ASK Cub Report, 11.21.2013, Version- Your Astute Questions, My Slacker Answers

“Hey Guys,

I wanted to thank you again for the Invictus. Attached are some pictures from my Sons 6th birthday where we gave him the truck. He was screaming with joy!! Made his birthday. We had it hid away for a few months that is why it has taken time to get you pictures! My wife was laid off her job 2 years ago so we were able to give him a great present from Big Squid RC!!! Thanks soooo much! He has already put Big Squid RC decals on it!

Nathan M.”

Cubby- Yo to the yo Nathan, thanks for checking in after winning the Helion Invictus monster truck. And ya, your son looks crazy stoked in the pics, glad Helion and BigSquidRC were able to help put a smile on his face. Happy to hear he is digging the truck, and congrats again on the big score.

Here is a little side note on our Helion Invictus review. During our review period we experienced a significant amount of cogging with it. The review went up and the crew over at Helion read about it and suspected our test sample had issues. Our test truck was a pre-production unit, something we were not aware of during the review. Anyways, we shipped the truck back to Cali and got it back with full production electronics. We haven’t had any cogging issues with it since, and we’ve been bashing it on a regular basis.

“I have a question, do you know of any hobby shows in the New York area?

David M.”

Cubby- Hey now Daveee M, thanks for the email.

No, there aren’t any “major” hobby shows in the greater NY area. We’ve actually batted around the idea of doing something in that area. The New York/New England area is crazy for rc, I personally think a show in that area would freak’n blow up huge. So who knows, give us a couple more years to get some big bucks together and we might put on something cool out your way.

Until then, the closest thing to an rc trade show in your “area” would be Motorama in Hanover PA. Several rc manufactures set up booths in additional to all the rc racing that goes on over the weekend. The dates are Feb 15-16 in 2014, check it out if ya get a chance.

“Hi Cubby,

I have a 1/8th scale 4wd buggy with a center, rear and front fluid filled differential. Im not sure what wieght the factory used to fill the differentials and i would like to know your recommendation on what fluid weight i should use when i go to perform maintenance on the diff’s. A general guideline for bashing would be great as i dont race at the track.

Thanks and keep up the good work over at BSRC!

David O.”

Cubby- What’s up Daveee O? Word up on the email.

So… what is a recommended starting point for diff oils for bashing? Should they be different than racing?

In racing, changing weights of the diff oils is a great tuning aid. If you need more rear traction you go to thinner oil in the rear, if want less front bite, you go higher in the front. Things are a bit different for the bashing crowd where diff oil is truly used more to help keep tires from ballooning and to help pull gnarly tricks. Bashers also tend to have a LOT more power on tap than the average racer.

In a typical basher set-up you’ll usually find much heavier center oil for sure. This helps a basher in a number of ways. First off, it helps keep the front tires from becoming pizza cutters when you tag the gas on 6S. A heavier center oil will force more of the power to go to the rear, resulting in less pizza cutting. Thicker center oil also makes it easier to pull back and front flips when jumping. A buggy with heavy center diff oil will be much more reactive to throttle input while in the air. Also, bashers like wheelies! A loose center diff will prevent a buggy from pulling a wheelie, forcing all the power to the front wheels when they lift from the ground. Going to a super heavy center diff oil will ensure plenty of power goes to the rear wheels, making it easier to pop wheelies.

As far as the front and rear diffs go, bashers tend to run somewhat heavier oil than a “racer” set-up. Because bashers aren’t looking for maximum corner speed, they are willing to trade some traction for the ability to keep the inside tires from pizza cutting in the corners.

So what weights should you run? That is entirely up to your personal driving style and taste. Light oils are easier to drive and jump, heavier oils can help you pull more extreme bashing moves. Personally I would recommend you start at 20k center, with 10k front and 5k rear, all oil Mugen. This might sound heavy, but if you are a core basher running crazy power, you might very well end up going much heavier to keep things under control. I recommend Mugen diff oil because it is relatively affordable and easily found at hobby shops and on-line. If those weights are hard to drive, go lower for more traction, if you are still having issues with ballooning, go heavier on the applicable diff.

Ask ten different guys and they will give you ten different recommendations, but at the end of the day you gotta do some bashing to figure out what works best for you.

That’s if for this week ya bunch of lunatics, keep those emails pouring in, I promise they will get read (eventually). Shoot me whatever is on that seedy mind of yours to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If your letter makes the big time you’ll win a free sticker pack, if I proclaim yours “Letter of the Month!” you’ll get a brand spank’n new BSRC Bash Crew t-shirt.

YOUR Cub Reporter