HPI Recon

[theant]

Hey, any thoughts on the new Recon? Does anyone have one of these yet...other than Beason. These little guys look pretty sweet for the price you pay for them...it almost seems to good to be true! Christmas is right around the corner, and my little guy would love something like this (so would I).

Just wondering if it is as durable as it looks, anything good or bad you might have to say about it. I couldn't imagine this being a really bad purchase, seeing as it is an HPI product. I am just feeling a little cautious about it because of its price....you dont normally get much for a hundred bucks these days! It can do 20mph out of the box, and in the near future, I'm sure that there will be a ton of upgrades for these things too.

Anyways, any feedback would be appreciated as always. And even if you dont have one or dont plan on getting one....any thoughts?

Thx

 

[jtboogie]

Great little truck, way more power than i expected. Only downfalls I would say about it is the front tires on mine kick out away from each other a little bit and the only way to fix the problem is to ditch the cheap non adjustable plastic turnbuckles and upgrade to the adjustable kit from rcplanet.com, also the battery door is really hard to get the body pins off that hold it closed, however with the size of the truck you can just leave the battery in the car and charge it with it in the rig. Other than that just waiting for the upgrades such as tires and such to pop up. INCREDIBLE buy for the price though.

Also does anyone know what the name of the plug on these batteries is called because I would like to purchase an end and make a lead to use on my triton 2 charger so I don't have to wait 4 hours for a charge. Thanks in advance for the help with this.

 

[tmaxxfreek]

I have had the truck for about 3 weeks, good truck overall for the price. it does need a smooth surface to run on......i have ahd a few minor problems with it......the bottom cap of the shock pops off and looses the fluid, the rear dif is very loose, more power goes to the front dif....I'm sure it can be tightend up some i just havent messed with it. also the wheels are weak and flimsy.......i would definatly tighten up the rear dif upgrade to the rc18 wheels and try to find some shocks to replace the ones on it.

 

[MudSlinger33]

I have had the truck for about 3 weeks, good truck overall for the price. it does need a smooth surface to run on......i have ahd a few minor problems with it......the bottom cap of the shock pops off and looses the fluid, the rear dif is very loose, more power goes to the front dif....I'm sure it can be tightend up some i just havent messed with it. also the wheels are weak and flimsy.......i would definatly tighten up the rear dif upgrade to the rc18 wheels and try to find some shocks to replace the ones on it.

I had the same problems with hpi's brama 18b, all 4 shocks leaked, both diffs stripped and the a-arms were very week. Now I am very hesitant to buy another hpi mini rig.

 

[theant]

Yeah, I dont think that I am too interested in taking on another money pit! Maybe I will just stick to my original plan of getting the big bores and a steering servo for my tmaxx. It sounds like HPI needs to work out some bugs first before they have a solid rig. In all honesty, you can't really expect much for that price. I just dont want to have to go and buy a whole bunch of new parts for it right out of the gate. Thanks for the heads-up guys.

 

[MudSlinger33]

If your still interested in a 1/18 MT, the mini LST is built like a rock.

 

[theant]

The mini lst looks awesome! But where can you buy it? Is this truck a new losi product? The mini 8ight would be a great little rig too, but double the price.

 

[MudSlinger33]

I believe the mini LST is a discontinued product from losi. You might want to try ebay. I will see if I can find someone that still sells them.

 

[tmaxxfreek]

I have heard alot of good about the losi desert buggies as well that will be my next mmini purchase.

 

[MudSlinger33]

The only place I can find that still sells the mini LST2 is Hobbycom.com.

 

[theant]

Ok, thanks for your help, I'll check it out.

 

[olds97_lss]

The mini-lst was also plagued with diff/center diff/axle issues. At least from what I read. I had one for a little while as I had gotten it in trade. Ran it a few times, but nothing major, then sold it as it was too big/fast to run around my house. Had an upgraded brushless/mamba in it.

 

[MudSlinger33]

Could have been from the castle brushless setup. I ditched the center diff and went with a spool.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I bought a Raminator a few years ago. Plastic ring and pinion. $120 for the steel upgrades. Buh bye.

 

[jtboogie]

HOLY S*&^ 120 just for the ring and pinion upgrade?? Thats insane. And i thought them wanting 30 to 40 for little upgrades for the recon was bad.

 

[MudSlinger33]

Its 60 bucks to upgrade to metal, viscous diffs for the MLST.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I found em for 60 each in'09. I took it personal that losi put plastic diffs in any rig. Next mini I'm goin for is a Helion. Probably their 1/10th sct too. Ironically, Gil Losi Jr. runs Helion.

 

[MudSlinger33]

Wow! 60 for each! Heres the kit nowadays...http://www.rcplanet.com/Losi_Diff_Conv_Set_p/losb1250.htm

 

[jtboogie]

Also what action from the truck suggest that the diff is loose?

 

[Greywolf74]

If I was gonna buy a mini MT Id go for a Savage XS however these are also not without problems. You probably need to replace the ESC at some point. most people that I've read about eventually fry the stock ESC at some point.

Only mini I know of thats pretty much perfect out of the box is the mini losi 8ight.