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The Real Dogman -> CEN's New CNC Spur Gear Set, Review!! (7/5/2007 5:08:30 AM)
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Well, fellow CENers, As some of you may know CEN has released several New CNC option pieces for the GST 7.7 and such these parts will fit all the genesis series trucks. These parts are available now thru CEN Direct and a few pieces are available at Headrush Hobbies.
I have the distinct pleasure of reviewing these parts for all of you.. I will be doing these reviews as the parts become available to me... First Up, New CNC Spur gear set!!!
GSS22 43T Spur Gear [image]http://lh3.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxQP2jbmjI/AAAAAAAAAPc/Hxc7TwlR9Uk/s144/GSS22.jpg[/image]
GSS23 39T Spur Gear [image]http://lh4.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxQQGjbmkI/AAAAAAAAAPk/LO4LK2QNgnU/s144/GSS23.jpg[/image]
First Impressions:
When I fist saw these gears on the CEN Direct website, I though "hmm those look kinda cool.", but when they arrived in the mail, they are cool!! Very high tech looking with the wieght savings drilled holles. I pulled them out of the typical CEN plastic bag packaging and took a quick look. Wieght savings seems to be the advantage with these new gears, as well as the single piece design. These gears are very well machined yet only enough material in the right places to create a very solid piece. The black coating it typical CEN fair and seem to somewhat durable under my pocket knife's scrapings, however we will see it holds up under my kind of abuse. I wanted to see how adjustment was going to be required after installation to get second to shift when I like it. So I grabbed my trusty digital calipers and measured the inside diameter of the OEM Second gear "Drum". It measured 36.03mm id, Then the New CNC "Drum", 35.98mm id. That's pretty dog gone close!!! And at $24.50 and $14.00 respectivly they seem to be well worth the cost. GOOD JOB CEN!!!
So Far, I'm very impressed!!
Initial Comparison:
Comparing the OEM Gears to the new gears, as I noted earlier, the new gears are a 1 piece design, machined from a solid piece of hardened steel. The OEM pieces are hardened steel gears mounted to Aluminum Hubs.
[image]http://lh6.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxWEmjbmxI/AAAAAAAAASQ/1jqCt-kSmkI/SpurGear007.jpg?imgmax=640[/image]
[image]http://lh3.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxWG2jbmzI/AAAAAAAAASg/E7e0Hf5RrWg/SpurGear009.jpg?imgmax=640[/image]
Also, the external clutch shoes on the OEM gear set engauged on an aluminum "Drum" while the new CNC gears utilize a steel "Drum". Only field testing will tell us if this is an improvement or not!!
Wieght Comparison:
OEM Assembly-->GS056HUb & GS088 39T Spur 31.98grams
OEM Assembly-->GS047 Oneway Hub & GS087 43T Spur 46.02grams
New GSS23 39T CNC Steel Spur 31.98grams
New GSS22 43T CNC Steel Spur 35.44grams
OEM Clutch Shoes Assembly 28.35grams
OEM Assembly Total Wieght 106.35grams
New Assembly Total Wieght 99.40grams
Installation:
Now as all Genesis Series truck owners know, these trucks are TVP(Twin Verticle Plate) Ladder style construction, and to remove the tranny you will have to remove the front or rear suspension sections. I prefer to remove the rear section, but here is a pic with both sections removed for reference, for those who are unsure of what I mean.
[image]http://lh6.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxWAmjbmtI/AAAAAAAAARw/qozUHnW0E20/SpurGear003.jpg?imgmax=640[/image]
This is where the quality of machining really shines. The bearing carrying the second Gear "Drum" Hub was a snug fit, but pressed in by a firm hand or a light tap with the end of a plastic screw driver handle. The Second Gear Clutch Shoe Hub was a bit more difficult, but it has always been more snug and this fit will not change on this upgrade since these are OEM peices are original parts that fit together. Moving on, Absolutely no "massaging" was required to install these gears on to the trans, everything fit perfectly onto input shaft. I didn't even have to reset the pinion-to-spur gear mesh, however, I did just be sure. What more could you ask for??
[image]http://lh5.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxWIWjbm1I/AAAAAAAAASw/wtMnDVg5OKo/SpurGear011.jpg?imgmax=640[/image]
[image]http://lh3.google.com/TheRealDogman/RoxWM2jbm5I/AAAAAAAAATQ/zad4Ib6GX2Q/SpurGear015.jpg?imgmax=640[/image]
Doesn't that look awsome!!!
Now For The Fun!! Field Testing:
Since the new CNC gears are a solid steel design you will notice a distinctive ring to them when the truck is not running, however when the truck is running and moving you do not hear it. I did notice the acceleration was just abit snappier, the drive train did not seem as loaded, and really became apparent when the truck was moving.. as I made a few high speed turns in tight corners the truck seemed to pull out of the corner just abit stronger. These gears did not have that distinctive wobble known to plague the OEM 2 piece steel gear on aluminum hub design, they spun as straight and true as you would expect from CNC'ed gears. When I pulled truck up to look for any wear, the black wasn't even worn off. Time will tell how well these gears hold up, however intial testing shows these gears will be all they are promised to be and more..
Conclusion:
CEN has struck a home run on these upgrade parts!!! If these are any indication of what to expect with the other Upgrade options for the Genesis/Nemesis series trucks, we are in for a real treat. CEN has really stepped up on this one, guys!!
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