PRP Swift Forum V1.0

[StevePond]

Opened at the request of Racer Rich

[NoRotorLS1]

Anyone have this buggy?

[Apis]

I have seen it at the track. It is fast, strong and impressive. I have Hot Bodies Lighting Pro and I don't want it now, I want the Swift.

[RustlerBoy]

Guy that i work with at Ultimate Hobbies in Auburn is sponsered by PRP. He has let me drive it too. Great buggy. Suspension shafts aree a little bendy, but other than that, the buggy is a top notch RTR

[Racer Rich]

Hello everyone.

I am a new Swift owner. I have been racing since 97 (mostly electric on-road/off-road) and have had my fair share of kits. Losi's, Associated's, Trinity's, Kawada's, Ofna's, Tamiya's, Kyosho's, etc, etc, etc. A few days ago I saw this buggy at my LHS and was VERY IMPRESSED. I have had my Kinwald Edition buggies, my Graphite Plus trucks, and I have to say the quality was very good. If it was ARR without engine/radio/servos, I would have bought it on the spot.

I called up happytime (the distributor) and asked about an ARR version. The gentleman on the phone had to be nicest fellow I have spoken with that was affiliated with RC, or better yet anything for that manner. Very pleasant, caring and helpful. He was able to accomodate me. Through my LHS, I ordered and ARR Swift for $299.99.

He already gave me instructions to locktite everything--including the universals.

I am pretty new to gas and completely new to 1/8 scale buggies. I will be on here alot with tuning/setup questions and I hope we can generate a very informative thread like there is for more prevalent cars.

See ya around,

Rich

[fezzy]

Seeing as the thread has a measly 4 posts I thought I would contribute!. I ordered my Swift today along with some Hitec Servos, I'm also going to get all of the PRP Recommended 'Team Driver' Upgrades. I have raced a couple of times with a H7 Pro and a Crono RS01, I am hoping the Swift is going to be able to live up to the same standard, And I am confident based on what I have read and been told, Not to mention speaking to PRP and looking at the car, I sure I wont be disappointed!. I am going to be running a RB WS72 engine in it with a RB Polished Manifold and a RB 9863 Pipe. I will be sure to post my experiences with the car during rebuilding it.

Other Swift owners get posting!!

[Racer Rich]

Originally posted by fezzy
Seeing as the thread has a measly 4 posts I thought I would contribute!. I ordered my Swift today along with some Hitec Servos, I'm also going to get all of the PRP Recommended 'Team Driver' Upgrades. I have raced a couple of times with a H7 Pro and a Crono RS01, I am hoping the Swift is going to be able to live up to the same standard, And I am confident based on what I have read and been told, Not to mention speaking to PRP and looking at the car, I sure I wont be disappointed!. I am going to be running a RB WS72 engine in it with a RB Polished Manifold and a RB 9863 Pipe. I will be sure to post my experiences with the car during rebuilding it.

Other Swift owners get posting!!

fezzy-Great to see another Swift owner. There is not alot of Swift owners on this board. Most have seem to gravitated here (http://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=10630) .

[fezzy]

Thanks Rich :)

[krisI.925]

im looking into gettin a swift buggy to. They look awsome especially for the price but the only thing im worried about is the parts availibilty. And Racer Rich who did you talk to at happy hobby? That sounds like an awsome deal.

[Gixer Jay]

I just bought a Swift and it rocks!! I've been racing very competitively for years and years running all the high dollar 1/10 scale off-road vehicles and I finally decided to get into 1/8 scale.. I was thinking about buying one of the high dollar cars, but when I saw the Swift I thought it was a great looking car.. ( LOOKS LIKE EXACT REPLICA OF THE MUGEN ) I decided to go with this CHEAP car and see what it would do, and all I gotta say is its the best car for the money.. All though I did change the motor with a NovaRossi BX-21, the servos with digital Futaba's, the radio system, and went through the hole suspention set up I guess I could still call this a RTR.. Also lock tighted all the universals, motor mount screws, and all other metal to metal areas..


The Swift rules, and spanks on all the high dollar 1/8 scales..

[Gyro Gearloose]

I just saw one of these last weekend at my track, nice looking car, I like the low flat look of the body.
The stock engine wasn't down on power too much at our fairly short track either. The suspension does need some tuning(Part was the somewhat poor driving, ha ha).

Great radio with this car! Makes my Walmart radio that came in my Hyper 7 PBS look like ....well....a Walmart radio.

A steering servo;some suspension tuning and this guy will start going fast I bet.

[KyoshoKev]

anyone got pics of the car/remote ?

what engine does it come with?


cheers

[richb]

I bought an RTR Swift a few months back and have had lots of fun with it. Early problems were a few screws coming lose, but not much else. I have raised the ride height at the back of the car, as the rear was grounding out on bumps and flicking the back into the air, a little extra spoiler helped here as well. I've added a front anti-roll bar, a high torque steering servo and spent a bit of time getting the wheel geometry just right. I run a couple of degrees of camber at each corner, and a couple of degrees toe out at the front. The handling seems pretty sorted now. Has anyone played around with the castor spacers yet? I've not touched mine. The other significant tuning I have had to do was to the throttle/brake linkages. Basically I've moved both sets of linkages closer to the servo on the servo arm, to increase the servo torque and thus the breaking effort. The shorter throw on the throttle link is still enough to fully open the carb, but allows the servo to overcome the throttle closing spring when braking. The breaks are so good now the car actually does forward rolls if you break to hard on carpet!
Speed from the car has never been a problem! I easily seem to keep up with others on the track down the straights, and even sneak past a few of them. If only I had the skill to get round the bends!

[DT-10 basher]

hey all, i bought myself a swift during the summer holidays, great buggy but i have broken one cvj and a front knuckle(both due to me jumping and landing wrong) but so far have had great fun with it.
richb could you describe in more detail how to make the brakes better cause i find sometimes they dont even work?

[nate johnston]

Would anyone like a back up swift? 180 and its yours. It comes with a rd logics pipe and infinity .21 motor. No electronics. thanks!

[DT-10 basher]

anybody know what shell will fit on the swift as i trashed mine on the holidays.

[Gyro Gearloose]

anybody know what shell will fit on the swift as i trashed mine on the holidays.

Probably a shell made for the Mugen(wide), I would imagine the pro line crowd pleaser for the Mugen would look good.

[DT-10 basher]

thanks for that.

[richb]

hey all, i bought myself a swift during the summer holidays, great buggy but i have broken one cvj and a front knuckle(both due to me jumping and landing wrong) but so far have had great fun with it.
richb could you describe in more detail how to make the brakes better cause i find sometimes they dont even work?

I've done three things:
1. Move the rods that connect the pull rods from the servo horn to the break cams further out, so that the ends with the hoops on are further from the cams. This will give more leaverage = more breaks. Make sure the lower rod does not go into the spur gear!
2. Shorten the servo horn and move the pull rods closer to the servo. I had to add some shim (bit of plastic from a margerine tub) between the horn and the pivot thing, to raise it a bit to clear the servo. Again this gives the servo more adavantage over the breaks.
3. Shorten the other side of the horn so the servo has more advantage over the spring which closes the slide valve in the carb. Make sure you still have enough travel to fully open the carb! The servo has to overcome this spring when it operates the breaks. You'll also get finer control of the throttle, result!

My breaks are actually too good now, and I'm de-tuning them a bit. The pre-load in the throttle spring can be used to do this, as can moving the connecting rods around.

Good luck Richard

[DT-10 basher]

i have moved the horn on the servo for the brakes that is all and i will see how good they are now, i am doing a rebuild at the mo and have noticed the cvj pins have been worn down by the outdrives which are also worn, soon they will need replaced which is £60, any ways to fix this?

[richb]

Have a look at the Schumacher web site (racing-cars.com I think). A pair of drive shafts are around £18 and the drive outputs around £5. I have noticed that these items do wear fast, I am going to try a small amount of molybdenum based grease on the joints and see how I get on. I think the only solution really is lots of cleaning and stay out of the mud! I have noticed in an advert for the swift 2 that it now features 'long life' drive outputs. Maybe you could try contacting power racing to find out if they are available as spares from some where?

[DT-10 basher]

i was talking to the dude at prp and he says the hardened outdrives are in woo hoo, i was lookin at my car in more detail and only the back two cvjs and outdrives are worn the rest are fine?

[dxm2]

No one's contributed to this for awhile, so here are my 102 cents.

I got a Swift about a year ago and have had lots of fun with it. Dealing with the company has been nothing but great! And although the car has had it share if problems, its still a great deal and working on it is half the fun, IMO.

But I've NEVER been able to order replacement outdrives. Does anyone know of a part number for these? I have recently replaced mine with Mugens, which fit with a little trimming.

Here's listing of what I've done to mine. My swift has about 6 gallons through it and runs strong!

Rebuilt and reshimmed rear diff.
Added a fuel filter
Replaced fuel tank with a Mugen tank, fixed all tunning issues
Replaced the back plate with GS unit- works better with rotostart.
Replaced throttle/brake linkage with Dynamite unit
Replaced head button with ofna unit - didn't fit without a little sanding.
Replaced steering servo with JR unit. (broke the original)
Added 6 volt hump pack - A must!
Added temp guage and fail safe
Replaced orignal shock springs with Blue Ofnas

And after a bad crash two weeks ago:

New chassis (65 Bucks!)
New Front shock tower
New front suspension pins

What has everyone else done to their Swift?

[DT-10 basher]

i haven't done much, i moved the brake lever closer to the servo for more torque, and i have trashed the shell, broke it on half down the middle?
what is wrong with the original tank that it needs replaced?

[dxm2]

i haven't done much, i moved the brake lever closer to the servo for more torque, and i have trashed the shell, broke it on half down the middle?
what is wrong with the original tank that it needs replaced?

I couldn't tune the engine, it wouldn't start, wouldn't idle no matter how I set the needles. I had changed the fuel lines, resealed the carb and the engine, but it was still untuneable. So, I bought a mugen tank on Ebay just to give it a try and it fixed ALL the tuning issues. Starts and runs great, although it runs a little hot at around 270. The Mugen tank "kinda" fits, its not a direct replacement, but its easy to modify the mounting post to make it work.

[pballdude]

My buddy is running the swift. Nice solid buggy for the price. But parts and kinda hard to get right now.

[DT-10 basher]

no one is posting, come on keep us informed on whats goin on and stuff.
my buggy has been leakin oil from around the base of the engine head, i hope its just the screws comin loose.

[gdc02]

just bought a swift pro kit
comes with all tuning parts and 6 v. Nihm receiver battery

[DT-10 basher]

my engine is fooked, when i plug the exhaust and pull the cord the fuel doesnt even flow throught the line, the engine head was loos so i cleaned it and threadlocked it on tight. any one know what might be wrong?

[dxm2]

Does the fly wheel turn when you pull the cord? If it does, it sounds like your connecting rod is broken, it the fly doesn't move when you pull the cord, the oneway bearing is broken.

Of course, it might be a massive air leak at the head or the glowplug seal as well.

[DT-10 basher]

when i pull the cord the flywheel turns and the piston moves up and down, will have to take a look at it some time.
about the pro kit, is it the whole car or just a parts bag with loads of upgrades and stuff?

[dxm2]

I bought some CV Boots from CarolinasRC.com that are being sold as aftermarket parts for the Mugen MBX5. I recently had a front CV lock up on me because it had run dry of lube. The new boots hold the grease in, and have kept the water and dirt out so far. The only glitch is the reach lower arms that needed to be modified (dremeled) a bit to allow the CV boots to spin freely. Check them out on MBX5parts.com or CarolinasRC.com.

[k5bogger1969]

I just bought a Swift and it should be here Saturday I am looking forward to racing this buggy from all the positive comments that I have been hearing. I will keep you all posted.

[llbr222]

I just talked to PRP. They have discontinued the swift... for the $100 cheaper Katana. Looks to me like the features of the Katana just don't add up...

I'm wondering if I buy one of the existing Swifts out there, and parts are going to be hard to come by... is it still worth it? are the Swift parts interchaneable enough w/ other buggys? or should I scratch the idea.

The swift was on my list of buggys to consider as cost effective, entry level racers.

thx!

[dxm2]

I just talked to PRP. They have discontinued the swift... for the $100 cheaper Katana. Looks to me like the features of the Katana just don't add up...

I'm wondering if I buy one of the existing Swifts out there, and parts are going to be hard to come by... is it still worth it? are the Swift parts interchaneable enough w/ other buggys? or should I scratch the idea.

The swift was on my list of buggys to consider as cost effective, entry level racers.

thx!
I have a Swift and if I were to get another 1/8th buggy, I'd probably go elsewhere. Although the Swift is OK and I've had fun learning how to tune and fix it, I've also learned how to modify parts to how to use parts from other buggys to fix the short commings. PRP is a great company from a customer service stand point and I'm very close to buying one of the Rally Cross cars, but the Katana doesn't look as high quality as the Swift.

But, RD Logics is selling a very similiar buggy to the Swift and I bet parts could be gotten through them once PRP runs out.

http://www.rdlogics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=Off_Road_Buggy

[Remedy1]

DXM2, I'm glad I did a forum search on the RD logics buggy before posting a redundent thread or ordering one. I came across this buggy late last night and just one glance and I thought it was a Carbon of the MP6 from Kyosho. I think I'll start my own RD Logics 1/8th buggy thread for more inquiry.

[DT-10 basher]

i usually order the parts throught my hobby shop, will they be able to get them even if it has been discontinued?

[nipper]

Recently bought this tasty little buggy, and already my mate has broken my pullstart! bought new spring but cant formy life get it all put back together again...... is there any special way or a correct way of assembling this? or can i just replace the pullstart cover and use a starter box instead....... im also havin problems running the engine in. any help would be greatly appreciated

[DT-10 basher]

i dont see why people have so many problems putting pullstarts back together, when i was on holidays sand got in it so i took it out cleaned it and rewound the spring and put it back in. all you have to do is hold one end with pliers wind it up and locate the other end in on of the holes then attach the other end to the spool and hold it as u put the spool back in.

[J0nNY]

Hey that RD logistcs buggy looks exactly the same as the swift but without the carbon parts i wonder if rd logistcs have bought the design...? and also i had a look at the katana buggy and it looks like the front end has been chganged a little and that the swift could accomadate the new parts from it other than that it looks the same. I am going to have a go at makeing some new hardend diff outdrives out of high carbon steel see how they hold up against the new hardend ones from prp

[Dragon Wolf]

Hey all. Just wanted to say I too am a new Swift owner. I just got it las christmas and having a heck of a time getting it started. I now find out that my starter bearing is shot. ($10 for a new one) O well. Im looking at selling the entire unit...car, transmitter, and wrench. I dont have the time nor the money to get into it, grrr.

Also, if you goto http://www.acehardwarehobbies.com/2.2/catalog/default.php ;) you can find parts for these cars. :cool:

[Acidxxx]

Hi All

I am new to RC racing and the first car I went for was the PRP Swift2. The buggy is great in terms of strenghth, handling and speed.

I have not raced the buggy on the off road tracks much but I have been trying the car out on on-road tracks (too scared to bust the damn thing)

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew if there is a way of converting the Swift to a on-road car? I have been reading up and most of the 1/8 scale on-road cars have been based on the 1/8 scale buggy chassis.

Also, getting parts for the swift is difficult, here in South Africa. Can anyone reccommend a website to visit for Swift parts, upgrades, etc?

Later

Acidxxx

[lazydel]

Hi All

I am new to RC racing and the first car I went for was the PRP Swift2. The buggy is great in terms of strenghth, handling and speed.

I have not raced the buggy on the off road tracks much but I have been trying the car out on on-road tracks (too scared to bust the damn thing)

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew if there is a way of converting the Swift to a on-road car? I have been reading up and most of the 1/8 scale on-road cars have been based on the 1/8 scale buggy chassis.

Also, getting parts for the swift is difficult, here in South Africa. Can anyone reccommend a website to visit for Swift parts, upgrades, etc?

Later

Acidxxx

The swift was discontinued... :( but it lives on as the RD LOGICS SHO (exact same buggy different name. Parts can be bought on there website www.rdlogics.com, look for my RD LOGICS SHO thread also.

[Acidxxx]

The swift was discontinued... :( but it lives on as the RD LOGICS SHO (exact same buggy different name. Parts can be bought on there website www.rdlogics.com, look for my RD LOGICS SHO thread also.


Thanks will do :)

[OzCar]

Hey Everyone,Ive just purchased a Swift Pro after seeing a friends on road Ford Tamiya.Have another week till delivery and Im more than anxious.I will be on here asking for advice from time to time and hope one day offer advice or suggestions to others (Totally new to RC so might take a while)lol.Thanks for the tips so far

[OzCar]

I just picked up my new Swift pro was so excited.Ran three tanks through gave it a squeeze for the first time in an area I really shouldnt have been driving at and WHACK!! hit a post and result of two broken suspension mounts.All my fault not the buggies.They go hard and recommend em especially the Pro.Not bad in the first day,now off the road for a week.

[Fluke]

hey i got the buggy sometimes ago.does anyone have tips for performance/durability?

[jamesthall]

hi there i have read most of the comments on this swift forum and i agree with all. since it is so hard to buy parts for them you have to look else where. the standard vented disk brakes for the hyper 7 are a must, my brakes where 200% better instantly.

i got my swift nearly a year ago and after upgrading some of the plastic bits to alloy i havent broken any thing since. i started racing the swift at a clubman level in january and still havent broken anything. once i changed the shock oils, springs, diff oils, camber and installed a low end tourque pipe i came 2nd in the three qualifying rounds last race.

the setup for my local track which is very bumpy astro turf with lots of corners and only short straights is;

worn out tyres of any kind in the dry
hobao angle spikes with outside edge row of spikes trimmed to prevent roll over for wet
white hobao hyper springs
40wt shock oil
spacers
-2 deg camber all round
7000 diff oil front
20,000 middle
1000 rear
14 tooth clutch bell with alloy shoes
shocks at the most acute angle possible
this new RD logics Sho, will they be making a pro version?