Losi 8IGHT-E 4WD 1/8th Buggy Race Roller

[News]

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p347/rccanews/LOSA0803-GAL1.jpg

New from Losi (http://www.losi.com):

Losi's 1/8-scale 8IGHT-E 4WD Buggy Race Roller combines the innovative design and technology of Losi's award-winning 8IGHT Competition Buggy Chassis with the fierce torque and speed of Losi’s 1/8-scale Xcelorin Brushless Systems.

The 8IGHT-E Race Roller is a competition buggy chassis that has been hand assembled and tuned to exact specifications. Each and every screw is installed to specific torque settings to maintain consistent construction. Additionally, every screw or bolt that secures metal-to-metal contact features thread lock to prevent backing out or loosening due to vibration. The differentials and shocks are pre-built and filled with 100% pure silicone fluid.

The 8IGHT-E Race Roller features Losi’s superior 1/8-scale Xcelorin Sensorless Brushless Power System. The fully programmable, high-output electronic speed control (ESC) can handle a 3-5-cell LiPo battery pack, and offers precise throttle and braking control. The 2100Kv brushless motor requires virtually no maintenance, while offering unmatched efficiency and speed designed for 1/8-scale racing. Additionally, the ESC offers tons of programming options, including adjustable throttle limits, selectable user profiles, and much more using the Quick Programming Card or personal pc programming software.

Once assembled, the 8IGHT-E Race Roller is given a complete inspection to ensure that it meets Team Losi Racing’s requirements for durability and performance. You can be sure that your 8IGHT-E Race Roller is ready for serious competition as soon as you open the box.

Features:


Pre-installed Xcelorin 1/8-scale Brushless System with 2100Kv Sensorless motor w/5mm shaft
Secure, hard-mount Xcelorin ESC with rubber shock absorbers
4mm motor mounting screws
Large ESC heat sink with fan to keep damaging heat away
Molded LiPo battery tray with hook and loop straps that can accommodate a 3S to 5S LiPo
Newly designed body specially built for the 8IGHT-E for improved air cooling of the electronics
Adjustable aluminum motor mount with rear motor support
4mm thick machined and hard anodized aluminum chassis plate
Unique narrow chassis configuration for quicker handling and ground clearance
Oversized shocks with threaded hard anodized shock bodies
Sealed front and rear differential housings keep dirt out of the gears
Zero bump steer design with adjustable Ackerman
Captured hinge pins require no retaining clips
Machined premium aluminum 5mm thick alloy shock towers


Product Specifications:

Type:Electric Competition Buggy Race Roller
Scale:1/8
Length:19.5 inches (495mm)
Width:12.13 inches (308mm)
Wheelbase:12.64-12.80 inches (321-325mm)
Chassis:4mm Hard-Anodized Aluminum
Suspension:H-Arm, Full Independent
Drive Train:Offset Drive with 3 Sealed Differentials
Motor or Engine:1/8 Xcelorin Sensorless Brushless Motor, 2100Kv
Speed Control:1/8 Xcelorin Sensorless ESC
Radio:2-Channel Radio System (sold separately)
Servos:High-Torque (sold separately)
Batteries:3-5-Cell LiPo Battery Pack (sold separately)
Charger:Sold separately
Wheel Size:17mm Hex
Kit/RTR:Race Roller
Shock Type:Oversized Hard-Anodized, Threaded Bodies / 4mm Shafts
Body:Clear, 0.040-inch thick, Electric Buggy Racer Body
Ball Bearings:Complete

Needed to Complete:


3-5-Cell LiPo Battery
Compatible Battery Charger
2 Channel Radio System with High Torque Servos
Paint for Polycarbonate Body


LOSA0803 - $879.99

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[rccardude04]

Before I go off, it is nice to see a step towards brushless 1/8 buggies from the factory...

However, I feel that this really is the beginning of pushing RTR CRAP onto hardcore racers. Anyone who buys this probably doesn't want the potentially mediocre losi brushless system. Why on earth would you include something that has always been a racer's choice on a vehicle that's marketed towards racers?

AND, seriously. This is NOT an electric 1/8 buggy. It's a nitro 1/8 buggy with a brushless conversion pre-installed. I still had faith in Team Losi, the racing division of Losi, until now. Even the pro level stuff is getting the "Let's recycle this chassis 10 times to see how many we can sell in the short term" bullcrap treatment.

I do not understand. Losi, you fail.

-Eric

[schenck77]

nice, was hoping for a different chassis then the nitro but still nice to see a major manufacter getting into electric 8th scale.

[glassdoctor]

Looks kinda like the 8ight I did two years ago, the day that it (the nitro car lol) hit the LHS.

At least Losi has something... other mfg could be in the game too by now. And I think the brushless system they have may actually be really good. Of course that's just speculation at this point.

Here's a pic from September 2006, car almost ready to rock and roll:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t284/teamfusionracing/jammincrt64073.jpg

[schenck77]

Glass, that looks so familar. I used your example when I did my 8. I waited for the release of the rtr though, and just parted out the motor and other stuff that I didn't need.

[Mini-TBasher55]

Before I go off, it is nice to see a step towards brushless 1/8 buggies from the factory...

However, I feel that this really is the beginning of pushing RTR CRAP onto hardcore racers. Anyone who buys this probably doesn't want the potentially mediocre losi brushless system. Why on earth would you include something that has always been a racer's choice on a vehicle that's marketed towards racers?

AND, seriously. This is NOT an electric 1/8 buggy. It's a nitro 1/8 buggy with a brushless conversion pre-installed. I still had faith in Team Losi, the racing division of Losi, until now. Even the pro level stuff is getting the "Let's recycle this chassis 10 times to see how many we can sell in the short term" bullcrap treatment.

I do not understand. Losi, you fail.

-Eric

The potential of Losi's new system has been widely speculating-with people who are on their fourth, fifth, and even sixth Mamba Monster Maxx Systems, all of which have been shipped to them DEAD, people are looking at the specs of the Losi and debating whether to preorder whenever they can. Its got good specs, and like the MMM, it looks good on paper. Who knows what it will be like, but the other Losi systems have been very good so far.

I'm not a fan of Losi in any way and haven't been for over a year with all the crap they pull, but this looks promising. Anyone racing 1/8th at this point will be happy to get that system-it would have to suck to not be better than the MMM at this point.

[jhautz]

I agree. It needs to be sold as a race roller. Price would probably be very similar to the nitro race roller. The Losi esc and motors look like they could be a nice option, but I dont want to be dictated to as to what motor and speed control to use.

I also agree that it is nothing more than a slightly polished Losi specific version of what has been beng done for years already. Oh well. The plus side of it being very UNrevolutionary is at least I dont have to have it now. ;) lol

[gillesdestijl]

Losi designed the gearboxes of the 8ight so the engine can be as close as the center line of the car, now the motor sits almost outside of the chassis... a bit weird. They could have get the battery pack closer too.

[Cain]

I am actually excited to see this come out. I think having this pretty much ready to go is a good thing. With losi making there own ESC and motor combo, you can kind of cut down now on the having to decide there, and just go with the battery decision, which, should be pretty elementary now when losi's battery is available.

I don't disagree it should also be available as a Race Roller too, but, got to start somewhere.

Hopefully this will get the ball rolling, and if AE can get something out too,watch out!

[rccardude04]

Losi designed the gearboxes of the 8ight so the engine can be as close as the center line of the car, now the motor sits almost outside of the chassis... a bit weird. They could have get the battery pack closer too.

I pretty much thought the same thing. Rather than making an actual 8ight-E, they bolted on a makeshift brushless conversion and called it a new car.

I mean seriously, the diffs were done that way so that everything would be centerline-oriented, and the car would rotate really well. However, this thing just about makes it the opposite. ReDesign the diffs? PFFT! Why would they do that? Let's just put a conversion on it, make them buy OUR brushless system, and call it a day.

Bullcrap. Absolute bullcrap. Tekno, which is an aftermarket company, and should have an inferior product (no offence to Tekno, they're awesome. But the ACTUAL LOSI PRODUCT should be better) but instead, actually took the time to lay out the servos in a good spot, re-tool the chassis, and even gives you new driveshafts (V3 for the RC8). Effort from an r/c manufacturer? AMAZING! But not from Losi.

-Eric

[fuzzychickens]

I pretty much thought the same thing. Rather than making an actual 8ight-E, they bolted on a makeshift brushless conversion and called it a new car.

I mean seriously, the diffs were done that way so that everything would be centerline-oriented, and the car would rotate really well. However, this thing just about makes it the opposite. ReDesign the diffs? PFFT! Why would they do that? Let's just put a conversion on it, make them buy OUR brushless system, and call it a day.

Bullcrap. Absolute bullcrap. Tekno, which is an aftermarket company, and should have an inferior product (no offence to Tekno, they're awesome. But the ACTUAL LOSI PRODUCT should be better) but instead, actually took the time to lay out the servos in a good spot, re-tool the chassis, and even gives you new driveshafts (V3 for the RC8). Effort from an r/c manufacturer? AMAZING! But not from Losi.

-Eric

If you look closely at the tekno conversion, the differential placement is a mirror image of where the losi diff already is on it's car....just that it's moved to the left instead of the right like the losi. So, it seems to me that the balance would still be roughly the same.

[rccardude04]

I meant on the new conversion for the RC8, they have everything rearranged for optimumness (if that's a word).

You'd think Losi would have put in a normal diff in the rear so that we could have a more appropriately balanced vehicle, but they didn't even try. They just slapped a conversion kit on it, put in their motor/esc, and are calling it an 8ight-E.

-Eric

[theGhostMouse]

I thought this was pretty neat, and I was pretty interested until I went to Horizon's site. $880! OUCH! Although, that's about what I expected. Oh well. I agree with several of the complaints here, but I'm glad to see a major manufacturer making a step in this direction. By next summer's outdoor season, I'm looking to run an 1/8th scale brushless setup, so I hope there are more and more refined offers out there. The Losi offering might not be the greatest, but hopefully it inspires more manufacturers to create an 1/8th scale brushless of their own. I'd definitely like to see some video of this thing, and I'm also pretty curious as to how that Losi brushless system performs.

[JohnnyShore]

I personally like the fact that there's a ton of room on the left side of the car for big batts. Considering how long these things will run on 8000mah lipos, you could add a little weight where you need it to balance the car out to your liking and still have UBER amounts of power that nitro could never match.

Another nice thing about keeping the nitro origins is the availability of parts...most tracks will already have nitro 8IGHT parts, so until this class takes off and has a strong following, there should be plenty of parts available as far as diffs and driveline.

[FroBoy]

That $880 is Horizon's price. Your LHS should have it even cheaper. My store is usually a good $100 cheaper than MAP on items that expensive.

7 something for everything you get with this roller is pretty good.

[bigboots1302]

i would like to but it but i dont want that crappy underpowered system in it. i want a true roller with no electronics so i can choose my own.

[rccardude04]

Yeah, if you priced the normal 8ight kit or roller, plus a mamba monster or equivalent, plus the conversion, it's over a grand easy.

Not a bad price then...

-Eric

[MacII]

YES! The rule of Nitro is about to come to an END!

Long Live Electric!

Losi is the first of many...

[JohnnyShore]

YES! The rule of Nitro is about to come to an END!


AMEN!!!

[savagekid94]

a roller would be nice!...this is makeing want to go all associated!

[Racer Rob]

Too expensive.

[Racer Rob]

i would like to but it but i dont want that crappy underpowered system in it. i want a true roller with no electronics so i can choose my own.
Its the new brushless system designed for 1/8th scale. Do you own that brushless system? Have you ever seen it run? Or are you just saying it sucks because you saw it in a picture :rolleyes:

[rccardude04]

ROFL!

I like how Losi has made this so complete, that people don't even call it a roller. They should call it an ARTR. All it doesn't have is a servo and radio.

Honestly, I bet it will run fine with the brushless system that's onboard. However, it's still nice to have the Castle's programming abilities. Or, someone may already have a brushless system, or even just a Mamba Max controller, and doesn't need the system it comes with. They really should have done this differently.

It is a giant, awesome leap forwards though! I just wish it could have been from a company that would have made it worth waiting for...

-Eric

[crazyjr]

The "Want it now society", It amazes me how people are not satisfied with something new. No one , even Losi will drop hundreds of thousands or even millions on a ground breaking design, that flops. They gave us a design that works, if sucessful, better designs will follow. You guys say the motor hangs out, I say the heaviest piece is closer to the center (battery). Why bash the brushless when no one has run it? With the record of the MMM, I'm glad i stuck with my quark's. It's very possible that 6s might be too much for the ground pounders. I do agree i'd like a choice, but those that don't know, have a good starter system at least. I say good going to Losi to fill a new niche' in the market, possibly first

[Mini-TBasher55]

I honestly fail to see how anyone can honestly say that system, which no one here has seen running or run themselves, is underpowered and/or not as good as a MMMv2. I mean really, I've been seeing lots of people that are just sticking with their modded MM on 4s and have spent more time with their old MM set ups than their new MMM ones since they purchased their first MMMv1.

If you're going to hate the Losi actually support your opinions with facts, don't say its underpowered because its blue and not black like a Neu. If you want to put in your own electronics and you're too good for these, then maybe you should just do your own conversion, because I doubt a factory built one is gonna be good enough for you either.

[crazyjr]

I may have to pick up one of these, Does anyone know the spacing of the motor screws? I have an 8T and if the holes line up with a lehner 22 series, I'll be getting a conversion for it and run my 2250 in the truggy. :cool::driving:

[Caster Racing]

If you're going to hate the Losi actually support your opinions with facts, don't say its underpowered because its blue and not black like a Neu. If you want to put in your own electronics and you're too good for these, then maybe you should just do your own conversion, because I doubt a factory built one is gonna be good enough for you either.


OK, here is a fact. Cheap knockoff of my engineer's design. It does look like a nice conversion though.

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=226163

Nice to see them on board at least.....

[Nitro 4 me]

OK, here is a fact. Cheap knockoff of my engineer's design. It does look like a nice conversion though.

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=226163

Nice to see them on board at least.....

So you're saying glassdoctor did a cheep knock off of your design on his losi 8ight? :huh:

[Caster Racing]

Yeah, he copied the new losi 8e and went back in time on these threads and acted like he made it in September 2006.

No, what I am saying is that he designed the Losi 8 back in 2006, proven here on these forums, got copied by some "conversion manufacturers" and then Losi copied the "conversion manufacturers".

But I guess you could say that we are the new and improved version 2......

[ElectricThunder]

A conversion is a conversion. There's only so much you can do with it, so I'm not suprised glassdoctor and Losi's conversions look similar (the mount on the Losi looks like it accomodates their motors specifically, but again, a mount is amount). The Losi layout is odd, so I would assume anyone who has converted that buggy has put the motor in the same spot....unless they wanted an unbalanced buggy with the motor on the other side and itty bitty batteries where the motor would be...:huh:

[Nitro 4 me]

Yeah, he copied the new losi 8e and went back in time on these threads and acted like he made it in September 2006.

No, what I am saying is that he designed the Losi 8 back in 2006, proven here on these forums, got copied by some "conversion manufacturers" and then Losi copied the "conversion manufacturers".

But I guess you could say that we are the new and improved version 2......

OK I get you point now :D

[JeffEmbracedDC]

The losi layout is ideal for electric conversions. The offset drivetrain is perfectly suited for electric conversions.

The motor mount design looks notably better than any previous design I have seen for the losi the main reason being mesh adjustments accessed via BIRDS EYE view - and only ONE screw at that. Any previous mounts I have seen (rc-monster, rc product design, etc) have mesh adjustment done by two screws that are very tricky to reach and almost imporrible to reach without an L-shaped allen wrench. Standard straight drivers cannot access the bottom screw without removing the radio tray and even then it's difficult.

In comparisin to other conversions I have seen the battery box has been moved forwards to accommodate behind it ON the chassis (well, on a mounting plate that's on the chassis) instead of on the top plate or over the rear drive shaft which notably reduces center of gravity. Especially if you're using an 1/8th scale design ESC with huge 10g wires (mamba monster, etc).

However there are several things I am very surprised about! In my opinion losi could have made this a whole lot more competitive as it has two major flaws (as most conversions do...)

1. It uses motor braking.
Using motor braking doesn't allow for racers to set front/rear brake bias which will be a notable advantage for nitro racers

2. No slipper clutch
I would have expected in the "roller", as well as an "option" for the "conversion kit" to be a slipper clutch incorporated into the center diff.

3. 3 BATTERY STRAPS?!?
If you run 20 minutes or longer you will almost for sure need to swap your battery. ONE strap is already extremely slow I have no understanding as to why they decided on 3 straps. That will be a good 30+ second pit stop at BEST. They should have incorporated a quick-release system. Maybe a plate with clips on the chassis and then hard-cases that you purchase for each battery that clip in. Heck - maybe even solder points on the box and plate so your batteries contact is made to the ESC via clip in case connection. That would remove yet another step in swapping batteries (unplugging and re-plugging)

4. In addition to a quick release system for the batteries - a quick release system for the BODY. removing and replacing the body in a pit stop really sucks. And what if you drop a clip? Granted, if you had four guys pitting your electric buggy - maybe. But one-man pit times will be atrocious. Maybe new mud gaurds with tall walls so the body can be attached via velcro.

Anyway - I'm really excited about the new hardware being introduced. I really like this kit due to motor mount due to its one-screw-from-birds-eye mesh adjustment, the battery box that doesn't require fabrication, and the on-chassis ESC mounting area. But for real racers - this is still a far cry from a truly competitive electric buggy.

-Jeff

[rccardude04]

The motor is probably fine, and I bet the ESC does fine as well.

However, if they gave you a Sportwerks 21 and a Dynamite pipe with the 8ight Roller and sold it for $820, would anybody buy it? Doubtful. Racers want to put their own crap in their race cars. Even if it will run fine, it's never quite the right thing. Heck, I was happy when my 777 SP2 didn't come with tires!

I'm tellin ya... the RTR market is about to make its way into the racer market. I don't understand.

-Eric

[Saboteur]

Saw this last night - Really awesome! The vehicle that is....

[Mini-TBasher55]

OK, here is a fact. Cheap knockoff of my engineer's design. It does look like a nice conversion though.

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=226163

Nice to see them on board at least.....

Look at 100 conversions-guess what? They all are distinctly similar! Like oh my god! No way!

Yeah, no, they didn't copy anyone.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

It amazes me to see so many people bashing this and accusing Losi of slapping a conversion kit on the 8ight and labeling it a new car.

You could have said the exact same thing when the 8ight-T came out. Same car, longer shocks, arms and chassis.

In the case of 1/8th or larger scale race cars the drivetrain needs to remain at least similar. Honestly - how would you change the diffs to better suit an electric motor? How would you alter the layout to better suit an electric motor? Plenty of people (even engineers) have been working with electric 1/8th buggies for years now and no one has come up with a far superior layout.

Why do people expect an electric powered buggy to be on a completely different chassis than a nitro? what would be the point? lowered CG? No. Weight closer to the center line? no. That's already nearly as good as it can be. The only thing that could be done to move weight closer to the center of the chassis would be to reduce the size of the spur and pinion gears - which they did. Balance wise it looks about perfect.


Granted I'm sure there are small tweaks you could do but people need to remember that this class is still very new. New to the point that this is the first company to even ANNOUNCE such a vehicle.

As I mentioned there are many advancements to be made to be truly competative. Quick change batteries, brake bias, slipper clutch, etc. but this is a big step in the right direction and losis implementation, in my opinion, is good considering where we are with this class.

-Jeff

[Caster Racing]

In the case of 1/8th or larger scale race cars the drivetrain needs to remain at least similar. Honestly - how would you change the diffs to better suit an electric motor? How would you alter the layout to better suit an electric motor? Plenty of people (even engineers) have been working with electric 1/8th buggies for years now and no one has come up with a far superior layout.

Ummm...OK, if you really think so...

Why do people expect an electric powered buggy to be on a completely different chassis than a nitro? what would be the point? lowered CG? No. Weight closer to the center line? no. That's already nearly as good as it can be. The only thing that could be done to move weight closer to the center of the chassis would be to reduce the size of the spur and pinion gears - which they did. Balance wise it looks about perfect.

The weight looks pretty far out there on the sides to me, but I know that layout, it will actually handle well.....I agree on the balance being good...

Granted I'm sure there are small tweaks you could do but people need to remember that this class is still very new. New to the point that this is the first company to even ANNOUNCE such a vehicle.

That is good humor, Jeff, I hate to be bold, but there is a reason that they did it and it wasn't to be the first manufacturer making them....

-Jeff

This will all probably get erased as usual..... but our second batch for sale in the US will be here next week...

[Caster Racing]

I really need to change my user name....

[Mini-TBasher55]

Caster this isn't the place to spam your crap.

I, for one, now know to stay away from your product. Spamming your crap in a new Losi release thread isn't cool.

[Caster Racing]

By the way, if a person uses 8000 packs, an electric has a very good chance of making it a full 45 minutes, so the straps is actually a great idea. 5000-6000 packs will make it 20-30 minutes depending on motor, gearing, etc.... So you would have to pit one time. I assume that with Nitro, you have to pit at least 3 times for a 45 minute main so over time it would be about equal.

You need 3 straps in that configuration to make sure the batteries don't come flying out. There is a lot of mass there that needs to be tied down as solid as possible with a little give. It would be funny to see the pack(s) flying out during a race, unless it was your car....

[Caster Racing]

Caster this isn't the place to spam your crap.

I, for one, now know to stay away from your product. Spamming your crap in a new Losi release thread isn't cool.

Not trying to spam. I am glad they are making a kit and I have praised them multiple times for doing it at other forums, however, the facts are the facts and I am presenting them. People say it is the first, it isn't. People say it is revolutionary, it isn't. Is it nicely done, of course. Will it sell, yes it will and I wish them the best of luck with it because as that market grows, we will grow and they will grow and hopefully, new people will enter the 1/8 scale market because of the simplicity of electric and the durability and speed of the 1/8 platform.

[Mini-TBasher55]

Way to edit your post to remove your spam.

Nice going bud.

Edit: You posted a bunch of pictures of Caster Racing's electric buggy, and nothing else.

Too bad you edited it to cover up your tracks.

[Caster Racing]

I actually moved them over to the caster news as I had 2 screens open at the same time.....like I said, I am not trying to spam, but I do notice that this particular forum is much more hostile than most others.....

[JeffEmbracedDC]

By the way, if a person uses 8000 packs, an electric has a very good chance of making it a full 45 minutes, so the straps is actually a great idea. 5000-6000 packs will make it 20-30 minutes depending on motor, gearing, etc.... So you would have to pit one time. I assume that with Nitro, you have to pit at least 3 times for a 45 minute main so over time it would be about equal.

You need 3 straps in that configuration to make sure the batteries don't come flying out. There is a lot of mass there that needs to be tied down as solid as possible with a little give. It would be funny to see the pack(s) flying out during a race, unless it was your car....

If an 8000mah pack lasted for 45 minutes that would be an average draw of 10 amps. As I'm sure you know, these vehicles draw FAR more than an average of 10 amps at race-pace with spikes often over 100 amps upon accelleration. Even using a high-efficiency motor such as a neu 2100-2500kv at race pace would easily drain any 8000mah pack in less than 32 minutes at very best. A 5000mah pack lasts an 1/8th buggy with similar motors less than 20.

You do not "need" 3 velcro straps to keep batteries from flying out. It is indeed physically possible to make "quick release" battery mounting systems while maintaining if not exceeding the strength of 3 straps of Velcro. I can think of many many ways to remove and replace batteries in which all would be faster than pulling 2 thick body clips off, lifting off the body, pulling 3 velcro straps apart, pulling them out of their slots in the battery trays, unplugging and removing the dead pack, placing the charged pack and plugging it in, then weaving the 3 fabric straps back through the slots, pulling them tight once again while pressing the velcro together, weaving the antenna tube back through the body, aligning the body on the posts, and replacing the two body clips assuming you didn't drop one or both of them in the frenzy of a pit stop.

How about a velcro body mount and tounge/groove battery cases that slide in to the tray? How about a tray featuring spring loaded clips that lock in to a hard battery case? How about a battery tray that is horizontally-loaded with a hinged door like the e-revo? These are just 3 methods off of the top of my head that would be far faster and just as secure as velcro straps.

Anyway, in your defense I wasn't aware of your product. So I'll retract my statement of Losi being the first company to offer an electric "roller". However my point remains the same. This class is very new and has room for much improvement and at the current state I am happy with Losis contribution and efforts. Hopefully soon we will be offered by losi or by another company these new important features. Slipper, Quick change batteries/body, brake bias and more.

-Jeff

[Caster Racing]

No problem. I really do not want to talk about it in other threads, however, this is a great topic changer....the class is new and it will be big and that will inevitably bring in more money for advertising which will help out magazines and forums just like this one and we get to enjoy it, etc...

As for the batteries, I agree with you on the math aspect of it, but apparently because we were not full throttle all the time, we were able to go 45 minutes on a set of 8000 packs. That is probably the issue. 2 packs vs 1 pack... but I will also say that the track is about 120x60 so it is relatively small and it has a lot of turns and one straight.

Here is the link and I will put up a slash race.....lol....but you can see the track. However, I still think that there are a lot of tracks that are more aggressive like the Nitro Pit where you would need to about superglue batteries in.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R910duxlDiY

[rccardude04]

Jeff, if the chassis were redesigned to better suit electric, maybe they could integrate a battery tray/holder rather than just bolting one to a piece of plastic.

The chassis doesn't NEED to be aluminum for an electric 1/8 buggy. It could be similar to a 1/10 buggy and work just fine. In fact, I'm not even sure we need the center differential.

It just seems an awful lot like there's a better way than just bolting on a conversion kit that's already offered separately, bolting in a BL motor/esc, and calling it a new car.

-Eric

[JEAM]

No problem. I really do not want to talk about it in other threads, however, this is a great topic changer....the class is new and it will be big and that will inevitably bring in more money for advertising which will help out magazines and forums just like this one and we get to enjoy it, etc...

As for the batteries, I agree with you on the math aspect of it, but apparently because we were not full throttle all the time, we were able to go 45 minutes on a set of 8000 packs. That is probably the issue. 2 packs vs 1 pack... but I will also say that the track is about 120x60 so it is relatively small and it has a lot of turns and one straight.

Here is the link and I will put up a slash race.....lol....but you can see the track. However, I still think that there are a lot of tracks that are more aggressive like the Nitro Pit where you would need to about superglue batteries in.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R910duxlDiY

Nothing to do with this thread but after watching many YouTube Slash vids I have to admit:
G..dd..mn what are those Slash,s smooth and easy to handle in the corners !!!!

Although it,s NOT designed for racing BUT: you get a lot of fun for 199$ !!


That,s all I want to say folks, please continue the originally thread......

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Jeff, if the chassis were redesigned to better suit electric, maybe they could integrate a battery tray/holder rather than just bolting one to a piece of plastic.

The chassis doesn't NEED to be aluminum for an electric 1/8 buggy. It could be similar to a 1/10 buggy and work just fine. In fact, I'm not even sure we need the center differential.

It just seems an awful lot like there's a better way than just bolting on a conversion kit that's already offered separately, bolting in a BL motor/esc, and calling it a new car.

-Eric


They could just as easily bolt on a platform with clips or a horizontally loading box with hinged door or tounge/groove platform as they did the vertically loading box.. but either way I think it's cool. It's all experimental right now.

As for the chassis - I absolutely agree. It would be awesome to see a little bit of weight shed across the entire design and the aluminum chassis replaced by a flat or even molded Carbon Fiber chassis.

As for the center diff - if the idea is to race WITH nitros I think having the center diff along with brake bias would be a big issue. However if it was its own class entirely I may agree that a center diff wouldn't be absolutely necessary.

There's usually better ways to do anything.. but evolution of a class takes time. It's going to take a LOT more time for any company to step up and completely re-design an 1/8th buggy. The RC world hasn't made up its mind as to what place the 1/8th buggies and truggies have. Is it a new class? Is it an addition to the 1/8th nitro classes? That question in itself has major impact on what the product should be. If we need the performance and tunability of 1/8th buggies we'll need the center viscous diff with brake bias. If not, we can design it however we want. If we need to run for 45 minutes or an hour we'll need faster battery pitting capabilities. If not, we can affix batteries however we wish and limit races to 15-20 minutes. It could be a huge loss for a company to release a fully new vehicle only for the community to decide they want something different. Losi is experimenting with this new idea as no other big company has and I think they maybe deserve some kind of kudos. I think it's fantastic that it's an all-in-one "kit" that people can use to convert their nitro 8ights. That means more electric racers! If it was a completely new car it would hinder a lot of nitro racers from even considering buying it due to money and also to the fact that the class might not "take off" in their area and they'd be stuck with a bunch of new fancy equipment.

I agree there could be re-designed, lighter, parts better suited for electrics but personally I feel it's too early for that. Companies like Losi need to test the water. Organizations like ROAR and IFMAR need to take notice, get feedback from racers, and make decisions on the classes before companies spend millions on development of a whole new platform. I think this is an attempt by losi to research the idea of 1/8th brushless while making a few bucks at the same time.

-Jeff

[JEAM]

ps. Caster Racing is making only remarks and NOT spam, way to go Caster...

[rccardude04]

Jeff, you make good points. However, just judging from Losi, especially recently, it's just another product to throw out there and flood the market so that hobby shops will have nothing but Losi products on their shelves.

And I still say they're trying to push RTR crap on racers now. It needs to be offered as a kit w/o motor. That's what I would want. But instead, they offer it with a motor, and only pre-assembled. Lame.

-Eric

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Jeff, you make good points. However, just judging from Losi, especially recently, it's just another product to throw out there and flood the market so that hobby shops will have nothing but Losi products on their shelves.

And I still say they're trying to push RTR crap on racers now. It needs to be offered as a kit w/o motor. That's what I would want. But instead, they offer it with a motor, and only pre-assembled. Lame.

-Eric


Losi only gives the market what they want. I completely agree with you on most of their products over the past year or so - but so what? they're not pushing anything on to you. If you don't want it - don't buy it! And would the track be a better place if they didn't offer it at all?

And if what you're saying about Losi releasing too many versions of their products is true (which it is) don't you expect that sooner or later they'll offer a kit version?

I agree with what you say about Losi pumping out new "products" on an almost daily basis but it's not as if they've taken away kits for racers. They might not offer a kit version of the mini-t but the 8ight and other true race products will always be offered as a kit as long as the racers want them.

There may be a lot of Losi products on hobby shop shelves.. but even if losi eventually dropped their race division there would always be plenty of companies making increasingly top-notch race vehicles in kit version. XRAY, Associated, etc.

Even if Losi never came out with an 8ight-E kit version - you can still get a standard 8ight pro kit and the 8ight-e conversion kit and build it all yourself. Might cost you a few more bucks but you're paying for the luxury of #building it yourself and #2 not having to deal with selling the Losi ESC and motor if you don't want them. So no matter how you look at it.. you can still get what you want.

-Jeff

[MacII]

+ 1(million) on the idea of a quick-release battery system. I've been racing Electric conversions for three years (started with an LSP - the first truggy) and no matter what, there is a compromise. Either you run big, heavy batteries which affect your balance and handling the entire run or you run smaller batteries with a LONG pit. I commend Losi for their actions but I also call them out to make a quick release system. ESPECIALLY because they now offer a closed loop system. Their layout, their ESC and their 4s 5000 battery...the biggest hurdle has been the diversity of battery size and fitment. Losi has those things known. Make it work and other battery MFGs will also release "compatible" batteries.

PS - in my real world racing on 5000's I get about 13 minutes at full race pace on my Truggy with a 1515/1y. I've driven easy and done 15 twice but if you are really going for it, making 15 is a stretch. IMHO the magic number for Electrics is 23 mins. Enough to do a 20 min main with a bunch of warm up laps. Races longer than 20 mins are too long for electric right now and at the club level, too long anyways. Too much attrition.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

+ 1(million) on the idea of a quick-release battery system. I've been racing Electric conversions for three years (started with an LSP - the first truggy) and no matter what, there is a compromise. Either you run big, heavy batteries which affect your balance and handling the entire run or you run smaller batteries with a LONG pit. I commend Losi for their actions but I also call them out to make a quick release system. ESPECIALLY because they now offer a closed loop system. Their layout, their ESC and their 4s 5000 battery...the biggest hurdle has been the diversity of battery size and fitment. Losi has those things known. Make it work and other battery MFGs will also release "compatible" batteries.

PS - in my real world racing on 5000's I get about 13 minutes at full race pace on my Truggy with a 1515/1y. I've driven easy and done 15 twice but if you are really going for it, making 15 is a stretch. IMHO the magic number for Electrics is 23 mins. Enough to do a 20 min main with a bunch of warm up laps. Races longer than 20 mins are too long for electric right now and at the club level, too long anyways. Too much attrition.


13 Minutes on a truggy is pretty good. 15 minutes on a truggy, from what I have seen is possible with conservative driving and even then you'll feeling the end of your battery during the last few laps.

A buggy running a 1512 rather than a 1515 should make 15 minutes at full race pace safely but not leave much to spare for any practice laps. 20 minutes on a 5000, even with a buggy would be nearly impossible.

If we're racing against nitros a quick release system could be most effective. However if it develops in to its own class if obviously doesn't pose an issue. We'll just have to see where it goes from here. It would be nice to see a battery quick release system made by someone.

Right now I personally use a single Velcro strap on a custom aluminum tray which already takes far too long in the pit. I can't imagine 3 straps..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2576430985_d60d56c569_b.jpg

[Cain]

very nice pic, how do you getg the almost all white background (assuming you didn't have it in an all white background environment)

[JeffEmbracedDC]

very nice pic, how do you getg the almost all white background (assuming you didn't have it in an all white background environment)


Just a wrinkley white bed sheet. I've got several pages of photos of my brushless 8ight, t4, b44, a friends revo and other cars on different backgrounds (white, black, glass, etc) here http://flickr.com/photos/jeffjassky

-Jeff

[Saboteur]

13 Minutes on a truggy is pretty good. 15 minutes on a truggy, from what I have seen is possible with conservative driving and even then you'll feeling the end of your battery during the last few laps.

A buggy running a 1512 rather than a 1515 should make 15 minutes at full race pace safely but not leave much to spare for any practice laps. 20 minutes on a 5000, even with a buggy would be nearly impossible.

If we're racing against nitros a quick release system could be most effective. However if it develops in to its own class if obviously doesn't pose an issue. We'll just have to see where it goes from here. It would be nice to see a battery quick release system made by someone.

Right now I personally use a single Velcro strap on a custom aluminum tray which already takes far too long in the pit. I can't imagine 3 straps..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2576430985_d60d56c569_b.jpg


That is a very nice buggy setup man!

[Mini-TBasher55]

Just a wrinkley white bed sheet. I've got several pages of photos of my brushless 8ight, t4, b44, a friends revo and other cars on different backgrounds (white, black, glass, etc) here http://flickr.com/photos/jeffjassky

-Jeff

Did you use CS3 to remove the wrinkles?

It's what I've done a little bit off, some of the tools removes things like wrinkles and imperfections so nicely while keeping the tone (not just eyespotter and whatnot).

Some really nice photos there!

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Did you use CS3 to remove the wrinkles?

It's what I've done a little bit off, some of the tools removes things like wrinkles and imperfections so nicely while keeping the tone (not just eyespotter and whatnot).

Some really nice photos there!

Nah not at all. That's pretty much straight from the camera. It would be very easy to magnify the wrinkles as to identify them and then remove them in photoshop.. but in this case it wasn't really a big deal.

Thanks, man. I'm about to take my 8ight conversion out for its first run with the MMMV2. Wish me luck!

-Jeff

[killaj]

I think it's neat that Losi took a step towards making a 1/8 electric vehicle available to the masses. From here, I would hope a new version that is re-designed from the ground up is offered.

How about a design that uses an extra long can motor like a 19 series NEU for example. (motor shafts extend from each end) mounted in the center of the chassis and links to the front and rear diffs via cvd's? I guess you'd have to use a dual battery set-up on either side of the chassis. This way you can have better weight balance, eliminate the need for a pinion or spur and associated drivetrain friction loss. A larger can motor would draw more current, but wouldn't have to be such a high rpm motor to begin with being that it's direct drive. Just my $0.02 on a lazy holiday weekend..

[cnroman]

It’s amazing that every time a new car is released ‘Experts’ are quick to find fault. Grant some of your observations are valid, but it’s not like they produced it without any testing it.

Also some changes would require re-tooling, that will up the cost of the final product.

RTR/ARTR’s will NOT harm the hobby. Have you ever bought a pre-owned car/buggy/truck etc ? Isn’t it already built? ARTR right.

My 5 cents.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

It’s amazing that every time a new car is released ‘Experts’ are quick to find fault. Grant some of your observations are valid, but it’s not like they produced it without any testing it.

Also some changes would require re-tooling, that will up the cost of the final product.

RTR/ARTR’s will NOT harm the hobby. Have you ever bought a pre-owned car/buggy/truck etc ? Isn’t it already built? ARTR right.

My 5 cents.

Amen

[WilliamG]

I think it's neat that Losi took a step towards making a 1/8 electric vehicle available to the masses. From here, I would hope a new version that is re-designed from the ground up is offered.

How about a design that uses an extra long can motor like a 19 series NEU for example. (motor shafts extend from each end) mounted in the center of the chassis and links to the front and rear diffs via cvd's? I guess you'd have to use a dual battery set-up on either side of the chassis. This way you can have better weight balance, eliminate the need for a pinion or spur and associated drivetrain friction loss. A larger can motor would draw more current, but wouldn't have to be such a high rpm motor to begin with being that it's direct drive. Just my $0.02 on a lazy holiday weekend..

In theory that would rock, but you'd have guys tearing up armatures in the real world. Shaft cup comes loose it's new rotor time. UGH

[Saboteur]

It’s amazing that every time a new car is released ‘Experts’ are quick to find fault. Grant some of your observations are valid, but it’s not like they produced it without any testing it.

Also some changes would require re-tooling, that will up the cost of the final product.

RTR/ARTR’s will NOT harm the hobby. Have you ever bought a pre-owned car/buggy/truck etc ? Isn’t it already built? ARTR right.

My 5 cents.


+1 Nothing but bull(bleep) internet engineers as Steve P use to say.:D

[winning edge designs]

The Electric 8ight looks really cool! The price is not bad at all, considering what putting these items together yourself would cost?

My only gripe would be with all the time and effort they spent on "Mass centralization", I would like to see the center diff moved just a little towards center to bring the motor in a little.

I guess the battery determines wether that can happen or not. Should just be 4 or 5 countersunk holes, :).

Another brand and we have a new class that will allow bench racing, during races, lol!


Nice!

...Jim
W.E.D.



...Jim
W.E.D.