[So, What Have You Done Today? (Vol 2 2025)]

The paint had cured on my new wheels, so got the tyres glued and fitted to the BBX.

It's being ran mainly on grass, and with the limited tyre selection on the standard wheels, decided to make my own custom offset 2.2"'s. Modelled them up in Fusion and printed in PA12 GF on a Formlabs Fuse (thanks work 👍).

I'd heard the fronts aren't an issue with standard buggy wheels but the rears have too high an offset, and clash with the rear arms. Also, wheel offset info is like rocking horse poo.

Fit like a charm, but the size difference to the kit wheels will take a bit of getting used to. I'll probably need to up the pinion size as well, as the radius is a fair bit smaller.

[So, What Have You Done Today? (Vol 2 2025)]

So after having a bit of a barrel roll at full chat from a hidden bump on a gravel road (mistakes were made), and attempting to fix it with JB weld previously, I decided to have one last go at repairing the TD4 upright.

I tried friction welding with a dremel and bit of sprue. This has worked well for me on 3D prints before (ASA mainly), but I think due to the glass fibre acting as an abrasive, it removed more of the upright than it added sprue material. Plan B was the ol' solder station with a tip I didn't mind ruining.

So after melting about 40mm of sprue onto it, it's not pretty, but it looks a lot beefier than standard. If you ever try this, wear a VOC mask or use a fume extractor.

Back together and ready for another rip. It feels sturdy enough, but time will tell.

Looking at the original part with its obvious stress points, I'm tempted to model a reinforced version in fusion and see how well the SLS printer at work can print it.

[So, What Have You Done Today? (Vol 2 2025)]

3 hours ago, Thunder downunder said:

Tamiya uprights... Last one I fixed pretty quickly. Superglued back together and bolstered both ends of the join with a bit more material from the same parts tree, filed it into an acceptable shape and coated the repair in 150kg araldite which cures nice and clear. Dunno if that might help?

That's a good shout using extra sprue to reinforce it. I think one of the reasons the JB weld failed is it's too hard & brittle. I'm not sure what the 150kg Araldite is like, but the regular stuff might have the same issue when the part flexes, and the epoxy doesn't.

I'll give friction welding with a dremel a try, and be back with results. It's a shame there's no easy way to make sprue goo for nylon parts.

[So, What Have You Done Today? (Vol 2 2025)]

Took my newly finished BBX for its maiden run today. Has a HW EZRUN 4100kv, with the only hop-ups currently being a slipper and the rear shock top bar. Oh and the CC-02 wheels, which I thought suited the livery better than the chromes.

Decided it'd be a good idea to mow a little track into the grass, which the cars definitely appreciated compared to how long it had gotten.

Also took the super avante out to see if my JB Weld rear upright fix would hold. I managed nearly a whole battery before it let go again. Time to replace it properly methinks.

Good to know my 3D printed wheels can take a beating though.

Compared to the TD4, the BBX feels a lot lazier, but that also makes it pretty easy to drive. Quite a bit slower round Veg Patch GP circuit though. Next step, figuring out how to dial out some understeer.

[So, What Have You Done Today? (Vol 2 2025)]

Tyres turned up today, so got them fitted to the custom wheels I made for the TD4. (Yes I'm a super Advan fan)

I'll be interested to see how well the paint holds up on them.