My BlackMaxx

[Wildman4910]

1..Great choice on the LX-1 rears!!!

2.. The revo Variable Damping Pistons will fit with only slightly enlarging the
pistons center mounting hole.

3...Your going to need UE knuckleheads or the FLM shock towers as the Ofna
rears are longer than the maxx shocks and will not work with stock/RPM towers.

Looks like a really cool build though.

[danielhr77]

Oh, really? I can't use these Ofna shocks with the RPM towers? Could you please post a link to the UE knuckleheads, I can't seem to find them...

And, today, I also bought the blue Ofna springs and the variable damping pistons you told me...

Thanks!

[danielhr77]

Well, I got home and tested the rear Ofna shocks... Although the fit fine on the RPM towers (with custom separators), I don't like how long they are... Too long for my taste, because I'm building a street E-Maxx, not a basher...

So, I went back to eBay and bought the short ones from the front... I guess I'll use the long ones for another project...

[arvint]

Daniel..ill buy 6 of them off of you..although i dont have much money on me..i need those though! (i already have 2 o.o)

[danielhr77]

To tell you the truth, it's quite easy to bring things here, but it's a pain to send them from here, because we have to go to the international post office and they are not nice guys, also Fedex/UPS is too expensive... I don't live in the US as you can see, I'm really sorry...

[arvint]

Haha its ok "

[Wildman4910]

It's because the Ofna rears are 130mm and the stock shocks 110mm.
The stroke of them are real close but the Ofna rear bodies are longer.
Here is a link to the UE Knuckleheads
Here is link to the FLM Shock Towers

The longer rears and one of those towers is a great setup for off road.

Since your going "street maxx" the Ofna fronts with the shorter stroke will
be fine since your not going to need as much articulation in the suspension.

In the VDP kit paper work it says for on-road that you can turn the pistons over
for better on-road response, I haven't tried it but it makes sense

[danielhr77]

Well, I got the new chassis for this project this week, I also got the new chassis for my Mini-Maxx and my Maxx 4x4x4 projects...

I didn't take pictures this time, but I have to fix a few things again... Nothing serious, but has to be perfect before I make it on aluminum...

I have a few pic of a few parts... Ofna LX-1 front shocks... And stiffer springs...



Revo Variable Damping Pistons...



And, links... Wish they had a black version for the short link... And, I think I posted this before...



I'll post a picture of the chasis with a few parts tomorrow...

Hope you like it so far...

Daniel.

[slash_racer]

Well, I got the new chassis for this project this week, I also got the new chassis for my Mini-Maxx and my Maxx 4x4x4 projects...

I didn't take pictures this time, but I have to fix a few things again... Nothing serious, but has to be perfect before I make it on aluminum...

I have a few pic of a few parts... Ofna LX-1 front shocks... And stiffer springs...



Revo Variable Damping Pistons...



And, links... Wish they had a black version for the short link... And, I think I posted this before...



I'll post a picture of the chasis with a few parts tomorrow...

Hope you like it so far...

Daniel.

Just put some black heat shrink over it. That's what I did and it looks nice and clean. Just an idea???

[danielhr77]

That idea sounds good!

Got a short video of the new chassis...



Hope you like it...

Daniel.

[makaveli72]

LOL @ the music...couldn't contain myself.

Looks nice though....can't wait to see the finished product.

[revo Hawkman]

Well, I got the new chassis for this project this week, I also got the new chassis for my Mini-Maxx and my Maxx 4x4x4 projects...

I didn't take pictures this time, but I have to fix a few things again... Nothing serious, but has to be perfect before I make it on aluminum...

I have a few pic of a few parts... Ofna LX-1 front shocks... And stiffer springs...



Revo Variable Damping Pistons...



And, links... Wish they had a black version for the short link... And, I think I posted this before...



I'll post a picture of the chasis with a few parts tomorrow...

Hope you like it so far...

Daniel.

You can deanodize the short link also

[danielhr77]

Yes, I can do that too and anodize it in black...

[cch1978]

Cant wait to seethe finished product!!!

[danielhr77]

I'm in the process of ordering the chassis in aluminum this week... First, I have to order the 7075-T6 aluminum from a shop, and then send it to the CNC guy to cut it...

I'm quite busy during the weeks, so, it's no easy trying to finish this and all the projects I have during the weekends, which I use to sleep all day..

[danielhr77]

Guys, is someone willing to buy two more aluminum bulkheads from NEM for me? And, then, send them to me. I can pay for the local and international shipping charges and handling charges as well.

I'm asking this because NEM uses EMS as shipping method for packages going outside the US and it's ridiculous expensive. I can pay with PayPal in advanced, I'm an honest guy.

PM me if you can. Thanks!

[danielhr77]

Today, I started to build the front and the rear suspension and run into a big problem...

I went into so much trouble to find the aluminum bulkheads from NEM and they simple don't work!!!

This is how the stock bulkheads with RPM arm look...



This is how the NEM bulkheads with RPM a-arms look...



See the difference in the height where the a-arms pivot??? The hole for the pin it's like 1mm lower on the NEM bulkheads..

So, I can't install the skid plates because the a-arms won't move!!!

I'm so mad!!! This will delay my project even more...

[Wildman4910]

That stinks, maybe use some washers as a shim under the skid plate?

I would shoot them an e-mail with the pics and see what they say.

[danielhr77]

Well, I sent an emal to them:

Hello,

A few weeks ago, I bought a set of front (TRM330V3) and rear (TRM331V3) aluminum bulkheads for my E-Maxx.

Yesterday, I tried to install them but I run into a little problem. To make it easier to explain, I took two pictures:

Check picture 1, that's a stock plastic bulkhead with the lower a-arm installed.

Check picture 2, that's your aluminum bulkhead with the lower a-arm installed.

Can you see on picture 2 that on your aluminum bulkhead the a-arm is like 1mm over the base of the bulkhead?

That is because the hole where the pin goes is not at the same height as in the stock plastic bulkhead.

Because of this, when I installed the skid plate on the bulkhead, the lower a-arm won't move because they are compressed against the skid plate.

I don't want to trim the plastic on the lower a-arm to fix this problem because that will weaken the lower a-arm.

So, could you please provide me a solution to the problem with your aluminum bulkheads?

Thank you very much.

Best regards,

Daniel.

But, I know what the answer will be: "nothing" or "sent the bulkheads to us and we'll replace them"... And, taking into account that I live outside the US and shipping is quite expensive, I have four new fancy aluminum paper weights now...

[Popoxx]

You can't drill a new hole through the bulk, above the original hole ?

[danielhr77]

Hey Popoxx, long time no talk...

Drilling a new hole above the original hole will not work either...

The only real option is to dremel the a-arm in that part, or to add washers as shims like Wildman4910 said, but I don't like any of those two ideas... Those aluminum bulkheads should have been perfect!!!

Now, I'm considering ACNCM or FLM bulkheads... But, those two are hard to get if you're outside the US...

[ArmyofDarkness]

How thick is the lower A-arm on the stock vs RPMs, on that rounded part where the hinge-pin goes through? Im thinking that NewEra designed it to work with only the stock arms if they are a bit thinner, so they wouldnt foul the skid plate when assembled.

Rather than spending more money on new bulks, I'd look into making a very thin ( 1mm ) plate to go on the underside of the bulks, just to raise them up a tiny bit- same idea as using shims, but it will look alot better and barely be noticeable once the truck is assembled. I know it isnt ideal but it would be alot cheaper atleast..

[danielhr77]

How thick is the lower A-arm on the stock vs RPMs, on that rounded part where the hinge-pin goes through? Im thinking that NewEra designed it to work with only the stock arms if they are a bit thinner, so they wouldnt foul the skid plate when assembled. ..

It's almost the same, I tried it first with the stock a-arms and had the same issue... They made the hole for the pin 1mm higher in comparison with the stock bulkhead.... I'll post a picture of this tonight...

Rather than spending more money on new bulks, I'd look into making a very thin ( 1mm ) plate to go on the underside of the bulks, just to raise them up a tiny bit- same idea as using shims, but it will look alot better and barely be noticeable once the truck is assembled. I know it isnt ideal but it would be alot cheaper atleast

Yes, that's another way... I can use two of those metalic plates that come with the skid plates...

[danielhr77]

Got an answer from NEM:

----- Original Message -----
From: Frank DeSimone
To: Daniel XXXXXX
Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2010 12:15
Subject: Re: Support for items TRM330V3 and TRM331V3


I am looking into it. I will get back to you soon. What skid plate are you using?

Sorry for the trouble.

Thanks,
Frank

Hope they can fix this for me...

[Wildman4910]

Hope they fix this for you.

[FoxhoundEP3]

dude, how many projects you got going ? lol. looking forward for this one though

[danielhr77]

A lot! Many of them have threads here and many of them don't...

They just keep my mind busy after work... I like building trucks more than driving them...

[FoxhoundEP3]

q bien boludo!, keep us posted..

[Popoxx]

A lot!

And how many are finished !!??
We want vids !

[danielhr77]

And how many are finished !!??

Hahaha, Popoxx, you're mean !!! Actually, this week I'm finishing my T-Maxx BlackMaxx (with a Picco. 26), a T-Maxx Classic and a T-Maxx 3.3... The three of them with some minor modifications to the chassis and a few upgrades...

q bien boludo!, keep us posted..

Hahaha, that's a common frase around here... You don't have to learn those "bad words"...

[FoxhoundEP3]

Hahaha, that's a common frase around here... You don't have to learn those "bad words"...

hahaha, i got a few argentinian friends..

[danielhr77]

Today, I got a nice reply form NEM:

Hi Daniel,

It appears Traxas made a change to beef up that part of the arm at some point. We are now in the process of making a run of these bulkheads and will update them. They will not be done until early next week. If you don't want to modify please send the other ones back. First class mail would be adequate and I would be glad to replace them with an updated set.

Thanks,
Frank

I'm glad they found out that I was right and they are willing to replace them for free...

[Wildman4910]

Good to hear they are going to fix this situation.

[ArmyofDarkness]

Thats good customer service- obviously a bummer about the waiting, but that cant be helped really.

[danielhr77]

Well, two years since I started it, this project went into the dark... Trying to bring it back these days... Got a new chassis design, what do you think guys?



If it looks good, I'll have it CNC cut this week...

[Wildman4910]

Looks good to me, are you going for LCG battery trays?

[danielhr77]

Yup! Chassis is beeing cut right now, battery trays tomorrow...

[Wildman4910]

Sweet, the only downside is the waiting on the parts to show up.

You still going to use the LX1 shocks on it?

[danielhr77]

Yes, I still have the shocks, but I don't have the shock mounts, I have to research which ones work with the RPM towers...

[Wildman4910]

The inside of the cap eye 7.5mm, the plastic insert that goes in there has an ID of 6mm.
If you are going to use the RPM tower with them I would just turn down some aluminum round bar to fit the cap eye with a small rim on one end to keep the shock from sliding off it & drill a hole in the middle of the round bar to use a 3mm bolt to secure it.