This upgrade replaces the stock ball joint rear drive with a solid shaft. Use the old ones as spares for the front! Of course the solid shaft takes away the easy to do 4 wheel steer that the stock rig is set up for but this is a Comp Rig and 4WS isn’t legal so in this case the other added benefits are worth the replacement.

Stock MRC rear hub on the left and udgrade on the right

Losi stock axle on top and upgrade on the bottom

In addition to the axle upgrade the aluminum hubs offer more clearance with a more svelte form and recessed screws that are more out of the way than the standard rear hubs.

Stock Losi MRC rear hubs

Here you can see the better clearence offered by the upgrade hub

This upgrade is a bit spendy but the quality is great and, for comp rigs, worth it!

Losi Part Number LOSB1423

For now I am using stock Losi electronics but I may end up upgrading down the road.

There is some decent room in the NAT for electronics but a bit of planning made things go easier. After trying components in different spots I basically decided to go with a similar set up to the one I am using on my modified stocker.

The stock Losi ESC is mounted on the rear 3-link using my now standard G-erber link tray.

The factory Losi Receiver is mounted on the rear axle using the servo mount with the switch on the small shelf in the “rear window”

Electronics mounted towards the rear

Battery mounted on the front 3 link

I am using a 7.4V 2S 1000mAh LiPo mounted on another G-erber tray on the front 3-link.

The components are a fairly tight fit but everything seems to move freely and smoothly.

I’ve been driving the NAT on the Mini Speedway indoor course and it seems to work very well. I need to work more on the shocks but will wait until the Losi aluminum shocks are available. I want to either buy or make a skid plate that moves the lower links more inboard and find some smooth lower links; maybe Delrin.

The NAT with my modified Losi MRC

Driving indoors at Mini Speedway

Indoor course driving at Mini Speedway

Here are the parts I used for the servo mount:

Axial Aluminum tray from a Scorpion
3 Racing Aluminum Servo Posts
Kyosho Mini-Z Wheel Bushings as spacers under the tray

First up was modifying an Axial Scorpion servo plate to use with the JR ST-126MG servo. I use this servo on my 2.2 rig before I picked up a JR 8711 for it and it was pretty decent on that rig so I am sure it will be fine on the NAT. The servo puts out 142 ounces at 6 volts. I am probably going to get a BEC in case this thing stresses the stock ESC too much. We will see how it goes.

I screwed the Scorpion plate down to a chunk of 2×4 so it would stay put while I drilled and countersunk the MRC holes. I simply used the stock mount as a pattern.

Scorpion mount screwed to a chunk of wood

Customized mount ready to install

I installed the mount to the axle using some Kyosho Mini-Z spacers to raise the plate a bit.

See the Kyosho spacers?

I used 3 Racing servo posts to screw the JR ST126MG to.

Before I get to the electronics I had to finish up the steering. I used Cody’s stainless steering rods and parts from the stock drag link.

Stock parts with the new stainless replacements

I simply cut the ends off to length and bored out a hole to thread the stainless steel rod into. I measured a 95mm spacing on the main drag link. Good to know if you want to retain the stock toe. Of course you can adjust the toe with the threaded rod but, for me, stock seems fine. The stock steering ends are nice and strong and since I didn’t have any of the link ends to do this right this seemed like it would work fine. And it does! The stainless links give good clearance and take the torque of the JR servo fine.

Modified drag link

Servo installed and steering links attached

This orange and black beauty is 4-5/8 ounces stripped of components and is ready to install the components.

The parts I am using for now:

• Losi MRC Axles, Transmission, Upper and Lower Links
• Stock MRC Shocks
• Internal Pen Springs for the Shocks
• Losi ESC and Receiver
• Stock Losi Motor
• JR-Servo High-Torque ST126MG
• Eritex Delrin Wheels in a wide offset and RIT dyed orange.
• Front wheels have Blue Compound Losi Mini Rock Claws weigh 6-7/8 ounces
• Rear wheels have Blue Compound Losi Mini Rock Claws weigh 5-3/4 ounces
• Axial Aluminum tray from a Scorpion
• 3 Racing Aluminum Servo Posts
• Kyosho Mini-Z Wheel Bushings as spacers under the tray

These parts will give me a good start but I do have some replacement ideas for the future.

Here is a shot of the DMG NAT with my Alluminiti that I am still gathering parts for.

The NAT with big brother Alluminiti

After taking the stock MRC apart. I flipped the tranny around when I installed the skid plate in the new NAT chassis.

I originally had a Holmes Mini Torquemaster installed but later switched back to a stock motor for now.

I decided to start with a semi droop setup since I had the stock shocks and I like the way the black shocks look plus, after setting up the shocks I think they might work well. We will see. I used 50 wt Losi oil and some short pen springs inside the shock bodies.

The links mounted up and ready for shocks

Eritex wheels, blue Mini Claws and orange Rit dye make for some cool wheels!

Shocks mounted up

Looks like a good amount of travel

The new 2.2 Comp Crawler from Losi

This is one of those I expected it but didn’t see it coming deals for me. It was natural to expect a 2.2 crawler from Losi, after all they have been making option parts for a while and their crawler tires and shocks are some of the best out there, I just did not expect to see it until next year. Well, in reality we won’t see it until next year. I pre-ordered mine today and the expected fulfillment date is late February to early March 2009. At least in this area of the country, Wisconsin, that is still before the outdoor season starts so I can see if I will have a new gladiator on the rocks or if the trusty Black Widow will soldier on.

So, the new 1/10 Comp Crawler Race Roller is a factory built comp rig for the 2.2 class that is a roller much like Axial’s popular ARTR rig but with some important pluses, at least from the specs…

Some highlights of the new Losi crawler are:

• A factory DIG!
• Worm gear drive solid axles
• Factory 4-link suspension
• Real beadlock wheels with aluminum outer rings
• Rock Claw Tires
• Ready for installation of the electronics of your choice
• Factory front CV axles
• Losi Crawler Shocks
• Adjustable shock mounts

Notice in that list several performance options that are accessories or aftermarket parts on other rigs. 

The new  1/10 Comp Crawler Race Roller is Losi part number LOSA0051

There is a bunch more information on the Losi site at:

http://www.losi.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSA0051

The Losi Crawler looks the part!

Looks like well thought out gear areas.

It was about 35 degrees most of the day but the wind was blocked for the most part and it was really quite comfortable.

With Thumbman as a guide, since he had more experience crawling at the lake than either Slick or me, we started out on the west side at the lot just before the ranger station and spent a battery pack’s worth of time working our way down towards the lake finding plenty of good lines through the rocks and a couple of sections that look promising for future comps. The best spot in my opinion was near the bottom of the path near the lake where, with a bit of debris cleaning, we should have a decent spot.

After a stop back at the vehicles for a snack and battery charging we made our way over to the East Bluff area. The walk up wasn’t too bad and when we got to the top we found some excellent crawling. The rocks at the top on the east side are much bigger than the rocks at the bottom on the west side and there are several areas that remind me of castle ramparts or parapets. Each had a slightly different character but all were really great. I was constantly amazed at the traction available even though the rocks and tires were cold. Judiciously placed in amongst the good grip were plenty of worn sections that were slick and treacherous. A hundred or more years of hikers sure do wear rocks in some places. It was easy to see where folks have been sliding down rocks for years. Oh, I suppose Mother Nature does Her part too.

I’d changed my wheels/tires from the Axial/Hammer combo to a Pro-Line/Rock Claw combo and liked the performance of this set up better than the earlier combo.

Overall, my Scorpion based MFM Black Widow performed really well. I am stocked that with just a bit more tuning it will make me look good despite all I can do to the contrary!

Slick and I had a bit of driving with the Losi Minis too. Slick had his working the big rocks really well. Boy, those Losi memory foam inserts sure do stiffen up in the cold but the blue compound tires rule the rocks!

Don’t miss the GTG at Devil’s Lake! I am now even more convinced that it is the best rc rock crawling in Wisconsin.

On the main drag, amongst all the waterparks and other attractions, I did find a readily accessible wall that was fun for a couple of passes at the Flamingo Motel. The motel was already closed for the winter but the wall is right along the sidewalk so it would be accessible anytime. I got several looks and one guy who stopped to ask the usual questions all in the 20 minutes or so I spent working the wall.

The crawling area is a 300 foot-plus long and 15 foot high stretch of some kind of sandstone/limestone. It was uncovered when the builders excavated the hill to level it for the Kohl’s. I assume it is the same rocks that the river cut through to make the Dells. It is cut at about a 45 degree angle so you can practice your sidehilling and while it is grippy in some spots it is crumbly and slick in others. In addition there is some erosion on the rock that makes nice rills to work.

In addition there is a section of rocks that were put in for erosion control from the parking lot that is above the one that I was working. They worked well too.

I took it out to the rocks we used last week for our comp in Milwaukee and ran both courses that I used my somewhat modded ARTR on last week and had a much easier time clearing sections that I had trouble with last week. I know part of the ARTR’s problem was that it was too stiff so when I made the switch I removed the external springs from the Losi shocks and just went with the internal springs. It seems to be working well.

I have the Losi shocks set up with internal springs and the chassis sits at about 2.75 inches but there is about another .75 inches of travel available when a wheel drops.

The wheelbase as currently set up is just over 12.25 inches.

Here is how my rig is currently set up:

• MFM Black Widow Chassis
• Axial transmission
• Axial Comp Universal Joints
• STRS Steering Knuckles
• HR C-Hubs
• JR 8711 bad boy steering servo
• TCS 4 link front and rear
• Losi shocks all around with internal springs and 80 wt oil
• Revo lower links on the Delrin links.
• Proline 8 Shooter wheels
• Losi Rock Claws
• 7-cell NiMh battery
• Integy 60t Lathe Motor
• Novak Goat Crawler ESC
• KO Propo EX-1UR 2.4 GHz Tx & Rx
• JConcepts “Stage Killah” body is on the way! Using the XC-1 for now

I hit a spot before you get to the main entry gate at the head of the West Bluff Trail and then another at the end of the parking lot after the East Bluff Trail. Both were really good with some HUGE rocks and the ability to string a few together if you don’t mind leaves.

Is a battery powered leaf blower appropriate? If not, next time I’ll bring a broom to shoo a few of the leafs out of the way and open up some transition routes between he big rocks.

Some very experienced RC crawlers have called Devil’s Lake the best RC rock crawling in Wisconsin. At this point I am inclined to agree!