Crawler 9398 4x4 first mod

[cammellostanco]

First post... I just got the awesome 9398... I was at a car dealer, when I stumbled on a Lego Box ... my girlfriend was also charmed and in 15 mins we were both buying again our Lego!! After 20 years !

So ... to the 9398, excellent machine, huge fun to build and watch watch it move its first metres...!

I spent some time yesterday playing in the snow... stock tyres are really NOT OK for off roading!

I got myself four <Hpi Racing Ground Assault>, soooo much better.

Only drawback: they're too wide and , unless you glue them, they stay off the rim on the external side...

[clarkdef]

Cool, that set leaves it's self open for modification there is a lot you can do to enhance it. One thing I wish someone could change would be the steering sweep.

[DLuders]

@ cammellostanco: Welcome to Eurobricks! You may enjoy reading how 3rd-party RC-type tires (in the 1.9" Inside Diameter size) can fit on the 9398's wheels (the 44772 "Wheel 56mm D. x 34mm Technic Racing Medium"). The softer, stickier compound in the RC offroad tires make the 9398 crawl MUCH BETTER -- check out this Eurobricks topic. Through some experimentation, 1.9" scale tires in the 37mm-48mm widths work best.

Edited December 9, 2012 by DLuders

[Edwin Korstanje]

Welcome at Eurobricks Cammellostanco,

I hope you will post some pictures from your first MODs from the 9398 and what Dluders already said you can find much better tires at the 3rd-party topic.

I wish you and your girlfriend a lot of fun with building again

[cammellostanco]

From this very first and rough pic, you can see the tyres.

They are really coming out of the rim.... but I did not want to glue them onto the rims...

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/cammellostanco/9398-Mods/img_20121209_005022.jpg

Edited December 10, 2012 by Big Cam
oversized image tags removed

[DLuders]

@ cammellostanco: I see that those HPI Racing Ground Assault Tires have 2.2" inside diameter. In that Eurobricks 3rd Party Tires topic, there was some experimentation with 2.2" RC-type tires and people noticed that 2.2" tires were too loose on the Lego 44772 wheels. I cannot tell how WIDE those HPI tires are.

On this Eurobricks post, there are several pictures of Hollowpoint Scale Comp 2.2 Tires mounted on the 22969 "Power Puller" wheels:

RECOMMENDATION: Although third-party, RC-type tires DO FIT on the Lego 22969 Power Puller wheels, the protruding outer flange of the wheel looks a bit odd. Since those wheels are rare and expensive, I recommend using common Lego 44772 wheels for Lego Technic vehicles with fenders. If you have an articulated Lego Rock Crawler (without fenders), then you can select among many of these sizes of tires in the chart below. I'm sure there are other RC tire manufacturers in other countries that would have tires in the ~2" (51mm) width range.

[cammellostanco]

WoW I did discover a whole new world! Thank you all... I am keen on reading, unfortunately, getting the pieces is expensive ... :(

[cammellostanco]

And, as promised, I have changed to 8:24 the gearing on each wheel plus installed a different (hugher) protection plate on the gears at the front/bottom of the truck.

Here some test with different setups.

This thing is a monster

[DLuders]

@ cammellostanco: So (from your video), it seems that your HPI Racing Ground Assault Tires are much better in the snow than the 9398's stock Lego 54120 balloon tires. It seems that ANY OTHER TIRE than the one in the 9398 set is BETTER. I sure hope that the winning Crawler entry in the 2012 Lego Technic Competition has different tires (for better performance)....

[cammellostanco]

Yes, indeed, the HPI tyres are awesome on any terrain, sooo much softer. I'd love to have bigger rims though!

Videos were SHOT in HD.... I did mess up big time during post production.... sorry

Edited December 24, 2012 by cammellostanco

[Edwin Korstanje]

looks great in the snow