HPI RS4 3 Type SS parts compatibility?

[Runn4est]

Hi, first time poster. I haven't been in the RC scene for many many years, as I'm sure you can see from the car I'm asking about. I'm now at the stage in life where I have a young son starting to get into RC and I thought it would be fun to try and rebuild my car for/with him, however being old, I assume parts will be hard to come by.

The reason I shelved this car so many years ago, was because right before college I wrecked it pretty good and broke a few parts. Off to college, and life was different. I believe the parts I'd need at a minimum are all suspension and subframe related. I broke the front left arm and frame and lost the axle. Are there parts that I can buy or upgrade from newer rs4 3 models? Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Doom!]

Welcome aboard, can't answer your question, but hopefully someone who knows what they are doing will be along shortly.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Welcome in @Runn4est , I would take a look around here for starters. Also check ebay for parts. I have seen bearing kits and screw sets available.

 

[Chubaka]

Welcome to the site.

Https://www.hpiracing.com/en/parts/441/std

Start buying. Limited 85030 arms at $20 one front one rear.

Front axles are pricey. Rears non existant. Stock up as much as you can. Last 6 month these got popular and parts are drying fast.

I would buy a new car and sunday drive this one.

 

[Runn4est]

Welcome to the site.

Https://www.hpiracing.com/en/parts/441/std

Start buying. Limited 85030 arms at $20 one front one rear.

Front axles are pricey. Rears non existant. Stock up as much as you can. Last 6 month these got popular and parts are drying fast.

I would buy a new car and sunday drive it.

Thank you! I will start digging!

 

[gandalfnz]

Welcome to the site.

Https://www.hpiracing.com/en/parts/441/std

Start buying. Limited 85030 arms at $20 one front one rear.

Front axles are pricey. Rears non existant. Stock up as much as you can. Last 6 month these got popular and parts are drying fast.

I would buy a new car and sunday drive this one.

What he said.
If you are lucky enough to have this rebuilt and running again, you better look after it and use it sporadic.
Parts are really hard to come by and can be quite pricey.
You might be even better off just getting an complete RS4 off eBay.

Or, you could try what I am doing at the moment for my boys is to buy/build an HSP flying fish model, which is almost an exact clone of RS4 3, for which parts are super cheap and still available from China.
This allows you to thrash it as much as you like.
For the price, these cars are very good and durable, engine runs great too.

 

[Runn4est]

What he said.
If you are lucky enough to have this rebuilt and running again, you better look after it and use it sporadic.
Parts are really hard to come by and can be quite pricey.
You might be even better off just getting an complete RS4 off eBay.

Or, you could try what I am doing at the moment for my boys is to buy/build an HSP flying fish model, which is almost an exact clone of RS4 3, for which parts are super cheap and still available from China.
This allows you to thrash it as much as you like.
For the price, these cars are very good and durable, engine runs great too.

Awesome advice thank you. I told my wife I feel like a relic. I left the scene for a little and now I'm seeing all this Nitro is dead stuff on YouTube. I'm like dang, I'm now "that guy" stuck in the past reliving my glory days

 

[NCNitro]

Welcome to RCT. There's a few of us here with RS4s, and even one RS4 hoarder lol. I have two myself, an original RS4 3 rtr and a RS4 3 evo. But like @Chubaka said the popularity of these have skyrocketed recently. Parts are getting hard to find, and if you do find what you need the psrts have gotten very expensive. Good luck with it, post some pics and we'll help you get it back running.

 

[gandalfnz]

and even one RS4 hoarder lol.

I only got 5. Thats less than 6!

Awesome advice thank you. I told my wife I feel like a relic. I left the scene for a little and now I'm seeing all this Nitro is dead stuff on YouTube. I'm like dang, I'm now "that guy" stuck in the past reliving my glory days

can't put a price on Nostalgia.
We are all in the same boat.
I don't think nitro will ever be dead, and is on a bounce back lately, in saying this, it will never be as popular as it once was, due to battery tech advancement and ease of use.

Check this thread regarding the flying fish model, thread starter is super knowledgeable on these, so he can help you get started.
I strongly suggest you take your time rebuilding the RS4, and get yourself a basher FF, which you dont have to worry about breaking when you crash, and you WILL crash it.

Good luck!

Thread
https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/thunder-tiger-evo-12-swapped-into-a-kyosho-fw-06.135556/

and this one

https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/build-engine-swap-thunder-tiger-into-hsp.135441/

 

[NCNitro]

I only got 5. Thats less than 6!

So six the magic number to be considered a hoarder ? You've got 5 sweet ones, I would like to add a Super RS4 to the stable, but the body prices for those are insane!

 

[gandalfnz]

So six the magic number to be considered a hoarder ? You've got 5 sweet ones, I would like to add a Super RS4 to the stable, but the body prices for those are insane!

Still got room for a few more.
Yea, same I'd like to obtain some more variants of RS4, such as super or smaller one which I think is called mini?

 

[Runn4est]

So, I got some parts from eBay and Amazon. The good news was fewer parts were broken/damaged than I thought, but taking y'alls advice, I still bought a handful of stuff. I was able to find axles, but the guy cancelled my order because he was out of town.

I'll try again on that, because although I found the axle I thought I was missing, it was definitely bent. A little gentle hammer treatment got it to good enough for now. She cleaned up pretty nicely, despite the mish mosh of parts being used, but I ran into some trouble.

I had a bunch of corrosion on the battery pack and connectors. Because of that, I cut some wire and spliced it. I got everything connected and worked up, threw some batteries in it, and when I flipped the switch, nothing. No little blip for the servo recenter or anything. Admittedly, my batteries are not 100%, but I didn't even get a twitch. What am I missing here? Do I just need to resplice or could it be the receiver? Thoughts are appreciated!

Here's some pics too.

 

[alfredwong2003]

Try to put the battery connector directly on the receiver and just be careful with the polarity. Red should be in the middle to rule out the battery/battery holder or the switch.

 

[Chubaka]

Totally jealous of your wheels and motor and motor mount.
I would also remove the corrosion on the terminals and try new batteries. Usually a mix of batteries come from different places leaving mixed volts and mah.

 

[gandalfnz]

Beautiful, can't wait to see it run.
Send us some videos...

So SS version is the same as EVO 3+ except it came in a build it yourself kit?

 

[Chubaka]

Beautiful, can't wait to see it run.
Send us some videos...

So SS version is the same as EVO 3+ except it came in a build it yourself kit?

Its a kit, has turnbuckles, and a machined diff thats more of a speed ratio. The regular rs4 diff was casted pot metal. I think it has a few more goodies like the 18ss motor and HD cups at the end of the dog bones.

 

[MR4X4KING]

If you have part numbers let me know I have a bunch I am going thru

 

[NCNitro]

If you have part numbers let me know I have a bunch I am going thru

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Damn! That's a whole lotta awesome right there!

 

[Runn4est]

Ok, so I broke out the voltmeter and determined my battery pack wire was too corroded. I cut the wires, soldered new wires off of the terminals...woo hoo, 6.5V.

I wire it up to the switch, and still nothing... check voltage... switch is bad. I took apart the switch, soldered new wires to the terminals and boom! Servos work! But, this is the crappiest wiring because my original corroded wires had to be cut back pretty far.

Took apart, my transmitter... corroded. Sensing a theme here?? Haha. The power wires were totally shot. I tried to solder that to the board, and I'm pretty sure I fried it. My output shows negative when I hit the switch, which I think means it's shorted. Oh well.

So now I need a new transmitter, which I assume means a new receiver. Do the receivers today work with my 20 year old servos?

If you have part numbers let me know I have a bunch I am going thru

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This is amazing! Right now I'm good on parts, but when I get settled in, may inquire about some spares!

 

[WickedFog]

So now I need a new transmitter, which I assume means a new receiver. Do the receivers today work with my 20 year old servos?

Yeah, a new transmitter will come with a new receiver. There are lots of choices for transmitters. Some good ones to look at in the budget friendly range that I see folks using are the Flysky GT3B (3 channels) or GT5 (6 channels), Radiolink RC4GS (5 channels) or RC6GS (7 channels). Also the Spektrum DX5C. I have both the Flysky Tx's and love them. If you have a fatter wallet, look at Futaba or Sanwa.

And to answer your other question... yeah, your old servos will work just fine.