Team Losi (TLR) coming back in 2025!

[ahr43]

Last three RCs built in my workshop started as chop shop (new) sliders bought off Ebay.

Losi, esp on the TLR side of the house, re-inventing itself could consider offering their product as an un-assembled roller without electronics. Thinking there is a larger market there than they know or are willing to admit. Shipping costs for a smaller package would come down as well - for everyone. -AC

 

[CertifiedMike]

What I don't like about RTRs is just how fad driven the market is:

"Buy all three new Groms! Heres the new Mini Maxx!! Be sure to buy the new Rlarro rally car too because your favorite youtuber said it's great! Be sure to buy all of our hop ups too like our $60 anodized turnbuckles!". Its like Tyco RC all over again!

RTR Electronics? Good for spares, I usually toss them into whatever I sell.

I agree completely! Youtube IS a marketing tool. All these positive reviews over a new "whatever" when the reviewers gave only run 2.5 battery packs thru them...
Its a red flag when the reviewers don't discuss or don't go back to follow up on long term reveiws or if you only see the review and no "builds" or "hop ups" videos afterwards. As if the car blew up after the initial video or wasn't worth persuing.
Fad R/C isn't new but its certainly been dialed-in "better". With Horizon almost cornering the market, THEY release "F1 or whatever" cars and hype them with "their" reviewers and everyone follows... I have NO place to run a 85 mhp parking lot basher... Why was I looking at them again???

I was born with Dorkface! Does this mean I can sue for infringment???
What if Dorkface sues ME?!?!

 

[RetroThutmose]

It's seems like HH vision for losi is to release detailed scale cars that perform really well. Things like the NASCAR, lmt, Baja rey, etc. very cool rigs, very scale looking, good performance too. But, none of these really fit anything racing. TLR line will be for racing chassis. Arrma will be for more budget and bashing line of rigs. So far, it's been working great. Arrma lineup is getting refreshed and updated regularly with great rigs for bashing at all levels. Losi has a good lineup of more scale oriented vehicles, all the reys, NASCAR, LMT, etc. TLR is the one brand that hasn't seen the fruits yet. Hoping they can release a really good 2wd and 4wd buggy chassis to keep competition with associated, tekno, etc.

 

[WickedFog]

When I see Losi, Axial, Arrma, etc, I see Horizon. Everything they make has an expiration date. Once it's expired, it's landfill fodder, because parts support dries up.

If the Losi group were split off and allowed to do their own thing, that may bring them back into the limelight. But I don't see Horizon doing that. And I don't see a lot of racers getting back into Losi if parts support isn't going to be there and stay there for at least the near future.

But I am not a racer. If I were though, it'd definitely be Tekno.

 

[CertifiedMike]

When I see Losi, Axial, Arrma, etc, I see Horizon. Everything they make has an expiration date. Once it's expired, it's landfill fodder, because parts support dries up.

If the Losi group were split off and allowed to do their own thing, that may bring them back into the limelight. But I don't see Horizon doing that. And I don't see a lot of racers getting back into Losi if parts support isn't going to be there and stay there for at least the near future.

But I am not a racer. If I were though, it'd definitely be Tekno.

Same. I don't get a "this is gonna be a "classic" from my Granite. Thats the same platform as a lot of their cars.

I THINK the Gorgon might become a "cult fav" because it was a "first car" for many and just a blast to drive over all! I equate it to my Hornet in a lot of ways.
i would LOVE to see a track running a "Gorgons only" race! I don't see the truck being a reliable weekly track racer wthout signifigant upgrades though!

Losi STARTED with an iconic design. Their entire point was to win races against the RC10.
Any deviation from that original goal of simply winning races is not true to the Losi name or brand.
I think Horizon is big enough to encourage organized r/c racing and help make it big again.
Clearly their marketing is MASSIVELY effective!
Maybe I'm just hopeful because my focus is also getting back to the track???

As long as this is an honest step towards traditional r/c "track racing" I'm happy over-all that TLR is coming back!!!
(Just please offer REAL parts support!!!)

 

[Lumikko]

TLR is the one brand that hasn't seen the fruits yet. Hoping they can release a really good 2wd and 4wd buggy chassis to keep competition with associated, tekno, etc.

Haven’t they taken multiple national and IFMAR World Championship titles with TLR vehicles?

 

[RetroThutmose]

Haven’t they taken multiple national and IFMAR World Championship titles with TLR vehicles?

Yes but I know they had a major parts shortage for their TLR buggies that pissed off a lot of our club drivers. There's still a few and a couple team drivers that do well. But you know how it is, everyone wants the newest thing and it's been a bit behind tekno and associated lately. I still have my 5.0 just haven't run it in a while.

 

[DavidB1126]

If anyone has seen the news yet and if this is actually true I highly believe TLR is going down. Dakotah phend leaving TLR. Rumors say he might be moving to Xray. Along with multiple other drivers....

 

[DavidB1126]

Well due to that because likely reasons are no new kit releases for 10th scale in the past 4 years and behind the scenes working with TLR is poor...

I'm happy with getting into 2wd with a 22 5.0. But in the future if parts support goes down, I'm building up a brand new AE.

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

drivers leaving doesn't mean anything. those guys trade teams more than pro athletes.

 

[DavidB1126]

Dakotah has been with tlr for 19 years. That is who held TLR together.

Another rumor saying that all of the drivers weren't getting paid.

If he switches to Xray that would make the most sense because Xray hasn't had a big name US driver since Ty retired.

 

[DavidB1126]

Horizon killed off TLR. I get it now. They are putting more money into RTRs. Look at what happened to Trinity, Duratrax and AKA

 

[sylentk]

The only Losi's I've bought recently were the mini's. RTR JRX2 and mini T 2.0. And surprise HH had a sale on them. IDK. The jury is still out. Kinda cool, but also kinda toy level. A little on the disappointment side. For example, all of a sudden the Tx for the mini t stopped working. I had to shake the Tx to get the mini T radio to work. Like WTH? The mini's are great for winter, indoor, living room tracks.....as long as they keep working. Outdoor? only on concrete I'd say. They just can't take anything even remotely rough or fast. They're just fragile. There are parts for them. But yeah, everything is tiny. E clips are my worst nightmare at this size.

I hope they bring back racing winning kits 1/10 scale. That's all I have to say about that.

Comparatively speaking:

My RTR Associated Pro4 SC10= Awesome

My Associated RC10T6.4 = Awesome

Not without a few hiccups of course. But I'm nerdy. Armchair engineer

There was a guy at the track with an Xray. Hooking up really good. I'll have to dig more into that brand. Times are a changing....

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

Horizon killed off TLR. I get it now. They are putting more money into RTRs. Look at what happened to Trinity, Duratrax and AKA

Trinity and Duratrax weren't doing well before wHorizon got there grubby mitts on them.
reason I'm not concerned is that iv lived through this Losi is dead stuff before. it was starting to become a thing in the late 90's and then wHorizon came along, everyone had a hissy fit, and then the XXX platform dropped and all was forgiven. then they neglected the crap out of that and everyone started talking about Losi being dead, then the 1/8 stuff happened. then they started to neglect that and people started talking about Losi being dead. then the 22 happened. now were talking about Losi being dead again.
wHorizon doesn't really kill brands, they just suck at supporting/updating anything long term. part of it i think is there size. i think they own to many brands to keep up with. and racing is a niche market so they give more attention to bashing to pay for the racing stuff.
just relax and wait for the jump scare.

 

[sylentk]

The first time I heard of Horizon is when they made the TQ10. Remember that? Still, as a kid, I was like, huh?

Ah memories.

Now look at them. Good stuff? Junk stuff? IDK

I wish the best for Losi. Hope Jr. is riding his mountain bike in happiness in the hills of sunny CA.

 

[Littlemotor]

As with literally everything Horizon touches-they absolutely ruined Losi/TLR… Hard pass from me on anything TLR, and I was a loyal Losi guy for years… Daaamned shame imo.. As was mentioned-The Phenom ran his last race under TLR/HH last night. I won’t miss seeing them on the track, and while he’s far from my favorite driver-it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a real racecar such as an Xray.. Every Losi/Team Losi/TLR/WTFever 1/8 buggy for the last decade has been nervous AF, delicate AF, and incredibly hard to drive.. Pair that with constant parts shortages, and a new model every 4mos-yeah nah… Not gonna miss them one bit. I just hate seeing what they (Horizon) did to Team Losi…

 

[CertifiedMike]

Maybe they have a new herd of drivers coming in?
I continually get this dirty feeling when I think about Horizon and their products.
All of them.
I plan to watch from a distance. Maybe they fix it, maybe not. It won't be with my money either way.

 

[WickedFog]

As with literally everything Horizon touches-they absolutely ruined Losi/TLR… Hard pass from me on anything TLR, and I was a loyal Losi guy for years… Daaamned shame imo.. As was mentioned-The Phenom ran his last race under TLR/HH last night. I won’t miss seeing them on the track, and while he’s far from my favorite driver-it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a real racecar such as an Xray.. Every Losi/Team Losi/TLR/WTFever 1/8 buggy for the last decade has been nervous AF, delicate AF, and incredibly hard to drive.. Pair that with constant parts shortages, and a new model every 4mos-yeah nah… Not gonna miss them one bit. I just hate seeing what they (Horizon) did to Team Losi…

I can remember getting back in the hobby about 10 years ago, and there were a few Axial and Losi kits I kinda wanted. A lot of those have been discontinued. Now it seems they're getting rid of the LMT's. I still had plans to grab the Son Uva Digger some day because he is my kids favorite driver. But not now.

 

[Lumikko]

it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a real racecar such as an Xray

Most 1/10 wheeler buggies have been basically Xray copies for years now, I’m not sure if it’ll make a huge difference in the hands of such a phenomenal driver.

Juraj Hudy did to these things what AE, Team Losi, and Kyosho did to the 2WD buggies between ’85–95: wrote the recipe that was the norm for the following 20 years. It’s telling that TLR, AE, Yokomo, PR Racing, and LR racing all designed their buggies while looking at Hudy’s homework. Schumacher is the only manufacturer you can tell apart from the others in the pit anymore.

If anyone has kept to racing with a TLR and has the logistics sorted out, they have remained seriously competitive despite the age of the car IMO. They could release updated buggies and provide spare parts today, and be on top of the game tomorrow if they wanted.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Most 1/10 wheeler buggies have been basically Xray copies for years now, I’m not sure if it’ll make a huge difference in the hands of such a phenomenal driver.

Juraj Hudy did to these things what AE, Team Losi, and Kyosho did to the 2WD buggies between ’85–95: wrote the recipe that was the norm for the following 20 years. It’s telling that TLR, AE, Yokomo, PR Racing, and LR racing all designed their buggies while looking at Hudy’s homework. Schumacher is the only manufacturer you can tell apart from the others in the pit anymore.

If anyone has kept to racing with a TLR and has the logistics sorted out, they have remained seriously competitive despite the age of the car IMO. They could release updated buggies and provide spare parts today, and be on top of the game tomorrow if they wanted.

If a re-re JRX2 pops up, I'd have a look.
It would have to be pretty much perfect to make me buy it tho.
I guess we'll see if tlr/horizon release anything new and exciting or if this is another successful attempt to bury TLR entirely.
Theres only so long you can ride on a good company name before the "good" goes bad.
Maybe the drivers leaving was about $? Maybe its because the new cars or Rektrum radios suck?
We'll all know soon enough!