LiqrSicc's Carbon Fiber Build
 

The mailman dropped of some goodies today :yipi:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Sicc/RC/12.jpg

I've heard nothing but good from the PRC CF TVPs so I gave it a shot. I'm sure this isn't major but if you look at the next two pictures you can see it wasn't cut as clean as I expected. A lot of fibers everywhere on the cuts. Just didn't expect it from something I drop around $300 on.


http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Sicc/RC/22.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Sicc/RC/32.jpg


Anyways, I tore the Flux apart from day one and it's been sitting here for a month waiting for parts to come in. In the meantime I've got a long night of sealing ahead.

Well, 2 hours into it and I already hit a snag:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0473.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0474.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0475.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0477.jpg


I'm guessing the CF bulkhead plates werent made for the Flux. Instead of being bent at an angle they are completely flat. I can bend it but now the holes wont line up. The side tabs of the plate also hit the TVP. I might just ditch the idea of these CF plates because I dont think I want to put any more holes into the TVP.

Pretty sure all of the savvy bulk plates are bent. That is why the rear setup is angled compared to the chassis plates, since they do not want reverse kickup at the back.

Looking at those pics the cnc or whatever was not done very well on the tvps... At that price I would have expected the edges to be sealed as well...

those plates will go in for you no issues. just apply pressure when you your getting it into place and the screws will go in. I would switch to aluminum braces however, then you will have no issues.
i have carbon fiber bulk head plates but this isnt my truck
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...X/DSCF1773.jpg
larsen at PRC makes some great stuff, although tha tis some rough finishing work. you will love the parts tho, virtually unbreakable, and if you do there backed by warranty. not to mention the sexy look!

Thanks for the input guys. Anybody like bling?

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0480.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0481.jpg

De-anodized all the aluminum parts, including the RSC and polished them. I'm obsessed with shiny stuff :mdr:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0482.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0483.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0484.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0485.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0486.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0487.jpg

The upper arm was binding with bulkhead so I had to grind part of it:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0488.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0490.jpg

And finally the front assembly done:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0491.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0492.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0493.jpg

I have the TVPs screwed on. It looks like I may have laid the CA too thick on the TVPs and bulkhead plate. It doesnt fit at all and it looks like I'll have to file off some of the CA to get the plates to fit together.

WOWZA!!!!
Looks nice!
(noob question) what did you use to polish the aluminum? :)

mmm shiny, much nicer than the purple.

How thick are the carbon fibre TVPs? Must be around twice as thick as stock looking at the weight. I expected them to be lighter.


In my instructions for the kit it says to remove a bit of that part anyway (which is part of the shock tower).

Apparently the bolts in the c hub come loose a bit. You could fix via this method. Image courtesy Jahay
http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/DSC00113.jpg

Do you plan on running the turck once its build or is it a shelfer?

I used Meguiar's Metal Wheel Polish. But I cant lie, I only did 2 pieces. I had to pay somebody to finish the other 40+ pieces.

The CF TVP is about 4mm thick. It's pretty thick stuff. But for an extra 2" length, 15 grams isn't much.

You're right, it's the shock mount. I didn't have instructions to the RSC so it took me a little longer to figure it out.

No shelf queens for me. I take a few pictures when it's new and shiny but it wont be long before I beat the ____ out of it. :yes:

looking great so far

Glad to hear it! your gonna have a blast running that thing.:yipi:

Those weights are interesting. The only reason to spend the money on CF is to reduce weight (and I think they are advertised this way too). Granted they are XL length - someone else had the weights of their XL aluminum TVP's - I'll have to look for that.

I'm with you on the lack of quality for a 300 dollar item - that's unacceptable. Not many people will take the time to send the parts back, thus they can get away with selling items like that.

Build looks awesome and the chrome bits looks sick too!!!! Definitely do the Bolt mod to the savage suspension conversion kit to prevent your bashing days early!

I was quite tempted to re anodise will a colour... but i may opt for the chrome...
Chrome TVPs mmmmmm

Thanks for the comments guys!

Jah, on the bolt mod, what are you using? That looks like an aluminum washer?


I'm pretty much done with the build. I want to make sure to get this bolt mod done. I'm also getting some major binding in my steering assembly somewhere. I need to get that figured out before I run this thing.

On another note, does anybody know how to calculate the 39t idler into the RC Speed Calculator?

39/18 x 29/32 instead of 44/18 x 29/32 as it replaces the 44t gear.

Perfect. Thanks!

Well, not sure I'm too happy with this TVP setup:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0497.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0498.jpg



With the 1518 the back of the motor nearly hits the side of the TVP. That leaves me about 1mm from the end of the shaft to the tranny case. Not sure how I'll fit the 1520 in there. No way of getting a 25t pinion to fit in there either. I'm thinking I should have went with the FLM Forward Tranny conversion.

here is a tip as you are using the tranny...

I had the same problem. I couldnt run a 25t pinion with my 1520, as i couldnt push the motor out enough...

So what i did was, i ran the 39t high speed idler gear inside the tranny replacing the 44t stock idler gear (replace the 18/23t top drive gear when you do this with an HD One) and then i ran a smaller 18t pinion which sorted out my problems.

Still gave me PLENTY of torque!!! and worked really well!
Also my HD Drive gear wore very well because it used the drive for the larger 23t side rather than the smaller 18t side which have worn out faster!
Out of all the times of replacing pinions and other gears in the tranny. NOT ONCE did i replace my 39t idler of HD Drive gear! (they are built solid when shimmed correctly)

And by the way... your motor can defiintely sit back a litle more in the motor mounts... and with the smaller 18t pinion you can put it closer towards the spur and hopefully avoid hitting the TVPs...

Trust me, you went with the right choice! The flm forward mount tranny conversion is not in the same league as this! and is not as strong or have many options for flexibility!

Yeah, the Flux was just designed specifically for the 2200kv can. Typical HPI (and other manufacturers). Most of the aftermarket TVPs are doing nothing but copying the HPI design and giving zero thought to running bigger motors.

Nothing a bit of custom work can't fix ;)

Thanks for the input! I'm probably going to swap in that 39t idler tonight. I was planning on making this a speed demon but in reality I think if I can hit 50mph I'll be satisfied. I have a 43t spur I might just swap in and maybe a 20t pinion as well. I'm trying to avoid taking my dremel to the CF. =)

I almost picked up a whole set of Vantage CF arms for the Savvy at my LHS... until I saw the price tag of $265 :gasp:

It didn't look like they had holes to mount the sway bars either.

Hi.

My TVPs will have larger opening for the motor, so motorsize will not be
a problem anymore. However wheelbase (560mm) may be the problem for someone.

http://s6.mojalbum.com/flux-5b-t-fot...9_18246954.jpg


Dejan

:surprised:r u selling those?? if so i want one:lol:

Not yet, because I'm waiting for custom dogbones.

Running a 20t pinion and 43 t spur along with the high speed idler will defintiely stress the motor.

The max you really want to be running is 18/47 and high speed idler... Thats what i was running and it was just perfect. On the edge of being too hot but was absolutely fine. I dont run around a track constantly and i stop every few mins so it has time to cool...

Use the speed calc and gear accordingly

and you dont want carbon fiber arms. some things need to be plastic. IMO arms are one of em. glad to see the trucks coming along for ya, jah is giving some sound advice for ya, your trucks gonna be sick!

Maybe I should be looking at a 1717? :whistle:

How much does your Flux weigh Jah? I think my Flux will be a tad lighter with all the CF. I dont have a 47t spur laying around but I'll take your advice and start with the 18t pinion. With the 39t idler and 44t spur, 18t pinion should get me in the 50's which is perfect!

If you can fit a 1717! that would be awesome... i was always under the impression, the bigger the can the more efficient the motor... but everyone says how the 1717 is a bit of a power hungry monster...???

whoops.. i did forget that your truck is a lightweigh machine!!! ;)

But definitely start with 18/44/39, monitor temps and go from there!

what wheel and tyre combo were you thinking of using???

And which motor from castles clearance sale is the most efficient?

Dejan

Why not just cut out the opening for the motor - wont hurt the strength IMHO. Check out Mistercash's LST build for tips on cutting the CF....

Yeah but there's no more room to grind. The battery mount sits right at the edge of the motor opening in TVP.


http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0497.jpg


In this picture I have the motor sitting as far up to where the shaft hits the tranny. It's a bad angle shot but in reality there's only about 1mm or so that I can remove.

tcs crawlers sells there dogbones for the 5t conversion... that one wont fit????

No. Because my conversion uses Savage 5t dogbones. So I ordered few sets from local guy. For me and my friends.
Made from stainless steel 303.

Dejan

ok do u think u can PM me when u kno ur selling price

Move the battery mount(s) too. Easy to make a paper template of the hole pattern for them. Ya gots this much invested, I'd wouldn't shy away from making it what you wanted.

There's just no where to move the mounts on the motor side TVP.

Here's where I'm at right now:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0499.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0500.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0501.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0502.jpg

The CF parts are definitely nice. Not exactly the best fitment but nothing a Dremel cant fix.

Now I need to make decisions:


http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0513.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0515.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0517.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...C/IMG_0519.jpg


1518, 1520, or 1717. I butchered the grind job on the 1518 to fit the stock mount. Fits fine but its ugly as hell from the dremel going all over the place.

I can fit the 1520 in there without having to take too much out of the TVP. I have an HPI HD motor mount coming in next week which I got bored out from GCM so it'll fit the can just fine.

The last couple pics show how the 1717 fits in it. As you can see there is just no way to get that thing in there without having to cut out a chunk of the CF which the battery box mounts to. I can definitely cut that chunk out. I dont think it'll have effect in the integrity of the TVP but it does mean I'll be using just 3 mounts to hold the battery box. Not too sure if that's a good idea. I do have the GCM battery box mounts coming in as well. Maybe I can just get away with 3 mounts. Either way I still need to get a mount made for the 1717.

The last pics shows weight with everything in except for the batteries.

11lbs 14oz

Nearly 12lbs. It'll be around 13.5lbs with 6s in there. Not bad for an XL sized Savvy?

Considering my stock size flux is like 14 lbs!