Kraton Alloy Diff Cases, HR vs GPM

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MailManX

MailManX

Active Member
Messages
9
Reaction score
7
Location
Escondido, CA
Arrma RC's
  1. Raider
I was planning to buy the HR diff case, but the one from GPM appears to be nicer. It is a 100-percent aluminum 2-piece design. It does not use the larger bearing, though. I have asked one person so far, a Youtube user who has tried both. He likes the GPM case much better and said the stock size bearing is not a problem.

Any feedback from the forum members? THANKS!
 
What is the purpose of getting alloy diff cases besides looking cool? I been wanting front and rear arms as well as shock towers. Reasoning for the arms and towers is the strength. I have been looking at all the alloy parts, and they look great but the price is crazy. The Traxxas Slash has a alloy kit for $100. Why is Arrma so much higher, less exposure?
 
cordell12 said:
What is the purpose of getting alloy diff cases besides looking cool? I been wanting front and rear arms as well as shock towers. Reasoning for the arms and towers is the strength. I have been looking at all the alloy parts, and they look great but the price is crazy. The Traxxas Slash has a alloy kit for $100. Why is Arrma so much higher, less exposure?
Click to expand...

I won't lie - I like bling! But please don't hate me because I'm vain. In order to justify the bling in my own mind, I am buying them because the screws have been reported to pull out of the plastic diff cases. I've also heard of a couple cracked rear cases after an upside-down hard landing.
 
MailManX said:
I won't lie - I like bling! But please don't hate me because I'm vain. In order to justify the bling in my own mind, I am buying them because the screws have been reported to pull out of the plastic diff cases. I've also heard of a couple cracked rear cases after an upside-down hard landing.
Click to expand...

lol, no hating here. I honestly was curious if there was a reason like for the arm thats all. What color you looking at? I like the red color myself, red everything would look awesome! Oh and a black Big Rock body :D

If these alloy parts were a tad bit lower in cost I'd be all over them. For now I will wait for things to break I think.
 
MailManX said:
I was planning to buy the HR diff case, but the one from GPM appears to be nicer. It is a 100-percent aluminum 2-piece design. It does not use the larger bearing, though. I have asked one person so far, a Youtube user who has tried both. He likes the GPM case much better and said the stock size bearing is not a problem.

Any feedback from the forum members? THANKS!
Click to expand...
HR cases are a must if you bash. Ive been through 5-6 stock cases on both my Outcast and Kraton. Cant speak on the GPM one though.
 
MailManX said:
I was planning to buy the HR diff case, but the one from GPM appears to be nicer. It is a 100-percent aluminum 2-piece design. It does not use the larger bearing, though. I have asked one person so far, a Youtube user who has tried both. He likes the GPM case much better and said the stock size bearing is not a problem.

Any feedback from the forum members? THANKS!
Click to expand...

HR upgrades the stock Arrma 5x11x4 bearing to a larger 5x13x4 bearing in their alloy diff case (AON12E01), however, I have not had any, or heard of any problems with the stock size bearing.

Keep in mind, if you are considering upgrading to HR's aluminum steering blocks or rear hubs, they use a larger 15x24x5 bearing, and this bearing is "NOT" EASY TO FIND, if you need to replace it. Not sure why HR did not consider this, especially when the bearing size did not even need to be increased anyways?

Another note: HR does not include the rear portion of the gearbox/diff case, so you still have to use the stock composite plastic part, which seems like it kind of defeats the purpose of having an aluminum gearbox/diff case, if it is not all aluminum?

GPM has some questions marks with quality on some of their parts, but not sure about their aluminum Gear box (GPM MAK012). At least their entire gearbox (front & rear) is all aluminum. I would replace the screws by the look of it though. Also quite expensive for a GPM part, as usually their prices are not that bad?

Do we even need to upgrade to aluminum gearboxes when the new V3 gearbox is much stronger and more durable due to the extra reinforcing and webbing used in the composite material?
 
I installed HR's aluminum steeringblocks rear hubs with bigger bearings v2 kraton... never had issues with inner bearings failing after that ..bearing issue resolved
 
sajidaniel said:
I installed HR's aluminum steeringblocks rear hubs with bigger bearings v2 kraton... never had issues with inner bearings failing after that ..bearing issue resolved
Click to expand...
There are no bearing issues with Arrma's beefier V3 Kraton steering blocks & rear hubs. I was just saying, when the larger 15x24x5 bearings that HR uses wear out or fail, they are an oddball size and not many choices available. Why did HR even change the size when the stock bearing size is fine and more importantly, why not at least use a standard size bearing?
 
RCROD said:
There are no bearing issues with Arrma's beefier V3 Kraton steering blocks & rear hubs. I was just saying, when the larger 15x24x5 bearings that HR uses wear out or fail, they are an oddball size and not many choices available. Why did HR even change the size when the stock bearing size is fine and more importantly, why not at least use a standard size bearing?
Click to expand...
Can you go back to hot racing for new bearings?
 
RCROD said:
There are no bearing issues with Arrma's beefier V3 Kraton steering blocks & rear hubs. I was just saying, when the larger 15x24x5 bearings that HR uses wear out or fail, they are an oddball size and not many choices available. Why did HR even change the size when the stock bearing size is fine and more importantly, why not at least use a standard size bearing?
Click to expand...
I was able to find that bearing at Avid and Boca but I wasn't able to find it at Fast Eddys. I don't really know of many other bearing places.
 
Crash said:
Can you go back to hot racing for new bearings?
Click to expand...
I would sure hope HR sells them, but seems like a hassle, as not easy to find this size bearing at hobby stores. I just wanted to point this out, in case anyone is surprised to find this out after they purchase HR's aluminum steering blocks/rear hubs.
 
I have the steering blocks from HR but I just figured someone would sell them. The bigger bearings that is. Its actually the only bearing On my kraton that isnt Avid. But if Avid sells that size then all is good. Avids are my favorite by far.
 
I've just got the HR steering blocks front and back, the bigger inner bearing was one of the things that attracted me to them as I've blown several of the stock size. I run Avid as well, so no issues I think they are around $1 a bearing last time I bought some and they last well.
 
I am a big fan of many Avid products myself, but unfortunately, it's still not easy to find this size bearing at most hobby stores. For example, at Tower hobbies, not even 1 bearing shows up when doing a search for this size bearing, let alone your LHS. Do a search at A Main Hobbies for Arrma's stock 15x21x4 bearing, and 15 choices come up, so lot's of options for different brands, types and prices. That's what I'm talking about Willis... Did I date myself again LOL

The problem with anyone living outside the U.S., is it costs a lot more to order from the manufacturer only (& Avid being the only choice here), when you include all the shipping costs, customs, duties, taxes, etc. Due to this reason, and the weight penalty of just adding more aluminum, personally, I would not use HR hubs or steering blocks myself, although they sure look nice.

Pickles, yes, there used to be a problem with Arrma's larger 15x21x4 inner bearing, but this was due to the earlier rear hub design which allowed tons of debris (sand, dirt, etc) to enter the bearing area constantly. This is not a problem now with the newer and much beefier rear hub design.
 
RCROD said:
I am a big fan of many Avid products myself, but unfortunately, it's still not easy to find this size bearing at most hobby stores. For example, at Tower hobbies, not even 1 bearing shows up when doing a search for this size bearing, let alone your LHS. Do a search at A Main Hobbies for Arrma's stock 15x21x4 bearing, and 15 choices come up, so lot's of options for different brands, types and prices. That's what I'm talking about Willis... Did I date myself again LOL

The problem with anyone living outside the U.S., is it costs a lot more to order from the manufacturer only (& Avid being the only choice here), when you include all the shipping costs, customs, duties, taxes, etc. Due to this reason, and the weight penalty of just adding more aluminum, personally, I would not use HR hubs or steering blocks myself, although they sure look nice.

Pickles, yes, there used to be a problem with Arrma's larger 15x21x4 inner bearing, but this was due to the earlier rear hub design which allowed tons of debris (sand, dirt, etc) to enter the bearing area constantly. This is not a problem now with the newer and much beefier rear hub design.
Click to expand...
Yes, it may be different outside of the US. I was just stating that in two minutes I found that 2 of the 3 places I have gotten bearings from carry that bearing size.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

RCKYE99
Kraton Center Diff Question
Replies
8
Views
914
SirCrashALot
S
T
Kraton Kraton 6s V5 center differential blowing up
Replies
9
Views
1K
hobo
H
T
Kraton Kraton 6s v5 diff mount
Replies
5
Views
391
TimGoheen
T
BO55_Saint
Kraton Kraton 6s v5 diff problems again
Replies
2
Views
239
332_RC
332_RC
N
Typhon Aluminum center diff
Replies
5
Views
846
slick2500
slick2500
Back
Top