sperera's baja experience begins

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I know how you feel Sperera...I got the HPI Baja 5b SS back in March and had to wait two week for it to come in.
 
thanks heaps for the link BTB. Anyone know off the top of their head what the layshaft/diff ratio is on stock 4WD baja? Just trying to do some calculations in my head.

based on that table I have 1 option to gear it down on the clutch/spur gears, thats the 16/48 option. Does that sound correct? I think stock gearing on mine is 16/46 but i haven't counted yet so I don't know.

I think ive got a spare 48T spur left over from my MT now that ive upgraded to alloy, will this mesh ok with the stock clutch gear?
 
ok ive confirmed from FG that stock is 18/48 (pinion/spur) and told that 48t wont mesh with the 18t pinion, ill need to get my hands on a 16t pinion.
 
ok the next thing I want to upgrade on the Baja are the shock. stock ones are damn strong but they don't return very well. im thinking of trying lauterbacher ones but cant find a pair online. Anyone know where I can get a price for a set of these? Or is there something else thats good I can use?
 
no never changed the oil but the baja is only a few weeks old, wouldnt have run 10 tanks in it yet.

to be completley honest i don't know what im doing when it comes to shocks.

had a long chat with colin @ CFR today who has recomended I try the FG tuning shocks, advised they are better suited to jumping because of the largaer oil capacity than the lauterbacher's. so this is what im looking at 66292 and 66293 with the Tuning Pistons 6484 Pistons and 7091/01 and 7091/02 Shafts.

ah decisions decisions
 
stock buggy should be 18/46. if you need more bottom you could go 17/47 or 18/48, or even a smaller layshaft gear, say a 14 or 15 as 16 is stock
 
hi Pipe, im going 16/48, i didnt think the stock 18t pinion would mesh with the 48t spur so got one of them as well.

going to try it out over the weekend, will let you know how I go.

might get one of those 8K springs as well, don't think its going to be much difference over the stock blue one but worth a try.
 
also ive decided to go the FG shock set up, Colin @ CFR has given me a good price on the parts I listed yeasterday including the upgraded pistons and shaft so it should be quite good. hopefully I will have these end of next week.
 
wow what a weekend. I managed to break both the baja and mt!

my mate who runs a FS King Kong had a run away and it collected the front of my baja head on. I broke a top shock cap (little plastic bit with hole in it) but mate broke front swing arms and badly bend the chassis (real bad) so I guess I came off ok!

Also did some massive jumping the beetle, had it 10-12 foot easy in the air and landing ok, last one though I landed badly, popped out a dog bone and theoutdrive and broke one of the ball joint things that attach to the uprights.

doesn't matter about the shock as I get my alloy ones later this week!
 
thats excellent news, im expecting big things out of them to be honest. I like the stock ones, their strong and don't leak, well not in my experience anyway so i want the alloy ones to be just as strong, not leak but provide a little more damping and return better than stock ones.
 
noticed there's allot of crap around the rear diff bearing where the outdrive goes in, how do I remove these bearings? being plastic housings etc. i know i wont need to use heat, do I need a special tool or anything?
 
just use a tube pressed against the outer race (do NOT put pressure on the inner race as you'll brinell the races) and tap with a manchester spanner (hammer)
 
inner race = inside ring of the bearing that spins,
then comes the rolling element (balls in this case)
outer race = outside ring of the bearing that sits in the diff holder.

if you hammer on the wrong race the balls will microscopicaly dent the races, and a million or so revs later the bearing will fatigue around the dents and die (a few tanks in RC car terms). So make sure when pressing in bearings that all the force goes on whichever race you are trying to move

i.e. if pressing into a hole put the force on the outer race, if pressing onto a shaft put the force on the inner race).

bearing_exploded.webp

see following link for some propper engineering data on bearings http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/bearing.htm
 
a pic from a weekend at Rossco's, it was a wet one! But heaps of fun.

Oh and my new shocks and other bits arrived today. Guess i know what ill be doing tonight!
 
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