Hotshot Hop-up Parts

[mariog7]

Hello. After many years, I came back to electric RC and just purchased the Hotshot re-release.

My question is - where can I find hop-up upgrade parts for the hotshot? They seem to be very hard to find, at least in the US.

Thanks!

[94eg!]

As far as I know, the ball-bearing set is the only hop-up Tamiya has specifically made for the HotShot re-release. If you want vintage hop-ups from the original hot-shot, you will have to search eBay. Just make sure you set your search to "worldwide" in the box on the left because there are tons of sellers in other countries that don't specifically market to the US. The best hop ups for this car IMO (besides full bearings) would be the Parma Bump-steer eliminator kit, and the Parma upper control arm brace. These two mods fix the major issues with front suspension without much in the way of side-effects. Beyond that, I suggest a Tamiya Sport Tuned or Super Stock motor, and a good coat of Tamiya anti-wear grease on the diff bevel gears for added limited slip effect. That's all the car really needs (until you start getting into mod motors ).

[mariog7]

Thanks for your comments.

I want to really push this with a high-end brushless motor. What can I do to stabalize the vehicle so that it can handle the power? I was thinking about packing the diffs with 500,000 wt diff lube to slow down the diff play and save the gears. Is the hotshot diff sealed or will it leak?

Any ideas? Any motor recommnedations? I was thinking about the Mamba Max.

Thanks.

[markbt73]

You can't really "pack" the Hotshot diffs. There isn't a diff housing like there is in more modern cars; the bevel gears just sit in slots in the spur gear. The whole gearbox is enclosed, but the diffs are open to the rest of the box. Coating the gears with Tamiya AW grease or Associated black diff grease (both of which are sticky, so they stay put) is about all you can do.

[GTodd]

Whats the name of the dual rear shock kit they offered?

[terry.sc]

The official Tamiya hop ups were the Superchamp underguard and the Hotshot HP Suspension kit which upgraded it to the Supershot dampers.

There were loads of hop ups for the Hotshot produced by CRP, You-G, RW Racing, TMS, Hot Trick and many others. You'll just have to keep watching ebay.

As others have said there isn't a diff case to pack. You can put whatever motor you want into it, just don't use the kit aluminium pinion. Just remember the faster the motor the more it will understeer. Running a Mamba Max will mean the front end will lift when you accelerate and will have no chance of making a corner.

[94eg!]

You can put whatever motor you want into it, just don't use the kit aluminium pinion.

Does anybody make "steel" 0.8 module pinions? I've never seen them before, but I would love to switch up once I wear out my current collection of aluminum ones...

[Shodog]

The really hot hop up was a set of thorp ball diffs. These allowed you to use hotter motors without fear of roasting the bevel gears

[Wireless]

Hi Guys,

Some interesting replies here. I too have a couple of the Hotshot re-re's, one of which I intend to build and run. Realistically, what is a tidy motor for the Hotshot...? I recall that running my original Hotshot a few years ago (before I restored it), I had a 27t stock motor in there and it was nice and punchy but was no faster than UKClaire's silver can powered Monster Beetle.

Given the Hotshot has a complex early (and very lossy) 4WD system, I was thinking of something like my old favourite - the Super Stock RZ. IIRC it's a 23t motor with lots of torque (500gcm) and a reasonable top end. It's almost like a modern Technigold in terms of performance. I would prefer something punchy that a flat-out top-ender because lets face it, the old Hotshot, although good in it's day, is no handler in this day and age. I'd like to stick to a Tamiya motor if possible. What are the newer dirt-tuned or GT tuned (?) motors like...?

Ideas appreciated, provided this isn't too much of a thread hijack...!

Regards the OP, as Terry said, brushless in a Hotshot I very much expect would equate to a terrible car to drive. Assuming you don't already have a brushless setup to try in the car, before going through all the expense of acquiring one, try a cheap low-turn brushed motor in there (one of those 15 bargain-basement 'disposable' motors) to see what it runs like. Chances are it'll handle so badly you'll want to revert to a slower motor anyway and save all the money of buying a totally unsuited brushless.

The way a car drives is not necessarily improved with more power or grip. The Hotshot, IMHO is about right with anything between a 19t and a Sport Tuned. It just 'feels' right with that sort of performance. I can equate it to my (now sadly sold) Gravel Hound. After trying numerous motors in there, I reverted back to my original Super Stock RZ (yes, *another* one of those...!) because it just felt so 'right'. To this day I have not driven a more forgiving car that went perfectly right out of the box. Everyone that drove that car could pick up the controls and drive the wheels off it against much 'hotter' competition.

Regards the upgrades, although I have an HP suspension set ready to go on my car when it built it, I quite like the way the Hotshot drives with it's monoshock setup. It's old school and that means dodgy suspension geometry, slop, power understeer and body roll. The HP tightens it right up in terms of roll and dive but doesn't get rid of the bump steer. I would say get a Supershot undertray/guard if you can. Still a few on eBay from time to time. Cheap protection for the bottom of the car. Also, I agree entirely about the alu pinions. Switch to steel before it wrecks the spur gear, especially with hotter motors...

[94eg!]

I fear the use of HOT motors in the Hotshot will be limited by your gearing options. I ran my original Hotshot with a 27T Kyosho LeMans Stock 05 motor, and had to use the smallest 13T pinion to keep heat under control. The car was fully ball-raced, and used a vintage no-limit Novak race ESC. It drove brilliantly with the Parma bump-steer kit & control arm brace installed. In fact, most, if not all, the other drivers had a seriously tough time keeping up driving their B4 buggies (they were novices).

As for the Thorp diffs, I think their current price makes them a pretty unreasonable hop-up...

[markbt73]

Does anybody make "steel" 0.8 module pinions? I've never seen them before, but I would love to switch up once I wear out my current collection of aluminum ones...

I believe Robinson Racing makes them. They call them "metric 48 pitch."

[94eg!]

I believe Robinson Racing makes them. They call them "metric 48 pitch."

Those are 0.6 module found in most newer tamiya like Avante & onward.