Aero Changes
Wings are mandatory on any speed vehicle, and this one was no exception. I found a great wing in the Jconcepts Finnisher, and I mounted it all the way at the back to keep the extra downforce over the rear axle to help keep the tires planted to the ground. I added a complete fiberglass undertray to the chassis to keep air away from the underside of the truck. A massive front splitter and rear diffuser from a Traxxas XO-1 helped improve the truck’s grip. I figured that since that car could go 100mph, Traxxas probably knew a thing or two about aerodynamics. In an effort to get as much weight down low to give me a better center of gravity (CG), I moved the motor to the underside of the Axial skid, so it sat right on the undertray. This not only helped with CG, it also made a straighter line between the motor and the axle, making the system run more efficiently. I tried to increase the aerodynamics of the bricklike Deadbolt body by adding a plastic shroud, but it was so effective that the car got increasingly difficult to control at speed because of all the added downforce. Any steering input caused the truck to overcorrect, leading to some spectacular crashes and a lot of broken parts. I can’t tell you how many rod ends and driveshafts I went through. Getting rid of that extra piece was the best thing I could do, and despite the boxy nature of the truck, its fastest runs were accomplished with no additional body aero changes.