Big Rock New rcawd driveshafts

[quiznatodd bidness]

Just saw these last night:

RCAWD 4X #45 Steel Front/Rear Heavy Duty Cvd Drive Shaft for 1-10 Arrma 3s Blx Big Rock V3 https://a.co/d/5dgOcv2

Why is it that this style shaft is only on the higher end models? Seems like it would be lighter and stronger, but the only shafts made for arrma 3s and 4s are the cvd or knuckle sliders.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

So whose going to be the guinea pig???

This is a different style than the 3s sliding driveshafts. The 3s trucks have cvds at both ends of the drive shafts, therefore any in and out movement is taken up in the driveshaft. With this style, the in and out movement occurs at the inner diff cup where the dog bone meets. If i had to guess, i'd say the reason why these aren't made in steel is the difficulty in manufacturing the slider portions of the driveshaft. You can much more easily make a plastic mold for that than machine out of aluminum or steel.

 

[Bustedaw11]

I've also seen those as well..

My opinion is-
Thats how axles used to be made most of the time. No matter what brand (MIP was best) they would bend..
I wouldn't run them on a basher.

 

[quiznatodd bidness]

Don’t all the 6s and 8s rigs use those basher or street?

 

[King blitz]

Just saw these last night:

RCAWD 4X #45 Steel Front/Rear Heavy Duty Cvd Drive Shaft for 1-10 Arrma 3s Blx Big Rock V3 https://a.co/d/5dgOcv2

Why is it that this style shaft is only on the higher end models? Seems like it would be lighter and stronger, but the only shafts made for arrma 3s and 4s are the cvd or knuckle sliders.

I like those ,they seem nice .better than stock plastic sliding drive shafts for sure.Those you posted is what should have been on to begin with.

 

[quiznatodd bidness]

So whose going to be the guinea pig???

Me. As luck would have it, I broke my first shaft since owning the truck right after posting this thread.

At first glance they seem quite sturdy and are pretty easy to put on. No instructions, but it’s intuitive. I also like that I don’t have to build out the lower mount point for my 6s shocks now. The much thicker old shafts would rub against the springs of the bigger bore shocks.

I’ll post again after I’ve put some time on them in case anyone cares.

 

[islandlife]

I hope they are decent, i have grp metal shafts on the rear of my typhon armed senton, and while they have not broken, they are pretty stiff and beat up.
Will be following your experience

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Personally I'll stick with the stock plastic ones. Not because these won't work well, but mostly because my big rock is my abuse truck and skatepark truck my crashes are usually excessively hard, so having something cheap to replace is high on my priority list.

But maybe they'll be able to stand up to some wicked abuse? Keep us updated for sure

 

[quiznatodd bidness]

Well, not great news.
First test run out on the street I immediately noticed that i had lost steering strength. I still haven’t figured out why exactly. If I pick the truck up, it steers quickly as usual. If I flex the suspension down while the truck is still off the ground, still steers quickly and with full range. As soon as the tires hit the ground steering range is cut in half. This could be totally unrelated, but the shafts were the only thing I changed. Just handling and twisting the disconnected pieces it seems a bit like they might bind up a bit at angles. Not a deal-breaker…
However, test 2 came the next day as I was showing my dad how to drive on a light dirt/gravel road. We did maybe a half hour with both of us driving until I got it back and noticed something wrong. One of the rear wheels had lost connection to the shaft. (The whole shaft I think should’ve been made about 2mm longer as the dog bone/inner end is barely staying in the fork when the suspension is extended -no droop screws or sway bars on the 3s line of course.) This disconnection was on the outer/hub end though, which shouldn’t be possible. Giving rcawd the benefit of the doubt, I took the tire off and made sure my loctite job hadn’t failed and was holding the hub tight into the bearing. It was. The shafts are in pieces on arrival. The inner end is all solid, and plugs into the cylinder fork screwed to the diff. The outer hub end is 3 pieces. The hub, the pin, and a tiny barrel that connects them. These will slip apart until in place in the steer/drive hub bearing. That covers the holes that the pin slides into, and should be all secure. The only thing I can figure is that the pin either broke or the part around it somehow flexed enough for it to pop out. Then, the pin and tiny barrel shot off into space (or might as well have).

So I’m sending them back. I doubt others will have the exact issue I had- probably an unlucky one here, but I don’t want to pay $60 for a part that isn’t dependable. The other issue is the tiny barrel in there is unlike anything else I’ve seen in RC world (though I haven’t seen much). I could easily replace the pin, but not that.

I think I too, will just stick with the stock ones for now. RCmadlabz on eBay recently put out what is probably the best possible upgrade, but I’m not going to pay $120 for those.

 

[SrC]

Just saw these last night:

RCAWD 4X #45 Steel Front/Rear Heavy Duty Cvd Drive Shaft for 1-10 Arrma 3s Blx Big Rock V3 https://a.co/d/5dgOcv2

Why is it that this style shaft is only on the higher end models? Seems like it would be lighter and stronger, but the only shafts made for arrma 3s and 4s are the cvd or knuckle sliders.

The 3s line is made to a cheaper price point. Hence most all plastic throughout.
Want better drivetrain stuff, Pay the $60 for these and take a chance that it will work without any binding, or just buy the 6s line platform and don't look back. You have choices.
Not all RCAWD stuff is all that from my exper. But give it a try.