3Racing Sakura D3 CS Build - Part 2

See here for Part 1. For a larger, more detailed look at the images, click the photos. Here at RC Geeks we have a wide range of hop ups for the Sakura D3. Originally I had intended to build the car with the base kit but when so many components interlock it made more sense to get stuck in right away. My colleagues suggested I go for some parts that will allow me to tune the chassis finely later on, namely the rear bulkhead bearing housing (allowing fine belt tension adjustments) and the graphite shock towers (offering more suspension strut positions than standard). First up the bulkhead housing. This alloy part incorporates a centre belt tensioner to reduce slack and belt movement on the long drive belt. It replaces the standard plastic mounts that sit upon the upper deck on step 5. Step 5 completed with the upper deck in place. Following this we built the gear assembly. This involves fitting spring pins through the gear shafts which is very fiddly if you have fat fingers like myself. The above picture is the result of 20 mins of faffing and fitting the centre belt with the gears and getting the tension to an acceptable level. The 80T spur gear is then attached to the drivetrain, ready to accept the motor. Next up is the upgraded shock tower, shown below the original plastic part. This replaces step 7, sliding the long screws through to the ends of the chassis. Stiffer than the original plastic part it has the top shock mount holes set closer together for fine tuning. I opted to set the shocks to a central position just to start with. You can also see that step 8 has been completed with the hubs and driveshaft’s installed. Adjusting the turnbuckles is time consuming but it’s fairly important to make them even for the install. Onto step 9 and the constructing the suspension struts. Ensure you seat the seal rings in the collars as shown above. The completed rear shocks, with the thicker oil, mounted to the chassis. It’s starting to take shape. Step 10 and its time to add the electronics. The servo saver was constructed as per the manual and screwed down on the blue bird servo.  The battery holder bands are slipped on. The servo posts are then added and it is bolted through the bottom of the chassis, carefully running the cable around the upper deck post. Next it was the turn of the motor. The metal motor mount allows for some fine tuning. Pictured is a 24T pinion gear which was later replaced with a 19T to achieve a better mesh to the spur gear. It’s great to see the chassis finally coming together, tune in tomorrow for the next in the series.