Had to go and do it......

[afreek1000]

So I bit the bullet and purchased a set of these puppies.



















Now I know you guys are gonna hate on aluminum, but a I mainly got for the triple bearing action. I’ve been having chronic front inner bearing blowouts along with breaking steering knuckles, enough to justify the purchase. I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend.

[Domineazy]

So I bit the bullet and purchased a set of these puppies.



















Now I know you guys are gonna hate on aluminum, but a I mainly got for the triple bearing action. I’ve been having chronic front inner bearing blowouts along with breaking steering knuckles, enough to justify the purchase. I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend.

Those look sick. I'd like to know how they hold up to a hard beating. I almost got those at one point but couldn't justify it. Lol.

Domineazy

[afreek1000]

They are super beefy in person. The inner bearing is upgraded to 32x20x7mm (stock 27x20x4mm) same as RPM rear carrier bearings. Those have held up great, so I’m hoping the same.

P. S. They’ll get a brutal beating I assure you.

[Flux Capacitor]

P. S. They’ll get a brutal beating I assure you.

Yes that's right, and since they are red, you whip them like a red headed step child!

All kidding aside, congratulations on the purchase and may they serve their purpose well!

[Domineazy]

They are super beefy in person. The inner bearing is upgraded to 32x20x7mm (stock 27x20x4mm) same as RPM rear carrier bearings. Those have held up great, so I’m hoping the same.

P. S. They’ll get a brutal beating I assure you.

Awesome so what 3 bearings does is use? 2 reg and one like the rpm?

Domineazy

[afreek1000]

Middle bearing is 30x17x7mm outer is stock size. In theory this give carrier support all along the stub axel. I feel it overkill, just happy the inner problem bearing is augmented from original.

[95blackz26]

Now I know you guys are gonna hate on aluminum, but a I mainly got for the triple bearing action. I’ve been having chronic front inner bearing blowouts along with breaking steering knuckles, enough to justify the purchase. I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend.

i couldn't stand the little bearing on the stock stuff.. did you get the whole set or just the fronts. i went for the whole set and new stainless bearings throughout the whole thing

Those look sick. I'd like to know how they hold up to a hard beating. I almost got those at one point but couldn't justify it. Lol.

Domineazy

i had mine out the other day. i have the silver ones and i changed the bearings out for rubber shielded one..everything seems good so far. i gave it a thorough beating.

[Domineazy]

i couldn't stand the little bearing on the stock stuff.. did you get the whole set or just the fronts. i went for the whole set and new stainless bearings throughout the whole thing



i had mine out the other day. i have the silver ones and i changed the bearings out for rubber shielded one..everything seems good so far. i gave it a thorough beating.

Nice if they have orange ones maybe a full set is in my future lol

Domineazy

[afreek1000]

i couldn't stand the little bearing on the stock stuff.. did you get the whole set or just the fronts. i went for the whole set and new stainless bearings throughout the whole thing



i had mine out the other day. i have the silver ones and i changed the bearings out for rubber shielded one..everything seems good so far. i gave it a thorough beating.

Oh nice! I thought I was the only one to be crazy enough to spend too much money on front end steering. So you bought the whole kit huh? (Front & rear carriers)

I only opted for the fonts because my cheap RPM in the rear are holding up just fine.

Please tell me more on your impressions out in the field? Any jumps, crashes, how they hold up. More importantly, anything else down the line (I’m thinking A-arms) breaking because of these?

[95blackz26]

Oh nice! I thought I was the only one to be crazy enough to spend too much money on front end steering. So you bought the whole kit huh? (Front & rear carriers)

I only opted for the fonts because my cheap RPM in the rear are holding up just fine.

Please tell me more on your impressions out in the field? Any jumps, crashes, how they hold up. More importantly, anything else down the line (I’m thinking A-arms) breaking because of these?

in my thread here i asked why there wasn't an oversized bearing for the front and someone posted a link for just the fronts for $140 and through searching on ebay i found fronts and rears for $200. but then i threw $90 worth of bearings at it. i figure with buying just the carriers alone it's $50 a corner. but then you add $22.50 per corner worth of bearings.

they sell the rears too separately but it's $75 VS just adding $60 to the initial price.. even if you don't use them right away.

i also ended up getting the aluminum hinge pin retainers from hot racing. unfortunately they are only available in blue but it gives it a little splash of color. i did this because it felt cheap bolting the plastic ones on.

i have the RPM rears too. i added those to my parts box for a just in case moment.

i mean i'm not gentle with this thing in any way. i bought it to beat on it like it owes me money. it did a few sideways cartwheels into the ground, hit a few saplings, few small jumps. didn't get to run it super long since the belt on the belt drive smoked itself..

as for the a-arms from what i have read on here was stick with stock. if you think you might break them then i'd buy a set of stock ones just to have. i like to have some spare parts usually the most common things that break on hand.

kinda wish they would have offered a cheaper option on the carriers without the bearings because i'm all set with metal shielded bearigns.

[Juanmacine]

So I bit the bullet and purchased a set of these puppies.



















Now I know you guys are gonna hate on aluminum, but a I mainly got for the triple bearing action. I’ve been having chronic front inner bearing blowouts along with breaking steering knuckles, enough to justify the purchase. I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend.

Looks outstanding mate.

[95blackz26]

not to steal your thread but here's my truck with the full set.

[afreek1000]

not to steal your thread but here's my truck with the full set.

By all means jack my thread away. I love seeing others rigs and what they’re up to. I especially appreciate you posting pics of your vitavon set up. Looks killer. I’m surprised your using the Badlands. This must mean the aluminum carriers are really up to the task of major abuse, those tires are heavy. I own a set, but unfortunately I’ve shelved them because they were breaking too many components. I’ve opted for a slightly lighter & softer Duratrax Lockups. Having said that. I do love the Badlands otherwise.

[95blackz26]

By all means jack my thread away. I love seeing others rigs and what they’re up to. I especially appreciate you posting pics of your vitavon set up. Looks killer. I’m surprised your using the Badlands. This must mean the aluminum carriers are really up to the task of major abuse, those tires are heavy. I own a set, but unfortunately I’ve shelved them because they were breaking too many components. I’ve opted for a slightly lighter & softer Duratrax Lockups. Having said that. I do love the Badlands otherwise.

i had the beadlocks with the stock plastic carriers and the larger rear bearing. i'm not jumping this thing insane distances but i do like to beat on it like it owes me money. but yeah the aluminum carriers held up so far. unless i plow it into a tree or big rock they should be fine. i also studded my badlands. studs are similar in size in what you would find on a car snow tire.

my front tires. with with less studs.


my rear tires. what i initially did to see if i liked the way it performed.


i have a set of belted duratrax hatchet mt's on my brushless emaxx. looking through the duratrax site and i like one of the tires they have. what's the weight on the duratrax tire VS the badlands.

[afreek1000]

The difference is little (not sure offhand) but they are far softer and give a bit more on impact. Though the durability is a bit less than the Badlands because of that. Those studs are evil looking, love it. Where are you running you need that?

After running my X Maxx this weekend, I’ve confirmed the vitavon carriers are totally worth it. Held up great. But after seeing you purchased the whole set, I think that was the right way to go.

This weekend I busted 2 RPM rear carriers.

[95blackz26]

The difference is little (not sure offhand) but they are far softer and give a bit more on impact. Though the durability is a bit less than the Badlands because of that. Those studs are evil looking, love it. Where are you running you need that?

After running my X Maxx this weekend, I’ve confirmed the vitavon carriers are totally worth it. Held up great. But after seeing you purchased the whole set, I think that was the right way to go.

This weekend I busted 2 RPM rear carriers.

i mainly run it around where i live which is built around a sand pit. some soft sand, some mud/dirt and on the part where the cars drive it's hard packed sand. i had it out last year with the studs in the rear and on the icy parts it just seemed to spin more than it was worth on the ice with the badlands. plus even now where thre ground isn't frozen it still hooks and drives awesome on the hard packed sand.

if i drove a lot on pavement i wouldn't run the studs or just get another set of wheels. i bought the GPS addon for the truck and it said i did 38mph.

not saying the aluminum ones are indestructible but i'd like to think they hold up more than plastic.

[Flux Capacitor]

I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend.

So how are they holding up partner? Looking for some more feedback about how you feel with their performance continuing forward from the rear RPM carriers busting post.

I'm more curious as to how the steering performance is up front with these new style carriers.

[afreek1000]

So how are they holding up partner? Looking for some more feedback about how you feel with their performance continuing forward from the rear RPM carriers busting post.

I'm more curious as to how the steering performance is up front with these new style carriers.

So it’s been about two weeks now, honestly there isn’t much to say. They perform flawlessly.

I’ve taken the X Maxx out about 4 sessions with about 3-4 hrs run time at each session.

The vitavon knuckle sets hold up! No signs of bending or fatigued metal, bearings are tight and Still roll smooth as day 1. Of course, only time will tell how they hold up.

In about the same timeframe, I’ve broken 4 stock knuckles, 1 castor block, and about 4-6 inner front bearings On my other X Maxx which I run just as hard.

Regarding steering performance, I feel it’s slightly tighter but really not noticeable. Keep in mind everything from the steering knuckles on down to the servo horn is stock plastic. So I feel that still introduces the typical front end slop.

I’m sure if one were to introduce all aluminum parts in the front end steering geometry, this would increase steering stability. Probably a better situation for high speed runs or racing.

I’m just Bashing and looking for durability when I’m flying (well, landing)

So to some up, I feel these upgrades fit my needs perfectly. I break a lot of parts on this rig, but hopefully I can exclude the front end from that equation.

[Flux Capacitor]

So to some up, I feel these upgrades fit my needs perfectly. I break a lot of parts on this rig, but hopefully I can exclude the front end from that equation.

Thank you for taking the time to explain further about this new type of carrier. I was figuring with the third bearing, the rolling resistance may have been compromised a little to add strength. The slop can be expected with the stock plastic parts and was glad you mentioned that.

To buy a full set with the addition of Ceramic bearings is not justified for me at this point as I have not yet broken anything related to the parts this carrier replaces. I have had the typical inner bearing seal problem with the stock bearings and Ceramic bearings on the front, but I have remedied that by placing a rubber O-ring tucked up against it to prevent the seal from popping.

I found O-rings that fit snug on the stub axles and yet are the same diameter as the bearing seal because the O-ring is 3mm thick.

[afreek1000]

Oooh like O-ring idea.

I didn’t purchase expensive ceramic bearings to replace the cheap metal shielded ones they came with. I’ve opted for this reasonably priced set : https://jimsbearings.com/products/tr...x-vitavon-hubs

They work just fine.

I also feel the middle (inner) bearing isn’t quite needed as the upgraded inner bearing is vastly larger in comparison to stock.

I agree though, the beefiness isn’t quite needed for a mostly stock setup. But for 800kv motors and large 1.5 mod gears, it sure helps.

[Flux Capacitor]

I agree though, the beefiness isn’t quite needed for a mostly stock setup. But for 800kv motors and large 1.5 mod gears, it sure helps.

Exactly, I don't have an X-Maxx Killer (58113 can/8mm shaft) installed on my X-Maxx, so I'm not really breaking anything at this point. I like not having to take the truck apart every two or three runs because my motor twisted something out of shape; although, I do have to admit that the stock motor is becoming boring and I want to be able to lift the front end on demand anywhere in the throttle range.

With that said, I know the moment I throw a big block in the truck, I know the path it leads down is one of a chain of events that results in more periodic maintenance and upgraded parts. It only took five years for a manufacturer to come out with these carriers that were needed from day one when someone decided to throw a bigger motor in these trucks. Five long years to get a carrier that makes sense for trucks of this size and weight.

I'm still waiting for a few more aftermarket advances before I throw a X-Maxx Killer in my truck. Someone even hinted in another thread that they were able to get the spider gears beefed up but was disappointed to learn that no upgraded output gears were offered as a compliment to go with them. Thanks to Traxxas throwing the proprietary twist on how the output cups are secured to those output gears, I doubt we will ever see any real advancement in the output gears and for me, that may very well be the make or break decision about ever throwing a larger motor in it.