Kraton Rear diff fluid

[East tactics]

Does the thinner the fluid in the rear help prevent damage? I don’t know why but for whatever reason I always thought that the thicker the diff fluid the more protection you’re giving to to prevent/minimize breakages. Seeing some do 80K in the rear 200-500 center and 80-100 front. I’ve always ran 20 K in the rear. Tried 60k this last time and blew planetary gears on both sides. So I’m starting to think rear should be fairly thin, 20k or lower. Your thoughts/experiences?

 

[Camaroboy383]

Does the thinner the fluid in the rear help prevent damage? I don’t know why but for whatever reason I always thought that the thicker the diff fluid the more protection you’re giving to to prevent/minimize breakages. Seeing some do 80K in the rear 200-500 center and 80-100 front. I’ve always ran 20 K in the rear. Tried 60k this last time and blew planetary gears on both sides. So I’m starting to think rear should be fairly thin, 20k or lower. Your thoughts/experiences?

Heavier the fluid the more bang due to more traction.. lower is easier on the diff because it can slip at the wheel with less traction which intern is less load on the planetary gears..

 

[jondilly1974]

Heavier the fluid the more bang due to more traction.. lower is easier on the diff because it can slip at the wheel with less traction which intern is less load on the planetary gears..

Unless you diff out enough to cause extreme heat ....

 

[Camaroboy383]

Unless you diff out enough to cause extreme heat ....

Agreed, 100%.. it's a crapshoot at best.. I run 50k for the record

 

[adidas303]

A lot of peeps will run lower in the rear as well for cornering/steering reason, as it will help with a sharper turning radius. Always Driver preference though, sometimes it's just trial and error to find what best suits your driving!

 

[East tactics]

I’m just a straight up basher, don’t care too much about cornering etc. I’m pretty harsh on stop and go, and just want to rip toward the next jump on sight. That said, I’m feeling I bette mr stick with 20k or lower, to relieve stress on the planetary gears. I’m also going to find stonger pins. Thx for the tips!!
I also noticed the issues with diff breakages after I slapped a 20 tooth pinion gear in... thinking I might drop back to 16.

 

[SrC]

I’m just a straight up basher, don’t care too much about cornering etc. I’m pretty harsh on stop and go, and just want to rip toward the next jump on sight. That said, I’m feeling I bette mr stick with 20k or lower, to relieve stress on the planetary gears. I’m also going to find stonger pins. Thx for the tips!!
I also noticed the issues with diff breakages after I slapped a 20 tooth pinion gear in... thinking I might drop back to 16.

20T for just regular bashing would be a bit extreme. Not that some don't go that high. And watch those ESC and motor temps going that tall.
The Kraton to me is a widened Truggy. I dial and set it up in that regard. But not for a closed track. Interesting to note that Truggy racers use much thinner weight at the diffs all around, And the rear dfif does get thinnest oil most of the time. I keep the F/Cntr./R oils in a ratio to each other. Its trial and error. And what works for some, may not be best for others. But Bashing in very large fields requires a much higher center diff oil. Or Diffing out will drive you crazy, bleeding out power from the rear. IMO.