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Ok so I finally got a break from school and thought I'd mess around with my rc10. Long story short, my diff gear was roasted.

I looked around for a solution and stumbled upon the Dhawk aluminum diff gear. I have seen that a few people have tried them out but no one has said how it worked out for them. My concerns are how well the carbide balls fit and if it has good tolerances.

Also, I was hoping to reduce wear by getting a steel diff gear over the aluminum. I was talking to the guy who sells the aluminum diff gears. He said he could make them, but he wanted to know if they would sell well as he would have to make quite a few.

Would anyone else be interested in such a thing?

I think a steel idler would be cool as well. Let me know what you guys think.

I think the more rotating mass would be an issue to racers,but for a shelfer i think it would be ok.i have the allu ones but havent got te chance to run em,the balls are snug fit and fits with a little allowance for it to roll when calls for.if making it to steel or allu you would also need to make the center in allu or steel(GT idler) or else it will certainly bust them.making them in allu will also make the topshaft wear faster,which in application cost more than the stock diff and idler.


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I've never been a fan of metal diff gears, I figure if the pros ever start needing them then maybe it will be time to change. Once the diff and slipper are set properly there should be no reason to hurt the stock gears. Melting is from slipping, which means it isn't adjusted correctly. Sure a metal gear won't melt, but you may turn it blue from all the heat if it is allowed to slip!

I've read somewhere (probably here) that the RC10GT steel gear fits the stealth. I think its made by Robinson Racing. I have to agree - if everything is adjusted properly, then the stock gears will take a LOT of abuse before they blow up.

Top and idler from gt fit, lower is same for T2 and GT but not buggy

I think my gear was adjusted correctly. I tightened down the thrust bolt until the spring bottomed out. Then, I backed it off an 1/8 of a turn or so. I did this a couple of times to make sure it was right. I did this before I ran the car. I also replaced all the grease following the manual. The thing is my car is very heavy and overpowered. I topped the car out, no slipping full throttle, then slammed on the brakes. It did not stop, hit a rock, and failed to move. After inspection of the transmission I saw that the carbide balls had ripped out of place. I can only assume that the momentum of the car was so great that it caused excessive slipping and torque when full braking was applied. This created a lot of heat and force causing failure. At least that's my theory.

The slipper should always slip before the diff to prevent that from happening. The slipper is a "fuse", but has to be set properly to protect the diff

I suppose the clutch could have been too tight. I usually hold the wheels and see if I can get it to slip with my thumb. I am sure that I checked it according to the manual before I ran the car. I must of had it too tight. Does the aluminum diff gear in combination with the steel gt idle really cause the top gear to wear that much faster? I have seen many performance transmissions that boast steel gears. I don't see how they could lose too much performance. An all steel gear box should last quite some time. Although, without the nylon gears it may need some oil. Maybe that is why people say it causes the top gear to wear.

All metal gears will require lubrication and they will still wear. Usually when a metal gear is used the corresponding gear isn't metal to avoid lubrication.

A slipper isn't adjusted based on number of turns. It is adjusted based on when and how far it slips. Most people adjust them wrong though.

metal diff balls + metal diff gear = gritty diff

I run an alloy diff gear, not sure who made it, but it is very dark grey. Smoothest diff I have ever built and excellent in my Gold Pan runner. Paired it up with a set of MIP Lite drives.

I'll see if I can find a picture of the diff only, but here it is installed:

I recently made a trade and realized the stealth came with what I think is a Dhawk gear. It is a light yellow/gold color. I was surprised by the momentum carried by the gear after a quick twist of the top shaft with my fingers. I bet that would be super sweet for dirt oval cars that rarely brake

I went ahead and ordered a nylon diff gear. I am going to do my best to get it adjusted properly before I push the car too much. I might get an aluminum one along with a steel idler later on. Once I am confident with my abilities to properly adjust the transmission I can test out some other options. At this point it sounds like the metal gears are just going to cause a lot more maintenance and are simply unnecessary.

Also, does the ball diff slip during linear motion? It seems like it may be unavoidable with powerful motors. I know that the slipper clutch should be used in such a way to avoid this. Though I always thought the slipper was just to gain some traction off the line. I feel like there is a great loss in power with unwanted slipping. Ideally the clutch would only slip during over acceleration or deceleration when the car would lose traction. The diff should only slip in the corners(inside wheel slower than outside). Is it possible to adjust the transmission in this way?

Ideally the diff will never slip just give you diff action on cornering. The slipper should be adjusted so that the motor slip just a smidge on a hard full throttle pull. The slipper shouldnt be much looser unless you know what you are doing.

Allu Diff with RRP idler



Dhawk Allu Diff.



haven't seen action yet.