Kraton HELP - Kraton V3 bad steering

[Ondra]

Hi all,

I beg for help. I have bought my Kraton V3 (2018 model) in February, took it out several times and now I've found out that the car is not steering properly. When put on the ground, Kraton steers front wheels only a little, and it makes screeching noise. When the front wheels are in the air, it steers fine. I disassembled and lubricated all the parts like ball pivots, linkages between servo horn and arm, the steering arms and so on. Every part goes smoothly without big resistance and no parts are damaged. But it helped only a little. I have also tightened the servo saver, but it did not help. Right now the Kraton on smooth surface makes 360 degree turn in approx. 5m radius, while when it was new, he turned in about 2,5m circle. The servo has enough power and I believe despite some bash crashes it is working well. Now it is difficult and annoying to drive it.

I am very unhappy from this, because it is my first RC (I decided between Kraton and E-Revo). And few first rides were just great! I run on 4s only. Please tell me, what more can I check, tighten, or repair. I chose the Arrma because it is supposed to be built tough, but this is really disappointment. Thanks to all for any advice.

 

[Notorious J]

Replace the stock servo, and call Horizon to have the original replaced under warranty. Keep it as a spare when it arrives. The stock servo is likely damaged, especially if you did not set your end points before starting. With proper adjustments, you would have likely had longer life, but neglecting this critical adjustment, almost always leads to the servo being stripped. Search the 6s threads for good servo replacements. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get something stronger and faster than the stock. The Kraton was a great choice, and your disappointment is likely a result of the crashes and improper adjustment. You can also purchase new stock servos very inexpensively from kit breakers like Jennys Rc. https://jennysrc.com/collections/ar...ering-ads-15m-15kg-waterproof-talion-ar106040

 

[Ondra]

Thank you for your reply. I have some more questions:
1) is Savox 1210SG good choice for Kraton?
2) if so, will it fit to the original servo holder in Kraton, or must I buy a new holder too?
3) when new servo is mounted, first of all I must set up end points?

And final question, don´t you or anyone know if it will be possible in near future to buy upgrade kit to make my V3 a new V4? Arrma surprised me that V4 version came out so soon after V3 and I would like to have that central bar...

 

[Notorious J]

Thank you for your reply. I have some more questions:
1) is Savox 1210SG good choice for Kraton?
2) if so, will it fit to the original servo holder in Kraton, or must I buy a new holder too?
3) when new servo is mounted, first of all I must set up end points?

And final question, don´t you or anyone know if it will be possible in near future to buy upgrade kit to make my V3 a new V4? Arrma surprised me that V4 version came out so soon after V3 and I would like to have that central bar...

-I don't own one, but many of the members say the 1210sg is a good choice.
-Not sure if it's taller, but just search "Savox 1210" in the search bar. and someone will have already posted the answer
-No kit to my knowledge, but the parts are readily available through kit breakers like https://jennysrc.com/search?type=product&q=Arrma. The parts are new, and at a fraction of the cost compared to retail.

 

[Zgills1]

Thank you for your reply. I have some more questions:
1) is Savox 1210SG good choice for Kraton?
2) if so, will it fit to the original servo holder in Kraton, or must I buy a new holder too?
3) when new servo is mounted, first of all I must set up end points?

And final question, don´t you or anyone know if it will be possible in near future to buy upgrade kit to make my V3 a new V4? Arrma surprised me that V4 version came out so soon after V3 and I would like to have that central bar...

I have the 1210sg, it is a nice servo. You will need an aftermarket servo mount for it to fit or you can jimmy rig it using spacers and what not. Not my style to jimmy rig though so I am using the hot racing servo mount. I’d recommend getting an aftermarket servo horn as well.

 

[Soppy]

I purchased my Kraton V3 2 days before the V4 came out. I did install the center brace from a V4. If you purchase the pars from Jennys , you will need the following parts:
Arrma KRATON 6s BLX - Side Guards, Battery Tray, Roll Tower wing mount (for the rear mount & roll tower to allow the brace to pass through)
Arrma KRATON 6s BLX - SCREWS & Tools (screws for the brace bar)
Arrma KRATON 6s BLX - STEERING Set (V4) bellcrank for the front mount)
Arrma KRATON 6s BLX - RED Center Brace Bar
I found the center brace was about 1/8" too long . When I installed it , my body mounts did not line up. I shortened the brace and all was fine.The ends are screwed on and put into the bare with locktite. My servo is still working good so I can't help you there.

 

[stuartd]

The Savox 1256TG is a drop in replacement (I replaced the stock servo in my Notorious with one). It isn't waterproof like the 1210 though.

 

[Ondra]

Soppy: thank you very much for the list of parts that are needed for installation of the central bar! Very useful.

Yesterday I started to looking up for some servos and it aint be that easy, as I decided to buy some powerful 25 - 40 kg servo with fast reaction. Most of such a servos are HIGH VOLTAGE. What does it mean? Will HV servo (8,4V) work in Kraton with the rest of standard Kraton parts (BLX185 ESC)?

Or must I buy low voltage? What is the difference between high and low voltage servos?

I am sorry that I have so much stupid questions but paradox is that when you are new into RC you can easily find answers to difficult questions in forums, but it is hard to find "basic and easy" informations

 

[Jeffashbaugh452]

I just picked up a Savox 1210SG for my outcast that I built from scratch. I have it mounted with the voltage hobbies servo mount and it's awesome. I just ordered another for my V3 Kraton. I'm only running it at 6.0v at the moment but it's a great improvement over stock in my opinion. But definitely warranty that stock servo to have a spare. I got one under warranty from tower hobbies and it only took 4 days to arrive at my door.

 

[nino]

A HV servo will work with the BLX185's 6 volts, but it will be a bit slower and weaker than on 7.4V or 8.4V or whatever it's maximum is. Most of them will still perform better than the stocker and if you decide you want to use your new servo's full potential you can get an external BEC to feed it some yummy higher voltage

People usually recommend Castle's BECs but they're not cheap and require a program card or something to set the voltage, so I wouldn't buy one out of sheer principle.

 

[Ondra]

OK after reading forums here I ordered Power-HD DW-25LV, (not HV) I should have it in a week. Saw it in Kevin Talbot's video and read about it here :-D I also will try to order (or manufacture) new aluminium servo holder. When it is all done, I will post some photos. Anyone has a tip for a new servo mount?

 

[Notorious J]

OK after reading forums here I ordered Power-HD DW-25LV, (not HV) I should have it in a week. Saw it in Kevin Talbot's video and read about it here :-D I also will try to order (or manufacture) new aluminium servo holder. When it is all done, I will post some photos. Anyone has a tip for a new servo mount?

Voltage Hobbies, GKA Custom and Just Bash It Rc, make really nice ones. Hot Racing does too and I have one in my Notorious, but the look of the polished aluminum from the other three is just spot on.

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Voltage Hobbies, GKA Custom and Just Bash It Rc, make really nice ones. Hot Racing does too and I have one in my Notorious, but the look of the polished aluminum from the other three is just spot on.

Why aren't you supporting your countryman over at GKA? I would have thought you'd have all his stuff?

 

[Notorious J]

Why aren't you supporting your countryman over at GKA? I would have thought you'd have all his stuff?

I found out about him a little late in the game. I started my upgrade madness back in December, and the name GKA didn't pop up very often. Voltage and Hot Racing were big in the forum at the time, and even when GKA did pop up, you wouldn't know he was Canadian if you didn't dig deeper. Gonna try to show some support now, but my upgrade frenzy has toned down since my driving got better. If I get a second RC, I'll do my best to support the local talent.

 

[Lazy Bushman]

I started about the same time as you but was lucky enough to find him early. GKA and TBone were the first in the handful I discovered early on. I'm happy to support the Brothers of the Commonwealth...despite the invention of Canadian Club....plus costs are good and ships in a reasonable timeframe. I have a few more parts of his on the way and will post when they arrive. I think the only thing I'm missing now are his shock towers. I have no plans to replace the stock units....I also had no plans of upgrading anything when I first bought the Kraton....the devil made me do it

 

[Saltystevo]

GKA servo mount is #1 IMHO.
https://www.gkacustomrcparts.com/

He makes some great parts. I wish he had the towers. For that I'll visit voltage Hobbies when the time comes and hopefully they'll be in stock.

Ondra, don't be disappointed as this is normal. It happened to me as well. Power-HD DW-25LV looks nice for the coin. Either something like gka/ voltage if you top quality or just get a gpm for alot less money but it is a cheaper part.

And horn upgrade.... I still don't understand the point of that. Stock seems fine but I really don't know if aftermarket has a benefit

 

[GrymReaper]

While the servo on the Kraton is below par, I think you might be encountering what happened to me. What I found was that the servo saver kept getting super loose. There is a great video HERE that shows how to adjust the servo saver. For me it worked but after about 5 mins of driving, it got loose again. I lowered it down to the chassis, tossed a tiny bit of thread lock on it, raised it back up compressing the spring, and and it hasn't moved since. While this is not a permanent fix to the lousy servo, I believe a lot of folks think that initially the servo is totally trash, but the saver just loosens up a bit. Tighten that down and she'll turn how she's supposed to....for a bit.

 

[CL-Audio]

Jennys RC is nice but almost everything is sold out!!! LOL. Not very helpful currently.

 

[Notorious J]

Jennys RC is nice but almost everything is sold out!!! LOL. Not very helpful currently.

Check back Thursday night into Friday morning. This is when they restock most of the kits. They're ebay site is often more up to date as well.
http://www.ebaystores.com/Jennys-RC...71660015&_sid=124566615&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

 

[CL-Audio]

Check back Thursday night into Friday morning. This is when they restock most of the kits. They're ebay site is often more up to date as well.
http://www.ebaystores.com/Jennys-RC...71660015&_sid=124566615&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

I can always count on the Notorious to offer sound council. Not on just undergarments (pantyhose, lol). Quick question for you. I'm not great at working on RC cars yet, Im getting there but takes me forever to fix them. With that said I like the V4 changes that makes things easier but looks like the v3's can be found on pretty good sales right now. Seeing $399. Not bad. I'm torn between 540 for a v4 or 399 for a v3. Your thoughts? The way I see it is it costs $100 to update to a v4 from a v3. So basically it ends up being a $50 dollar saving. The time it would take me to update it to a v4 would cost me way more than $50 in time and frustration alone. Haha.