HBZ AX10 Build Stage 2: East End Machining, Mayhem, and CDW

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NluvWithXLR8ing

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Location
Nor-Cal
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
Thought I would share this with you guys ;)

Feel free to PM me for more information on the original build.

So after my initial runs with the HBZ tuber and ARTR drive train I was quite impressed, however there is always room for improvement.

I knew the axles definitely needed some strengthening. I have seen a few STRC parts and the machining looks great as well as the colors.

I did some research and ran across East End Machining in the vendors forum. Visited their site and was blown away! They have a TON of parts in stock for the crawlers and their inventory continues to grow. It was nice to see a full line of STRC parts also available so I placed an order and all my parts arrived in a few days.

Check them out at: http://www.eastendmachining.com/

For this build I also decided to change out the wheels. The Axial beadlocks are nice but I wanted something with a metal hex and more weight. Mayhem Engineering beadlocks were perfect for this build. Great looks and heavy. They held the Pro-Line Hammers perfectly. I am leaving these tires on this rig, they hook up really well. Only thing I might do is put some grooves in the lugs similar to what Franky Rizzo did.

I was lucky enough to win the CDW Axial outputs from Yotachump in his giveaway thread last week. He shipped them out to me right away and they will be the perfect addition to this rig. That Cobalt puller has broken plenty of parts and the stock axial outputs are definitely a weak link.

Another product you might see is the new FubarCrawlers AX10/Berg custom engraved stands. Keep an eye out for these in the vendors section soon!

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Got some balls linking another RC site in ur first post. But besides that, looks good.
 
i just knew u was gonna get some sh!t for linking that lol, thats a very nice rig though, killer job.
 
Hey Brandon, glad to see that you made it over here.

Brandon has gotten to be a good friend of mine. His build quality and scaler experience is second to none. You guys might remember that I posted a link to the Big Baller scale buildoff a while ago. Brandon is the guy that won it. Once I got to be friends with Brandon, I asked him to come over here as I know that some of us will enjoy having his experience around. It's always nice to have builds of that caliber around to inspire and motivate the rest of us. And don't worry, I talked to him about the link. He didn't mean any harm at all, he was just trying to help out. I'm sure it will be taken care of.

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/BigBaller-Build-Off-sp-12.html
 
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Was just trying to share the original build with everyone. Sorry!!

Here is today's progress:

First thing I wanted to do was take care of the plastic nuts that are included with the ARTR kit. I made sure to swap all those out for SS nylocks.

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Removed the axles:

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Here is a quick comparison pic between the STRC (silver) and the axial straight axle shafts. I actually like the smaller diameter axial axle shafts to allow for some twisting instead of breaking. Although the steps for the bearings create a high stress area, that is the only place I have seen one break. For that reason I think the STRC shafts are a great design and should be very durable!

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Everything bolted together really smoothly and the STRC parts from East End Machining look killer!

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For those who were worried, here is a pic of the HBZ Carbon fiber side plates after some use, they haven't shown any signs of wear compared to the plastic skid and aluminum links "thumbsup"

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Wow, those axles look GREAT! That is one killer rig, I guess I'm going to have to give in to the urge and order a warthog chassis. I bought an ARTR just for a tuber build and was planning on another chassis, but that thing is absolutely beautiful. I have the same axle parts on the way for my comp rig and now I'm really stoked. Thanks so much for posting the build thread Brando! This is going to be another beautiful rig of yours.

Are you going to take it to Moab and show it off at nationals?
 
Very nice.

I was shocked at the chicken poop plastic nuts on the ARTR. Didn't care for the phillips head screws either.

I am in the midst of a Warthog build as well. Just waiting on a few parts to compete it. I may just add those STRC shafts now as well.

Thanks for posting.
 
hey Good to see ya here, having an experienced crawler guy like you around would be great. Nice work. i too been thinking about the HBZ, but the Sinastir X79, and the DMG 2.2 aluminum chassis is damn slick as well.

i wouldnt expect you to have a CF failure unless you dropped it on the rock from 20 ft. without the wheels on it. is should hold up to anything our crawlers could ever hope to throw at it.
 
Hey Brandon, glad to see that you made it over here.

Brandon has gotten to be a good friend of mine. His build quality and scaler experience is second to none. You guys might remember that I posted a link to the Big Baller scale buildoff a while ago. Brandon is the guy that won it. Once I got to be friends with Brandon, I asked him to come over here as I know that some of us will enjoy having his experience around. It's always nice to have builds of that caliber around to inspire and motivate the rest of us. And don't worry, I talked to him about the link. He didn't mean any harm at all, he was just trying to help out. I'm sure it will be taken care of.

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/BigBaller-Build-Off-sp-12.html

Thanks Charlie! Especially for the invite, I appreciate that. That build-off was a blast, forced myself to actually try new things and be creative. More than I do with my own builds at least, I am usually too anxious to just drive them :D

Wow, those axles look GREAT! That is one killer rig, I guess I'm going to have to give in to the urge and order a warthog chassis. I bought an ARTR just for a tuber build and was planning on another chassis, but that thing is absolutely beautiful. I have the same axle parts on the way for my comp rig and now I'm really stoked. Thanks so much for posting the build thread Brando! This is going to be another beautiful rig of yours.

Are you going to take it to Moab and show it off at nationals?

Thanks again Charlie. Yes this will definitely be with me at nationals! Its a blast to drive, has some decent wheelspeed too.

Very nice.

I was shocked at the chicken poop plastic nuts on the ARTR. Didn't care for the phillips head screws either.

I am in the midst of a Warthog build as well. Just waiting on a few parts to compete it. I may just add those STRC shafts now as well.

Thanks for posting.

Agreed, but I think it was worth it to get the price below 250. This kit is a great deal with everything that is included. The Pro-Line Hammers were also a great addition since they actually work compared to those lizards!

Good luck with your Warthog build, I love seeing these things everywhere. A good friend of mine is the designer of this tuber ;)

Nice build I really like those rims.

Me too! This was the first set of Mayhem wheels I got my hands on. Mayhem donated them to one of our Nor-Calrcrc comps and I won :first_place:

hey Good to see ya here, having an experienced crawler guy like you around would be great. Nice work. i too been thinking about the HBZ, but the Sinastir X79, and the DMG 2.2 aluminum chassis is damn slick as well.

i wouldnt expect you to have a CF failure unless you dropped it on the rock from 20 ft. without the wheels on it. is should hold up to anything our crawlers could ever hope to throw at it.

Thank you for the welcome. The DMG is an amazing chassis, what that guy can do with aluminum and a tig is incredible!! Havent had any experiance yet with the sinister though, however it looks nice.

The reason I mentioned the CF and posting that picture was because a lot of people were concerned with is fraying (sp) when getting bashed against rocks. So far its held up great.
 
The Sinistir X79 was what I bought the ARTR for, and I wasn't looking to spend this much on a chassis as I already have a comp rig with a ton of money into it and a tester with a ton of money into it, this was supposed to be a "cheap" basher build. I know the RCNT guys are going to have a good laugh when Charlie says "budget" and "build" in the same sentence.
 
Hey Brandon, once I get the warthog dialed in, how do you think it will handle on the rocks compared to a well dialed comp rig like my GC2 rig. This will be my first tuber, and I'm just trying to get a feel for things before taking the plunge.
 
The Sinistir X79 was what I bought the ARTR for, and I wasn't looking to spend this much on a chassis as I already have a comp rig with a ton of money into it and a tester with a ton of money into it, this was supposed to be a "cheap" basher build. I know the RCNT guys are going to have a good laugh when Charlie says "budget" and "build" in the same sentence.

I think the problem is that "budget" and "crawlers" dont belong in the same sentence period :hehe:

Hey Brandon, once I get the warthog dialed in, how do you think it will handle on the rocks compared to a well dialed comp rig like my GC2 rig. This will be my first tuber, and I'm just trying to get a feel for things before taking the plunge.

You will have a hard time getting a tuber to drive as well as a GC2. The problem with most tubers is the lack of adjustment in link geometry and shock placement. Not to mention a little extra weight. I don't know of a single production tube frame that has an optimal suspension setup.

My favorite tuber was the Mirage built by Kamikaze, its one of a kind... for now ;)

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Well my tuber is just going to be what I call a "beater". I wont be competing with it, it will just be a rig that built rock solid, that I can take out and bash on the rocks when I just want to relax and have a good time, without fear of breaking my comp rig the week before a big comp or something like that. So I'm not looking for the highest of performance like I am with my TVP comp rigs, just something that I can have fun with.

I see that you're running traditional spring shocks, does the warthog do good with an external spring and traditional shock setup? The places that I'm going to be running the tuber aren't ideal for droop, that's why I'm asking.
 
Well my tuber is just going to be what I call a "beater". I wont be competing with it, it will just be a rig that built rock solid, that I can take out and bash on the rocks when I just want to relax and have a good time, without fear of breaking my comp rig the week before a big comp or something like that. So I'm not looking for the highest of performance like I am with my TVP comp rigs, just something that I can have fun with.

I see that you're running traditional spring shocks, does the warthog do good with an external spring and traditional shock setup? The places that I'm going to be running the tuber aren't ideal for droop, that's why I'm asking.

I think these rigs are perfect for that. Anytime my comp rig is in pieces I pick up this one to go crawl with the local guys. It still does great!

Stay away from droop on tubers, they usually ride pretty low anyways. I like the traditional shock setup since I am always tweaking the suspension. Having springs inside the shocks, or only droop limits the changes you can make without taking the shocks apart :\
 
yeah my buddy has a tuber and he was running full droop and couldnt ever clear anything, he couldnt tip over if u kicked it but still had no clearance, i talked him into trying semi and that seems to work pretty good, although his tuber is pretty tall so it is kinda top heavy other wise sprung would prolly be the way to go...
 
Here are a few more updates for you guys.

Check out the CDW outputs for the axial tranny! I was lucky enough to win these in a giveaway, perfect for this build.

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Ordered some Venom D-Shaft collars from East End Machining as well. The allens they came with didnt fit the set screws. Sent an email off to Venom to see if they care :hehe: Other than that they slid right on and should to the trick. This rig is currently powered by a Holmes Hobbies cobalt puller and 11.1V so keeping the driveshafts on were a serious problem. I wonder what the weak link will be now?? You can also see the CDW outputs installed, they fit perfectly.


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Front and Rear axles mounted, here is a pic of the rear. I have some work to do on the front.

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So I couldnt stand having the servo so high, and centered on the axle. When its in the middle you end up with a short drag link which basically wastes the power of the servo during the end of its travel. I took the servo plate and made a few modifications


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Now I need a new lower servo mount


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Finished! Big difference. Now I also have more room and easier access to my battery pack.


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yeah my buddy has a tuber and he was running full droop and couldnt ever clear anything, he couldnt tip over if u kicked it but still had no clearance, i talked him into trying semi and that seems to work pretty good, although his tuber is pretty tall so it is kinda top heavy other wise sprung would prolly be the way to go...

I never was a fan of droop on crawlers. I like predictability when making climbs and sidhilling and most droop setups seem to unload when you dont want them too! The worst part is axle steer though, your wheelbase actually shortens as the suspension articulates.
 
I'm getting ready to do a similar mod with one of my servo mounts. Those Venom driveshaft rings are the nicest ones I've seen, but I can't believe they sent a wrench that didn't fit. They will definitely hear from us on that one as well.

I can tell you what the weak link will be. Do you still have the plastic gear in the tranny? That's what I stripped on my last test session. I'm running the MIP driveshafts and that was the next weakest link.
 
I'm getting ready to do a similar mod with one of my servo mounts. Those Venom driveshaft rings are the nicest ones I've seen, but I can't believe they sent a wrench that didn't fit. They will definitely hear from us on that one as well.

I can tell you what the weak link will be. Do you still have the plastic gear in the tranny? That's what I stripped on my last test session. I'm running the MIP driveshafts and that was the next weakest link.

Yeah I agree, either the set screw of the wrench was off. Dont get me wrong though they are super nice!

I am actually hoping the spur gear will be the last weak link, much easier to change :D


Last bit of work is complete. Steering is finished with a new SS drag link. Wheels are back on.

What do you guys think?

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