Predator X11 Build thread
 

Here is a build thread for my new X11,

So far a very nice build, one nice feature is all the chassis,suspension arms etc are all pre tapped so makes for a quick and easy build.

The plastic box it comes in is ace, great for spares storage after build, the manual is easy to follow just take note when building the steering bell cranks as the lipo X11 has the servo on the r/h side of car so you need to swap the bell cranks over to the other sides and file a little bit out of steering link holes in chassis, see pic.

Looking forward to racing it!

Step 1, chassis and arms note: file a little of front arms where the hinge pin goes through so the arms drop under their own weight.
You may have noticed my car has plastic hinge pin holders, these are a X11RS part I'm testing for durabilty.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y.../chassis-2.jpg

Step 2, rear shock tower, all easy stuff here, just drops together!

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ng/photo-3.jpg

ow yes, an other little monster is born!! :wub
Are those plastic hingepin holders also used in the nose and the rear (at the end of the chasis)??

Yup, all four of the hinge pin blocks are plastic, along with them, the diff bushes and pinions (also under testing) are the only plastic parts on the X11RS :thumbsup: (Off the top of my head)

Nice thread btw Mark :)

Ah? I'm sure I've got some plastic diff bushes somewhere from about 1997...

Cheers for answering the questions Will.

Below is a pic (crappy i phone) of the small amount you need to file off for steering rack clearence:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...g/steering.jpg

Just a little note on the diffs, make sure you get the ring gear the right way round, one has a cut out round the gear, this is for the front.

Also I have put 2 sets of thrust plates on each thrust race (4 plates in total), this was a tip from the Team drivers to beef this are up on the car. Also clean and thread lock the diff bolt as it has no nyloc to hold it in place, one this is done should have some beefy long lasting diffs!

Btw the X11 comes with Ceramic diff balls as std :thumbsup:

I did the rest of the build during a race meeting, its an easy build so no problems/tips to report!

Front end:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ling/front.jpg

Rear end:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...dling/rear.jpg

The car so far!.............

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ing/hoecar.jpg

Shocks to do next and electrics

Savox low profile servo, Spektrum micro rx and Hobbywing Xtreme stock esc.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ing/shocks.jpg

the x11 are becoming more popular and to be fair they look pretty good on the track the lack of theaded shocks is a shame but good thread mark looking forward to seing it in the flesh.

Cheers Stu, yes its going together well.

Yes its a bit of a pricey car but doesnt need any upgrades out of the box at all.

You can have a go on it and tell me what you think, be great to see you flying round the Faversham with a Pred :thumbsup:

id love to give it a try i dont think its my cup of tea tho well worth a drive:thumbsup:.

Quick heads up Mark, you've got the upper front wishbones on back to front, also your wheel hexes! flip em over lol ;) Looking good though!

Good spot Will! ;) That will teach me to build it at a race meeting! lol

Shocks tomorrow me hopes!........

On a side note, the shocks with clips are the preffered option as they are 100% accurate both sides, thats unless you want to the get the vernier gauges out on threaded shocks I suppose!

Good for quick set up changes track side :thumbsup:

this is what a lot of the pred drivers say but you know me i am quite happy to get my vernier out it must be an X tc thing.

Hi Mark,

your front upper arms are mounted contrary...:D

steering rack clearence
 

I was only discussing this very mod the other day with somebody, good work Mark :) I also found that an eigth turn off on the steering rack set screws will allow the rack to swing much easier...the fileing mod is the way forward though as this will make it swing super free...top build thread so far Mark, keep up the good work...Predator is the beastyiest 4wd ever...:wub:wub:woot:

Great thread Mark :thumbsup:
Did you do the rear hubs mod? it's a great improvement for the durability of the car, highly recommended.

I guess i should do the filing, as the steering on mine feels like its binding. Thanks for the tip guys.
I will follow this intently, as i put my servo sitting up - interested to see how you fit all your electronics in.

Loving the thread Mark, glad its all coming together. I have to say mate im loving mine, its maiden voyage on sunday took a few rounds to iron out little niggles but by the end of the day it was a monster! Love it! whoop whoop!:woot: Its great to see a few appearing at the club again!

Huh?? never heard about that mod??

It's realy simple.
Instead of attaching the suspension arm and the tow link to the rear hub with a screw from each side, enlarge the hole on the hub slightly and run a long screw from side to side securing it with a lock nut on the other side. It makes the whole thing a lot stronger and eliminates the chance of the screws working them selves loose.

Very nice build thread Mark, little surprised that no one else has done one before.

Not sure but have you fitted the rockers upside down. Looks like the bearing is flush with the rocker looking down, the manual shows to fit with the extended bearing housing upper most. Or is this a mod?

Are you planning on any major mods straight away or just see how it goes in kit form first.

[QUOTE=Mark Headling;597054]On a side note, the shocks with clips are the preffered option as they are 100% accurate both sides, thats unless you want to the get the vernier gauges out on threaded shocks I suppose!

I don't really agree with this, you cannot get a good ride height adjustment from the spacers. The ride height jumps too much for me, even with 1 mm spacer the ride height will be a difference of approx 2-3 mm. If they were threaded you could get the ride height you want, not what you are compromised with.

Looking forward to the finished car Mark, keep it up.

No one has ever done one before because it doesn't really need one, it builds really easy!!!!

Nice work though mark!!

(I feel I have contributed cos you used my dremel!!!)

Yeah since I built mine I didn't realise how easy it is:p

ok have done it allready I see, didn't knew that it had a name :confused:

thanks:thumbsup:

Hi Guys, sorry for the delays in the build, yesterday was spent decorating.

Glad your enjoying the build pics, sorry about the crappy i phone pics, once finished I'll take some proper shots.

Thanks for the pointers, Iv put upper arms and rockers round the right way now! lol :bored:

Neil_p: The only mod I am doing is the push rod mod on the front,Im getting the parts tonight at racing, I'll post up a 'how to' on this mod.

Got a bit done today!

Motor (13.5 for local club,7.5 v3 for mod class ) and servo in, used a bit of bling on the servo mounts, C/S washer and blue m3 locking nut.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ng/motor-1.jpg

Note- used a B4.1 servo horn,this fits the 2.6 mm bolt/pivot ball nicely. I have ali blue servo horns but as there is no servo saver I have gone with plastic for now.

Front end:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...g/frontend.jpg

Here is the progress so far:

Still got to do the shocks but had a wrong piston in the kit, rang Xtreme and have one being bought down to our local club night at FORCC, and one of the team drivers is even building them for me, top service :thumbsup:


http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ling/servo.jpg

So next up will be ESC/RX and wiring and get some rubber on those rims!

Shell will be matt black like my Vega for test run (I think it will look like a stealth bomber!) whilst a proper paint job is done on my spare shell.

Updates to follow..............

Excellent updates Mark,

I can't wait to see the matt black stealth shell.. I bet it'll look awesome..

Looking forward to seeing a lot more X11's flying around the tracks in 2012, fingers crossed I don't get socks this year for Christmas and will be building mine seceretly in a wardrobe as unfortunately it's our turn to have the family down.. lol

Scott..

What ESC and receiver are going in Mark? I had trouble fitting in my Speed Passion GT2.1 EX and spektrum RX. I could only really get it in (without stacking on top of each other) was to stand up the Low Profile servo and having the RX on its side.
I will try and post a pic later, but i'm interested as to how others do it.

Cheers
Neil

Had the same problem with my electronics. When you use a low profile servo that's a really good idea...

btw you don't need rubber on your rims to go fast with a pred!! :thumbsup:

Right update time! (with proper camera!)

Shocks built up by A team driver Will, thanks bud! :thumbsup: 30wt all round on 1 hole piston, blue front springs and red rears.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ng/pred005.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ng/pred001.jpg

Put my Lrp cells in it and spaced up the battey posts with 5mm spacers and m3 x 12 bolts.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y.../pred002-1.jpg

I'v also flipped one of the servo posts to give a little more room to get my HW Extreme stock esc in front of the servo:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y.../pred004-1.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y.../pred003-1.jpg

So just ESC/Rx to install, shell is off to the painters now.

If your having trouble fitting the SP speedo, have a look at Jimmys reports in the News section, there are pics of Ellis Staffords Pred with the speedo on its side behind lo pro servo (solder leads facing upwards), neat way of doing it.

Here is a link to the pic:

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47900

Once ran on the 13.5 I'm going to be getting a 10.5 for mod racing as the cars so light/free drive train it doesnt need a big motor. 10.5 with a bit of boost will be nice I reckon.

Great thread Mark, what is amazing is how little things have changed from the XK5 that I used to race back in the day (Around 1997) a real testament to Richard's design philosophy.

Could I ask why you choose the X11 over the newer crop of 4WD's?