I spent the last two hours reading over this thread after having come to many of the same conclusions on my own. It would be VERY nice if the information on kit issues were summarized on the first page. Just a suggestion.
My experience with my two worlds rere kits:
Transmission - Top shaft machined incorrectly. Associated sent replacement B4 shafts which were also incorrect. I just used the B4 top shaft spacer, drilled the hole out slightly and that fixed the issue. Using the spacer is a better approach than having the slipper plate seat on the shaft anyway.
Transmission - Idler gear had a VERY slight high spot. I ran it anyway, worked itself out after 20 min or so. I did not seem to have a case issue.
CVD's - As others have found, they will occasionally pop out of the out-drives. It's obvious to me that they are too short, but there's no simple fix that I have found. I added two additional spacers to limit down-travel (which kills me because the local track has big jumps) and it helped, but it's still not right.
Ball cups - complete junk. Despite cleaning the ball studs before assembly, you can remove them ONCE before they are too loose to stay on when the turn buckles are adjusted. Purchased new black ball cups and it's much better. I don't know why this is the case, as the dimensions are the same.
Screws - The 8-32 aluminum screws included for the steering are just sad. The vintage ones are better. I was bending/breaking the new ones left and right on any tiny bump. Replaced with ASC7775 steel screws and have not had an issue yet.
Steering bellcranks - Won't turn when the center nut is installed. Replaced the bushings with bearings and it's perfect.
White plastic colors - steering bellcranks, ball cups appear to have that awful glow-in-the-dark greenish tint. Trans case is also the grayish color and does not match the other white parts. So you end up with a car that's black, and three VERY noticeably different white colors.
pcrussell50 wrote:mikea96 wrote:If the buggy is setup right it can be very competitive against the modern buggies and there are plenty of guys on here that race them!
This is especially true in road racing full sized cars at the amateur level. Good drivers in slower cars routinely spank less skilled drivers with the best cars money can buy.
-Peter
On the local/club level, absolutely. I have taken first place at the last two club races with my re-fit CE in 17.5 blinky. This becomes less and less true as the skill level increases though... once people aren't crashing or driving off the line every lap. I am still a bit faster in my (much heavier) B5M with the same electronics configuration, but driving the RC10 is so much fun I ignore the small handicap.
scr8p wrote:i will say this though, we all know what would turn it all around......
wide track front arms in
white.
I think there is more demand for these than associated knows. I know I would buy a few sets off the bat if they released them.