Pistonhead

Finally mounted up the Probuilds i’ve had for months, then promptly broke it driving it up a curb when a c hub screw backed out 🤬🤬

My 8mm Boom Racing wheel hexes finally showed up yesterday, allowing me to get my Probuild Spectres built up and mounted at long last! They’re a good 1/4” wider than the Chanquish ones i’ve been using, and have brought the overall tyre diameter down by at least an 8th of an inch, and with the wider wheel hexes and high offset she sits nearly an inch wider and i love the stance now 😎 The day’s ended with an expensive breakage though. Was testing it in the street up and down curbs when one of the front universals sheared a pin, caused by a c hub screw backing out, and the joint popping out of place on full lock on power.

Attended my first meet in over two years last weekend at Kennall Vale, near Truro with the recently formed Cornwall Rc Crawler Club on Facebook. Considering the group has only been going a few months, the turnout was huge! Had a bit of everything - a ridiculously fast TRX4 sport and an LCG comp truck to a couple of beautiful Range Rovers and lots in between. Enjoy the photos!

If the wind was a bit less vicious i would have caught the more challenging sections - as a result, i had to pick the best of what was out of the wind lol

Those would be fence posts lol - the coastal paths are being worked of due to erosion, but they’ve still left some good terrain to play on lol

Out around the Lizard towards Kynance again yesterday , very windy and a bit chilly but great exercise and huge fun as always.

Great afternoon out around the Lizard lighthouse and towards Cadgwith, bit muddy and very slick but the truck loved it, in fact it was having an easier time that i was - nearly face planted or fell on my arse numerous times 🤣🤣

Dig allows you to lock or free-wheel the rear axle, while still driving the front. This gives a much tighter turning circle than without as the front end pivots round the rear axle, and aids steep descents as the rear is being dragged downhill. The short promo video from Vanquish shows it off pretty well.

Rainy day tinkering yesterday - pulled the axles off and apart for an inspection and re-greasing. Nearly got the dig working too - only for the Trackstar servo i thought was healthy, to burn up randomly without any load.

Got the shocks serviced with green slime and 50wt oil and after a couple of runs they’ve still not leaked. It feels much more planted now, it’ll sit at crazy angles now and drive right through them without a corner unloading without warning. The issues i was gettIng with the transmission clicks was a combination of the overdrive servo endpoints - they needed cutting back on both high and low - the clicking was the shift collar rocking on the hexagonal shaft under the load of being moved further than it was comfortable with lol. Also, on the last run the transmission finished bedding in, it was pretty noticeable when it happened because it got noticeably quieter in the space of half an hour of running at trail speeds. Next job is to fit and set up the dig servo.

My new job takes me up to the Aerohub at Newquay airport on a daily basis, which happens to be right next to the new Spaceport which is home to the first satellite launch in a couple of weeks. One of my regular drops looks right over the apron behind that hangar and got pretty close to a pretty special 747 the other day - the plane launching the rocket - aka - Cosmic Girl, and a day later, another 747, this one was carrying the rocket and satellite.

Got Boba Fett and a Stormtroop riding in my Vanquish Phoenix - they’re the 3” tall keyring torch figures that i’ve pulled the chain and batteries out of.

The whine at walking speeds is all from the transmission, because these are sintered rather than machined like in the Pro/Ultra, they have a rougher finish to them and take a while to bed in, after a few runs that should become a bit quieter. The clicking is there at walking speeds, but more noticeable at low speeds and climbing as there’s no whine, may be end points but it’s not a big deal to get at if i need to open up the trans, not sure if I remembered to add an e clip somewhere, should be something pretty obvious. Video quality will go up as i’ve just gotten a phone gorilla pod for longer, more stable shots.

They were fine while she was static waiting for electronics, but after the first couple runs I noticed they were leaking - admittedly, I didn’t use any green slime to build them with. Have heard a few stories of them leaking on the facebook groups too. I can live with the transmission whine, and the clicking, while not affecting performance, is still annoying at low speeds, especially as it was dead silent on the first couple runs. Going to also be adding dig this weekend too as i stumbled upon a Trackstar servo in the garage, and after plugging it in, found it still works! Just need to order a suitable servo horn

Good little run around Poldice this afternoon - such a fun truck to drive and it looks at home with the landscape and terrain to play on. Got a couple bits that need tending to after this run though. I managed to strip out the clamping Axial servo horn on the steering after a nasty end over tumble that i was trying to power out of - rather strip out a horn than kill an £80 servo lol. Also need to look at the transmission - i think the motor mesh might have shifted as it’s quite loud now, especially at low speed, and i need to investigate a click i’m getting from the transfer case when in 4WD. And lastly, the shocks need a rebuild with heavier oil and green slime as these are starting to leak now.

Here’s a short video, need to get a mini tripod for my phone again for some better videos

First proper trail run this afternoon with a mate and his Reely Freeman scx10ii clone, while waiting for him to arrive, i removed the rear bedsides and fitted the Incision light kit and charged my lipos. We went from Polpear cafe - literally the most southerly point in the country and made our way towards Kynance Cove - around two miles - it’s that entertaining that we took two and a half hours to get around half way because of fading light and incoming rain we turned back, but thoroughly enjoyed todays run. Never taken a trail rig there as it’s been a good 20 years since i’ve last walked it, but i need to do this again on a sunny day and make a full day of it, as the cafe at Kynance is a little gem too. Enjoy the pictures, and a short video to follow shortly.

Combination of both to be honest, they compliment each other really well. The ultra low speed control allows you to fully exploit the trucks’ stability and and handling. I also like the ability to drop the front axle if it starts lifting by knocking it into rwd with the overdrive, and the Fusion will just hold it there without any throttle input and the drivetrain will unbind and drop the axle down.

Cheers! Hoping to get our around the Lizard point towards Kynance cove tomorrow with her. Did one more thing this evening, and that was test out the light kit, and decided i’ll run without the bedsides from now on as they’re a bit too delicate for my liking as i’ve already cracked the rear of one of them by bumping into rocks.

Enjoy the first of many videos!

I’ll get some better pics tomorrow, but it’s right around the size of a 550 sealed can brushed, it dropped right into the Phoenix no problem, which can be a bit tighter. The 1800 needs to have the end-bell removed and substantial trimming is needed. So far i love the low speed control, in that it’s just the speed, not the torque as well

Video uploading to YouTube as i type lol

For the first time in two years, I’ve actually run something 🤣 Fitted the Fusion then set off down to Penzance for a crawl along the beach to give her a shakedown before a proper trail run tomorrow.

Had a good productive couple of hours this afternoon as three deliveries arrived today - firstly was the Fusion Pro and program box, then the proline dual stage inserts and Incision light kit. Couldn’t mount the Probuilds yet as i require flat faced wheel hexes to bolt them up properly, so rebuilt the Chanquish wheels with the Krawlers and new inserts instead. Then set about fitting the Fusion which dropped straight in, getting the driveshafts phased correctly was more difficult lol. As the weather’s good i took it along Penzance beach this afternoon and loved every second of it. Not really had the chance to really put it through its paces, but so far it feels incredibly planted and stable - it’ll sit at some crazy angles without toppling and it’s easy to predict when a corner will unload and settle down and a couple of times, managed to leave me dumbfounded, where I pointed it up something i thought nothing would attempt, and then proceeded to walk up it like it wasn’t an issue.