Kraton Durability upgrades?

[Hatinonkraton90]

I know there's sections on the site that have threads on this I'm sure but Idk how to navigate through it to find em lol so im posting this. I'm looking for durability upgrade recommendations for my kraton, arms, axles, drive shafts...etc....(idk if it's the v5...how do I tell the difference?) Thanks

 

[Engineer]

Definitely get a better front bumper - EXB or RPM - that will help greatly with durability when bashing

 

[Jimbobjr]

looks like a v5 to me. depending on what you want to do it may not need any upgrades. maybe buy more batteries and some tools first, drive it and see what breaks. for spares a set of arms, wing mount, wheel nuts, diff case with assembled diff (jennysrc), shock ends, hardware kit from jennysrc, set of bearings (inner wheel bearings for sure) and upgrade the bumper as @Engineer said above. Down the road maybe a better servo and mount.

 

[Hatinonkraton90]

Definitely get a better front bumper - EXB or RPM - that will help greatly with durability when bashing

Alright thanks. How about like arms? Anything like rpm or something?

looks like a v5 to me. depending on what you want to do it may not need any upgrades. maybe buy more batteries and some tools first, drive it and see what breaks. for spares a set of arms, wing mount, wheel nuts, diff case with assembled diff (jennysrc), shock ends, hardware kit from jennysrc, set of bearings (inner wheel bearings for sure) and upgrade the bumper as @Engineer said above. Down the road maybe a better servo and mount.

 

[slick2500]

Alright thanks. How about like arms? Anything like rpm or something?

Currently there are no arms for the V5 or EXB models, RPM is working on some from what I heard though. Coming Soon ™

 

[wtfmfer]

I had no idea the V5 arms were any different from the V4.
I did RPM arms front bumper and wing mount, and a wheelie bar because... well.. wheelies.
But Im on the V4 Kraton.
Everyone craps on the stock steering servo, but I have yet to have any issues.
The LP backflips are also a great switch from the stock backflip tires.. Less ballooning.

 

[slick2500]

I had no idea the V5 arms were any different from the V4.
I did RPM arms front bumper and wing mount, and a wheelie bar because... well.. wheelies.
But Im on the V4 Kraton.
Everyone craps on the stock steering servo, but I have yet to have any issues.
The LP backflips are also a great switch from the stock backflip tires.. Less ballooning.

Yup the V5 arms are just like the EXB arms.

 

[calebgilmore]

I had no idea the V5 arms were any different from the V4.
I did RPM arms front bumper and wing mount, and a wheelie bar because... well.. wheelies.
But Im on the V4 Kraton.
Everyone craps on the stock steering servo, but I have yet to have any issues.
The LP backflips are also a great switch from the stock backflip tires.. Less ballooning.

The geometry changed when they went to v5's. Droop screw moved, different pin on the bottom of the shocks, and different towers. Stock kraton tires are copperheads and outcast come with the backflips, and i like the backflips better on my kraton than the stock copperheads. I have all v4's minus some v2 mojaves and i bought the v5 receiver box for the newer v4 builds since it's a little larger.

 

[Adiabatic]

EXB bumper as others have said, and the Arrma steel rear skid plate will increase the lifespan of your chassis if you plan to jump and land on hard/abrasive surfaces. Cheap and easy bolt on upgrades.

 

[Hatinonkraton90]

EXB bumper as others have said, and the Arrma steel rear skid plate will increase the lifespan of your chassis if you plan to jump and land on hard/abrasive surfaces. Cheap and easy bolt on upgrades.

Awesome thanks!

 

[Hatinonkraton90]

I had no idea the V5 arms were any different from the V4.
I did RPM arms front bumper and wing mount, and a wheelie bar because... well.. wheelies.
But Im on the V4 Kraton.
Everyone craps on the stock steering servo, but I have yet to have any issues.
The LP backflips are also a great switch from the stock backflip tires.. Less ballooning.

So no rpm arms for the v5 like stated above?

 

[morrjr71]

So no rpm arms for the v5 like stated above?

That is correct. Their web site says their arms fit certain part numbers, and those part numbers are not used in the V5.

 

[LEON]

So no rpm arms for the v5 like stated above?

You can use the front upper and lower RPM arms without any problems. The rear ones will need to be modified by drilling new holes for droops.

 

[craig72]

Send it and see what breaks... then you'll know for sure

 

[Adiabatic]

I'd avoid RPM arms unless you're breaking the stock ones regularly. They're very flexible and allow for a lot of deflection under stress which leads to breaking/bending other parts like drive shafts, rod ends, shock shafts, etc.. At least this was my experience with other R/C cars.

 

[Justbashitrc14]

Some upgrades for the kration v5 would be the m2c raceing chassic and the shock towers. Then I would get rpm bumper and heatsink.

 

[Hatinonkraton90]

I'd avoid RPM arms unless you're breaking the stock ones regularly. They're very flexible and allow for a lot of deflection under stress which leads to breaking/bending other parts like drive shafts, rod ends, shock shafts, etc.. At least this was my experience with other R/C cars.

So stock?

 

[craig72]

So stock?

I was sort of joking, but half serious in my earlier reply. You might find that for your driving style, the stock components work just fine. I've got several 6s rigs that I beat on pretty hard. The stock components will take quite a bit of abuse, so you might discover that you don't need to preemptively replace a bunch of stuff.
One thing on the stock setup that I've always had to address is the servo saver. Each one of mine has been too loose for my driving style. Its usually set pretty conservatively from the factory to protect the stock servo (which is a bit weak IMO). The downside is that you don't get much steering authority. Tightening it up with a few turns or adding some shims helps quite a bit.

 

[Hatinonkraton90]

I was sort of joking, but half serious in my earlier reply. You might find that for your driving style, the stock components work just fine. I've got several 6s rigs that I beat on pretty hard. The stock components will take quite a bit of abuse, so you might discover that you don't need to preemptively replace a bunch of stuff.
One thing on the stock setup that I've always had to address is the servo saver. Each one of mine has been too loose for my driving style. Its usually set pretty conservatively from the factory to protect the stock servo (which is a bit weak IMO). The downside is that you don't get much steering authority. Tightening it up with a few turns or adding some shims helps quite a bit.

I like the way it drives. I haven't really bashed it yet because of snow but it drives good. Only thing I did was put m2c front and rear skid plates as of right now. But ya once I get a better feel for it I'll have a better idea. I just more than less wanted to know opinions considering this is my 1st kraton.

 

[RC-RAD]

I like the way it drives. I haven't really bashed it yet because of snow but it drives good. Only thing I did was put m2c front and rear skid plates as of right now. But ya once I get a better feel for it I'll have a better idea. I just more than less wanted to know opinions considering this is my 1st kraton.

When I first got my Kraton, I bashed it fairly hard. So depending on your driving style when you let it rip, you'll figure out what breaks.

For me, I broke my wing mount, stock servo, and a couple rear a-arms (this was probably over the span of 6 months). RPM wingmount, amazon ds3235 servo and a extra set of arms from jennysRC is the way I went in terms of upgrading.