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Hpi Pro 4

Old 05-16-2003, 09:14 AM
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Smile HPI RS4 PRO 4

Ok lets start a new topic on this car and let the PRO 3 have it's own place.


The RS4 Pro 4 will be a radical departure from the RS4 Pro 3, offering a change of concept for HPI both for suspension geometry & transmission. Extensive track testing of all existing electric 1/10th scale touring cars & HPI prototypes has already been done, the all-new RS4 Pro 4 is the result of that testing.



The Pro 4 features big changes over the Pro 3... new drivetrain, new suspension, and new steering geometry. Consistency, tuning options & drivability have all been dramatically improved. The most significant change is that the Pro 4, at the requests of our drivers & customers, uses a shaft drive transmission. Track testing revealed the benefits of low maintenance & fast acceleration that a shaft drive transmission offers. Again at the requests of our customers, the RS4 Pro 4 will be supplied in self-assembly kit form with key items like the radio, ESC, body and tires left to the choice of the driver. The Pro 4 will use the highest quality materials & will have a high standard specification to make it a force at the highest level of competition.



Our team drivers will be racing the Pro 4 at all major electric touring car races around the world by the end of the year, ensuring factory support and continued development of the platform to keep up with the latest racing technology.

Main Features:

-Woven Graphite Main Chassis

-Woven Graphite Upper Deck

-Woven Graphite Shock Towers

-Woven Graphite Steering Plate

-Purple Titanium Turnbuckles

-MIP CVD's, Purple aluminum of course!

-Carbon Plastic: Arms, Uprights, Hub Carriers, Steering Blocks, and Gearboxes

-Carbide Ball Differential

-Front One-way

-Aluminum Threaded Shocks with Bladders

-Aluminum Main Drive Shaft

-Aluminum Motor Mount

-Aluminum Spur Gear Adapter

-Aluminum Hex Clamp Hubs w/ adjustable Track (Width)

-Efficient 64 Pitch Spur and Pinion Gears

-Socket (Hex) Screws and Fasteners used throughout chassis

-Pre-cut Urethane Foam Bumper

-Drive Ratio: 2.4375

-High Quality Ball Bearings used throughout (24)



Front Suspension Features:

-Adjustable Camber - via turnbuckles

-Adjustable Caster - with included 0, 2, 4, and 6 degree uprights.

-Adjustable Toe - via turnbuckles

-Variable Ackerman - via the steering plate and geometry design with adjustment holes

-Bump Steer - adjustable via shims (washers)

-Adjustable Roll Center - via shims under the pivot blocks

-Vertical Inner Camber Link Adjustment - via mounting location and height with shims/ washers. 2 inboard
locations

-Adjustable Down Stops (Droop) - via round point set screws

-Shock Mounting Positions - optimized for progressive wheel rates with 3 holes on the tower and two holes on
the arm.

-Anti-Dive/ Kick-up - adjusted with washers

-Anti-Roll Bar


Rear Suspension Features:

-Adjustable Camber - via Turnbuckles

-Adjustable Toe - via Pivot Blocks (2.5, 3.0, and 3.5)

-Adjustable Roll Center - via shims under the pivot blocks

-Vertical Inner Camber Link Adjustment - via mounting location and height with shims/ washers. 2 inboard locations and 2 hub locations

-Adjustable Down Stops (Droop) - via round point set screws

-Shock Mounting Positions - optimized for progressive wheel rates with 4 holes on the tower and 3 holes on the arm.

-Anti-Squat - adjusted with washers

-Wheelbase Adjustment - via washers

-Anti-Roll Bar



General Features:

-Top to bottom mounting of gearbox for precise alignment and mesh of gears

-Carbon Plastics used to increase rigidity and reduce component weight for better chassis response and tuning

-Adjustable, variable Ackerman steering geometry to increase steering feel and increase corner speed

-Completely ball raced steering assembly for smooth steering with reduced play

-Crank integrated servo saver with adjustable tension

-Included ride height and droop gauge for accurate suspension adjustment.

-Pivot Ball Block adjustments to maintain suspension precision and to reduce mis-alignment of the suspension pins.

-3mm inboard suspension shafts for strength and 2.5mm outboard shafts for reduced weight and improved wheel clearance

-Set screws used to retain outboard suspension shafts for easier maintenance

-Overall lightweight chassis for best performance and adjustable ballast positioning with optional ballast weights.

-Low center of gravity and centralized weight for improved cornering power and overall responsiveness.

-Reduced unsprung weight for increased response and improved control


Last edited by Barry White; 01-13-2004 at 11:57 AM.
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Old 05-16-2003, 09:39 AM
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looks like a purple SSG

mmmm, purple pieces
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Old 05-16-2003, 09:49 AM
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wah! looks like an evo3...poser! i swear! you can put the pro4 chassis on the evo3 and it might fit! (screw positions)

anthony: SSG is the chassis not the aluminium
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Old 05-16-2003, 10:15 AM
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Looks like HPI borrowed Ideas from the ....
Barracuda
MR4TC-SD
EVOIII..... ect ect..
but form the drawings it looks rather nice

Heck... I`ll get one

-Dave
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Old 05-16-2003, 10:19 AM
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i imagined hpi would do something different just looks like the other SDs, i really want to see what it worths on a track .
the illustration are cool, very realistic
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Old 05-16-2003, 10:35 AM
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At the end of the day Murai the ex-tamiya TRF designer helped design it so it was always going to look similar. Also there are only so many things you can do with a shaft drive unlike a belt brive where you can vary the transmission a bit. The only way to make a shaft drive different is to go for a radical concept like T-Tech did with the Predator, but most people do not like radical designs. Rick
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Old 05-16-2003, 10:52 AM
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actually i imagined (dreamed) of the main shaft not in the middle of the chassis but on a side like the f201 with a solid axle ( with a la pro3 diffs)+2x3 batt configuration..., just imagined...
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Old 05-16-2003, 11:13 AM
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davioh - the SSG/purple comments were meant to be seperate. i meant that the general design was similar to the yokomo. i know the purple bits are aluminium!
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Old 05-16-2003, 11:42 AM
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Yep, it surely looks a lot like the other shaft cars.

It's a little hard to see details on those CAD drawings, but it seems to me that there aint so many different camber links positions. I would prefer more.
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Old 05-16-2003, 11:47 AM
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hpi were more creative with pro3 .
hope this car will perform well .
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Old 05-16-2003, 11:54 AM
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The front carriers, front spindles, and rear blocks all look very similar to the associated and losi parts. Wonder if there is any interchangability there? Not that HPI parts are hard find, but?
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Old 05-16-2003, 11:58 AM
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If you look closley the front arms are angled like on a losi xxx-s. Rick
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Old 05-16-2003, 02:05 PM
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Good eyes there Rick! That makes it ONE feature on the Pro 4 that isn't on other shaft cars. Must be worth the 18 month wait then...
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Old 05-16-2003, 02:14 PM
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First off, we saw prototypes of this car before any even knew that a Yokomo SD car was in development, let alone existance. So I think it's rather ludicrous to claim that HPI ripped off Yokomo, or even Tamiya.

Yes, the car looks similar, but think about it for a second. How many ways can you do a shaft-drive car? I suppose you could flip it around and stick the motor up front, but I think that would unbalance the car too much. So really, just about every shaft car is going to look pretty similar. Stick a plate-type chassis on the TC3 (like the IRS one) and it doesn't look too different either.

If you look at the CAD drawings of the Pro 4, I can see right away that the suspension geometry is a bit of a departure from the Evo III and SD, both of which I have sitting in front of me right now. If you wonder why a lot of people have returned to the TC3 after trying some of the other shaft cars, look no further than the suspension. Most of these shaft-drives have such a similar drivetrain that you can almost remove it from the equation; it's the rest of the car that makes it work or not.
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Old 05-16-2003, 03:05 PM
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My thoughts excatly Futureal. I had an HPI pro2 but swicthed to a TC3 FT after I saw the Pro3. It looks like HPI has decied(SP) to put thier hat back in to the competive world of R/C racing. I'm pretty happy with my Tc3 right now so I'll wait a year and see how the Pro4 does before I go out and buy one. Good job HPI I look forward to seeing the Pro4 out on the track.
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