Kraton Full. Send. - an EXB Build Thread

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ABabyEater

Kult of Speed
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Arrma RC's
  1. Felony
  2. Granite
  3. Infraction
  4. Limitless
  5. Kraton 6s
  6. Nero
  7. Raider
  8. Senton 3s
  9. Talion
  10. Typhon 6s
  11. Vorteks
I've done it. I've gone full potato.

EXB Roller with a MMX8S pushing a Castle 2028. Tons of upgrades: M2C, JBI, Hot Racing - the works.

Almost everything is in hand, and I have started assembling this insanity. Progress will be slow, but there will be progress. I plan on documenting each part as I install it, and posting pictures here. None of the stock roller, as we have all seen the Arrma press photos, but which pieces are getting replaced and upgraded as they go in.

What new parts? Well, you will see as time goes on. Guesses are welcome, but (for the most part) will be left unanswered until it is in the rig...

Speaking of in the rig - I got started last night:


IMG_20200731_212010234.jpg


PPS motor mount, screwed to the 2028. With this much power and weight, screw adjust for the mesh seemed 100% necessary. The screws into the motor do not have thread locker quite yet - I need to make sure it fits first.

IMG_20200731_212032589.jpg


Motor mount installed onto the chassis. This is a seriously beautiful piece of machining. Before installing it, I had considered anodizing all my polished aluminum parts red to match the rest, but I am an inpatient man and couldn't wait.

IMG_20200731_213003785.jpg


Can anyone notice what is missing? The ESC mounting bracket. The Castle 2028 motor is so stupidly large for the Kraton 6S that the wire guide on the corner of the ESC mounting bracket interfered with the motor shaft as I tried to slide it onto the mount. Even so, it is still a really tight fit, and I had to flex the side guard on the chassis pretty significantly to get the motor to slide into the mount. No pinion yet, but it is in the mail. Any guesses what tooth count it is?

IMG_20200731_214046502.jpg


Servo time! Nothing too special here. Just installing a surplus Redcat I had sitting around. 25kg, metal gears, waterproof, metal case, should do the trick. If it dies as fast as their stock ones when given a really heavy load, it is easy to replace.

IMG_20200731_215003199.jpg


Installed, but I am leaving the horn and steering linkage off for the moment, besides making it easier to work on the hubs and steering gear later, I don't know where the servo's current default center is, and I'd rather not trim it 60° trying to drive straight.


So there we are. It has begun. One small step in, many more big ones to go. Everything is in hand, or in the mail, minus one M2C part and one TBone part that were both out of stock, but luckily both companies restock pretty regularly. I may have to commission a couple custom parts, but the goal is to use as many "off the shelf" goodies as possible... We will see how that goes...
 
For The 6S rigs, the servo arm should be perfectly straight and Inline with the Servo's length.
But the the servo can and should be powered on with the radio and ST trims centered Before installing that servo arm.
I like to use a slight drop of Blue TL on the arm's screw.
All servos are installed in this way.
Very nice EXB. Keep us updated. (y) :cool:
 
With that motor, The PPS mount is just what the doctor ordered. (y)
I would consider replacing the stock forward center plastic diff mount with a PPS version also.
Consider using longer F/R chassis brace screws at the inboard chassis mounting areas. Use nuts to capture the longer screws above the braces. This will help when or if they get sheared.
That motor is just sick power. :LOL:
 
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@SrC Yup! That is the exact plan with the Servo. I do not know where the return-to-zero point is until the servo is powered up, and as such, the arm stays off until then.
 
You obviously got this down. Nice. (y) :cool:
 
A little bit of progress today.

IMG_20200801_134858569.jpg


The smaller of the two. A 50T and 56T pinion from JJs Customs came in today.

IMG_20200801_135122885.jpg


Too big for the motor mount. I'm going to have to order a smaller spur. I'm thinking somewhere around the 37T range. I had a good conversation with Bob over at PPS and he was kind enough to remind me guys are running 1:2 gearing with the Castle 2028, so 50:37 should be no problem.

IMG_20200801_135434838.jpg


Other progress today includes installing a Spektrum 6100AT.

IMG_20200801_140857382.jpg


I know Spektrum isn't the best of the best, but their radio gear is more than adequate for what I do. No racing for me. I went with the 6100AT because of the AVS specifically. With this much power, torque steer is going to be an issue, and as such, the more that can help me stay in a straight, controlled path, the better. It helps that I already had a DX5 to link it to.
 
A little bit of progress today.

View attachment 92444

The smaller of the two. A 50T and 56T pinion from JJs Customs came in today.

View attachment 92445

Too big for the motor mount. I'm going to have to order a smaller spur. I'm thinking somewhere around the 37T range. I had a good conversation with Bob over at PPS and he was kind enough to remind me guys are running 1:2 gearing with the Castle 2028, so 50:37 should be no problem.

View attachment 92449

Other progress today includes installing a Spektrum 6100AT.

View attachment 92450

I know Spektrum isn't the best of the best, but their radio gear is more than adequate for what I do. No racing for me. I went with the 6100AT because of the AVS specifically. With this much power, torque steer is going to be an issue, and as such, the more that can help me stay in a straight, controlled path, the better. It helps that I already had a DX5 to link it to.
You’re going to run a spool? How else are you going to fit a 37T spur?
 
I'll be supervising most of this. And heckling. And feeding him beer.
Mmmmmmm beer
You’re going to run a spool? How else are you going to fit a 37T spur?
Likely. May have to pull the limited slip out of the center. I know some guys put 1mil or infinite weight diff fluid in the centers anyways. Using a Hot Racing spool would work close to the same.
 
It's been a while, but this thread isn't dead. (Heh, that rhymed) Following up an a very long work week, and a very long weekend, doing more RC building in the evenings after work is resulting in slow progress.

IMG_20200810_190933717.jpg


Starting with a ceramic Fast Eddy's kit, but these, like all bearing, need some work.

IMG_20200810_190944775.jpg


Intended on lubing them with some good 1up bearing lubricant. This stuff is expenses for an itty bitty bottle, but it doesn't take much for each bearing.

IMG_20200810_191127466.jpg


All the bearing included in the kit. From left to right - First row: inner hub bearing, outer input shaft bearing for the front and rear diff bulkheads, bearing to replace the four brass bushings on the steering posts both top and bottom. Second row: outer hub bearing and differential bearings (2 per diff), inner input shaft bearing for the front and rear diff bulkheads.

IMG_20200810_191808997.jpg


All the seals removed from one side of each bearing. At this point I noticed they were (poorly) packed with grease, and wasn't about to go through the tedious process of degreasing every bearing to put oil in instead.

IMG_20200810_192558610.jpg


Ended up packing then with Phil's grease. This stuff is super slick, and temp stable up to 350°.

IMG_20200810_194131727.jpg


All bearings packed and resealed. I only packed one side to account for some thermal expansion, and since they are bearings, there will be enough travel between each side that the grease will distribute pretty rapidly.

IMG_20200810_202821974.jpg


First hub with the new bearings. The blue seals make it really easy to see which hubs have been upgraded.

IMG_20200810_203212319.jpg


I noticed servicing the hubs in my V4 Kraton street rod that the grub screws for the hub retainer pins was incredibly packed with dirt, so I picked up a set of serrated, enclosed, Hot Racing wheel nuts. Despite the spline, a 17mm wheel nut wrench engages very well. Additionally I picked up a set of M2C pillow ball retainers, for fairly obvious reasons... Even the o-ring added to the V4 cars doesn't work as well as a tapered thread.

IMG_20200810_211838579.jpg


First hub completely done. Personally, I think the new wheel nuts look pretty slick, too. Notice the blue bearing seal and how easy it is to tell where you leave off. (Almost as if I am alluding to something)

IMG_20200810_211855169.jpg


The original tail sticker is going to get shredded pretty quick anyways.

IMG_20200810_211957425.jpg


Might as well remove it.


Aaaaand this is where I was distracted by good friends and good whiskey. All bearings packed, three hubs upgraded, and no new pillow ball retainers installed. I ultimately decided against aluminum hub carriers due to the extra weight at the end of the a-arms. If they break, I'll look at upgrading those as well, but for now, I don't believe it to be necessary.
 
It's been a while, but this thread isn't dead. (Heh, that rhymed) Following up an a very long work week, and a very long weekend, doing more RC building in the evenings after work is resulting in slow progress.

View attachment 93788

Starting with a ceramic Fast Eddy's kit, but these, like all bearing, need some work.

View attachment 93789

Intended on lubing them with some good 1up bearing lubricant. This stuff is expenses for an itty bitty bottle, but it doesn't take much for each bearing.

View attachment 93791

All the bearing included in the kit. From left to right - First row: inner hub bearing, outer input shaft bearing for the front and rear diff bulkheads, bearing to replace the four brass bushings on the steering posts both top and bottom. Second row: outer hub bearing and differential bearings (2 per diff), inner input shaft bearing for the front and rear diff bulkheads.

View attachment 93792

All the seals removed from one side of each bearing. At this point I noticed they were (poorly) packed with grease, and wasn't about to go through the tedious process of degreasing every bearing to put oil in instead.

View attachment 93793

Ended up packing then with Phil's grease. This stuff is super slick, and temp stable up to 350°.

View attachment 93794

All bearings packed and resealed. I only packed one side to account for some thermal expansion, and since they are bearings, there will be enough travel between each side that the grease will distribute pretty rapidly.

View attachment 93797

First hub with the new bearings. The blue seals make it really easy to see which hubs have been upgraded.

View attachment 93798

I noticed servicing the hubs in my V4 Kraton street rod that the grub screws for the hub retainer pins was incredibly packed with dirt, so I picked up a set of serrated, enclosed, Hot Racing wheel nuts. Despite the spline, a 17mm wheel nut wrench engages very well. Additionally I picked up a set of M2C pillow ball retainers, for fairly obvious reasons... Even the o-ring added to the V4 cars doesn't work as well as a tapered thread.

View attachment 93800

First hub completely done. Personally, I think the new wheel nuts look pretty slick, too. Notice the blue bearing seal and how easy it is to tell where you leave off. (Almost as if I am alluding to something)

View attachment 93802

The original tail sticker is going to get shredded pretty quick anyways.

View attachment 93803

Might as well remove it.


Aaaaand this is where I was distracted by good friends and good whiskey. All bearings packed, three hubs upgraded, and no new pillow ball retainers installed. I ultimately decided against aluminum hub carriers due to the extra weight at the end of the a-arms. If they break, I'll look at upgrading those as well, but for now, I don't believe it to be necessary.
Tell me more about the whiskey ? ????‍♂️

I always assumed the dirt inside the axle was to keep the grub from backing out ???✊?
 
Nope. Some buffalo trace special single barrel type thing
Dang that sounds really good. I’m gonna have to try a bottle. I probably shouldn’t do this, but how expensive is a bottle? As they say, if you have to ask... ??‍♂️
 
Good question! It has been sitting on @Pat_ranch 's counter for a while now. I think it was a limited time type thingy.
I just looked it up and it’s only a few bucks more than a standard bottle ????

Now I have to stop at the LQ store today.
 
Can you give some advice on taking out the bearing shield. I smoked two bearings on my exb the first time out. I was hauling butt and there is a dirt oval I race around with friends and the outer hub bearings on the outer side during turns 100% seized. I bought some stainless Jim’s and want to put grease in them. I tired one for fun but messed up the seal
 
Can you give some advice on taking out the bearing shield. I smoked two bearings on my exb the first time out. I was hauling butt and there is a dirt oval I race around with friends and the outer hub bearings on the outer side during turns 100% seized. I bought some stainless Jim’s and want to put grease in them. I tired one for fun but messed up the seal
Just use a sharp blade or pick and pull them off. They are pressed in.
 
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