The *Unofficial* GPF RC Thread
- Thread starter PurpleGuy
- Start date
Slick2500
New member
Yup HPI filed for bankruptcy last year, and they were bought out by Ripmax. Currently Ripmax is trying to fix everything HPI screwed up before they went bankrupt. A lot of models are currently unavailable as well as a lot of parts. Things have slowly been coming back but I think it might be until the end of the year maybe beginning of next year before things are back on track.
On a kind of related note most manufacturers are having parts issues at the moment, I've heard rumors that the plants that made the parts shut down or burned down. And there were rumors that some contracts expired and the manufacturers didn't want to resign new ones.
Also I am pretty sure that HPI had a black 1/5th scale Mustang before.
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On a kind of related note most manufacturers are having parts issues at the moment, I've heard rumors that the plants that made the parts shut down or burned down. And there were rumors that some contracts expired and the manufacturers didn't want to resign new ones.
Also I am pretty sure that HPI had a black 1/5th scale Mustang before.
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Slick2500
New member
Lots of mismanagement.
Slick2500
New member
With Traxxas having released a new on road car the 4tec 2.0 Ford GT, there has been a lot of talk about onraod/touring cars on the RC forums, so I decided to give a touring car a try. Picked up a Team Associated Scion Racing Apex from Tower for $194.
Car comes rtr with a 3300kv brushless motor, 66t spur and 28t pinion, and is capable of running 3s lipo. Just supply your own batteries.
On 2s the car will do about 35 mph, on 3s it does about 45.
3s and a cracked up rock filled parking lot did this. This is after 2 2s packs and 1 3s pack through the car.
My plans for this are a 1970 Trans Am body, sweep racing tires, and Factory Team adjustable links.
I've got the Summit pretty much set up the way I want, still need to get the rc4wd mudslingers though.
The Ruckus has been turned into the loaner rc, Traxxas Stampede 4x4 rear axles, hot racing front hubs, hot racing caster blocks, Traxxas Big Bore shocks, the stock brushed esc, a titan 550 12t, 87t spur and 18t pinion.
My next purchase is either going to be an Arrma Talion or Typhon.
Car comes rtr with a 3300kv brushless motor, 66t spur and 28t pinion, and is capable of running 3s lipo. Just supply your own batteries.
On 2s the car will do about 35 mph, on 3s it does about 45.
3s and a cracked up rock filled parking lot did this. This is after 2 2s packs and 1 3s pack through the car.
My plans for this are a 1970 Trans Am body, sweep racing tires, and Factory Team adjustable links.
I've got the Summit pretty much set up the way I want, still need to get the rc4wd mudslingers though.
The Ruckus has been turned into the loaner rc, Traxxas Stampede 4x4 rear axles, hot racing front hubs, hot racing caster blocks, Traxxas Big Bore shocks, the stock brushed esc, a titan 550 12t, 87t spur and 18t pinion.
My next purchase is either going to be an Arrma Talion or Typhon.
SaukRapids
I can't car too good.
Foam or drift tires for that particular lot maybe. Never heard of ARRMA, so I'd imagine parts are hard to come by locally for me. Actually, that's probably true for everything except Traxxas and Losi. (Although HobbyTown will order to store without shipping)
It's been a while, but I used to build brushless motors on a line. I remember the design advantages. They seems to be coming way down in price, which is encouraging.
It's been a while, but I used to build brushless motors on a line. I remember the design advantages. They seems to be coming way down in price, which is encouraging.
Slick2500
New member
I was actually thinking of getting some drift tires, it's supposed to be a very good drift car.
Arrma is top dog right now in the 1/8th basher lineup. The 1/8th scale vehicles are based off the Team Durango Dex8. The Kraton(monster truck like the E-Revo) Outcast(stunt truck), Talion(truggy), Senton(Short Course Truck) and Typhon(4wd buggy) can bash on 6s all day and not break much. Aftermarket for them is small as about the only things that need upgraded are the servo mount and chassis braces to aluminum. They are $499.99 for the Kraton and Outcast, $479.99 for the Talion, $479.99 for the Senton and $429.99 for the Typhon and they will run circles around everything Traxxas has in their lineup and not break axles and diffs every 5 min. Spares can be ordered from Tower Hobbies, eBay, and Amazon. Looks like Hobbytown stocks Arrma stuff, they show them on their website anyway. Their 10th scale stuff is kinda just meh.
They also have the Nero lineup of vehicles, Arrma Nero, Arrma Nero with diff brain, Arrma Fazon with diff brain, and Arrma Nero Big Rock with diff brain. They are very complex to work on and have issues with rod ends and drive cups breaking. The diff brain models feature remote locking diffs similar to the Summit.
Some video of the Arrma vehicles doing insane stunts.
Arrma is top dog right now in the 1/8th basher lineup. The 1/8th scale vehicles are based off the Team Durango Dex8. The Kraton(monster truck like the E-Revo) Outcast(stunt truck), Talion(truggy), Senton(Short Course Truck) and Typhon(4wd buggy) can bash on 6s all day and not break much. Aftermarket for them is small as about the only things that need upgraded are the servo mount and chassis braces to aluminum. They are $499.99 for the Kraton and Outcast, $479.99 for the Talion, $479.99 for the Senton and $429.99 for the Typhon and they will run circles around everything Traxxas has in their lineup and not break axles and diffs every 5 min. Spares can be ordered from Tower Hobbies, eBay, and Amazon. Looks like Hobbytown stocks Arrma stuff, they show them on their website anyway. Their 10th scale stuff is kinda just meh.
They also have the Nero lineup of vehicles, Arrma Nero, Arrma Nero with diff brain, Arrma Fazon with diff brain, and Arrma Nero Big Rock with diff brain. They are very complex to work on and have issues with rod ends and drive cups breaking. The diff brain models feature remote locking diffs similar to the Summit.
Some video of the Arrma vehicles doing insane stunts.
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SaukRapids
I can't car too good.
Thanks for the info on Arrma. We've been looking again this summer because our 3yo's taken a shine to my Q32.
I've let her run it several times in the garage. The foam tires are great. I remembered seeing the carpet racers using little sponges and squishing their tires over them a bit. Splashed a tiny bit of water on the slick concrete, let it flatten. Ran it through there and whaddya know? Better grip, and the front didn't push no more.
Never ran an 1/8 scale on foams, but they do have em. Should help to protect those (replacement) wheels. Wear may be an issue, however. Lol
I've let her run it several times in the garage. The foam tires are great. I remembered seeing the carpet racers using little sponges and squishing their tires over them a bit. Splashed a tiny bit of water on the slick concrete, let it flatten. Ran it through there and whaddya know? Better grip, and the front didn't push no more.
Never ran an 1/8 scale on foams, but they do have em. Should help to protect those (replacement) wheels. Wear may be an issue, however. Lol
Slick2500
New member
Tower Hobbies is your best bet for the Arrma stuff, with the coupon codes you can get a pretty good deal on them. $50 off the Kraton, $30 off the others, unless you sign up for the Super Savers Club for $4.99 then you get $75 off the Kraton and $60 off the others plus free shipping.
Slick2500
New member
I really wish HPI would bring back the WS6 Trans Am body. Only place I can find one online is a hobby shop in Australia, for $59, and they do not ship to the states.
The only other worth wile Trans Am bodies that I can find are the Protoform 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
And the HPI 1978 Pontiac Firebird
I'm leaning more towards the 71.
The only other worth wile Trans Am bodies that I can find are the Protoform 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
And the HPI 1978 Pontiac Firebird
I'm leaning more towards the 71.
Slick2500
New member
Stopped at a yard sale yesterday and found this vintage Team Associated RC10B2 buggy with 3 sets of wheels/tires, 3 Futaba transmitters(with only one battery holder that is missing a tab) 2 chargers, 5 random cans of paint, a dead 1200mah nicd battery, Novak Rooster brushed esc, Trinity Speed Gems 2 Platinum brushed motor and full retail packaging from 1995 for $50. I threw a different receiver in and tossed in my 1800mah nimh battery and was extremely surprised by how well it ran for a 22 year old rc car.
I tore it completely apart to see what if anything needed to be replaced, found 1 missing screw, 2 missing e clips, a few foam ball stud washers were missing, one of the rear camber/suspension mounts had a stripped hole, one bent front camber link and one bent shock shaft. Picked up most of the parts plus a few other odds and ends, right from Associated for $26.22 with shipping. I had to order some NOS camber links off eBay.
And I also got this boat from a guy over on URC that didn't want me to feel left out for not having a boat. It's a long discontinued Imex X88 Ontario Typhoon, that has the stock brushed motor and esc. The boat is about 3 feet long or so.
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I tore it completely apart to see what if anything needed to be replaced, found 1 missing screw, 2 missing e clips, a few foam ball stud washers were missing, one of the rear camber/suspension mounts had a stripped hole, one bent front camber link and one bent shock shaft. Picked up most of the parts plus a few other odds and ends, right from Associated for $26.22 with shipping. I had to order some NOS camber links off eBay.
And I also got this boat from a guy over on URC that didn't want me to feel left out for not having a boat. It's a long discontinued Imex X88 Ontario Typhoon, that has the stock brushed motor and esc. The boat is about 3 feet long or so.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
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Slick2500
New member
Mounted some Anacondas on the B2, the rear was easy to convert to hex, the fronts have bearings inside the wheels instead of in the front steering blocks, the front axle is fixed inside the front steering block and the bearings ride on the axle and are then held on by a nut, luckily I had accidentally ordered premounted Anacondas for a Jato, the Jato also uses bearings in the front wheels. The front is way too wide but it handles fairly well.
Slick2500
New member
Just some updated information on my RC10B2.
Rebuilt the trans with a new transmission case.
Inside of the transmission still plenty of black grease on the gears and all of the bearings spun like they were brand new. I did take apart the ball diff and checked out everything, it looked brand new like it was just built.
Everything put back together, it looks so much nicer than the old one.
Mounted new rear suspension mounts(3* toe 0* anti-squat), transmission and a arms to the chassis plate.
I was going to rebuild the shocks and could not figure out how to get the o rings out until I realized I needed the shock tool. I have been looking all over the place for some spring clamps, the threads are stripped out in mine but they hold in place. I could always drill a hole through the other side get a longer bolt and put a nut on the end of it. But for now I just cleaned them up a bit.
The shocks mounted and rear links added.
The B3 a arms mounted, they mount up a little different than the stock arms did, but they fit really well. Got everything mounted up for the front suspension.
Front end completely mounted with the RPM front bumper for the GT2, B4, T4 and HPI Firestorm, didn't even have to mod anything it bolted right up.
Rebuilt the Trinity Speed Gems 2 motor, new brushes, springs and bearings from Holmes Hobby's.
Electronics mounted. And messing around with the different wheel sets I have.
Tried my painting skills on my new gear cover. I want to buy another can of this paint, and do up a body in it.
Parts still needing to be ordered.
Note for future reference do not use 22 year old Proline Step Pin tires on concrete, they are now just pin tires.
Rebuilt the trans with a new transmission case.
Inside of the transmission still plenty of black grease on the gears and all of the bearings spun like they were brand new. I did take apart the ball diff and checked out everything, it looked brand new like it was just built.
Everything put back together, it looks so much nicer than the old one.
Mounted new rear suspension mounts(3* toe 0* anti-squat), transmission and a arms to the chassis plate.
I was going to rebuild the shocks and could not figure out how to get the o rings out until I realized I needed the shock tool. I have been looking all over the place for some spring clamps, the threads are stripped out in mine but they hold in place. I could always drill a hole through the other side get a longer bolt and put a nut on the end of it. But for now I just cleaned them up a bit.
The shocks mounted and rear links added.
The B3 a arms mounted, they mount up a little different than the stock arms did, but they fit really well. Got everything mounted up for the front suspension.
Front end completely mounted with the RPM front bumper for the GT2, B4, T4 and HPI Firestorm, didn't even have to mod anything it bolted right up.
Rebuilt the Trinity Speed Gems 2 motor, new brushes, springs and bearings from Holmes Hobby's.
Electronics mounted. And messing around with the different wheel sets I have.
Tried my painting skills on my new gear cover. I want to buy another can of this paint, and do up a body in it.
Parts still needing to be ordered.
- High downforce wing kit
- Rear A-Arms.
- Shock rod ends
- Shock spring clamps
- Shock rebuild kit
- Shock bushings
- Ballstud dust covers
- Factory Team blue front in-line spindles
- Factory Team bellcrank bearings
- Factory Team blue servo saver hub and collar
- Duratrax Evader BX front and rear wheels
- VP-Pro Friction tires soft front and rear.
- Shumacher tubby medium inserts front and rear.
- RPM heavy duty rod ends.
- New body.
- Random hardware
Note for future reference do not use 22 year old Proline Step Pin tires on concrete, they are now just pin tires.