Element Portal Kit

[MVRCA]

This has my attention....

https://www.associatedelectrics.com/element/cars_and_trucks/Enduro_Portal_Axle/Conversion_Kit/

 

[WickedFog]

So do you prefer portals?

I am not much of a crawler guy, other than building SCX24's. But I have always wondered how differently you setup your suspension with portals. If you just swapped portals onto a truck with straight axles, and left the shock mounting points the same, you'd end up sitting a lot higher. And not only will the axles have a higher cog, but the raised chassis would as well.

So what would you do differently if swapping these portals onto an Element RC? Would you raise the upper shock mounting position? Or what?

 

[TeknoJ]

They carry over that aggressively large pumpkin too

 

[MVRCA]

Portals are an interesting aspect to crawler. Looking over the fleet, I think we have about a dozen crawlers with portals and maybe another 7 or so without. Typically with portals, you run a much lower ride height on your shocks, in that you are using the suspension for downward extension and not upwards compression. But really what you need to look at is the plane you lower links exist in. The flatter you can run those links, the better for crawling. Portals allow you to do this much better without dragging the skid on the rocks. Remember, axle clearance is only part of the equation; still gotta clear that skid.

The Element portals help offset their pumpkin design, so it's only a benefit for their axle design.

If you want to see a proper portal / suspension setup, look at my Capra 2.2" build. That's an easy build to understand and I also provide all the math.

https://www.mojavevalleyrcadventures.com/axial-capra.html

The rougher the terrain, the more portals are needed. If you're running big slick rocks, then they are not nearly as necessary. That said, if you start from scratch with the idea to run portals, the change in CG is easily managed. Our Antero is an example of this ( the green truck ). That has a CG which is actually just a hair below the bottom of the skid plane.

There are also RTR's with portals which are surprisingly good out on the trail. The TRX-4 2021 Bronco comes to mind. If the Vanquish H10 Optic was a portal machine, I'd be all over it.

 

[332_RC]

I'm considering the Element Enduro Ecto RTR. The straight axle is my focus. It also comes RTR with the portals for $50 more. For a newbie, any recommendations on which? I have rugged terrain, trails, logs, some rocks, & dirt. Not focused on comp type rock crawling as I dont have tons of natural rock terrain here. I'm going to guess for a newbie, the straight axle will suffice. But, Portals may do well on the trail.

 

[TeknoJ]

I know my straight axle pumpkin up front get caught up quite a bit, so the portals might be beneficial since the pumpkin now sits higher. They are not cheap a la carte!

 

[332_RC]

I only have a AX24 XC-1 crawler. The scale isn't big enough for my terrain.

 

[MVRCA]

I would get the portals for sure in your situation. They make the truck much more versatile for all-around crawling and trail use.

 

[332_RC]

I would get the portals for sure in your situation. They make the truck much more versatile for all-around crawling and trail use.

Thank you. I have lots of woods & creeks. There are rocks there. I was really thinking after watching many YT of both models, the portals would be better.

I've seen the 2n1 brushless upgrades & front battery relocation mods. Aluminum 3 pc beadlocks, for weight, & softer foams. Still, seems like a totally capable rig, RTR.

 

[MVRCA]

This video is filmed at Badrock Ridge where we do most of our crawler tire testing, with our Vanquish VRD Carbon kit ( portals ) tacking one of the more challenging trails. We have yet to clear this line with a straight-axle crawler in the 1.9" class. Portals open up terrain which just isn't reasonable for straight axles.

 

[majin]

I was going to order the mues set but these should fit the old man better
I could benefit from that additional clearance