How should I clean my HPI RS4 RTR...

[brh986]

I have an HPI RS4 RTR (porsche 911T body, not that it matters) that I never really used alot until last weekend. I ran about 3 or 4 tanks through it and had a blast. The only problem is that thing is dirty as all hell. It is covered with a wonderful sludge that I'm sure is a delicious combination of unburned nitro fuel (nice and greasy) and burned rubber from the tires. It's coated absolutley every part of the car inside and out. How should I clean this? I assume its not great for the car to get all gunked up and I also assume there is some procedure I should be following to clean it up. I really want to run it tomorrow but I kind of want to clean some of the crap out before I make it worse.

On a somewhat off topic note... I was recently at the model shop (before I sludged up my car) and the guy commented that my RS4 was one of the nicest he'd ever seen and that it was probably worth a good chunk of change since HPI switched to a shaft driven design. He said some "racers" would probably be willing to pay me what I paid for the car new if not more. Basically because all the guys that are seriously into this stuff want belt driven cars rather than shaft driven. Is what he said true?

If so why does everyone want belt driven? It looks like a HUGE pain in the ass to change the belts when they break and also sticks and other debreis love to get caught in the belts. Seems to me like shaft driven would be relatively maintence free.

In any event if belt driven is more desirable to those really into this stuff I'd be willing to trade for a lower maintenance shaft driven car...:redbuggy:

 

[RatzoRC]

I will only touch on the cleaning issue. Get a can of Nitro cleaner from your local hobby shop. It's made for cleaning all that crap off the car.
If you can't get nitro clean, try denatured alcohol. put it in a spray bottle and spray away.
With both of these cleaners, you dont want to soak the electronics, but not a big deal if it gets a little overspray.
These 2 cleaners evaporate fast so any spray in the electronics should be safe, just dont get crazy with spraying them.
Others, and me included will sometimes use a degreaser.
watch out for the electronics with this kind of stuff. wont evaporate.
spray it on, then blast it with an air compressor after it soaks in for a few.
Hope this helps. Good luck

 

[Digital Liquid]

Try some Non-Chlorinated Brake Cleaner from you local auto parts store or even wal-mart. You can find it for less than $2 a can & works like a champ. It is pressurized & comes w/ a nozzle so you can get into all the cracks & crevices. I would recommend not spraying it on any electronics. It dries fast & doesn't leave a residue. That's all I'll ever use to clean my stuff.

Later....:mex:

 

[brh986]

No opinions on the shaft vs belt thing?

 

[craer]

I used to have a nitro RS4 2 which was belt driven and I used to have a lot of problems with rocks getting stuck in the belts when I ran in parking lots etc. When the belts get ran a lot they stretch pretty good so you have to replace them often and it's a pain to replace them.

 

[SilentWov]

I use warm water, dawn, and a sponge to clean the body, and a paper towl sprayed with window cleaner for the chassis. Works great. I'm gonna have to try the brake cleaner, that sounds good too.

 

[joneser4u]

I had the origanal RS4 with belt drive I had it moderatly upgraded,it was a major pain in the ass to maintain. Not only the belts but the sprocket on the rear diff kept getting trashed,combination of unprepped surfaces and to much power. I bought the RS4 3ss with the shafts and still had the belt drive car. The belt drivin car even though it was a lower hp mill (HPI 15ss) was faster than the shaft drivin ( HPI 12r ss). I thaught the shaft drivin car handled better and had more consistant handling. Now I only own shaft driven HPI's

 

[NitroM3GTR]

I actually use a dremel to clean my R/C cars. It works surprisingly well with the black brush tool. There are two things to worry about, however. You'll want to stay away from or remove electronics because the wires can get caught in the tip, and don't use it on aluminum parts-it will put a black tarnish on them. You also have to worry about the adjustable chuck. It has a little grip on it and it will scrape anything it rubs against.

As for belt vs. shaft, the only advantage of belts is that they are better for racing, somehow. I'm not sure why, but hardcore racers seem to favor belt-driven cars. It's also true that a racetrack is not going to have debris to get in the belts. I like my GT-4, though, because I don't have to drive it all the time; my brushless drifter cures my R/C driving itch until I get to a smooth surface.