Kraton V1 to Talion V3 Chassis Build Log

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cordell12

cordell12

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Arrma RC's
  2. Nero
Today I will begin the changing of my Kraton v1 chassis to a Talion v3 chassis. The project began in this thread HERE and rather than leave it buried in that thread I figured I'd create a build thread in case other want to do the same. The battery/motor/esc have moved towards the rear in the v3 Talion, and the servo is now mounted horizontal with the chassis. The moving of things towards the rear was done to help with balance of the truggie. I know when I am doing jumps the front end likes to dive into the ground. My hope is with the Talion chassis this will not happen, or not be nearly as bad as it currently is.

I will update this post as I begin the teardown. My guess is by next weekend I'll be completed, as long as we don't have a lot of overtime this coming week.

shout out to @RCROD for comparing the chassis and helping research part #'s
@Iamtheoutcast seeing your video of milling your own shocks made me think this chassis swap will be a breeze LOL.
 
I've begun to tear the Kraton down, replacing A Arms along the way. Here you can see the twist in the chassis.

20180415_145439.jpg
 
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Didn't get nearly as far as I wanted tool today. I did get the RPM A Arms on the rear, so plus there

A lot of tedious work here, bagging all the screws and keeping them with the parts they go too. I hope I didn't bite off more than I wanted to chew lol.

20180415_171332.jpg


edit...I have stripped everything off the chassis. Looking at it, the chassis seemed to be bent like a banana as well. Not in the way I would have expected, but the middle is bowed up toward the center diff. This is minor, but would continue to bend in due time. Ill try to get a pic up tomorrow, I am beat for the day.
 
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I was able to get the tweak out of my Kraton chassis. I stuck it between the door jam of my shed and twisted with quite a bit of pressure. The slight bowing in the middle isn't much, in fact it may be this way from the factory.

Haven't received the Talion v3 chassis yet, I got the tracking number monday morning so will be a few more days. This morning I ordered front and rear aluminum towers, and front and rear chassis braces, all from Voltage Hobbies. I got the towers out of the bargain bin to save a few bucks. I'm itching to put this thing back together!
 
New Talion v3 chassis arrived today. Here it is next to my v1 Kraton chassis (Kraton on the right). You can see how the drivetrain has moved, with center diff moving towards the rear.

20180418_180907.jpg
 
I got about as far as I can get for now. I'm waiting on new set screws for the input shaft cups on the diffs. New Voltage Hobbies front and rear chassis braces, and shock towers from them as well. Everything is bolting right on as expected, I thought for a minute that the braves would not line up as the v3 Talion has different shock towers than the V1/2/3 Kraton does but they are going to be fine.

20180418_190301.jpg
 
Let us know how the truck handles with the weight shifted to the rear.
 
s14tat said:
Let us know how the truck handles with the weight shifted to the rear.
Click to expand...

For sure, I'm just waiting on shock towers and braces from Voltage Hobbies. They are due to arrive today, the rest of the Kraton is assembled. Surprised how easy the transformation went so far.

UPDATE...aluminum parts did not arrive today :(
 
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I have put the Kraton/Talion back together with stock shock towers and braces. The Voltage parts are one town over from me but I couldn't wait lol. The whole swap was really simple, didn't need a build thread. I figured I was going to run into some issues but it was all smooth sailing! I'll show a updated pic when the Voltage parts are installed.

20180423_083748.jpg
 
For the front and rear braces as well as the shock towers, did you use Talion V3 stuff or did you use parts for the Kraton? I guess I am just wondering how many parts from the Kraton will not work on the new Talion chassis and will need to be bought new?
 
chevys10zr2003 said:
For the front and rear braces as well as the shock towers, did you use Talion V3 stuff or did you use parts for the Kraton? I guess I am just wondering how many parts from the Kraton will not work on the new Talion chassis and will need to be bought new?
Click to expand...

I used Kraton parts for this. The only thing I had to buy besides the chassis was the new battery box and the braces. The dogbones from center diff just reverse, everything else bolted right up, even with the servo turning sideways.
 
cordell12 said:
I used Kraton parts for this. The only thing I had to buy besides the chassis was the new battery box and the braces. The dogbones from center diff just reverse, everything else bolted right up, even with the servo turning sideways.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing you probably could have used the battery tray too, if wanted, but would have just had to drill some holes. That's cool that everything else all worked out. I figured there wasn't too much that wouldn't work, but thought I would ask since you have it done now. Kind of a bummer about the center braces though.
 
chevys10zr2003 said:
I'm guessing you probably could have used the battery tray too, if wanted, but would have just had to drill some holes. That's cool that everything else all worked out. I figured there wasn't too much that wouldn't work, but thought I would ask since you have it done now. Kind of a bummer about the center braces though.
Click to expand...

definitely could have used the battery box, I wanted to replace it with the newer style anyway. Had the battery fly out twice on my last run, even broke one of the velcro straps. I am looking to upgrade my shocks ends and standoffs to the v3 kraton now. I can't find them anywhere though. I recall seeing a post where someone used Tekno MT410 ends and standoffs, that may be a better option anyway.
 
So I just ran a 4s battery through the new Kraton/Talion chassis...She drove like a dream! My Kraton has never been so frickin stable, the front wheels stuck to the ground better than before. I had better steering control, no weeble wobble going full throttle down the street. I cant contribute it all to the chassis as I do have RPM arms that were not on the Kraton before. But I can say that small jumps did not nose dive like it was doing with the v1 chassis. I am 100% happy I did this :D
I recommend anyone who is looking to replace their Kraton chassis and don't mind buying the aluminum braces again, do it!
 
cordell12 said:
So I just ran a 4s battery through the new Kraton/Talion chassis...She drove like a dream! My Kraton has never been so frickin stable, the front wheels stuck to the ground better than before. I had better steering control, no weeble wobble going full throttle down the street. I cant contribute it all to the chassis as I do have RPM arms that were not on the Kraton before. But I can say that small jumps did not nose dive like it was doing with the v1 chassis. I am 100% happy I did this :D
I recommend anyone who is looking to replace their Kraton chassis and don't mind buying the aluminum braces again, do it!
Click to expand...
That's awesome to hear. And seeing as how I haven't pulled the trigger yet on Voltage shocks towers or braces I might have to hope that my 5 year old damages his Kraton bad enough to "need" this LOL.
 
Got the Voltage shock towers and braces installed, went for another run and was flying down the road! The Kraton now has better control at higher speeds, like full throttle. For whatever reason the front is not lifting up as much as it did before, this is a good thing. I was a little worried the shifting of the weight was going to make this worse but.ut didn't. Also jumping the Kraton now is much more stable, the front doesn't want to dive down like before. The wife seems to think it is faster now too, that is probably placebo, but the handling is definitely not placebo.

edit...esc is not mounted on its side, I just didnt have it fully mounted yet in this pic ;)

20180423_135358.jpg
 
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i am surprised the steering got better. I thought with more weight being closer to the front would give you less understeer. Maybe this project would be on the back of my mind, but i would still keep the v2 shock towers so it isn't so squashed.
 
s14tat said:
i am surprised the steering got better. I thought with more weight being closer to the front would give you less understeer. Maybe this project would be on the back of my mind, but i would still keep the v2 shock towers so it isn't so squashed.
Click to expand...

I have the Kraton v1/2/3 towers still. The steering may be due to the RPM arms I installed all the way around. I am now wishing that I had ran it with the RPM's on the old chassis to know for sure. Either way the overall handling is better :)
 
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