Anyone interested in the new Redcat KAIJU MT 1/8

[razorrc]

I know this is going to sound like a stupid question but has anyone thought of just eliminating the upper arm all together and just use a camber link?

I just mocked up a Traxxas turnbuckle, and the biggest issue I see is that the inner hinge pin is a 3.5mm pin, and not a 3mm screw. In any case, it seems like it's the metal turnbuckle that is breaking, not the plastic rod ends/arms.

 

[Spider978]

I just mocked up a Traxxas turnbuckle, and the biggest issue I see is that the inner hinge pin is a 3.5mm pin, and not a 3mm screw. In any case, it seems like it's the metal turnbuckle that is breaking, not the plastic rod ends/arms.

Here’s a view of mine. I tried to use some epoxy on it, just to run it because I hadn’t decided if I was going to put more money into it.

 

[razorrc]

Is that the new, thicker upper arms?

 

[Spider978]

Is that the new, thicker upper arms?

Correction** Upon further inspection, yes these are the “new” arms. This arm is from the front right. I’ve included a pic of the left arm. Earl Moorhead has a video on it.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Armarookie43]

My battery straps keep ripping in half
I did land on the roof quite a few times and my 2 6200mah 3s batterys might be a little heavy.
Going to see the straps back together with my girls sewing machine and just try not to land upsidedown again lol

I use 6s Arrma battery straps on mine (the small thinner ones). They are way batter and longer than the stock weak short stock ones

I know this is going to sound like a stupid question but has anyone thought of just eliminating the upper arm all together and just use a camber link?

I did long time ago. I use a Traxxas link instead of the arm. It lasts way longer than stock arms. They either bend, break or wear out but after many many jumps. I put a bolt and nut on the rear. It's somewhere back on this thread

I purchased one thru amazon, and I was on the fence on whether I would keep it or not. I've decided as of yesterday to send it back and here's why..
1) When I ran it for the first time, within a minute in the grass, I gave it maybe 35% throttle, turned and a turnbuckle broke. Could have been a fluke, no big deal. Now it was cold here in Dallas that day, 30's. I was just trying to run it because it sat in a box for 2 weeks.
2) Redcat has some nice upgrades, but imo, you need some of those upgrades just to run the truck cleanly. It has no roll cage and it flips like crazy.

By the time I added up all the upgrades for really a 1/10 scale truck, I found myself either exceeding or at the 6s Kraton which is a no brainer to me. It's like you fall in love with the idea of it, but the chassis is just too short for that kind of power. And almost everyone I've seen on youtube can't go full throttle without it flipping. I'm currently looking to invest in another model....maybe Corally Punisher, electronics look good but I've heard so much about durability.

What upgrades? All I added was bearings on the outside of the drive cups, changed upper control arms to Traxxas links, put some fans and heat sink on the motor and put a metal spur gear. Yeah it will flip over if you are not careful on turns but it's a MONSTER TRUCK. I use mine for bashing and jumping off my ramps, not to make sharp turns or go around the track fast. It's stable enough for bashing trust me. Does it still break after that stuff that I added? Yes, but it's pretty tough.

 

[Dees_Troy]

I talked to Redcat support for a bit this afternoon. They didn't really have a solution for the broken rod. We discussed that the rods are pretty thin and made out of what seems to be a fairly low strength metal. He said that he would bring it up with others so maybe they will eventually come up with something better in like 6 months or a year. He also suggested that I contact a few other places to see if they have any stronger rods that I might be able to work with.

I don't have any easy outs on hand. Tomorrow I am hoping to borrow one to remove the broken rod. In the meantime I have swapped all the aluminum upper arms back to the plastic because I am pretty sure that the neither the rod nor the plastic upper arm would have broken in the tumble my Kaiju took. Assuming that I get the broken rod out, then I am considering trying to switch to 6mm rods of some kind, but I don't see any 6mm turnbuckle type rods. I may just get some 6mm straight threaded rod and use that. Most of what I see is 304 stainless so not the strongest, but it's gotta be stronger than the stock rods...

 

[Dees_Troy]

I wasn't able to get the rod extracted from the arm, but I was able to drill all the way through what's left of the rod. I took one of the other arms into the hardware store to try to match the threads. M4 is too small and M5 is too big. It's pretty close to #10 but neither #10-24 nor #10-32 works. I'm going to contact a couple places to see if they have any M6 or thereabouts rods that I can use.

The aluminum upper arms are drilled all the way through. I plan on using the dremel cut off wheel to make a flat head slot so if I break another one off, I can try to remove the broken rod with a flat head screw driver. The aluminum upper arm weighs 12 grams while a plastic arm is about 5 grams.

 

[razorrc]

Tekno 9049 fits pretty well, it’s a 4mm turnbuckle that flares out to 5mm on the threaded portion.

Can’t be any worse than the stock crappy metal they use, and most likely a lot better.

 

[Dees_Troy]

Tekno 9049 fits pretty well, it’s a 4mm turnbuckle that flares out to 5mm on the threaded portion.

Can’t be any worse than the stock crappy metal they use, and most likely a lot better.

I'm concerned that the aluminum arms, which have loose threads to begin with, won't have enough material left over to go from 4.5 to 5mm threads. I picked up some rods like this:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M2ZCMKK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They won't be adjustable once I install them, but camber isn't particularly important to get set perfectly. I'll set them using a digital caliper before installing. I'm planning on putting a flat head slot on the one end. I also want to try to drill a small hole in the middle so I can turn them by inserting a small allen key, or I may throw a M6 nut on.

I did find a couple of M6 turnbuckles, but they are pretty expensive at about $15 each. One is low carbon steel and the other is 304 stainless, so not particularly strong. The 304 stainless rods that I'm using aren't super strong either, but they're cheap enough and if they break a lot, I can find some M6 rods in grade 8 or titanium. My hope is that 304 stainless at M6 diameter is strong enough though.

 

[razorrc]

I'm convinced the rear springs on the Kaiju are too hard and too linear. Running it back to back with better setup cars (MT410 and Kraton 6S) really reveals where they went wrong with the shocks.

I'm working on finding a better matched spring.

 

[gotnitro]

I'm convinced the rear springs on the Kaiju are too hard and too linear. Running it back to back with better setup cars (MT410 and Kraton 6S) really reveals where they went wrong with the shocks.

I'm working on finding a better matched spring.

Take all the preload out and move them to the inner most shock tower holes and move the bottom to the outer most A-arm holes. They work perfect for me. Kinda hard to compare this $399 MT to a Kraton Truggy and one of the best MT kits in the market.

 

[razorrc]

Getting serious. Gets rid of that stupid double bounce the stock pistons have.

 

[gotnitro]

Yeah that looks pretty serious!

 

[razorrc]

Take all the preload out and move them to the inner most shock tower holes and move the bottom to the outer most A-arm holes. They work perfect for me. Kinda hard to compare this $399 MT to a Kraton Truggy and one of the best MT kits in the market.

Truck doesn't have enough droop that way. Doesn't fix the spring and damping problem either.

 

[gotnitro]

Truck doesn't have enough droop that way. Doesn't fix the spring and damping problem either.

lol Enough droop? Droop is ONLY set up to stop the arms from slamming down over and over on multiple jumps to take the load off the shock rod ends. You must be talking about ride height.. Besides, too much preload or "ride height" creates a higher center of gravity and more traction roll. Have you even tried it yet? I assume not because it really works out well for this rig while spending 0 dollars and 0 time..

 

[razorrc]

Incorrect.

 

[gotnitro]

 

[slick2500]

Is it even possible to set droop on the Kaiju?

 

[gotnitro]

Is it even possible to set droop on the Kaiju?

Lol nope That’s why his statement is ridiculous.

 

[razorrc]

Is it even possible to set droop on the Kaiju?

Of course you can. How do you set droop on a 1/10 scale? They don’t have droop screws. Same thing.