Kraton Woodley99's Kraton EXB build, built for speed, made to bash!

[Woodley99]

Getting this build thread started, I'll edit it along the way with more and more upgrades. Because let's be honest.. the upgrades never stop!

Kraton EXB newest batch with fixed diff shims Jan 2021

Electronics:
Hobbywing Max6 160amp ESC w/powerhobby Fan
Hobbywing 4985SL 1650kv motor
Powerhobby twin fan heatsink w/alluminium rocket fans
6s with Tekno pinion 18t bashing and 20t for speed, stock spur gear
EC5 connectors, IC5 on ESC (easier to solder male connector)
JX 46kg HV servo
Radiolink RC6gs transmitter R7FG receiver (gyro on)
Zeee 3s 5200mah 50c batteries x4
Goldbat 3s 5200mah 80c batteries x2

Diffs:
Front open, center LSD max effect, rear open
20k/300k/10k

Shocks:
Factory Front- factory 80w, Rear- factory 80w
M2C shock bushings

Parts:
DBoots Backflip MT tires vented
Pro-Line Brute White Body
PPS center diff mount
PPS center diff bearing mount
EXB shock stand offs (why was this only EXB part not factory?)
RPM rear skid plate
Outcast side guards
Outcast wheelie bar
Hot Racing swaybar covers
Hot Racing servo saver and bell crank w/bearings
Hot Racing front ball cup nuts with derlen bushings
M2C rear shock tower support brace
Hot Racing servo horn and arm
RPM wing mounts (not installed yet)
M2C 5mm offset hex adapters

 

[SrC]

Nice rig . set up and all.
I always hated my Copperhead 2's. Out the box. On 6s. Vented them. taped off the wheel vents . Balanced them Etc. Like I do all my tires. Felt they were clumsy. Underwelming as MT tires go. I switched to BF's from my Noto right away. Then found others. Big difference. Better driving for sure. Even the BF Lp's are nice. Anything seems better than the stocker tires. I can't imagine how you drive that with the Cop. Hd 2's. On 8s???

 

[Woodley99]

Nice rig . set up and all.
I always hated my Copperhead 2's. Out the box. On 6s. Vented them. taped off the wheel vents . Balanced them Etc. Like I do all my tires. Felt they were clumsy. Underwelming as MT tires go. I switched to BF's from my Noto right away. Then found others. Big difference. Better driving for sure. Even the BF Lp's are nice. Anything seems better than the stocker tires. I can't imagine how you drive that with the Cop. Hd 2's. On 8s???

Haven't had the courage yet for 8s lol been trying to dial in the handling first. Once BF MTs get here I may try 8s just for fun but it already has an insane amount of power with this combo. Your right the copperhead 2's are horrible tires for traction, its like slicks on dirt haha I can't wait till the BF MTs come in gotta feeling those tires and my new diff set ups are gonna make it a whole new car!

 

[SrC]

They even feel like slicks on tarmac. And they Balloon like mad crazy. And real easy to blow out.Much thinner rubber than the BF's. Have several blow outs here and compared internal construction of both. Even the K8s guys are going to the OC8s Backflips. Just a bad tread design overall.

 

[Woodley99]

New shoes came in today! BF MTs Just finished venting and sealing rim holes

 

[dure16]

Awesome truck! Rookie here - what’s the point in venting the rims if you’re just going to seal them afterward?

 

[Woodley99]

Awesome truck! Rookie here - what’s the point in venting the rims if you’re just going to seal them afterward?

The rims come vented from factory, what u want is the tires themselves vented. So we all seal the rims and vent the tires. Venting helps with ballooning and let's dirt and water escape and helps tires stay balanced

 

[Woodley99]

Installed powerhobby twin fan heatsink, did a tiny bit of trimming for rollcage brace. The aluminum is very soft and super easy to flex around motor and makes great contact. Waiting to install fans till tomorrow. I want to solder wires together instead of using the adapter for 2 JST to one. Also will put it in braided sleeve. Just did the motor with braided sleeve, makes it look awesome and also protects wire
The outcast mud guards came in too, ill trow those in once I finish heatsink wiring. Had to trim the 2 screw holes that must of been for ESC on outcast or something, no biggie juuuuust fits with the hobbywing 4985 1650kv motor

 

[Woodley99]

Finished the powerhobby twin fan install! Fit perfect! Just a bit of trimming for roll cage mount, it was easy its SUPER soft aluminum. Went ahead and braided the wires and had to solder longer wires on to reach the receiver

 

[Woodley99]

Oucast wheelie bar installed along with Tekno 20t pinion.
Can't wait to rip tomorrow, will be the first time using BF MTs, 20t pinion, motor fan, and open front diff. Gonna be a whole new animal! Hopefully all this helps the handling

 

[Woodley99]

Update: the open front and rear diff and 20k/200k/8k along with the Backflip MTs made my EXB a whike new car! It handles awesome and now I'm not doing uncontrollable unwanted donuts all the time! Lol also the 20t pinion seems like a bit much so I went with a 18t Tekno pinion. I'll try that out this weekend.
The twin hobby fans made the 4985 HW motor cool to the touch! Unfortunately I brought a fan blade in my Max6 so I ordered a PowerHobby 35mm fan. It's got more than twice the RPMs so that should help with ESC Temps. I did go into thermo shutdown on ESC but that's how I found the broken fan blade

 

[Woodley99]

That powerhobby 35mm fan for the ESC pushes some serious air compared to stock! I like how it didn't require me to mod the housing on the ESC, just plug and play.
I've been having trouble with the male EC5 connectors coming off on the ESC so I just put on some IC5 connectors, way easier to solder and seem stronger. But waayyy more money compared to standard EC5. But for 10 bucks for 2 was worth it. I hated it when I'd be mid air and it would die because the bullet popped out of connector, and I even replaced it twice! The male EC5s are definitely a pain. The females are easy.... go figure

 

[Woodley99]

Just installed the HR bell crank and servo saver tube, I used the EXB spring as it's stronger, only reason I went with the HR tube is its adjustable unlike stock. Used the included bearings vs stock bushings and wow it's way smoother! Wonder why Arrma went bushing route in first place
Also want to note that the "up and down play" is much less than stock which I was very happy about! Great cheap upgrade!

 

[Woodley99]

Just installed a PPS center diff mount and boy that thing looks sweet! @PPS-RC does some amazing work! Will be buying motor mount soon, can only spend a little at a time or the wife will kill me lol
This is an awesome upgrade over the plastic stock mount which can wear out over time where it makes contact to bearings. But not the PPS one! Amazing quality I'm literally blown away!

 

[Woodley99]

Just finished the Proline Brute white body! Holy cow this thing is THICK! I mean for real it's like 10x as thick as the stock flimsy kraton body. I bet you really could stand on this thing lol
Couple crappy things though, the body is too tight when putting on truck and you have to stretch it out/open it up or it will hit mud guards. Also the groves at the top hit the roll cage so I plan to heat and bend both those things and that should make it easier to take on and off.
I super happy with the body though I'm amazed how strong it feels! Can't wait to try this thing out!
PS I know everyone says to get the Russian indestructible body but it's more expensive and I'm In the USA. Brute body was 79$ bucks. I'm happy with that price

 

[Woodley99]

Installed Hot Racing servo horn and arm (stripped stock one) I like the way this one attaches, should last longer
Also installed Hot Racing ball cup screws with derlen inserts, let me tell ya.. this is worth it! Not only is the derlen much stringer than plastic stock ones but the HR nuts are WAY easier to install and avoid stripping which is SUPER easy to do! I also got the M2C ball cup tool and that makes it even easier to install them, only 7 bucks and worth it!
I also got the M2C rear shock tower brace but haven't put that on yet.. waiting for the stock rear wing mount to break and I'll install the M2C brace along with RPM wing mount at the same time
She's coming among tho! Turning into a Kraton EXB of my own!

Side note.. when I installed the HR bellcrank I used the stock EXB spring, I fear that may have been too strong and tgats what resulted in my stock servo arm stripping out.. I loosened the servo save as much as I could with the EXB spring but still feel like it's too tight.. what do you guys think? Should I put the HR spring back in with the HR bellcrank and servo saver?

 

[Woodley99]

Installed M2C rear brace support today, I also installed the M2C +5mm hub adapters and wow! Makes it handle like a dream! I highly recommend those!

 

[slixx]

Nice set up it’s going to be a beast!!

 

[Woodley99]

Hot Racing super bash front hinge mount and bumper mount installed today. The front plastic cover for hinge mount kept pulling off the 2 screws to the stock hinge mount. the HR one is pretty nice, also has set screws to hold hinge pins in place. This HR mount is the only one I know of that replaces the hinge mount and plastic cover and I really like that. Should hold up nice