Bellcrank, Suspension Pin and Rod End Slop :-(

[WiNandLeGeNd]

Has anyone else noticed a substantial amount, several mm of slop in the steering and suspension parts? I have several mm's of play in my front end just from slop and this makes the truck wander a lot at high speeds (running 4S on a 2400kV with 17/54 gearing on 4.9" tall trenchers).

I put some tefflon tape on the barrel screws that go in each end of the that tie bar for the bell crank as there was a HUGE amount of slop from that, but there's still a fair amount of slop from the suspension pins and ball ends.

How are the RPM captured ball ends? Are they a tighter fit then the stocker's? None of these components should be warn out, I"ve driven the truck about 30~40 runs from brand new.

[rag6]

I have found that a bit of slop is much better than a tight setup. This goes for any moving parts. I rebuilt my slash race chassis and made everything new and tight, and lost a lot on my lap times. put the old suspension pins, and suspension parts back in for the next heat, and got a much more responsive truck, and recovered lap times..

EDIT: if the slop is so bad that it leaves you unable to accurately control your vehicle, it is bad.

[Wolfslash16]

I have found that a bit of slop is much better than a tight setup. This goes for any moving parts. I rebuilt my slash race chassis and made everything new and tight, and lost a lot on my lap times. put the old suspension pins, and suspension parts back in for the next heat, and got a much more responsive truck, and recovered lap times..

How could you gain more time with less slop? I'm sure there is a good reason why, but I can't think of one right know.

[Dadx2mj]

How could you gain more time with less slop? I'm sure there is a good reason why, but I can't think of one right know.

My guess would be he was used to how it drove with the slop and when he rebuilt it the truck drove different and he was not used to it and the lap times went down. This is just my thought on it obviously I was not there to see it for myself.

[rag6]

As compared to everything being tight causing resistance in the moving parts, a looser setup will be more responsive.

[Dadx2mj]

As compared to everything being tight causing resistance in the moving parts, a looser setup will be more responsive.

That might be true say if we were talking about a suspension arm being so tight it could not move up and down freely but if we are talking about slop in a steering linkage I think a loose3 set up would be less responsive.

[rag6]

No dad, the new parts were not broken in yet. They all were brand new, put in in between heats with no time to "message" everything. the truck was just plain slower to react to input. On such a small, tight, high traction track, that bad sluggish trait is amplified.

[rag6]

That might be true say if we were talking about a suspension arm being so tight it could not move up and down freely but if we are talking about slop in a steering linkage I think a loose3 set up would be less responsive.

As opposed to tight ball ends/ balls, a broken in setup will move more freely.

[Dadx2mj]

As opposed to tight ball ends/ balls, a broken in setup will move more freely.

We will have to agree to disagree.

Back on topic,,,Sounds to me like the O/P just has some worn out stuff. You have to expect when you put big power system and supply it with 4s juice and have big tires etc you are going to wear stuff out faster and it is going to need more maintenance.

My Pede is 8 months old and still on almost all the original parts the only parts on the front that have been replaced is a bulkhead that I broke and the input hub on the front diff. My suspension and steering are still pretty tight but I only run a 2s battery and either a 5700 4 pole or a 3800 4 pole and I run much smaller tires.

[WiNandLeGeNd]

Yah, remember this motor is developing a peak of about 2.4HP. Even with 20% acceleration limiting on the MMP and geared 17/54 with the 2.8" trenchers (measured 4.9" tall with digi calipers) the 2400kV will wheelie at any speed on demand (well I have my slipper set just loose enough that it can't quite always due to the slip, but the power is more than there). Top speed is calculated at about 57mph. The truck wanders some at speed though, and I believe tighter steering linkages would help. I am thinking RPM ball ends in conjunction with the tefflon tape on the bell crank will take up enough slop, but was wondering if anyone else had tried this or had this issue.

[Dadx2mj]

I think tightening up the linkages will help but I have to wonder how well suited Trenchers are for that speed too. Between the tread pattern and sheer mass of rubber you are slinging around I am not surprised you get some wandering especially when you add in some loose linkage.

[WiNandLeGeNd]

I can certainly see them as an issue on a track if your were to try and compete against other SCT's with tires that have less than half the rotating mass, their responsiveness is going to be quite a bit less. I don't think the wandering is a result of the tires, with 2 deg. of toe in they should drive reasonably straight. I had the same issue with the talons which are actually pretty decent road tires (horrid for off road though). It is frustrating that I have to deal with this issue at all, considering how much the truck has now cost me.

[gtlightning98]

I bet your Trenchers are > 8 inches tall at those speeds. Mine's got all original front end components after 9 months and there's definately a good amount of slop. I understand you expect more, but I feel like I get what I would expect from a monster truck with big offroad tires on it. I've had mine in the high 50's with Talons and G-Locs and it handles alright, as to be expected.

[WiNandLeGeNd]

They are taped and do not expand. I can hold the truck in my hand and floor it and watch them, no expansion. I'm running a 2400kV on 4S, 17/54 gearing. Speed calculator says top speed of 57 mph. The slash isn't an MT, its a SCT. The stampede 4x4 which is an MT, is the exact same truck as the slash 4x4, just with a different shell, shortened chassis and bigger tires to make it into an MT. The suspension components, rods, ends, steering and drive train are literally from the slash 4x4, which is supposed to be a SCT race truck and so they will have the same characteristics as the slash 4x4 (which I converted my 4x4 pede to).

I don't think it's a total piece of crap or anything. I looked over on the Losi forum for the losi scte 4x4 out of curiosity and found just as many people with all kinds of issues and recommended upgrades for the SCTE, which is a $300 roller with no electronics what so ever. Certainly the SCTE is a better track truck, especially out of the box, but the Slash is more versatile and is actually pretty well designed out of the box in terms of durability. The only really big issue I found with the slash out of the box is the telescoping universals just don't hold up to brushless power and the plastic shock caps, beyond that it takes a beating that I think would send the SCTE home cryin (at least out of the box). But being a SCT race truck, I would have expected better tolerances in the steering, especially considering the speeds even the VXL version can achieve.