D4

[gatermaxx]

Well, Hopefully when I get home from the Oregon coast early next week, I will be getting my new Hot Bodies D4 WCE 4wd buggy. I promise to give a decent write up of the build, and maybe even on my test run (hopefully) next Friday, outdoor or indoor. Looking forward to my new venture...

[2_point8_boy]

If you want you can send it to me and I'll put it together rightaway...no waiting to get back from Oregon...:blbl::winner:

[gatermaxx]

Home from the Oregon Coast, Buggy will be here tomorrow.:D

[gatermaxx]

been waiting ALL DAY (it is now 1:38 pm) for FedEx to get here:cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing:: shoot::shoot::shoot::cussing::cussing::cussing:
I want to get this sucker started already....

[gatermaxx]

Buggy arrived at 2:12pm PDT with extra parts and shirts, it looks like the wheels from my ZX-5 SP *might* work. Will commence project build D4 with out wife finding out at approximately 9:30 PM PDT. And hopefully complete before my D8 shows up thursday (set up meeting with fed ex dude so wife is unawares of activity...)
:rock:

[gatermaxx]

Started the build today, one of the first things i noticed, the screws needed for each bag (a,b,c etc) are in the bag, WOW, what a concept, 1000000000000000 times better then having to dig through 3 bags of screws like in my last 10th scale build. mostly just been oogling the chassis (while I put CA on the edges). The aluminum looks to be well machined.

[cheesecake]

good for hotbodies with the screws ae did that with the truggy makes it alot easier to build:thumbs: i want pictures of this thing

[2_point8_boy]

Yeah, my B4 was like that. The parts came in a big bag with the screws in a smaller bag sealed up inside the bigger bag. All the bags were marked with Letter/Number codes that corresponded to the step of the build you were on in the instructions. Was very nice. Made the build go quickly and smooth. Would definitly purchase another AE product for this reason alone.

[gatermaxx]

That was where I left of today, wife came home from work early, and we had to go run some errands. I will resume the build tomorrow, and take pictures as I go along.

[gatermaxx]

Wow, going great, I actually got to spend some time building the car today. Completed everything but the shocks, left turnbuckle and drag link, and the rear arms, driveshafts, and c-hubs. Everything is fitting perfectly. One thing I noticed is that if you use a hitec servo, you need to switch B and C from the way the directions show. I sort of dislike the ball in cage for the diff balls, but oh well. My wife had her camera at work today for a potluck or something, so pictures are dealyed.

[gatermaxx]

Got the shocks and the rear finished last night 9well, except the shock oil as i didn't have the right weight of oil. LOVE the bleeder valves on the shocks. Shocks built very easy. Everything is done except shock oil, and electronics (other then servo) and painting up the body. Trying to decide if I am going to do the all white super fast paint scheme, let my buddy air brush it, or rattle can it myself. Probably let him do it, as he has my paint and liquid mask. Took about 6 hours or so for the build, maybe a little more. Instructions were great, just didn't have thin CA glue (a definite must), and had to work in spurts so had to get everything out and put it away like 3 times. Also, if you get one you do not need rubber cement, the bushing fit SO perfect.

[RC_KAOS]

What ESC/Motor etc. you running?

[gatermaxx]

Going to be running the LRP Sphere Competition and LRP 6.5 brushless.

[gatermaxx]

I will get some pictures tomorrow before i mount he motor and speedo in.
Nice close ups and stuff:thumbs:

[gatermaxx]

All i could get with the POS fuji camera, when wife gets home i will find the other SD cards and use the Nikon.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s181/gater75/Hot%20Bodies/D4%20WCE/Stuff923015.jpg

[2_point8_boy]

Progress is slow, huh? WHen I got my B4 kit I had that thing together that night...lol I love building stuff.

[gatermaxx]

I had a few things not going in favor of my build, a wife who I am trying to not let her see the cars (I am sure she knows, but outta sight outta mind, and she made me a long "GET OFF YOUR FREAKIN' AS$ LIST") got the D8 right after (if course, it is in nearly the same state, LOL) had too many Dr appointments, and nearest track is over an hour away, and my race plnas for last weekend were shot to helll. I am going to finish them up today here pretty soon, The D4 at least) as i might get to run this afternoon!!!:D
Of course those are all excuses, but it is really almost ready, it only takes a few minutes to swap the electronics into the car, adn the body is done.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s181/gater75/Hot%20Bodies/D4%20WCE/RCSales005.jpg which nearly matches my D8 body (more then i even tried for, LOL)
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s181/gater75/Hot%20Bodies/D8/RCSales006.jpg

[gatermaxx]

Wow, I actually raced this buggy today. Coming from a ZX-5 SP, I was not sure how it would compare. Went out, had no set up on it, and was running good and fast laps, rear end seemed a little washy, but had good cornering.
Second run, took a ton of pre-load out of the rear (was sitting at almost full on, LOL), and added some to the front of the car. Car was much better, planted in the rear (running lipo batteries), and still had amazing turning. Car jumped the better then teh ZX-5 did, probably because it is very well balanced, but the D4 would jump like how a frog jumps, nice and high, and very level. Ran 2 wuals, adn it was good. My brother in law ran my main (I had ran to HomeDepot for some CA glue for my gators (racer's edge glue SUCKS DONKEY ARSE FWIW) for the D8 for the main, and I missed teh first 3 minutes of our 4wd buggy main. He has a ZX-5 FS and a B-44, and really was impressed with the car, and like I said, i have done very little set up on teh car, and have atorque servo for steering, and probably should have a speed servo in.
I felt I could push this car a lot harder then i could my SP, and the D4 turned better, and jumped better, to me. I try not to be to totally biased, even if I am a team driver, I try to tell it like it is...

[gatermaxx]

So, I ran this buggy again yesterday in Spokane, same track I back flipped my ZX-5 SP at. WOW, car was even better yesterday (i think everything is breaking in now). The car was glued to the track (running holeshots, and there was a fine layer of dust on top) in on power and off power corners, the jumps were very easy to backside, or go long if I wanted. Big problem with this track is the big double on the back is right against a chain link fence. WOW, talk about durability, I hit that fence at least 9 times going off the jump (if you hit the jump just the wrong spot, it angles the car that way), and even hit the fence posts a few times, nothing broke, bounced off the fence and landed on the rear wing (woulda broke the sp (cause it did there last time, LOL)) and not anything. Been running a 21T pinion i think, i motor (6.5 brushless) is point and shoot, coming off about 150, and the sphere comp with no heat sink on top at 126 (anyone know how to attach the heat sink back on?)
I am running max amp lipos in the D4 (4400), and the rear is not loose, and the car is very well balanced. When I went to lipo in the SP, the car was off balance, and got a little loose in the rear.
I had a big smile on my face when I got done running the D4, and was disappointed that I had to wait for the batteries to charge (not cause i had to run the D8, but because I had a short track day (2 hours, and not enough time to charge my battery to full capacity)).

[gatermaxx]

Went to a nice 2 day race this weekend. First round of quals, lipo dropped at 2 minutes, YAY. Car felt wonderful, very nimble, but still stable through the rough, very smooth through the corners, and jumped great.
2nd qualifier (IFMAR style starts) was one of the last to go (I had been first in first round), and get to sweeper at end of front straight, BAM, hit some older lady GOING BACKWARDS DOWN THE STRAIGHT. get passed by everyone while the marshals (from the novice class and volunteers) wait until the people 6 corners back have cleared (LOL sarcasm), get going again, trying ot push to make up time. Car is very good (holeshots), did quite a few jump passes to try to get back up into a good position. well, abotu 3 minutes into the 5 minute qual, guess who I go to pass (6 corners of weaving back and forth to get finally get by), the same lady, and she took me out again right after i passed her, wow.
3rd round I started mid pack in the line up, was runnign great until i was hacked my the silent assassin, the killer klown, again, and 2 times in this qual also, every time i tried to pass her. Seriously, if you are a slower person on the track, and someone has attepmtped to pass you (Like everyone else did), just pull to the side for a second, you are not battling for a position. these hacks moved me from 6th to 10 in both quals. I didn't say anything to her, nor did she say anythign, but really, it isnt that hard to jsut slow down and hug a pipe for a second...
So I ended up qualified 12th over all, 3 person bump. SO we start 20 minutes late because some local guy whose dad owns a track didnt have the wires for his lipo, big deal, not any of our problems, btu oh well. 7 minute main (which was cool, but this would end up biting me in the arse).
The 3 of us jump out to a huge lead (we had discussed it before hand, and knew we could basically just cruise to teh bump as there were no other really fast racers in teh main. So the kid we waited on jumps out to the lead (big into onroad as well). and I jump into second as teh guy in front of me hangs a pipe, then his radio went out (probably why he hung the pipe). Cruising along, putting laps on the lower positions, so, at about 5 minutes or so down (2 to go), my car sounds funny, like when you blow a pinion, (had just finished a lap so was almost safe) 6 minutes to go, had moved into 3rd, adnwas still 2 laps over 4th (but only barely as it would turn out). Car wouldnt move, we tried tightening the slipper, nothing worked. Well the 4th place car got me by one sticking lap, so i moved out of transfer, and finished as first place b main. If this had been a 5 minute main, i would have finished a strong 2nd, (I almost had first, even though i was just cruising). I think (i did not tear teh car apart yet) that either one of the pins in the slipper assembly broke, or something with teh slipper shaft, as i can rotate teh front wheels one direction, and the rear wheels another. Very heartbreaking. My teammate however finished in 3rd or 4th place over all with his D4 WCE, would have been nice
to finish up there as well...

[gatermaxx]

Well, today after much deliberation, laziness and being very upset over non-:rctruck: related events I pulled my slipper assembly out. Wow, that was hard, 4 screws, pull the plate, and voila, slipper slid out (did have to work around the wires I threaded above the front shaft). Got the shaft apart, the front and rear still moved independantly of each other, so I started looking around, and the screw that holds the rear side the slipper together had backed off just enough that the hexes were not engaging all the time. Wow, a little more threadlock and I would have had a transfer position.