Some little questions for Hotshot series owners

[BuggyDad]

A few quick questions (and there might be more to follow):

Have you gone for tyre foams? I'm kind of thinking no point in the sturdy oval blocks but everything else I've got has them on the back at least. 

Are you happy with the springs on the Super-Hotshot front and rear? Or would you recommend anything else over them? I ask because I've got to buy some front springs so I'd like to buy the most appropriate ones, which kit ones aren't always. 

What pistons and oil have you gone for? 

Have you got any tips for freeing up or improving anything in the drive train? Mine is, I suspect, pretty reasonable for one built stock but there are a lot of gears to turn and the platform is famous for its resistive drive train. 

And then a not so easy one - has anyone found any other diff options in recent years? There used to be MIP but that's in the past now, and some others a long long time ago, but I haven't seen anything recent. 

Oh and does anyone know what the difference is between A-type and B-type arms? 

https://www.rcchannel.com.tw/product_info.php?products_id=640

https://www.rcchannel.com.tw/product_info.php?products_id=641

I probably don't want to buy any of these but I'm interested to understand what's out there because I do think at some points it's likely I'll either rearrange the rear suspension to take the shocks rearwards and/or make some of my own arms front or rear for reasons of resilience, camber, caster or something else. 

I thought I'd give this it's own mini-thread since my build thread won't be of interest to most. Mine's a Boomerang, and will be fairly modified as they go, but I don't think that's relevant to any of these questions. 

[markbt73]

You definitely don't need tire foams. Those tires hardly flex even when you squeeze them.

Can't really help with the rest, sorry. I have an old Boomerang and a re-re Bigwig, but they're both essentially stock.

[Juggular]

I use "Badhorise diff lock grease."  It's like melted caramel, turning the diffs into Limited Slip Differential.  The company is US-based, last I checked, they were out of stock. It's so sticky, it's hard to fling out. I practically use it for all my open-diff buggies.  "3Racing ultra high viscosity diff oil" is something similar, but a bit less tacky. I think it's still stickier than AW grease. Tiny bit of that might be useful.  

As for oil, I go as light as possible without rebounding (could that be any more generic?)  My vintage Hotshot's so sloppy, stiff oil did not matter much, so I went with something on the light side, if I remember correctly.  Pretty soft on re-re Bigwig too.  

 

[toyolien]

Info from RC Channels site re: A vs B:

A type is compatible:
TAMIYA front suspension 19005867/9005867.
TAMIYA rear arm 9115192/19115192 R Parts.
Example : Hot shot & Super Hotshot

Will fit the following cars:
57785 RTR Hot shot
58047 Hot Shot I
58054 Super Shot
58391 Hot Shot (Re-Release)
58517 Super Hotshot 2012
84265 Hotshot 2007 - Metallic Special

 

B type is compatible:
TAMIYA 9005867/19005867/0005119 F Parts under suspension arm.

Will fit the following cars.
47330 The BIGWIG (not use the damper stay)
58055 Boomerang
58062 Hot Shot II
58066 Super Sabre
58418 The Boomerang (2008)
58710 Blockhead Motors

[BuggyDad]

Thanks for your help folks!

[ThunderDragonCy]

8 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

Thanks for your help folks!

I think the main difference between those RC channel parts isn't the arms themselves, but the shock mount. The HS2 and Boomerang have much longer levers for the monoshock. 

[BuggyDad]

34 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

I think the main difference between those RC channel parts isn't the arms themselves, but the shock mount. The HS2 and Boomerang have much longer levers for the monoshock. 

Ah ha. That would make sense. I was looking at them not to buy but just because I was/will be considering different suspension configurations. I've seen at least three dual shock front configurations and as many at the back. 

I also noticed some nice other small parts on RC Channel - useful brackets and some drive shaft boots I'd like to try. Their suspension shafts are Tamiya quality but I need two more for the arrangement I've ended up with.