My Ground Pounder!!

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

After enjoying the Clod so much I decided to get myself a Ground Pounder. I did a lot of research and went into this with my eyes wide open, knowing that there are some deficiencies with these trucks. I plan to keep it stock so figured that the chances were that I would be immune to most if not all of the known problems. It took me a battery and a bit for the issues to arise. More on that later.

I picked this up on Ebay and was impressed with the 10 day shipping to Australia. First impressions were that the tyres are ugly! Size wise they look quite fine when the truck is up and running. The tread pattern and the wheel diameter don't appeal to me though. The wheel spanner that comes with the kit doesn't fit the wheel nuts which is kind of odd, but not that big a deal. The tires definetely feel like they need foam. The plugs on the battery and esc are annoying. I would have thought it better to go with Tamiya plugs. I cut them off and put Deans plugs on anyway.

The Ground Pounder is significantly quicker than the Clod. The tyres are really grippy. With the extra speed and grippy tyres the Ground Pounder easily climbed the gravel hill that I drive up with the Clod and the Wraith.

A few comparison shots with my Clod.....

Didn't take long for this to happen...........

Top broke off the shock as well

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

After a bit of stuffing around I got the axle brace made. It is made from 3mm steel and the axle is stiff as.

I put some Maxx shocks on, but they are as stiff as the originals. I have another set on order that should do the trick. I'm going to buy some more chassis braces too as there is quite a bit of flex in there.

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

Well, I found a use for the TXT-2 wheels and tyres!

GP (265 grams), TXT-2 (250 grams), Rumbles (325 grams), Stock Clod (350 grams). All clod/TXT wheels weighed with a clod hub. For the Wraith fans wanting to fit the TXT-2 W&T's, weight is 150 grams. I think the TXT-2 wheels and tyres would look awesome on a Wraith! Unfortunatley I sold my Wraith to fund buying the TXT-2, so I didn't get to fit them up.

This is using the stock TXT-2 wheels and tyres, clod hubs drilled out to suit the TXT holes. Another couple of mm for the nut to thread onto the stub axle would be good. The GP hex's are 7mm in width. I have ordered some aluminium 4mm hex's from Hobbyking which should do the trick. Only cost a few bucks. In the mean time I filed down the plastic wheel hexes as I couldn't wait to run these!

The width stays around the same as the TXT-2 wheels and tyres are not as wide as the GP's, but they are pushed out further. I really hated the stock GP W&T's as I think they make it look like a cheap toy. The TXT-2 W&T's look a lot better I think, a bit better scale and more realistic wheels. I wasn't going to use them on the TXT-2 anyway, so I think this is a good compromise for the GP.

Just waiting on new shocks to arrive before I give it another Pounding!

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

CPE Diff Locks

Anyone running the CPE driff locks for the GP?

I bought two, but when I went to fit them I found that the drive cups are longer and when installed, don't allow the steering knuckles to turn. There is another set of drive cups included so I went to fit those, but they are too big for the axle housing. Unless I'm missing something completely obvious, I suspect that these diff locks are actually of a different model than the Ground Pounder. There seems to be a crossover of parts from a few different chinese made trucks. I have emailed Brett from CPE a number of times in regards to this over the last two weeks, but I have not yet received a reply from him. I have bought a lot of gear for my Clod from CPE, so I can only assume that Brett is away or having computer issues.......... In the mean time, can anyone else shed any light on this?

EDIT: Becoming a little clearer now.... I have been sold Mad Gear Cliff diff locks (they came in a Mad Gear bag): http://www.rcmt.net/forums/showthread.php?25855-Another-axle-option-Mad-Gear-Cliff-axles

Also, has anyone cut the topf of the chassis off to lower the body?

TXT-2.0 · May 23, 2013

those wheels and tires dont look half bad on there

much better fit than being on the txt-2

i like your axle brace very well done

pebble crusher · May 23, 2013

I like your axle brace and lower shock mount. It looks like a very nice and economical solution to a very annoying problem.

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

TXT-2.0 said:
those wheels and tires dont look half bad on there much better fit than being on the txt-2

i like your axle brace very well done

Thanks! I think the tyres look ok as the GP is a bit smaller than the TXT-2. The GP body is very narrow, so the tyres look more in scale. The tread pattern is so much better the the GP's, I can't put into words how much I dislike them!

SixtysGuy · May 23, 2013

pebble crusher said:
I like your axle brace and lower shock mount. It looks like a very nice and economical solution to a very annoying problem.

Thanks! Took a while to figure out, but now that I have made one, it will be easier to make another. Might even get another GP! I love the look of it now that the dissapointment of braking the axle housing has worn off!

SixtysGuy · May 26, 2013

After the initial problems I had with the GP, I learnt to like it! It was really hard to like with those wheels and tyres. I managed to run another few batteries through it and had a lot of fun. The shocks are too hard still, but I have some on order - should be here tomorrow. I'll wait to announce what they are until i know that they work.

Today I managed to stuff the rear drive shaft

mad As above, I really like the GP, but I can't help but think that out of the box it isn't really up to the job. I'm running it completely stock - no mod motors, still running stock esc and nimh batteries. I am not giving this a flogging, yet these issues continue to arise. I have ordered some Junfac drive shafts that hopefully won't need replacing any time soon. I've paid extra for express shipping, so hopefully they will be here before the weekend. At least this will give me some time to get the rear axle brace made and lock the rear diff. I still have a TXT-2 to build too!

SixtysGuy · May 31, 2013

Frustration continues......... :mad

Installed Axial Wraith shocks last night. Not as flexy as I thought they would be, but not bad.

I also installed the Junfac drive shafts.

I worked out of town today in a city around 200km from me that I know has an offroad outdoor RC track. While I was at it I slipped away from work to give the GP a run on the track. I was the only one there, so it was a good chance to give it a proper run.

About 5th lap in I was practicing power sliding through a corner when I had a head on with a 2.5" piece on corrugated plastic drain pipe (they use these as borders on the track). Broke the long steering rod, Junfac front drive shaft and one of the plastic ends on one of the lower suspension links. I couldn't believe this..... :mad

I thought about buying a CPE 4 link kit or some gear from RC4wd to beef it up a bit, but decided to get out of it cheap and replace the broken parts with stock items. I'm kind of thinking of getting it running again and then selling it.

SixtysGuy · Jun 21, 2013

Bit of an update......

I have a love/hate relationship with the GP! When it is going I love it and when it breaks I hate it! Thanks to CPE I managed to get the GP back on the road.

The Wraith shocks aren't very good. I thought they were nice and soft on the Wraith, but they just don't flex on the GP. I picked up a new set of stock shocks from a Terry Plum from The Monster Factory. He was very generous and helpful. Top guy to deal with........ When they arrive I will play around with them and make them work.

I stole the Shock Therapy body for the Clod, so I decided to pick up a Quannum Skull Crusher body off Hobby King. While I was waiting for it to turn up I fitted up the Grave Digger body that I have. I can't decide which one I like the best! The Skull Crusher body is a little on the small side, but it fits in with the rest of my trucks, all of which are utes.

SixtysGuy · Jun 22, 2013

Finally converted to lipo batteries. Wow! What a difference. Top speed went from 21.7kph to 24.3kph (13.5mph to 15.1mph). I bought a couple of 12800 2S Integy batteries from Hobby King. I couldn't think of a good reason to not go as large as possible as far as capacity goes. I had to to move the rear battery cup back about 15mm (as far as it can go) to fit. Fits perfectly now.

Only problem I had was about 20 minutes in I fried the stock motor. Not sure why this would happen. Crappy motor? Geared too high? I am only using stock gearing.

After running it I decided that I like the look of the Skull Crusher body better. I changed the body mounts to some cheap HSP ones of Ebay which fit better.

SixtysGuy · Jun 23, 2013

I pulled an old silver can from my Clod and put on the Ground Pounder to get it up and running again. Fried this motor in ten minutes...... I have picked up a Venom 3600kv brushless motor cheap. Should be here by next weekend. I'm going to gear it down as well. This will involve some mods to how the motor mounts.

SixtysGuy · Jun 30, 2013

I got bored today as it was raining and decided that I would do the EQR Clod wheel mod. If anyone can explain what EQR stands for........! The most information that I could find on this site was here (Thanks William G!). Unfortunately a lot of pics from threads are missing. The most info that I could find was here: http://www.rcmt.net/forums/showthread.php?20998-Want-to-put-clod-size-tires-on-version-2-EQR-wheels-available&highlight=eqr+clod+wheel+ground+pounder

It took me a little while to work it out, but once I realised that the back of the clod wheel becomes the front it all started to make sense.

The basic jist is that you take a rear Traxxas Monster Jam wheel and glue it inside a cut down clod wheel. This way you mount the wheel using the MJ wheels 12mm hex, not the Clod hub. The inner diameter of the MJ wheel is 3" and the outer is 2". You can use a front monster jam wheel, but this wheel has more offset and makes the wheels further out from the axles. I reckon that with the rear MJ wheels the amount of added track is about as much as you would want to go with it. Mounted up, mine came out to be 16". Still wider than a Clod or TXT-2.

The MJ wheels can be picked up off Ebay for just over $5 a pair. I already had the Clod wheels and on two of them I had cracked the outer bead, so I had no reservations in cutting them up.

This is where you cut......... Note that you cut off the outside of the wheel and keep the inside.....

The Monster Jam wheel stays intact........

Here it is dummy fitted. The MJ wheel is a neat fit inside the Clod wheel.........

Now you use a hole saw to cut out the centre of the Clod wheel. This is where I could have done better. Ideally the hole should be 49mm to match up with the MJ wheel. I didn't have a 49mm hole saw. The closest that I had was 41mm and I didn't think that it would matter too much. The problem is that I now likely to get mud and crud build up where the two wheels meet. It's hard to explain..... If I were doing it again, I would get the right sized hole saw.

This is the new front of the wheel.........

And this is virtually the middle where the MJ wheel is glued to........

And here it is glued into position. I used two part epoxy, mainly because I had it laying around.......

I should also point out that I used the Dremel to grind away the inner bead on the MJ wheel. I thought about cutting off the outer bead instead, but couldn't see that it would be any benefit.

A comparison shot between my new EQR wheel and a TXT-1 wheel. Not a real good pics...... the angle of the front of the bench makes the wheels look as though they are not straight (they are!).......

Pics of the outside of the new wheel......

The inside of the wheel.......

Fitted to the truck........

The only slight problem that I have is that I ground down the plastic GP hex to make the TXT-2 wheels fit and now they don't quite push the wheel out enough to clear the nut on the steering rod link. I put a washer on the outside of each of the hexes and this makes them clear (just). If it becomes an issue I will have to buy some new GP hexes.

I think that I will paint the Clod wheels silver to match the MJ wheels. I haven't glued the tyres on. I will wait and see how they go without glue. I am guessing that without an inner bead on the MJ side of the wheel the tyres may dislodge. The Rumbles easily stretched over the MJ wheel. The Rumbles are flexible, but also fit a bit loosely on Clod wheels, so it won't hurt to have them on the larger wheel.

SixtysGuy · Jul 5, 2013

I have done some work of late........

Got myself an 'original' Ground Pounder body. Terry Plum from The Monster Factory kindly supplied me with some original shocks. I have also played around with motors a bit. I've put a few motors in the Ground Pounder now with some interesting results. The stock motor is much quicker than a Mabuchi 540 motor.

Running 2S Lipo and stock gearing;

Stock:24.3km/h
Mabuchi 540: 18.9km/h
Tamiya GT Tuned (23T): 20.4km/h
HPI GT550: 18.9km/h

I'm assuming the stock motor is maybe 20T. I didn't pull it apart to count the turns. The HPI motor has bucket loads of torque and is the only motor that will make it pull a wheely from a standing start. It is also the only motor that doesn't get ridiculously hot when running. I bought a heat sink with a fan to help. The 550 motor mount needs to be spaced a little away from the electronics tray otherwise it touches due to its larger diameter.

New look - this is how it should have look from the factory!

RadioRambo · Jul 17, 2013

axle braces

I not very handy with metal,how much to make me a set.?

metalicagod · Jul 17, 2013

SixtysGuy · Sep 13, 2013

I haven't updated this thread for a while. I am happy to say that I now have the GP to a stage where I like it..... and it is reliable! I have now run three batteries through it with no breakages - thats a record

.

Here is a run down of the latest mods that I have made;

* Kimbrough 124 Servo savers front and rear
* Reversed the transmission so the motor spins the 'correct way'
* Installed Hesse motor mount to fix the poor pinion/spur mesh that had developed
* CPE 4 Link kit - the stock 4 link ends are terrible!
* Replaced all screws on the chassis with stainless steel hex head screws
* 32P spur. I had a couple of goes at this and ended up with a 56T Associated spur (part #asc7957 - $3 on ebay!). All that is needed to fit this is to drill the centre hole out to 5mm. I'm not sure how well the slipper will work with this (if at all), but I'm happy with it.
* Fitted Traxxas Titan 12T 550 motor that I got in a sweet deal on ebay (motor was unused) -finally fixed my motor heat issue :thumbsup:
* Fitted heat sink with fan that is powered by the VXL-3S esc.

SixtysGuy · Jan 28, 2014

After yet more issues with the GP (worn rear diff pinion) I decided to put the truck out to pasture.... at least detuned it for my son to use.

I made a few mods so it is easy for him to use;

* Locked out the rear steering
* Put the original wheels and tyres back on
* Custom shock mounts and Associated shocks
* Installed a 'mini axle brace' on the rear
* Installed a HPI GT550 motor (only running 2S Lipos)
* Installed a cheap Hobbyking esc with drag brake
* Refitted the Grave Digger Body, but removed the stickers to create a Batman theme

Once I presented it to my son he decided that he wanted to make it a Ben 10 - Batman theme, so he decorated it with some of his own stickers! The truck is ideal for him. The speed in identical to the stock Wheely King that he has. It will still pop and ride a wheely. A little bit of grinding coming from the rear pinion when backing into a wheely, but I'll sort that out with my next order to CPE.

Razdawg · Jan 28, 2014

Shame you have had enough of the GP. I can certainly understand the frustration but I guess I have just come to the realization that I could be throwing $$$$ at something completely useless like Strippers.....

I have just decided that all hobbies cost money and I actually do enjoy adding to my GP, eventually it will be the truck I've always wanted and it will be built by me (mostly).

My Ground Pounder!!

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