Axle Recommendations

I have a couple JunFac (GMade) R1 crawler chassis and am looking for some recommendations for good quality, but relatively inexpensive axles, and differentials.  I was considering going with Axial AX10 or Wraith axles unless someone has other ideas.  I will also need to hook up the drive train and a four point (?) linkage set.

Should I try and build with Axial, or other components, or just get the JunFac/GMade parts for this chassis?

I am open to any suggestions or tips.

Axial axles will proly be your cheapest and mostquality axles.wraith axleswill be more expensive.they are also wider.aftermarket cost more.but they are nice.

I found this kit from Axial:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_25_1449_780/products_id/74321/n/Axial-Locked-Axle-Set

I guess this is the least expensive way to go.  I will need two kits and I will also need the links.

The Axial ones are about the best bet. I would avoid the wraith axles they will give you to many headaches trying to mount them and are far to wide for what you are doing. For ordering I would look into RPP. Shipping is usually 2 days and Corey is a good guy who takes care of his customers. And they are usually cheaper. For a rock racer I would upgrade the cast gears and aluminum locker. If you know the length of link you are after I can always make you some to suit. I can do Delrin, aluminum, titanium or steel with internal or external 8-32 threads.

I think the Axial axles are going to be the way to go.  Thanks for reminding me of your friends shop RPP.  Don't be shy to post full URLs of websites you recommend on the forums here.  It helps your fellow members and also the shop with link aggregation.

RPP Hobby:
http://www.rpphobby.com/

I did see the RPP price is better than A Main Hobbies.

Speaking of gears: I did replace the stock Axial AX10 gears inside the differentials of my AX10 build with Axial's own spiral cut steel parts so I do have the old unused ones remaining as backups.  I will keep those inside the axles for now to keep costs down and replace them later...unless someone wants to buy them, which I doubt.
However, I also noticed that the gears inside the JunFac/GMade R1 transmission seem to be the same quality/material as the stock Axial differential gears.  They don't look very sturdy.  Does anyone know if the Axial AX10 transmission fit into the R1 chassis?  I'm talking about this one:
http://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/ax30487.htm

They have about the same physical size and can be made to fit without to much problems. They are pretty close in durability in stock form in fact the gmade 32pitch gears are a little tougher than the axials 48p. With the addition of some Robinson gears though the Axial one becomes near bulletproof. Add in a Vanquish case and BWD motor plate and good luck breaking it with any amount of power. I like to run 32p pinion and spur on my axial trannys also.

Thanks for the info.  OK, I will keep the stock GMade R1 transmission then for now to keep costs down.

What do you think I should use for budget links?

For links on the cheap I like some 8-32 allthread sleeved with some stainless tubing and revo ends. 5/16 delrin rod with 8-32 inserts work very well also for lower links and are dirt cheap.

Do you think the XR10 bent plastic links will work?  I got the upgrade aluminum ones for the XR10 and won't be needing the stock plastic ones.  If they would fit that would take care of four of the eight links.

I would just go ahead and use them for the lowers then and make a set of uppers to fit the needed length. You could probably even find a set of honcho plastic links and make them work for the uppers. Are you planning on building something fast?

No, not fast at all, slow and a good climber hopefully.

I have the original shocks (plastic) from the AX10 but they look like they are too big.  Do you think they would work if I cut, or use shorter springs?

I personally would not use them. They are a leaky mess and don't work very well. The length would leave you sitting pretty high and limiting them down to where you would want to be would make the stroke very short and cause ill handling. Have any traxxas shocks around? Their ultra shock isn't to bad and the bigbore is the favored crawler shock with losi and axial right behind.

Do you have a part number or link to the Traxxas shock you are talking about?

The plastic ones I spoke of are these:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_25_1466_660/products_id/17612/n/Traxxas-Ultra-Shocks-Long-Gray-2?utm_source=Google-Base&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product-Feeds&source=google_ext

The big bores are these:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_25_1466_660/products_id/18965/n/Traxxas-Hard-Anodized-Teflon-Coated-Big-Bore-Front-Shock-Set-Long-2?utm_source=Google-Base&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product-Feeds&source=google_ext

The big bores are a beautiful working shock when properly assembled. Smooth as butter and leak free. The plastic ones are decent also they just have a little more stiction. Both of the ones I listed are found on the front of traxxas vehicles like the slash, rustler, stampede platforms. For extra length you can do a rodend mod on the cap. the rears or xxl ones are a hair long in most cases. There are a ton of options out there but these are ones I have always had good luck with and are a reasonable price. You can get some other good options like the Losi and aluminum axial ones but be prepared to drop some coin on them.

Thanks.  I like the aluminum ones better also, the only thing missing are threaded bodies.  Have you ever tried OFNA short course shocks on a crawler?  These are what are on my OFNA Hyper 10SC and have been great, leak free and took a lot of abuse:
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_25_1461_1366/products_id/161895/n/OFNA-Front-Rear-Shock-Set-2
They cost a lot more than I want to spent though.

I haven't used them personally but have seen and heard nothing but good things about them. I'm not a threaded body guy on a crawler personally. I usually chuck them in the lathe and turn the threads off. I do a little tuning and find the perfect spring and call it a day. A lot of times we are using so much steering that the tire will actually hit the adjuster and thread it up or down. I go for a smooth body and mini springs. On my fast stuff and sc trucks I do run threaded bodies though and enjoy the extra tuning ease. Hopefully some others will chime in on their preferences also.

What shock bodies are those in the first and fourth photos?  They do not have shock caps and seem to be solid metal up to the mounting hole.

What springs are you using that have the smaller diameters for utilization on the shock end instead of around the body?

Photos 1, 2, and 4 are losi ccr shocks. They are very nice but into the $60+ range for a set. You have to do a little work to keep them from leaking or invert them. When you invert them you must emulsify them before you run by pumping your truck a few times up and down. That comes from them being a bottom filled shock and not having a bladder. I like a bladder shock for the reason you can invert them with no ill effects or silly tactics lol. The ones in the second pic have custom cartridges on them that clip the spring on that I made a while back. They held the spring tight and cured all leaking problems. I need to write a program for them and make some more as they were pretty sweet. I use mini t and mrc springs for all my crawler shocks. They are available in a bunch of rates that are perfect for most applications. They fit the bigbores perfect with no mods and require some heat shrink or custom cartridges to work right with the Losi ones. The shocks off the Losi sct trucks are the same ones with no thread and black anodized. They can be found for cheaper than the lcc ones. I have some here waiting to be swapped onto the truck in pic#1

Thanks again for the information.
Have you ever assembled shocks with the springs inside like the GMade R1 stock shocks?  It looks like the shock springs you are using might fit inside the shock bodies.

In the last pic of the Losi they are internally sprung. It works out okay but takes a ton of tuning and tweaking to get it just right usually. Mt biggest issue is the loss of oil volume causing different than normal handling. But with some piston changes and fluid you can make them work pretty good. On thing to remember about internal springs is they will limit your stroke in most cases. Not that that is bad, just something to think about and make it more confusing lol.