Hi! Today on my workbench I have a HPI Racing model
it's Venture with Toyota FJ Cruiser body
We've got this rig about a week ago
to test it in the field and take a close look
and say what we think about it
So maybe start with short basic info about it
It's a RTR verison (ready to run)
With this model we get very nice radio
TF-40, really nice, have same one with my Sprint2
I use it for few years now and it's really good
we also have NiMh battery, 2000 mah
about 1 hour of driving, easily
simplest charger and some spare parts
Let's get to the model
It's in 1:10 scale, the newest HPI Racing's baby
Let's take a look inside as there is some cool stuff
Most interesting - motor in the front, CMS (chassis mounted servo)
transfer case in the middle, waterproof esc
waterproof receiver in a box
in the back we have battery tray
and that's all the basics
More technical stuff -
it doesn't have great steering angle, as some of other models on the market
but it's not a problem and can be fixed
HPI has CVD drive shafts that will make it bigger for sure
During the week, that we got him to test, we had a chance to drive it
and it really surprised us
Straight from the box, only front bumper moved closer to the body
done using only parts from the box
it drives really great
First tests were super
we were also driving it on our friend's amazing track
yesterday went to a big meeting
and I don't think there was a person that thought there was anything wrong with this rig
As for model straight from the box it's genius
what else can I say..
At the beggining we had some doubts with tires
straight from the box they seemed very hard, as if they were not going to work
after few drives, it turns out to be quite soft
it's not very soft tire, but it's not bad
and I must say that driving on rocks, in mud and varied terrain
it surprises
it can go where modified Vatteras, Axials and other models go
We think that problem of these wheels may be foams
Yes, probably, because tire is quite soft
it's nice and sticky so compound is good
but the wheel is hard, so it's probably problem with insert
and that model is really light, it's not ballasted
I think if we changed rims, that are plastic and unfortunately glued together with tire
that is normal for RTR models
if we change them to heavier rims it would certainly be better
what else is interesting about this model
it has, as I said before, CMS (chassis mounted servo)
that's why it has slightly different steering system
we have two links - one from servo to knuckle
and the other is pan hard, that stabilize whole system
big minus in this model is I must say this top link
it's end, to be exact
it unfortunately touch and rub the tire while driving
theoretically I found a way to make it work, need to test that
putting link under and changing this screw to longer
and putting it all a bit lower, I think we'd get rid of the problem
but it needs to be checked, if the whole system would work as it does at this moment
What's causing the steering angle to be so small right now?
Right now it's on dogbone cups - their construction cause it
if we had CVD here, it would turn more
and the whole system should work better
Very strange thing - here we can see servo saver
it's used in fast models
where servo is exposed to big impact from steering system
in this model, that drives slowly it's not needed, even disturbing
because in trail we need a lot of precision
and we need to have option to force wheels to turn
and having servo saver will disturb
but it's thing to change at the beginning
Some people noticed that links are very soft
they are not hard, yes, but we didn't notice any problem with that
as f.e. in Axial, with plastic links
when you try to get up the obstacle
rear axle can move to the front bending the links
we didn't notice that here yet
I think it doesn't happen here, as model is very light
tires work, but don't have to much traction
I think that with modifications - when we change wheels, add weight
links should be changed to aluminium
of ocurse in this specification it's more safe
it's elastic, so when we roll over, it won't pull knuckle or link mount out
Sandra shows us this funny thing on the skidplate
to put the whole transfer case lower, HPI just made this "thing"
we thought at the beginning it will be a problem on obstacles
but to be honest, I didn't see the problem while driving
model slides nicely, didn't find it a problem, and that's most important
As you can see it has some scratches already
it was driving for almost 3 hours today on a track
on variety of terrain - we had some rocks, some mud and other cool obstacles
in comparison with some modified rigs it worked really good
Where f.e. stock Vaterra (Ascender) couldn't go, this one got without much problem
We made a short track
and wanted to test Venture next to Traxxas TRX-4
unfortunately TRX-4 died - motor burnt (!!!)
so we had to use my #ten2truggy for this test
What about drive shaft yoke? In Vaterra there is a problme, right?
As probably some of you know in Vaterra whole this element is hidden in the axle
so when we have drive shaft malfunction we need to get into the axle, and that's a lot of work
Here we have yokes as in Axial - outside
in my opinion it''s very nice and easy to repair and clean
In few words -
in my opinion it's a very nice model for beginners
it's worth buying, worth playing with
it's great for modifications because of it's simplicity
there is no unnecessary things
every piece of plastic, every element is there for something
and everything is really nicely done, thought through
and I really like it
What would you change?
What would I change?
If I wanted to drive it more "extreme"
I'd put battery tray from the back to the middle, right after transfer case
to lower the center of gravity
but I must admit that at this moment, with battery in this place
model drives great on traverse
I think big plus is very light body
As, I think, in all RTR models, we have problem with to weak servo
this servo has about 6kg, I must add that in my rig I have servo over 20kg
this is a thing you need to change for sure
I thin kI'd change motor from 35T to 45T
and put in LiPo 3S battery, but I just like have an option to push the trigger and have higher speed
and with 45T motor it would have better precision from the bottom
In stock we have waterproff esc, waterproof receiver in a box
as far as I know servo is also waterproof
so we should be able to go in mud to the rooftop and there should not be any problems ;)
Need to remember to clean it right after having fun in the mud
If not you're gonna say goodbye to the bearings
Show how the suspension works
Suspension in this model is very nicely done
I'll put the body to have whole weight
Some RCs straight from the box is standing very high and it looks very bad
This one, as you can see, when I put it down, it lowers itself
it would go even lower if I put the battery in
Suspension is very nicely set
it has good flex
that helps with obstacles (can also be disturbing, depending of the driving style)
We have some nice scale accessories
starting with front bumper that, as I mentioned before, we moved closer to the body
we have shackles to mount towstrap in case of "problems" ;)
very nice looking mirrors that, if someone wanted, can probably put lights in
and the roof rack. Pretty cool thing with removable crossbars
we can put something on it. It's a nice gadget
Some of the RCs we get "naked", in Venture we have roof rack, mirrors, also have full size spare tire
may say it's nothing, but I think it's cool
A propos spare parts that we get
These two elements. I'll tell you all about them in a moment
We have bumper plug, if someone wants to get rid of front or rear bumper
you put it in, because bumper mount makes frame more stiff
just switch those elements
we have spare drive shafts
these are elements that were originally mounted here in the front
so bumper was sticking out a lot, it was here
so it was moved back for a cm or even bit more
what makes getting on obstacles way easier
this one is pretty cool. Not everyone likes having servo on the frame
because it puts center of gravity higher and is "strange"
I like it because it looks more like in real car
thanks to this element, that can be put on the axle, we can transfer servo from frame to axle
What does it give us? Axle is heavier and servo is more exposed to the mud and dirt ;)
many RCs has it this way, it's not a downfall, if someone wants to do it, there is a part to make it happen
in many RCs, mostly RTR, we don't get parts like that
another cool element is this bracket
it's for changing upper link "Y" (3-link system) to 4-link system
we mount it in that one's place, making two links and we get a bit different suspension configuration
Does it make any difference while driving?
In my opinion, I think, no. It doesn't change to much.
but why I don't like "Y" (3-link)?
here we have "ball" mount. This ball can worn out
don't know how it'll be in this model, we have it to short unfortunately
but in Axial rigs this part worn out and whole axle turned
that's why it's better to switch to 4-link so there is no problem
good thing is that this element, you just put the other one off the axle, and put this one in
it's not like that in all othe models
yes, some have only 4-link option, as f.e. new Axial's axles (SCX10-2)
there you have only 4-link and that's it
you can't put servo on axle, you need to find a way yourself
HPI did the homework well
yes, that's true. the fact motor is in the front is a huge plus
a lot of people like to mount interior in their rigs, so they look more realistic
imagine all of that to be in the middle of the car. It would be a problem
at this moment we have everything flat and low so we are able to make very nice and good looking interior
as we are close to the transfer case
here we have regulation of the slippery clutch
I think it's great, because you don't need to dissamble anything, everything is outside
so it's easy to set it as we want it to be while driving
gears in Venture are all metal - in gearbox, transfer case and axles
transfer case has gears with really big teeth, so I think there is no chance to break them
if you'd like to see all the insides, on top right part of the screen is the link to our live video
where we put this model to pieces
these two elements, in stock, were put here
they were there to better hold stock battery on the tray
in my opinion it's not necessary, because battery holds in place ok even without them
it holds pretty well and shouldn't fall out
we had to take them out as I use hardcase LiPo batteries
and they are taller and more square, so those parts didn't fit and I had to take them off
what else? we get clips, thing that always get lost
we have here 2, even 3 small ones to mount spare tire
and 2 regular size
and drive shaft screw
very nice set of stuff that always get lost. It's nice they gave spare
body has one more perk
what's that?
it's an inside joke, that this thing makes Venture win over TRX-4 ;)
yes. see-through windows
this is great. i can't understand how in scale-looking rigs producers can paint windows black
here we have them see-through, so we can make full-size interior and it'll look nice
and I think that's all
so now it's time for a question
for beginner - will it be a good choice?
sure! to be honest, in this version - with pretty weak servo, without moving battery tray
this rig drove amazing today and yesterday
it put many modified rigs to shame
so I hink it'a a great RC for the start
I think that's it
I think so. thank you. till the next time!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét