Hot Bodies Lightning Pro

[RobH]

I bought the Hot Bodies Lightning Pro:

This buggy has a bad rap due to the RTR version before it and the misconception that price dictates quality. I hope to use this thread to prove this buggy is a diamond in the rough and not a Duratrax wannabe. We will see.

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

Congrats on your buggy purchase!

 

[WoodiE]

Mind sharing with us where you purchased te buggy?


-WoodiE

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

It says in his post that he bought the Lightning pro.

 

[WoodiE]

I didnt ask what he bought, but WHERE he bout it.


-WoodiE

 

[RobH]

www.rcboyz.com

http://www.carttonic.com/catalog/in..._productinfo&uid=466&pi_id=37203&clist=0,9323

I, however, snatched up the last one they had in stock (called on the phone and made the guy go back and look at the stock).

I'm sure there are other places that sell them at this price. A little bird told me about this place. *cough* (another R/C board) *cough* I could ask about other places.... :whistle:

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

my bad! Looks like I got hooked on Chronic and not hooked on phonics.

 

[merkman]

they are tough as hell ans can keep up with my buddies gs storm that he has broken several times

snuggens

 

[RobH]

Looks like I'm comming home to a present from the men in brown.

I'm a little excited, but I can keep my cool.

 

[Supernitro17]

after driving it put up what you think especially about quality , I'm looking at getting their dirt demon this summer but am unsure about the build and parts

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

Good by DuraTrash hello fun! Congrats man.

 

[RobH]

Last night, I got a good look at my Hot Bodies Lightning Pro. I took this thing out of the box and the sheer weight of it and the solid feel all the parts have just made me say "HOT DAYMN!". If you think the low price means junk, you are dead wrong with the Lightning Pro!

Here are some pics: (my camera gets a little fuzzy at times)

These things are huge. Here's a side by side with my son's 1/10 scale Max BX buggy:

Now lets take the lid off.

Better view of the other side.

Check out these 4mm 7075 aluminum shock towers.

(I'm holding a quarter next to the tower to show you just how thick they are.)

Front Shock Towers:

Rear Shock towers:

3mm 7075 aluminium chassis:

All of the screws on the bottom are countersunk (so you can put those bodies on that wrap underneath):

I don't know what these are called but they look beefy and I have them front and back: (the 7075 suspension holders maybe)

Aluminium Shocks

I read the stock tires are one of the weak aspects of this buggy:

They seem very solid to me. If this is a weak aspect... jeez

Last but not least, the .21BB mill:

My camera made another fuzzy picture, but it says "Hot Bodies 3.5" on the side of it. It's the .21BB from the Savage with the HB name on it. This is not a hardcore racing engine, but it's included for $340. I could sell this new .21BB on ebay for $70-80. That drops the cost of the buggy down to what $260?

I can't explain how thrilled I am with this purchase. I'm sure if you place this buggy next to one that has $2000 put into it, there would be no comparison. Since many kyosho hopups are a direct fit on the HB Lightning Pro, I too could dump thousands of dollars into this buggy. That being said, look where I start. If I sold the engine for $80 on ebay, I'd have a "kit" for $200 less than the basic Kyosho Inferno MP 7.5.

Hot Bodies Lightning Pro is a big bang for the buck. After, seeing it in person, there is no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice. I don't plan to race it, but if I ever want to, my options are wide open and I've got a very solid base to build on.

To wrap this up, if anyone is thinking about buying this buggy and you can't find the information you need, I will be glad to measure parts, scan in manual pages or anything you need to make an informed decision

I'll post again after I see it go.

-rob

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

before you get way ahead of yourself have you even ran it? Have you ever ran another buggy to comarpe it too? I am glad you like it and not trying to slam you but before you go endorsing it take it to a track. Let us know how fast slow the turning was, if it had under or oversteer. How easy is the engine to start? Is it easy to tune and can it keep a tune for a 15 minute main? Let us know how it handels jumps and how is its center of gravity and chasis roll? See these are all things that buggy people care about. A beatiful buggy is really nice to look at but how does it perform I am really interested?

 

[nitro dave]

Thanks for the pics and the initial review, now give us the goods when you run that thang.

 

[Supernitro17]

i also want to know how it runs, but for dif. reasons

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

you know I was wondering why that buggy was so cheap. It didnt come with a radio did it? Did you buy a radio already?

 

[merkman]

i don'tr have the pro but the rr holds up well against my buddies storm. i changed the diff grease and springs now it will rotate and launch out of the turns. 100k center 50k rear whatever comes in it in the front this works well for me. over the small jumps it lands nose first.

 

[RobH]

humboldtblazer, this is NOT the RR version. It comes will all th hopups and an engine but DOES NOT INCLUDE a radio. What does the kyosho inferno mp 7.5 come with for $500? even less.

You do make a good point. I don't know jack about buggies. Otherwise, I'd be ExpertRob.

I do, however, have lot of experience with trash. I know a cheaply built R/C when i see one. The Lightning Pro is not a cheaply built R/C. My praise is purely from a quality standpoint. At this price, I was expecting more junk, honestly.

Finally got to run it! 8-0

I broke it in and put a total for about 8 tanks through it. This is not a racing engine, but jeez does it fly! At tank 7, I started opening up the throttle. It was hauling butt at break-in settings! Tank 8, I leaned it out a tad so it didn't run so rough. I still had way too much smoke comming out the pipe, but it sounded better. The performance kicked it up another notch as well.

At the end of tank 8 and some WOT, I whipped out the temp gun and it was 220-230.

I would be running it today, trying to lean it out, but the weather is not cooperating.

I like it. It's stronger and faster than anything I've owned and didn't cost a whole lot. It should be fun to bash with.

-rob

 

[RobH]

Also here is a link to someplace selling them for $329 (only 10 bucks more than I paid)

http://www.hpisavage21.com/lightning_pro.htm

 

[RobH]

more racing results:

A-Main 1/8th Scale Buggy


HB Lightning Pro (slammin' Sam) - 16/10:21.850
Kyosho MP7.5 Kanai - 16/10:33.080
Kyosho MP6 - 16/10:37.040
HB Lightning Pro (k_bojar) - 13/10)03.908
OFNA Ultra - 10/08:16.548
GS Storm - 1
OFNA MBX - DNS
OFNA 9.5 - DNS
OFNA 9.5 - DNS

humboldt was asking how it handled. Good enough to beat a Kanai.