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IVnic8or posted:The AX10 is a very good choice, mutt2jeff. Plenty of stuff available to hop it up and spend more of your money. Put weights in your front wheels and mount your battery on top of the front steering servo for vastly improved crawler performance. If you have not yet, lock the rear differential too. Another goon in the Industry here. I don't think I have any qualms about disclosing where I work. I am in Sales at HRP Distributing in Salt Lake, Utah. We supply to the retail hobby stores. Where are you from? EDIT: SGTSqueaks posted:YAY! I just got an email from the senior editor of a popular RC magazine, guess my Vette posted above will be in a future mag. I won the Concourse competition in the IGT class at the MONTONICA GRAND PRIX in vegas over the weekend. Sadly the racing didn't go so well. Holy crap - SKY? Never did I think I would ask one of the local racers the "do you have stairs" question. How did you make out in the 18R class at the carpet race? I should have known you were an AI goon with the SS Camaro you rolled in. Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 23:57 on May 12, 2009 |
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May 12, 2009 23:48
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SGT. Squeaks posted:I did ok in the 18R class. It wasn't very spec though. I ended up in 4th. I really consider it practice for the IGT, man that's a fun car. How did you end up doing? I had to leave before the rest of the mains were over. I did alright, finished out 3rd in the A-Main, qualified 2nd. I had some mechanical issues, the battery shifted and was rubbing the belt. I had 2nd until I rolled on a corner dot in the last 3 laps or so in the main. I was very happy with the race overall  Too much talking - not enough pictures of the badassery; here is something krushgroove will appreciate: 1/5 Scale Bitches  this is the Baja 5T. If you want "scale" CORR action, then ditch the 1/10 sissy stuff and pick this beast up. Weighing in at over 25 pounds, this thing is a behemoth. There are scads of aftermarket parts available as well. Mine sports axle extenders, aluminum bead lock rings, beefier drive axles, and a heavy duty clutch system that is sealed made of billet aluminum from American  aluminum to can 400 cans of Coca-Cola. This is pretty mild compared to what can really be done with this truck. I have a full set of sand tires for when I make a trip to the dunes. There are also rock crawlers that have been mentioned. This is a homegrown rig from a local at a competition last year.  Those are single-spoked billet aluminum wheels.This is a competition 4WD Racing buggy of mine that I have since sold.(Ignore the juggalo sticker, I paid the guy to paint my body)  And a "street" type competition sedan Team Associated TC5R(sans body shell).  For the core "AI" goon, this is the car for you. It is a brand new release from HPI Racing, the Datsun 510 Cup Racer. This is not yet one of mine, but one that HPI sent to us for a trade show:  (krushgroove, be sure to tell the painter that he did an AWESOME job, if you know who it was).These are just a few of my fleet. My list includes:
I am pretty sure that is current. To add more content - The Traxxas Slash is an amazing car. By far, we sell a crap-ton more SLASH trucks than anything else. The price point is right, the product is top notch. The Team Associated SC10 is also making a big impact. The sanctioning body for North America (ROAR) has set out provisional rules to allow for "Short Course" style racing. It is a lot more fun to me to just beat the crap out of these kinds of cars. I leave the competition racing to the cars that were designed to do that. edit - added one more to the list Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 22:42 on May 13, 2009 |
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May 13, 2009 20:00
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We had a Demo event here at our work on Friday with HPI USA, where they demo'd everything from drifters, wheelie kings, Baja 5T's, cup racers - pretty much every single HPI and Hot Bodies model, including a full optioned Cup Racer to drool over (she will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine). Here is a shot of what one of the crazies did with their Baja 5T. This is one of probably 30 or 40 attempts that he made. The casualties listed for the truck were pretty minimal. I am sure that the rear shocks were blown out, he had broken the front chassis top plate, and a few other smaller bits. His highest jump was probably nearly 40 vertical feet. 
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Jun 15, 2009 20:24
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My spare time in the night has been building my Datsun 510 CUP Racer It has been an AWESOME build. Just some soldering, then painting the body and I will be ready to rip. Pics to follow...MacPac posted:I`ve had the slash for a month now and im having a blast just bashing with friends. I`ve allready managed to strip the teeth off the spur gear, while i`m waiting for a new one i`m drooling over this baby: You mean kind of like this that is sitting on my desk here at work? (HPI Banner/car model is to show off to krushgroove  )  EDIT: Not stock, much of this truck features http://teamstrc.com/ebproduct.asp?catmainid=15 parts at nearly every available level Laserface posted:All these shortcourse trucks on the market makes it reaaaaaaaaaally hard to avoid getting back into this money pit of a hobby With the HPI BLITZ with an expected street price to be identical to the SLASH, HPI has made it EXTEMELY easy to get back into this AWESOME hobby. FYI, the Short Course Nationals race is currently being held at RC Madness in Enfield Connecticut, where the debut of the BLITZ is showing some impressive runs. They are currently leading the qualifying...
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Jul 24, 2009 23:53
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 THEY'RE SPAWNING! AAAAWHGANGSDLGKJA;SLKGN! Laserface posted:so what came first Scott Brown of Team Associated took first, driving the SC10. They were also using J Concepts Racing tires. Conan the Librarian posted:
Which heli's do you fly? Which hobby shop do you work at? James Woods posted:I live in San Francisco So I am guessing that you go to Mike/Ricky @ Hobbytown in Concord? Or do you make the trip up to see Jake @ Jakes Performance Hobbies? There are even a few hobby manufacturers that are in the Bay Area (or nearby). Team FastEddy, Darksoul Racing. QUESTION FOR THE RC GOONS - WHICH HOBBY STORES DO YOU PATRONIZE? I have a local retail store that I used to work at called West Valley Hobbies in Salt Lake City. It is the areas largest retail hobby shop where if they don't stock it, it is probably not worth having. For online stuff - A Main Hobbies out of Chico, CA is hugenormous and pretty excellent. I also want to know, because either I, or my co-workers probably sell stuff to them
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Jul 29, 2009 23:45
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Automotive Insanity: To me that's pretty unsavoury. Am I being overly sensitive? > R/C cars: try not to say the words "scale speed"> What did you do to your R/C Ride today? We need to get this thread bumpin again guys. Sorry for the terrible iPhone pictures. My wife had the camera when I was doing work. Novak released their new line of Spec motors, the Ballistic brushless motors. I had to be the first one at the track to use one.  Before I installed the motor, I put in the tuned 13mm rotor for lower operating temps. (rotor pictured on left) .jpg) Out with the old SS 13.5. It was getting a little tired. It has seen temps above 200 degrees.  The TV was trying to sell me the Rock Ballad Gods of the CENTURY on some limited time offer. More than words indeed. .jpg) Got the motor soldered back in, gear mesh set. Everything looks good. Also note my new LRP SXX TC speed controller. It has different profiles with advanced timing which makes a hugemongous difference on the track. .jpg) This body is looking pretty hammered. .jpg) Time for a new one. .jpg) I got that cut out and mounted. It will get the rattle can job in the next day or two to be ready for the weekend. More updates to come. Including pictures of my Cup Racer, with upgrades that have only been recently released (aluminum hubs, knuckles, tuning springs, etc.)
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Aug 12, 2009 17:12
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SGT. Squeaks posted:Awesome man! You going to be at the Wasatch race on Saturday? I am planning on it! Just looked at the weather on my phone though, it is saying rain! We will have to see what it is sayin when the time gets closer. It is going to be a cooler day for sure.
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Aug 12, 2009 23:06
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You Am I posted:drat the touring car chassis are getting so similar. I was about to say it was a Tamiya, but the blue anodizing on the aluminum parts were too dark. What's the TC5 like? The TC5 is pretty cool. I actually run the TC5R (model #30105). Over the original Factory Team TC5 it has aluminum outdrives (vs molded). It also includes the pieces if you want to run either a standard diff up front, or the "slipper spool". I currently am running the full lock spool in the front. The biggest difference between the TC5 and the TC5R is the Chassis and upper deck. the R includes the thinner "ITF" lower and upper chassis which allows for a crap-ton more flex in the car making it much easier to drive (much better for rubber tires). The standard set-up is also lightyears ahead of what the TC5 has which tones the car down a whole bunch. Not sure of the standard car has sway bars in the F/R, but the R has them included. compressioncut posted:R9 body pictures It is a sweet looking body, but the handling is much too aggressive for most drivers. That is why you see so many of the MAZDA6 and MAZDASPEED6 bodies on the race tracks. I use the LTC-R from Protoform which is also a GBS body. It is a lot more neutral in handling characteristics with plenty of down force overall. The Tamiya sedans really don't have the parts support that they need in the states to be a good option. The current big players on the west coast are the Schumacher Mi4 (which I think will be outdated soon enough) and the XRAY T2009. If I were to have endless pockets I would be running the T2009. they released a "sport" version of the car that still costs more than the rest of the standard touring cars. The Stallion is a dated car - I would stay away from that. The Hot Bodies Cyclone TC is actually a very competitive car as well. I went with the Associated sedan mostly out of being a whore for their products, and parts availability in Utah.
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Aug 19, 2009 22:24
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Blocko posted:I've been thinking about picking this hobby up as it looks like a loving blast. But just to try it out I wanted to get the cheapest thing possible that would let me have a good bit of fun. I have a few questions though: If you see the words "RTR KIT" then that means it is assembled, ready to run(ready to ruin?). ARTR, or ARR means that it is Almost Ready to Run, and requires minor assembly, usually doesn't include radio gear, possibly no engine(or motor/speed control for electric power). If it just says "KIT", then it usually refers to an unassembled kit that requires everything to run. Most RTR kits will still need supporting equipment (glow igniter, fuel bottle, batteries, chargers, AA batteries, fuel, etc). Most places that sell them online will have a list of required items to operate. Generally speaking, building a car kit is more costly to buy than a ready to run. You will usually end up with better gear off of the start though. regarding the RAZE RTR - NO A thousand times no! It is cheap, terrible, and I loathe Duratrax cars. The hobby store I worked at stopped carrying them altogether. If you are seriously in a cash crunch, and want a 1/8 Nitro RTR, then get the OFNA Ultra LX-One. They have a street price maybe 20-30 bucks higher than the RAZE, but are lightyears better. They still kind of suck, but will do you much better than the Duratrax ever will. If you have little to zero experience in running anything two-stroke, then avoid Nitro. It will only make you want to drown puppies. Earlier in the thread, people were hitting up the TRAXXAS SLASH because it is in fact one of the best, most durable RC Cars that has been produced in the last decade. Plus, you can get it running cheaper than what the RAZE would cost to get going.
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Aug 26, 2009 23:46
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compressioncut posted:Anyone know what might cause of a Hall sensor failure in a brushless motor? Basically I'm trying to find out whether it's the motor or speed control that's messed up. The new Ballistic motors are very excellent! They performed extremely well this last weekend in a larger local onroad race that we had. The Trinity DUO motors are also working extremely well along the west coast. They have adjustable timing on them that makes them a rocket. The only catch is making sure that you gear more accordingly. If you only gear exactly what you were at before, it will smoke the motor, ESC, or both. Most of the people that I have seen run the REDLINE motors have been unimpressed with the performance. Unless you are competition racing, I don't think you will miss out too much though.
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Aug 26, 2009 23:52
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THIS THREAD HAS BEEN DYING! I should have been a little better at keeping up with it and telling you cool new stuff. The HPI Blitz is due the first week of October. It will take a lot of willpower to not have one follow me home.compressioncut posted:Anybody here run pan cars? I have not done pan cars, but I know a bit about them. You are going to want to look into getting a speed control that has advanced timing. If you don't have one of those, then you are ten steps behind. I believe that the TEKIN RS Pro is going to be your best option. You will want to also get the TEKIN Hotwire to update it with the latest software and adjustments, etc. The other one that I think would be good to use is perhaps the SXX Speed controller.  The timing profiles are not as aggressive as the TEKIN speed controller, but LRP's are just buttery smoooooth. They are all that I use.  That is the battery of choice, or something similar. Oh what is this? Looks like something new for me to build this week. Hopefully I will have a place to race it this winter on some proper carpet!  I will keep you updated on the build.
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Sep 22, 2009 19:28
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krushgroove posted:I'm supposed to meet up with some RC magazine dudes to run my (nearly) comp-ready Wheely King crawler that I call the 'Crawllenium Falcon'. that is the most dialed name ever! I am hoping that you get some custom vinyl cut decals designating it as such. What I have been waiting for you to say is talk about your BLITZ. Do you guys have them in your possession yet? We are expecting them to arrive the beginning of next week. A handful have trickled out here in the states that are for marketing purposes. They will be available to the masses at the end of next week. I will post some pictures of mine when I get it. I am going to rock a black one if I can. Until then, we will have to settle for these pictures of other lucky souls that have them:   Those Trepador tires look so badass.
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Oct 6, 2009 22:57
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compressioncut posted:Pan car season nears - 24 Oct is the first club race. My 1S lipos came yesterday. They are tiny, probably 3/8 the size of my 2S packs. Thunder Power 5000mAh 40C. Yeah. The little single Li-Po's are going to dominate the race scene on the 1/12 stuff. the 16 gauge wire will do you good. The car looks super clean otherwise! Let us know how you do in the races! I stay away from pan cars. They are the devil. Which CAN place do you mail order from? One of my dealers is "western" Canada, based in Edmonton. You have probably heard of them, The Hobby Room. They are pretty cool cats. Hypnolobster posted:I'm pretty good on a dirt track and almost always apex properly, however I would crash the gently caress out of that. I am surprised nobody brought up this up yet:  Pre-Orders to dealers sky rocketed within minutes of the announcement. Expected street price is going to be less than $400 USD. 40+ MPH out of the box with the included electronics/battery. 60+ with a 3S Li-Po. It was designed to have a Mamba Monster (read: 1/8 scale system) drop in, with 80+ MPH potential. Why - Why would anyone need to go that fast? Also - Expect the BLITZ to be shipping to dealers next week.
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Oct 9, 2009 20:05
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kuffs posted:You know, I said all that stuff about Traxxas chassis commonality. But that image doesn't have the inboard suspension from all the other cars I listed. I'm pretty sure I see a left front dogbone rather than gleam from the steering linkage.  Totally different animal. It uses rear arms for the Rustler on all 4 corners, Slash shocks, and REVO differentials. It also has a bell crank steering with built in servo saver. EDIT: They have a slipper clutch there now, but they will have an optional center diff unit that can be swapped out in under 5 minutes. And for those of you that are crazy for speed, check this little guy out:  And about the 2 Speed - it was a simple cam-type 2 Speed transmission. They were very hungry for spur gears, and brushed motors just burned up pretty quick.
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Oct 9, 2009 22:33
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krushgroove posted:My very first race, ever, I forgot my transmitter. Had to drive all the way back home and get it. Kind of embarassing.  There is an optional removable shelf which is pretty slick, so it can cart around two sedans too. (More info can be found HERE Mine is on the duty currently housing my short course truck. Check it out:  What's THAT?  bickety bam - mother bitches Since I am not as cool as Blowdog and make threads about my new awesome Porsche, I will continue to wag the cool new toys that I seem to buy on a regular basis. For what it is worth, here is the run down on the car:
I wish I could tell you how it runs on the track, but I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Chicago to go to iHobby and won't be back until Sunday. I am trying to see what is harder to leave, my wife or my Blitz. It is major bad rear end. If you guys have any questions about it, just ask and I should be able to answer them.
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Oct 21, 2009 22:39
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this thing handles! It is the best handling SCT I have yet to drive. The sealed gear differential "diffs" out much less than any other one out on the market. (I'm looking at you, [i]traxxas slash[/])
-ugly green. I also put a spektrum receiver and have a model programmed into my M11 for it. While I was at it, I put the Team Associated 1015 Digital servo in the steering. This thing is now in "giddy-up" mode and just hauls rear end. The tires have an awesome realistic howling sound on pavement and concrete. On pavement, the tires break traction, on concrete, it goes into a controllable wheelie. It pretty much has doubled the top speed of the truck. At full lock it will not flip. Like I said before, this truck is the best handling SCT that I have yet driven.
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kuffs posted:I'm gonna see about stuffing some FT shocks from a spare parts RC10GT stash on it. If only Associated hadn't gone through about 3 different shock cartridge designs I could figure out if either of my rebuild kits will work on them.
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Oct 29, 2009 20:21
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You Am I posted:Going to be doing an electric vintage off road enduro next month. All cars have to be made before 1990, or if it is a reissue, it has to be close to the original specifications. Can't wait. There is a contributing writer for R/C Car Magazine that always has some awesome vintage articles. Where are you located in Australia again? I have forgotten.
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Oct 29, 2009 23:15
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You Am I posted:Melbourne Which suburb? I lived there for about a year and a half. Little time in the eastern suburbs (Caulfield/Malvern), but mostly out in the west (Melton, St. Kilda, Glenroy) and a short stint in Geelong. I freaking LOVE Geelong. The CBD was awesome too. The only hobby store I ever saw was up near Essondon. I think I remember seeing one out in Werribee too that had a track and stuff. You guys have to pay so much at the hobby stores, I would always buy online I am sure. I miss Melbourne so much - hope to get back with my wife in the next couple years.
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Oct 30, 2009 21:54
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Hypnolobster posted:So, how crazy am I for considering selling all my RC stuff except my transmitter/receiver and picking up a Baja 5B SS? You would be about this crazy:     (The last one is mine. We were running it around on a simple tarmac course. Lots of fun) Those pictures are from a public event that we hosted along with HPI at my work. Sooo many Bajas. Soooo many broken parts. If you bought a Baja without selling all of your old swag, you would end up selling it because the Baja is that awesome. I loved my SS buggy, but the Truck is a lot more fun for me to drive.
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Nov 17, 2009 21:20
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^^^^ Those are not in succession. There was a ton of jumps, most were successful, some were not. All that really got messed up was some blown out shocks, a shredded front top plate, and a broken front tower. I will post some pictures later. I just am lazy and don't want to resize for hosting. krushgroove posted:You'd just need one standard servo, IIRC the SS comes with a 1/5th scale steering servo. I mentioned before at the beginning of the thread, but I work at HRP Distributing out of Salt Lake. If people were to go snooping around and were creepy internet people it wouldn't be too hard to find out who I am. Question for you is are you a "Facebook Fan" of HPI? 
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Nov 25, 2009 19:33
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compressioncut posted:
frunksock posted:What's the best store in the bay area? I'm in SF. There are a few hobby stores in the area that would be worth going to, I would recommend Jakes Performance Hobbies in ROHNERT PARK, which I think is a little ways north of the bay area. They have a dedicated heli guy. The other store I would check out is Hobbytown USA in Concord. The phone number @ Jakes is (707) 586-3375, and Hobbytown is (925) 685-3802. I have the Blade MCX bound to a DX7 as well, I have a couple of Helicopters. I have a TREX 450SE v2 and a TREX 500 CF, which is about at the level of the ESP kit, except for the torque tube assembly (which I honestly don't care for). If I remember to, I will post some pictures of them when I get home. Nothing gets you going like a whole lot of carbon fiber and machined aluminum sex flying around in the air. Haven't posted much in a while because I haven't been doing a whole lot of RC. I raced the State Champs back in October, and did alright. I ended up leaving early because I didn't want to be at the races until 4AM. Snow has dropped, so my blitz is staying inside, sold the wife's Slash and got her a Blitz. I have a new body to get painted for my Blitz, and the VW Baja bug body for my Baja 5T. I will be spending some time over the holiday weekend updating/working on my 5T, so expect some pictures to come soon.
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Dec 31, 2009 17:54
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Cheap Chinese LiPos are like a Ball Park frank - they plump when you charge em. I kid though, they are good performance for the price. I will stick to my name brands* I've been saying I need to get some work done on my Baja 5T, so I did some things this weekend. Lots of inspecting, replacing, tightening, etc was done. All of the smaller side chassis braces were replaced with Team PhatDad braces, anodized black. These are billet aluminum and at least twice as thick. I also installed the fan cover/pull start brace. DarkSoul racing Meaty Bones also went on the truck today, with his silicone dogbone boots. I replaced the axle bearings with Team FastEddy ABEC5 Pro Series bearings since the stockers were getting gross. I had to replace/install new upper turnbuckles out back. I went with PhatDad 17-4 Stainless adjustable turnbuckles. To keep everything nice and clean I went with the Outerwears Baja 5T Shroud. It makes it a total pain in the rear end to get to the charging plug for the receiver pack though. My eventual plan with my 5T is to have it be Red, Gun Metal, and Black colors. The Orange stuff is next on the list to go. I will buy all of the Baja 5B 2.0 aluminum bits. My next big project is the shocks. I have PhatDad shocks w/ machined shock ends to go on it, replace the rubber shock boots, and install bad horsie shock covers. I also need to finish painting the Pro-Line VW Baja bug body. Lots of work to do! Other stuff - need to paint a new body for the Blitz, and also install my ST Racing Concepts upgrade parts that I got for it. So many toys. So little time  Note: I got my eyes checked which means they were dialated and I didn't have many lights on. My phone takes terrible pictures without AMAZING light, so I apologize for being a crappy photographer.I thumbnailed the crappier of the pictures out of shame   Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.     *granted I can get the name brands cheaper.
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Jan 12, 2010 20:49
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Laserface posted:What exactly is the difference between the 1:16 Slash and the 1:16 revo? from what i saw in the store holding the models they are different wheels and bodies (and also chassis) but mechanically/electronics wise, which is better? The slash also has narrow arms and different pushrods for the rocker arm. The chassis, motor, drivetrain, etc. is identical. Because of the size of them, and how much power is stuffed into them the E-REVO is a better choice. The extra width of the suspension and the bigger tires allow it to handle "real world" surfaces better than the slash. The mini slash just gets thrown around way too much. Were you looking at Brushless or Brushed versions?
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Jan 18, 2010 16:48
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krushgroove posted:Oh you're one of THOSE guys BTW, you said that you're an "HPI Fan" on facebook, I posted some pictures of my Blitz on that page like a month ago. If you wanna dig around to look me up, that would be cool.  Click here for the full 589x800 image. Apparently the polycarbonate doesn't appreciate brushless speeds/crashes in 20*F weather.  Also, the 5T front arms don't like 35* weather. It snapped like a pretzel 45 seconds after starting it. RPM front arm is sitting right here on my desk to go home today.
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Jan 18, 2010 23:51
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So in my spare time I have been building/designing a website and a concept behind the best HPI Baja site available. I have a business model set up to where we will have some of our profit go directly back into the Baja community through advertising for a lot of the smaller manufacturers that can't really pay for the ads because of margins. Also we are going to try and become a central hub for events, races, news, etc. I have a forum set up, nobody has really posted, and I just finally uploaded stock inventory to begin showing up on our website. It still has hour and hours worth of work to do. Check out the Dark Soul and Team FastEddy product lines for what has received the most attention (description, vids, pics, etc.). Let me know what you guys think https://www.bajasonly.com
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Jan 22, 2010 21:35
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James Woods posted:Maybe you're the right guy to ask this. I've been wanting to get a Baja for a while now but I have just one problem. My wife will loving divorce me if I pay $1000+ up front for an R/C car. The funny thing is that my SC-10 is quickly approaching the 1k mark by itself but that's over a year of tuning it in and slowly buying parts. My solution to this was why not build a Baja entirely out of hop up parts? It seems like most of the Bajas I see out there on the forums have 1-5% of their original parts left once they've gotten it dialed in. It seems like a waste to pay a grand for what will only become a box of spares and broken parts once I have the rig I want. Besides, this way I can order a couple parts every week and slowly put the thing together taking all the time I need getting it just right. A year later I have a sweet Baja that slowly rose from the primordial ooze of my workbench and the Mrs. is none the wiser. I would say that there is no wrong way to build a Baja, but a bunch of cheap-o manufacturers showed up to the game (I'm looking at you Integy, and Golden Horizons). If you stick with the original manufacturers of Baja upgrades you can't go wrong (Team FastEddy, DarkSoul Racing, Turtle Racing, Hostile Racing, Team GoNads, etc). How you go about beginning the build is really up to you. I bought the SS Baja when it was released and had an absolute blast building the thing. The Behemoth buggy is RC Engineering perfection. When the 5T came out I knew I had to have it, so I sold my SS and bought the truck (lack of space). If you get one used, there are some out there that have been totally abused, and others that have barely been driven. Out of the box, there are really only a handful of the "necessary upgrades" that I would imagine totals up around...300 bucks? It has been so long since I've paid retail that I kind of have a skewed perception of reality. The things that need to be addressed would you be the clutch holder, axle extenders, better dog bones, a couple of Turtle Racing braces, RPM front arms (at least) and a decent radio. The thing weighs in about 25 pounds bone stock, so it comes pretty much "built like the brick shithouse". If you are pretty moderate on your build of your kit and how you maintain it, I can pretty much guarantee that you will spend less than 95% of the yahoos out there buying nitro Monster Trucks. I would say with the aftermarket upgrades I have put on my 5T (a good chunk of them being more eye candy) probably is under 500 bucks. You can find pretty much any of the Baja kits brand new ready to go for about $1000 or less right now. Even if you drove it box stock you would not be disappointed. I am convinced that the Baja platform is the best radio control car ever made. Once I get the Bajasonly site going full swing I will definitely put out an SAGOON discount code to hook you guys up. tl:dr - I would start with a good base and upgrade from there. You can spend a second mortgage building one of these things if you wanted.
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Jan 27, 2010 20:34
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krushgroove posted:I sent a message, I hope to the right person Hmmmm. Apparently not me! I will be posting another picture of my Blitz to the HPI Facebook page this weekend. I painted up a new body similar to the one that they had as the Christmas Blitz (red with chrome HPI logos and the bow on top). Glad you think the site is cool. It has been a ton of work. I just found the Europe HPI YouTube channel so I subscribed to it. I have a YouTube channel, even though I haven't put any videos up yet. Things are still getting off the ground. How have you guys been doing in the European market? I think that things are going pretty good at the US facility. We had really good growth with them 2009 compared to previous years. Note to everyone else: Anyone fence sitting on getting a Baja, if you have the scratch then fix the itch. It is the BEST R/C car I have ever had, period. Also for people all  over the slash, it is a cool truck for sure, but hands down my BLITZ is a better truck. After my wife drove mine for 2 minutes she said "That's it, let's sell my slash I want a Blitz!" which is exactly what we did. I am rid of Traxxas at my house again
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Jan 29, 2010 20:27
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krushgroove posted:Well I'm back from the Toy Fair - did anyone see anything online they're really anxious for? There's a lot of stuff that's kind of no surprise (electric 1/8th buggies for example) but there were a few standouts. Pretty normal Monday for me so far. The owner of Pro-Line is in town skiing so he stopped by for a quick visit with us, I scored a free beanie. We are planning on going to the Las Vegas hobby show that is next month (I think?). I'm not sure if I am going to be there or not. 
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Feb 15, 2010 18:34
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kuffs posted:2-speed Baja transmission in the works http://www.rctech.net/forum/oval-larger-scales-more/370556-2-speed-gear-box-hpi.html Yeah...there are a few out there. Mark at Team GoNads has been working on one forever. His is probably going to be the better design. He has worked very closely with Robinson Racing on perfecting the gears. http://www.teamgonads.com/4500.html
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Feb 16, 2010 16:08
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kuffs posted:That reminds me of a bit of an internal rant lately. I'm kind of disappointed with AE. It is important to remember: years ago (maybe about 8?) Team Associated was bought out by Thunder Tiger. Thunder Tiger is one of the largest manufacturers of hobby products in the world. The new facility is freaking massive, and has housing enough for something like 2500 employees. The factory is very clean and nice, and the housing facility even has a strip club (  ). The MGT, and subsequently a fair amount of other AE kits are simply Thunder Tiger kits marketed in the US as an AE car. As far as the NTC3 thing goes - that class is dead everywhere but in Japan, so that is why you see most Japanese companies still on that train (mugen, kyosho). What is funny is you will see these Japanese companies trying to steer the US Market from what they are seeing in their part of the world (where 1/8 off road is DEAD btw) and not understanding why people aren't buying their products. So - why would they put a lot of work and R&D for a class that brings maybe 20-30 people at a national event? Nitro itself is on the decline in serious ways anyhow.The BLITZ ESE has an announced retail price of $409.99 USD. You will see it in the hobby stores and online in the neighborhood of 229-239.99. It is an interesting concept. The initial looks at it just made me think it was ugly, but the "color coded parts" look kind of cool now. I think that a body pained in a skeleton fashion would make the kit look sweet. UPDATE: Spent effing HOURS this weekend working on my 5T. I took some good photos with my camera so I will take some time and resizing and get them posted up. I love that truck.
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Feb 23, 2010 19:59
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You Am I posted:Lookie what came in the mail for me today Be still my beating heart. We got our first batch of them a few weeks ago and it has taken all of my will power to NOT buy one. I see that yours says it came with a commemorative shirt, did it include the bag as well? The ones that came to the states came with a first batch limited "Bag", similar to what grocery stores sell as those reusable "go green" bags. They are just so drat awesome I want one so bad. Frobbe posted:posted stuff about SC10 That is pretty awesome that you went for it! I've had my Blitz since the day of its release and it is just freaking awesome. I have driven a fair share of Slash 2WDs, SC10's, etc. but I really do prefer the BLITZ. It is smashing every Short Course class at the local tracks here in Utah. The new ART SERIES kits are available now as well which I kind of prefer to my "stock" black MAXXIS truck. I originally had a black MAXXIS truck, and my wife's is the Orange. I am on the third body, with the white Art Series one in reserve. Best looking body to come on an RTR in a long time.  My Blitz has been getting the upgrade treatment. I have a set of Lunsford titanium turnbuckles, HPI Universal drives, an XP 1015 AE Digital heatsink servo, M11 radio gear, HPI Flux system (rebadged CC Sidewinder/5700 system), ball bearing steering, ST Racing motor plate, chassis braces, and front bulkhead brace in gunmetal anodizing, & carbon fiber battery strap. I use 5000mah 40C LiPOs from Racers Edge. Next on the list is the HPI upgraded shocks. They are smooth as buttah  James Woods & kuffs I have yet to ever break a Factory Team titanium turnbuckle, and I have broken plenty of the Lunsford ones. The SuperDuty versions are pretty freaking tough. I never stray from the standard AE ball cups though - RPM ones are too bendy. I've learned that whatever will do in a #7230 ball cup will ruin the RPM one. Having a bent rod end will mess up your camber/toe etc as well.
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Mar 2, 2010 21:21
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SGT. Squeaks posted:So I have a dilemma. I am still wondering why people even choose to rebuild engines. In addition to wanting to replace the con-rod (some high end engines recommend every GALLON!) you should also replace the piston pin (goes through a lot of stress). If you sucked in some dirt, then the bearings are probably shot, the front main bearing is common to leak air. Also, as you said the MR engine has been discontinued a while. Mugen was supposed to get parts support from GRP (the source of the engine) for like two years, but later last year the GRP factory in Italy burned to the ground. They since have only said they will be doing tires. So IF you can find all of the pieces, you will be looking at roughly the cost of a new engine. There are some inexpensive engines that run great that you should look into. The 3 Port NovaRossi engines sell for like 175 bucks brand new. They are a "budget" race engine, but still put out decent power for most club racing and they get GREAT mileage for less pit stops. The other good engine for a price tag around the 200 dollar mark is the WERKS Team Line B5. Some of their engines have struggled in the past to be a little more durable and have short life, this one seems to be a winner for them though. I am a big Novarossi whore, so I will always be pretty biased towards their stuff.
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Mar 9, 2010 22:54
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This will be a lengthier post with pictures! I have recently done some work on my Baja 5T only to go out for 30 minutes and detonate the differential. drat the luck.  So I am not screwing around and I will just install a new diff. Have you ever seen a Baja diff? I think it is about the same size as a Miata diff. The quarter is a reference not only for size, but of how much money you will have left after buying this $119 gem (that is full retail price...) Started with all of the goods. Turtle Racing HD Clutch system, Front and Rear shock mounts, PhatDad shock shafts, new shock boots, shock covers, gun metal shock parts, RPM front arm, new bulkhead, DarkSoul o-rings, spare ABEC5 bearings, and stainless hardware to replace what as fallen out. That nifty stand in the back is the only Baja dedicated shock stand. It rocks out.   First bit of the Turtle clutch install  install complete, note the PhatDad chassis brace  New front bulkhead  The main reason to want to teardown, the shocks. These were in terrible shape  These will get new shock shafts (PhatDad pictured above the old shaft), new O Rings, boots, and Gun Metal ano'd parts (working on getting away from all of the Orange parts. Eventually the truck will be Black, Gun Metal, and Red)  FastEddy stand rockin it  Front end built and happy.  Backside lookin good.  I am waiting for a couple of new parts before I install the differential. DarkSoul has some new outdrive reinforcing things he is calling "TOOBz" which are essentially a stainless steel outdrive saver. Those should be here early next week. The other thing I am waiting on which is probably two weeks out is the Turtle Racing quick diff transmission case, which is a three piece tranny case that allows access to the differential in a fraction of the time. It will be in gun metal anodizing too. Cannot WAIT for that thing. Getting to the differential is a big greasy/dirty mess.
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Mar 11, 2010 18:14
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kuffs It looks like a genuine FG car, there are molded logos on the radio box in those pictures. The tires are also genuine FG. Plus, if it is an actual Zenoah engine, then I would not think it was a clone. Clone cars usually have a piece of crap engine with them. Rich people can be dumb and have no idea what they have. I agree, ask the dude and see what he says. Just stopping by to say look at the new goody I received in the mail today to add to my Baja... no more hours spent ripping out a diff. Ano'd in gun metal, currently one of I think three? in the world. 
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Mar 15, 2010 22:14
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k-groove, so I spent some time today with someone you know quite well. Jason D from Team Durange/DRC. He is pretty cool. He made a stop by here for the day before heading down to the Cactus Classic in Arizona for the weekend.
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Mar 16, 2010 23:58
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krushgroove posted:Somewhat Heroic may have some info about a possible US distributor Haha, indeed. He is exploring all of his options while he is here in the US. I know that he had appointments to meet with some other companies as well. Their products are really innovative though! Some things that we have never seen before. It's cool to see designers really take kind of that artistic pride in their work.
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Mar 17, 2010 15:25
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kuffs posted:Does anyone have any good RC news sites they use? I'm going to let my RCCA subscription lapse. It's full of stuff that I don't really care about, as well as a lot of ads. I'm also not all that happy with the reviews. And as far as ads go, woohoo to using FireFox with the script ad blocker. Loads that site a TON faster.
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Mar 18, 2010 16:04
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krushgroove posted:Speaking of scale, I've been talking with a friend of mine at Axial, they have some big new release coming in about a month, does anyone have an idea what it is? He's keeping very tight-lipped about it but there's a bit of speculation about it. Yeah - I speak with them a few times a week. I have yet to get a single answer out of them. They are leading me on to believe it is going to be different from their current line up, but they won't tell me anything. I say that not knowing if it is a crawler or not, and if it is a crawler if it is something completely different like a worm drive axle, or an MOA(Motor On Axle) design, if it is a mini, scale, or comp. They just keep telling me to wait for the press release. It sucks. On a side note; thinking of selling my AX10 to buy one of these instead:  Scale trucks are just so much cooler than a competition rig.
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Apr 7, 2010 20:26
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Astrolite posted:
So I fixed my Baja 5T this weekend. Replaced the entire differential, put in the Turtle Racing transmission case, and the Turtle Racing transmission brace. I thought that I had blown the diff, but after putting it back together with all this cool new (expensive) crap, I find that I only shredded the dogbone pin in my Dark Soul meaty bone. It was a  moment if I ever had one.
Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Oct 13, 2023 |
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Apr 12, 2010 22:50
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baja rake
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IOwnCalculus posted:Is that Miller as in the same place that hosted an ALMS race? That's the one! It is an incredible facility. They had the "big track" cut into two, one with super bikes running, the other had the Porsche car club running. There were SO many of them, and all different types. There was even a dude that was totally flogging his Panamera. They just look...awkward. It was an awesome day for racing. I got sunburned pretty bad (the cool breeze made me think I wasn't getting slow roasted). I raced 13.5 Rubber sedan and competition was pretty stiff. I took 3rd out of 9. I beat out fourth place by about 1/10 of a second. We have 5 outdoor races scheduled this summer at Miller in the hopes of funding the purchase of some proper Ozite carpet that will be laid down in one of the buildings for a permanent carpet racing track. I am pretty stoked for that - heated for the winter and everything
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Apr 20, 2010 15:11
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