Recommend me a 4wd buggy (any brand)

[B.RAD 237]

Having said that there does seem to be a lot of spares on eBay at the moment for the Dirt Hog, so might not be all that bad. Any thoughts on this buggy?

[Frog Jumper 3297]

25 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

Thanks Terry. Very useful to know. I must admit part of the fun so far has been modifying, upgrading and improving the Tamiya kits I've done. Parts haven't been all that easy to source given the current circumstances, but generally I've been able to get what I need. 

Something like the Dirt Hog would be especially hard to service and maintain though I guess?

I can’t comment beyond what I posted regarding Kyosho.  Sorry.

But I’ll give you my honest thoughts.  I’ve wanted a 4wd car for a while.  I’ve also figured out over the last few years that I enjoy building and upgrading and moding more than driving.

With that in mind I eventually pulled the trigger on a Fire Dragon. It’s not the most modern high tech 4wd out there and most new one will stomp all over it on a track. But I can’t mod a brand new Kyosho.  And Traxxas sucks. And the other companies seem to be either cheap or targeted towards racing or crawling.  So I ended up with something familiar, doesn’t need separate tools (imperial if I get an Associated), and has plenty of issues that need modifying etc.

I almost got a TT02b since that one is easy to get and widely supported.  But ground clearance seems to be an issue.  And it doesn’t have the “vintage” feel of the TShot cars. But I may still get one for an on road and flat dirt track runner.  Don’t tell my wife...

Terry

 

[B.RAD 237]

On 5/14/2021 at 10:40 PM, SupraChrgd82 said:

Kyosho Lazer - simple plain vanilla modern buggy

I've just won an eBay auction on a Kyosho Lazer ZX5 FS2 SP. Simple is good with me! It was a good price and comes with all electrics inc motor etc and a load of spares. I'm very excited to try it and compare to my current fleet! May have to take a trip to a pump track now ☺️

I'll take some photos when it arrives and will do a bit of a strip down to check everything and report back 👍

[B.RAD 237]

The Kyosho Lazer ZX5 FS2 SP (what a mouthful! Going to have to come up with a new name for it, can't go around saying that all the time!! 😆) arrived today.  As with all things eBay, it's not quite as good as it looked in the photos, but it is at least intact and nothing seems to be broken. I remain happy with the price I paid for what is a "proper" racing buggy and it came with a brushless ESC and motor combo and servo too, plus a 5000mah 2s shorty lipo too. And a whole massive bag of spares for all the critical bits, plus the original items where upgrades have been fitted. So all in not too bad for the price. I've no idea of its history, but I'd like to think it's been raced given the money that's clearly been spent on it.

First impressions are good. What a leap from the models I've built so far! Shocks all feel good, the suspension is very smooth and the level of suspension and geometry adjustability is phenomenal, certainly way out of my league. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions about that soon! 

Some photos:

Quite a good looking thing I think. I'll be needing new wheels and tyres soon, not much life left at all, but will be good enough for grass track bashing in the garden.

The seller made it clear in the ad that he had taken a Dremel to the chassis to make space for a shorty lipo (included) and that all that remained to do was drill a hole for the supplied battery post and fit a strap of your choosing. I actually hadn't noticed that bit of the ad when making the purchase 🤦 but no bother, the bits were there and I have some handy bits of perspex leftover from making timing struts for sprint cars.  Photo above shows the chassis modification, which is pretty neatly done, and the pen mark where I laid the battery in and put the post where it needs to go.

Drilled the hole and made use of a countersunk bit...

Measured and cut out a strap from perspex and drilled the holes out to suit the machined recess in the post nuts. Et voila!

First bit of personalisation/modification complete.

I have also now installed a receiver, although the only one I had spare is the Carson stick transmitter set that came with the Mad Bull, which isn't a terrible thing, but it's not the most ergonomic of stick transmitters. I velcro'd the receiver in place so can easily change this if I decide to upgrade the transmitter. 

Final step before a maiden test run is to charge the battery. The shorty lipo supplied is a different type of battery than any I have (Tamiya, Traxxas and deans) - it just has these 4mm post holes in. Unfortunately this means I have no way of charging it. I did a quick Google and see that the battery should actually come with a double ended charge cable to enable charging, but this wasn't supplied by the seller. All credit to the seller here though, as a message on eBay was instantly responded to with an offer to send out a cable in the post immediately. Hooray!

Hope it arrives soon as I'm itching to drive this thing! 😁

[Kelleye 30]

Db01... Great 4wd... Better tgan most out the box 😁

[B.RAD 237]

Quick update - one short run, and I can tell this thing is gonna be awesome! Turn in, grip, speed, it's all there in spades. So different from anything else I have!

I did have some problems however. First, the servo wasn't working. Had a spare so swapped that over. Second, the motor ran fast in reverse, slow in forwards. I've had to switch the motor to ESC wires around, and change the throttle switch on the tx to get it running right. Third, the motor pinion instantly fell off. The grub screw was completely rounded out. Fortunately had a spare with me so got that reinstalled. Then finally the slipper clutch gave out. I think it's just the spring adjustment, but I need to take it apart to check. Not the ideal first run! 🤦 But what time it was working shows some real promise. 

Where I need help is the following, if anyone can help in any way, I'd be most appreciative:

Any links to spares suppliers, specifically for a slipper clutch and other core items. Or if anyone has any bits they wouldn't mind selling please let me know.

Would anyone have a ZX5 bodyshell available? I don't think the one supplied is for a ZX5 as it doesn't fit right. 

Set up sheets, ideally for grass running. Or anything to give me a starting point.

A source of the countersunk hex head bolts, lots of them are rounded out.

Thanks in advance all, any help or advice is very much appreciated!

[B.RAD 237]

Have done a strip down, found more rounded bolts, and fixed the slipper. The nut holding the spring was completely loose, so I've tightened and adjusted it. 

Just had a run in the garden - wow! This is completely different to anything I've had before. It's so responsive, and the back of the car flicks on turn in, making it so sharp and quick to turn. It's a blast! 

[Big Jon 591]

As late as I am, I've been enjoying building this DB-01 a great deal. It's fairly racy right out of the box, and with a few hop-ups, I'd call it a full on race car. TRF suspension, plastic tub, shielded driveline. Lots of diff and slipper options to fool with.

[B.RAD 237]

Lots of love for the DB01 which is great to see. Sadly not available to purchase anywhere at the mo, as that would have been my go to buy without even asking! 

I've just had a great session with the Kyosho, running a full battery pack through it with no major dramas. Found more bodges from the PO in the form of a drilled out servo arm, so the ball connector kept pulling out. Fortunately I had spares with me, so popped the appropriately sized servo arm and a fresh ball connector on, and cracked on. This buggy is so, so good. The handling is sublime. It was far quicker than any of the other cars running today, even those with faster motors, just from a pure handling perspective.

Next on my list is some grippier rear tyres and a spare shorty battery, and we're good to go!

[Matty36 267]

It looks like a nice buggy, tyres are a big tuning aid in racing though, too much rear grip and they understeer. I have an old losi xxx4 buggy that I will be using on a track. It is quite amazing how much different a full race buggy, or touring car is to the basic ready to use models that are available.

[B.RAD 237]

Cheers @Matty36, I actually ordered some new wheels and tyres for it yesterday. It was a lot of fun on the old tyres as it would slide a lot, but a bit more rear end grip will make it an absolute weapon!

[djmcnz 752]

On 5/20/2021 at 10:05 AM, Kelleye said:

Db01... Great 4wd... Better tgan most out the box 😁

This. Fantastic chassis.

A few NIB's on eBay right now for not unreasonable numbers.

[Wooders28 4315]

15 hours ago, B.RAD said:

Found more bodges from the PO in the form of a drilled out servo arm

I swap all my cars (where I can) to a solid aluminium servo horn, as a run metal geared servos. Helps remove any play/flex in plastic ones.

15 hours ago, B.RAD said:

The handling is sublime

That's modern buggies!

Vintage models look so much better, but modern certainly go better.

Enjoy!! 

[B.RAD 237]

6 minutes ago, Wooders28 said:

swap all my cars (where I can) to a solid aluminium servo horn, as a run metal geared servos. Helps remove any play/flex in plastic ones.

Ah ok, good tip. I was just lucky I had a suitable horn in the spares I happened to take with me. I'll run it like this for a while then upgrade to a metal horn once I have it all apart again.

Have bought a second shorty battery now too, so max runtime is now available! Can't wait for the new tyres to arrive.

[Wooders28 4315]

36 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

Have bought a second shorty battery now

I tend not to get 2nd hand lipos, as you never know the life they've had, so just keep an eye on it.

I've started upgrading to liHv lipos, I'm hoping less voltage sag, and with them able to be charged to 4.35v per cell, charging to the standard 4.2v ,should mean a load safer too!! 

[matisse 1485]

5 minutes ago, Wooders28 said:

I tend not to get 2nd hand lipos, as you never know the life they've had, so just keep an eye on it.

I've started upgrading to liHv lipos, I'm hoping less voltage sag, and with them able to be charged to 4.35v per cell, charging to the standard 4.2v ,should mean a load safer too!! 

I read that as he had bought a second battery , not a second hand battery. Either way good advice on not buying second hand.

Centro Shorty lipos are sub £30 and readily available in the U.K. 

[matisse 1485]

Btw, time to rename the thread!

[B.RAD 237]

@Wooders28 second battery, not second hand 😉 I was tempted by a lihv battery as it was on sale on Modelsport, but it doesn't look like my charger supports that. Is there any difference in charging a lipo or a lihv? 

@matisse yep bought a Centro one! And yes, I'll rename the thread now, but it ought to be moved to the Kyosho section too 😊

[matisse 1485]

Nice. I had an OG ZX-5 for a while, great car. 

[Wooders28 4315]

10 hours ago, B.RAD said:

second battery, not second hand

Misread that! 🤓😂

 

10 hours ago, B.RAD said:

I was tempted by a lihv battery as it was on sale on Modelsport, but it doesn't look like my charger supports that. Is there any difference in charging a lipo or a lihv? 

I got a couple from them, when they were on offer ,think they're £40 the now. 

If you've an LCD screen charger, you should be able to set the finish voltage, it should be 4.2v per cell for lipo. You could up it to 4.35v, but I'd just leave it at 4.2v (legal limit for racing in the UK anyway) , for transmitter lipos, I charge to 4v per cell.