Well...at almost 36 years of age, with my extremely bad back, and all of my small annoying problems that have now become big crippling problems, I honestly feel like a very old, worn out, 90 year old man!

But, yes...I have learned a lot of what I know from listening to and watching all of the older, seasoned veterans, whom I truly respect and always will!
What can I say, I guess it's the racer in me, I love the handling this setup gives...and even though I no longer race, heavier diff oil in the front & lighter diff oil in the rear is still my preferred setup, even in a truck that only sees bashing & jumping!

Yea, like I said above, my preferred setup comes from my racing days, but it works the best for me and for what I do with my vehicles (bash & jump)!

Haha...believe it or not, we actually do get a tiny bit of snow every now and then, just not on a regular basis. But, when we do get real snow, we get real snow...blizzard type stuff, like the blizzard back in 1993 (three feet plus, average)!

Cool...like it is said, "to each their own", and, "whatever works best for you"...not everyone has the exact same vehicle, setup, upgrades, terrain, etc., so we can't expect to all run the exact same diff oil weights!

A little post-season bash at the park...

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16188071" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16188071">Recon & Maxx 3</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2236105">neophase</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

:surprised: That poor camera!

Film it like it ain't yours..

That's the trusty crusty Creative Vado taking it like a soldier as always :lol:

Wowie!
That's simply a work of art...

But in the past you said some bolts started rusting..
No clear coat..or anything?

I assume pure steel is definitely going to rust..
I know you used SS in some parts, but not sure if you used them all around or just small places..

Well it happens mostly in the summer months with the jungle humidity... but the only parts that are prone to rusting are the steering turnbuckles, the drives and the outer suspension pins. The inner pins are stainless, and I will eventually replace the outer pins in SS. And probably some non-steel turnbuckles as well.

Thanks for the comments chap!

I see...

I sent the link to a friend, and asked him how amazingly orgasmic your work is, he just called me crazy..

Did you settle on a body?
I'd love to see a photoshoot with the truck!

Ha well that's an interesting compliment.... friend must be a non-RCer? It's probably best to just not associate with those types.

Not sure what you mean by photoshoot... do you want to see it in lingerie? You've already seen it in the buff....

Strike a pose.

Yeah I have yet to figure out a body, winter will help me on design hopefully, I'll have a better plan for battery mounts, etc. as keeping packs warm is a priority.

Yeah.. I just had to include that for some reason..
Oh well

Lingerie would be nice, or just a nice truck gleaming in the sun with a BODY.
Or without one..

Are you making your own lexan body, or is that still undecided..

No Haute Couture (sounds naughtay) for this ride, not sure about lexan either, but it will be different.. no doubt!

What's up cats?

I pulled apart my MMM and removed the fan, and did 2 coats of liquid tape on that as well as my receiver... and haven't touched it all winter! Rear diff also got the thickest Ofna sili and have yet to try that...

I did get a MGT servo saver- and Overdriven thanks for the tip back when. They are about 3 times stiffer than the Ofnas. I may even try my original idea again with direct servo steering, really does seem like the MGT savers would work well for that layout.

So now I need to tweak the links a little for the slight change in throw/offset, and
go on to phase 2 of development :yes:

Wow has it been a year?

Long time no post!

I am having trouble finding tires, looks like the 3.2" tires are all but extinct!

Do you guys have recommendations on tires like the old Zombie Max's?

They were the perfect tires for my use... this sucks!

I'll probably end up making a whole new set of beadlocks :/

Any help is appreciated :)

Good to see you here:yes:

I noticed the tires are changing as well.
I seen a few 3.2 size on a website but have to go back and look to find.
Seems more are going to 3.8 size now.
Great looking build you have done.

Hey Jason, how you ben old man ?

3.2's are def getting phased out, they are still readily available with diligent hunting. Your going to be hard pressed to find some Zombie Maxxes tho, Losi discontinued them a couple years ago. I have a set myself and love'm, I rarely use them because they're so awesome I'd hate to ruin them.

Thanks for the welcome back guys :)

Been good Jeff, 2011 was a wild year... good to see you all still bashing.

So what to do... should I go with 3.8 or 420 series? I'm not crazy about most of the choices I've seen. I can get a lot more use out of the Zombies still, but knowing the 3.2s are going byebye is incentive to update, if I can find something close.

Don't make me buy a set of IMEXs please lol.....

I would get the new(ish) Proline LRP Badlands.

CLICK

They don't roll like the old ones.

Yeah 2011 was kinda up and down for me, I lost my Dad and my 20yr old cat the day befor Xmas. Other than that no complaints I guess.

The PL 3.8 BL would be agreat choice looking at the terrain in your videos ?

IMO the Imex tires aren't to bad but the foams were complete garbage, they now have closed cell foams but not in all the tires. So you have to make sure if they come with them if you consider them..

I just bought a set of these recently and have yet to use them. Just make sure if you do buy the ones with the Traxxas bead that you are buying a wheel with a Traxxas hex and your using a Traxxas hex. I had to have my wheels modified to fit a normal 17mm hex.

Good luck,
Nick

Hey Zack, thanks for the suggestion, those are agressive!

Jeff, sorry to hear!

Yeah the Z's are awesome in every terrain, I run dirt, sand, snow, pavement and woods..

From what I've seen the Imex compounds wear 10-15 times faster than the Losi compound. That's really my only beef with Imex's, at least their 'medium' compound.. most of you guys could probably kill a set in 2-3 days....
I plan to get molded foams no matter what I end up with.

My "thing" doesn't use hexes Nick, and I will make more pin-drive beadlocks if need be :) but someone else will find the info useful. Thanks guys!

How long is that pin, you break any ?
Not knocking your own creation but the pin doesn't sound as strong as say a 17mm hex ?

What am I missing ?

The pin setup is semi-pressfit, and they are bust-proof IMO

However, lol..

the "law of stress transfer" states clearly....

You guessed it, the weak link is the bevel drive pins inside the diff... ask me how I know..

This rig was shelved for most of 2011, I kinda forgot how much work went into this thing.

Looking back over the thread.. yeah I'm not normal am I

LOL love it though :)

Hey Bro, Normal is Boring !

Damn straight yo!

lol

I have some updates in the works for the Recon... slow but moving.

In the meantime here's some of what I've been up to. I went a little nuts with LED strips,
there's around 450 on this old bird :)

Watch in HD!

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/36190170?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/36190170">TwinStar Night Flight Low & Slow</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2236105">neophase</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

"Not normal" is great! You don't do things by half measures do you red?:lol::rules:

Hell no!

But only with RC... fook everything else... at'll do!

LOL