Kraton Gearing setup for 4s

[NitroStar]

Before I start trying gears, this 4s vs 6s is new to me. So, if the stock 12 tooth is good starting point for 6s, then what would be the same good starting point for 4s batteries? Same pinion (seemed slow compared to my 8th scale buggy with 1900 kV motor), or the larger 14 tooth?

 

[RoVe80]

I am using a 15t pinion on my 4s setup.....no issues with heat from the motor or esc. Motor and ESC are stock in my case ? ??

 

[NitroStar]

I am using a 15t pinion on my 4s setup.....no issues with heat from the motor or esc. Motor and ESC are stock in my case ? ??

Great then! What diff fluids you run and what kind of offroad surfaces and size area is your 4s setup used on?

 

[RoVe80]

My diff setup is on the moment 75k front, 500k center, 30k rear.
The surfaces i’m driving on is a mix of grass, dirt, rough gravel ....

 

[Jerry-rigged]

I am running 4s, 14t pinion, oils are 10k-125k-10k.

 

[NitroStar]

I am running 4s, 14t pinion, oils are 10k-125k-10k.

What tires are you running the 14T pinion with?

 

[NitroStar]

What I did this evening is took my new Kraton (have ran it once) and took the center diff out and it was half full so I emptied and wiped out what I could and filled it back up with 50k fluid and installed the 14T pinion. Installed a 7200 4s lipo. Truck ran great for about 13 to 15 minutes on 2 different packs on a small area with ramp installed before lipo cutoff slowed the truck down each time. Motor was 130 to 140 each time. It's about 58*F though. This is also with the 6.5" tall Minokawa tires too.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

What tires are you running the 14T pinion with?

Tires for me have mostly been the V1 Kraton tire for bashing, or truggy tires when at the track. More recently, my son tried the Dakar (talion tire) - makes the truck very zippy, but you lose the float of the big tire. Last run, my son picked up some MX3.8 badlands, but the ESC smoked about 1-2 minutes into the first run with them... (no I don't blame the tires).

Also worth pointing out, we have never run the BLX185 motor in the Kraton. It started with the V1 motor, then I jumped to the Nero motor. Now that my BLX200 ESC is dead, I will probably move my whole BLX185 combo (ESC and Motor) into the Kraton.

 

[RoVe80]

I use these wheels...they are from trxxs.....but they have 1/2 offset wich maken the car more stable and a decent form of thread....they are pretty grippy like the PL 3.8 MX38 wheels.

 

[NitroStar]

I am running 4s, 14t pinion, oils are 10k-125k-10k.

Just curious, what made you go up so high in the center diff if using 4s voltage? Does this not adversely effect handling when you're at the track vs say 10k or something more "truggy" related?

 

[RoVe80]

The thick centre diff oil prevents ballooning on the front side of the car.....like me...i have 500k in the centre....almost to none ballooning and will wheelie on 4s. Plus..your power is (more) evenly distributed to the front and rear...instead of pizza cutter wheels in the front and almost no power on the rear ...

 

[NitroStar]

The thick centre diff oil prevents ballooning on the front side of the car.....like me...i have 500k in the centre....almost to none ballooning and will wheelie on 4s. Plus..your power is (more) evenly distributed to the front and rear...instead of pizza cutter wheels in the front and almost no power on the rear ...

Ok. Then for track use, I might better stick with lighter oil, cause if you put too much power to the rear, you can't throttle out of turns fast enough while steering out of them. I'll change diff oils at the track one day and report my findings. I'm getting some 500k oil to mix up and play with along with some more normal weights.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Yeah, the thick oil does not help at the track. But the Kraton is my son's, and I got tired of him blowing up front tires due to a lack of throttle control... LOL

 

[NitroStar]

Yeah, the thick oil does not help at the track. But the Kraton is my son's, and I got tired of him blowing up front tires due to a lack of throttle control... LOL

Now that's a good explanation! LOL

 

[DC_7222]

Everyone running the V3 Kraton with a 14t pinion- Is that the "speed" gear that was included with your kit? Mine included a 15t pinion (12t is installed on motor) and with all the 14t talk, I'm questioning if the 15t will be safe to run on other than smooth surfaces...

 

[Jimbobjr]

Everyone running the V3 Kraton with a 14t pinion- Is that the "speed" gear that was included with your kit? Mine included a 15t pinion (12t is installed on motor) and with all the 14t talk, I'm questioning if the 15t will be safe to run on other than smooth surfaces...

my v3 came with 15t "speed gear" depending on how you drive it may be fine. high grass 20minute field races not so good, bashing off on throttle good to go. buy a cheap thermometer and keep the motor below 160-170f.https://www.rcjuice.com/tools-accessories/accessories/hobbystar-ht-101-infrared-thermometer.html

 

[RoVe80]

My Kraton came with a 14t pinion in the set. I drove it for a while but after some time the pinion wore out. So i replaced it by a 15t hardened steel pinion by team corally. I am using it now for about 4 months without problems. Only on very hot days with temps like 35 to 40 degrees celcius i have to keep the temps of the ESC and motor in mind....but also with these temps i had no problems with the 15t pinion installed.
I usually bash with my Kraton.......if i’m going to drive on tarmac or asphalt i’m changing my wheels back to the stock one’s .....and also on smooth surfaces no problems with the 15t on it....

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Everyone running the V3 Kraton with a 14t pinion- Is that the "speed" gear that was included with your kit? Mine included a 15t pinion (12t is installed on motor) and with all the 14t talk, I'm questioning if the 15t will be safe to run on other than smooth surfaces...

The V1 and V2 trucks came with a 14t as the speed pinion. Based on the temps I see with my Kraton, I think a 15t should not be an issue. But as always, get a proper thermometer, and watch your temps.

 

[olds97_lss]

I ran the 15T with 4S on my outcast (short kraton) with 50/500/50 in teh diffs. I also lack throttle control and didn't like how the fronts ballooned a lot when on throttle.

I tried running the 15T with proline trenchers, but on grass, it would overheat after 12 minutes or so, then I tried 14T. It would go about 15 minutes then overheat. Then I went with smaller/lighter tires, traxxas t-maxx 3.3 and 15T. Now I can run it without overheating, but I did lose air control and some speed. I never ran the stock tires as I run a lot at concrete skate parks and figured the "badland" style tread would have gotten chewed up in short order, so I literally never ran them.

I've since weighed the tires I run to try and figure out what will work:
traxxas talons v1: 9.1oz
Kraton stock tires: 10.5
3.3 t-maxx tires/wheels: 11.5oz
stock outcast tires: 12.5oz
proline 3.8" trencher (not X): 13.4oz

The trenchers are similar in size (a bit wider) to the stock outcast tires, but are almost 1oz heavier.

The trenchers vs the 3.3 t-maxx tires (middle vs far right):

I got a set of the kraton tires/wheels off a guy on facebook, but haven't tried them out yet. I figured with the tread pattern, they would likely hold up ok on concrete running, so I may give those a shot next spring.