HB Lightning RR Forum v1.0

[Peterbilt]

Well, its new, and didn't have a forum. What do yall think of this new buggy ?

[KevanB]

i love it
btw hi

[Anthen27]

Where can we get it and how much?...

[Peterbilt]

I haven't seen it for sell yet, but that doesn't mean its not for sell yet. I read some stuff and its estimated at like $420:D :cool:
Ready To Run.

[Gmanlusk2004]

when is it coming out!!! i have been following it since it was on the cover of RCCA.

[Hotliner]

Is it me or what?! I can't find jack on the web about the new Hotbodies Lightning RR buggy! Even their website isn't up yet! I think it's all a scam man, like some kind of experimental marketing or something.

Hmm.......I know their watching me,

:p

[uDi_NMT ® ü l z]

Here, Feed your greed ;)
http://www.rccaraction.com/images/magazine/july_02/hotbodies.jpg
http://www.rccaraction.com/images/magazine/july_02/july_cov.jpg

Enjoy!

[bikin boy]

looks like sum sweet stuff to me

[briang79]

does anybody have the specs?

tower has them, but for $570:eek:

[cbr74]

http://www.meganitro.com/nitrolightingrr.htm

$400 :D

[Matt C]

hey guys. I just got the Lightning RR yesterday for $330. It has tons of power so far. the braking was a little too strong in the front, until I tweaked it a little. The steering servo definitely needs upgraded. At anything more than half throttle, it doesn't make the sweeper and without a hard spike of the brakes, it wouldn't make the hairpins. I'm positive it will improve with a suspension change. Very Impressive straight out of the box. Hope you guys will have good luck too.

Matt

[cbr74]

Where did you find it for $330?! That's a very low price.

[Matt C]

I found it at my LHS. I was racing my GT and they had one on the "new items" table. I thought the price was wrong, so I asked. They said it was $330, so I had to get one. If you can get one, go for it! Highly recommended, just needs a better steering servo.

Matt

[cbr74]

For that price.. yeah, it'd be hard to pass up. All RTR's have lousy steering servos in my experience. The only exception being the Terra Crusher... it has a 1/4 scale servo stock.

[Matt C]

Does anybody know what, if any, other cars the RR is compatible with as far as bodies, wheels and any other parts I might break?
I plan on getting new wheels and tires soon, and was just curious as to the parts supply. Thanks.

Matt

[anothermbdusted]

the link above to the lhs is now at $325 so if you want one for cheap you better grab one and its rtr at that cheapest ive ever seen.

[CHUCKMANDO]

I run onroad, but don't know anything about offroad. I believe the kit comes with only a first gear. Is this normal for offroad buggies or is it because it is a rtr? Also how is this comparabe to any of the ofna's. I just saw it at my lhs for 340.
Thanks

[atm92484_3]

Is it just me but are those included Enercell batteries some of the best batteries you've even seen? :D

HB did well when they designed this buggy though. I don't own one, but I've seen people beat the crap out of theirs and the buggy just doesn't break.

[ettsn]

I've got one, and I like it so far. The el-cheapo radio that comes in it is garbage (even though it's a Futaba). The steering servo is very wussy as said above, and mine is 27MHz AM that's very glitchy and crappy. I just ordered an M8, so that should help! :)

It's my first nitro (after a couple dozen electrics over the years). Mine seems sluggish, then explodes (figuratively. I mean it hauls all of a sudden) once it gets on the pipe (like all 2-strokes, I guess). Normal?

Also, have you guys found a source for parts? None of my LHS carry much of anything in 1/8, let alone anything for this buggy. I bought mine from Meganitro. Highly recommended. Icerock is super-cool to deal with. Everything was very smooth, and he's getting even more of my money asap (see M8 above!).

-Paul

[cbr74]

Mine seems sluggish, then explodes (figuratively. I mean it hauls all of a sudden) once it gets on the pipe (like all 2-strokes, I guess). Normal?

No. I'm willing to bet your low end is too rich. The excess fuel causes sluggishness off the line. It should pull strong from bottom to top.

[theiss2200]

i ran mine last night and it wasn't that fast. if i gave it full throtel it will take off then bog down and then if i gave it throtel a little at a time then it flew. Any sugestions???
Also anyone have any ideas for hop-ups??
i am going to put in a pcm reciever for my 3pj super remote. Any other hopups that i should get??
Also any parts compatable from other 1/8 scale buggies??

[ettsn]

Originally posted by theiss2200
Also any parts compatable from other 1/8 scale buggies??

I'd also like to know this. I think the wheel pattern is the same for most all 1/8 buggies, and things like wings and bodies are somewhat universal. Anything else?

-Paul

[gkcontra]

I haven't recieved my lightning yet, but based on everything I've seen online or in mags, the 7.5 bodies should fit, the front shock tower looks alot like the 7.5 as far as screw mounting, etc. knuckles are pretty interchangable, the 7.5, Storm, hyper7 can all swap knuckles out. The wheels are 17mm and everyone but duratrax uses them , so wheels and tires should be no problem. I've seen the exact shock towers somewhere before, nut I can't place them, if I find them I'll let everyone know. I've emailed meganitro a few times and they do have some option parts for the lightning.

[craazywun]

Well as far as being sluggish ....you need to get it tuned.I got mine for $339 put some real battries in it and a high torque steering servo(what rtr doesnt need that) and the thing rocks.It literally runs dead neck and neck with my buddies $500 Hyper 7. To get to their website punch up www.hotbodiesonline.net(not .com)

[NitoNut]

I'm glade to find others running the Lightning RR. Its a great car. I'm still having trouble finding parts for it though. I need a rear shock tower. Any ideas??

[gkcontra]

Nitronut, check with meganitro.com, he should have parts.

[gkcontra]

Finally got my buggy, great looking. Unfortunately due to weather and a business trip, I won't get to crank it up until next week :(

Already planning first hopups:
New shock towers, and front/rear machined chassis braces.

[bubbastump]

hello all ive been lookin at this car and i want one im goin in lhs friday to put down a down pawment and 2 weeks later i will have it i too am runnin a gt and saw it and fell in love with it but i do have an upper advantage my racin buddy is a machineist and i can get acess to a lathe from work i plac to call them as soon as i get off here to findout about parts but what i understand its a mirror image of ofna buggie so most parts are interchangable
gant wait to get it to my track and practice for next season:D
here is an old pic of my gt

[bubbastump]

ok mine is the purple one part of team http://www.mdrcracing.com
i just called hotbodies they said u need to get parts through them they r goin to call me back with more info and yall will be the first to know as soon as i find out
if anyone of yall live close to maryland im personally inviting you to come to the track and try it out and its no rinky dinky track look in the dec nitro mag and there is a pic of chad phillips with a trophy and a plate he won it at the track for our roar race and plan to more next season keep your motors purrin like a kitten

[bubbastump]

pic is too big

[bubbastump]

ok im talkin to them now they designed the motor themself and just came up with alot of parts fer hop ups ther goes my paychecks dude om gettin a hot bidies!!:D

[amazeing]

lets see some pics. it sound way too good to be true, and at that price...wow!:D

[craazywun]

hey bubba....where in MD are you?? I'm in northeast Baltimore county....I'm think about maybe modding in a 2spd anybody with any suggestions let me know

[bubbastump]

crazy im your neighbor linthicum aa county well sorta u must be gutsy and hahe a big track ever raced in pasadena?

[bubbastump]

oh yeah craxy check out our site
http://www.mdrcracing.com

[theiss2200]

well i ran mine pretty hard last night and I love it you are right about the crappy stearing servo and remote i am going to put in a pcm reciever for my 3pjsuper and a hightorqu servo

[24601]

Hey guys. I was considering getting one of these buggies and I wondered overall what you think of them. Does it seem pretty solid? Any problems besides the weak servos (which will be in any RTR)? I am considering between this one and the Ofna LX pro for 300 RTR.

Also, do this buiggy have a kick up at the front of the chassis? I have seen some buggies go for a flat chassis to save cost and they did not handle landings well.

THanks.

[gkcontra]

The buggy does look solid, You will probably want to get chassis braces to minimize flex though. The Lightning does have kick up, very similar to kyosho/mugens.

[NewToNitro]

HELP! Im a newbie, i currently try to race my RC10GT. The 1:8 scales just look so cool and i want one. Do you think the lightning is a good 1:8 starter buggy? Is it durable? Race worthy?

[theiss2200]

i think it is a great starter buggy and is race worthy just adjust it and get a batter stearing servo that is all. well i should have pics of mine from the other night on later today i have them at home and i am at work now so i will post them

[gkcontra]

The buggy would be a great buggy to start with, but(always a but...) look around at your LHS if you have one. The best buggy to start with is one you can get parts for. In Houston we're pretty lucky, we have 4 large tracks and we can get Kyohso, GS, Thunder tiger, duratrax, and some mugen parts. I know with my Storm, only one shop has parts, so I keep a lot of extras just in case.

[craazywun]

this is an excellent buggy to start with..they dont break(and I'm good at breakin rc's)put a high torque steering servo on it put in the shock oil and spacers you want and go blasting...I just wish my 2 t-maxxes held up this well

Hey bubba your only about 45 mins away...no never been to the track at pasadena...we all thrash around the neighborhood and when they have events @ baltimore arena

[theiss2200]

i can't post any pics they are too big so here is a site whare you can see them they are all of the buggy i haven't posted any other ones yet.

Here is the site
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/theiss2200

[gkcontra]

broke it in and did some bashing today. The track I wanted to go to is closed on Mondays so it was off to the construction site behind my house. It held up great, has very good speed and handling, and likes to jump level. Off power it pushes just a bit, but that could be due to the weak steering servo, and on power you can control the whole range. Blip the throttle and it will turn on a dime. I run 30% ODonnell fuel, so speed was not a problem, was running around 250 during the bashing. My Storm runs 245 - 265 depending on tune so it is right on the money. The only change I made out of the box was to fill the center diff with 5000wt fluid and used the large shock spacers to keep it high during breakin. The shocks have been built very well, and the brakes are very responsive. Can't wiat to get a new steering servo and get it on the track!!

[O002]

does the body come pre-painted?

[gkcontra]

yes it does, not sure if they are all the same, but the 2 I have seen were the same:


http://pages.sbcglobal.net/greg-n-jill/_images/Lightning/Angle-1.JPG

[theiss2200]

yea i think all of the bodies come the same color because i saw 4 of them and all of them were painted like that oh well you can allways get another body and paint it yourself so that is allways good

[Clod_Killer]

For those intrested, I e-mailed and asked if a Pro version was in the works. Here is their reply:

"Yes there is a Lightning Pro version. This car should be available in Mid-December.
Please call us at 1-800-221-6053 for more information.

Sincerely,

Rickys RC Car"

[cheez-it man]

i just got one of these buggies for my first nitro vehicle and ive had for about 3 weeks now and i have had nuthin but nonstop fun with it.At first it was a mo to tune it was finicky but after break in and som run time its all good now.Its also pretty damn durable, i mean iv wrecked pretty bad and i havnt done barely any damage.It also handles pretty well(with the exception of the steering servo mentioned above).it comes with almost everything u need, even with really crappy batteries that dont even last thru break-in.Ive been using ofna parts for it and i havnt had a problem.well thats about it

oh ya the pre-painted body is pretty horrible looking as seen above:cool: :D

[bubbastump]

i finaly got my lightning today. gonna break it in in am then play in the snow

[theiss2200]

oh man i wish i could use mine today but my engine crank isn't working right and i lost the spring for it so now i have to find one so i can replace it. i hope i find one today so i can run it in the snow.

[slamminsam]

Hpi Parts for the Nitro savage 21 motor are the Same. The engine is an HPI.

[theiss2200]

ok thanks
I missed yesterday but i hope to have it done today

[tallcracker]

is this car discontinued? why has the price dropped so much in the past 5 months? it looks like a great deal, i am considering it, but why bother if it will soon be discontinued and parts will be hard to come by.

[gkcontra]

No, not discontinued that I know of, but it is only being sold thru a couple of distributors right now.

[bubbastump]

its a new one and they r sellin like hotcakes thats why they r lowerin prises
finished breakin in motor man isit nice way better than gt

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

What steering servos should I use and how much torque should they have?



Thanks!
Stevo

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

here's anuther pic:http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=26394

[gkcontra]

You want at least 120 oz torque and a pretty decent speed <.15. The Hitec 5645, 5945, airtronics 94357,94358, Futaba 9450 are all good choices.

[rcpilot_971]

where is the best place to buy one of these buggys what is the best price you have found

Thanks Tim

[bubbastump]

i got mine for 379 lhs but u can get it cheaper online and other places i wanted mine then and right then:)

[bubbastump]

i got mine for 379 lhs but u can get it cheaper online and other places i wanted mine then and right then:)

[bubbastump]

i got mine for 379 lhs but u can get it cheaper online and other places i wanted mine then and right then:)

[gkcontra]

www.meganitro.com about 325. there are other places abou tthe same price, but I can't remember who right now.

[rcpilot_971]

cool thanks guys

hay dose this car have cvds or dose it use dog bones

[tallcracker]

cvd's in the front and dogbones in the rear. i am ordering mine on tuesday and i should have it by friday. where is every1 getting the front chasis braces from? i really wanna get that when i order so i wont have any problems with inconsistency when i am racing. does the cutout in the chasis allow for a starter box? i will probably upgrade to an O.S. after about 2 months, and i am not going to mess with pull start. if any1 has any questions or needs any detailed pictures i can get them for you friday or saturday when i recieve my car and get the new transmitter and servos installed. later

[bubbastump]

well we also need to get better rims a bud of mine was runnin his and alls thats left is spokes. im gettin solid rims

[gkcontra]

It seems like the Wing and rims are made from the same material. A little too brittle. Spoked rims are fine, I use both solid and spoked, and actually like the GS spokes the best. they are strong, but have a little bit of flex, so when you make a stupid move they flex a bit instead of breaking susp. arms.

[geo8498]

My 1/8 Lightning RTR

Modifications so far...

HiTec HS 625MG steering servo.

Swapped the transmitter with an Ace R/C Jaguar from my RC10. Kept the receiver with a new crystal.

Trinity 1150 RX battery pack.

Also, added some items since the photo. A new Proline Crowd Pleazer body, Ofna triple wing and Ofna white rims w/low-profile street tires.

Link...

my Lightning (http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=816522#post816522)

[geo8498]

my lightning

[bubbastump]

well i found out about those rear shock towers. once they bend dont try to bend back SNAP ouch that hurt

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Thanks for your help guys!

[Gmanlusk2004]

Why are these so cheap? Didn't they start out at $450? I just saw a brand new in box for $300 w/ free shipping! I have a GS Storm and i love it, but it seems that these are very similar. I've heard that the engine in the lightning is terrible though.
Well L8r,
Garrett

[rcpilot_971]

where did you see one for 300.00

[tallcracker]

i too have wondered why they are so cheap. but i just bought one inplace of a storm, mainly because i already have an FM radio. i get it monday and i will tell u from a racers POV what it looks like.

[gkcontra]

I also have a Storm and the Lightning. I can tell you from a racer's standpoint that the lightning handles very much like an MP 6. I will be giving the Lightning a track workout this weekend to see how it will hold up. I still have the Storm and will still run it also.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey y'all, I was wondering if Kyosho or anybody else made a 2 speed tranny that would fit on my RR. There's actually a detailed forum on how to make a 3 or 5 speed tranny!:D Here's the URL: http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=106074

I'd simply like to get a more usefull RPM range with my buggy.
Thanks,
Steveo

Also, if anyone has a link to a site explaining how centrifigal shifting works, it would be appreciated!

[Gmanlusk2004]

$300 Ebay, brand new

[tallcracker]

mine arrived today, **** this buggy is awesome!! for the money i dont think you can get a better overall car. the engine has been very reliable, even the servos work ok. if any1 needs a review let me know. i am racing it next saturday and i will see how i do against the 7.5's

[tallcracker]

so far i have run 2 tanks through the engine, it is idling very smoothly considering it is very very rich and still runs slowly without stalling, even after letting it idle for extended periods. today i am going to run 2 more tanks on the very rich setting then on the 3rd tank i will lean it out and let the temps get to about 240. (on the first few tanks they never got above 200 degrees F) after that i will lean it our for best performance while keeping the temp around 275-290. i will make a full track report in about a week and post how this bad boy holds up.

[tallcracker]

i had a chance to get out to the track today. i was able to run with my friends mp5, and a O.S. engine. the sport engine on my car lacked the top end of the O.S. but the low end was equal. it handles very very well and i was really able to accelerate aggresively and set up for the next set of jumps. when i first showed up every1 else kinda snickered at trhe lightning, 2 hours later they were asking for setup tips and asking where i go the car from. this buggy really is a steal at 320 bucks. in the infield i was able to outhandle my buddies mp5, but he did gain about 3 feet on me everytime on the straight-a-way.

[tallcracker]

we need to respond and to get this forum going. keep it at the top so others will see what a great buggy this is. where is every1 ordering parts form? what parts have people broken so far? has any1 tried the front sway bar?

[gkcontra]

I agree, keep it up there. I haven't broken anything yet...knocking on nearest wood. I ran it this weekend in practice at the track, like tall I hstayed with a 7.5 thru the infield but lost a little on the backstraight, made for an wesome triple though, great characteistics in the air!!! I am waiting to build up at least a few parts before I race this one, but from just practicing, it will probably be replacing the Storm for me at races.May even sell the Storm and pick up a spare Lightning for another roller or parts.

:)

[bubbastump]

well well i have a loghtning ken even went and got one he likes it but it needed some upgrades and besides the lhs by pasadena has some parts no one around here carries parts unless u drive fer a while. besides if u plan to race it dont u stock up on exter parts??

[tallcracker]

well i ran mine at the track and had no problem keeping up with the other cars. it is just the driver and this is a very respectable car for the money. ofna sells some real crap, i mean who would even make a buggy without front kick up? have u owned the buggy? i dont think so. go play in ur ofna forum

[tallcracker]

hey nitro man if you areound tx i will race you, and show you and ur ofna what good drivers with respectable cars can really do

[gkcontra]

tallcracker, do you run at J's or M&M?

[tallcracker]

jk
i have only had the buggy for about a few days now, but i have run it at M &M. i will be there tomorrow running my lightning and getting it set up a little better for the track. my friend and his mp5 will be there too. if you have time you should stop by and bring ur lightning. i have heard about j's, but like i said i am so new to this 1/8th scale thing i havent even seen that track. i do plan to make the drive though in the next few weeks and check it out. i hear it is alot larger tracks with some monster jumps.
anyways let me know if u can make it tomorrow and maybe i can look forward to tearing up the track with another lightning
later

[gkcontra]

Unfortunately I have to work tommorrow. Were you there on Saturday for the THRC race? Don't think I saw any other Lightnings there. I work near there, so maybe I will get to stop over just to say hey.

[tallcracker]

no sadly i wasnt. i didnt even have my car broken in until last sunday. infact i havent even had my car for a week yet. if ya get a chance stop by, that would be tight. i should be there around 11 and stay till 4 or so.

[gkcontra]

Nitromann, OFNA still makes crap! The hyper 7 and 9.5 aren't even thiers, simply rebranded Ho Bao and Hung Nor cars. Try a gt lx pro and say how wonderful OFNA is. The Lightning is fine, out of the 20 or so people I have talked to that have them not 1 is regretting the buy. My lightning has hung with other buggies running rz's, ws7s, and other high end engines, it only gives up room on the long straights. We have 2 main tracks to run at and both are technical enough that a good driver with a sport engine can compete reasonably well with any other buggy/motor combo. Hope you have the new 7, or that you have changed the front knuckles, seems to be a sore spot on the 7's. ALL cars have thier achille's heal. 8^)

[tallcracker]

so because you dont mantain your vehicle, dont use thread lock, and dont tighten screws its crap? why dont i just do buy a new car and not change the oil. if it stops running in 10k miles is it crap?

[gkcontra]

So, now you are comparing a roughly $600 car to a $300 one? Your problem sounds like a common one, you bought a RTR and didn't take the time to remove screws and insure there is threadlock on them. Sure hope you built your Pro with locktight or you are in for more of the same. Also, refer to my previous post, a 9.5 is NOT an OFNA, only rebranded and sold, it is made by hung nor, a company who listens to customers about previous designs. Now to compare an OFNA, I had one, the diffs stripped very quickly, threw dogbones constantly, spent more time waiting for parts than playing, was it all OFNA's fault? NO, I made a few mistakes with that one, that was 10 years ago, to this day I still wouldn't own one. They use cheap plastics and thier diff gears are substandard for the industry. Anyway back to the subject, this IS the Lightning thread, but at least you owned one before coming in to bash it.

Tall - I may be able to stop by today, depends on how the day goes.

[gkcontra]

Now I get it, here is more wisdom from this 15 yr old:

Originally posted by Tndeclipsea1969
ITS A POS anything not made buy ofna associated crono gs kyosho and maybe hpi should not be bought.

So I guess now you are saying that Mugns are a POS?

[tallcracker]

hey nitromoron, i mean nitroman. did you hapen to read the whole post? i said "so because you dont mantain your vehicle, dont use thread lock, and dont tighten screws its crap?" never did i say use thread lock on the plastic cases. he said he lost 3 screws from the engine. if he is such a pro shouldnt he know the part that vibrated the most needs to have thread lock put on those screws? if he had thread lock on his engine screws they would not have come out. notice how i said "and dont tighten screws" there i was referring to the screws that secure the plastic parts.
i have plenty of knowledge, hell ur too stupid to even read and understand what other people write.
you can think whatever you want man, today i was the fastest 1/8th scale at the track again. against mugens, kyoshos and even a ,heaven forbid!, an ofna.
and i dont need customer service, i know how to fix my car and i know what im doing. i dont need to call the company for help. and i would call a durable, fast, high quality rtr buggy good customer service. they could slap 200 bucks onto the price and provide 24 hour support that only the morons would use. for me i will take a cheaper price because i know how to fix things myself.

[dirtchambers]

hey guys, I've been running 1/10 gas and electric vehicles for years. Lately I've been flirting with the idea of getting into 1/8 buggies. The hb lightning looks really nice considering the price its gotten down to. My only concern is replacement parts. no one in my area carries hb, does anyone know of any mail order companies? I'm guessing rickys rc car, since they're in the same building as hb, but they are closed until the end of next week for holidays and I was planning on ordering a buggy sooner. also, I've noticed that tower hobbies carries the buggy, but no parts... Any help is appreciated.

[rcpilot_971]

You got it right the first time tallcracker NITROMORON

What is this clown doing in the this forum talking about his ofna crap for If you want to talk about you ofna do it in the ofna forum with the ofna clowns

I think NITROMORON is on GLUE !

[tallcracker]

hey dirtchambers
the lightning is a great deal. all day at the track today i was driving the hell out of it. i landed off a 4-5 foot jump on the front left a arm after a mid air collision with another 8th scale with no damage. i have a few e mails into different places asking about replacement parts. the manual details all the part numbers and they have a number for the company in cali, so i think i am going to call monday and ask them about the best place to order parts, but i am sure we can also order parts directly from them. the engine is actually the hpi engine from the savage, so piston sleeve, and pull starter replacement parts can be ordered from them.
a worker at my local track came out today and commented as to how good my buggy was running, he thought it was a 7.5 after i showed him and told him what it was he said it looks to really be a great car on the track. i have been racing for 4 years, and i mean actualy competition, not backyard bashing. the quality and reliability of this kit is simply amazing for the price. without a doubt this has been my best rc purchase.
all i can say is, purchase the car and we will get this parts thing sorted out with time. the parts are available we just have to find out from who. but honestly i have about 4 hours of track time under this vehicle and the only thing i have broke it the rear wing, and the kyosho wing is the exact same size and shape so that was a simple fix.

[bubbastump]

hey tall cracker i did that allready its best to order from rickys since factory is in back of store. they said it would be a while be4 all parts are eaisily availible . and the reason why the lhs dont have parts the oyher reason is they r afraid to loose money . new car new company they think it is high risk. but the way they r being bought up im sure they will start caryin parts as soon as they can get them

i broke front shock tower yesterday brakes got wet in meltin snow wide open tried to stop so it rolled and rolled so i shoped it with foot b4 it went into storm drain

[geo8498]

Only I've broken on mine has been the wing parts. First day out, I flipped it and the wing snapped. replaced with an Ofna wing. No problem.

Days later, I flipped it on a pile of snow...the Ofna wing didn't break, but the mounts did. The posts popped right off the top plate. Glued the wing posts back on with Goop and aluminium plate reinforcment. The goop and the aluminium held up on a later lid skid, but the posts broke again.

Went to the LHS, and they didn't have the wing HB mounts. The Ofna mounts they had won't fit. So I bought an aluminium plate and rods at the hardware store and fashioned a new wing mount with the dremel tool and drill. Looks great and I think it will withstand another flip better than anything out there.

[dirtchambers]

thanks for the replies. The lightning will most likely be my next purchase. I'm sure I'll be talking to everyone in the future. I'm definately gonna call rickys and hb when they open back up and see what kinda parts availability they have. Thanks again.

[rcpilot_971]

any one heard of a pro version coming out

[gkcontra]

Tall - when r u going to be out again?

rc_pilot - I've heard about a Pro, not sure what it will have though. They are pretty responsive to emails and phone calls so you can contact HB and see.

[tallcracker]

gk
i will be out there on wed the 1st. i have near years day off work and i think it would be a great day to tear up the track. then i will also probably be racing that saturday the 4th. i wish these lil fairies lived closer so we could show these girls they should stick to playing with barbies because clearly they know nothing about rc cars.

[gkcontra]

Tall - check your PM

[tallcracker]

gk- back at ya man

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

hey y'all- can you respond to my forum:

I was wondering if Kyosho or anybody else made a 2 speed tranny that would fit on my RR. There's actually a detailed forum on how to make a 3 or 5 speed tranny! Here's the URL: http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/for...threadid=106074

I'd simply like to get a more usefull RPM range with my buggy.
Thanks for everything,
Steveo

Also, if anyone has a link to a site explaining how centrifigal shifting works, it would be appreciated!:D

[soslo]

Hey gk and tail!
Ya'll normally run the thrc races? My son and I run with the Reflex bunch. He races a gt and a Hyper. I am just his pit b----.
Oh.. And Hobao changed the molding process, so the plastic is much better on the Hyper now. It is the old models that don't have front kickup. The Hyper 7, and the 9.5 (HongNor) do have it.
Need to quit arguing, and gang up on the 7.5s!! What did nitronut say anyway?? Guess I will have to go back and read some more.
If the hotbodies uses the small diffs, and can use the hypers, it can use the kyosho diffs, with the kyosho pinion.
See ya at the races! :)
Just gotta love that HoBo (the price was right!) buggy!! :cool:
The thing is sweeeett!!
and to each his own!
HAPPY RACING!!

[tallcracker]

hblightningrr
i do not know of a 2 or 3 speed avalible for these 1/8th scale cars. it does not mean that one isnt out there, i just do not know about it. i think that space is a little tight between the center diff supports and i really think alot of custom work would have to be done. i would just get a faster engine then gear up a few teeth, should feed your need for speed

soslo
i raced at performance raceway for years, when it changed owners and became reflex the offroad track got put outside i kinda dropped off. do they even race 8th scales out there? its kinda a small track and to be honest i think the owners dont really even race about offroad. it is not well maintained and the surfance is very sandy and loose. well anyways if they race 8th scales what day is it typically on?

[soslo]

Dan, Smiley, Frosty, Mark, Chicken, & Lynn Harris are still around there. Lynn runs onroad now.
The offroad dropped off when George put the track outside, because George wanted his precious onroad track inside. Then he was forced to sell out. But he got what he wanted, I guess. Iduunnoo.
Christian tried offroad gas, and didn't do so hot, so he is sticking w/onroad.
There were a couple of thrc races there, but they to shut the offroad track down for a while (for gas anyway) because one of the neighbors complains about the noise. Nang, Tommy, and Joe have have a lawyer handleing it now. We mainly use it for practice, and for breaking motors in right now.
We can still have electric races. Just not enough people to run, so we drift around. M&M or j's when the weather is good. Or K&M when the weather is bad. K&M is racing 1/10 gas indoors now, for those rainy days. They still run electric too. Toll was trying to water the K&M track, so it would grow bigger for 1/8 scale, but it just wouldn't work.
Thomas and Greg should have the Torq (I-10 & Hwy. 6) track open next month.
Clarkes (Pearland) is going to be open next month also. There is already a thrc race planned for the grand opening of the track.
Fastrak Hobbies (I-10 east & Normandy) poured their foundation a couple of weeks ago.
It should be a nice year for racing! Whatever side of town you are on, there will be a track.
If you go to Reflex for practice, just grab the water hose. The lil' track gets awsome traction when it is damp.
We will look for ya'll at the races! :cool:
Just look for the Hyper 7 ya'll will be chasing! hehe!!:)

Almost forgot.. Either Kyosho?, or Ofna? has 2-speeds.

[tallcracker]

yeah i talked with goerge and he said that he was kinda burnt out from all the rc car stuff, his part time job offered him a full time position and i assumne that is what he wanted to do. for many years performance had the best race track around. competitive racing with many sponsored drivers and the track would blue groove and had a very low dust level. i was out there every week with my t3 in the stock class for about 3 years. i learned alot from terry, he showed me that slow was fast. i have been out of racing since the track moved out doors, i dont enjoy onroad at all and in my opinion the M & M track is very sandy and changes too much from race to race. any track that is outside will be like that though.... but i just miss the old days of performance.

i havent raced anything in over 2 years so i am not only new to 8th scale all together but i am kinda getting back into racing again. im glad that most of it has come back to me very quickly and that my buggy is really running well.

where is the track at 1-10 and 6? i live about 10 minutes from there and i didnt know of anything going in around there. it does sound like it will be a good racing year. i will be doing most or my racing in the summer, infact i plan on racing every other week.

during school funds and time are very tight so i normally practice a few times during the week but my saturdays are tied up by work. sundays i normally have free, do any places plan on racing sundays?

thanks for answering my questions as u seem to be more in the 8th scale loop then i currently am.

[soslo]

The Torq track is aound Hwy 6 and Little York... across from a school.. I think. Haven't been there yet, so I am not quite sure.
Fixing to head up to Reflex now. Have a little issue with the Hyper front outdrives not being quite long enough to suit me. Gonna see if the 7.5 outdrives are longer.
Come on up there. Thomas will probably be there. He is 1/2 owner of the Torq track, and you can meet the crew. Dan bought Thomas' old Crono, so I want to roust him up about it. LOL!!
I am just a s--- disturber anyway!! hehe!!
Get off the puter' and come on!:cool: :)

[soslo]

Bring your HB buggy too. I wanna see what parts I can steal from it too!:p :)

[tallcracker]

trust me the track is where i want to be. it is my sisters birthday, so right now i am dealing with her jailbait friends all coming on to me. where were these chicks when i was 17 :confused:
just post next weekend if you are heading anywhere and i will see what i can do. i have saturday and sunday off of next week. sat i plan to be running at M & M, infact i just rebuilt my shocks, and cleaned my car all up. but sunday i dont have plans yet, lets get a bunch of people together from the houston area and just go practice all together and see whats up.

you could always come out to M & M on saturday and let me show u what my car can do. :D

[gkcontra]

Tall - next saturday there is a race at J's, if you can get there it should be pretty good. I won't be able to make it, I'm on call for work and can't really do computer work with the sound of engines in the background. I may be able to make it out to M & M on the 1st still working on it.

Here is a pick of ine with a Carbon fiber plate for strengthening the front shock tower, new tires, and a new AIR 94258 servo with Alum. arm.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/greg-n-jill/_images/Lightning/car.jpg

[soslo]

And another one bites the dust.
Next weekend is the last race at J's. They are closing the doors after that. It will be another thrc fundraiser, so get on over there if you can.
Not going to make it because my driver went snow skiing w/his mom.
We will look for the HB when we get back out though.
For now, I am aking a few slight modifications to the gt and hyper.

[geo8498]

my Lightning with a Proline Crowd Pleazer body. Sitting next to my RC10GT

[tallcracker]

i might be checking out j's especially seeing as how it is the last week it is going to be open. can you tell me where it is at? like specific cross streets, and do they have a web site where i will be able to see the track? thanks guys, and i will try and get a pic of my all stock lightning on here shortly

[bubbastump]

geo where r u from ?
nobody wants to say where they r from in profiles

[geo8498]

Greetings from Pittsburgh.

I just thought I'd mention to the board, keep an eye on those front knuckles to make sure the screws don't come loose. I noticed last night that the bottom hex screw on my front left knuckle had fallen out. They even had threadlock on them. I've since put a blob of silicone glue on them.

[geo8498]

Here's a picture of the fabricated aluminium wing mount that I mentioned in an earlier post.

[soslo]

Here ya' go tail.

www.jsactionrc.com
4207 Spenser
713-946-8888

If you go down 45 South, toward Galveston, get off at the College/Airport exit. Take a left and keep truckn'. It becomes Spenser on the other side of the rr tracks. The track will be on the left side. You will see a blue? aluminum building with "Hobby Shop" on it.
If there is a crowd, and you get there late, you may have to park across the street at the bank. It is advisable to get there by 10:00, at the latest, in order to get a parking spot. Expect to be blocked in also, until the racing is done. THRC (or the "tmaxx freaks of houston" club) will make burgers and dogs, so there will be eats there.
Guess Meir will be happy for a while longer. M&M will be it for 1/8 scale, until Torq, Clarkes, and Fastrak get their tracks done.
Here comes the rain again. More delays! And.. That's a loss. So much for working on the Torq track tomorrow.
We will be at M&M in 2 weeks, depending on the weather. If it rains, we will go to K&M for 1/10 scale.
Need to help on the Torq track also. We shall see what the weather does.

[ttweedle]

Hey guys bought my HB RR today and well it didn't do so well. First took a while to get it cranked up, but when it did man it was cool. So I am running it around the yard real slow to break in the engine, then all of a sudden...Run a way car!!! Until it slammed into my neihbors house. and broke teh front left shock cap, steering control captured ball, and a piece of purple aluminum. Everything else survived. WooHoo! it took on a house and lived to run another day! Sort of. Well then I figured I would continue to break in the engine with out driving it. Thats when the pull start cord ripped out. Oh well teh woes of being a newbie to 1/8 scale buggies. I normally race 1/10th electric trucks and buggies and also race an RC10GT for the past 2 years, so Im not really a newb to RC just a powerful Buggy like this. Since I spent all my money on the car I have to wait till Feb to buy replacement parts. But now to the nitty gritty. I don't know who makes the engine so where do I get a replacement pull start? I saw one for OFNA Force21 on Tower for $22.00 but its on back order. All the other parts Im at a loss as to where I will buy them. But man was it screaming when it hit that brick wall!!! :) Travis

[tallcracker]

the engine is made by HPI. it sounds like a manufacturing defect on the pull starter unless you were pulling it past the stops. i would try to contact hot bodies with the number they give u in the exploded diagram manual. i think they will not reopen from the holidays until the 2nd, but go ahead and atleast get a message in. since u have nitro experience i know you can probably rewind the starter. try and take it apart and see if it can be rewound in the meantime.

now to what caused this whole mess. on mine occasionally a battery comes out of the box and causes the servos to freeze up. i ziptie the battery box and havent had a problem since. also make sure all the transmiter batteries and reciever batteries are new. the batteries that come with it are crap and didnt even last through one tank in my car. ef the batteries were at fault that is something you could not have controlled.
and of course check the crystals and perform a radio check before you start it up again. i have run 1 gallon through mine and havent had any problems with the pull starter so i really belive yours was defective. just respond in here if ya need anything, or have anymore questions. if i were you i would use this "down time" to take apart and thread lock your car on all metal to metal contacts.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

hey thanks for the reply tallcracker. If I find any info, I'll let you all know!

[tallcracker]

hey travis
could you please refer to the exploded diagram book that came with the car and list for me the part numbers of the pieces that have broken. also let me know if hot bodies replaces your pull starter under some sort of manufacturers defect warranty. if they dont i have some friends at HPI and i think i can get you a new one for free.
later

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey thanks for the reply on that 2 speed tranny deal tallcracker! If I find out any info on putting a 2 speed tranny in this buggy, I'll let you all know! I'm thinking about just putting in a more powerful engine, or I could custom build the tranny, with a few stock parts from other cars. If anyone has any info, please post it.
Just trying the image feature out:

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/l26394.jpg

[tallcracker]

hey hblightning
good looking car man, i dont see any dirt on that thing. every drive it? jk. honestly i think a full custom 2 speed would be to much work for the reward. what are u planning on doing with your car? are you just looking for flat out speed on a flat area? are you going to be racing offroad? just driving offroad? if you want just flat out speed get a new engine, like a picco, run 30% nitro and gear it up 2 teeth. that is probably more speed that you would want. if you looking for a broad powerband get an O.S. engine and gear up 1 tooth running 25% nitro, this should have very usable power and probably add about 10 -15 mph to the top speed of the car in stock form

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey tall, I do drive the buggy, that picture was taken when it was brand new! Lol! But I do tend to keep a very clean car. I'll post a recent pic here shortly. Thanks a lot for the input though! i might get a new engine a little in the future.
Right now, I just drive my buggy around the neighborhood, after all I'm relatively new to the sport (6 mos)- there are no dirt tracks around me, I don't think...I just moved to Middletown, OH from Louisville, KY, so I don't know that many people to race with! I've been to all the LHSs though! I am seriously thinking about racing in the near future. I see all those pics of professionals racing their buggies and wonder how in the world they get them clean, with mud plastered to every imaginable surface! Also, is it practical to race on road with this buggy- Could I just slap some on- road tires on it, or is it not allowed? Well thanks again!

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Travis:

Make sure you put threadlock on the screws that hold the pull starter to the engine. One time, mine fell off!

If it takes you that long to start the engine, you may need to prime it! Just put your finger over the exhaust, and pull the starter about 8 times with out the glow ignitor- That should bring the fuel to the carburator! Then start the engine as usual. Now it should start on the first, or maybe second pull. Just make sure all the pressure fittings and hoses are tight!

[tallcracker]

i race mine and get mine pretty muddy also, i take it apart piece by piece, use lots of denatured alcohol, wd-40, compressed air and towels. about 4-6 hours later it looks almost brand new, plus i know exactly what parts are damaged or wearing out. i will take a pic of mine in a second and post it on here

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Here are my recent pics (taken about 10 min. ago):


http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/m27293.jpg

It's kinda dirty, not much tho

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/l27292.jpg

[dirtchambers]

a couple more questions for you guys....
do you know which crowd pleazer body would fit the rr? the mugen or 7.5. Would a kyosho or ofna spoiler fit? I'm not real fond of the yellow, I normally run white wheels and wings on my vehicles. and are the shocks standard size? I would like to get a set of the kanai springs for it.

oh, BTW.. I'm still in the process of getting a buggy. hopefully in the next 2 days. The best price i've seen at an online shop is ultimate for $309.99. I called them tonight and the guy that answered the phone had never actually heard of the kit, after some looking around he said its on order still.... so I "think" I've decided to pick up one on ebay. some guy is selling for $299.95 and only $14.95 for ups insured shipping. He takes paypal so hopefully I wont have any troubles. I'm just waiting to hear back from him before I purchase one......

[dirtchambers]

and... one thing I forgot. does the stock engine have a threaded shaft or pilot shaft??

[tallcracker]

the kyosho spoiler is an exact fit, i broke mine and bought a 7.5 wing and it fit perfectly. the shocks are standard and the kyosho springs would fit fine.

[tallcracker]

i dont know about the shaft type, u might ask in the savage forum, they would know as it is the same engine

[dirtchambers]

are you sure its the same engine as the savage? I've read that HPI and hot bodies are owned by the same people so that would make good sense. I had read one post that said the engine was a restamped Force .21 like the ones OFNA sell... but I really doubt it..

[geo8498]

It may also be a worthwhile investment to get a failsafe. It's a $35 device that plugs between the Rx and the throttle servo which resets the servo to neutral or brake if you have a signal loss.

[tallcracker]

i have seen the savage up close and even helped a newbie at the track tune his. i am sure it is the same engine. the carb, head, pull starter, everything looks exactly the same. and thiers no way its an ofna engine, because mine is still running :D

[ttweedle]

Tallcracker, I think the pull start was a defect. The part the string rolls onto was all deformed where the the sring attached to it. And as to starting the engine I was reading from the RCCA mag article on how to start you Pull start with one pull. So I was pretty clear on how to start it right. The plastic where the pull start cord goes has alot of airpockets at the break, so hopefully they will give me a new one. The plastic part broke pretty bad, and won't hold the string anymore so I need a new pull start. I need a captured ball end for my steering linkage any ideas on a replacement? Kyosho maybe? I replaced one part on the buggy with a spare +1 that was in the box. I am assuming that is +1 Toe in. Will have to see. Also the plastic from the shock cap sheared off, can I replace with a Kyosho cap? LHS has those in stock.(plus they are made of Al) Thanks for all yalls help.

Travis

[gkcontra]

The engine is based on the OFNA forces, HPI modified the design. It is the same engine as in the savage so all savage .21 parts will fit it. The engine does have a pilot shaft, I had an MIP flywheel/clutch kit and it wouldn't fit so back on the stock one went.

Travis - the Kyosho or GS shock caps should fit the car as well as thier ball ends.

Hope you get it back together soon.

Tall - I probably won't make it out tommorrow, I need to clean up the STORM, putting it on ebay.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey geo8498:

On the failsafe thing- Instead of buying a failsafe, or until u get one, just strap a thick rubber band around the right shock holder on the shock tower, and around one of the branches of the servo horn. I'll try to get some pics of that here asap. The rubber band actually applies the brake if power to the transmitter or reciever is cut, i.e. shorts out. That's what I do when I run it in the snow!

[bubbastump]

hey whats that funny t shaped thing next to the exhaust ?

oops i forgot pull start mine broke on a cold day too much compression
good thing i had my super duty high torque starter motor it needs a new wheel now

[craazywun]

well after 4 months I actually was able to get the thing to break,or so I thought. Here it is new years eve and what else is a drunk fool to do but run his nitro buggy. DWI causes a curb at fool speed...buddy pulls it away from the curb still running but wont go straight. It's been used and abused..doesnt owe me nothing. Bring it in the house where I have light and can see and what do I find........cvd out....e clip missing....total cost of repair...about 10 cents...repair time...60 seconds......If only my T-Maxx was this tuff (and that SOB is all aluminum). what can I say..that Lightning is one tough mutha

[soslo]

HB..
You may be creating one little problemo for yourself there.
What servo are you running? With the rubber band that tight, the servo may strain and either strip the gears, or burn the motor out.
Just don't want you to have to get another servo, from the tension being too tight. i messed one up like that. :)

[tallcracker]

lol crazy
i might have thought about driving mine if i was home, but then again i was so wasted i probably wouldnt have even been able to get it to start. glad to hear your lightning survived. got any pics of what your car looks like?

[geo8498]

Okay, so anyone had any luck finding a reliable parts source? I check Tower every couple of days to see if they list them.

No parts listed with Ricky's, though they claim to be the people to go to.

Has anyone tried Hot Bodies web site, as I've not been able to find it.
The official URL on my manual says:
http://www.hotbodiesonline.com
That doesn't work.

I've tried the numerous variations, but there's none to be seen.

My LHS has a few parts, but not many.

[gkcontra]

The site is www.hotbodiesonline.net (http://www.hotbodiesonline.net) not sure why they don't have the .com.

As for parts if your LHS has lightning parts, you are blessed.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey soslo,

That rubberband isn't al that tight, the servo doesn't seem to be struggling all that much... It's probably not much different than putting a return spring on the high speed needle to the throttle. I'm using the stock servo. Tell me if I should keep doing this though, I don't wanna have to replace the servo.

[soslo]

As long as it doesn't strain too much, you should be fine.
I had 1 spring on the servo arm, and 1 on the carb arm, just in case one or the other popped off. I THINK it was a ittle much! The gears were fine, but the motor smelled kinda sorta burnt,... just a little. hehe!!
Live and learn. :)

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

hey, does any one know how much hp the stock engine has? I heard it was 2.5, but I'm not sure. Also, is this the HPI Nitro Star engine?
thanks,
STeve

[gkcontra]

It probably has right around 2.1 or so, the Force engines it is based on had 1.7,2.1, and 2.3hp it was all based on the proting of the piston/sleeve. You could turn a P4 into a P6 by just swapping out the sleeve. It is the same motor as the HPI .21BB, not a nitro Star.

[rcpilot_971]

I had heard it only has 1.7 HP

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Well, I finally broke my wing today! That stinks, but I'll probably relace it with a Kyosho, etc... Anyone got any ideas as to which brand to use?

[bubbastump]

kyosho is the one to get and get mugen mounts for it im goin to get mine later tonight (if they r in yet)ordered 2 weeks ago

[tallcracker]

hey guys
i am still using the stock radio and servos, when i was at the track the brakes were not slowing the car enough, and i didnt have the proper size allen key to adjust the set screws to manually adjust the linkage. so i took the easy way out and used the trim just a lil
to compensate, well it turns out after i had done that the carb was only opening about 3/4 of the way. i didnt know this until i was driving up and down my street. i could feel it wasnt topping out and not accelerating well. after i adjusted the car i gained 8-10 mph on the top end and really speed up the acceleration. i cant belive i did this at the track and wasted that power. i really wasnt thinking, but i will see saturday how she handles at the track with the carb opening all the way and the brakes actually grabbing! o yeah if any1 is around houston and has some timesaturday i think i am going to be running at M & M pretty much all day.
later

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey, nice going Tallcracker! J/k

Does anyone know if the Savage has hex hubs? If so, they will probably fit on the RR, right?
thanks,
Steve

[soslo]

Here ya' go tailcracker..
Thought you would like to get the scoop on what is going on around here. This is the THRC newsletter that got sent out tonight.
My driver (son) won't be back in town for racing this weekend, but I need to run up there and round up some things. Things are good to have around! You ever needed one of those "things", and didn't have it? LOL!! Need to harass Alberto anyway, just because. :-)
I will look for you when i get there.
Ohh yaa... If you rub the top of Meirs' bald head, it will bring you good luck!

January 2, 2003
Hope everyone had a happy new year and you and your families made it through the holidays safe and sound.
If you haven't had a chance yet, take a look at the new THRC website. www.teamhoustonrc.com We have re designed it completely and have a lot more content to look at._ There is a temporary splash page with a "click to enter the site" on it._ That will be going away in a few days._ We are in the process of transferring the site hosting company from one to another._ If you have any items you are interested in selling, make sure you send us the info to post it on our for sale page.
This weekend is our 4th. fundraiser of the 2003 season._ We will be out at J's action RC in Pasadena._ This race will be "bitter - sweet" in the sense that this may be one of the last few races held at the track._ Due to the events on 9/11 of 2001, the other businesses that Jack williams (owner of J's) owns are requiring too much time to maintain, so Jack has decided to close the Hobby Shop._ Make plans to race with us this weekend._ You never know... you may find a few good deals at the shop..
_
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______
THIS WEEKEND
Round 4 THRC Fundraiser Series
Saturday January 4
J's Action RC Pasadena Speedway 713-946-8888
Qualifiers start at 12-Noon
Top Qualifier Awards
Trophies for 1-2-3 all three classes A-Main
1/8 - 15 min A-Main
1/10 - 15 min A-Main
Monster Truck - 10 min A-Main
_
Food available from the THRC/TMF grill_all day at the track
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______
COMING UP
January 18 - Round 5 THRC Fundraiser Series
M&M Texas Speedway - 12 noon
see website for details
On the new website we are tracking the progress of the two new tracks in town._ Both are having issues with wet ground._ Hopefully the weather may cooperate and we can get one, if not both of these tracks open real soon._
Also check out our message forum._ Its a THRC message board to further expand the communication here in Houston._ We_also have a cool new format for the news letter starting next week.
Hope to see you out at the track real soon!

[hellbilly]

geo8498

do you work at hobby city in washington?

[atm92484_3]

I see some local guys are on here. You guys planning on running at Moore's next summer?

[hellbilly]

im actually from south philly but i now reside in morgantown wv. hobby city in McMurray PA is the nearest hobby shop and the guy that works there has the hot bodies buggy. i didnt realize it when i posted it but i guess they all pretty much look the same. i was thinking that one of them looked like the hobby shop guys buggy.....

so anyway, any place to race(1/8 buggy-nitro 1/10 touring) somewhat nearby? an hour or so drive tops

[atm92484_3]

Right off of I70 is a track. Its pretty much anything offroad (that'll determine the classes in the Spring according to the owner). Check out www.hobbycityrc.com for more info and directions. Theres pretty much nothing for 1/10 touring at this time. Permanent onroad tracks just aren't profitable up here. BTW you wouldn't be the dude who drives an M3 (I think...maybe M5) by any chance?

[tallcracker]

thanks for the update soslo
how do i go about becoming a member of THRC? and to get on the mailing list do i have to be a member? i will be racing every other saturday in the summer for sure so i wanna get everything set up for that. right now i am in the process of getting my FM radio and better servos, different tires. basicially building back up all the pieces i need to be competitive. so for the time bieng i am more practicing and getting familiar with my car while i get the racing gear i need. thanks in advance fopr the help

[gkcontra]

Tall - you can join the mailing list by going HERE (http://www.t-maxxfreaks.com/thrc/join.htm)

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey people, is it practical to race on road with this buggy- Could I just slap some on- road tires on it, or is it not allowed?
Gracias, Hasta Luego!
Steve
P.S. I like talking spanish!

Also, does anyone live in the Middletown, OH area?

[gkcontra]

If you are talking about racing against Serpents and Mugens forget it, they have a ground clearance of mm and their CG is about 2 inches lower than the Lightning. If you just want to play around on road thats fine, but it is really a totally different design than on road cars.

[hellbilly]

BTW you wouldn't be the dude who drives an M3 (I think...maybe M5) by any chance?

nope. are you the cat who works there and drives the accord?

[tallcracker]

has any1 tried filling the diffs with fluid? what about trying a front swaybar?

[gkcontra]

So far I've only done the center diff, will get around to the others this week I hope. Won't be able to run for a few weeks so who knows. Not sure how it would do with sway bars, on my other buggy I only used the rear sway bar, the front one causes a major loss of turning.

[atm92484_3]

Originally posted by hellbilly
nope. are you the cat who works there and drives the accord?

Nah I'm the younger guy there.

[soslo]

Hey tailcracker and gkcontra!.
Danny is the one that put thrc togther, and has done a dang good job of it.
The final race of the season, in November, was killer!
We got to M&M at 7:00 Saturday morning for practice. Racing started at 10, and we drove out of the parking lot at 5:00 Sunday morning.
Nonstop racing all night long.
Danny kinda decided after that, to make it a 2 day event for 2003. LOL!! There were almost 200 people that showed up to race. Half of them signed up Saturday morning.
Thomas and Greg are the ones opening the new Torq track at I-10 and Hwy 6.
My name is Gary, and my son's name is Justin.
If ya'll need anything, just holler.
There is a thread on Trinity Tech Talk, under Nitro Racing, for Houston nitro racing. Nick started the thread. We just mainly bash each other in there. and keep track of what everyone is doing for the weekend races. If ya'll get 1/10 gas trucks, or electric truck or buggy, there is also Saturday night races at K&M, in New Caney. Indoors at that, for when it rains.

[gkcontra]

Hey soslo, not sure if I've met you or not. I've been around thrc for about a year and a half. I race the 1/8 and TMAXX class. The Open was the 2nd time I've been at M&M that late, there was a race about a year before that went til about 4AM. We all need to get together one of these days and burn some fuel. I've seen you over on TTT but I stay away from there pretty much. Is K&M still racing TMAXX? Mine is no where near race form right now (P/S getting a little loose) but its always fun.

Hope to see you 2 someitme

[soslo]

They still have a T-Maxx class out there...barely.
We normally hang out at Reflex on Sundays, and just mess around with the cars, but b.s. a lot more! LOL!! Drop on by. We have probably seen each other, and maybe even met. Justin broke his arm, on his skateboard, so he did not run in the other race.
I am just my son's sponsor. He does let me drive his micro rs4, when the battery starts dumping, hehe!

What is this about ya'll not running oil in the diffs on the HB's?
The Hyper 7 stock setup is 3000 front, 7000 center, 1000 rear.
We use 5000 in the front for better steering.
It doesn't need any more steering, according to my son. He can cut below the 7.5's in the corners easily.
It's worth a try.
With better steering. Ya'll could maybe run a front sway bar. I think that is a personal thing though. Each driver has his own way he likes his car to feel.
Frosty runs one and likes it. He could smoke everyone with a nikko, for that matter. He drives hard anyway. Just his style.
My son does'nt want one on there, but I snuck one one while he was on vacation. (I was bored!) We will see how it goes.
Here is for your T-Maxx! http://www.t-maxxfreaks.com/

[tallcracker]

if i dont break anything tomorrow at M & M i might stop by reflex sunday and see whats up. maybe bring my car and take a few laps to get a feel for it

[soslo]

Sounds like a plan tail.
Justin called earlier. They are heading back, and he wants me to go get him when they get in tomorrow afternoon. You know where he is wanting to go.. of course!

Dan bought Thomas's Crono. Justin wants to mess with him about it, so we will be there Sunday. Last time Thomas drove it, the rear shock tower just folded. (dang nitro screws!) They said it looked like an acordian going down the track, the way the whole rear end just folded! LOL!!
Dan got a box-of-crono. He put it back together, and now he has a hunk-of-crono. hehe!@! It'll go. That's the main thing.

Fixed the thrc link on the other post. I guess they are still playing with the site. It says it is under construction, and to come back soon. It should be back up sometime.

Still have to run by M&M tomorrow, and at least get glow plugs.I will look
for ya.

[gkcontra]

tHEY ARE HOSTING thrc HERE RIGHT NOW:

www.t-maxxfreaks.com/thrc (http://www.t-maxxfreaks.com/thrc)

[soslo]

They joined forces about 3 months ago. T-Maxx Freaks still has their own things going on, on the side.
T-Maxx Freaks also does the cooking at the races now. You can get freak burgers, freak dogs, and freak eats in general now! LOL!!
The PROPER name is TMF burgers though. :-)

[craazywun]

If any of you guys are in tight with the owner of the LHS you may want to whisper in his ear that they can make more money parting out the cars then selling them whole....my LHS sells the lightning for $340 and probably gets 500-600 by parting them out (aside from having happy customers with parts)

[gkcontra]

Yea, people are doing that on ebay with Ofnas,kyoshos, and TMAXXs. Good idea if ya got a couple hundred laying around ;)

[tallcracker]

hey soslo
thanks for stopping by today, it was cool meeting u man. it sucked that my car had some issues. i was able to get them all sorted out and was able to get around the track pretty quickly even with my bald rear tires. i dont think i will bring my car by reflex tomorrow, i just got done cleaning it and i am going to fill the diffs with fluid.... plus i ran outa gas. i have a little under a gallon and a half through her and havent broken a part yet. today i had some pretty harsh landings but still nothing broke. after i get my FM radio and my new servo i should be around giving ur son a run for his money, lol.
later guys

[soslo]

He is not a bad little driver tail! They threw him out of the sporstman class 2 years ago with the GT. Danny wouldn't let him run !/8 sportsman in the Nitro Open either, even though he just started racing 1/8 scale.
You have your work cut out for ya! You gonna let a 13 year old whup ya?? LOL!! :)
Probably won't stay at Reflex long. Have to take Justin to see his great g/ma. She just moved back from S. Carolina, so he needs to visit with her.
Tires will help you more than anything. Get some acitone from the paint dept at WalMart, a gallon glass jar with a glass lid. Soak the tires and wheels overnight, or longer, and you can reuse the wheels. Crimefighters seem to work best on these track. They are a good all around tire, and last a while too.
The best way to get the feel of it, is to get out there and race. Everyone looses at 1st, so don't worry about it so much! :)

[tallcracker]

ok
today i took apart the car and filled all the diffs with fluid. everything was very easy to get apart. i cleaned out the old grease from the diffs then i filled them all the way up with 5k silicon oil. i am getting alot more friction now and that should translate into positive traction in the corners. before i could spin 1 tire and the other would rotate for a second after, now as soon as i stop rotating 1 the other stopped immediatly. taking everything apart and cleaning out the old grease, filling the diffs with the new fluid and putting everything back together only took 35 minutes. the screws that secure most of the gearboxes are very long. i was really impressed with the build quality. and all the diffs are o-ring sealed so no silicon will leak out.

thanks for the advice solso
i think i will boil my rims for a while and use that method. not only does the bioling water break up the CA but it also softens the plastic on the rims and makes it les prone to cracking. the crime fighters seem like a nice tire with alot of traction. what compound are you using? XTR or M2? if i am able to save my rims i should be able to pick up some new rubbers for under 40 bucks.
i am also going to dig up my old hi-tec servo that stopped working and see if i can get it working.

[geo8498]

So has anyone here tried any hop-ups on their lightning yet. I'm thinking engines, gears, clutches, tuned pipes, etc. I'm just wondering what might be good hop-up to start with. Also wondering if anyone has had any luck fitting any parts from a different buggy onto the Lightning.

I was thinking of getting a Kyosho front chassis brace. I see there are holes drilled for mounting one, and there's even one listed in the manual. Just wonder why they didn't put one in. They have 2 different versions shown, and listed as "chassis anti-bend rods". The first version looks the same as the rear brace which came with the car. The second brace looks like it may be for a possible pro version. The Kyosho brace on Tower's site looks the same.

Any other chassis parts that may be interchangeable with other buggies?

[tallcracker]

i dont know if any other brands hop ups fit. u might wanna stop by the 7.5 forum and have them measure the leangth and angle of the brace, then you can see if it would fit out cars.

[tallcracker]

i dont really feel that this car has any durability problems that hop ups could fix. right now i am going to def get the front chasis brace just for preace of mind when i case the big triples, after that i will be getting an O.S. motor and rear universals. that is all i really feel this car needs.

[soslo]

Noooo!! tailcracker!!
You cannot put the same weight oil in the diffs.
Go to www.rc-racing.com You will have to sign up. Look at the Offroad 3 conference, scroll down until you see "diff. oil weights" and read that.
The XTR's will be fine. That is what we got. :)

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey guys, do almost all 1/8 shocks fit on any buggy. In other words, can I get some kyosho, etc.. shocks and throw 'em on my bug?
Thanks, Steve

[tallcracker]

soslo
the diff fluid cost 10 bucks a bottle. 3 different wieghts would run be 30 somthing after tax. the way i look at it
from the factory it came with all the diffs filled with the same grease, so going to the same oil in all 3 diffs isnt really going to alter the way it ran in stock form, and i love the way it handles in stock form. i may do it later, but right now i have increased the viscosity, and i think i will have better traction then i did in stock form. later i will prolly get 10k fluid and fill half my rear diff with 5k and half with 10k to give me a 7.5k mixture.

[gkcontra]

Tall if I were you I'd clean out the rear diff and put grease in it. with 5000 in it your car will turn like a mack truck, not enough diff action to turn right. Is Meir charging $10 a bottle? Its $7 at Larry's up here on the north side.

[soslo]

This is true tailcracker. That stuff ain't cheap. They also said in that forum, 80 or 100 wt. shock oil will do the same thing as 1000 wt. for the rear, and is much cheaper. Anything is worth a try. I try to save $$ when ever possible too. This hobby ain't cheap!!

HB.. Some are using Mugen shafts on the 7.5's and Cronos'. When we bent one (Hyper 7) we were told to get the Mugen shafts also, but have not tried them. I believe thay are a liitle longer, so you may have to put limiters on them, but they are supposed to be stronger.The new kyosho (kania 2) shocks are bigger diameter, so I doubt they will work, but the old ones should.

[soslo]

Fuel is much cheaper at Larry's too tailcracker. Meir gets $32.00 for a gallon of Blue Thunder non race 20%. Larry's wants about $21.00.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

So solso, I should use the Kyosho Inferno 7.5 Kanai I shocks with Mugen shafts, right? Well I think I'll hold off on that swap! I was wanting to have 2 sets of shocks with different fluid weights in them, so I can swap out on the go! But, I'm not made of money, oh well.
For those of you who want to know, I contacted Mega Nitro, and he said the stock shock fluid is 30 weight. Also, that chassis anti-bending rod is only 4 bucks for the whole front set, so just get it!
I spotted a Kyosho wing on towerhobbies, and they want 15 bucks for it. Is that reasonable?
Well thanks for all the info, I'll try to keep yall posted on everything!
Steve

[soslo]

HB...
Meant to say the kanai 2 shafts are bigger diameter!! Don't know about the housings.
I am getting old and senile! LOL!!
That is what happens when you start losing your hair. :)

[tallcracker]

i hear what your saying about the rear of the buggy not coming around enough. i think i am just going to try it as is then go ahead and make changes as necassary.

soslo
i tried to acess that forum u gave me the link to, i even registered but the forum is very poorly laid out and hard to follow. i just kinda gave up with my gf called.

the rear diff is so easy to get to i can easily make the fluid swap at the track in just a few minutes. if i go to 7.5k wieght in the rear, keep the 5k in the front what should i use in the center?

yeah i kinda think the prices at M & M are a little high, i have noticed they are cheaper just about everywhere elso too. i reaaaly wanted a gallon of that blue thunder too but 32 bucks!!! hell no. i will def go somewhere else to get that fuel. i switched to something else because the price was so high and i had a few problems, blue thunder really is the best gas out there IMO

[soslo]

Use the bubblegum or vanilla interface. The 1st one is confusing, and I haven't tried the 2nd one.
Base set up for all models is 3000 in front, 7000 in center, and 1000 in rear. That is a good starting place. You can substitute 80 or 100 wt. shock oil for the 1000 wt. in the rear.
The center diff, acts like a slipper on 1/10 offroad. It controls the amount of power going to the wheels. That is why it needs to be stiffer than the front and rear. You don't want too much in the front or rear, as the more the wheels spin together, the less traction you get. Does that make any sense?
You have to tune the diffs for just the right amount of slip, and traction, so that the car won't push, be twitchy, or just in general handle like a tank.
I am trying to learn this too folks!! LOL!! Now I confused myself!! Hey!! It sounds good! :)

[JIMMYBANGBANG]

sounds good over hear:D

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey solso, I think u might be a little confused, or I could be the one confused about what your confused about! Lol!
The center diff doesn't really act like a slipper- The center diff just controls how much power and speed go to the front or rear.
Say the engine is giving out let's say 30 units of energy. Since the front is lighter and has the least resistance, maybe 20 units will go to the front diff, and 10 will go to the rear (there is no energy lost, like with a slipper clutch). If you want the rear to get more energy, and the front to get less, simply make it harder for the center diff to differentiate power between the front and rear (stiffen the center diff up- put heavier oil/grease in it). I need to do this, because my front tires spin like crazy, and my back tires don't. You have 2 more options: put more weight on the front, or I think a torsen differential will fix this.
If you like the front wheels to spin(to pull you out of the corners better), do the oppsoite- Put lighter (less heavy, not the stuff for grills)fluid in the diff. That way, more power will go to where there is the least resistance( the front, because it's lighter).
Well, I hope that has helped you all and I'm glad to be of help,
Steve

[soslo]

Ok now ..Let me get this straight.
If charcoal lighter fluid cannot be used, how about regular lighter fuid for a Zippo??

The more I read about it in other forums, the more confused I got! Everyone seems to contradict each other at times.:confused:

Your explanation sounds simple enough to work! :)
Thankyou for enlightening a confused mind, Steve. :cool:

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

**********Hey solso, are you joking... Just so you don't put Char King lighter fluid in your shocks- I meant lighter like lighter and heavier! LMA0!!!**************

[gkcontra]

Here is a good answer I saw last year, it pretty well sums it up:

"Front diff
light oil, like 3000 allows the car to turn in harder but it can push
comming out of the corners (while on throttle) because it will just
spin the inside tire instead of pulling it out.

thick oil, like 7000 or more can make the car push going into a corner
but you'll notice more on trottle steering because it will give equal
power to both front tires.

med oil, like 5000 is best starting wt. i run this about 90% of the time

Mid diff
light oil, like 5000 or less will make the car feel more like a front
wheel drive because in reality thats were most of the power is going.
Which can help out on loose tracks. but can make it harder to clear
jumps were you need acceleration to clear.

thick oil, like 10,000 will put more power to the rear which can make
the car feel loose but you will gain more acceleration.

med oil, like 7000 is the best starting wt.

Rear diff
this one is a little more confusing and i having found all the answers
on what everything does, I know that Adam Drake runs his gas truck
diffs almost locked and he says that helps with straight traction and I
can kind of see how this can work because his tires are spinning at a
simmilar speed and not just diffing out the whole time. and I can see
this carring over to 1/8 also.

I have noticed that 1000 will work about 95% of the time, try going to
3000 or 5000 and see what it does. I know that Saxton swears by grease
diffs which is really light. this is something i want to test along
with the new BBF diffs. I'll post as soon as i test them out."

[soslo]

Shocks are supossed to have heavier lighter fluid in them HB?? My son's shocks run on air most of the time. :)
There is no substitute for experience, but it is nice to have some guidelines to point ya' in the right direction.
Thankya' gk and HB! I will print this out at work tomorrow, and keep it with the manual for reference.
I will sleep better tonight knowing a lttle more about what makes these thing tick.

Onward!!.. Through the fog!!

gk.. Did you see Saxton at the 1st SuperCross at J's? He doesn't need diff. lube, he needs wings!! ;)

[gkcontra]

Yea, he was flyin' didn't really get to watch him though, I was too busy ducking the other 19 buggies while turn marshalling... LOL

And for everybody else, Yes there were 20 car mains!!!!

[soslo]

Yep.. the SuperCross is an experience to live through, if you can survive it! Launching the cars at the starting gate is bad enough. Talking about nitro fumes of 20 cars at once? It makes you cough, your eyes water, and nose run. (even got a lil' buzz!!) The cloud over the track was like a thick fog rolling in.
Too bad they are closing down. hehe!!(just a gluttn' for more punishment!)
I heard rumers they may still keep it for races like the supercross. We shall see.

[tallcracker]

my car is clean clean clean! i have spent about 4 hours rebulding the shocks, checking the ring and pinion for wear, sealing the engine with rtv sealant, threadlocking all screws and generally just cleaning off all the dirt and crud. she looks brand new! i think i am gonna take her to work with me saturday so after work i can run for an hour or so at M & M

[gkcontra]

Wish I could join ya! I've gotta drive to Dallas and back that day, picking up another toy... 71 Super Beetle Convertible. - that's why the storm is on ebay right now, got a parts list from meganitro the other day so i should be able to get a front chassis brace this week.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey solso, if your still confused, and you have good reason to be. I wasn't talking about shocks, I know I said that, but I was talking about what kind of you should put in the diff to give more power to the front. You should put less thick grease/ oil in the center diff for the aformentioned effect:
Ex. 600 weight is lighter than 900 weight.
Hope this helps (lol)
Steve

[soslo]

i am not confused HB. LOL!! Just messn' w/ ya' was all. Thank you for the simple explanations. :-)
Thanks for taking up for the Houston bunch in issoR's thread on TTT gk!! LOL!! I got a kick out of reading it. Just don't think that boy is playing with a full deck. He wanted opinions, but he is sure pushing the Rossi.
What time are you going to M&M tailcracker?
Hopefully there won't be any racing going on.
They hired tractors and drivers to move dirt around at Torq, so help isn't needed there, just yet.
The police have been over at Reflex hot and heavy here lately. I think they are getting fed up with the guy who is doing the complaining. It just might be a good thing!

[bubbastump]

well it looks like i might be able to play this weekend.
gettin a kyosho wing and new tires so alls i need is a wing deck mount

[tallcracker]

i will probably hit M & M around 4pm. right now i need new tires badly but i just dumped out about 1300 cash to pay for school so new tires are kinda the least of my worries. truck payment is the biggest! lol if any1 wants to meet up there that would be cool.

[soslo]

Have a safe trip gk!

Tailcracker.... Dan wants to work some things out with the Crono. and we need to put the hyper .21 back in, and retune it with the right glow plug. We will see you there.

[tallcracker]

i took my car out last night to try out my fresh gallon of blue thunder. i was keeping the temp 30 degrees lower, getting the same and it felt like even more power, all on the same needle setting i had used on the previous gas i bought. i have learned my lesson, my engines always run so much better with blue thunder..
o yeah so saturday should be a good day, i will get to run for about 2 hours after work. i went out last night and bought a screw that had fallen out of my front steering knuckle at the depot. so i am back and ready for action. all i have left is to clean my air filter, its looking a little gross, and of course when funds allow get some new tires, but atleast for now i am set.

[tallcracker]

HOTBODIES HAS THE NEW WEBSITE UP AND IT HAS ALL THE PARTS LISTINGS, AS WELL AS ALL THE FACTORY HOP UP PARTS! all you have to do is find what part you want, call ricks hobby and they will check status and send it out right away. they sell the kit tires, that worked pretty well IMO, for 10.99 a pair, not too bad. the front chasis stabilizer is only 4.99 i was going to order but the tires are out of stock and the UPS ground frieght is 7.99. i am going to call back in a week, get the 3 shoe racing clutch, chasis stabalizer, and a new pair of rubber.

to find the parts click on "products"
then "lightning RR"
then scroll to the bottom and click on "lightning rr replacement parts"

[soslo]

We have a set you can practice with tomorrow.
Crono, 7.5, and Mugen wheels fit the Hyper. Don't see any reason they shouldn't fit the HB also. We will find out tomorrow.
The Crimefighters will last through a few races. How long do the kit tires last? The ones that came with the Hyper were gone after 1 race, plus have much better traction.
Stay Cool!! LOL!! :)

[gkcontra]

Yea, HB did the right thing and used 17mm hubs so they are the standard fit. The stock tires get tons of traction but are really soft so they probably wear out very quick, not sure though I haven't used them. I put a set of worn out tires for break-in and then put a different set of tires on after breakin so I can't say how the stockers will work. Tall, I would avoid the $4.00 chassis brace, it is built like a turnbuckle and will have some play in it, my storm one did, they have a nice alum. one for 18 so if you can swing it, that would be the way to go.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey guys, that's cool they have a new web site! It's about time! Well, I found a 2 speed tranny, but I'm not sure if it'll fit! It's an ofna and the pic is below: It's from the OFNA website.
It's for the Ultra MBX RTR
http://www.ofna.com/images/opt-35001.jpg

There's also the Clutch Shoe Type:
http://www.ofna.com/images/opt-35011.jpg

The center diff brace is different on our cars, so the clutch shoe type might work! If y'all could help, it would be appreciated!
Hey thanks guys!
Steve

[tallcracker]

hey gk
thanks for the advice. i was looking through the manual tonight and i see what you are talking about. i think i am actually going to get the front and rear aluminum braces. because right now the rear is exactly what you said, a turnbuckle stiffner. the new aluminum ones should be much stronger and plus add a lil more style to the chasis.

[tallcracker]

ok i am all set to go, i brought all my rc crap to work and i should be at the track around 4. im sure you lucky b@astards are already up there kicking up dirt and burning nitro......
:D

[tallcracker]

hey hblightningrr
i think you could bolt that 2 speed up without too much work. first of all make sure that the 2speed clutch bell will fit on your crankshaft. i dont know if this is how it works but it seems that since it has a whole nother gear on it it would be longer then the stock 1 speed clutch bells we run. as long as you can get the 2 speed clutch bell on i think that is the biggest obstacle to overcome.
now to the actual 2 speed gears that goes in the center of the chasis. i would see if it operates on the same size bearings as hot bodies do and check its width. maybe you can just slide out your single spur and diff and slide that one in. because it isnt actually a diff, i dont see it bieng any wider then our stock units. if the bearings are not the right size but the width of the unit is fine then i would drill out the holes for the larger bearings needed and use your existing mounts. just modify them to fit. you will loose the center differential but gain another speed.
if you can not get your old diff support to accept the new gears just buy the case in the picture and drill new holes on your chasis to mount it up. just be very careful as you want to make sure everything is perfectly square and lined up so you will not throw off yout gear mesh.

[tallcracker]

well i took it to M & M today even thought it was raining and extremely muddy. i ran 1 tank and actually broke my rim through 3 of the spokes. i came of the large triple just a little sideways, i think the added traction from the mud folded over the rim and with the cold weather the plastic just couldnt take it. it didnt even flip, just kinda landed sideways and kept going, i didnt even notice it until the tank ran out.

it was extremely muddy and i actually spend the next 2 hours cleaning the entire car. 15 minutes of run time for 2 hours of cleaning..... not a very good trade off if u ask me.

[geo8498]

New pictures of my Lightning with new wheels and Ofna street tires.

[geo8498]

picture 2

[soslo]

The Hyper wheels do look pretty nice geo!
Now...... If the rest of the car was Ofna.... LOL!! j/k (my son drives the hyper 7)

We were out there yesterday tailcracker, but it started raining, so we left a little after 4. He cracked a rear hub carrier anyway. I tried to melt it back it back together with a soldering gun, but... it made a few laps, and broke again. :mad: Fastrak has em in stock. I will run out there during the week, so he will be set to race next wekend.
If you don't have to work and want to race next weekend, and get the 17mm adapters, you can still borrow a set of tires to run on. He wants to try the Camelions (forget who makes them). They are supossed to be a great tire too. He will have to wait a couple of weeks for them though. This hobby ain't cheap!!

Fastrak Hobbies bought J's drivers' stand and announcers booth, and they are trying to get the track together. This dang rain has got all 3 of the new tracks at a standstill again. It looks like Clarkes will have theirs done 1st, followed by Torq, and then Fastrak. We shall see. It should a good year for racing though! :)

[Rdub202]

what is the out of box top speed?? really leanin towards getting this and need to compare top speed wit nother buggy.

-RyaN-

[soslo]

They are all comparable with each other. They can all go from 5 to 120 mph, depending on how you gear em. You going for the Guiness r/c car world speed record? ;)

[gkcontra]

soslo, we don't need adapters, ours are 17mm also.

[soslo]

Cool! You just threw me off with this. :)

Originally posted by gkcontra
Yea, HB did the right thing and used 17mm hubs so they are the standard fit.

[Rdub202]

soslo,ok lemme rephrase...how fast is it if i just took it out of box and drove it (of course braking in and adding fuel and all that)???
ALSO...i am looking to buy a 1/8 buggy soon either the OFNA Ultra LX Pro or the Hot Bodies Lgithning RR RTR. how is the lightning overall? how is its...durability? speed? engine? handling? servo? jumping(air time)? landing? radio? acceleration? braking?. also how is the maintenance (easy to clean and repair [or does it depend on part]). IS THIS THE BUGGY FOR ME? (**first nitro**)

[tallcracker]

i would assume the top speed is about 40mph. durability is great, havent broken a part yet(other then a wing and 1 rim).
considering it has a "sport" engine it gets along pretty quickly. it accelerates very well and i can easily accelerate with the best of the racing buggies. i really have no complaints about the engine, it has a 3 needle carb, hardly found on a sport engine. it produces about 2hp, and runs very reliabily. i can normally keep the temp in the low 200's and get plenty of power for all the large jumps at my track. the servo sucks, but its a standard servo and it easily replaced. just about all RTR buggies use a standard servo and have this problem. this car has great handling, i am able to toss it around anddrive it hard without it coming back and biting me. jumping is very good. i can easily control the nose with a simple stab of the brakes or the gas. alot of times i have to stab the brakes before the first jump so i dont overshoot the following ones. it lands very very well. alot of this is shock tuning and spring rates, but the lightning comes with a good shock settings from the factory. the radio sucks, but what RTR system doesnt? it has front and rear disk brakes, i can easilt lock all 4 tires on concrete, and can easily slide the rear end around the corners on tight tracks. maintnence is the same as all other buggies, very easy to clean it all off.

[Rdub202]

thats exactly the kind of reply i was hoping for thanks a lot tallcracker!!!

[soslo]

LOL!!! You need to discuss the maintanence with gkcontra, tailcracker or one of the other folks in here. I have the Hyper 7. Just dropped into say hello.
We have clocked any given model 1/8 scale buggy, on the straight-a-ways, between 30 and 40 mph, on the track. They are all neck to neck in speed and handling anymore. Just depends on which one catches your eye, and what you can afford. It has a lot to do with how well you drive also. Never have clocked one in the open, so I cannot tell you the top speed. It does depend on how you gear it also.
I can tell you one thing. If you go to the Ofna site, and look at the notice section..Never mind.. The section is under construction now. Anyway... the LX's have been having diff. problems (there is a recall), and there is an upgrade ($60.00) from 6mm to 8mm axles you would need to get also. The 6mm axles bend very easily, from what is said on the Ofna website forum.
I HATE having to say this,... BUT....It is the truth!! :)
From what the guys say in here about the HB buggy, and from what I saw on the track, you would be better off with the HB. It seems to be a pretty dependable buggy. It runs good, and jumps well also. It does lands better on the wheels, than on the top though, doesn't it tailcracker?! :cool:
No buggy is ever perfect, even the Kanai 2 has upgrades.
Alright now... It is someones turn who actually has one!

[soslo]

No fair!! Tailcracker got a head start!! :(

Gasp, gasp, wheeze, wheeze....
Take a peak at the new Hyper 7 RTR w/ pivot ball suspension, and starter box.
It is ONLY $825.00.... for a RTR???
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDUS7&P=7
No info. on the Ofna site yet either.
I think someone has gone insane! :confused:

[tallcracker]

haha yeah i got on at work and got a chance to answer many questions in 1 post, lol
hey solso
saturday i am probably going to be at M & M again if the weather holds out. are they having a race or is it just the normal practice? if its just practice lets get out there and run. tell me what ur plans are

[soslo]

I duunnooo right now tail. Justin is up the creek without a paddle because of his grades.
His mom just grounded him from racing for 2 weeks. I will let you know later in the week.
He will learn life is not all play!! :)

[tallcracker]

lol soslo
man while justin studies you can bring the cars out and have a little fun of your own. after all they need to have the dust blown off :-)

[soslo]

You really don't know how bad that would pi-- him off!! LMAO!! I don't even want to think about it. Racing is one thing that WILL bring his grades up. He lives for it.
I think they are going to try to race there this weekend. But it don't look good weatherwise.:mad:

[tallcracker]

if they are going to race then i wont bring my car, but i will come and watch. i have decided on my radio, i want to get the XR3i. i really like the fact it comes with a high torque servo and that is has a built in lap counter. i like the idea of trying different lines and seeing how they effect my lap times. the radio along with the rims and tires, and the front chasis stiffner will be all i add before i start racing. i hope to be racing in about 4-6 weeks, just about the same time all the new tracks open up

[atm92484_3]

Well guys check out what I picked up in a trade. Aside from needing a good cleaning, a new front tranny case, a new front lower arm mount, and shock towers (those 4mm 7075 ones are looking pretty good....) I don't think I made out too bad. I'll defiently be trying to get some 7.5 hop-ups I have laying around to fit this buggy. I'll keep ya guys posted.

[tallcracker]

hey ATM
not looking bad at all man. does it have the stock HPI engine? how is the engine holding up? is that wing all aluminum? looks really sweet. keep us posted as to what exact parts fit, we are still starving for hopups.

[atm92484_3]

Yes and yes on the engine and wing. The stock engine seems to be holding up fine. From my experience with other Lightnings, these engines seem to be pretty durable.

Its looking really hopeful right now for the following 7.5 parts:
-7.5 universals
-hinge pins
-turnbuckles (checked some online specs and they'll work but you'll need the upper arms from a 7.5 for the rear and any balls that go with them; the upper front 7.5 ones are 6mm shorter but you could probably get away with that or go with 7.5 parts for the outer piece that bolts onto the hub)
-7.5 clutches/flywheels
-brakes
-chassis braces
-pinion/bevel gears (same tooth count as 7.5)
-wheel hexes (looks like you'll just need to use the 2.6mm pins included with the hexes instead of the 3mm HB ones and the set screw will need to be tight)
-also doesn't look too hard to put bearings on the steering bellcranks (looks like 4x8s)

I'll keep ya guys posted after I test these out. Has anyone found a complete online manual for this buggy or any exploded diagrams?

[tallcracker]

i dont know of a complete manual online, but maybe saturday when the boss isnt looking i can photocopy my whole manual and fax it to you

[atm92484_3]

Don't worry about it. I could always borrow the copy from the shop and copy it at my house or something...just looking for something for now. Thanks anyways.

[tallcracker]

hey guys
the new car action has the lightning pro in it, it is on page 235. it looks like it comes with thicker shock towers, aluminun chasis braces front and back, rear universals, and center universals running from front to back on the center diff, double fron brakes and "racing tires". i cant wait to see how much it cost, might be picking one up right before summer.

[HBLigHtnIngRR]

Hey Tall, why don't you just upgrade your regular lightning to make it a pro series? Why buy a whole new buggy, unless your made of money or somethin?! LOL! Well, I'd like to put on a set of CVDs in the rear, and eventually upgrade the dog bones in the center to CVDs!
Well, 2 days ago, I took out the center diff, to check it out. I was gonna measure it, to compare it with the 2 speed, but I forgot! I put springs on the brake pad screws to keep them away from the brakes while not braking. Well, it turns out that the stock servos aren't strong enough to pull the brake pads now! That sucks! I'll have to remove them.
Hey does any one know if a 2 speed clutch bell is longer than a 1 speeder is?
Well thanks a lot guys!
Steve

[atm92484_3]

Just got back from doing a little testing with some spare Inferno parts that were lying around. Heres what I've found:

-7.5 wheel hexes will fit using 2.6mm pins
-7.5 rear dog bones are the same length as the rear Lightning dog bones (thus 7.5 universals will fit)
-Lightning front universals fit rear of buggy (thus 7.5 universals will also fit front)
-all 7.5 braking components can be installed on the Lightning (discs, pads, etc)
-7.5 rear turnbuckles will fit but only if IF123 upper arms are used
-7.5 front upper turnbuckles will fit, but there is 3mm less thread going into each half of the arm; I wasn't able to tell exactly so there might be a slight difference since one of the lower pin braces on my buggy is broken, but the 7.5 upper arm (not the Kanai II) fits the Lightning and is slightly longer and will help with the turnbuckle problem. All other turnbuckles will fit with no problem.
-the front c-hubs from 7.5s fit the Lightning also, but due to the reason stated above, I'm not sure if the caster angles would line up perfectly
-the front, center dogbones are also the same length
-lastly, the rear, center dogbone on the Lightning is about 1mm shorter than the Infernos; close enough IMO
-the sway bars holes on the 7.5 and Lightning arms are also in very similar places; close enough for them to be compatible
-everyone already knows that 7.5 bodies fit; I'd stay away from the Trinity Reference 7.5 body though since its fancier lines require it to be cut exactly for a 7.5...it'll look really hack on the Lightning
-all 7.5 hinge pins should fit the Lightning, but the lower inner ones and the front inner ones for the upper arms are going to be a tight fit

All of this looks like it SHOULD work and it will unless there are unforseen part conflicts (something dumb like a really tight fitting part, so test at your own risk, especially for some of those expensive parts ;)). Good luck guys..I'll be ordering these parts and giving them a shot in the near future. Once I get the diffs opened I'll see if anything is compatible in there. I'll also be installing some new 7.5 parts so that will give me a chance to see how the chassis braces work.

[tallcracker]

well i tried to see if i could glue my rim that had cracked. after looking over all the other rims i found multiple stress cracks. i drive this car very very hard and i know i have been hard on these rims, so its not like i am complaining. i am thinking of ordering another pair from hotbodies, but i am going to boil them this time to try and soften up the plastic a little bit. i also think that driving them in the cold weather had alot to do with the cracks.
and on another note; has any1 seen the tires on the new storm pro? man they are sweet! as soon as i get my school books paid off im buying a pair.

[tallcracker]

bump
i just cant stand this thread bieng close to the bottom:p

[bubbastump]

bump bump me too
i ordered some parts hopefully the work ill give yall a word when i find out

[soslo]

bump bump bump both of ya'll! LOL!! j/k

Not gonna' make it this weekend tallcracker.
If you need some practice tires for the time being, let me know.:)

[bubbastump]

BUMP im not sure but has anyone tried the mugen wing stay and mount?
thats what i ordered i hope it works

[bubbastump]

mugen mbx4 i think let me check