum rx so I can reuse the radio from my Losi micro scte.
 

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