Losi Comp Crawler Tips & Tricks

Losi Comp Crawler Tips & Tricks

(continued from RC Car Action June 2010)

Shocks

The Team Losi Team Drivers provided us with a little setup help. The guys have been running heavier oil in the front. Most of this is due to the shocks in the rear being moved outboard. They say that in most conditions, they’ll run 50WT in the front with 45WT in the rear. This heavier oil tends to make the rig feel more stable and react a little slower. To help lower the CG even more, the team guys have started running their front shocks upside down.

To do this, you need a Traxxas Revo pivot ball, a 4mm spacer and a Dremel. For clearance, you will need to grind off some of the plastic on the axle housing to provide more clearance for the top of the shock body. Once this is done, simply slide the pivot ball into the shock end and mount it to the axle. Use the 4mm spacer to space the “bottom” of the shock out further on the shock arm.

Upper Track Rods

The Comp Crawler has three up and down positions for the upper track rods on both the front and rear end of the rig. Losi’s Jake Wright gave us the hot setup.

“The position of the track rods can greatly affect the handling of the rig. For instance, raising the front track rods to the top position will make the front suspension dive under power. Lowering the rear track rods to the bottom position will make the rear suspension want to counteract the weight of the chassis and lift under power. Combining both of these effects makes for a rig that will actually push the front tires into the rock as it climbs, providing extra traction. This setup works very well in locations with a lot of big vertical climbs. As with any setup, there are some downsides. Running the front track rods in the upper position reduces body roll and makes the rig excel on steep vertical climbs, but makes the rig more difficult to drive through twisty courses made from smaller boulders. With the track rods in the upper position, the front end can’t track along the ground as easily. For running on smaller or loose boulders, running the front and rear track rods in the middle or bottom position usually works better. Again, this is just a general guideline. Different spring rates and shock oils will greatly increase or reduce the effect that the upper track rod position has on handling.”

MOA (Motor on Axle) conversion

Eritexinc.com has released a conversion kit to change your Comp Crawler to an MOA. The kit includes motor mounts, gear covers and pinion gears. It’s a fairly simple conversion. Most of your time will be spent removing the components you don’t need.

There are some advantages to the MOAs. One advantage is the ability to lower the CG by eliminating the center transmission, motor and dig servo that sit up in the skidplate. With all that extra weight gone from the center and the motors on both ends of the axles, this conversion will dramatically lower the CG. The bad news is that you now need two powerplants to move your crawler and some sort of electric dig switch. If you prefer brushed setups, then wiring up a dual brushed motor is not that difficult; but if you want to run brushless, it will require twice the setup and twice the cost. For now, we’re happy with our shafty; but who knows, we may have to get one of these setups to try.

Never miss an issue of RC Car Action!

Subscribe today with a Digital Edition subscription or Print + Digital combo!

 

Updated: July 21, 2015 — 5:15 PM
Air Age Media ©