What does it mean when steering is weak with resistance?

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corywest

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Arrma RC's
  1. 4x4-Mega
I have the current Kraton BLX and I'm noticing that when it's wheels are on the ground and I steer, the wheels don't turn much. If I lift it up so the wheels are not touching the ground, it seems to turn fine. It's drivable, but maybe it doesn't steer quite as crisply as it should? Is this normal and I'm just now noticing it? Or is there something I should inspect/adjust/replace?
 
Normal...especially for a stock servo. There is more load and resistance on servo when wheels aren't turning. I suppose you could check your Ackerman steering arm and bearings if you choose but that sounds normal.
 
I have the current Kraton BLX and I'm noticing that when it's wheels are on the ground and I steer, the wheels don't turn much. If I lift it up so the wheels are not touching the ground, it seems to turn fine. It's drivable, but maybe it doesn't steer quite as crisply as it should? Is this normal and I'm just now noticing it? Or is there something I should inspect/adjust/replace?
The servo is partially to blame but, the first thing I would do is address the servo saver that is way too soft as it comes from the factory and no amount of servo power will take care of that. There's a spring at the bottom of the servo saver and a washer that it sits on. What you need to do is add some spacers between that washer and the spring to increase the resistance.

Most people solve this in one of two ways. If you have some circlips with an ID of 12mm, you can loosen the servo saver to clip 2 or 3 of those in.

It needs to be these:
1685300055011.png
and not these:
1685300080663.png
.

Here's a video that demonstrates how to do this, step by step:

The second option (this is what I did) would be to take some plastic card stock and cut some rings with a 12mm ID out of it (I had some blanks in the shape of credit cards lying around that I fashioned them from). I just drilled 12mm holes with a stepped drill and then cut around it with some shears.
IMG_0695.JPG


To install these requires disassembling the servo saver which, isn't quite as straightforward as you'd hope. It's not rocket surgery, but here's a quick 5min vid on how to take it apart so you can install the plastic rings between the washer and spring.

I opted to put in 4 or 5 of said rings because I wanted mine to be tight and responsive which looked like this when I was finished:
IMG_0694.JPG


Hope this helps. If not, here's a pretty comprehensive tutorial on the steps this guy went through to maximize the steering on his Kraton. It's probably worth a look at to see what else you can do without just throwing money at it. :)
 
Last edited:
The servo is partially to blame but, the first thing I would do is address the servo saver that is way too soft as it comes from the factory and no amount of servo power will take care of that. There's a spring at the bottom of the servo saver and a washer that it sits on. What you need to do is add some spacers between that washer and the spring to increase the resistance.

Most people solve this in one of two ways. If you have some circlips with an ID of 12mm, you can loosen the servo saver to clip 2 or 3 of those in.

It needs to be these: View attachment 302642 and not these: View attachment 302643.

Here's a video that demonstrates how to do this, step by step:

The second option (this is what I did) would be to take some plastic card stock and cut some rings with a 12mm ID out of it (I had some blanks in the shape of credit cards lying around that I fashioned them from). I just drilled 12mm holes with a stepped drill and then cut around it with some shears. View attachment 302646

To install these requires disassembling the servo saver which, isn't quite as straightforward as you'd hope. It's not rocket surgery, but here's a quick 5min vid on how to take it apart so you can install the plastic rings between the washer and spring.

I opted to put in 4 or 5 of said rings because I wanted mine to be tight and responsive which looked like this when I was finished:
View attachment 302647

Hope this helps. If not, here's a pretty comprehensive tutorial on the steps this guy went through to maximize the steering on his Kraton. It's probably worth a look at to see what else you can do without just throwing money at it. :)
This is the holy grail right here!! makes such a big difference!! There are also adjustable servo savers out there you can upgrade too if you don't mind spending more money but the mod diem posted works great and is what I do for majority of my bashers.
 
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