None to impressed with the Losi XXX Mini!!!!!

[30%NitroBoy]

Whaddup guys and gals,

Well, After waiting two weeks on a waiting list @ my favorite LHS I got my Losi Mini a couple weeks ago. All of the LHS's around town that I've talked to said "they're selling them faster then they can keep them in stock".

Well, I got the one with the silver body which I defintiley prefer to every other body colors (lt. blue and red I believe). Setup was easy of course (RTR...duh..lol). The stock motor seems to have good/descent power for a stock motor and I can get it to wheelie with relative ease. I've heard that Team Orion is going to be releasing some new motors for it soon and that would definitley be worth looking into. It's seems to be a scaled down version of the regular Losi XXX which I've always liked but what's up with these cheesy ass el-cheapo phucking shocks. They definitley should have included some cheap plastic oil filled shocks as that's one of the most "adjusted" and important things in the freaking hobby. Not being able to change oil weights for different applications totally sucks. I'm sure somone will offer many companies will offer "hop-op" shocks soon but the stock shocks are totally unacceptable IMHO...I don't care if it costs $150 or $250.

With the instant popularity of this car I'm sure it's going to be a huge indoor and outdoor dirt track race class but I wouldn't wanna race anything with the stock setup and especially the chincy shocks.

I'm assuming (more wishing) that they'll be releasing a kit version soon with some factory hop-ups (like Team Ass. does with allot of their cars and trucks). I sold it to my budy today and If Losi doesn't come out with a better kit or something I'm sure Team Associated has something in the works. My verdict on the RTR Losi Mini xxx is good-fair @ best. Many people will say...."Dude, it's only $150 bucks..and Dude they're going out with hop up shocks". I'm a saleman and you can't sell a good salesman....lol. It's definitley a fair buy but a real Losi Mini speed control would have been nice and @ the least cheap oil filled plastic shocks so you can adjust the oil weight.

EDIT- The other reason I got rid of the car is because I'm so sick of weak ass 27mhz Am which everyone and their mothers and children run in my area. Apparenlty if you want to run a stronger frequency you have to replace not just the reciever but the speed control too as everything is tied in.....forget about it.

The cool thing about the mini though.. I was suprised bye a solid 34-45 minutes of run time with 4 AA alkaline batteries and my buddy says it's noticably faster with a stronger 7.2V rechargable mini battery pack.

Peace

 

[FastEddy]

Your review was accurate if nothing else.

One thing to keep in mind as you mentioned is that it is only a 120-150.00 toy. If you go to radio shack you will pay the same for a lesser RC. In the mean time its a great RC for beginners to get into the hobby with a better than department store unit and the hop ups again as you mentioned will be available soon.

The only way that my attitude differs from yours is that I see all the things you point out as a negative I see as a positive. Its all in the way you look at it and what your expectations were before you purchased it.

Your article was a very fair one that should be read before someone goes out and purchases one.

Keep up the good work.

-Ed

 

[Error401]

Hell, at 150 it be a great toy to do some hit and runs with the hamsters.

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey guys,

I think I spent 1000US in the past two months on general hop up parts, broken parts and other cars and trucks...lol. I'm a hardcore RC addict and like many I got back into the hobby recently...you guys know the drill. This hobby like many is expensive and especially if you want what many precieve as "the best". You don't always have to spend big bucks to get the "the best" but it's all to common in this hobby UNLIKE many for people to fork over big bucks when often you definitley don't get what you pay for. I think for even $150 which isn't cheap in life in general but relatively cheap for this hobby that the Losi should have come with cheap plastic oil filled shocks for what would have cost Losi another 5 cents a car in production (damn, nice run-on sentence..lol). THey know the car is going to be popular as hell and they know that people are going to buy the "hop-up shocks" so they don't include them. This to me is a slap in the face but very common in this hobby IME and nothing to loose sleep over..lol
I can get over the lack of shocks and would have bought upgrade shocks as soon as they came out but I can't get over the fact that I can't slap in a nice little $40 Futaba digital Reciever that goes with my nice Futaba FM digital radio so I can run it on a stronger frequency....oh well maybe they'll come out with a nice little kit.

I will elborate on one great feature of a mini electric like this. For many people the biggest turn off of Electric VS. Nitro is the short run times that often come with Electric cars or the fact that you have to buy expensive batteries to get slightly longer run times.

This mini and more to follow will represent a great leap in RC as they appeal to people like my friend that wanna play with their toy for more then 15 minutes before changing battery packs (assuming you have more charged). Like I said above I got a full 35 minutes or so of great power from good ole AA Alkalines with the Mini and that's freaking cool IMHO. My friend got a solid 30 minutes of run time with even more power with a good matched cell "mini" ni-cad pack.

To each their own

Peace

 

[Error401]

True. The micro RS4 was worth the 100 odd bucks I initially put into it (note the initially part). It was solid and had a decent radio. The speed controller worked, though the brakes and reverse kind of pissed me (and alot of other folks off), but it did work. The main difference between it and the losi is the radio. The truck itself looks as decent (out of the box) as the micro rs4, but the radio is what is wrong with the setup. Propriatary steering servo and an integrated Rx/speed control? That's cheezy, and that's why I haven't gotten one yet. The after market parts will come, and will afford people the options of having a unique micro truck. Personally I think it's cool to be able to do that. HB, FastEddy and I all have hopped Micro RS4's, and all of then are unique though they are all based on the same design. HB's is probably the fastest (sick-o), but all are pretty cool unto themselves. I just hope Losi doesn't overlook this concept and try to force the end users to use some propriatory crap like it seems they tried to do with the radio.

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Whaddup Error,

Well said bro and it's relly going to upset me if Losi or another company doesn't come out with some kind of pre-assembeled car in the near future that I can add my nice little Futaba Recievers too.

$150 isn't a good deal for the MINI IMHO but $200 was a great deal for my Electric TC3.

I also have a tricked out HPI RS4 (payed $200 with a mad motor and every hop-up they make but not reciever or radio). I'll post pics here pretty soon.....she looks suh-weet with a yellow viper GTR body that seems to look longer then alll the other body styles that I race with.

Peace

 

[Error401]

I had some pix posted of mine, they might be in my gallery, and I think there was a thread with links to them too, but I took the pix on my website offline recently. In a nutshell, mine has an all aluminum front end (stock upper arms and wheels), carbon Ratzas upper, lower and rear deck, HPI mod motor on 6 cells, Orion SC, JR radio, aluminum rear end, and the NSX shell.

I like the NSX because it's wide and seems to drift better (wider is better, or so they say). I had a 911 shell on, and it was ok, but I really like the NSX.

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey bro,

Sounds like a sweet little Micro. My micro is all custom carbon fiber with more mods then I'm really aware of..lol. It's a parts build done by a hardcore RC buddy of mine. Now where's the NItro Micros?? I'll get back to yooz with pics and stuff. IME the NSX and the VIPER body are the best all around...period. Mine came with the BMW M3 body and I didn't care for it whatsoever. I love Micro class cars and that's why I was some bumbed about the Losi Mini....oh well. I'm sure all the big RC companies will follow with mini trucks in the next year. A Micro Nitro savage would be suh-weet..hehe.

Peace

 

[Error401]

I had the same idea a couple of months ago. There's an engine company that makes an .061 and I think an .07 for litemachines helis. Norvel, that's it. That would be sweet to have a micro Savage, even if it was single speed.

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Originally posted by error401
I had the same idea a couple of months ago. There's an engine company that makes an .061 and I think an .07 for litemachines helis. Norvel, that's it. That would be sweet to have a micro Savage, even if it was single speed.

I'm sure their's a relatively good market for a Micro Savage in electic or nitro. If they do it, I'll be one of the first ones to buy it and report here. I don't c anyone doing Nitro Micro touring cars as they're raced outdoors and would be harder for some people to properly c on a large track.

I'm gonna have to check out that company Norvel, Maybe my buddies and I can build something.

BTW.....What do you think of the HPI Nitro RS4 3 Type SS that's for sale in the "sale and trade forum" error?? I'll probably end up buying it if it's in excellent condition as I'm really impressed with the stuff that HPI is coming out with and I'm sick of belt drives. My Sirio 3.0 powered 4-Tec pro is a phucking hotrod but it's not legal for the racing that I'm going to be doing this winter (assuming the track isn't iced over it's a blast..hehe) so I need a .12 powered touring car.

Peace and Thanks

 

[Error401]

The only onroad car I have is a old 4tec that's in pieces. I never could get it to track right and it just pissed me off. Almost noone in my area runs onroad, so I have no point of reference to go by.

HPI does make some top knotch stuff, and affordable too. I love my Savage and wouldn't consider another brand.

 

[NCNitro]

My wife, feeling guilty after buying a new wall unit when our old one was perfectly fine, decided to buy me a mini T. Well I have to say I am with 30%nitroboy on this one. I am not the least bit impressed, actually I must say I was quite disappointed, I expected more of it being it is made by Losi. It is slower than my 3 year old sons nikko. I can't put a receiver in it to work with my XS3, the shocks suck, I'm just very disappointed, IMO it's nothing more than an expensive toy, and I will most likely be selling mine, with only about half an hours use, or give it to my son. After running it for a little while, I put it back in the box, stuck it in the closet ( where it will most likely remain ), and broke out the XXX-NT for some real fun. I totaly lost interest in this thing already and have only had it a few hours. I give it 2 :thumbdown :thumbdown

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey NC,

I've read a chit load of your posts over the months and it's great to have ya on this forum. You'll read allot more of me here as I'm a total Rc addict with more money then sense...lol. I wish my wife would buy me chit when she feels bad about "upgrading" things in the house. "But honey, those curtains are looking old". It's funny you mentioned your sons "Nikko" as my nephew spanked me with his Tyco car.....big time...lol.

No disrespect to anyone BUT, When did this hobby degrade to the point that $150 for Mini T is a "cheap toy". Hell, when we started in this hobby ( before the Cox 0.49...lol) if you couldn't buy it how you liked it then you built it. For the cost of upgrading the stock Losi into a proper RC you could probably build one from a Mirco RS4 chassis..lol. Losi builds so many bad ass MOFO cars and trucks that I couldn't even begin. I think it's a slap in the face to allot of RC guys and gals and especially the Losi fans like myself.

They've become sucessful in making the most popular pre X-mas gift since "Tickle Me Elmo"...lol as they're sold out or selling out everywhere in this big city. I c them selling on Ebay for $200 shipped....crazy man.

I'm still drooling over the thout of a Nitro powered Savage Mini...sweet. Now excuse me as I go play with a real losi "TOY" like my XXX Graphite touring car.

Peace

 

[FastEddy]

30% and NC, your points are well taken.
Again I will say its all about your expectations.
I felt the same way when I purchased my Micro RS4. I learned that a stock 1/18 isn't like a 1/10th. After hopping up my Micro RS4 beyond recognition it still isn't like a 1/10th and never will be, its just not the same.

For me, the 1/18th brings joy in the ability to race in a small aria. I have a place in my shop that is 16x6. There is nothing like doing ovals around the shop while its raining cats and dogs outside. I go down to the local fire-station and race in the fire house bay for hours. Its amazing the track you can build with a garden hose.

The Mini-T ads another dimension to the small inside track, we can now have jumps and other obstacles to go over or around. Being a true RC enthusiast I take an rc for wat it is and compare it to others in its class. Trying to compare RCs outside their class isn't a true test.

I do think that Losi made a mistake not including real shocks and using proprietary electronics. That was tried with the Mini-Z and look where that got them.

I now have 3 1/18th RCs: Mini-T, Mini-Z, and a Micro RS4.
Out of the box I believe the Mini-T is the best of class.

Don't you love this Hobby!! We can bitch and complain about having fun. Long live RC!

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

how many batteries at what voltage did you use NC? The shocks are weak and for $30 you can get some tight ass ones, put a $30 servo, your own esc and rx and the thing is an animal I barely can control. I got my BB motor in there with a 6 cell 7.v and it does wheelies on command, and the thing couldn't turn any sharper. Put some dough in it like any entry level RC and this thing can be a bad ass, just my .02

 

[Error401]

Originally posted by humboldtblazer
Put some dough in it like any entry level RC and this thing can be a bad ass, just my .02

That's the cruxt of the whole discussion. I think the biggest beef is with the stock radio. On the mRS4, the radio was "standard" and you could replace the steering servo, or the Rx, or the SC seperately. But IMO the radio in the mT is the whole problem. If you wanted to upgrade the Rx, you gotta replace the SC and the steering servo too. Same goes with replacing the Steering servo, you have to replace everything else.

Another place Losi messed up is not offering the mT in kit form. The mRS4 has both version. One for entry level, and one for r/c geeks who like to build.

You are exactly right HB about putting a few bucks into the mT and making it a monster, but the majority of the guys that get this truck expect it to perform better than it does out of the box. And from reading about the steering problems and the power to weight ratio, I think alot of people are gonna be let down by it's shortcommings. Knowing you bro, I'm waiting for the 540 conversion to make it's appearance.

 

[NCNitro]

Eddy, at least with the RS4 you can replace the electronics with good stuff easily, as opposed to the mini T. The shocks are a complete joke, and it is way underpowered. I know it can be hopped up, but I guess I just expected more from losi out of the box.

HB, I used alkalines, and everything completely stock, to get a feeling for how good this truck would be out of the box. Needless to say I was very disappointed, and don't really see myself dumping the money in to this truck as I have with all my others.


Just my 2 cents and nothing more.

 

[WoodiE]

Originally posted by FastEddy
One thing to keep in mind as you mentioned is that it is only a 120-150.00 toy. If you go to radio shack you will pay the same for a lesser RC. In the mean time its a great RC for beginners to get into the hobby with a better than department store unit and the hop ups again as you mentioned will be available soon.

While I agree you make a good point, I wouldn't say it is a "valid" point. I mean how many of you guys out there still buy from Radio Shack or Wal-Mart when it comes to R/C? Granted both are still R/C's I feel department store R/C's are in a completely different field...kinda like golf and putt putt - both are a form of golf, but definitely not the same.

So far from what I gather the biggest problem is the radio gear, and according to this thread the shocks. Honestly for $150 or even $250 for a RTR I woulnd't expect top of the line parts out of the box. While I haven't been given the chance to check out the new mini-t yet I'd still recommend it as something to have a little fun with around the house and in the back yard - exactly what it was made for.



-Michael

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey Woodie -

Next time I'll send my new RC's that I don't like to you for Beta testing brotha..hehe.

 

[CRSMP5]

i just threw a hi-tech 81mg steering servo in mine, a orion speed control and a old receiver i had as spare incase i needed one... all i can say is wow.. it steers now.. as soon as i can find some pinion gears motor upgrade is next.. then one day ill find a deal on a novak micro fm receiver to use my jr radio with it.. but its still nice..