Granite Final Build? I think my Granite upgrades are done

[GRC]

After a year and a half of trying out various upgrades, this build has been holding up well.

*EDIT - I deleted the video I originally included in this post and replaced it with this one.

This build is for jumps so durability and a shock setup that lands well are the priorities. My advice is always not to upgrade unless you have a specific reason. So don't get the titanium turnbuckles if you're not breaking them, don't get the M2C motor mount if your not bending it, etc.

Stock ESC, motor, 15t pinion,10k differential fluid.

Upgrades:
-Tekno SCT410 shocks with emulsion caps
-Arrma 16 mm shock pistons, 1.2 mm front, 1.4 mm rear
-Mojave shock springs in front (ARA330639), Kraton springs in the rear (AR330507)
-80wt shock fluid
-Typhon 3s arms from RPM
-Typhon 3s 17mm axles, hubs and hexes. So durable and reliable.
-Lunsford titanium turnbuckles. You'll never bend another, and there's a lifetime guarantee if you do.
-Proline MX28 tires for high traction on dirt and straight line grass. Trenchers for pavement and turning on grass. Trenchers are more durable and less traction is actually better to slide out turns instead of traction rolling.
-Savox SW-1210SG servo. This servo is a TANK
-Kimbrough 124 servo saver
-Spektrum DX5 Rugged transmitter with SR515 receiver. I have a V2 Granite, which came with the crappy transmitter. Probably not necessary for V3.
-M2C motor mount plate. IMO the aluminum chassis block isn't needed. It's just extra weight and may actually cause problems (see my post below)
-Boca Bearings motor bearings - SMR695C-2OS #7 NB2 and SMR625C-2OS #7 NB2 - Very expensive, but they've lasted over a year so far.
-Jim's Bearings rubber sealed bearings for all other bearings
-Arrma 4s tower to tower center brace - helps save the rear diff from damage from chassis flex once you start jumping over 10 feet high.
-Arrma 4s body posts - the flex helps prevent the body from cracking around the body mount holes.
-Arrma 4s battery straps
-Arrma centre driveshaft support. Maybe unnecessary for the short wheel base Granite.
-Hot Racing differential yoke (rear only) - prevents rear differential damage.
-Hot Racing pivot balls
-Hot Racing aluminum servo link. It comes with the Hot Racing servo saver. I don't use the servo saver, only the link. (ATF48SH02)
-Innovateking 30mm, 28000rpm aluminum motor fan. The same fan is sold under many different brands. They all work well, just get the best price.
-Fan cover - 30mm Black Fan Finger Grill (on Amazon)
-Proline 1966 Ford F-100 body - actually a very weak body, the V3 Granite body is much stronger, I just love the look
-Proline Secure-Loc Cap body mount kit - the body mount pins kept cracking my bodies, the Pro-line caps make a big difference.

Modifications:
- Sealed the power module with foam tape. Keeps dirt out of the power module and saves your spur gear and motor bearing.
- Shimmed the steering bellcrank. I think it's the number one fix to improve 3s steering precision.
- Reinforced the ESC wire where it connects to the cap pack with electric tape. That solder joint snaps easily.
- Stuffed the bumper springs with foam tape. They're much more durable with reinforcement.
- Shoe goo and cement board tape to reinforce the body. Cement board tape is stronger than drywall tape and easier to apply. I've also tried E6000 instead of shoe goo. E6000 is more flexible and stays together great, but it flexes too much and the lexan ends up cracking.
- Foam tape inside the body and on top of sanded down shock towers to prevent the shock towers from cutting into the body.
- Heat moldable plastic for roof skids and a tailguard
- Reinforced the rear battery strap with Gorilla tape.
- WD-40 on all plastics

 

[AIan]

nice dam soccer players activated my A,D,D but otherwise shhhweeeet

 

[Doom!]

It's awesome and bittersweet when ya finally get everything dialed in. Finally performs the way you want and holds up to a good session, but you spent so much time getting there. Time for a new project, she needs a playmate!

 

[Velodromed]

No more upgrades, adjustments or modifications. Just a nice relaxing jump session with the Granite. Two battery packs with no breakage.

Upgrades:
Savox SW-1210SG servo
Spektrum DX5 Rugged transmitter
SR515 receiver
RPM Typhon 3s arms
17mm Typhon 3s axles, hubs and hexes
Lunsford titanium turnbuckles (for Typhon 3s)
Proline MX28 tires
Tekno SCT410 shocks with emulsion caps
Arrma pistons (1.2 mm front, 1.4 mm rear)
Mojave shock springs in front (ARA330639), Kraton springs in the rear (AR330507)
M2C motor mount plate (without the chassis block)
Arrma 4s tower to tower center brace
Arrma 4s body posts
Arrma centre driveshaft support
Hot Racing differential yoke (rear only)
Hot Racing pivot balls
Hot Racing servo horn
Innovateking 30 mm, 28000 rpm motor fan
Proline 1966 Ford F-100 body
Proline Secure-Loc Cap body mount kit

Stock ESC and motor - shout out to morrjr71 for the ESC!

What a build! Love the f-100 shell.

 

[GRC]

I should add the upgrades that didn't work out.

- Hot Racing 17mm hex with 10mm extension. When I had them they were my biggest headache. The loc-tite would always eventually come loose. Typhon arms, axles, hexes and hubs are much more durable and reliable.
- Hot Racing aluminum steering bellcrank. No complaints. It never broke and performed well. But I went back to stock plastic and didn't notice any difference. No reason for the extra weight.
- GPM front and rear aluminum knuckle arms. They fit great and held up to months of hard bashing. But one got slightly bent and I couldn't get the bearing out. Went back to stock plastic and they've been holding up. So no reason for the extra weight. ***EDIT - I broke a front steering knuckle. I might go back to the GPM's.
- GPM aluminum differential yoke was a bad fit. I never even ran it. The Hot Racing aluminum yoke fits perfectly.
- Arrma metal spur gear. I was stripping pinions with it. Probably because of a bent motor mount plate, but I went back to stock plastic. With a sealed power module and upgraded motor mount, the plastic spur gear holds up fine. Plus it's lighter and quieter.
- Arrma CVD driveshafts. They solve the problem of popped u-joints in the stock plastic driveshafts 100%. But they are incompatible with Typhon 17mm axles which are much more durable. The CVD axles snap just as easily as stock, but they're expensive. I also snapped a CVD driveshaft. The metal half snapped the plastic half. Finally, the CVD driveshafts are quite heavy. I still occasionally pop u-joints in the plastic driveshafts, but they cost the same to replace as the CVD axles (cheaper if JennysRC has them).
- Arrma 30mm motor fan. I broke a fan blade after one run. Completely cracked it after two runs.
- Arrma 18t pinion. It's noticeably faster than the stock 15t, makes triple backflips much easier to pull off, but it ran too hot for me.
- Custom RC Upgrades chassis brace. It definitely stiffens the chassis but it's really heavy. I could feel the extra weight when landing jumps. Plus it blocks access to the chassis block screw that you have to remove to take out the power module. To remove the chassis brace, you have to unscrew the long shock tower screws. It's a huge hassle. The Arrma tower to tower center brace also reduces chassis flex, but is much lighter and more convenient.
- M2C aluminum chassis block. It comes with the M2C motor mount. The motor mount is great, but it stays straight on it's own. The chassis block is unnecessary, it's just extra weight. Also by not allowing the middle of the chassis to flex, I think it actually increases how much the rear end flexes, which increases the chance of damage to the rear differential and input gear.

Also, when you add up the weight of all these metal "upgrades" you end up with a much heavier vehicle, which increases the potential for damage. I've gone back to stock plastic unless an upgrade provides a significant advantage.

 

[thrak76]

Famous last words…

 

[GRC]

Yeah, a metal rear differential/input gear and different ESC are still possible. But so far the rear diff has been holding up with the aluminum yoke and tower to tower brace. I'd like to avoid adding more weight if possible. I'm also still adjusting modifications to prevent the ESC wire from snapping at the cap pack solder joint. We'll see if it holds. Future breaks and replacements are inevitable, but at this point I don't think there are any upgrades to prevent them.

 

[Homebrew]

I should add the upgrades that didn't work out.

- Hot Racing 17mm hex with 10mm extension. When I had them they were my biggest headache. The loc-tite would always eventually come loose. Typhon arms, axles, hexes and hubs are much more durable and reliable.
- Hot Racing aluminum steering bellcrank. No complaints. It never broke and performed well. But I recently went back to stock plastic and I don't notice any difference, so no reason for the extra weight.
- GPM front and rear aluminum knuckle arms. They fit great and worked well for a long time. But one got slightly bent and I couldn't get the bearing out. Went back to stock plastic and it's been holding up, so no reason for the extra weight.
- GPM differential yoke was a bad fit. I never even ran it.
- Arrma metal spur gear. I was stripping pinions with it. Probably because of a bent motor plate, but I went back to stock plastic. With a sealed power module, the plastic spur gear holds up fine for me.
- Arrma CVD driveshafts. They solve the problem of popped u-joints in the stock plastic driveshafts 100%. But they are incompatible with Typhon 17mm axles which are much more durable than stock. The CVD axles snap just as easily as the stock ones but they're much more expensive. I've also snapped the CVD driveshaft itself. The metal half of the CVD snapped the plastic half. Finally, the CVD driveshafts are heavy. I still occasionally pop u-joints in the plastic driveshafts. But I've never snapped one, they're much lighter than the CVD's, and they cost the same as the CVD axles (cheaper if JennysRC has them).
- Custom RC Upgrades chassis brace. It definitely stiffens the chassis but it's really heavy. I could really feel the extra weight when landing jumps. Plus it blocks access to the chassis block screw that you have to remove to take out the power module. To remove the chassis brace, you have to unscrew those really long shock tower screws. It's a huge hassle. The Arrma tower to tower center brace is much lighter and more convenient.

I don’t jump as much as you do, but I really like the HR bellcrank and the GPM steering blocks and components. Along with the titanium turnbuckles, it removed a lot of slop in the front end.

Now whether or not that increases performance for a driver like me, well, probably not, but I like the way it looks and feels. I broke two plastic front steering knuckles on some minor hits. plus it’s fun just to tinker for the sake of tinkering.

Once I get a rig that’s more for jumping (I’m talking to you 6S Kraton) then perhaps I’ll keep those stock parts.

 

[GRC]

I think I've been a little lucky with the stock knuckle arms. I have seen videos of them breaking from minor impact. Or maybe some get unlucky with a bad batch of knuckles. I also use WD-40 on all my plastics, which may help. If you're breaking knuckle arms often, I would actually recommend the GPM aluminum knuckles. They held up to months of hard bashing before I finally bent one. And it was only very slightly bent, I could barely see it. I just couldn't change the bearing.

 

[Velodromed]

I should add the upgrades that didn't work out.

- Hot Racing 17mm hex with 10mm extension. When I had them they were my biggest headache. The loc-tite would always eventually come loose. Typhon arms, axles, hexes and hubs are much more durable and reliable.
- Hot Racing aluminum steering bellcrank. No complaints. It never broke and performed well. But I recently went back to stock plastic and I don't notice any difference, so no reason for the extra weight.
- GPM front and rear aluminum knuckle arms. They fit great and worked well for a long time. But one got slightly bent and I couldn't get the bearing out. Went back to stock plastic and it's been holding up, so no reason for the extra weight.
- GPM differential yoke was a bad fit. I never even ran it. The Hot Racing yoke fits perfectly.
- Arrma metal spur gear. I was stripping pinions with it. Probably because of a bent motor plate, but I went back to stock plastic. With a sealed power module, the plastic spur gear holds up fine for me and it's lighter and quieter.
- Arrma CVD driveshafts. They solve the problem of popped u-joints in the stock plastic driveshafts 100%. But they are incompatible with Typhon 17mm axles which are much more durable than stock. The CVD axles snap just as easily as the stock ones but they're much more expensive. I've also snapped the CVD driveshaft itself. The metal half of the CVD snapped the plastic half. Finally, the CVD driveshafts are heavy. I still occasionally pop u-joints in the plastic driveshafts. But I've never snapped one, they're much lighter than the CVD's, and they cost the same to replace as the CVD axles (cheaper if JennysRC has them).
- Custom RC Upgrades chassis brace. It definitely stiffens the chassis but it's really heavy. I could really feel the extra weight when landing jumps. Plus it blocks access to the chassis block screw that you have to remove to take out the power module. To remove the chassis brace, you have to unscrew those really long shock tower screws. It's a huge hassle. The Arrma tower to tower center brace is much lighter and more convenient.

Always love to hear what doesn’t work almost more then what does. Thanks for your thoughts on all these items.

 

[GRC]

Yeah a lot of upgrade videos and posts don't really provide follow up on how they worked out over time. I spent alot of money finding out some "upgrades" don't really help or even make things worse.

 

[Velodromed]

Yeah a lot of upgrade videos and posts don't really provide follow up on how they worked out over time. I spent alot of money finding out some "upgrades" don't really help or even make things worse.

Yeah. I learned that in cycling over the years. Not all upgrades are good. You answered a few questions I had in the back my mind regarding a few things, so much appreciated.

 

[Ruzty1311]

I should add the upgrades that didn't work out.

- Hot Racing 17mm hex with 10mm extension. When I had them they were my biggest headache. The loc-tite would always eventually come loose. Typhon arms, axles, hexes and hubs are much more durable and reliable.
- Hot Racing aluminum steering bellcrank. No complaints. It never broke and performed well. But I went back to stock plastic and didn't notice any difference. No reason for the extra weight.

So far the only issue I've had with the HR 17mm kit is one of the barrel nuts stripped. I looked long and hard for something that would work since HR doesn't sell barrel nuts for THAT particular kit separately and I finally found some M4 barrel nuts on amazon but I had to dremel them to fit a flathead screwdriver to tighten them down. Just glad it actually worked lol
The bellcrank has come in handy as I most likely would have snapped it a couple times by now with some of my bad landings haha!

- GPM aluminum differential yoke was a bad fit. I never even ran it. The Hot Racing aluminum yoke fits perfectly.
- Arrma metal spur gear. I was stripping pinions with it. Probably because of a bent motor mount plate, but I went back to stock plastic. With a sealed power module and upgraded motor mount, the plastic spur gear holds up fine. Plus it's lighter and quieter.

By bad fit what do you mean exactly? For me it was a tight fit when bolting back up the bulkhead but I was able to get it in by torqueing it down a bit. With the arrma metal input gear and arrma metal diff ring I actually noticed more binding with the HR yoke vs the GPM. The GPM was just buttery smooth with no binding at all.

My metal spur gear has saved me bigtime. I guess it just depends how bad a mount is bent because mine was bent and it never stripped anything before I caught and replaced it haha

- Custom RC Upgrades chassis brace. It definitely stiffens the chassis but it's really heavy. I could feel the extra weight when landing jumps. Plus it blocks access to the chassis block screw that you have to remove to take out the power module. To remove the chassis brace, you have to unscrew the long shock tower screws. It's a huge hassle. The Arrma tower to tower center brace also reduces chassis flex, but is much lighter and more convenient.

All you would have had to do is cut a hole in the brace for access to the screw

- M2C aluminum chassis block. It comes with the M2C motor mount. The motor mount is great, but it stays straight on it's own. The chassis block is unnecessary, it's just extra weight. Also by not allowing the middle of the chassis to flex, I think it actually increases how much the rear end flexes, which increases the chance of damage to the rear differential and input gear.

Also, when you add up the weight of all these metal "upgrades" you end up with a much heavier vehicle, which increases the potential for damage. I've gone back to stock plastic unless an upgrade provides a significant advantage.

Ahhh so M2C is lying when they say in their ad "Mount only works with plate" and they force you to buy it as a kit lol!

 

[GRC]

I don’t jump as much as you do, but I really like the HR bellcrank and the GPM steering blocks and components. Along with the titanium turnbuckles, it removed a lot of slop in the front end.

Now whether or not that increases performance for a driver like me, well, probably not, but I like the way it looks and feels. I broke two plastic front steering knuckles on some minor hits. plus it’s fun just to tinker for the sake of tinkering.

I broke a front stock plastic steering knuckle. I might go back to the GPM's.

 

[GRC]

First run of 2022. Same setup except I added the stiffest Mojave front springs, ARA330640. Not a huge difference from the ARA330639. Should have a slightly wider range of spring tension since they match the stiffness of the rear with less pre-load.

This build has been holding up great. I'm REALLY happy with the 4s (tower to tower) center brace. I haven't had any rear input gear/differential damage since installing it. Nothing's broken since the steering knuckle in August 2021. Replaced it with stock plastic.

 

[GRC]

Grrrr, I ignored my own rule about not jumping in when it's under 50 degrees and paid the price. It breaks plastics every time. Broke two rod ends and a front RPM a-arm in 45 degree weather.

 

[Velodromed]

Grrrr, I ignored my own rule about not jumping in when it's under 50 degrees and paid the price. It breaks plastics every time. Broke two rod ends and a front RPM a-arm in 45 degree weather.

Ouch! Sorry to hear man!

 

[GRC]

This build has been holding up great. I'm REALLY happy with the 4s (tower to tower) center brace. I haven't had any rear input gear/differential damage since installing it. Nothing's broken since the steering knuckle in August 2021. Replaced it with stock plastic.

The center brace definitely helps, my rear diff and input gear held up since last July. But I just stripped another rear input gear and differential. Ordered the metal diff and input gear. I also broke another front steering knuckle. If they keep breaking, I may go back to the aluminum GPM's.

 

[Velodromed]

The center brace definitely helps, my rear diff and input gear held up since last July. But I just stripped another rear input gear and differential. Ordered the metal diff and input gear. I also broke another front steering knuckle. If they keep breaking, I may go back to the aluminum GPM's.

What are you using for a tower to tower brace? Got any pictures and part number perhaps?

 

[GRC]

What are you using for a tower to tower brace? Got any pictures and part number perhaps?

For any 3s/4s Arrma you need these parts:
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-pin-2/ARA320529.html
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-mount-set/ARA320528.html
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-rubber-dampers-3/ARA320530.html
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-connectors-2/ARA320531.html
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/cap-hd-screw-m3x10mm-10/ARAC9711.html
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/nylon-nut-2.5mm-4/ARAC9761.html

For short wheelbase models (Granite, Vorteks) you want the 200mm center brace bar from the Outcast 4s
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-bar-200mm/ARA320533.html

For long wheelbase models (Senton, Big Rock) you want the 240mm center brace bar from the Kraton 4s.
This length will also fit a Typhon chassis, but I've been told the center brace bar doesn't fit under the low Typhon body.
https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/center-brace-bar-240mm/ARA320532.html

In the 4s Outcast and Kraton, the center brace mounts are held in place by the 4s body mounts. I don't think you need the 4s body mounts though. There are other ways to hold them in place. Some drill holes for screws. I wrapped Gorilla tape around the 3s body posts to make them thick enough to hold down the center brace mounts. (This isn't a concern in the Vorteks, since it has the center brace mounts integrated into the shock towers.)