Why do people use such heavy center diff oil?

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MMoelmann

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Arrma RC's
  1. Fireteam
  2. Granite
  3. Mojave
  4. Notorious
  5. Outcast 8s
  6. Talion EXB
  7. Typhon 6s
Why do a lot of people run 500k, 1M, or even earplugs in their center diffs on 1/8 scale rigs? I find that I'm pulling wheelies all the time with anything over 250k. I find it hard to keep the power down on full throttle unless I lower the center diff oil.

What are the advantages of using super thick oil, especially on a 1/8 car?
 
Long-wheelbase with smaller tires will essentially become front wheel drive under heavy power. Have you ever driven a FWD car and tried to turn while accelerating on loose surface? Also prone to blow through or ballon single tires from open diff action. It’s all a tuning balance based on your specific application, nobody will have the same exact setup in professional racing including shocks..

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On my Mojave, I changed the center to 200k, but felt it was still too light. Went to 1m and could not stop the rear from coming around. Trying out 500k. Many people feel it's the happy medium. Preference is dependent on driving style a bit though.
 
I agree with your statements, but I feel like I still like some power to be able to bleed off to the front end.
My favorite car is my Talion which has a middle length wheelbase. I've found 100k with the LSD differential to be the best all around for my use. I can get it to oversteer with throttle, but it feels really controllable in corners.
 
More power to rear wheels, less front tire ballooning, and helps solve understeer issues. Work on throttle control to avoid wheelies.
+1:cool:

Thicker diff oils actually benefit a rig with hard bashing use. Less wear on the drivetrain results overall. And Just better for driveability.
At the track in a confined technical groomed track, 1/8 rigs such as Truggies and Buggies will always benefit with the thinner Diff oils. Oil CST will be Based on driving style, track layout ( loose or high traction) and personal preference.
I find that most of my 1/8 Arrma rigs do great with 500k at center. 30k R and 60k F.
My TLRT Typhon runs stock diff oils. I drive this one more like a dedicated track rig.
My FT runs best with thicker 500k+1Mil ( mixed) after some trial and error.

Work on throttle control. And absolutely lower the "Punch" setting at the ESC and evaluate one setting at a time, if you are having a hard time with control. It really helps.

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If you find the power unusable it may be worth lowering punch and gearing down a bit.

I’m with you though. That car was pulling wheelies too easily. Hard to drive.

P.S. maybe try recalibrating the transmitter to the ESC. It felt like it was getting full power with only a slight trigger pull.
 
If you find the power unusable it may be worth lowering punch and gearing down a bit.

I’m with you though. That car was pulling wheelies too easily. Hard to drive.

P.S. maybe try recalibrating the transmitter to the ESC. It felt like it was getting full power with only a slight trigger pull.
So I recalibrated my throttle endpoints like you suggested and that helped.
You've seen how the car handles and it drives great. The only issue I have with it is the car wants to take off and flip when I get above 50mph ish. It will actually wheelie when the turbo setting kicks in from the ESC. I'll probably turn that down or off.
 
So I recalibrated my throttle endpoints like you suggested and that helped.
You've seen how the car handles and it drives great. The only issue I have with it is the car wants to take off and flip when I get above 50mph ish. It will actually wheelie when the turbo setting kicks in from the ESC. I'll probably turn that down or off.
I’ve kept that feature turned off on both my Hobbywing and my Castle systems. It’s a little unpredictable and I prefer linear throttle delivery.
 
Quite simply, there's a large variance in driving styles. Some people want their R/Cs to drive like a tear the rear end out, drift around corners, rip around at full throttle wheelie monster, others want them to drive more like a race truck. On a scale where 0 is race truck and 10 is nigh-uncontrollable, overpowered extreme bash truck, I'm probably about a 3, so I keep oils on the lighter side (100-200k centre, 10-30k F/R).
 
Quite simply, there's a large variance in driving styles. Some people want their R/Cs to drive like a tear the rear end out, drift around corners, rip around at full throttle wheelie monster, others want them to drive more like a race truck. On a scale where 0 is race truck and 10 is nigh-uncontrollable, overpowered extreme bash truck, I'm probably about a 3, so I keep oils on the lighter side (100-200k centre, 10-30k F/R).
Same here. I run 50 / 200 / 30 in my mojave.
 
Why do a lot of people run 500k, 1M, or even earplugs in their center diffs on 1/8 scale rigs? I find that I'm pulling wheelies all the time with anything over 250k. I find it hard to keep the power down on full throttle unless I lower the center diff oil.

What are the advantages of using super thick oil, especially on a 1/8 car?

Like the fam said, all the replies are good. I hate wheelies and I had 500k in my center and just did not like it after a while I began to want it on the ground for better performance. I have since gone to 50/200/20k and some rigs like the Kraton EXB 50/100/20k with F/C being LSD rear open. The Talion EXB sporting the same with 200k in the center.

These rigs have a lot of power and come down to your style of bash. I bash my butt off full throttle, getting about 7-9min out of batteries. Love the fact now I can keep the noise down and maneuver turns, corners, etc.

Each rig is different I do use throttle control, yes. I do play with the punch. In most cases, it is higher since I lowered the center diff. Tires are important for the right grip or slip for the surface that I am on so know your bash environment. AVC is king for me using the DX5C, so I can adjust all 3 AVC settings so I can have drift with power, etc it takes work to get the right settings. In the Kraton EXB, I kept the 4985/Max6 combo and upped it to a 20T pinion 50/100/20k diff (rear diff is open) only on 4S, and it is still a powerful bashing dream with control.

Oil CST will be Based on driving style

Totally agree. Most setups here are really aggressive, and that is fine speaks to Arrma moto. After doing those and I found that I like a lighter center for how I bash and seems to fit a small % here. Again as you said, each diving style is different....spot on Brother (y)

Quite simply, there's a large variance in driving styles. Some people want their R/Cs to drive like a tear the rear end out, drift around corners, rip around at full throttle wheelie monster, others want them to drive more like a race truck. On a scale where 0 is race truck and 10 is nigh-uncontrollable, overpowered extreme bash truck, I'm probably about a 3, so I keep oils on the lighter side (100-200k centre, 10-30k F/R).

Feela ya Sir....good scale (y) I would be a 4-5, mostly a 4 with aggression. As my best friend told me...you drive the hell out of this Lexus IS F-Sport zooming in/out all over the place... yet you are gentle, and smart in how you handle it. I am the same with the RC's once I found the power band I like to be in.
 
I seem to be all over the place with a few of my rigs. My TLRT Typhon I prefer the stock weights for instance. It all depends how each rig is driven. And they all have unique personalities, so it is not just driving style, but also weight, size/length and power delivery that each uniquely have. ( weight bias matters) For the most part, I find that with wide open running on dirt or grass that I want a heavier center diff. The rig tends to liven up and you gain more ground speed due to less diff bleed. Then, Dialing in Punch at the ESC and Thr. Expo at the Radio makes it just right for me. Many overlook the ESC and radio parameters. And they are easy fine tuning tweaks. Yet many do it backwards and go balls to the wall out the gate with their punch setting high, etc. I say start out conservative, evaluate, and adjust accordingly.
:cool:
 
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It all comes down to preference. Tighter diff oil will make for less independent action, as described above. Looser oil will make for more independent action. If you don't like how your truck is driving, change the oil to accommodate what you're looking to get.

Example, I have a tekno SCT410.3 that i mostly street bash with. I want to be able to slide around, controllably. The stock 10k oil (or whatever it is) is much too loose to keep the front and rear sliding somewhat together. Instead the rear was much more likely to break traction and cause me to spin out. I added a few dabs of 500k in the center to help reduce F/R differential action. It's noticeably helped. Might even go higher in the future.
 
Sounds fun. What tires do you use?
53/107 silver hoons. Wish i would have gone with the 42/100 hoons instead, easier to manage and break traction. But i had the tires before the SCT (they were originally for another project that didn't gain much traction), so i used what I had.
 
53/107 silver hoons. Wish i would have gone with the 42/100 hoons instead, easier to manage and break traction. But i had the tires before the SCT (they were originally for another project that didn't gain much traction), so i used what I had.
Did you install the Tekno buggy hexes or do you use an adapter? Those Tekno hexes are pricey.
 
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