Kraton Kraton Destroyed (Rebuild Started!)

[Dubbl-A]

Slid on its roof into an intersection.

I made some adjustments to the ESC and went out for a shake down run an quickly realized the brakes were set waaay to aggressive. Tapped the brake and rolled right onto the roof and slid 20ft and got clobbered by an SUV going about 45mph.

As devastated as i am, I'm just glad no one got hurt.

Here's a before photo and then the after...

 

[nctsdodgeman]

To be honest, while I'm very sorry to see it happen, I'd say that says a lot for their durability if it got ran over at 45 mph by a SUV and the chassis is still in one piece. Sure it's bent and probably not fixable, but still... Makes me want to get one even more.

As for the initial picture - what body was that and are those the Pro-line screw down holders?

 

[Aflan]

Wauw, and uber auw!... ...A serious case of bad luck...That sucks....
But I have to agree with @nctsdodgeman ...That chassis took one hell of a beating...And its still in one piece!...
I think Arrma should give you a new one for free...And put this one on display at there R&D center...I think they can be proud...

Erik
aka Aflan

 

[Unusual RC]

The risk of bashing on the public road!
Thank god no one got hurt, and indeed good advertisement for Arrma.

Thanks for that they should give you a new one

Seriously, I think some parts are still good as spares?

 

[Dubbl-A]

I agree. It really is durable as it realativley stayed in one piece after being ran over...

Its the Pro-Line Desert Militia body with EMaxx Pro-line body mounts. The mounts survived but the body didn't

Yes! Arrma should send me a new one!!! Haha...but like UnusualRC said, its the risk of running on a public road.

But I did get kind of lucky. The motor (which this was its maiden run), the ESC, servo, steering/bellcrank, and 6s Lipo pack all survived and are functional. That's a good amount of cash right there.

 

[OrangeDRAGON]

Sorry about the wreck! Glad to hear the motor/esc and servo survived!

If it were me, I'd probably pick up a roller online and transplant the drivetrain parts and keep anything else that isn't broken or bent as spares...

 

[Dubbl-A]

I did, initially, think about getting a roller but after the teardown the list of parts needed only added up to (give or take) half what a good roller would cost. So I made my shopping list!

Chassis Plate
Front Shock Tower
Front Shock
Shock Standoffs
2 Steering Blocks
Front Diff Housing
Hub Ball Ends (2)
Chassis Braces
= about $150

Still need get:
Proline F-11 3.8 Wheel (probably have to buy 2)
Proline Trencher X 3.8 (probably have to buy 2)
= about $46

Parts should be here next week!
The above will get it back on the gravel but I'll still need a new body and maybe some mounts if I can't fix them.

 

[nctsdodgeman]

One would have thought that it would have been more broken parts than that. Anything else just bent but otherwise fixable?

 

[Dubbl-A]

Other than the Front Diff housing, Rear Chassis Support and Front Hubs, all the other plastic parts are good. (one of the wheels got crushed though) I can't believe and A-Arm or two didn't snap.

 

[nctsdodgeman]

If it was me, I'd send these pictures to Arrma with the information of what happened just so they know how really good their product is. To me it says lots of really good things about the quality of their parts to still have that many be that "good" after being crushed like that.

 

[WoodiE]

Holy moly @Dubbl-A. I think everyone on the forum needs to observe a moment of peace.

 

[mrbelloso]

Sorry for what happened to your Arrma, may it become to life again and give you cheers and happiness. Amen!!!

 

[Dubbl-A]

Haha...thanks for all the support!
Parts are on the way so the beast will breathe fire once again.

Also, to keep my bad luck streak going, I just finished up a Senton build (from a roller) and on my 2nd run cracked a front lower A-Arm running 4s. Uggggh. But thanks to this forum, I found out about the 6mm(1/4in) washer mod to strengthen the mounting point. So...while I wait for parts for that, I installed washers to the unbroken A-Arm. Onward and Upward.

 

[Stanleybb50]

Haha...thanks for all the support!
Parts are on the way so the beast will breathe fire once again.

Also, to keep my bad luck streak going, I just finished up a Senton build (from a roller) and on my 2nd run cracked a front lower A-Arm running 4s. Uggggh. But thanks to this forum, I found out about the 6mm(1/4in) washer mod to strengthen the mounting point. So...while I wait for parts for that, I installed washers to the unbroken A-Arm. Onward and Upward.

Do share! Do you have a link to where you read about it?

 

[WoodiE]

Haha...thanks for all the support!
Parts are on the way so the beast will breathe fire once again.

We'll be looking forward to the build re-build thread soon.

 

[Dubbl-A]

Do share! Do you have a link to where you read about it?

Sure, here you go. Though I probably should put this in a Senton thread...
Arrma we need stronger front lower arms on the 8th scale cars!

Scroll through and you'll see mention of using 6mm washers for strength.
I'll start a new thread for my Senton and post pics!

We'll be looking forward to the build re-build thread soon.

Will do!

 

[Stanleybb50]

Sure, here you go. Though I probably should put this in a Senton thread...
Arrma we need stronger front lower arms on the 8th scale cars!

Scroll through and you'll see mention of using 6mm washers for strength.
I'll start a new thread for my Senton and post pics!



Will do!

Cool! If it works, it essentially applies to all of the 1/8 lineup I'd think. I'm curious. I can't see the advantage it offers thinking about the torque that point would receive, but every little bit helps, and I'm certainly not engineer - so it probably does more than I realize.

 

[Dubbl-A]

Let the rebuild begin.
Pile of parts ready to go together!

Front end completely finished!
This was by far the most damaged area. Tossed in some fresh bearings and diff fluid while I was in there.

 

[Vanning]

Looking good. The 17mm hexes on my Kraton don't look as wide as yours. As for bearings....has anyone tried greasing rubber sealed bearings for bashing. I know for racing, that would be no good. Why not just open up a sealed bearing and jam some grease in it.....or do the stock bearings already have grease. I always thought most bearings are oiled on these rc cars. I thought some synthetic grease that isn't too thick would work.....as long as it's not too thick. I figure the grease would out last the oil ???? IDK. What I found out is Avid and Fast Eddie bearing kits are so cheap...it aint even worth maintaining the bearings. I just ordered a spare full set for the Kraton for $21 bucks from Fast Eddies. It also includes the bearings for the steering.

 

[Dubbl-A]

I have an original Kraton that came with the hubs with the thin outer bearing support that cracked. Arrma beefed up that part and I am running those. Now if you have the V2 Kraton, I believe they use the Tailion hubs which are wider and, in turn, use a shorter hex. I will probably upgrade to those if I have issues with the revised V1 hubs.
I used the Fast Eddy rubber sealed bearing kit and only used a light coating of grease (on the outside) when installing them. I never took them apart and greased the actual bearings. I'm not sure if you can even open them up to be honest...
And like you said, they're not $$$ so just pop in a new one when they go bad.