Kraton 1/8th Kraton V3 version or higher, tips to keep them bulletproofed through years of hardcore bashing.

[Snackers]

1. Replace every stock screw with better quality screws every 2 months or so.
2. Replace as many important and expensive parts with nearly unbreakable aluminum upgrades that last years(Hot Racing parts have lasted me 5 years through 60+ mph crashes into curbs or jumping buildings and landing hard AF.
3. Replace chassis to either upgraded or new stock ones (which I personally have about 20 of them and replace at first signs of bending)
4. Check diffs very often and replace or repair parts as needed and definitely use aftermarket diff fluid much higher than 10k.
5. Buy the more expensive and better quality bearings, they last much longer and work better. I use all ceramic in mine.

A picture of my 1/8 Kraton 6S in the middle of complete rebuild.

 

[SrC]

Ceramic BB's are best for the motor only and for On road running. I don't feel they are worth the coin for the the rest of the drivetrain. Just me. Been there.
You went all out already, why not try an M2C or Scorched chassis at this point?? If you have not already. I know M2C's rarely if ever bend.
It must be very heavy no doubt. At some point weight becomes a drawback. Chassis bending etc. Drivetrain durability taking a hit.....
The OE V5 chassis has been well improved over the V4 design. But with all that extra weight now, M2C would be my first choice in a chassis. I find that stamped chassis' can tweak ever so slightly with use , and this is not any big deal for a basher platform. Some stocker chassis' are even tweaked out the box when new.
Nice rig . enjoy.

 

[Snackers]

Ceramic BB's are best for the motor only and for On road running. I don't feel they are worth the coin for the the rest of the drivetrain. Just me. Been there.
You went all out already, why not try an M2C or Scorched chassis at this point?? If you have not already. I know M2C's rarely if ever bend.
It must be very heavy no doubt. At some point weight becomes a drawback. Chassis bending etc. Drivetrain durability taking a hit.....
The OE V5 chassis has been well improved over the V4 design. But with all that extra weight now, M2C would be my first choice in a chassis. I find that stamped chassis' can tweak ever so slightly with use , and this is not any big deal for a basher platform. Some stocker chassis' are even tweaked out the box when new.
Nice rig . enjoy.

About half of my running is on road, maybe that’s why the ceramic bearings have been more durable for me compared to regular bearings. Regular bearings wore out faster on my rig. I have a m2c chassis but having almost every other part already aluminum the m2c just puts it right over the line of too heavy for me. It also seemed like not having a more flexible chassis puts more wear on gear boxes and towers. I had a lot of screws breaking. And then would have to drill those out which is a pain. Oh the ceramic bearings I don’t use on the wheel bearings because they didn’t seem to add any durability or better efficiency. That m2c chassis made my A arms break all the time because I use those as the weak link and use RPM so cheap parts break during high speed crashes.

The only time I broke an aluminum gearbox was while using the m2c chassis. How exactly it happened I’m not sure but those gear boxes are expensive to be replacing. I’m going to look for a better chassis than stock, maybe there are stronger yet still lighter now. Last time I checked was a couple years ago

 

[SrC]

I tried a $whole Cermamic$ set. The wheel BB's, despite being cerams, did crap out like chromium ones. For the diffs, I could see using them. But like you said , in clean environments. Dirt simply gets the best of any type of BB. Especially at the Wheel hubs. I feel a BLX motor is the best candidate for Cerams., if anything. I prefer the stocker plastic Bulkheads. I know that the $alloy$ ones even crap out.
I prefer the stocker screws. They are 12.9 grade. They are the strongest IMHO.
SS screws are horrible, for hard bashing especially. Too soft and bend/ snap/ strip out easily.
Many after market screws are just softer 10.9 grade steel if lucky or not even marked as such. I get my screws from JennysRc. Stockers are best IMHO. I stay with them now.

 

[KratonBuilder]

Screw kits are so overlooked, but whatever you do do NOT buy stainless steel for these trucks. The force needed to sheer a HTSS screw is significantly lower than high tensile steel. Made that mistake and converted back. Had to replace actual components after losing threads inside. My best tip after two years is AVOID RAIN. It'll murder each and every RC you've got until there's nothing but oxidation left.

 

[Snackers]

I have 6 months of snow and 6 months of rain every year so I know how to manage running RC’s in not ideal weather.
Buy a RC chassis dirt skirt, they keep out 95% of dirt and dust from the track and they are also water resistant.
Second, wipe it dry with a towel and then put it in a room or a big box with a dehumidifier so it completely dries off. After it’s dried I take alcohol wipes to get all salt off. Those chassis dirt skirts really do keep out so much dirt and moisture it’s amazing.
I only buy some certain “RC screw kits” because it will have a ton of the right size O rings or the bars used in diffs that break too often. Other than those niche parts I never use any screws marketed toward “RC”. Just get all the info on which screws and how many from the hardware store. I’m not sure which alloy or whatever screws my Ace guy hooked me up with haven’t bent or broken any and they are more difficult to strip. When it comes to looking for a certain quality of screw Definitely ask your local handyman Ace guy.
Oh also the main reason I keep using new stock chassis’ is because I already have a stack of free ones so I might as well use them up