Kraton My newest build: The 6S Kraton SUPERLEGGERA!!

[Xjeepguy]

So I added up the total cost of this build, using my actual receipts, including shipping. I’m still in shock. This thing had better outrun any rig I own.

 

[Megafandrew]

It’s definitely a unique rig to at least for the cost of building it!

 

[Xjeepguy]

It’s definitely a unique rig to at least for the cost of building it!

There’s a reason I didn’t keep track while I was ordering parts. I wanted to build the best Kraton I could. The worst part is, she’s not done yet. I only got it running.

 

[KnowAir]

So I added up the total cost of this build, using my actual receipts, including shipping. I’m still in shock. This thing had better outrun any rig I own.

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Ur torturing yourself! You knew before you started that you were throwing money away. Forgettaboutit!! Enjoy ur creation, it's frickin badazz!!

 

[Xjeepguy]

Ur torturing yourself! You knew before you started that you were throwing money away. Forgettaboutit!! Enjoy ur creation, it's frickin badazz!!

That’s true. I’m pretty sure after it’s done it’ll be worth every penny.

 

[Kingpin]

So I added up the total cost of this build, using my actual receipts, including shipping. I’m still in shock. This thing had better outrun any rig I own.

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BTDT. LOL
I think I have a few more dollars in my custom build but very similar.
Living in Canada and paying in US plus all the shipping it hurt even more.

 

[Xjeepguy]

Ordered some new parts for the truck, should lose some more weight, and the handling should improve substantially, even though it’s already really good. Stay tuned, hopefully everything is going to be here by Saturday and I’ll have an update!

 

[Moirae]

Welp, got my parts today, and I’ve installed them. For the first time, the truck is sitting on its own tires. View attachment 322490
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The toe links look amazing, and are light, but the only way to adjust toe now, is to shim behind the pillar balls. I still have some shimming to do for my taste, but I figured it’s good enough for some pics.

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I have a few gremlins to chase before it goes on a shakedown run. There’s a weird bind in the driveline, that’s barely noticeable, but I want that ironed out before I run it. I may get that done tonight and try it out tomorrow.

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This thing has a wicked stance.

So the question on everybody’s mind is, I’m sure, how much weight did I trim off of the truck? I was hoping to have trimmed 16oz of weight off of a stock Kraton.

Remember, I’m still running stock shocks, and these are not the lightweight racing wheels and tires the truck will eventually be running. This was only phase 1. I haven’t even fired up the mill or lathe yet. This will get lighter. A lot lighter. This is why I haven’t specced out new shocks yet. I need to determine its final sprung weight first. That’ll be phase 3. Without wheels and tires, this truck weighed in at 6lb 3oz. So that’ll be a big change when I finally switch to a racing wheel and tire. I’ll tally up the total cost of the build so you will all realize just how much of an idiot I am lol.

I may video the shakedown run and share it. Even if this project turns out to be a total failure, it at least looks cool lol.

Definitely rig of the month worthy.

 

[Xjeepguy]

Definitely rig of the month worthy.

Thanks man, this thing is turning out better than I ever expected it to. Still a long ways to go before it’s done.

 

[Xjeepguy]

So I have to wait until Monday for my other lightweight goodies to arrive, but here are a couple things that did come in…

 

[Xjeepguy]

Rear shocks assembled and installed. In case anyone is wondering, they’re Tekno MT410 shocks. After extensive research, I landed on these because they have a lot of tunability and they are quite a bit lighter than the Arrma 6s shocks as you can see in the pics.

 

[Snowmandk]

Tekno shocks are awesome

But I have the feeling you could have saved just as much weight (and a lot of money) by just going to the plastic caps, collars and lower caps that Arrma uses on the onroad cars.

Fantastic build so far

 

[ARRMA-GET’M]

Started on the build today. Checked diffs, they were actually full for once. Going to run all stock fluids as a baseline, and adjust from there.

Built the center section first.
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Mounted the steering servo, using some M2C goodness. The servo is a Protek 170 SBL Black Label.
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Then I went to the front bulkhead. I used M2C CF shock towers and steering brace, as well as Ram Jam titanium hinge pins, dog bones and shock standoffs.
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The rear bulkhead is next, with the same CF and titanium treatment as the front. I chose to use RPM arms because they are slightly lighter than stock. I also added the CF camber links. I’m using stock shocks for now, just to gauge the truck’s dampening needs to help me choose a more permanent and lighter solution later. I also added Tekno droop screws, and set the ride height fairly low, since this truck is not a basher, and will not likely be doing much jumping View attachment 321811
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Circling back to the front, I installed some Ram Jam titanium pillar balls, and assembled the front suspension. There is a massive weight difference between the stock ball and the titanium ones.
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Next came the electronics. I selected a Hobbywing Max8 G2 system, with a 2500kv motor. I made sure that all of the wires could not contact the moving parts, and made my battery connection nice and short. View attachment 321815
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You’ll notice the steering rack and axles have not yet been installed. I’m waiting on parts before I can install them. The last thing I did today was the body. For such a different truck, I wanted to run a body that was lightweight, and isn’t normally seen on a Kraton. It’s a J Concepts Racing truggy body, with a lexan TLR wing. You’ll notice I didn’t install the fancy CF wing, and I left off the CF wing mount as well. They were both much heavier than the stock wing mount and this lexan wing. I modified the stock battery mount by trimming off bits that weren’t completely necessary, and ditched the receiver box. All of this done for the sake of weight savings. The purpose of this truck is to be a field runner that may occasionally see casual track use. It doesn’t need to be a tough as a stock Kraton. The rest of my parts are supposed to be here by Thursday, so hopefully by this coming weekend it’ll be completed, and I’ll take it on it’s maiden voyage. View attachment 321818

Really is coming along great!!! Super clean and stealth!!

 

[Xjeepguy]

Tekno shocks are awesome

But I have the feeling you could have saved just as much weight (and a lot of money) by just going to the plastic caps, collars and lower caps that Arrma uses on the onroad cars.

Fantastic build so far

Thanks! The biggest reason was the tunability, and smoothness of the Teknos. The weight loss is just extra gravy. The issue I ran into with the Arrma shocks was that none of the 6s trucks are this light, so everything is geared toward a stock weight and heavier. The MT410 is a light truck with racing shocks, so there’s tons of spring rates, pistons, and lots of data out there for tuning. My baseline setup for these shocks is actually feeling perfect on the bench. I can’t wait to take this thing out for its 2nd shakedown run.

Really is coming along great!!! Super clean and stealth!!

Thanks! I’m very happy with how it’s coming out.
Fronts done. I couldn’t be happier with how these feel on the bench. The real test will be tomorrow when I run it.

 

[fredw90]

Get the aluminum caps top and bottom as well as the ride height adjusting collars. You can also get some nice delrin internals and pistons.

 

[Xjeepguy]

Get the aluminum caps top and bottom as well as the ride height adjusting collars. You can also get some nice delrin internals and pistons.

Thanks for the info. I’ll look into that.
So I installed the new Xerun motor/ESC combo. The ESC is lighter, the motor is slightly heavier, as seen in the pics. The shocks are lighter, as seen in the pics. Here’s the fun part…
Overall, it weighs exactly the same. No, really. Look at the pics.

The good news is, it’s insanely powerful. The level of adjustability is absolutely insane. I hooked up the programmer, and went through the settings, and it took as long as to install the thing lol. Honestly, I think between having proper dampening, and being able to dial in the ESC to exactly what I want, the truck will be very much improved, despite the weight just being exactly the same. I will try again to video the truck tomorrow and post it here. When my new titanium parts come in Monday, and I install them, phase 1 will be complete and it’ll be time to move on to phase 2. Stay tuned!

 

[Xjeepguy]

 

[Tex Koder]

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What just happened!!?

The carbon fiber upper link gave out??

 

[Xjeepguy]

What just happened!!?

The carbon fiber upper link gave out??

It broke due to the massive crash that can be directly related to my stupidity level. If you look closely at the pic, you’ll see that the hinge pin retainer is bent outward, the plastic portion is broke, and the titanium hinge pin is bent almost 90 degrees.

Turns out, I’m a basher. No matter what truck I’m driving, I can’t help but do stupid things with it. I was going for a triple backflip. In a truck made of carbon fiber, with way, way too much power. I’m an idiot lol.

 

[Tex Koder]

...
Turns out, I’m a basher. No matter what truck I’m driving, I can’t help but do stupid things with it. I was going for a triple backflip. In a truck made of carbon fiber, with way, way too much power. I’m an idiot lol.

Practice makes perfect..

Keep tryin' yo!