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  #1  
Old 08-05-2008, 02:07 AM
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RPM Suspension Arms

Hey all, first post here. I picked up a RTR-spec RC18T and am planning a few hop-ups. First I sought to fix the steering slop with a DP draglink and the shock o-ring/shrink wrap/metal saver ring servo saver mod. Next I'm focusing on the suspension and purchased a set of Lunsford Ti turnbuckles. That just leaves the somewhat flexible suspension arms. Are the RPM suspension arms a good upgrade? How heavy are they compared to stock? Are they more or less flexible?
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Old 08-05-2008, 08:03 AM
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There a lot stiffer then the stock arms......should not flex at all when landing, especially on a high jump. The stock arms do well also so you might want to give your ride a try first. Just wanted to say welcome to the forums man.
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Old 08-05-2008, 04:08 PM
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Hey man, welcome to the forums!! It's nice to see someone looking to beef up potential weak points, instead of putting insane speed on a stock vehicle...smart move. Get some pics up for us soon as you can.
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  #4  
Old 08-05-2008, 05:31 PM
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Agreed Welcome!!!

Starting with a good truck is the key. As said above, post some pics! Love to see what others are doing!
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Old 08-05-2008, 09:44 PM
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Thanks for the comments!

My RC18T came in the mail three days ago, as part of a small lot I treated myself to for my birthday on a whim. It worked out to about $40 for the roller, which was only missing the stock servo, ESC, motor, motor screw, TX antenna, and had a pretty torn up body. The rest of the truck was nearly mint. Driveshaft was straight and not scratched, bearings rolled with no resistance. Since I have a large-scale 'Pede to bash with, along with two Rustlers (one brushless, one temporarily a shelf queen), a graphite chassis-4-tec, and a RS4 MT waiting on one discontinued part, I decided to make this an indoor R/C for now. First I boiled the wheels to remove the tires so I could dye them black with RIT dye. Then I installed the DP draglink. I'm waiting on some eBay items to sell, and once they do, I'll purchase a stock servo from a URC member and tighten up the servo saver. The Lunsford Ti turnbuckle and ballstud set is in the mail (I scored it for $22 shipped). For a motor I'm choosing a brushed Venom 300-size to keep within the budget of a college student, besides, I have no reason to go brushless with this one. Then I'll just need a ESC and a new stock body. I'll snap some pictures later tonight or tomorrow. In them meantime, feel free to check out my website, www.freewebs.com/projektrc, which contains a wealth of info. about my other 1/10th scale trucks and car.

Edit: I'm not actually doing anything terribly important at the moment, so I'll take that picture now:

Last edited by kavvika; 08-05-2008 at 10:03 PM.
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  #6  
Old 08-06-2008, 08:13 AM
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It was a nice read man.....
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  #7  
Old 08-06-2008, 11:59 AM
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I wouldn't get the stock servo. It's kinda crap. I would look into this:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGLN5&P=ML

Its a much better servo IMHO.
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Old 08-06-2008, 02:23 PM
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Why is the stock servo no good? Is the HS-56 a direct swap? I remember reading that some servos required some shaving of the servo mount, and others were bigger and had to be shoe-goo'ed down.

The Lunsford Ti turnbuckles arrived today. I'll install them when I get off work then take some more pictures.
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  #9  
Old 08-06-2008, 02:56 PM
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yes the 56 is a direct swap.......used a couple of those in my 18t for awhile......you will need the hitec servo horn to go with it.
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Old 08-06-2008, 11:35 PM
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I am ordering my servo here this week. I can't wait. The stock servo just seemed to be crap to me. It wouldn't corner well and it seemed like the turning radius sucked too. I think it's because the servo didn't have enough torque. But the Hitec Servo has much more torque! I can't wait!!

So what are your plans for this 18t? Bashing?
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  #11  
Old 08-07-2008, 02:47 PM
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Hmm, sounds like the old 2018 servo Traxxas used to equip their old trucks with. Junk, and caused nothing but headaches. But for only $10, I think I'll give it a shot. I'm also picking up another 6 Lunsford Ti ballstuds from the same seller to use for the shocks and 2 for spares.

I installed the Lunsford Ti turnbuckle set, and it's beefy! I'm not too keen on the look, but with the body on, it doesn't stand out as much. I like the look of thin turnbuckles with short rod ends. They appear to be 3mm thick, same as the Lunsford turnbuckles I have on my Rustler. The ballstuds are slightly larger in diameter at the base, so the DP draglink fits tighter than before, almost too tight, causing a bit of binding. I'll need to fix that somehow.

My plan for this (my first) RC18T is to make it an indoor basher to take to my apartment when I move back downstate for college. I usually have to leave all my 1/10th R/C's at home, as they require more support equipment than a dorm should have in it, and there's few places big enough close by for my brushless trucks to stretch their legs. So a 1/18th will keep me happily wrenching while I'm down there.

The ironic thing was, it was between this purchase and a E-Revo. I was planning on selling a few other R/C's and saving up for a brushless E-Revo (I save a quarter of my earnings, the rest goes to school) or I could drop less than half-a hundred on this. 4wd, truggy-ish looking, electric, has race heritage: sounds like a mini E-revo to me. Plus all that money I saved can be put towards hop-ups for this and after that (if my parents will let me expand my "garage", as I'm up to 6 cars and trucks now, although one is still in pieces packed away) I could always buy a used E-Revo in a year or so for far cheaper than new!
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  #12  
Old 08-09-2008, 05:32 PM
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I'm now getting used to the beefy look of he Lunsford Ti turnbuckle set, and after reading how sturdy they are, I'm glad I went with them. Besides, for less than any of the other quality options (FT blue Ti), how could I go wrong? I know that no matter how hard I end up bashing the truck, I won't manage to break them. I'm going to be getting RPM arms to balance the look once I send them an e-mail asking them about weight and such.

I have 6 more Lunsford Ti ballstuds coming for $5, which I'll use to mount the rear shocks and upper front shock mount to. I'll keep the lower front shock mounts brass since those are the ones most likely to take the impact of a crash and break.

I also have a second aluminum driveshaft coming which I will be de-anodizing with greased lighting. I was originally planning on going with a blue theme, but that's been done many times before. Besides, the FFRC aluminum motor mount I want to use only comes in silver, and I think a silver and black truck will look very unique. Not sure what I'll do with the diff output collars, since those will remain visible, maybe stripped FT aluminum collars? Yes, I know, my plan keeps changing, but I just keep coming up with new ideas each day!

This just leaves the shocks. The ones on the truck are cracked and leak oil. I'm between FT aluminum shocks and Losi shocks. I don't want the ride height to be raised with the Losi shocks, which are longer, but I really like the shocks. Any opinions?
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  #13  
Old 08-09-2008, 06:55 PM
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My 18t was a street racer so i had front shocks all around to keep the cg low.......i would go with the FT shocks, but in the end its up too you with what you go with.
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  #14  
Old 08-10-2008, 07:44 AM
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Kavvika- Sounds like you're off to a good start...keep the pics coming on the build.

Alfred- When did you have an 18T?..I thought you were exclusively a TC guy.
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  #15  
Old 08-10-2008, 08:07 AM
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Kavvika- How's that "freeweb" site work for you? I've been thinking of doing something similar for all my RC cars.
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