Team Associated RC8

[Amoeba]

With my drifter project almost done, I'm about to start the next project: Team Associated RC8 RS kit. Still trying to decide on an engine to put in there for the short term but eventually I'll start racing it this season.

More info and pics etc as it progresses.

 

[Amoeba]

Well, I've got her assembled for dial-in. Unfortunately I still can't find where the hell my kids hid the camera battery charger so no pics yet. I still need to paint the body and waiting on some parts.

I put in the HPI 4.6 Savage engine I picked up from h82luze temporarily to fire it up and adjust linkages etc. I had to dremel the mount cross-brace off the supplied RC8 motor mount which is designed for race engines (bump start) since with the rotostart or a pullstart it wouldn't fit. The 4.6 fired right up and required no needle adjustments (thanks h82luze!) and is quite a screamer with the JP3 pipe on it. I'm still debating on which engine to put in here for racing. I think for the short term I'll pick up an OS VG .21 since they're pretty cheap due to being discontinued and if racing seems to be something I want to drop more cash into I'll go with the OS V-Spec later on. I looked at the GO 5-ports but they don't do well with Jammin pipes which is what I have a couple of.

I've got 2 Futaba S3003 "weak sauce" servos in at the moment, waiting for my JR Z9001S & Z9001T to come in at the LHS. Somewhat overkill in terms of torque needed but I'd rather have too much than too little.

Overall I'm impressed with the quality of the RC8 kit. Very well put together and quality parts throughout. The destructions are well written and easy to follow and all bags are tagged & numbered to match build guide pages in the destructions. Since this is the ARR with RC8 service pack, the CF and hop-up parts included are sweet and she also came with an "extra" set of A-arms and tower struts which is a nice touch. "extra" because they're in fact the stock parts, the service pack parts were pre-installed.

 

[Lessen]

Cool man. I like Associated stuff. How was the fit and finish?

 

[Amoeba]

Cool man. I like Associated stuff. How was the fit and finish?

Freaking amazing. I have never seen a kit with this much attention to detail. I mean, they even provided countersunk machined washer rings for the servo horns fer crissakes.

 

[Lessen]

Freaking amazing. I have never seen a kit with this much attention to detail. I mean, they even provided countersunk machined washer rings for the servo horns fer crissakes.

that's a nice touch... but why wouldn't they just use a button head screw?

 

[Amoeba]

that's a nice touch... but why wouldn't they just use a button head screw?

Because under the servo horn is another machined o-ring that along with the countersunk washer locks the arm pretty firmly *to* the servo rather than *down on* the servo. With the countersunk screw you can lock the arm to the servo actuator without running the risk of stripping the threads or teeth (if plastic) of your arm or servo. Not a necessary thing but still anice touch. They could have gotten away with just a button head but everything seems to be geared towards light weight and little to no exposed bumps or surfaces.

 

[Amoeba]

Picked up a charger for the camera. I was able to grab a quick pic before the wife stole the camera.

http://s575.photobucket.com/albums/ss200/amoebacowboy/?action=view&current=rc8initial.jpg

 

[Amoeba]

I realized I've been slacking on posting updates to my projects threads.

This one has been weird. I have too many options now I initially got the kit built, running, and dialed in with a 4.6 Savage engine I had bought used from another forum member. I got to test out the buggy and test out the engine at the same time.

So, currently the RC8 is running 2 5200mAh 25C lipos. I had picked up a Novak HV Pro 6.5 from flm_savage so I decided to grab the RC8 conversion kit. The thing hauls monkeybutt running electric, rooster tails on demand even at half-throttle. I'll get some pics & vid up once this latest bout of snow melts off.

I also have the RC8 .28 engine that comes stock with RTR that I picked up from Racer_1966 that is still brand new & never run. My race kit came sans engine and wasn't an RTR. Since the e-conversion uses the existing center diff & a different spur, I ordered a 2nd diff setup. This way I can flip between electric and nitro with about 15 minutes of bench time. Again, pics forthcoming.

Once the racing season starts here I'll pop in the OS VZ-B VSpec .21 that came in this morning

So many choices....

Side Note: There are both nitro and electric 1/8 buggy classes at the track near me so this way I can do both.