My first hornet rc build

[crazydave306 0]

Hi all I'm new to this but I brought a tamiya hornet and what a great kit

But I'm looking at upgrading a few things and was hoping for your friendly advice

Me and a few mates have just brought the same cars and want to be very

Competitive with each other. Ovestly I want the best car...... So I'm calling

For your help? I'm thinking front suspension upgrade and rear???? Any

Good ones out there?also I see the front stearing rack is crap wish bones

Etc etc any help on what I could buy? Don't mind cutting chassis to fit

Look forward to hearing what you recommend 😀

[GregM 1109]

Welcome to TC!

I'm talking honestly to you: There's no use in trying to upgrade the Hornet other than ball bearings and maybe a 18T mod. 0.8 steel pinion. Then there's the 3rd shock modification, that may or may not be worth to perform.

You can't easily take the bounce out of the suspension.

However, if you're interested what one can do with the Hornet by excessively modifying it, please have a look at Pintopower's Super Fly Hornet.

[XV Pilot 1936]

Indeed - if you want the ultimate Hornet, it doesn't get much better than the Super Fly.

Also, if you don't mind replacing everything except the shell, you could have a 4WD Hornet like Terz1 shows in this thread:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76701

Okay, it is a Hornet-bodied Baja Champ, but it is pretty cool.

Or you could take a completely different approach. When people think of upgrades, often one of the first things they think of is more power. However with the Hornet, you very quickly reach the point where more power is too much. You could let your friends overpower their Hornets to the point of uncontrollability, then add a sensible upgrade motor to yours, something like a Sport Tuned or Dirt Tuned, and win races by being the only one who doesn't end up on his roof...

[Terz1 745]

I have to just echo what has already been said. A hornet with a standard 540 silver can is fast enough and plenty of fun. I think most tend to agree that a sport tuned is nearing the limits of controllable fun with a hornet. Much more and you'll be spending more time putting it back on it's roof than actually racing it.

There are mods like the third shock on the rear and I tried one which involved locking the area where the gearbox attaches to the chassis (where the two tiny springs are). This didn't help with the bouncy ride either so I returned it to how it was.

My hornet is running rubber sealed ball bearings, steel pinion and a sport tuned motor and I think it's spot on. The hornet is amazing and lots of fun. It's just not a platform for serious racing. You can cheat like I did and put the shell on a more capable chassis and hope at a distance they don't notice.

I found this on youtube where someone fitted some better front shocks.

https://youtu.be/mL5GVpptW4g

I'd just practice driving it like crazy and beat them with skill.

[Pintopower 1456]

So, as the owner of 30ish Hornets, I have to say that I love them. I even have three at work (one for me and 2 for who ever wants to come out to the park at lunch) that are used daily. They are awesome buggies for a couple reasons. First off they are simple. Second, they are pretty much perfect out of the box (says the guy the made SuperFly). I agree with everyone on silver cans and bearings. Thats all the upgrades they need.

Now, at AMPro, I like to say that I can make anything simple complicated. If you NEED to upgrade your Hornet, go nuts! I will give you some advise though. The Hornet chassis is very weak in certain areas and upgrades like front oil dampers will most certainly break the front off of the car unless counter measures are taken to distribute the load. Most shocks are also way too long for that and do not allow for total compression of the front wheels. I also would not advise the costly and sought after You-G shocks as they will bend just looking at them on the shelf. The CRP front end is pretty cool if you dont mind major work to the chassis and I also have a double wishbone front end that bolts right on with no mods.

So basically, the bone stock Hornet was perfect when it came out and is perfect to this day. Just know that the more you upgrade it, the less Hornet it can become and that is not necessarily a good thing. I went through great lengths to keep the car a Hornet but make it better. They really are great cars.

Good luck and have fun!

[crazydave306 0]

Thank you for all your advice yes was just looking at little mods like shocks and upgrade motor my mate brought the brushless motor and said its crazy just wheelies was looking at the crp mod I also was told you need to cut chassis and precautions I need to take I am mechanically minded so I'm not a complete dip s@@t

[Pintopower 1456]

Thank you for all your advice yes was just looking at little mods like shocks and upgrade motor my mate brought the brushless motor and said its crazy just wheelies was looking at the crp mod I also was told you need to cut chassis and precautions I need to take I am mechanically minded so I'm not a complete dip s@@t

Yes the CRP modification looks good and I think you can find them here on this site that other people have done. Does your friend have the brushless in a hornet? I have an upgraded stock motor in one of my hornets and it's already way too fast for the chassis. I know people put brushless systems in hornets and grasshoppers but I can't imagine that they're even drivable at that point. Keep us posted of your plans.

[crazydave306 0]

Yes he has got a brushless and said its super quick but maybe I'll go for just a tuned one? Also was looking at the anti thread stearing from a lunch box does any know if they fit a hornet?hes put lead in the front to keep it down not sure if it works

[Nitomor 2122]

Here's my big wheeled Monster Hornet with a 4300kv Brushless. I was actually quite impressed how well it handled brushless. The big wheeled setup absorbs a lot of the bumps which negates the need to upgrade the front shocks. It's also wider so resists roll over better. Brushless is clearly not the sensible approach but here you go anyway!

[crazydave306 0]

That is sweet loving the big wheels as you say it helps with the roll what mods you do to fit them bad boys on?

[Nitomor 2122]

Just midnight pumpkin/Lunchbox/Mad Bull stub axles on the front and cut the bumper down a little. You also need the wheels and tyres (Lunchbox, Pumpkin, Montero).

It also gives the Hornet more ground clearance so you're not ripping the battery hatch off every few seconds. That combined with a Lipo makes it really lightweight also. The only issue as you can see from the video is the back starts hopping at speed as its so light. I do have a sort of 5th shock mod but it is only so effective before it becomes overwhelmed.

[crazydave306 0]

Thank you nitomor I see them in aluminium for the lunch box that is what makes me think that this might fitTamiya Lunch Box Upgrade Parts Spring Steel Modified Anti-Thread Steering Tie Rod With Servo Horn - 1 Set Blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013U9YU1C/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_d2lhwb0AY14GP

[crazydave306 0]

Tamiya Lunch Box Upgrade Parts Aluminum Front Knuckle Arm - 1Pr Set Blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012A7HHYM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_A6lhwbWCENG0T