Error401
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Ok, so I got the Lightning RTR. IMO, it's a decent buggy, but there are a few things that need to be added, and other things need changing pretty much right off the bat.
The first thing I did was change the engine and radio. The stock engine is the same as the HPI 21BB, and the radio is kind of lacking. I put my Hyper 21 8 port PS engine in the lightning, and I took the JR XR-2 radio from my backup savage. The HB engine and radio went in the backup savage and I'll probably sell that one since the primary is just about bullet proof now.
Some add ons include an XTM failsafe and an onboard temp gage. I still have the stock servos in the Lightning, but they'll probably get changed out soon.
Back to the need to change stuff. The first and easiest (lol) thing to remedy were the diffs. The diff construction is pretty much strait forward and solid, but they come with grease in them, not oil. The car guru at the LHS suggested changing over to silicone oil, he even gave me some of his personal stash. I put 5K in the front, 10K in the center, and 3 K in the rear. I have not had the chance to run it with the oil in the diffs, but it feels much better on the bench. The diffs have a spider setup, and while cleaning the grease off, all the component look like decent quality stuff.
The second addition to a stock RTR Lightning was front diff case braces. This (IMO) is the biggest weakness to the RTR version. I contemplated bending up some aluminum to serve as a brace, but I had some real doubts as to the actual integrity of the 6061 sheet I have on hand. The LHS guru gave me an old rear brace off of a Lightning, including the metal pyramid ball mount. I looked and studied it, but the rod he gave me was too long. Then it hit me. The brace only handles compression loads, not expansion. Digging in my parts box, I found my stock of savage ball link ends. The large ones could work for a lower brace, and two smaller ones could work for an upper. The big ones are the steering links, and the smaller are the lower shock ends from the savage parts stockpile. I found some steel piano wire that fit (not quite snugly) into the ball ends, and some 4-40 full thread rod that fit perfectly into the smaller ball ends. The final components for this project was the carbon arrow shafts that fit perfectly on both rods. After some careful measuring and cutting, I got the lengths of the steel rods and carbon sleeves just right. The ball ends were threaded onto the 4-40 rod, but the lower brace needed to be JB welded together. After everything was assembled I ended up with what's in the pix below.
If anyone has any suggestions or improvements, let me know. Also, I can post dimensions and a materials list if anyone wants to do this themselves.
The first thing I did was change the engine and radio. The stock engine is the same as the HPI 21BB, and the radio is kind of lacking. I put my Hyper 21 8 port PS engine in the lightning, and I took the JR XR-2 radio from my backup savage. The HB engine and radio went in the backup savage and I'll probably sell that one since the primary is just about bullet proof now.
Some add ons include an XTM failsafe and an onboard temp gage. I still have the stock servos in the Lightning, but they'll probably get changed out soon.
Back to the need to change stuff. The first and easiest (lol) thing to remedy were the diffs. The diff construction is pretty much strait forward and solid, but they come with grease in them, not oil. The car guru at the LHS suggested changing over to silicone oil, he even gave me some of his personal stash. I put 5K in the front, 10K in the center, and 3 K in the rear. I have not had the chance to run it with the oil in the diffs, but it feels much better on the bench. The diffs have a spider setup, and while cleaning the grease off, all the component look like decent quality stuff.
The second addition to a stock RTR Lightning was front diff case braces. This (IMO) is the biggest weakness to the RTR version. I contemplated bending up some aluminum to serve as a brace, but I had some real doubts as to the actual integrity of the 6061 sheet I have on hand. The LHS guru gave me an old rear brace off of a Lightning, including the metal pyramid ball mount. I looked and studied it, but the rod he gave me was too long. Then it hit me. The brace only handles compression loads, not expansion. Digging in my parts box, I found my stock of savage ball link ends. The large ones could work for a lower brace, and two smaller ones could work for an upper. The big ones are the steering links, and the smaller are the lower shock ends from the savage parts stockpile. I found some steel piano wire that fit (not quite snugly) into the ball ends, and some 4-40 full thread rod that fit perfectly into the smaller ball ends. The final components for this project was the carbon arrow shafts that fit perfectly on both rods. After some careful measuring and cutting, I got the lengths of the steel rods and carbon sleeves just right. The ball ends were threaded onto the 4-40 rod, but the lower brace needed to be JB welded together. After everything was assembled I ended up with what's in the pix below.
If anyone has any suggestions or improvements, let me know. Also, I can post dimensions and a materials list if anyone wants to do this themselves.
