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ThunderDragonCy

Grasshopper (DT0)3 - Adventures in getting back into RC - Now with Proline truck shell

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Bit more running back on gravel, not the tarmac chippings I have been driving on the last couple of weeks. As the tarmac chippings have dried it's got super low grip and really hard to drive the car, even on the truck wheels. 

In search of a buggy wheel set for the loose stuff I have kept the Cat Blocks off the Thunder Dragon on the rear and bought some Schumacher Mini Spike2 and Stagger Rib Slim to try. Neither worked at all well on the tarmac chippings and I thought I'd wasted my money! However, back on gravel at lunchtime the Mini Spikes were good and I had fun with the car. I'm still getting quite a lot of what I think is termed 'hooking'. I was running the soft black DF03 springs all round, and whilst it gives great traction at the rear and good grip at the front, the rear rolls so much that the inside front wheel can come up, and the rear anti roll bar didn't really help, it just sucked away grip from the rear. The front ARB helps a bit, but I think possibly it's just a bit soft for my heavy battery/body setup. It's was hooking a bit too. So, I went up to the gold medium DF03 springs all round to try and reduce the roll at the rear and try and keep the weight a little more under control. All the car setup advice about oversteer says a stiffer front end helps, but I think with the weight distribution on the 2WD car there's only so much that can do. In theory! So, put gold front in to this end and hopefully even up the handling a little. It won't quite as much grip or traction, but hopefully the stiffer setup will be a little less sensitive to roll and pitch, keep it's weight under control a little better.

I also got a few things to fit. A replacement set of uprights as I snapped one trying to bend it back after it bent on a flip at the BMX track. As postage from Tamico was £14 regardless and I couldn't find them anywhere else I got the lower wishbone mount in aluminium too, and a 3racing long servo saver to try out on something, although maybe not the Grasshopper3.

Replacement GPM shock uprights, new GPM front lower wishbone mount and 3 Racing servo saver to try.2017-04-25_07-32-192017-04-25_07-37-48

With the stiffer rear springs the damping at the rear still felt a little heavy since I put 40wt in there, so although I didn't like it with 30wt in with soft springs, I'm going to try it again with the mediums.

Trying 30wt oil in the rear shocks again down from 40wt. Running the medium gold springs and damping still feels a little slow.

Whilst these were off found lots of binding in the rear suspension. Extremely concerned, but relieved to find just a few small stones lodged in there!

Current state of play. Gold df03 springs all round, low setting on suspension, 3 hole pistons in the dampers, associated 40wt front, 30wt rear, soft red front arb. Solid front top arms back on due to getting bored of chasing front camber on turnbuckles, p

And this is the current state of play with the chassis

Current state of play. Gold df03 springs all round, low setting on suspension, 3 hole pistons in the dampers, associated 40wt front, 30wt rear, soft red front arb. Solid front top arms back on due to getting bored of chasing front camber on turnbuckles, p

Was getting bored of chasing front camber setup on the turnbuckles, and never knowing where I was with it, so put the solid upper front wishbones back on to see how they go again. Also interested to see if the extra stiffness they bring helps with the truck wheels. You can see the whole front suspension twisting in turns on rough ground on the truck wheels. 

More soon......

 

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10 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Ooooo nice. Would love to know how a modern 4wd compares to the old rolling Thunder. I've not driven my Dragon for a while as it's pretty sorted so I just drive it. I'm slightly embarrassed to say it's a little boring. It's so hard to get the 2WD buggy setup just to run and work that I'm actually enjoying the challenge and tweaking. I do have a 10.5t brushless system on the way to put in the TD so maybe Too Much Power (tm) will be make more of a handful/interesting!

I haven't got the bottle to go too mad in the TD. I've worked hard to replace a lot and tidy it up. Handles great since I converted to dual shock on the front. Will let you know how I get on with the DO compared to the TD. Initially I will probably run a sports tuned in the DO which is what I run in the TD so should be able to give give it a good comparison. 

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20 minutes ago, mman2005 said:

I haven't got the bottle to go too mad in the TD. I've worked hard to replace a lot and tidy it up. Handles great since I converted to dual shock on the front. Will let you know how I get on with the DO compared to the TD. Initially I will probably run a sports tuned in the DO which is what I run in the TD so should be able to give give it a good comparison. 

Mine is proper battered. Was always a runner so I'm happy to have a go. Bought one of those TBG new bodies and then haven't had the heart to paint and install it as I would get worried about ruining it! I guess that made me realise I am more interested in running and tinkering than concours presentation. 

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23 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Bit more running back on gravel, not the tarmac chippings I have been driving on the last couple of weeks. As the tarmac chippings have dried it's got super low grip and really hard to drive the car, even on the truck wheels. 

In search of a buggy wheel set for the loose stuff I have kept the Cat Blocks off the Thunder Dragon on the rear and bought some Schumacher Mini Spike2 and Stagger Rib Slim to try. Neither worked at all well on the tarmac chippings and I thought I'd wasted my money! However, back on gravel at lunchtime the Mini Spikes were good and I had fun with the car. I'm still getting quite a lot of what I think is termed 'hooking'. I was running the soft black DF03 springs all round, and whilst it gives great traction at the rear and good grip at the front, the rear rolls so much that the inside front wheel can come up, and the rear anti roll bar didn't really help, it just sucked away grip from the rear. The front ARB helps a bit, but I think possibly it's just a bit soft for my heavy battery/body setup. It's was hooking a bit too. So, I went up to the gold medium DF03 springs all round to try and reduce the roll at the rear and try and keep the weight a little more under control. All the car setup advice about oversteer says a stiffer front end helps, but I think with the weight distribution on the 2WD car there's only so much that can do. In theory! So, put gold front in to this end and hopefully even up the handling a little. It won't quite as much grip or traction, but hopefully the stiffer setup will be a little less sensitive to roll and pitch, keep it's weight under control a little better.

I also got a few things to fit. A replacement set of uprights as I snapped one trying to bend it back after it bent on a flip at the BMX track. As postage from Tamico was £14 regardless and I couldn't find them anywhere else I got the lower wishbone mount in aluminium too, and a 3racing long servo saver to try out on something, although maybe not the Grasshopper3.

Replacement GPM shock uprights, new GPM front lower wishbone mount and 3 Racing servo saver to try.2017-04-25_07-32-192017-04-25_07-37-48

With the stiffer rear springs the damping at the rear still felt a little heavy since I put 40wt in there, so although I didn't like it with 30wt in with soft springs, I'm going to try it again with the mediums.

Trying 30wt oil in the rear shocks again down from 40wt. Running the medium gold springs and damping still feels a little slow.

Whilst these were off found lots of binding in the rear suspension. Extremely concerned, but relieved to find just a few small stones lodged in there!

Current state of play. Gold df03 springs all round, low setting on suspension, 3 hole pistons in the dampers, associated 40wt front, 30wt rear, soft red front arb. Solid front top arms back on due to getting bored of chasing front camber on turnbuckles, p

And this is the current state of play with the chassis

Current state of play. Gold df03 springs all round, low setting on suspension, 3 hole pistons in the dampers, associated 40wt front, 30wt rear, soft red front arb. Solid front top arms back on due to getting bored of chasing front camber on turnbuckles, p

Was getting bored of chasing front camber setup on the turnbuckles, and never knowing where I was with it, so put the solid upper front wishbones back on to see how they go again. Also interested to see if the extra stiffness they bring helps with the truck wheels. You can see the whole front suspension twisting in turns on rough ground on the truck wheels. 

More soon......

 

Lower wishbone mount looks good!! Looks like it should take some punishment. 

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12 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Mine is proper battered. Was always a runner so I'm happy to have a go. Bought one of those TBG new bodies and then haven't had the heart to paint and install it as I would get worried about ruining it! I guess that made me realise I am more interested in running and tinkering than concours presentation. 

That's why I haven't bothered with the body or stickers. I've tidied it up but didn't want perfect as it's bound to take a few knocks. Looking forward to have a play with it again. I've had an issue with it cutting out. After getting replacements for everything I found it needed a glitch buster. Just made a Y cable for it that is nice and short to sit under the body without tons of wire everywhere.

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Ran the car in the street on the RT1s on the latest setup above and it worked ok. Bit of understeer, but easily sorted coming off throttle and still plenty of fun oversteer so promising start. Tried it with and without the front anti roll bar and better with.

Then postie turned up with the cat block fronts. Was nervous about these as it seems that despite my having a rear set on the 2.2" wheels on my Thunder Dragon they are supposed to be for 2.0" wheels. Only found out after ordering. As it turns out they went on fine, and armed with this new information I remembered the kit rears wheels aren't true 2.2" so pulled the cat block rears of the Thunder Dragon wheels and popped them on the kit wheels. They fitted great, I I think they look mega!

20170426_20150420170426_201515

Ran a pack through the car on gravel and grass and I really enjoyed them. The blocks gave plenty of bite and traction, and the new setup did what I hoped, making the car roll less so I bit more stable, bit less sensitive to the weight moving around. Stock front suspension was good too. Looks to be plenty of negative camber on it. Be interesting to see if it improves things with the truck wheels.

Might actually have a setup I'm happy with!

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On ‎06‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 6:17 PM, ThunderDragonCy said:

Also, this lot arrived today. Let Project Mad Hopper Bull Shot 2 commenced!

Project Mad Aqro Hopper Shot

 

Thunder - which tyre did you use for the rear Blitzer wheel as it looks snug :)

And can you measure the width and OD of the chosen rear tyre.

It's either

U6796 - VEE 4 - Yellow Truck Tyres (pr)

Or

U6708Stagger Rib - Yellow - Truck Tyres (pr)

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23 minutes ago, Jason1145 said:

Thunder - which tyre did you use for the rear Blitzer wheel as it looks snug :)

And can you measure the width and OD of the chosen rear tyre.

It's either

U6796 - VEE 4 - Yellow Truck Tyres (pr)

Or

U6708Stagger Rib - Yellow - Truck Tyres (pr)

I use the vee4 on the rear and stagger rib front. Vee4 measures 53mm at widest point and is 100mm OD. Stagger Rib is 105mm OD as the tread is deeper than the vee4. Both are 95mm across the carcass.

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Sweet thank you, now to go see if these'll look too big for my Hornet.

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Just small improvements now, but with extended running I was finding the lower front c hub screw pins backing out. As they share the same wishbones I got the DT02 suspension shaft set 54395 and fitted out all four c hub pivots with them.

2017-05-07_10-28-232017-05-07_10-34-20

 

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Good god, most people try to avoid using e clip where possible, but you have actively sought them out lol.... true they will certainly stay put now and not back out so good move ;p

 

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Ha! I don't find them that much trouble. I can get them out with my stanley knife and my needle nose pliers pop them on in no time. I would prefer not to use them, but I'd also prefer not to have my driveshafts and wheels explode all over the place whilst out running the car too!

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I've ordered another set of DT03 front wheel bearing to Hex adapters to allow 12mm hex wheels on the front of my DT03, the last set I bought is now on my DT02 and allowing 12mm hex wheels all round on that has had great success.

Im planning some new shoes for my DT03, I'm not liking the narrow bicycle front wheels just now, fancy some wider 2.2 buggy wheels all round.

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Those GPM ones? Never liked the look of them as they require clearance between the nut and wheel to work. I have wondered about 12mm wheels but I have 3 recently bought sets of bearing wheels, including the blitzer wheels so hex will complicate things. I know what you mean about the Diddy fronts though. Takes me a while to get used to them after having the matched width truck wheels on it. 

Which 12mm wheels do you gave in mind? Matching star dish tamiya 4wd fronts or something else?

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@ThunderDragonCy have you looked at all the different FWD and 4WD C-hubs to find one that will fit the lower arm mount? Finding one will allow the use of the steering knuckles from the same chassis, combined with either standard dog bone wheel axles, or M chassis free wheel axles, you can have 12mm hex wheels on the front with close to the original front wheel track.

I found DF-02 parts work with the blitzer front arms, admittedly using those parts does increase the caster/king pin angle on the front, have yet to finish doing the change over, need to look at the parts I have and work out why I haven't done it yet...

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@Darat76 I have considered it but I am not going to bother for now. I have 3 pairs of bearing fronts which work just fine. I think grandad Stinky was super keen on 12mm front on his dt03

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On 5/7/2017 at 11:23 AM, ThunderDragonCy said:

Just small improvements now, but with extended running I was finding the lower front c hub screw pins backing out. As they share the same wishbones I got the DT02 suspension shaft set 54395 and fitted out all four c hub pivots with them.

2017-05-07_10-28-232017-05-07_10-34-20

 

I believe i bought the rear low friction rods for my dt-03t and totally forgot to use them. So far i have been lucky with them not backing out

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I have only replaced the ones I have had trouble with, but I only give them one or two chances before replacing. My cars are pretty quick now and I have found a big gravel car park to run in so if the suspension undoes I'll lose half the drive train parts in the resulting explosion!

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Running my Thunder Dragon recently has really shown me how wayward the Grasshopper still is on loose surface. I really don't want the bother of looking after a ball diff, so following super grippers thercracer blog I got some of this

2017-05-14_07-38-25

I had already put grease in the diff but pulling it apart today I just found a lot of sticky grease in the casing and not a lot in the diff! Cleaned it up and filled about 2/3 full with this stuff. Just been out and run a couple of packs through the car on the truck and buggy wheels and it's quite a lot better. Gets into irritrievable power spins much less and just seems less touchy to steering inputs. Was especially improved 9n the buggy wheels. Looking forward to trying this on my favourite gravel area, but on the strength of tonight and given that it cost under a fiver for the bottle I would say you can't lose getting some of this for a geared diff 2wd buggy. 

It's going in the rear diff of the Thunder Dragon next!

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if the diff is not sealed you'll find that oil all through the gearbox, with next to none left in the diff after a varied amount of runs/time passage :)

 

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If its a geared diff, get some Tamiya AW grease its awesome stuff in a diff. Gives an almost limited slip effect. 

Great thread though. Awesome.

James.

 

 

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It's Tamiya Anti Wear grease. It's super sticky and doesn't get flung out of the diff. It's meant to be used on Universal shaft joints etc, but works great in gear diffs.

James.

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On 07/05/2017 at 4:23 PM, ThunderDragonCy said:

Just small improvements now, but with extended running I was finding the lower front c hub screw pins backing out. As they share the same wishbones I got the DT02 suspension shaft set 54395 and fitted out all four c hub pivots with them.

2017-05-07_10-28-23

 

Thunder, what's the black wheel in top left of this photo? 

Cheers

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