FTX Vantage - why did they expose the spur??

[Gordon S]

Hi folks

 

Just getting back into RC after years away. My son has V1 of the Vantage. Seems a decent piece of kit with one main niggle - the exposed spur on the bottom of the chassis. Anyone know why FTX designed it this way?? Seems rather obvious that stones will ruin the spur….. I’m about to order another. 
 

Looks to me like the new Vantage has a part covering this up - a little patch of plastic which screws onto the chassis. Can this be bought as an add-on? Can’t see it in any spares lists…

 

The chassis gap I’m referring to:

 

 

Ps. Also just bought a Traxxas Rustler VXL. Beast of a thing!!

[Bajadre]

Its like a catch 22 with them they worry stones will get in the shell, rattle around then drop down on spur so they leave a gap but it also opens up stones from underneath am guessing less chance of stone from under getting up through tbh also helps with cooling on the gears 👍

some nitros have it for bumpstart boxes instead of pullstrings 

[Gordon S]

Interesting. But then from memory I think the top’s sealed, so not sure how stones would get in from that side. 

[Bajadre]

you can try a cover gordon underneath but then they have no where to go etc 👍 my middle diffs the same when i tried putting tape over the bottom (my spur ring isnt protruded either ) it fills up

[Nitroholic]

I think this simply comes down to needing clearance for the spur gear here. In the same way Nitro cars need a clearance hold for the spur. Otherwise, you have to mount hte motor higher, which thenmakes hte driveline layout less simple.

It's easier to just make a hole in the chassis.

A plastic cover would stop debris getting in...but...would snag on anything the car drove over and probably get torn off.

 

You could probably make a cover of sorts with a piece of lexan ( bodyshell material ) but you would need to mount it on the diff mount screws, which isn;t ideal.

[Gordon S]

Looking at photos of the Vantage V2, it looks like they’ve added a little cover. I haven’t been able to identify it as a spare part but will keep trying. Must be able to buy it somewhere. 

[Nitroholic]

Just check if they modified the chassis to make it fit too.