Rlaarlo 1/8th 4WD Buggy Dragon Scale Knight DSK RTR/Roller/Kit

[desmobob]

You're forgetting the weights of the ESC & servo. Another factor is the lower COG. With a larger single Lipo, the COG is higher.

Yup. As I said, "Without considering the other components..." (and "This may be an over-simplification..."). Those components are fairly light compared to the big players in this game; the batteries and motor.

The ESC is substantial at 192g but the majority of that weight is the wires, which tend to be mostly centered in the chassis when everything is hooked up. The servo weighs about 84g. That adds about three ounces to the saddle pack set-up's light side, reducing the 16.5 oz. imbalance to about 13.5 oz. Still no contest as far as side-to-side balance.

The center of gravity difference certainly exists but, compared to the side-to-side balance, it likely has less effect; especially to a back yard racer like me.

I'm not worried!

 

[BashingBrian]

That was considered before making my purchase. I think the imbalance issue is more imagined than proven. Check out the numbers. This may be an over-simplification but I think is working looking at.

The 4278 motor weighs 465g. My 4S 5200 batteries weigh 640g. Without considering the other components, that would be a side-to-side imbalance of 175g, or about 6 oz. Almost a half pound... sounds like a lot.

A similar capacity 2S battery weighs 315g. So in the saddle pack configuration, the motor plus a battery on one side would weigh 780g and the battery on the other side just 315g. That's a side-to-side imbalance of 465g or about 16.5 oz. More than two and a half times that of the rear motor/single tray set up.

There is some diagonal and front-to-rear imbalance to look at too but I haven't tried to crunch the numbers. I would guess it would also be much less than the imbalance of the saddle-pack configuration.

Dual saddle pack setup with a heavy servo = perfect balance..

 

[desmobob]

Dual saddle pack setup with a heavy servo = perfect balance..

...a really heavy servo!

The way I drive, I probably wouldn't notice if someone snuck a brick under the body of my cars.

 

[BashingBrian]

I think my mate's going to go with the latest version Max8 and a Surpass Taurus motor (this motor is crazy good/fast and super cheap)

 

[RustyUs]

Oh, that YouTube drama...

 

[BashingBrian]

It’s arrived…

 

[desmobob]

My roller is "out for delivery" with expected delivery "by the end of the day" by FedEx!

 

[BashingBrian]

I’m gonna start the build tomorrow
The only thing I know for sure is, it will be c hub front setup and saddle pack battery setup..

 

[RustyUs]

I’m gonna start the build tomorrow
The only thing I know for sure is, it will be c hub front setup and saddle pack battery setup..

C-hub, c-hub, c-hub

 

[desmobob]

I installed the power system and radio in my new roller this afternoon. There's not a lot of room under the body for the dual-connector heavy gauge ESC wires from my Hobby Wing Max8 G2S and the battery wires.

Tight fit for the battery in the big single tray set up also. Both my 4S 6200mah hard case and 6S 5200 soft packs are a little bit too tall, but I can secure the body. I'll have to add some tape to the inside of the body so all the stuff that's rubbing won't wear the paint off.

Does anyone who's buying the DSK also have Rlaarlo's XTS-S10 rally Subaru? If so, applying the decals to the DSK will bring back memories. Or more likely, flashbacks. It took me longer to apply the decals than it did to get the rest of the DSK ready and check things over. Clear the area of women, children and those with sensitive ears when applying them. I used a lot of those special words I learned in the Navy.

Out of the box, my diffs were properly filled and all the fasteners were tight. The only assembly issue I had was when installing the supplied pinion. It came with two set screws and both were the wrong size for the pinion; one too large and one too small.

Naturally, it started raining just before delivery and is forecasted to rain again in the morning. I did run it very briefly in the driveway between the drizzles and the 17T pinion seems like it might be OK for my 2250kv motor and anticipated 4S battery use. I'll know more when I get to run it out in the open and stick the GNSS performance analyzer on it.

Fingers crossed for the rain to stop early tomorrow and for things to dry out quickly! I want to run this thing!

 

[desmobob]

By the way... if anyone picking up a DSK isn't going to use the supplied body decals, I sure could use that sheet. I somehow managed to apply one of the body's side/bottom decals without noticing that the protective film had stayed attached to that area when I removed it from the rest of the body. Ooops!
My DSK now is a little bit lacking in bilateral symmetry.

 

[desmobob]

Size comparison of SBK10 vs. DSK...

The weights of the various DSK offerings are conspicuously missing from the published specifications. My DSK roller with the Hobby Wing Max8 G2S combo ESC and 4278 2250kv motor installed weighs 8.5lbs. on my digital bathroom scale. Accuracy of the scale is very good, but resolution is only .5lbs.

 

[WRM]

Size comparison of SBK10 vs. DSK...

The weights of the various DSK offerings are conspicuously missing from the published specifications. My DSK roller with the Hobby Wing Max8 G2S combo ESC and 4278 2250kv motor installed weighs 8.5lbs. on my digital bathroom scale. Accuracy of the scale is very good, but resolution is only .5lbs.

View attachment 275288

View attachment 275289

Meets Roar Weight Min 3200 gr. I never weighed any of mine, but pretty sure they're heavy enough?

 

[desmobob]

Meets Roar Weight Min 3200 gr. I never weighed any of mine, but pretty sure they're heavy enough?

Thank goodness they require a minimum, not a maximum! I think the DKS might be overweight (but that's me, a pot calling the kettle black... I'm a little on the plus side, myself!).

 

[desmobob]

I ran mine on the backyard mostly-grass course today on a 17T pinion and the motor (4278 2250kv) was just a little bit warm; not even close to hot. For running on 4S, I'm now thinking an 18T or 19T might be ideal. I just ordered some new batteries for my non-contact thermometer. I'll be able to better figure my gearing in a week or so when the batteries arrive and I can fire it up.

And once again, I had some mild regret about running after a rain, when the grass and dirt were almost but not quite dry. Instead of doing some speed runs later, I spent the time cleaning, disassembling and more cleaning. More rain in the forecast tomorrow but I might be able to get out on some pavement before it starts and see what she'll do as geared.

 

[RustyUs]

By the way... if anyone picking up a DSK isn't going to use the supplied body decals, I sure could use that sheet. I somehow managed to apply one of the body's side/bottom decals without noticing that the protective film had stayed attached to that area when I removed it from the rest of the body. Ooops!
My DSK now is a little bit lacking in bilateral symmetry.

View attachment 275277

Yep, you're going to need to file a claim on that protective film being too protective. But... your black fuzzy square addition probably constitutes a private modification warranty nullification.

Put a Hobbywing decal on that spot and let's get on with it!

 

[desmobob]

...your black fuzzy square addition probably constitutes a private modification warranty nullification.

It's a merkin. They wouldn't dare penalize me for it. (See what I did there? )

 

[BashingBrian]

The only thing I know for sure is, it will be c hub front setup

So, the bad news, the C hub conversion DOES NOT come in the box of the kit, you need to purchase separately
I re-read/watched all the vids from Rlaarlo and they did a bit of cloak and dagger with the explanation of the different hub choices with the DSK, not too pleased about that.
But, overall the fit and finish of the kit is it's very high quality and a total joy to build, the manual for the best part is pretty clear and straight forward, overall I'd give it 9.5/10.!!
The kit has many nice touches and innovations I've not seen before, such as the pocketed chassis to suspension blocks and M4 bolts used to hold the A B C D blocks onto the diff bulkheads.!!
I've built many kits from many brands over the years and personally I would put this up there with Vanquish or Tekno quality, well done Rlaarlo...
I'll post some pics soon..

 

[RustyUs]

Yes, the c-hub kit is under the optional parts page, and a person has to do a bit of navigation to come to spec sheet at end of the vehicle showcase page...

They also should have mentioned/notated in the manual... optional parts.

 

[desmobob]

A lot of the handiest and most detailed specification information is hidden deep in the pages. The chart above and similar info for other models can be found near the bottom of the "Vehicle Showcase" section for each model.