The Evolution of a 4x4 Ultimate

[NitroBugg]

Thanks. And an incredible job! Between you, Squeegie, and a few others, my wallet never closes. Hehe

[Steeeve]

Sorry! Know what you mean, Squeegie has a lot to answer for, my wallet is feeling it!


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[Squeegie]

[Calebs0615]

My daughter, when she probably 8 months old, literally wouldnt go to sleep unless she watched Moana.. No joke. For probably 3 months. I can recite every song on that movie almost word for word hahah.

Now its cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

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[singletracksean]

Love the rally body! I wish that category was more popular.

Do the ties rub?

Sean

[Craigeoh]

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Simply amazing!

[Steeeve]

Love the rally body! I wish that category was more popular.

Do the ties rub?

Sean

There’s a small amount of rubbing, but nothing too bad to be honest. The Hoons are a bit smaller diameter than some of the other options, which helps a lot.


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[Steeeve]

Simply amazing!

Thanks Craigeoh!


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[Steeeve]

Just a few more minor tweaks recently, so thought I’d update this thread.

Having bought my son a Rustler 4x4 VXL for Christmas I liked the look of the bumpers, so bought a pair (plus wheelie bar and anodised wheels) for my Slash.

I needed a decent wheelie bar which works with the 2.8s, we’ll just have to see if it’s too flexible or not...




The front bumper works quite well with the nose of the bug shell and means I can tuck the light bar away underneath.





I also upgraded the 17mm hexes on my Raid wheels to aluminium (sorry, aluminum!) ones as I’ve already had a couple of them crack.



I’ve always thought the Arrma rear wing was a bit too ‘heavyweight’ looking on the rear of mine. Even more so with the smaller front bumper fitted. So I decided (after a few beers!) to cut it down, removing the entire upper plane. Feels a bit more balanced now I think...



Oh and finally I made some little carbon rear light housings to fit under the rear arches. Tucked out of the way here and useful for the dark evenings now...





That’s all for now!


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[Invincibl]

Nice! can you do a picture with the whole car? (With the new wing and stuff)

Also, what are you using for your wing mount?

[Steeeve]

Sure - here’s a few:









Oh and the rear wing mount is a HPI Vorza Flux item with some spacers to raise the wing a bit. Needed a carbon plate to ‘sandwich’ the rear shock tower for the upper fixings, but otherwise a fairly easy install. There was a video on YouTube of someone fitting one...




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[Squeegie]

Great job with the rear wing!

I did that with my Arrma wing a while ago as well:





Keep it up!

[Steeeve]

Ah brilliant, I didn’t realise that was a cut down wing - looks really great!


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[Squeegie]

Here's what it looked like before I cut it down:




https://forums.traxxas.com/showthrea...Burning-Chrome

Much better now.

Love the new bumpers on your bug... really cleans up the front!

[Steeeve]

So much better! I assumed it was a new wing you’d fitted, a big improvement over the stock one.


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[Steeeve]

Was a bit soggy out there today! Basher body fitted and 4yr old test pilot at the controls... this is what happens!








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[Squeegie]

Great shots!

[Steeeve]

Thanks Squeegie! Guess who forgot to tape up the breather holes in the wheels... Still trying to get all the water out, including trying a bake in the oven (don’t tell the wife!).


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[cooleocool]

Still trying to get all the water out, including trying a bake in the oven (don’t tell the wife!).

LOL, most all of us have been there at one time or another! Be careful, though, you may end up having to re-glue the tires!

[Steeeve]

Thanks cooleocool, I’ve given up on them to be honest - still haven’t got all the water out! Decided it was a good excuse to buy some new wheels/tyres - I fancied some belted 2.8s to reduce the ballooning on 3S so have bought another set of Proline Raid wheels, this time with 2.8 Badlands MX28s. Will definitely be taping them up asap!

The evolution of my Slash continues...

1. I really like the clipless body system on my son’s Rustler 4x4 VXL and the nylon roof protection too.

2. I want to stay open-wheeled - less body to get damaged and I like running 2.8’s.

3. I seem to be doing more bashing with my boy now (we have a local skate park and he loves it with the Rusty!) so durability is becoming more important.

I was inspired by radio uncontrol’s videos about fitting a Maxx body to a Slash. This seems to fit the bill...

So... end result is I’ve ordered a heavy duty (thicker polycarbonate) clear Maxx body (TRX8914) and all the associated body hardware.

On top of this I’ve ordered Rustler shock towers, Hoss front bumper and Hoss nerf bars. Mine’s a LCG chassis, so fingers crossed it all fits!

Just need to decide on the paint job for this one!!

I will post a few pics once I start tinkering, in case it helps others...


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[Steve g]

Did you vent the tires themselves? A couple holes 180 degrees apart on the center of the tread will work well. Then when you rev it up, it'll shoot the water out.

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[Steeeve]

I haven’t tried that, I was worried they would self-destruct if I cut holes in them. Worth a try I guess, nothing to lose, thank you!


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[Squeegie]

Keep us posted on your rig’s evolution... can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Have fun and a very merry Christmas season!

[Steeeve]

Will do, thanks Squeegie!

Merry Christmas to you too, here’s to 2021 being an improvement over 2020!


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[Steeeve]

Bit of a work in progress at the moment - my Maxx body and other parts arrived, so I’ve been playing around to get it all to fit. I really wanted to keep the arches aligned to the wheels on the Slash so it’s taken a bit of re-engineering!

First up was to fit the clipless system to the inside of the shell and to replace the Slash shock towers with Rustler 4x4 items, then the fun began!

The hole in the front tower is slightly narrower than the tab on the body, so I shaved a couple of mm off the sides of the tab:



To get it sitting in the right position fore-aft I then shaved a couple of mm off the back of the front shock tower:



The back was more involved! Because I want the body sitting right looks-wise the rear clip system is now behind the rear shock tower. I have a cunning plan here but am waiting for parts to arrive! Basically I have chopped the top brace off the shock tower and will use a second rear shock tower (cut down to just the top section) bolted directly to it behind. This should put the strength back in the tower but also put the cross brace far back enough to latch the body onto.

Looks a bit scary in the photo but I’m confident that the finished result will be strong once the second tower upper section is added. Hope that makes sense!



I also had to shave a small amount off the rear body mount to clear the shock tower, but nothing drastic at all:



Still nerf bars to figure out (I have a Hoss set and a Maxx set to play about with) and then bumpers.

The front Rustler bumper sits quite neatly but I may need a bit more protection so I’ve ordered a Hoss one to try. Same goes for rear bumper - the Rustler one fits if I trim the body slightly, but I’m finding it a bit too flexible so have ordered a Hoss one to try.

Here’s how she sits currently - pretty pleased with the look and the rigidity of the heavy duty shell and plastic skeleton is a massive improvement. The tyre clearance with 2.8s also looks to be perfect, no trimming needed, just what I was hoping for!








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[gaba]

Maybe you can try your original slash front bumper see how it looks and if give adequate protection. Looking forward with your evolution


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[StijnH]

Whow, that's looking good !
I like those narrow bodies.
I have an E-Maxx body on my Slash 4x4.

radio uncontrol has been doing some similar projects
https://forums.traxxas.com/showthrea...-3-lbs-lighter

[Steeeve]

Thanks Gaba, yes the original Slash bumper may work. I also have a cut down RPM one that could maybe work. Plenty of options to try!

StijnH, yes it was radio uncontrol who got me thinking about trying something similar! I just found that the body sat a little bit too far forward for my liking with that setup, so thought I’d try a few tweaks to move it back a bit. Fingers crossed I can get it to work...


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[Steeeve]

The Hoss rear bumper and wheelie bar arrived today, so it’s been trial fitted...



It’s a bit ugly, but fits neatly and is a lot stiffer than the Rustler version, so should actually work for the intended job! The bumper part tucks neatly just behind the shell, no trimming needed, so pretty happy with this setup at the rear.





Nerf bars next, I think the Maxx ones will fit the best with some minor surgery. Pics to follow! 🪚


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[Squeegie]

Looks like a great build! Any ideas on a paint job yet?

Keep it up!

[Steeeve]

Cheers Squeegie, no firm plans yet, but I keep coming back to either a tweak on my old white Martini paint job again, or perhaps something like this would work on the Maxx shell (as I’m a bit of a Jenson Button fan!):



More Googling required!!


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[Squeegie]

Blending/fading would be fun to try with Jenson Button's Sky Racing livery!

[Steeeve]

Definitely! It’s almost the perfect excuse to buy an airbrush!


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[Steeeve]

Nerf bars now fitted! I went with Maxx items in the end. They fit at the perfect height on a LCG chassis, no body trimming needed:



I just needed to trim off a small plastic triangle shaped lump from each end:



Then drill 4x holes in the chassis sides to take some M3 flange head bolts, sorted!








Waiting on more parts to arrive now. Happy New Year!!


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[gaba]

I see now why you move the body back. You what to line the back wheel with the wheel arch, make sense, nicer and now look like a LCG MAXX version. I am looking forward to see the end result happy new year to U2!!



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[Steeeve]

Thanks Gaba. Yes, three reasons really:

1. It lines the rear arch up with the wheel as you mentioned.
2. There’s enough clearance for the front axle at full lock without cutting the body back.
3. It should give a sensible amount of clearance between the shell and my Hoss front bumper (when it arrives!).

Fingers crossed that it will all come together and give me a neat durable body solution. I’m really impressed at how tough the shell and supporting skeleton are, even before the Shoe Goo and tape has been added!


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[Steeeve]

Quick update - the rear latching idea works perfectly!

My second Rustler rear shock tower arrived today so I cut it down and trial fitted it. Pleased to report that it puts the stiffness back into the shock mounts and latches the shell perfectly. Phew!

I will bolt this up eventually with 2 fixings per side, but need some more bolts the right length. Just front bumper to sort, then it’s on to painting...








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[Slash4x4CZ]

I am getting addicted to this thread... Keep up the good work!

[Steeeve]

Thank you! Glad it’s of interest, I’ll keep the updates coming then!


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[gaba]

I am getting addicted to this thread... Keep up the good work!

X2


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