Anything I should know/buy when I get a 5B SS Kit?

[olds97_lss]

Just curious what I should prepare for when I buy one. More than likely going to pull the pin and order one in the next month.

1) Break-in?
It's been 20 years since I had anything that ran on pump gas that required a break-in period. Even then, it was a yamaha 175 dirt bike. I'm assuming there's a process in the manual, but we all know how break-in processes are...

2) Tires.
I'll be running on a mix of pavement and grass about 99% of the time and will be about 50/50. What tires hold up? Are there any that are larger diameter to add a bit of clearance in the rear without adding a lot of weakness due to leverage? Will 5-T rims/tires bolt on? Tower shows the stock tires being about 1" taller.

3) 2-cycle oil.
Can I just pick up some generic lawn mower/weed wacker 2 cycle or do I have to use hobby specific oil to mix in the gas?

4) Shock oil.
All the descriptions I've read only state that you need a radio/receiver, receiver pack (sub-c), T/B servo and gas to complete the kit. Is there shock oil in the kit?

5) Filter oil.
Does the air filter require oil like our 1/10 and 1/8 filters? Can I use K/N filter oil (I have some in spray and bottle form for my 1:1's)?

6) Spare parts.
Any thoughts on what I should order along with the kit? e-clips, size of nuts/bolts to have on hand, spur gears, plugs...

7) Durability
Braces, supports, things to watch out for when building (stripping of threads and whatnot), skid plates, etc. Things that will help make it through a day of bashing. If you know me, you know performance is rarely my goal, but durability is.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[CosmosGoat]

1) Take it easy on the first tank. Then let it rip. The motor will really loosen up after about a gallon.

2) For mixed running Hostile All Terrains are you best bet for B side tires. You can run 5T tires but will need different rear wheels and foams. If you go that route I would recommend the Hostile Crushers. They are said to grip well and hold up to pavement. I run Hostile MXs on the rear for grass/dirt and slicks for pavement. If you run 5T tires you may want to swap the 20 tooth drive gear in the trans for the 19 tooth 5T piece.

3) The kit comes with oil for your fist 1/2 gallon. I run Klotz synthetic oil. Just about any synthetic will do and is better than dyno jiuce.

4) Yes. However i have since upgraded to a silicone oil rather than the standard oil.

5) Yes it does. Its a 2 stage foam filter. Stick with the foam. It has had the best results. I also run an outwear pre filter.

6)I keep a plug, pull starter, and shock shafts on hand when bashing. No matter what you have extra you are bound to break something you dont have. Those are the main things though. The shock ends tend to break on bad tumbles.

7)I havent had any durability issues with mine. I beat it pretty good and only broke and upper front A arm and tie rod so far. Things to add for durability are:

pull start outerwear
Killer suspension limiting cables
Turtle Racing Shock mounts
RPM arms
Turtle racing top and trans plate


The build is a ton of fun. The manual is very good. You dont really have to worry about stripping threads IMO.

Get a good 2.4 radio and add a kill switch to the order. a 1/5 scale 25+ lb runway is scary.

 

[olds97_lss]

I forgot to ask about the t/b servo, is 172oz enough?

Thanks for the other info. Will definitely look into all that as I run it.

 

[robmob]

Above all else, get yourself some Outerwears for the pull start and air filter. Since you are getting the SS, you may as well get Outerwears for the crankcase as well. The engine and pull start like to suck up grass.

You also should consider getting the RPM front and rear bumper. A little extra protection is a good thing with your driving style.

172oz will be fine for the T/B servo.

 

[CosmosGoat]

Above all else, get yourself some Outerwears for the pull start and air filter. Since you are getting the SS, you may as well get Outerwears for the crankcase as well. The engine and pull start like to suck up grass.

You also should consider getting the RPM front and rear bumper. A little extra protection is a good thing with your driving style.

172oz will be fine for the T/B servo.

Good point. I have the RPM bumpers too and love them.

 

[savagefan04]

Hey Olds - Welcome to the addiction. the baja is a boat load of fun. 45 minute run times and very little tuning. my only advice is try to stay away from all the type on the new parts. Buy hop ups as required or needed.

1) Break-in? its best to go easy for the first tank then slowly increase the throttle. i went easy on my engine for 2 tanks and like said above it started to wake up around the gallon mark.

2) Tires. Hostile Racing has you covered when it come to tires. AT will give the best blend of grip and wear IMO. 5T will bolt right up since they are the same hex size.

3) 2-cycle oil. Most people, me included use Klotz oil but DDM has a few different oilsyou can choose from.

4) Shock oil. Yes the kit comes with shock, filter and 2 stroke oil to get you going

5) Filter oil. Yes and would recommend you get either a redneck 2 stage filter or outerwear prefilter.

6) Spare parts. You may want to keep e-clips on hand until you do the front e-clipless axle mod. the front wheels tend to fall off after a solid tumble. aside from that I'd say a spare plug, maybe a set of rear arms or stock shock shafts.

7) Durability - the truck is pretty stout out of the box, but with anything will need some love after a few hard runs. Most people upgrade the front top plate and rear tranny plate to Turtle racing parts. I've also seen a few people just double up the stock plates since most people just give them away or sell for cheap.

Hope this helps.

 

[WoodiE]

Above all else, get yourself some Outerwears for the pull start and air filter. Since you are getting the SS, you may as well get Outerwears for the crankcase as well. The engine and pull start like to suck up grass.

You also should consider getting the RPM front and rear bumper. A little extra protection is a good thing with your driving style.

172oz will be fine for the T/B servo.

+1

Also you can save 5% off if you buy from LargeScaleRC.com or DavesMotors.com by using coupon code: LSF

 

[olds97_lss]

More than likely, largscalerc is where I'll be buying as they offer free shipping as well. I didn't check daves, will have to give it a look.

 

[rccks]

You'll want to get a kill switch and shock limiting cables from Killer Rc. if you don't get the cables I would pick up an extra set of rear shock shafts, the rod ends seem to break off easily if you land the wrong way(if you jump it, if not they shouldn't be a problem) and I say shock shafts because HPI loves your money and makes the rod ends part of the shaft, so you can't just replace the end.

 

[olds97_lss]

You'll want to get a kill switch and shock limiting cables from Killer Rc. if you don't get the cables I would pick up an extra set of rear shock shafts, the rod ends seem to break off easily if you land the wrong way(if you jump it, if not they shouldn't be a problem) and I say shock shafts because HPI loves your money and makes the rod ends part of the shaft, so you can't just replace the end.

I'm guessing the kill switch is hooked up to a 3rd channel?

There's no way around the rod ends issue on the shocks?

So, so far HPI has dropped the ball on a few things.
1) screens for the air flow of the engine
2) shocks with molded rod ends on the shaft
3) some trans support plate
4) Front top plate
5) wheels rub on the rear arms
6) e-clips holding on the front axle hubs

Some of these I understand, but really 2,5 and 6 are just plain stupid. Reminiscent of traxxas putting a .15 in a monster truck... lol

 

[JessF]

you'll want at least a 250 oz servo for steering
http://www.greathobbies.com/productinfo/?prod_id=HITHS5755S

for throttle, any in the 150-172oz range will do if you lengthen your brake lever (getting more leverage, ya know!) otherwise, a 333oz servo is a good choise. you need a lot of torque to bring the beast to a stop if your brake lever is stock.

kill switch is a MUST, but that's been said already.

shock limiting cables are also a good upgrade, whether you make them yourself or buy them. saves your rod ends and shocks in general.

as for filters, the stock one is great, but a POS to remove and clean.

I've got two Uber RC airfilters, uses a simple hose clamp so it's easy to get on and off. you'll need their V-stack or one similar from DD motors.
http://www.uberrc.com/category-products/17.html

anyways, just my 2 cents. eitherway you'll be super pleased with your purchase.

down the road you may want to get some kind of alloy clutch bell carrier and clutch bell, Daves discount motors carries their own model, the Turtle racing setup is really popular, but uses proprietary pinion gears and clutch bell so you have to buy from them. The stock plastic carrier was the first item to fail with normal use, the problem is the bearings heat up and warp the plastic, then your pinion gear wobbles and chews up your pinion.

metal spurs, not needed. Keep the stock plastic one, perhaps upgrade to the Hostile spurs cause they handle heat better without melting. I keep the spur as the point of failure in the drivetrain because it's a cheap part to replace AND it's easy to remove.

 

[robmob]

I'm guessing the kill switch is hooked up to a 3rd channel?

There's no way around the rod ends issue on the shocks?

So, so far HPI has dropped the ball on a few things.
1) screens for the air flow of the engine
2) shocks with molded rod ends on the shaft
3) some trans support plate
4) Front top plate
5) wheels rub on the rear arms
6) e-clips holding on the front axle hubs

Some of these I understand, but really 2,5 and 6 are just plain stupid. Reminiscent of traxxas putting a .15 in a monster truck... lol

6 has actually been addressed with the 5SC. Honestly though, if you properly shim the front hubs the e-clip is a non issue. I have yet to have one pop off on any one of my Baja's.

You will quickly find out that you will need extenders to prevent rollovers. If you get them, #5 goes away.

Nothing wrong with stock front top plate and tranny plate. There are just aftermarket options that significantly improve strength in these areas.

The molded shock ends is BS. I have went through a few before I installed the Killer RC limiting cables.

I don't run a kill switch. Never installed the one I have had for over a year and recently sold it.

 

[JessF]

I don't run a kill switch. Never installed the one I have had for over a year and recently sold it.

would you run a failsafe then on the throttle servo.

I think most of the guys over on the HPIbajaforum would advise against running without a kill switch.

i got a stick caught in my throttle linkage once, a failsafe wouldn't be able to put on the brakes, without a killswitch to kill the engine, what could I have done?

a 25lbs runaway can do a lot of damage.

 

[olds97_lss]

Well, to be honest, neither my savage or my aftershock are light and they probably top out at a higher speed than the baja. I just run regular fail safes on those too. It isn't like their linkage is protected either.

 

[JessF]

the kinetic energy of an HPI baja at 9.6kg running full speed at around 40kmhr is around 592j

what does your savage weigh, like 11lbs? Running at 40kmhr that's around 277j, if you bump that up to 50kmhr you get around 433j.

weight and speed matter when it comes to how much energy is delivered.

The savage is roughly half the cost of a baja, so there's another reason to protect your investment apart from protecting other property.

 

[yammaha]

one thing i think you should know is that their SWEET

 

[olds97_lss]

the kinetic energy of an HPI baja at 9.6kg running full speed at around 40kmhr is around 592j

what does your savage weigh, like 11lbs? Running at 40kmhr that's around 277j, if you bump that up to 50kmhr you get around 433j.

weight and speed matter when it comes to how much energy is delivered.

The savage is roughly half the cost of a baja, so there's another reason to protect your investment apart from protecting other property.

My savage, 16 lbs, ~ $900, top speed 35-40 mph (56-70kmh).

I get what your saying.

 

[olds97_lss]

Well, the order has been made!!!! YAY!!!!

So far, no upgrades, but will probably snag a high-flow can pipe off ebay (ford durability and noise reduction) and will try my hand at making cable shock limiters. I ordered a 4300mah venom receiver pack along with it. Any idea how long a 4K pack lasts with the 1/4 servo? Just curious as I'm guessing it's longer than a tank of fuel.

 

[JessF]

a tank lasts me around 40-45 mins. I top the battery off before every outing, seems to do the trick. ONly one of the servos is 1/4 scale so that might help.

 

[savagefan04]

you should easily get tank with that pack, maybe 2 tanks depending on how agressive you are withthe throttle.