Team Associated Pro4 SC10

[Lumikko]

Interesting. I've never seen heat shrink tubing on outdrives/couplers like that...
Are you trying to cut out some "chatter" from the driveline?

You’ve probably seen shaft boots though. They are eliminated from racing vehicles to reduce the weight (especially important when it comes to rotating mass), and the increased wear is less important than faster lap times.

For me, the reduced noise and wear are more important. I limit the power from the transmitter already since I’m not that great of a driver, I’m actually faster with a car that’s slower. I have a history with belt wheelers (YZ-10 and RS4 Mini) and the metallic sound of shaft-driven vehicles puts me off.

I’m experimenting with various ways to reduce the noise and wear of dogbone type couplings. Even without the protection of a full boot, I think wear can be reduced by eliminating the chatter with a small length of heat-shrink tubing. The plastic blades on some designs are ingenious in my opinion.

So far, the tests are positive. The truck is so much quieter that other drivers at the track notice it.

 

[RustyUs]

You’ve probably seen shaft boots though. They are eliminated from racing vehicles to reduce the weight (especially important when it comes to rotating mass), and the increased wear is less important than faster lap times.

For me, the reduced noise and wear are more important. I limit the power from the transmitter already since I’m not that great of a driver, I’m actually faster with a car that’s slower. I have a history with belt wheelers (YZ-10 and RS4 Mini) and the metallic sound of shaft-driven vehicles puts me off.

I’m experimenting with various ways to reduce the noise and wear of dogbone type couplings. Even without the protection of a full boot, I think wear can be reduced by eliminating the chatter with a small length of heat-shrink tubing. The plastic blades on some designs are ingenious in my opinion.

So far, the tests are positive. The truck is so much quieter that other drivers at the track notice it.

I stand corrected... boots is the word that makes things click in my head, and jog my memory. I did use driveline boots (as they did come in kit) on my RC8.2FT eBuggy.

I think they were more for keeping dirt out of the CV joint... durability/longevity.

 

[Positron Design]

I have a problem. I can't keep the wheel nuts on!
They keep loosening due to the axle spinning the nut loose.
One of the plastic hex hubs rounded the hex because the nut became loose and hub was spinning in the wheel and almost ruined new wheels.
I have tried using Loctite on the wheel nuts.
Today I bought aluminum hex hubs and lock nuts with nylon inserts.

The wheel keeps coming loose? usually the front left wheel.

 

[Lumikko]

I have a problem. I can't keep the wheel nuts on!
They keep loosening due to the axle spinning the nut loose.
One of the plastic hex hubs rounded the hex because the nut became loose and hub was spinning in the wheel and almost ruined new wheels.
I have tried using Loctite on the wheel nuts.
Today I bought aluminum hex hubs and lock nuts with nylon inserts.

The wheel keeps coming loose? usually the front left wheel.

There are two ways to prevent a wheel nut from loosening: lock it to the wheel or lock it to the axle.

Between the driveshaft and pin, pin and hex, and hex and wheel there is going to be movement no matter what. If you lock the nut to the wheel (serrated nut) the axle should be allowed to turn inside the nut: don’t lock it. If you lock the nut to the axle (loctite or nyloc) the back of the nut should be smooth so it slips against the wheel: don’t use a serrated nut. It will chew the wheel or work the nut loose on the axle.

The stock nuts have quite round serrations and a poor grip. You can improve the situation by cleaning all the loctite from the nut and axle. Then lubricate the threads before mounting the wheels. New nuts with better serrations help also.

 

[nino]

Aluminium hex hubs should help.
I once bought cheap alu nuts and stripped the first one as soon as I put it on. Simply too soft to crank down properly.

 

[RustyUs]

I have a problem. I can't keep the wheel nuts on!
They keep loosening due to the axle spinning the nut loose.
One of the plastic hex hubs rounded the hex because the nut became loose and hub was spinning in the wheel and almost ruined new wheels.
I have tried using Loctite on the wheel nuts.
Today I bought aluminum hex hubs and lock nuts with nylon inserts.
View attachment 171380
The wheel keeps coming loose? usually the front left wheel.

There are two ways to prevent a wheel nut from loosening: lock it to the wheel or lock it to the axle.

Between the driveshaft and pin, pin and hex, and hex and wheel there is going to be movement no matter what. If you lock the nut to the wheel (serrated nut) the axle should be allowed to turn inside the nut: don’t lock it. If you lock the nut to the axle (loctite or nyloc) the back of the nut should be smooth so it slips against the wheel: don’t use a serrated nut. It will chew the wheel or work the nut loose on the axle.

The stock nuts have quite round serrations and a poor grip. You can improve the situation by cleaning all the loctite from the nut and axle. Then lubricate the threads before mounting the wheels. New nuts with better serrations help also.

Yep, I sure wish others would continue on with what Yokomo has done, or did...

I would totally be onboard with other brands of RCs doing the same as Yokomo. I'd say 99% of the time I had a loose wheel nut it's the left side of any driven wheel.

 

[Lumikko]

The stock plastic hexes have their merits. They are slightly larger than a few aluminium hexes I’ve tried, which reduces wear on the hex of the wheel.

Another thing I noticed with the alu hexes is that the rear face and bottom of the wrist pin groove are 2.5–2.7 mm apart. The stock hexes are deeper. Once installed, the alu hexes are so far apart from the shim over the outboard bearing that there is a lot of sideways play. This can be eliminated by adding shims between the pin and bearing, or using a thicker one.

Speaking of this, the groove on the stock hex becomes deeper over time. Once the hex starts to push the shim against the bearing, the wheels start binding as you tighten the nut. The inner races of the front bearings are not supported from the inside, which is an oversight.

Space is limited so you can’t use ordinary washers as a ”crush tube” but shims often have a smaller outer diameter. I used one B74.2 diff pinion shim (92319) and one regular 0.2 mm shim to bridge the gap.

I can now tighten everything that goes on the drive axle tightly together: inner bearing, shims, outer bearing, shim, wrist pin, hex, and wheel. Tightening down the nut, the bearings spin free and there’s no sideways play.

 

[K.O.D.]

I've been reading through this thread and wow. A lot of info. I am new to RC. I bought a Pro4 SC10 at the end of June. Its been pretty great, about a month ago I destroyed a tire the first time trying it on 3S. The only thing I don't care for is how easily it rolls and that it tends to overheat.

I've been thinking about doing some of the mods y'all have been talking about. Both the anti-squat and the cooling stuff. I can do the anti-squat mod y'all talked about but I'm not sure what type of heatsink or where to buy one for the motor. I've also been thinking about drilling a hole or two in the body (its pretty beat up but I don't care about looks) to aid cooling as well.

I also wonder if the "pro-squat" set up is for greater ground clearance/approach angle for jumping.

There are no tracks or anything around where I live, so its either my backyard, forest preserves, or the parking lot of the school down the street. I have Pro-line street tires for it and some Duratrax Speedtreads Shootouts currently. The Speedtreads have good traction, though I've already had an issue with one after the first run, the tire becoming unglued. My local hobby shop gave me a new set (the ones I had bought had an older model wheel and the glue had gone bad) and he let me keep the other ones, and showed me how to reglue them. So I have six of them now.

I'm happy with the speed I get out of it, and have no plans to do any other mods (yet).

 

[Lumikko]

The only thing I don't care for is how easily it rolls and that it tends to overheat.

I can do the anti-squat mod y'all talked about but I'm not sure what type of heatsink or where to buy one for the motor. I've also been thinking about drilling a hole or two in the body (its pretty beat up but I don't care about looks) to aid cooling as well.

I also wonder if the "pro-squat" set up is for greater ground clearance/approach angle for jumping.

The truck could use harder front springs in any case and as a side effect this would reduce the tendency to roll. Note that lowering the spring nuts on the shock body does not increase spring rate: these are only for ride height adjustments.

You can also adjust the roll centers with the camber link attachment points, hinge pin pills (Tekno TKR6544 fits), and the hub height in the rear.

Camber link inner attachment down -> roll center goes up. (Opposite direction.)
Hinge pin up -> roll center goes up. (Same direction.)

Adding anti-squat by raising the fronts of the rear hinge pins already raises the roll center as the avg. height between the pin ends goes up.

The stock setup has more droop in the front than the rear. Usually, off road vehicles have more droop in the rear. Limiting the front droop also limits how far it will roll. A 2 mm spacer inside the front shocks is a good basic change and keeps the truck off-roady.

With anti-squat in the rear and harder springs in the front, you can lower the ride height without constant chassis slaps. A lower ride height also reduces body roll. As you can see, every setup change affects something else. It can be a benefit but also a distraction: take notes and don’t make all of the recommended changes at once. (Some changes are better when paired with another change, though.)

Heatsinks and fans are cheap and easily available so I won’t comment on those. Holes in an SCT body will probably do nothing to the operating temps as there’s plenty of airflow underneath already. Buggies with closely fitting bodies have ventilation holes for a reason. SCT bodies are cut to reduce parachuting.

The initial pro-squat is probably just a design oversight that doesn’t matter so much in a basher. Pro-squat reduces ground clearance when you accelerate and doesn’t help jumping to my knowledge. With anti-squat in the rear, you get more traction and ground clearance as you accelerate towards a jump.

 

[K.O.D.]

The truck could use harder front springs in any case and as a side effect this would reduce the tendency to roll. Note that lowering the spring nuts on the shock body does not increase spring rate: these are only for ride height adjustments.

You can also adjust the roll centers with the camber link attachment points, hinge pin pills (Tekno TKR6544 fits), and the hub height in the rear.

Camber link inner attachment down -> roll center goes up. (Opposite direction.)
Hinge pin up -> roll center goes up. (Same direction.)

Adding anti-squat by raising the fronts of the rear hinge pins already raises the roll center as the avg. height between the pin ends goes up.

The stock setup has more droop in the front than the rear. Usually, off road vehicles have more droop in the rear. Limiting the front droop also limits how far it will roll. A 2 mm spacer inside the front shocks is a good basic change and keeps the truck off-roady.

With anti-squat in the rear and harder springs in the front, you can lower the ride height without constant chassis slaps. A lower ride height also reduces body roll. As you can see, every setup change affects something else. It can be a benefit but also a distraction: take notes and don’t make all of the recommended changes at once. (Some changes are better when paired with another change, though.)

Heatsinks and fans are cheap and easily available so I won’t comment on those. Holes in an SCT body will probably do nothing to the operating temps as there’s plenty of airflow underneath already. Buggies with closely fitting bodies have ventilation holes for a reason. SCT bodies are cut to reduce parachuting.

The initial pro-squat is probably just a design oversight that doesn’t matter so much in a basher. Pro-squat reduces ground clearance when you accelerate and doesn’t help jumping to my knowledge. With anti-squat in the rear, you get more traction and ground clearance as you accelerate towards a jump.

I thank you for all this info. I also want to get a heatsink and maybe a fan too for the motor. I know its a 540 motor, I'm just not sure which heatsink to get. Any recommendations?

 

[RustyUs]

​

M2C Motor Plate...

 

[K.O.D.]

​

M2C Motor Plate...
View attachment 172666

Thanks, I ordered one. Now that it's fall overheating won't be as .uch if an issue but still important for sure.

 

[RustyUs]

Another option for securing the motor?...