questions about hop-ups...

[CeeKay]

K, I got a few questions, maybe I'm just slow...

1. TiNi shock shafts; I've seen places say they are Ti-Ni coated and others that just call them Ti-Ni shock shafts... Are they Ti-Ni through and through, or just coated? If coated, what the heck is the purpose of this?? Wouldn't a pure Ti shock shaft be strong enough to replace the stainless, and also be quite a bit lighter to boot?? I thought Ti was stronger than steel (or at least close to par with steel), but light like aluminum... I've only worked with Ti a little bit, and I'm no metallurgist. :S

Also, the same goes for dogbones; why not develop a set of Ti dogbones? If they're strong enough, wouldn't they cut weight like a mug, and out-last the rest of the vehicle!? And why stop there!? Ti spindles, Ti tranny gears, Ti ball studs, etc!!! A thousand dollars worth of Titanium, resulting in a buggy that weighs little more than a sheet of loose-leaf paper, and wouldn't break if you threw it off the moon!!!

2. Graphite vs. EA3 vs. VLA: Which one is lightest and strongest? I thought Graphite was pretty epic, but I haven't had a chance to play with EA3 or VLA...... Also, what about aluminum? I know alu is pretty dang durable for how little it weighs, and some alloys are nigh on indestructible compared with most plastics!!

3. BEARINGS: What is the ABEC rating for Losi's standard bearings, and why doesn't Losi invest some time in calling a few bearing suppliers and maybe looking at putting together super-frictionless bearing kits?? I pieced together some ABEC-5 rated bearings for my XXX, and the front wheels spin for days!! (though, it's a pretty far-cry from the original bronze bushings that came standard with the Spec kit)

4. Where can I go to find XXX hop-ups these days? What, from other similar chasses, will fit a XXX with little to no alterations? I hope there's a better place than eBay... :S


Thanks,
- CK

[Casper]

K, I got a few questions, maybe I'm just slow...

1. TiNi shock shafts; I've seen places say they are Ti-Ni coated and others that just call them Ti-Ni shock shafts... Are they Ti-Ni through and through, or just coated? If coated, what the heck is the purpose of this?? Wouldn't a pure Ti shock shaft be strong enough to replace the stainless, and also be quite a bit lighter to boot?? I thought Ti was stronger than steel (or at least close to par with steel), but light like aluminum... I've only worked with Ti a little bit, and I'm no metallurgist. :S

Also, the same goes for dogbones; why not develop a set of Ti dogbones? If they're strong enough, wouldn't they cut weight like a mug, and out-last the rest of the vehicle!? And why stop there!? Ti spindles, Ti tranny gears, Ti ball studs, etc!!! A thousand dollars worth of Titanium, resulting in a buggy that weighs little more than a sheet of loose-leaf paper, and wouldn't break if you threw it off the moon!!!

2. Graphite vs. EA3 vs. VLA: Which one is lightest and strongest? I thought Graphite was pretty epic, but I haven't had a chance to play with EA3 or VLA...... Also, what about aluminum? I know alu is pretty dang durable for how little it weighs, and some alloys are nigh on indestructible compared with most plastics!!

3. BEARINGS: What is the ABEC rating for Losi's standard bearings, and why doesn't Losi invest some time in calling a few bearing suppliers and maybe looking at putting together super-frictionless bearing kits?? I pieced together some ABEC-5 rated bearings for my XXX, and the front wheels spin for days!! (though, it's a pretty far-cry from the original bronze bushings that came standard with the Spec kit)

4. Where can I go to find XXX hop-ups these days? What, from other similar chasses, will fit a XXX with little to no alterations? I hope there's a better place than eBay... :S


Thanks,
- CK


1. Titanium is not a good material for parts that wear. Titanium is strong and light but not suited well for applications were the parts move. Ti-Nitrate coating will reduce friction though. Yeah I just said titanium as a parent material is not good in friction but the ti-nitrate coating improves surface wear and friction. That is why they add it to moving parts. It also helps with corrosion protection on the steel parts.

2. VLA means Variable Length Arms. This is a feature added to XXX kits starting with the MF2 and BK2. It allows you to change the pivot points on the arms as a tuning aid.
Graphite vs. EA3. EA3 is a little lighter material and has more give to it. It is not as strong as graphite though. EA3 works better in colder conditions (below 40F) where graphite can become brittle. EA3 works well for the chassis as well as a little give in the chassis can improve traction. I prefer graphite for towers and arms but do like the EA3 chassis. Again another tuning option. Alum. For arms it is too heavy. Alum bends as well which can screw up the parts without you even knowing it. For some parts like pivot supports or rear hubs or something like that it is a good option but for towers and arms on electric cars it adds too much wight for any real benefit. The plastic parts are much cheaper as well.

3. Bearings. I don't know what the ABEC rating of the bearings are but I do know if you get too precise especially in offroad then you go through bearing fast. Even a little dust will ruin a bearing with a rating higher then 5-7. The costs of the bearings go way up as well with negligible performance increase. If you really want to spend the money you can go ceramic that will spin a little more free at 5X the cost. You tend to only see these in onroad cars. A waste of money IMO in offroad.

4. Losi has a full line of hopups for these cars. www.losi.com will have them under the parts and accessories tab for each vehicle. There are other companies that have made stuff over the years but you have to do some digging to find that stuff. There are some parts that cross over like the alum rear pivot for the TCR works on the CR if you change the rear arms on the buggy with the pivot support. Little things like that.

[CeeKay]

1. Would ptfe (teflon) coating work over Ti parts? How about Ti cores with Ti-Ni coatings? So the Ti is that much harder that it'll wear the other parts out, or vice-versa? I picked up a pair of Lunsford Ti nail pins off eBay for about 4 bucks, wondering if I should toss the steel ones back in...

2. Sorry for the VLA mix-up.... I was actually looking at running VLA's on the Spec, either VLA's or graphite (or best of both situations, graphite VLA's!) Sorry, I'm a *******! X)

So, the standard vinyl-esque plastics that kits were pre-EA3 is heavier than graphite, ya? Or was graphite introduced moreso for rigidity? The EA3 chassis pan is actually kind of a good idea, and I might have to steal it from you. :p

Btw, I didn't know California ever saw temps that low. ;)

3. The ABEC-5's I got are rubber-sealed, and supposed to be good for dusty and dirty conditions... I know the finer a bearing the easier it is to ruin with debris, but it's a trade-off for less friction... Plus, the whole set was around 15 bucks shipped...

4. It seems the XXX platform is slightly limited in upgrade-ness at the moment... Suppose, it's been about a decade and hence the XXX is nearing retirement... Plus it seems racers are drifting more toward 1/8 these days..... I sure hope it's just a fad and people start dusting-off their 1/10 buggies in the near future.... And not just to rob parts for their XXX-SCT's. :p

Thanks for the info.


- CK

[Casper]

I would think you could ti-nitrate titanium. Not so sure about teflon coating for a shock shaft though....

There is RTR plastic (on the soft side) EA3 is a little stiffer. Graphite is stiffest and I think the lightest. We don't normally see temps that low but in the mid west or colder places it can become a problem. ;)

Teflon sealed bearings on one side and metal on the other are the best of both worlds. Good dust protection and spin free. Rubber sealed bearings tend to have a little more drag then other bearings but do keep the dirt out well.

Not sure what you mean about the upgrade stuff. The platform has been refined over the years. There are lots of losi hopups and different tuning options to run on these cars.

[CeeKay]

Nowhere near the accessory support as others, though... Sure, a good selection of springs, shock biscuits, and spurs, but not much left in the way of chassis parts... Some carriers, some graphite, and some LiXx batts and Xcelorin stuff..... Altogether, there are Eleven pieces of chassis in the 'hop-ups' section on Losi's site. Four spur-gears, four grades of shock biscuits, ONE set of wheels (white), and the rest is electronics (generic, can fit in nearly any vehicle...)

Unless the standard parts section has some hidden upgradey bits, I'm seeing a fairly huge gap... :S

Imo, if Losi stopped discontinuing stuff for no reason, there'd be a LOT more in the ways of aftermarket/hop-up! The same rod ends and smooth-side shock bodies have been used since like 1993, maybe even earlier!! And yet, you can only get these two in black these days... The Spec had BEAUTIFUL blue anodized shock bodies. My XX-T has some grey/silver/etc. shock bodies. And there've been others as well...

Rod ends came in black, blue, grey/gunmetal, yellow, red, and etc. etc. etc... Except all these colors have since been discontinued. Why? :S

I could have easily done all-red furniture, back when the XXX-TMF was still around, or all-gunmetal/grey from a XX/XXT.... Nowadays, however, I'd have to go dig-up an old bashed-up parts chassis, scavenge what I want, and throw the rest in a corner... Why doesn't Losi do a few batches of colored components, and sell them as aftermarkets? Motor guard, front skid plate, rod ends, shock bodies, spring cups, etc. Even down to anodized wheel nuts!!

Bodies are seemingly lacking as well. But then again, two available bodies is better than one!!

The milled motor plate is still around, though I see it must've been discontinued... This is another piece that would be prime for anodizing!!

If Losi were to bring back most of their discontinued colorful parts (and maybe even add some more), I'd be down for at least two sets of each color....

What I'd be ordering yesterday, though, would be a set of blue anodized threaded shocks, silver/black/yel/etc spring nuts (the nuts that hold the spring on the threaded shock, and yes a set of each color), blue wheel nuts, BLUE ROD ENDS, blue skid plate and motor guard, blue milled motor plate, and etc. etc. etc... Anything blue that Losi would offer for the XXX, I'd be ordering at least two of; Along with any sort of accent pieces in silver, red, blue, green, yellow, black, and so on!

Dress-up is an essential part of racing; Because there's always that psychological element.... How can you compete with this buggy here, wot's got all these matching blue parts and looks as good as it runs??

Plus, dress-up is a good market for the more affluent customers to drop dollar bills on. Customization and personalization sell HUGE, especially when there's a HUGE market!! The T-Maxx, Scion xB and Honda Civic are three prime examples of this!!


Sure hope Losi wouldn't mind at least looking into more aftermarket......
- CK

[Casper]

The colored plastics don't sell all that well. Losi still sells the superduty rod ends that are natural (white) that you can die if you want different rod end colors.

http://www.losi.com/Products/Features.aspx?ProdId=LOSA6015

You can get all the different springs and pistions and oil for tuning the shocks. There is EA3 and graphite options for most all of the parts. Alum front and rear pivots. Titanium ball studs. Ti-nitrite hinge pins.

some of this stuff comes std.

If you want colored shocks you can usually find a plating house locally that will strip the anodize off your existing bodies and make them any color you want. It is usually a flat charge for what ever fits in a "basket" so you can do all the alum on your car.

For nuts and screws and washers if you want to bling it out. Dynamite sells some stuff or you can go to a place like www.fastener-express.com and get stuff in bulk. Yeah there is not a lot of "bling" options for the race cars but what they don't come with in the kit as top of the line parts you can usually upgrade the things that add tuning or durability to the cars.

Also Duratrax rod ends are the same as the older losi style. They come in yellow, and green. Maybe other colors if you can find them. RPM still sells rod ends in blue, yellow, purple and black.

Losi really never sold some of the different colored parts from there "spec kits" like the bK2 or MF2. some yest but others no.

Like I said it does not cost a ton of money to change the color of all your alum parts if you do it in one shot and you can look totally factory when you done!