HPI Recon

[pugs2300]

so i bout 3 of these for my step sons cousins...they are always wanting to play with his or my 1/8 scale M/T's so i figured these would hold them over till someone could get them a better rig...they loved the trucks and i must say i like them to...one problem i have had with them is the drive shafts...they are very weak plastic...they break one every 3-4 times they play with them...which I'm ok with but I'm not ok with the 30 dollars it cost for a new set every time they break one...i don't under stand why parts are so expensive on these little cars...i mean the shaft is like 3 inches long and plastic...in the 30 dollar bag you get two of the little shafts two little axles and a couple springs....i have never needed any of this except the shafts and a few times the spring...as you could imagine it is frustrating to have to spend this much on tiny little parts that i could get for a 1/8 scale cheaper....and having to buy so many parts i don't need (the axles)...so my question is...is there any cheaper or even just stronger drive shafts available for these things...at this rate its not gonna take long to have enough in these to have covered the cost of a stampede or something...this one little problem has about set me against HPI....i mean it seems to me that the whole point of this thing with its 100 dollar price tag would be a low cost entry level vehicle....which it is...but with parts this expensive i think its doin more harm than good...i know if this would have been my first rig and i seen these little parts being so expensive i wouldn't even have looked at larger vehicles for fear that parts would be ridiculous...

 

[tmaxxfreek]

I bought my mini recon before the parts were available, and I'm disgusted with the prices, they are some upgrade "kits" HPI is offering for them but I'm not sure if the axles are part of the packages or not, I'm gonna buy a stampede for my daughter soon and ill put a brushless setup in the mini recon to beat the brakes off it.

 

[pugs2300]

i have another question...i know there are a few other trucks that are basically the same thing as the recon...is there any parts availability for those and are they any cheaper...what are the other versions of the recon called and who makes them....?

i think its funny the chassis kit is like 20 bucks and its 30 for the little tiny drive shafts that will break 1000% times more often...last HPI vehicle i will ever buy...not because of the quality of their other vehicles just because i feel like i was duped...the more likely it is to break the more it is...no matter how small the part may be...

 

[hamz9561]

The Traxxas Mini eRevo and the Associated RC-18T are in the same size class and both are tougher out of the box and have tons of after market support.

 

[tmaxxfreek]

Agreed 100% ^^^^

i have a mini revo and i have been rough on it,and i havent replaced anything from breakage.

some of the Rc18 stuff is compatable but I'm not sure what all will interchange but the wheels.

 

[pugs2300]

true but are they 100.00 for a new one...thats what really drew me to the recon...i wanted to get the kids (step sons cousins) something to play with so they wouldn't feel left out of the fun and seeing as i would have to get three of them the recon fit the bill perfectly...its really a same the parts are so ridiculously high...the kids and i actually really like the truck...i was actually thinking about getting one for myself until they started breaking the shafts left and right...i wonder if the shafts for an rc18t would fit...i found some metal one for a fair price...that being said i did (about 5 minutes ago) just find four of the stock ones on ebay for 9 bucks...that is aceptable but i think that was just someone parting one out or something because thats the only place i have seen where you could get 4 shafts and none of the axles and springs...so that option will not be there every time i need it....

 

[hamz9561]

The RC-18T was my first hobby grade truck and it was fairly tough out of the box. I did upgrade to CVDs because they have a habit of throwing dog bones. They have the RC-18MT at Tower Hobbies for $149.99. Here's the link:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKCC2&P=SM

 

[MudSlinger33]

I have learned to stay away from any mini hpi rigs, even there 1/10 rigs don't impress me. Nothing will compare to the quality and durability of there 1/8 scale cars.