HPI Firestorm 1/10 ST Elec.
 

Have any of you raced the stock or Flux(brushless) version of this stadium truck? Is it durable? Good factory support? Is it competitive enough to be fun on a local, stock and/modified level? Is the flux exactly the same RTR except for the motor and esc? Thanks guys

I have had the E-Firestorm Flux for a couple of weeks now and really like it. I haven't raced it yet, but I do have a track in my yard and it is proving to be very durable. I did manage to mangle the spur gear by landing from a jump directly on the motor. I e-mailed HPI and they sent me a new spur and clutch pads. It is the same as the regular E-Firestorm just with the brushless motor and esc.

The truck handles very well and is fast as stink with the right batteries.:D

I don't think hpi makes a kit that isn't durable. My personal Flux E-Firestorm has taken months of abuse. Between jumping a 2 ft. ramp from our loading dock which is about 4 1/2 ft. high itself and clearing my Escort work car on numerous occasions, to testing all of our new Lipo's, this truck has taken everything I have thrown at it except a full speed run in with the concrete foundation of a building. I broke a right rear arm, the front 1/4 piece of the chassis, the brace above the steering servo, the servo horn and servo itself. Quite a bit of damage, but not considering say 40+ mph into a very solid foundation. No bent shocks, turnbuckles, hingepins, or wheels. The truck flies very level through the air and with stock tires does pretty well in semi-loose to hard packed tracks. I am by no means a professional racer, but the truck does everything I want it to. As for hpi customer support, excellent, factory support, there are quite a few option parts, some are bling and some durability/more fine tuning. You can't go wrong with this truck either for bashing or semi competitive racing!

Also, both trucks are the same besides the Brushless system, chrome wheels, and diff. printed body.

Bryan

The truck is a very capable race truck. It does need a few parts though.

Buy an alum. front arm carrier
Buy an extra set of thumb screws
Buy a set of T-4 hubs & cvds off ebay(you can get them for cheap since people switch to the gt2 axles). This will allow you to use $4 rims instead of $15 rims.

Decent servo

Switch the rear arms & shim the upper part of the rear shocks w/ the thumb screws.

Replace the axles & rear hubs w/ the T-4 ones.

Then set it up to your likings and it will be a beast on the track. It is also a truck that can handle lots of power(I use a mamba 7700 in mine and love it on the track). I use a mamba 5700 in my 4wheeler if you were wondering.

The only mod this truck really needs is a rear bumber, especially if you have a an expensive motor hanging off the back. That's the beauty of this truck, you don't have to go buy a ton of stuff to make it durable because it is strong and flexilble in the right places right out of the box.

If you take it to the track, you'll need to look at getting some good radio gear, tires to match the track conditions, a set of softer springs, and some fluid for the diff.

can you change the front hubs to a t4 setup also??

I assume you mean...replace both front and rear hubs and both front and rear axles.....????

yes lol i liked the idea of using the associated wheels vs the hpi ones. i was thinking of getting my son one of these trucks and would like to use all the wheels i have for my T4 on it.

my son has raced it and bashed the crap out of it. very durable.
switch the rear arms as mentioned before.

I will try the B4 mods now too.

firestorm
 

Several of you have mentioned the Associated T4 now. Is this a semi-clone of the T4? How many of the parts are interchangable? Are you referring to the T4 on the market now or a prior version? Would the stock version be competitive at all at tthe track? I know the brushless stock motors are much faster. Would it still be fast enough to keep up with the slower drivers and at least have fun? Thanks for all the input guys!

The T4 is a much better racing truck than the E-Firestorm. T here arent too many people running a E-Firestorm at a big event but T4s are very popular for racing.

Firestorm
 

I'll only race at club level. I'm just curious as to the apparent similarities in the T4 and Firestorm as far as some of the parts swaps mentioned. Are we talking upper or lower suspension arms? You mentioned hubs as well which would seem to indicate some very similar parts. ???? Thanks guys