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Took leave of my senses - Bought a Lasernut


Cuiken

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I have one, and have done all the mods you mentioned and some more, have a look through the thread, let me know if you need any help.

 

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Loads of useful stuff there thanks! Particularly curious about those replacement internal gears for the differentials.

 

 Any recollection about which size of shims you used on the diff internals?  My mate damaged the front diff on his under braking. Keen to get everything properly meshed to help avoid that.

Edited by Cuiken
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Got proactive and asked google.

 

Found this:

 

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/849396-how-build-scte-bulletproof-diffs.html

 

Solid recommendation for some Xray diff shims so thought I'd order a set and see how I get on. These are only suited for the Sun gears though so keen to hear if anyone else is using shims behind the planetary gears?

 

Also ordered some 12x18mm shims for the out drive bearings and assuming I'll be able to find something in my random box of bits to shim the diff pinions.

 

Ohh, an also bought a full set of bearings from RC Bearings. Principally this was to get some ball bearings for the steering (to replace the brass ones) but I have the option of swapping out the stock bearings elsewhere while I do the diffs. Is there really consensus that the RC Bearing ones will be better than stock?

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3 hours ago, Cuiken said:

Got proactive and asked google.

 

Found this:

 

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/849396-how-build-scte-bulletproof-diffs.html

 

Solid recommendation for some Xray diff shims so thought I'd order a set and see how I get on. These are only suited for the Sun gears though so keen to hear if anyone else is using shims behind the planetary gears?

 

Also ordered some 12x18mm shims for the out drive bearings and assuming I'll be able to find something in my random box of bits to shim the diff pinions.

 

Ohh, an also bought a full set of bearings from RC Bearings. Principally this was to get some ball bearings for the steering (to replace the brass ones) but I have the option of swapping out the stock bearings elsewhere while I do the diffs. Is there really consensus that the RC Bearing ones will be better than stock?

Apologies, been with customers all day, when I rebuilt mine with the SCTE Gears (LOSB3569), I fount that I didn’t need shims behind the 4 small cogs, I can’t dember the size of the ones I have behind the tow big cogs (I think I have three in total, bulls them with out oil first and they were nice and tight and smooth, then filled with oil (100k rear & front, 500k center).

I used the bearings for RC bearings and replaced all the stock, just wanted to safe as the QC wasn’t great (I have a V1). When I enquired with Uk Bearings he didn’t have the Lasernut listed so made a kit for me, but I believe it’s listed now?.

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That's helpful, thanks. I figured that I'd be tight for space for additional shims behind those planetary gears.

 

I'll probably see how I get on with the stock internal gears and those Xray shims in the first instance.

 

I might just pop the RC bearing ones in as I go and keep the stock ones as spares.

 

Cheers

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Started stripping down 'The Nut'. Few observations:

  1. Build quality is 'inconsistent'. Some parts are fine but you get stuff like:
    • Badly applied stickers.
    • The rear A-arms slide back and forth on the pins. There really should be some shims/spacers on there.
    • The diffs are not brilliantly machined. The ring and pinion are well enough shimmed but half the rotation is smooth and the other have a bit gnarly.
    • The front diff was almost totally dry when i opened it up.
  2. It seems that the cars get quite different levels of attention when built. Like I say, the front diff's ring/pinion were as well meshed as the machining would allow. Similarly, the front diff internals were nicely set up with shims behind the planetary and sun gears. Other people seem to have reported having no shims behind the planetary gears?

I should get the new tekno shafts tomorrow and then I can start re-assembling.

 

The Team Associated Nomad wheels have turned up too and look pretty good. Key learning on those! the stock wheels have minimal offset from centre. The Nomads have large negative offset. I hadn't stopped to check this so spent a small fortune on HR 12mm to 17mm adapters with minimal extension. Turns out you need ~9mm of extension on the hub adapter to match the stock wheel offset when using the Nomads. In the end  bought some cheap and cheerful ones off of amazon that will work well.

 

I'll update as it all goes back together.....

 

 

 

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Just stripped down the centre diff. Dry as a bone. Literally no fluid in it at all.

 

Already had 2 shims behind each sun gear and was still sloppy as hell. I've added another two shims and it seemed better. Sealed it all up now and am worrying it'll still not be meshed enough.

 

No wonder these cars have a rep........

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25 minutes ago, Cuiken said:

Just stripped down the centre diff. Dry as a bone. Literally no fluid in it at all.

 

Already had 2 shims behind each sun gear and was still sloppy as hell. I've added another two shims and it seemed better. Sealed it all up now and am worrying it'll still not be meshed enough.

 

No wonder these cars have a rep........

Do your self a favour and order the LOSB3569 Dif gears, these are much better and don’t seem to require as much shimming, I’ve done all three with these.

As you say the QC is all over the place, but I guess are can be said of most brands RTR 

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23 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

Losi were one of the pillars of RC. Then Horizon got their scumbag hands on them…..

 

Yet Traxxas gets the bad rep!

I think Traxxas get a bad rep for being so litigious 😀

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50 minutes ago, Ag100 said:

I think Traxxas get a bad rep for being so litigious 😀

Which is 100% deserved. They deserve their reputation even if they are just taking advantage of their location. 
 

That said, Horizon seem to be ruining great brands, and getting away scot free

Edited by Kpowell911
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Front diff reassembled with the tekno drive cups.

 

Tekno parts seem lovely. Only issue (similar to ARRMA IIRC) is that the cups are larger than the inner diameter of the  bearing so you need to dismantle the whole diff to change the external bearings now.

 

Tolerances on the front diff seem better. I squeezed in one extra Xray shim and it seemed pretty good after that. On the other hand, once installed back in the bulkhead, the mesh between the ring and pinion is just a fraction tight. I'd normally remove a shim from either the diff assembly itself or from behind the pinion gear. However, since (as I say) that would required removing the outdrives from the diff and that the drive cup is stuck on the pinion, it looks like it's just going to have to 'bed in'. 

 

The grub screws on the sway bar were totally loose too.

 

I don't know if I've picked up a V1 car (stickers weren't brilliantly applied) but it seems to have every assembly defect int he book.

 

On that... I've figured out why the centre diff was dry. It's because all the oil leaked out into the box during transit. The cardboard below the car in the box is saturated.

 

Looking at the diff I think the issue is that the aluminium centre diff requires an end cap rather than being a 'cup' like the plastic ones. The end cap is made from pressed aluminium and I'm reckoning that there is enough flex in that for it to leak fluid even when tightened down. I've added some silicone gasket during the centre diff rebuild to hopefully remedy this.

 

What a car......

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On 17/06/2022 at 16:38, Ag100 said:

Do your self a favour and order the LOSB3569 Dif gears, these are much better and don’t seem to require as much shimming, I’ve done all three with these.

As you say the QC is all over the place, but I guess are can be said of most brands RTR 

 

Thanks. I've spotted these on your build thread. Juts on a matter of principle though I feel like I should try to make the existing parts work (three sets of internal gears would be another £50 on the car).

 

Like I said in my last update, I think the main issue on the centre diff is the fact that it uses an end cap on both sides (rather than being a 'cup' with the spur gear on one side).  I think this is why it leaked in the box but also increases the scope for play in the diff (more parts, more tolerances.....). The front diff went back together far better. I'll see how the back one does when I get to it 🙂 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Cuiken said:

Front diff reassembled with the tekno drive cups.

 

Tekno parts seem lovely. Only issue (similar to ARRMA IIRC) is that the cups are larger than the inner diameter of the  bearing so you need to dismantle the whole diff to change the external bearings now.

 

Tolerances on the front diff seem better. I squeezed in one extra Xray shim and it seemed pretty good after that. On the other hand, once installed back in the bulkhead, the mesh between the ring and pinion is just a fraction tight. I'd normally remove a shim from either the diff assembly itself or from behind the pinion gear. However, since (as I say) that would required removing the outdrives from the diff and that the drive cup is stuck on the pinion, it looks like it's just going to have to 'bed in'. 

 

The grub screws on the sway bar were totally loose too.

 

I don't know if I've picked up a V1 car (stickers weren't brilliantly applied) but it seems to have every assembly defect int he book.

 

On that... I've figured out why the centre diff was dry. It's because all the oil leaked out into the box during transit. The cardboard below the car in the box is saturated.

 

Looking at the diff I think the issue is that the aluminium centre diff requires an end cap rather than being a 'cup' like the plastic ones. The end cap is made from pressed aluminium and I'm reckoning that there is enough flex in that for it to leak fluid even when tightened down. I've added some silicone gasket during the centre diff rebuild to hopefully remedy this.

 

What a car......

That does sound like a V1, I thought the decals on the new ones were painted on?, I think the new ones had the uprated rear gearbox case with a bigger pinion bearing (like the Vitavon upgrade).

Agreed on the centre diff case, the cover is prone to warping and leaks, again Vitavon make one which is a much better design (but not cheap.

I guess it depends on how you run it, mine has an easy life, it doesn't get Bashed (really dislike that term for some reason) it just gets driven in the woods with some small jumps, they drive really well, but Horizon did a terrible job in the QC and obviously used the cheapest parts, I enjoy the tinkering and upgrading so don't mind its short comings, I think mine is now pretty bullet proof (famous last words), but plenty of people running stock with no issues.

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12 hours ago, Ag100 said:

That does sound like a V1, I thought the decals on the new ones were painted on?, I think the new ones had the uprated rear gearbox case with a bigger pinion bearing (like the Vitavon upgrade).

Agreed on the centre diff case, the cover is prone to warping and leaks, again Vitavon make one which is a much better design (but not cheap.

I guess it depends on how you run it, mine has an easy life, it doesn't get Bashed (really dislike that term for some reason) it just gets driven in the woods with some small jumps, they drive really well, but Horizon did a terrible job in the QC and obviously used the cheapest parts, I enjoy the tinkering and upgrading so don't mind its short comings, I think mine is now pretty bullet proof (famous last words), but plenty of people running stock with no issues.

 

I've heard rumours of this larger pinion bearing (13x5x4 rather than 11x5x4) but I haven't seen any evidence of this on the Losi rear gearbox parts available. My new bearing kit also came with 11x5x4 parts with no alternative option for a V2. I'd also read that the SCTE rear gearbox featured larger bearings but, again, this isn't reflected in the build manual or any of the bearing kits available.

 

Delighted to be wrong on his but would like to know for sure before ordering new parts 🙂 

 

Didn't realise that vitavon make a centre diff. If my silicone sealant solution fails, I might have to bite the bullet on that.

 

Like yours, I'm not planning on bashing this buggy hard. Just blasting round the local woods etc. Hopefully it'll hold up to that okay.

 

Pretty close to finishing my build now but ran into some issues with the Tekno drive shafts. For some reason, they don't quite fit the front hubs. Basically, it all seemed fine until I added a wheel and tightened it down. At that point the wheel pushed the hex back against the outer bearing and caused the axle to bind up. It's as though the hole for the pin is fractionally too close to the collar that sits against the inner bearing. So, when tightened down the bearings get a bit crushed. It's fine when the wheel is off or loose but that's not really a lot of use. Trying to figure out a solution.

 

Cheers.

Edited by Cuiken
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10 hours ago, Cuiken said:

 

I've heard rumours of this larger pinion bearing (13x5x4 rather than 11x5x4) but I haven't seen any evidence of this on the Losi rear gearbox parts available. My new bearing kit also came with 11x5x4 parts with no alternative option for a V2. I'd also read that the SCTE rear gearbox featured larger bearings but, again, this isn't reflected in the build manual or any of the bearing kits available.

 

Delighted to be wrong on his but would like to know for sure before ordering new parts 🙂 

 

Didn't realise that vitavon make a centre diff. If my silicone sealant solution fails, I might have to bite the bullet on that.

 

Like yours, I'm not planning on bashing this buggy hard. Just blasting round the local woods etc. Hopefully it'll hold up to that okay.

 

Pretty close to finishing my build now but ran into some issues with the Tekno drive shafts. For some reason, they don't quite fit the front hubs. Basically, it all seemed fine until I added a wheel and tightened it down. At that point the wheel pushed the hex back against the outer bearing and caused the axle to bind up. It's as though the hole for the pin is fractionally too close to the collar that sits against the inner bearing. So, when tightened down the bearings get a bit crushed. It's fine when the wheel is off or loose but that's not really a lot of use. Trying to figure out a solution.

 

Cheers.

The Vitavon centre diff case is much better than stock, when I build mine it is a much better made item with just the one cap, which is nice and thick, they dont come with a gasket so just used my own.

Not sure on the Techno shafts, i fitted the full Vitavon set, I know the teckno is a popular upgrade, so may be worth asking on a few of the Facebook pages?

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Managed to resolve the front axle binding issue by grinding about 1mm from the back of the hexes (bench grinder). The issue is, as I previously attempted to describe, that the pin holes in the Tekno axled are just a fraction too close to the collar that sits against the inner bearing of the hub. By grinding back the hex, you ensure that the hex presses against the pin rather than pushing against the outer hub bearing when the wheel is tightened down.

 

I have a mate using the tekno shafts and he noted that the front outer hub bearings had collapsed on his. So, may be a general issue.

 

Either way, another step closer to actually being able to run my theoretically RTR car 🙂 

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4 hours ago, Cuiken said:

Okay, all nailed back together now:

 

6N0qMsD.png

 

Dead chuffed with the wheels. Shame they are not 'copper' but I actually think the tyre size is more like the real car. They are basically 13mm smaller diameter and maybe 5mm narrower than the stock ones. Perhaps it's not totally clear from the photo but they seem to fit quite well. More scale perhaps.

 

The 12mm to 17mm hex converters were the generic ones from Amazon. They seem to give a stance/width fairly similar to the stock ones. I'm guessing that means that there are no additional stresses on the suspension etc as a result. The expensive HR converters  resulted in a slightly narrower stance and, I don't think, looked as good. So, I am using one HR converter on the back to hold the spare wheel. So, that's a fairly expensive mistake 🙂 

 

In the end, I bought a 'used-ish' JX servo from @.AJ. and fitted that. My word, what an improvement. 

 

I also reckon the bumper looks pretty good and will hopefully add a wee bit of additional protection. Speaking of which, RPM skids on the bottom:

 

5RaiVfp.png

 

So far, no oil has leaked out of the centre diff too so hopefully I've managed to fix that.

 

All that is left is to actually drive it now. Unfortunately the weather looks ****e for the weekend. You can't get too precious with these but it'd be nice not to get it totally manky on the first outing.

 

Last idea is maybe to buy the pro-line baja beetle shell and fit that over the cage. I've seen a few examples and I reckon it looks superb......

 

 

Looks good, be interesting to see what you think of it, I love the way mine drives.

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On 24/06/2022 at 20:51, Yrkoon said:

looks sweet where abouts in or near edinburgh do you bash?

 

im always looking for new bash spots 🙂

 

I'm actually South Edinburgh so I use a few spots in Midlothian. Mainly woodland spots and park areas (when out with the family). Nothing stellar unfortunately.

 

I think the best spots are on the west side of Edinburgh on the old bings but I'm yet to get out there.

 

What I'd really love to find is a decent rock crawling spot rather than just woodland trails. Loads of places on the coast out in East Lothian but it's a bit of a trek and the salt water is a 'mare for the trucks.

 

How about yourself?

 

 

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dad and i mostly just go to craigie quarry and the surrounding wood lands that go around the quarry, there is a lot of work going on at the quarry though during the day now and not sure what its gonna end up like when their finished with it 🙂

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  • 1 month later...

Hi

 

How is the Lasernut performing?

 

I’ve wanted one since they were released, video footage shows that when they’re working they are amazing, but their reputation has always prevented me pulling the trigger.

 

Are the parts now available to make them a realistic proposition?

 

Nothing looks quite as good as the Lasernut for me, I hope it’s working for you!

 

Cheers

 

Steve

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