Upgrades to my Granite 4x4 BLX 3s

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I don't think it helped much. I'm going to try a different solution. I haven't tried it yet, but the link that Knxwledge provided looks really promising.
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/help-me-upgrade-my-senton-3s-for-sand.20322/post-297587
The foam tape is still very useful to stuff the bumper springs and provide cushion on the top of the rear shock mount.

I never had a chance to do it as I had my granite in the shop for some upgrades, so I guess I'll just leave it as is for now.
 
I run the Hot Racing pivot balls and not impressed as they’re soft and wear out quickly when sand gets in there. I bought a few sets of Associated 81398 (steel units), but have yet to test their endurance but their fit is excellent.
How are the Associated pivot balls working out? My Hot Racing pivot balls were getting worn out so I got the Associated. They are REALLY tight. They rotate, but there is no swivel if you know what I mean. I feel like there's no give/flexibility. Do they loosen up a bit?
 
Found a nice spot for my ramp. Slightly downhill concrete approach with a nice soft landing zone.

I need this type of practice to know how to throttle or brake in the air to control the rotation....
 
Looks like the original post can no longer be edited. I made hopefully my last upgrade, stiffer springs for my Tekno shocks. I auditioned ALOT of springs (Arrma, Tekno, Associated). The winners were Mojave ARA330639 shocks in front and Kraton/Outcast AR330507 in the rear. These are VERY stiff for the Granite, looser springs will perform better in many situations. But I think hard chassis slaps from jumps were causing damage, so I wanted stiffer. With some adjustment, I was able to get these to perform very well in many conditions. She lands really nicely now.


It took many months, but I really think my Granite is as durable as you can get it. I used to break all the time. I'm jinxing myself, but aside from some recent ESC issues, she doesn't break anymore.
 
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Hey I got a tailgate protector like you mention but I cant get it to stay on with gorilla mounting tape.
Did you have to change the profile at all other than removing the screw holes and chop a bit out the middle?
How many layers of tape did you use to fill the inner curve as the granite is fist.
Sorry for all the questions.
Cheers
 
Looks like the original post can no longer be edited. I made hopefully my last upgrade, stiffer springs for my Tekno shocks. I auditioned ALOT of springs (Arrma, Tekno, Associated). The winners were Mojave ARA330639 shocks in front and Kraton/Outcast AR330507 in the rear. These are VERY stiff for the Granite, looser springs will perform better in many situations. But I think hard chassis slaps from jumps were causing damage, so I wanted stiffer. With some adjustment, I was able to get these to perform very well in many conditions. She lands really nicely now.


It took many months, but I really think my Granite is as durable as you can get it. I used to break all the time. I'm jinxing myself, but aside from some recent ESC issues, she doesn't break anymore.
Interesting those are the springs you chose. I just bough 6S shocks for my rig and went with Mojave Fronts (in front) and Kraton fronts (for the rear). This was mostly based on the shock length. I was then going to swap out the springs to Typhon springs. Based on your findings maybe I will try and use them as is. What oil shock weight you using? Also did you preload the springs at all? I guess if you are using Techno shocks your setup might not apply to the 6S hardware.
 
Just purchased some GMP Tierods that should take care of most of the steering slop. Any ideas if the Team Associated ASC81398 steel balls will work for the shocks and steering link?
 
Hey I got a tailgate protector like you mention but I cant get it to stay on with gorilla mounting tape.
Did you have to change the profile at all other than removing the screw holes and chop a bit out the middle?
How many layers of tape did you use to fill the inner curve as the granite is fist.
Sorry for all the questions.
Cheers
Sorry for the late reply, I wasn't really driving during the winter. I just removed the screw holes and chopped the middle. Just one layer of gorilla heavy duty double sided tape. Make sure everything is really clean first. The tailguard did fall off once or twice when the Gorilla tape got wet. The Gorilla tape did not hold the tailguard on a different body, so I drilled holes and used screws, nuts and washers to hold it on.

Interesting those are the springs you chose. I just bough 6S shocks for my rig and went with Mojave Fronts (in front) and Kraton fronts (for the rear). This was mostly based on the shock length. I was then going to swap out the springs to Typhon springs. Based on your findings maybe I will try and use them as is. What oil shock weight you using? Also did you preload the springs at all? I guess if you are using Techno shocks your setup might not apply to the 6S hardware.
The Tekno shocks are almost the same length as the Typhon 6s shocks, so the setup may not be so much different. One difference may be I'm using emulsion caps while Arrma uses bladders. Bladder shocks will be more reactive. When it comes to jumping, bladder shocks will have more spring at launch, emulsion shocks will bounce back less after landing.

With the ARA330639 and AR330507 springs I'm using 14 turns of preload in front and 9 in the rear. I changed from 60/50 to 80 weight shock oil. It did not make much of a difference with Tekno pistons. I recently switched to Arrma pistons. They provide much more pack and are a nice improvement, but you already have them.

The best shock setup depends on your kind of driving. My stiff emulsion setup is to land jumps and reduce damage. A looser setup soaks up bumps better in rough off-road conditions. I was also able to turn tighter and slide turns better with a looser setup.
 
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Just purchased some GMP Tierods that should take care of most of the steering slop. Any ideas if the Team Associated ASC81398 steel balls will work for the shocks and steering link?
I've never used GMP tierods. I have used the Team Associated ASC81398 pivot balls with stock Arrma rod ends. I found they were too tight a fit and caused significant binding. Others in this forum prefer Team Associated pivot balls because of the tighter fit, but I'm using Hot Racing.

My latest bash. Upgrades since my last post include replacing Tekno pistons with Arrma pistons (1.2 mm front, 1.4 mm rear) and replacing MX28's with Trencher tires. The Arrma pistons provide much more pack and less bounce back on landings.
 
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Another ramp bash. Jumping on grass to try to prevent damage. I got new MX28's so I have enough traction to hit the ramp on grass. Also trying out the Custom RC Upgrades chassis brace. It definitely stiffens the chassis, but it's really heavy and you can tell when landing jumps. More weight equals more potential for damage, which is what I'm trying to avoid. I'm going to try the Arrma 4s tower to tower brace instead.

EDIT: I stopped using the CRCU chassis brace so I deleted the video I originally included with this post.

 
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I tried without the CRCU chassis brace and it did land lighter. I'm going to try the Arrma tower to tower brace instead, it should be lighter.

I also experimented with slipper adjustments. New tires and grass led to unwanted wheelies, which is bad when hitting a ramp. Loosening over 2 full turns was too loose and was slipping way too much. Slightly less than 2 turns still slipped during fast backflips and reduced flip speed. I settled for one 1-5/8's from full tight. After all the slipper adjustments, the plastic slipper nut no longer held so I had to get a new one.

 
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Got the Arrma 4s tower to tower center brace. It definitely reduces chassis flex. Without the center brace you can feel a little flex if you press the shock towers towards each other. With the center brace, that flex is gone. It's also MUCH lighter than the CRCU chassis brace.

The main reason I wanted to stiffen the chassis is I think the rear differential was sustaining damage due to rear end flex on landings. The Hot Racing yoke helps, but I was still damaging rear diffs/input gears. The metal diff upgrade has been unavailable so I added the tower to tower brace instead. So far so good. The rear diff has held up through several jump sessions. If it works out, it may be better than adding more weight with a metal diff and will hopefully be my last upgrade.

Also added 4s body mount posts and Proline body mount screws. With shoe goo and drywall tape, my bodies hold up well, but the body mount holes eventually crack. You can't add too much shoe goo and drywall tape with the stock body clips. The body gets too thick and you can't get the clips in. The 4s posts are more flexible and the Proline mounts allow you to add lots of reinforcement around the body mount holes. So far it seems to be holding up better.

 
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