Outcast GKA Suspension Hangers, Rear Brace Stop... Anyone running them?

[Zoodles95]

Just like the title says. Anyone running these GKA Custom RC Parts?

I am picking up a used Outcast which people think is a "1.5". So, no brainer to snag the GKA Servo mount and chassis braces.

I am wondering if any of you are using the rear brace stop or the suspension hangers. I am just a run of the mill basher who likes to upgrade his RCs to make them as strong as I can. If the stock hangers are sufficient and not really needed then great. However, if it is a worthwhile thing to upgrade then I would love to learn why and how these parts will make my Outcast better (same with the rear brace stop).

For now my plan is to get the GKA servo mount (standard fit for stock servo?) and the chassis braces. RPM front bumper, rear skid plate and wing mount. Then I will do the Traxxas turnbuckle mod that I have seen here.

This is my plan; but I am open to doing some more mods based on feedback I learn here.




RPM parts are super easy to source and my LHS can get parts in very quickly and fairly priced to me. However, I will likely order all of my GKA parts in one shot so if the rear brace stop, or suspension hangers are highly recommended then I would likely just order everything at once.

Any good pics of people's Outcasts with these GKA parts installed? Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

 

[Paultro84]

I don't have the GKA brace stop but I HIGHLY recommend getting one. Sucks it's almost $30 for that little thing but if you break the stock one, like I've done twice, you have to buy the whole rear diff assembly to get that piece. So I've already spent the $30 on two rear ends for that one piece. Next time it breaks, I'm buying one.

 

[Paultro84]

Oh, take the wing right off that thing. When you crash, it provides a lot of leverage and twist the wing mount till it snaps. I've broke two, put a TBR wing mount on it and took the wing off, no more breaks.

 

[Zoodles95]

I don't have the GKA brace stop but I HIGHLY recommend getting one. Sucks it's almost $30 for that little thing but if you break the stock one, like I've done twice, you have to buy the whole rear diff assembly to get that piece. So I've already spent the $30 on two rear ends for that one piece. Next time it breaks, I'm buying one.

Got it. Makes sense.

I am new to Arrma so not sure about the parts; what comes with what etc. I've been living in Traxxas land and there are examples of that too where you just want a certain clip but it has to come with something else etc.

From what you have explained I think I will go ahead and shag one of those.

What about the GKA suspension hangers? Do they address a known weak point or are they just a nice upgrade.

It sounds like the servo mount, chassis braces, and rear brace stop are all worthwhile (and arguably needed) upgrades.

 

[Paultro84]

Got it. Makes sense.

I am new to Arrma so not sure about the parts; what comes with what etc. I've been living in Traxxas land and there are examples of that too where you just want a certain clip but it has to come with something else etc.

From what you have explained I think I will go ahead and shag one of those.

What about the GKA suspension hangers? Do they address a known weak point or are they just a nice upgrade.

It sounds like the servo mount, chassis braces, and rear brace stop are all worthwhile (and arguably needed) upgrades.

When you say suspension hangers do you mean the shock towers?

 

[Paultro84]

A lot of people are having problems with their rear shock tower bending, I also did. I hammered it straight again and moved my top shock mounts to the inner most hole. With the shocks moved out it creates leverage and bends easy. A lot of people are bending their steering racks as well. You might want to get an upgraded one of those too.

 

[Zoodles95]

When you say suspension hangers do you mean the shock towers?

Weird, GKA calls them "Suspension Hangers":
https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/front-upper-suspension-hanger

https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/rear-suspension-hanger-set

Which is kind of an odd sounding name. I replaced the shock towers in one of my Stampede 4X4 VXL and in my Rustler VXL with RPM ones. That is why I am kind of confused about these parts. I am also looking at the Voltage Hobbies stuff and they make a "traditional" sort of shock tower which I am familiar with from my Traxxas 1/10 scale experience.

 

[Paultro84]

Oh those hold your rear hinge pins in. Personally I don't think they're needed. The stock ones have a metal insert. So it's plastic on the outside and metal on the inside. And I blew a rear A arm apart the other day and the hinge pins were fine. They didn't move.

 

[Zoodles95]

Oh, take the wing right off that thing. When you crash, it provides a lot of leverage and twist the wing mount till it snaps. I've broke two, put a TBR wing mount on it and took the wing off, no more breaks.View attachment 17881

I need to research how you did the rear end of your Outcast. Although I like the look and idea of a wing I may prefer it on something a bit more "stable" like the Kraton or Talion which is where I see myself going after the Outcast.

It just seems to me from watching videos that the Outcast (while a blast to drive) is more likely to crash / flip over more due to its shirt wheelbase aND "stunt truck" mis sion. So, the wing on the Outcast may be a bit more vulnerable on the Outcast than some of the other 1/8 Arrma lineup.

Then dual wheelie bars is kind of a killer look. Going to look into that.

 

[Zoodles95]

Oh those hold your rear hinge pins in. Personally I don't think they're needed. The stock ones have a metal insert. So it's plastic on the outside and metal on the inside. And I blew a rear A arm apart the other day and the hinge pins were fine. They didn't move.

Sweet. Thanks!

So... I will forgoe those parts then.

 

[Paultro84]

I need to research how you did the rear end of your Outcast. Although I like the look and idea of a wing I may prefer it on something a bit more "stable" like the Kraton or Talion which is where I see myself going after the Outcast.

It just seems to me from watching videos that the Outcast (while a blast to drive) is more likely to crash / flip over more due to its shirt wheelbase aND "stunt truck" mis sion. So, the wing on the Outcast may be a bit more vulnerable on the Outcast than some of the other 1/8 Arrma lineup.

Then dual wheelie bars is kind of a killer look. Going to look into that.

It's the stock wheelie bar with a TBR wheelie bar under it. It's super strong.

 

[olds97_lss]

Weird, GKA calls them "Suspension Hangers":
https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/front-upper-suspension-hanger

https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/rear-suspension-hanger-set

Which is kind of an odd sounding name.

It is kind of weird. Most other companies refer to those as "hinge pin braces" or "hinge pin blocks".

 

[Zoodles95]

It's the stock wheelie bar with a TBR wheelie bar under it. It's super strong.

Ah...

This part then:
https://tboneracing.net/collections...61-tbr-rear-bumper-with-wheelie-arrma-outcast

And... If I decide to order that from them then I may go with the Tbone bumper then:
https://tboneracing.net/collections/outcast/products/10066-tbr-basher-front-bumper-arrma-outcast

Even with the TBR wheelie bar I guess it is a good idea to still use the RPM skid guard?
http://www.rpmrcproducts.com/shop/c...or-arrma-durango-8th-and-10th-scale-vehicles/

And I would still snag this:
https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/cervo-mount

and this...
https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/product-page/aluminum-chassis-brace-1

If I forgo the wing then I guess I do not need rear brace stop that GKA sells?

 

[Zoodles95]

I have not posted on this thread in a bit. I managed to bend the front bumper in more so I went ahead and did the TBone front and rear bumper (with wheelie bar). I also de-winged the Outcast as recommended here.

I ended up breaking the right rear shock right at the eyelet.


Shock repaired now with a new shaft and eyelet.


I like the double wheelie bar look. Something "butch" about it or something.


GKA was out of the rear brace stop for a bit but Greg told me to be patient as he would have them back in stock soon and he was true to his word. Since I started this thread he has added aluminum rear spools so I added those to my order as well. I decided to go with the taller servo mount because I thought that if I upgrade to a Savox 1210 at some point it would work better than the standard height one. So... taller servo mount, front and rear chassis braces, rear brace stop, and the spools.

I will need to replace the front lower suspension mount at some point. Voltage Hobbies does have a piece that would work but it is presently out of stock. In my various correspondence with Greg he said that he was looking into making a GKA part for this as well.


Assuming that GKA comes out with a front lower suspension hanger then I will order one from him along with the other suspension hangers. That would make for one tough Stampede!

 

[olds97_lss]

Just curious why you would want to run spools. They tend to be really hard on axles/cvd's, especially on a hard core basher that sees a lot of air time.

 

[Zoodles95]

Just curious why you would want to run spools. They tend to be really hard on axles/cvd's, especially on a hard core basher that sees a lot of air time.

These are the spools (please note the the next three pictures are all from the GKA Facebook page):


As far as I know they replace these plastic spools which are next to the rear brace stop:


Which will make my Outlaw looks like this when they are in place:


They are an inexpensive part so I figured I would add them to my order. They were not initially available when I first went to order the rear brace stop. It was only recently added to his site so I snagged a set.

Not sure if it is a commonly broken part or not. Greg is an interesting guy because so many of his parts developed have been on his own Arrma experiences and what he is finding that it breaking or in need or upgrades. So, when I saw the spools available I figured why not.

If and when he has the front front lower suspension hanger I will order the rest of the hangers and have the full GKA setup on my Outcast.

If he does not develop a Front Front lower suspension hanger I will have to go with the Voltage Hobby one when they get them back in stock.

 

[olds97_lss]

Oooooohhhhhh. I was thinking diff spools. You typically remove the diff cup, spider gears and bolt a solid "spool" to the ring gear, so the diff is no longer a "diff" and is a solid axle.

Not the best thing for something like these trucks. They serve a purpose, but on high RPM/high torque machines, they tend to just snap axles/cvd's/bones.

 

[Zoodles95]

Sweet! A nice package came in the mail in time for the weekend.

I should be able to get some quality wrenching time to install these upgrades and then some driving time to see how the Outcast drives post GKA upgrade.


The quality of these parts is well worth the money.


Lousy pictures but great parts!


Next pictures will be in the Outcast.

I will bug Greg to send me some darn stickers! Gah... No stickers came with my TBone Racing bumpers and no stickers from GKA.

I will be a repeat customer to GKA for sure. I have also bugged Kenny at Voltage Hobbys about their parts. I will be hitting them up for some goodies as well.

 

[Zoodles95]

Okay... GKA goodies all in now. The GKA parts are much better than the stock parts that's for sure. The servo barely moves at all now and I can see why people recommend a servo mount for these BLX models. Not sure if the new stock mount is that much better but for the version of Outcast I have there is no doubt that a servo mount upgrade is well worth it.


I went with the taller mount because I want to be able to put a Savox 1210 in the future without an issue. Luckily the tall version of the servo mount can work with the stock servo or an aftermarket one.

Not sure what this part was for. It is the only part included that I did not find a home for. Hmmm...


The other thing I had to address was the use of a washer -or stand off if you wish- to keep the right rear shock in place. The parts help break up the black monolith nature of the stock look; but more importantly represent a significant upgrade in strength.



Beautiful and highly functional parts...


The process took me longer than it probably should have because I just sort of dove in. Now that I have been into the Outcast a bit I have a better idea how it was designed and how things work. For instance, the system to remove the mid body brace is brilliant. The two clips and the long rods work really well.

I am glad that I bought the rear brace stop and waited until Greg had more in stock. This part seems like it has a lot of stress on it. Now that I have deleted the wing and have the lower wheelie bar with the TBone Racing rear bumper perhaps there will be less stress on the stock wheelie bar. Just the same when you look at what the rear brace stop contends with going with the GKA solution is a good idea.


Lots of good design elements went into these parts. Now I totally understand why this cutaway exists in the rear chassis brace.



A stronger Outcast now... Sweet!

 

[olds97_lss]

I don't know why they use a 3mm screw for the upper front chassis brace. I noticed on my buddies talion when wrenching on it the other day that the screw was bent pretty good. I had the same kind of issue on my 1/8th buggies in the past. Probably wouldn't hurt to drill that out and retap for a 4mm screw.