Fishlord 2 Posted December 19, 2011 Just a quick question regarding turning down the driveshafts on Hornets and all gearboxes of the same type, as i am building another grasshopper it suddenly occurred to me that the driveshafts appear to be way thicker and therefore heavier than is actually required for such a light vehicle, obviously they could only be reduced in diameter in the section between the bearings as such. but this would surely improve acceleration due to the reduction in drivetrain rotating mass? I of course realise that the vehicle will still handle like a drunken donkey on an ice rink, but even so has anyone ever tried this before I waste my time and some drive shafts? Cheers Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dimblum 1 Posted December 19, 2011 Parma used to make a lightweight axel kit for the GrassHopper and Hornet. It used hollow versions of the driveshafts as opposed to their solid Tamiya counterparts. I installed them on my runner and they made the car "way" more nimble than with the solid shafts. The GrassHopper could accelerate much faster with the same 17T motor I used while the solid shafts were previously installed. That's the good part... The bad part was that the shafts were substantially weaker than the solid shafts and a few small jumps/landings was all it took to bend one of them out of shape.. Sadly these Parma kits are nearly impossible to come by and I have never been able to replace the parts.. Lighter driveshafts are awesome for the GH and Hornet.. If you can make custom shafts that balance lightweight with enough strength to withstand jumps, then you will have a winning part. I would buy a set if you made them Hope this helps. Just a quick question regarding turning down the driveshafts on Hornets and all gearboxes of the same type, as i am building another grasshopper it suddenly occurred to me that the driveshafts appear to be way thicker and therefore heavier than is actually required for such a light vehicle, obviously they could only be reduced in diameter in the section between the bearings as such. but this would surely improve acceleration due to the reduction in drivetrain rotating mass? I of course realise that the vehicle will still handle like a drunken donkey on an ice rink, but even so has anyone ever tried this before I waste my time and some drive shafts? Cheers Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishlord 2 Posted December 20, 2011 Parma used to make a lightweight axel kit for the GrassHopper and Hornet. It used hollow versions of the driveshafts as opposed to their solid Tamiya counterparts. I installed them on my runner and they made the car "way" more nimble than with the solid shafts. The GrassHopper could accelerate much faster with the same 17T motor I used while the solid shafts were previously installed.That's the good part... The bad part was that the shafts were substantially weaker than the solid shafts and a few small jumps/landings was all it took to bend one of them out of shape.. Sadly these Parma kits are nearly impossible to come by and I have never been able to replace the parts.. Lighter driveshafts are awesome for the GH and Hornet.. If you can make custom shafts that balance lightweight with enough strength to withstand jumps, then you will have a winning part. I would buy a set if you made them Hope this helps. Many thanks for the info dimblum, after you replied i had a look on ebay and a set of the parma shafts you describe were on there, I can see though as you say how the hollow shafts would be prone to bending, the steel ones carefully thinned down I think will be a better bet, I will try it and let you know, cheers again Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
