Granite Getting above grass with Granite 3S

[VerticalChallenge]

My 7 yr old son has rekindled his interest in RC after watching some Monster Jam on TV, so we've repaired a 3S Granite badly broken in some winter bashing. The first run around our hilly grassy yard really got the temps up on a 75 degree day; he was running on 3S, but with the speed limiter on 50% or 75%. I think the beast is just working too hard in the grass, with chassis pushing it like a boat vs. being above it.

I started investigating tall tires as a solution, but another thread cautioned about truggy tires causing issues on jumps because the chassis can't slap to absorb some landing force.

Is the best solution to just run Kraton 4x4 arms and turnbuckles, but keep the 3S steering block/hubs, and install longer shocks to reach the longer arms? 4x4 shocks if so, or something else? Are m2 screws for lower suspension attachment sufficient to support the suspension on longer arms? Or is there another approach to take?

Thanks!

 

[GRC]

To get the increased ride height, you would definitely want the longer shocks. Longer arms without longer shocks probably won't do much. To use longer arms you would also need Kraton driveshafts which use 17 mm axles so you'll need new wheels. I not sure if the Kraton driveshafts are compatible with 3s steering blocks/hubs, I remember someone telling me they were not. So you are looking at a very pricey upgrade which may not be worth it. High grass overheats any RC, including a Kraton 4s. Best option is just run on another surface or cut the grass.

 

[dure16]

Best option is just run on another surface or cut the grass.

Or buy a bigger rig

really got the temps up on a 75 degree day

You could try going down a couple pinion sizes.

 

[m.mahdi_sh]

oversized tires will definitely put ur electronics under lots of stress since they are for a 1/10th scale and they'll probably overheat the motor pretty faster with bigger tires

 

[VerticalChallenge]

Thanks for the replies! I ordered 13t and 14t pinions on order to try instead of the stock 15t. The diff set #ARA310956 is common to the 3S as well as 4x4 models, so I infer the longer front and rear shafts should work with 3S blocks. But you are right about price to go wide, particularly with no 4x4 stock at the kit breakers: $40 for the 4 shafts, $34 for 6 turnbuckles and ends, $25 for RPM arms, $50 for the 4x4 shocks: $149 total! So I should probably just convert my Typhon 6s into something more monster-ish.

 

[VerticalChallenge]

Just wanted to circle back with results. We dropped in the 14t; what a difference that small change made with running cooler. The hottest part after a run seemed to be our XT90-to-EC5 single piece adapter.

The go-wide option I posted had a twist: I forgot the longer arms had wider ends for the 4x4 hubs, so that would be an additional upgrade charge. However, with the shorter Vorteks towers, it appears that the original Granite shocks may stretch the distance to the longer arms.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[dure16]

The hottest part after a run seemed to be our XT90-to-EC5 single piece adapter.

This is a weak point in your setup. You’d be wise to solder the right connections rather than continuing to use an adapter.

 

[rcaddic88]

Glad to hear this worked so well, I have been struggling with my 3s and other 1/10 rigs on gras. My son and I run an lot on gras and even my 2 VLX Stampedes run really hot. My Vorteks got so hot the other day, the motor was sizzling after a backyard 3s run I was worried I damaged something.
My max and kriton 6s are a little 2 big to zip around the backyard so we like to run the 1/10's at home. I actually ordered a new 4s esc & 3670 motor for 2 of my 3s 1/10th models, the Vortek and typhoon mega upgraded to 3s specs already, with the idea being they will run cooler on 3s in grass. The pinion gearing though may be a good option for the tars we don't ut the bigger electronics into. For the record, I wanted to juice up a few of our 3s machines to 4s anyway because, well, I guess I don't need to explain that to you guys! LOL

 

[morrjr71]

I run my Typhon 3s with heavy Trencher HP belted tires on grass, and the stock motor used to get a bit hot after a hard run. I recently replaced the stock motor with a Surpass 3670/2850 motor and 18T pinion, and the new motor barely gets warm under the same situations. The stock BLX100 ESC still gets a little hot (not sizzling) with the new motor, but I'm replacing it with a Spektrum Firma 130A ESC I got as a new take-off from Ebay. It's supposed to be delivered today.

 

[VerticalChallenge]

My son and his friends had some time with the 14t 3S Granite and my Kraton 4x4 at a town park today. Switching the controller to 50% was a nice feature for balancing still-speedy fun and new driver safety, but the occasional crash into a thing or person made me grateful I didn't have metal chassis vehicles out!

@dure0016 I'll definitely "cut the cord" (on my ESC) to install new plugs this week. I do like the large EC5 plugs, but think I like the anti-spark feature of the XT90 connectors better.