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Saito2

more steering angle for Clod Buster

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I'll be honest. For as much as I love the original Clod and all the "old-school" ways of building them, I know relatively little about more modern variations of the "mod Clod". My personal mod Clod is a Bennett which, for those who remember them, is far removed from what's out there today. My Bennett uses a front mounted servo but I'd like to get more steering angle out of the front for tighter turns. Close inspection of the front axles reveals simply trimming off the stops on the knuckles isn't the best of ideas as Tamiya put them there for a reason. When steered past the stops, the axles (dogbone end and cup) will bind. Furthermore, with more angle alone, the tires will soon contact the lower suspension links as well. What do current mod/racing Clod enthusiast run to get more steering angle up front. So far, all I see is an axle made by MIP. Is that the common/best plan of attack? 

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I'm not a racer of Clod busters, but what I did to mine was to use axle mounted servos on the front and rear axles, this should provide plenty of steering angle. I also used TXT-1 stub axles which are longer than the clod axles and TXT-1 wheels. This pushes the wheels out further from the suspension arms and generally makes the truck a lot more stable. I did this however before TXT-1 wheels and stub axles became slightly more difficult to find than powdered unicorn horn.

As you've already pointed out, cutting off the limiters is a bad idea as it will cause the dogbones to bind, so IMO the best result to go for is to get the steering to hit the bump stops at the end of the travel on both the front and rear axles. If you want more positive steering you can also try messing with toe in/out settings on the axles, this may further improve the situation.

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I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. My Bennett (and race Clods in general) only run front steering. Rear steering at the higher speeds these things run at becomes squirrelly in a hurry. 

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My own personal experience trying to get more steering out of a Clod... I use the universal shafts (not sure if they are still available, they used to be sold by TTR or CPE) which allow greater steering angle so I can cut of the stops for more steering angle. The shafts also extend the width of the wheel so there is less rubbing against the links at full lock. I also try to move my lower links closer to the center line with some spacers to reduce the rubbing - but there is a limit to this or it may weaken the mounting point at the axle.

I find that even so the steering of my clod could still be tighter. Typically tight turns require the truck to be driven a bit harder and thrown into the corner to force the rear to rotate.

I actually would like to experiment with 4WS using some creative mixing on the radio where the rear steer only turns gradually at the final 5-10% of my steering. I think typically this may maximize the stability going into the turn and increase steering when the truck speed is at it's slowest. But I haven't had the chance to try this yet. 

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4 hours ago, BloodClod said:

My own personal experience trying to get more steering out of a Clod... I use the universal shafts (not sure if they are still available, they used to be sold by TTR or CPE) which allow greater steering angle so I can cut of the stops for more steering angle. The shafts also extend the width of the wheel so there is less rubbing against the links at full lock.

The more I look into it, the more it looks like this is the way to go. I think CPE has them still. From your personal experience, how do these fit for you? Are you able to retain the stock wheels/ adapters etc? It looks like the rear will need to be widened to match the front somehow as well.

4 hours ago, BloodClod said:

I actually would like to experiment with 4WS using some creative mixing on the radio where the rear steer only turns gradually at the final 5-10% of my steering. I think typically this may maximize the stability going into the turn and increase steering when the truck speed is at it's slowest. But I haven't had the chance to try this yet. 

I gave @MadInventor's rear steer some thought. I've tried limiting rear steer in the past with linkage adjustments but its still been too much. If there was a method of keeping it down to 5-10%, that might work. Aesthetically,  I'd prefer to avoid the super wide looks of some of today's modern race Clods as the Bennett is just so old school and carefully bringing in some rear steer will do that. 

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Did anyone tried to lock the rear diff?

I'm using the dual Seromount of @MadInventor and use a shorter Servomount in the Back, but it seems that it makes a little tiny difference but not a lot....

The back is turning to much for me, but my truck isn't very fast anyway.

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@Saito2, the universals I have are very old so I don't know if there are updates designs or variants. They do widen the truck which also helps with wheel clearance but that means you need a similar set for the rear of you could use the optional straight axles or some other rear widener.

They come with their own hex which has held up well for me but some have rounded these out with more extreme set ups. Aluminium versions do exist. The hexes work with existing clod wheel hubs.

As for 4ws, I think you need a higher end radio for such programming. I imagine something like an m12 or m17 from sanwa would be able to go it. Basically link the 3rd channel to the steering channel and then programme the rear curve to be flat until the last 5-10%. Haven't tried it though. Was going to do this on my tube frame protect but found that the AR60 axles steer very well on front steering...

IMG_20200617_124220.jpg

IMG_20200617_124153.jpg

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Most welcome. For comparison, here's the steering angle that I get on my modified clodbuster vs my axial axle setup truck. The clod setup is using the TTR universals and TXT-1 wheels with Jconcepts Firestorrm tires (which are on the tall side so they also contact the suspension links more easily) on a ZRP Diablo chassis. The steering is also behind-the-axle which alters the ackerman from the stock clod. I haven't tried it myself, but I think the setup would be improved if I mounted a set of Tribute wheels on this to widen the truck just a little bit more. I might try to fiddle around with it and will post updates if I do. :)

IMG_20200618_122122.jpg

IMG_20200618_122201.jpg

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Great comparison shot. Thank you. Once again, I find my interest in the SMT10 rising yet again. The kit version (if it ever comes in stock) is calling me. With the cost/availability of TXT parts, I have held off continuing to modify that platform to prolong its use. The Clod is durable, but its quite a rabbit hole to go down and I still like the realism of a shafty. If I wasn't so hung up on Tamiya and vintage in general, lol.

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