Adjusting your upper links

[Jake Wright]

The Losi rig has three positions for the upper link/track rods at the chassis. The position of your links on both the front and rear of the rig can have a huge impact on how your suspension works. There is no wrong way to run the links, but some setups are more suited to certain terrain and driving styles. Running the links in the upper hole will make the rear suspension squat and the front suspension dive to some degree. This setup works best on high-traction rock where you don’t have to use a lot of wheel-speed

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5626/83558905.jpg

Moving the links down to the middle or bottom holes will add some anti-squat to the suspension and change how the rig reacts under power. With the links in the bottom hole, the rear suspension will compress less when you hit the throttle. Of course, springs rate and shock oil will come into play here also, so there are a lot of variables. In general, I run my upper links in the upper holes on the chassis on high-traction rock, and I move them down to the middle or bottom holes when I’m crawling on more slippery stuff and using a lot of wheel-speed.

The best way to find out what works for you is to get out and experiment. Try a line 3 or 4 different times with different setups and see what works best. Also try putting the front and rear upper links in different holes and watch what happens. You can really see the squat/anti-squat effect in action if you watch closely when driving up a long vertical climb.

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1956/67722143.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/67722143.jpg/)

Post up what you've found works best for your terrain and driving style!

-Jake

[Dresven]

Great job guys! Keep the information coming.

[Clovis Crawler]

Like those car stands you're using. Both crawlers are hard to set on make-shift stands because of their small bellies (skid plates). Will Losi ever manufacture crawler stands?

And what sits on top of the dig servo? The receiver? The esc? External bec? I think it's the receiver. Doesn't that upset the "balance" and cg of the Comp Crawler?

[Jake Wright]

That is my receiver on top of the dig servo. I put it there for easy access to the wires and bind port if necessary. I'm using a Spektrum sr3500, so its very light and doesn't effect CG too much.

Also, the stands were a prize for 1st place in a comp earlier this year. I never thought I would like them, but they make tuning my rig a lot easier :D

[Clovis Crawler]

I understand why you put your receiver there. It is hard to get to the plugs. I have the same receiver. However, I'm not moving mine. I'll just suffer.

Through another thread, I found the letters "OCRCRC" on the stands. Still think they're cool. Someone out there in the rc crawler world needs to address the crawler's need for a good stand.

Finally, I just noticed two blue wire ties on the left front upper track rod. Do they hold the steering servo's wires? Mine go under the battery tray and through the wire manager.

[Jake Wright]

Good find :D

OCRCRC is Orange County RC Rock Crawling... they're club president made the stands as a prize.

The two blue zip ties hold on my front battery tray. I removed the stock tray in the chassis and lowered my battery to the upper links to get the CG down and drop some sprung weight

[Clovis Crawler]

Cool!!!

I'm going to crawl with the battery in its stock position until I'm used to the crawler. Eventually, I'll try each of the tuning options. But it's best to get the feel of the crawler out of the box (with the exception of weighted wheels and Comp Claws, for my crawler), and then make changes. But I've got to try that one! Do you have any pictures from the top, so we can see it better?

Hey Jake, why don't you start a thread that has all the Losi Team drivers showing all the changes, modifications and set up on their rigs. So far, I'm going to try using grey foams in the rears, move upper track rods up and moving upper shock mounts back later, because of what I've seen and read in the forum.

[Jake Wright]

Good Idea.. I'll whip up something in the morning. I need to get some more photos and post all my setup stuff anyway. Look for a new thread soon!

[dicbipe]

I am new to crawling. I moved my links to the top hole (night crawler), and I had trouble believing how much difference it made! Because I am just crawling around in the basement, I have not tested real world tracks, but I am still impressed.

[Jake Wright]

I'm still running my front upper links in the top hole, but I've dropped my rear upper links down to the bottom hole.

Doing this makes the rig stick to vertical climbs a lot better under throttle, and is worth trying if you're running a softer spring then the stock whites.

[Scott Champagne]

I'm new to crawling and just got the Nght Crawler a month ago. Just moved the upper links, both front and rear came in the middle holes,to try Jakes set up, front in top hole and rear in bottom holes. It seems to have made a big difference in climbing. Before the adjustment the tires would spin trying to climb certain lines and now it crawls up those same lines with no tire spin:D Thanks Jake ! Any other "tips" to try? My rig is mostly stock,Jr sport servo with 240 torque value and a 25t pinion for a bit more speed and a few bodies,proline Helios and VW bug.

[Clovis Crawler]

I'm still running my front upper links in the top hole, but I've dropped my rear upper links down to the bottom hole.

Doing this makes the rig stick to vertical climbs a lot better under throttle, and is worth trying if you're running a softer spring then the stock whites.

If this set up helps in the vertical, how does it work in other areas (side hills, descents and etc)?

Kabuki the Clovis Crawler
Owner of the Losi Micro Rock Crawler, Mini Rock Crawler (my favorite), Comp Crawler (w/lights) and Strike
I love BND and the 30 model memory Spektrum DX3R!:D

[J-Fish]

Wow Im new to crawling and im very happy to see this. Im going straight home to try this setup. On my lake bottom rocks and bolders my LCC was spinning way tooo much on the vertical climbs. Even on slopes and angles that i seen people making it up on youtube. But i had both my upper links mounted on the bottom holes and i bet thats why now. Now all i need to do is figure out what motor to use other then the 55 turn brushed im using now and how to fix my tranny that is slipping. it wont even climb a small rock on flat ground without slipping!

[dicbipe]

Had some time to crawl in the real world, out at Mosquito lake by me. The few mods I have done worked well, but I had to get the memory foam inserts. I saw many situations where more bite would have a huge impact, so I put them in and can't wait to try this mod! I did find, however, paint jobs don't last for sh**! The way this thing reacts makes you forget about chips, digs, etc. I'm loving every second of it!