Kyosho sandmaster 2.0

[PaPeRo]

How long are the dog bones? I wonder if it would be better to run CVDs or universals.

Worn parts means they didn't break and you had fun wearing them out. I suppose this could be worse!

The dog bones are 49.5mm center of pin to pin, pins are 3mm. Nobody makes CVD/universals for this chassis specifically, but with enough effort I could probably find some alternative and adapt them to fit. The output drive cups from the gearbox are slotted for 3mm pins from the dog bones so even if I find the correct length CVDs, they'd have to have 3mm pins, or I'd have to replace the standard 2mm pins found on most CVDs with 3mm ones. That shouldn't be too difficult though, just tap the pins out and ream the holes for 3mm pins.

As for the car itself, yeah I love these buggies. Both the Sandmaster and AXXE share the same chassis/drivetrain. I'm not going to stop running these over some damaged drive cups.

 

[PaPeRo]

A day at the track , even a frustrating 1 is never wasted if you do your part. Yesterday I did a bunch of swearing, added new springs, more swearing.. and more. Today I found the best rear suspension mod for this car as a result.
View attachment 257390
This is the stock set up on the right rear.
And this is the new set up.
View attachment 257391
I took the hub/axle carrier and the camber rod and swapped the components from the right to left sides.
Now the camber rod sits in the middle and does rub the cage when the suspension bottoms out. The fit of the lower pivot pin is so tight I stripped the hex head trying to remove it. So I have also reamed out the holes and added thicker, more free pivoting traxxas slash pivot pins. Having done this, everything is so improved I would almost suggest these parts were assembled on the wrong sides from the factory

View attachment 257392

I tried that on mine and noticed the toe-in changed to slightly toe-out which messed up straight-line tracking so went back to factory configuration.

 

[Ritz413]

I tried that on mine and noticed the toe-in changed to slightly toe-out which messed up straight-line tracking so went back to factory configuration.

I did not have that same issue. Sounds like you might have some work up front to do. I can do the 132 ft quarter mile speed run with just a throttle hand. Dead straight that car

 

[PaPeRo]

I did not have that same issue. Sounds like you might have some work up front to do. I can do the 132 ft quarter mile speed run with just a throttle hand. Dead straight that car

The factory rear has toe-in built-in. If you look straight down from the top you could easily see it. When I swapped the L<->R rear hubs, there was no more toe-in on the rear and introduced a little bit of rear toe-out which causes erratic left/right direction changes. Going back to factory fixes it so it's not the front. I like the idea but unfortunately the mod made it worse on my car.

 

[Ritz413]

The factory rear has toe-in built in. If you look straight down from the top you could easily see it. When I swapped the L<->R rear hubs, there is no more toe-in on the rear and introduces a little bit of rear toe-out which causes erratic left/right direction changes. Going back to factory fixes it so it's not the front. I like the idea but unfortunately the mod made it worse on my car.

Have you removed the slop in the rear control arms?

 

[PaPeRo]

Have you removed the slop in the rear control arms?

On the Sandmaster I shimmed the rear arms with 2mm thick aluminum bushings on forward side and a 0.5mm shim on the backside i.e., maxes out the wheelbase while also keeping the camber link as straight as possible. This doesn't change the tracking from driving the car. It's when I swapped the rear hubs that the tracking went wonky. Toe-out always causes tracking issues for me. On this car from the factory front has 0 toe, rear has 2 or 3 degrees of toe-in.

Strangely on my AXXE the rear arms didn't need any shims!

 

[Ritz413]

On the Sandmaster I shimmed the rear arms with 2mm thick aluminum bushings on forward side and a 1mm shim on the backside i.e., maxes out the wheelbase. This doesn't change the tracking from driving the car. It's when I swapped the rear hubs that the tracking went wonky. Toe-out always causes tracking issues for me. On this car from the factory front has 0 toe, rear has 2 or 3 degrees of toe-in.

Strangely on my AXXE the rear arms didn't need any shims!

I pulled mine out and checked again. I definitely don't have the toe out on the rear you mention, and don't have any tracking issues. When I shimmed the control arms I used a single bushing only in the front side. Technically this would push the inner side of the control arm to the back in effect adding slight toe in to the front of the rear tire. It wasn't done to correct the problem you mention, but it may be the difference you need.

 

[PaPeRo]

I pulled mine out and checked again. I definitely don't have the toe out on the rear you mention, and don't have any tracking issues. When I shimmed the control arms I used a single bushing only in the front side. Technically this would push the inner side of the control arm to the back in effect adding slight toe in to the front of the rear tire. It wasn't done to correct the problem you mention, but it may be the difference you need.

All of my cars based on this chassis has rear toe-in from the factory when looking down from the top. I have 1 Sandmaster 1.0, 2 Sandmaster 2.0 and 2 AXXE 2.0.

 

[Ritz413]

All of my cars based on this chassis has rear toe-in from the factory when looking down from the top. I have 1 Sandmaster 1.0, 2 Sandmaster 2.0 and 2 AXXE 2.0.

Ok...I have this 1.

 

[PaPeRo]

Ok...I have this 1.

Best way to have spare parts for this car is to buy the whole RTR for $90 instead of buying each part separately which adds up very quickly. The wheels/tires alone are over $50 for a set. I don't even use the wheels/tires that came with the car, but the roll cage, body panels, gearbox, electronics etc cost a bit when purchased separately. I do buy the really cheap spares like the $3 spur gear.

 

[Ritz413]

Best way to have spare parts for this car is to buy the whole RTR for $90 instead of buying each part separately which adds up very quickly. The wheels/tires alone are over $50 for a set. I don't even use the wheels/tires that came with the car, but the roll cage, body panels, gearbox, electronics etc cost a bit when purchased separately. I do buy the really cheap spares like the $3 spur gear.

I don't see me buying a 2nd as a parts car. I thought about buying a second 1 to build up differently, but I have other projects already.

 

[PaPeRo]

My other 2 are still in the box. They're not strictly for spares, but can be used for that purpose. When I have more time, they will be customized differently...different branded shocks, different style lights, wheels, tires etc. Also different livery.

 

[CertifiedMike]

different branded shocks

Just gonna mention, Kyosho makes some of the nicest shocks I own. Its a mistake to overlook them and replace with a set of aftermarket.
Not suggesting the stockers on your buggy are great, just no need to change brands to find greatness.
The shocks on my Optima Mids are almost 40 years old and still glide like silk, work great!

What lights are you using?
I have a Tomahawk and a few others that would look great with option lighting like KC Highlights.

 

[PaPeRo]

Just gonna mention, Kyosho makes some of the nicest shocks I own. Its a mistake to overlook them and replace with a set of aftermarket.
Not suggesting the stockers on your buggy are great, just no need to change brands to find greatness.
The shocks on my Optima Mids are almost 40 years old and still glide like silk, work great!

What lights are you using?
I have a Tomahawk and a few others that would look great with option lighting like KC Highlights.

The shocks on these low cost RTRs are all plastic. I always replace plastic shocks on my cars whether they're Kyosho, Tamiya, AE, Losi, HPI, Arrma etc. Kyosho does make really nice quality/performance aluminum racing shocks, but they're expensive. The full set for the Optima Mid is like $90. When I go aftermarket, I tend to go with Gmade since they're nice quality, but not too expensive. I had Gmade piggybacks on my original Sandmaster 1.0 about 13yrs ago. I already purchased the Gmade shock sets for my other 2 cars months ago. Got like 6 full sets of different sizes and models.

For my other AXXE buggy that's still in the box, it will be getting Gmade Zeros in clear anodize finish. For lights the ones on my AXXE are from Pro-line. The small ones on the Sandmaster I think are either Meus or Injora. If you want scale KC lights, there are some on ebay. Pretty expensive for just two, but if you want licensed KC then that's what it costs.

KC lights

These are pretty cool and cheap too! Might get these for my other AXXE.

KC light bar

 

[CertifiedMike]

I have never had an aftermarket shock that didn't leak. This was years ago but the experience bittered me to the point that I don't even consider them as options.
If they are scamazon products, I never see them at all.
How much does a set of the Gmade's like these sell for?
I have a couple sets of Mid re-re front and rear shocks and a couple pairs of RB7 13mm shocks that I'm really looking forward to installing and playing with.
I got a great deal on the Mid shocks from plazajapan.com. The 13mm shocks were pricey but I really want to check them out on some of my older cars.

I def do not need brand name lights on my 'runner' RCs! Those lights are cool but I'm never gonna play with the light covers... I'd likely just loose them in a crash. Those lights would be very cool on a scale build!

I think the budget lights are my guys!

Those PIAA lights look awesome!

 

[PaPeRo]

The Gmade Zeros are about $40-$50 for a set. Sometimes you get a discount when buying multiple sets from the same seller. That's what I did. The PIAA buckets came from an Axial lights package I bought a long time ago. I don't even know if they still make them. Those Kyosho racing shocks you have waiting to be installed are top tier. If I had a set, I would save them for those nicer more premium Kyoshos. For these low cost RTR cars, the Gmades are perfect.

 

[rc dump]

i bought both of these a few years ago and are new and never used....what's wrong with me.

 

[Ritz413]

i bought both of these a few years ago and are new and never used....what's wrong with me.

View attachment 270403

You could change that...

 

[rc dump]

You could change that...

i'll break them for sure

 

[Ritz413]

i'll break them for sure

I believe in you....I broke some things yesterday on different cars