HPI E-Firestorm Racing Thread

[MUD]

I have been lurking around for awhile and wanted to finally stop by and say thank you to Syber Serulean and others who have posted great info on setting up the EFS. The info found in this thread saved me a lot of time and heartbreak.

I am still in the bashing phase as tracks are limited in my area. The truck is tough as nails and faster than I am most of the time thanks to the mamba.

[Syber Serulean]

Originally Posted by We Are Ninja

I'm looking for a competitive race truck. In your opinion, is the E-Firestorm a good choice?

It'll take experimenting to get it competitive and a good amount of driving skill. I beleive in the right hands, it can keep up but the design has its downfalls...

-its heavy
-gear diff isnt the most ideal for racing due to relatively long times for tuning the diff
-you have to figure things out on your own as far as setup (what i say is a good guide to start with but every track differs)
-after market support is not there
-option parts from HPI arent the cheapest around

however, it being heavy also works as an advantage on loose tracks. The truck has seemed pretty much planted everywhere i go and i guarantee the weight plays a factor in that. It wreaks havoc on my motor...its been getting wayyyy too hot lately but if i start dropping the gearing to cool it down, im gonna lose steam really fast on the straights.



Kilmats:
Are you breaking the little round piece where the screw goes in? The one that says "HPI" right on the nose in the picture? I broke one too...seems fine now so far. I superglued it back together and keeping it as a backup. Ive taken gigantic front end impacts and its survived so im not sure what you're doing.

[kilimats]

Originally Posted by Syber Serulean

Kilmats:
Are you breaking the little round piece where the screw goes in? The one that says "HPI" right on the nose in the picture? I broke one too...seems fine now so far. I superglued it back together and keeping it as a backup. Ive taken gigantic front end impacts and its survived so im not sure what you're doing.

I ll take a picture next time it happens, the screw hole gets ripped off and the plastic skid plate gets twisted

I forgot to mention that I swapped the front parts to alu, that certainly cause too much stress on those parts i think (even with that New era lower and upper skid plate )

I am seriously thinking about making a custom bumper antenna that extend to the front of both wheel, that would slow down front impact by a lot and therefore prevent broken parts.

WOuld you guys know an aftermarket bumper antenna like show in the picture below which extend to both wheel. I had an RC car as a kid and it had such protection.




Here is my setup

[Syber Serulean]

all i can really say is try to modify an RPM wide front bumper for a stampede/rustler onto that thing and hope for the best. That front end wasnt built to withstand the impact transfer of metal parts so that explains the breaking.

[kilimats]

Originally Posted by Syber Serulean

all i can really say is try to modify an RPM wide front bumper for a stampede/rustler onto that thing and hope for the best. That front end wasnt built to withstand the impact transfer of metal parts so that explains the breaking.

Maybe I should swap the suspension arm and mount back to plastic ?

Have you ever run your firestorm front wheel at moderate to high speed in static objects ? If so, did it came back alive ?

The reason I switched to aluminum was because my stock suspension arm broke during my first run and I felt like it was poorly built.

Convince me to switch to plastic

[Syber Serulean]

Hmm...



switch to plastic. Give it a shot, if it breaks more than it did with the aluminum then we'll come back to that.

I may not have hit static objects but i do put a fair share of abuse on this truck when im out at the track so idunno what else to say.

[We Are Ninja]

Originally Posted by Syber Serulean

It'll take experimenting to get it competitive and a good amount of driving skill. I beleive in the right hands, it can keep up but the design has its downfalls...

-its heavy
-gear diff isnt the most ideal for racing due to relatively long times for tuning the diff
-you have to figure things out on your own as far as setup (what i say is a good guide to start with but every track differs)
-after market support is not there
-option parts from HPI arent the cheapest around

however, it being heavy also works as an advantage on loose tracks. The truck has seemed pretty much planted everywhere i go and i guarantee the weight plays a factor in that. It wreaks havoc on my motor...its been getting wayyyy too hot lately but if i start dropping the gearing to cool it down, im gonna lose steam really fast on the straights...

Thanks for the info... That's alot to think about. I had the exact same problem with my RS4-MT; it used to make my motor smell like burning when it wasn't putting the ESC into emergency shutdown mode...

Sounds like a challenge. I like challenges...

Would a single E-Maxx brushless motor work in a Firestorm? That'd solve the weight/heavy gear problem, no?

[Syber Serulean]

Originally Posted by We Are Ninja

Thanks for the info... That's alot to think about. I had the exact same problem with my RS4-MT; it used to make my motor smell like burning when it wasn't putting the ESC into emergency shutdown mode...

Sounds like a challenge. I like challenges...

Would a single E-Maxx brushless motor work in a Firestorm? That'd solve the weight/heavy gear problem, no?

meh it wouldnt go very fast. Emaxx uses 550 size motors designed for more than 7.2v

[BillyCaldwell]

Those of you who were asking about a ball diff.. They announced on the blitz podcast there will be a ball diff option.

Does anyone have a firestorm roller for sale? Or even a partial chassis?

[Daddydan]

Originally Posted by BillyCaldwell

Those of you who were asking about a ball diff.. They announced on the blitz podcast there will be a ball diff option.

Does anyone have a firestorm roller for sale? Or even a partial chassis?

I do have one roller for sale with the cvd's installed, rpm ballcup and AE ball stud. Alu spindles...
(I'm the guy who bought the gv2 from you )
Send me a pm if interrested

Danny

[BillyCaldwell]

pm on the way

[ajford]

Originally Posted by BillyCaldwell

Those of you who were asking about a ball diff.. They announced on the blitz podcast there will be a ball diff option.

That is fantastic news.....thanks for bringing it to our attention Billy.

[Syber Serulean]

Originally Posted by BillyCaldwell

Those of you who were asking about a ball diff.. They announced on the blitz podcast there will be a ball diff option.

Does anyone have a firestorm roller for sale? Or even a partial chassis?

w00t!!!

[Daddydan]

got to sell mine
if anyone is interrested
HPI E firestorm race roller mint with hop up

[kilimats]

Just wanted to share my warm thoughts about Alu parts

Im back to Stock hoping to increase front end durability, time will tell. I was wondering if leaving the alu skid would do any good

Originally Posted by BillyCaldwell

Those of you who were asking about a ball diff.. They announced on the blitz podcast there will be a ball diff option.

Confused, what part is that? n000b = me