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HPI Sprint 2 Drift Questions

HPI Sprint 2 Drift Questions

Old 12-10-2013, 05:05 PM
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What's going on guys? i recently got into this hobby and it has completely taken me by storm. I ended up getting the Sprint 2 chassis with the 350z body. I have a lot of plans for this bad boy and I intend on upgrading everything. I do have a couple of questions though that I was hoping somebody could help me with. I know a lot of you on this forum are very knowledgeable and I'm pretty much a noob with this stuff...I have done a lot of upgrading to my real car, so I know what its all about. My first question is, i will eventually be picking up a new body that has front and rear light buckets. Im going to want to add Front and Rear LEDs as well as under car LEDs. I would like to have them run off of my battery. What exactly do I need to make this happen?

Also, I would eventually like to do a front/mid engine conversion as well as upgrade the motor to brushless. What are the recommended motors for this chassis and what do I need to do a front/mid engine conversion?

Another question of mine, is where do I find rotors and brake calipers that fits the sprint 2 chassis and doesn't interfere with the tires/wheels?

And for now this will be the last question. I am also looking to upgrade the belts. From what I understand they make reinforced belts..which are the best to go with? And what are belt tensioners and how do they work?

I apologize for all the ridiculous questions and the noobness of my post. But any and all help would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for y'alls patience and help. I look forward to hearing from you guys!

Scott
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ScottySTi
What's going on guys? i recently got into this hobby and it has completely taken me by storm. I ended up getting the Sprint 2 chassis with the 350z body. I have a lot of plans for this bad boy and I intend on upgrading everything. I do have a couple of questions though that I was hoping somebody could help me with. I know a lot of you on this forum are very knowledgeable and I'm pretty much a noob with this stuff...I have done a lot of upgrading to my real car, so I know what its all about. My first question is, i will eventually be picking up a new body that has front and rear light buckets. Im going to want to add Front and Rear LEDs as well as under car LEDs. I would like to have them run off of my battery. What exactly do I need to make this happen?

The Hankook and Greddy Z's have the buckets. Then you'll need the light and a 3rd channel as a switch OR just hook em up to a battery.


Also, I would eventually like to do a front/mid engine conversion as well as upgrade the motor to brushless. What are the recommended motors for this chassis and what do I need to do a front/mid engine conversion?

IK about the motor layout, but I picked up a Novak drift spec ESC and BLS Motor combo an it's just plain awesome for $130. Instant sensor power! Smooth and predictable at low rpm.


Another question of mine, is where do I find rotors and brake calipers that fits the sprint 2 chassis and doesn't interfere with the tires/wheels?

I got a Valtera set but had to grind a lot of material away on the rears and fronts...a lot.

And for now this will be the last question. I am also looking to upgrade the belts. From what I understand they make reinforced belts..which are the best to go with? And what are belt tensioners and how do they work?

They make some kevlar belts I think. I would just run then till dead. Are you on pavement or a smooth debris-free track?

I apologize for all the ridiculous questions and the noobness of my post. But any and all help would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for y'alls patience and help. I look forward to hearing from you guys!

Scott
See above.
I bought the same one you did. I ripped off the sticker though. I tinted the headlights, added a wing, side mirrors, windshield wipers, dual exhausts and an intercooler. Then I added CF stickers. I also got me some new Direzza tires and HPI XSA 3/6/mm offset wheels and Valtera rotor disc brakes.

I also threw in a oneway diff up front, removed plastic for more steering angle (the CVDs are a must when the stock cups and shafts start to chatter at full lock) and locked the rear diff.

Put in a Futaba FASST receiver and a heli rudder servo for steering - $100.00 / 0.6 seconds!

..and of course, a Novak ESC Motor drift spec combo.

I must say, it's drifts really nice IMO.

I'll add some more pics...can't seem to do multiple pics from my phone...hope you find this useful.
Attached Thumbnails HPI Sprint 2 Drift Questions-image.jpg  

Last edited by Mike2112; 12-10-2013 at 05:55 PM.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:42 PM
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Here is a shot showing the disc brakes.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:42 PM
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The HPI Hankook 350Z comes with head an tail buckets, the HPI Greddy 350Z's only come with headlight buckets. I own both bodies, and checked with HPI to make sure I didn't get shorted on the Greddy, that's how I know.

as far as hooking the lights up, just buy a RC light kit, they're all basically plug n play.

Google for the front/mid motor mod. There are several how-to's archived online with pictures included. It's pretty easy, straightforward and requires minimal extra parts.

You can use virtually any brake rotor kit you like for the Sprint 2...Tamiya, Vaterra, Eagle Racing etc. As mentioned above, you will have to grind down a LOT of the suspension arms front and rear so they don't rub and allow for turning. I have both Tamiya and Vaterra rotors for my S2 Flux and they work fine once I Dremeled the plastic arms down.

There is a seller on eBay that sells the Kevlar reinforced belts for the S2 and also some online RC shops that sell them. They are made by "Tough Racing" or something like that. I don't think the stick belts are too bad though.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:49 PM
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Here a naked shot. Here you can see I also added some team associated adjustable shocks. Next up is to de-anodize the purple Oneway and the orange parts.
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Old 12-10-2013, 06:20 PM
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Thank you so much for the quick response guys.

Mike- the naked shot didn't work, but that thing looks fantastic...i think i wanna rip off my sticker also. Where did you get all your extra parts from? Like the exhaust and mirrors etc? As for the engine, is the receiver, esc and servo the only things i need for a complete upgrade? And are those rotors and brakes from Valtera or Vaterra? Can you maybe supply a picture of what exactly I'm going to have to shave down?

Wareagle- thank you for the info...as for led rc light kid... Do i need like that box thing that the wires plug into? Otherwise how else do I connect them? Can you maybe supply a link to a good rc led kit? Thanks again for all your guys help.

I really appreciate all the quick responses. Expect alot of questions from me. lol, sorry. But thanks guys, your both awesome.

Scott
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Old 12-10-2013, 07:01 PM
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Look at your arms. You can see how much you need to remove. Look how much of the screw head I had to remove. But remember I have a little more steering angle than stock. You can barely see the screw head - or what remains of it.
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Old 12-10-2013, 07:44 PM
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ohhhh i see, thats dope man! thank you so much! i appreciate it so much man, you really don't know. My mind is spinning with a million questions, and i have no one to ask them to lol. And your previous post brings me to my next question that i forgot.... How do i shop for shocks? I see you pretty much replaced the entire suspension system, is there a certain size i look for or something? Or if maybe you can provide a link to where you purchased those. Thanks again man, your awesome.

Scott
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Old 12-10-2013, 07:46 PM
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oh, sorry again, but also...when it comes to painting a new body and attaching the light buckets, how is that done exactly? Thank youu!

Scott
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Old 12-10-2013, 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by ScottySTi
oh, sorry again, but also...when it comes to painting a new body and attaching the light buckets, how is that done exactly? Thank youu!

Scott
You wash the body, mask it, and paint it the way you want (very light coats applied 3-5 times depending on color), laying down dark colors first. Then remove masks, do any final painting, and remove overspray film. Some light buckets attach with double sided tape, and some have screws, it depends on the body, and manufacturer.

Don't go upgrade crazy on the sprint, you will dump a ton of money into a car that even with all the money will still not be as good as a true drift chassis from mst, tamiyas vdf line, eagle racing, or even the 3racjng drift chassis.
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Old 12-10-2013, 08:21 PM
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Originally Posted by ThePanda
You wash the body, mask it, and paint it the way you want (very light coats applied 3-5 times depending on color), laying down dark colors first. Then remove masks, do any final painting, and remove overspray film. Some light buckets attach with double sided tape, and some have screws, it depends on the body, and manufacturer.

Don't go upgrade crazy on the sprint, you will dump a ton of money into a car that even with all the money will still not be as good as a true drift chassis from mst, tamiyas vdf line, eagle racing, or even the 3racjng drift chassis.
Thank you for the wise words panda, I appreciate the info. I was actually looking at the MST line of drift chassis, I absolutely love them. Unfortunately a little too expensive for me right now especially being that I just picked up the Sprint2. Do the MST chassis come pretty much ready to run just without a shell? or do you need to build those from the ground up? Thanks Panda.


Scott
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Old 12-10-2013, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by wareagle84
The HPI Hankook 350Z comes with head an tail buckets, the HPI Greddy 350Z's only come with headlight buckets. I own both bodies, and checked with HPI to make sure I didn't get shorted on the Greddy, that's how I know.

as far as hooking the lights up, just buy a RC light kit, they're all basically plug n play.

Google for the front/mid motor mod. There are several how-to's archived online with pictures included. It's pretty easy, straightforward and requires minimal extra parts.

You can use virtually any brake rotor kit you like for the Sprint 2...Tamiya, Vaterra, Eagle Racing etc. As mentioned above, you will have to grind down a LOT of the suspension arms front and rear so they don't rub and allow for turning. I have both Tamiya and Vaterra rotors for my S2 Flux and they work fine once I Dremeled the plastic arms down.

There is a seller on eBay that sells the Kevlar reinforced belts for the S2 and also some online RC shops that sell them. They are made by "Tough Racing" or something like that. I don't think the stick belts are too bad though.
would the setup still pretty much be the same if i didn't want the LEDs run through the battery and id rather put an on/off switch somewhere? thanks again man

Scott
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Old 12-11-2013, 05:03 AM
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you can run your lights off CH 3 on your receiver and use the CH 3 on/off button on your controller to turn them on and off, but you'll have to make your own wiring harness and splice in a plug to plug into channel 3 of your reciever, unless you can find a led kit pre-made to be run that way.

there are tons of RC led light kits out there, just find one that fits your needs.
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Old 12-11-2013, 07:31 PM
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Yeah, I definitely understand what your saying. As awesome as that channel 3 thing sounds and how easy it would be to turn the lights on or off, i, quite frankly, don't trust myself splicing and soldering. So i may have to figure out a different way of doing this. Do you think you can point in the right direction of a good plug and play system? Ive been looking on tons of different websites, unfortunately Im not really sure what I'm looking for. Sorry for being a pain.

Scott
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Old 12-12-2013, 04:29 AM
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it really depends in how many lights you plan on running. I have the GT Power (I think) LED kit in my HPI Supra that powers 12 or 14 lights, because I've got lights in all the places the real Supra has them.
Now on my HPI FR-S I've just got the HPI 4 light LED kit because there is only room for heads and tails in those buckets.
I'll post links when I get home tonight if I remember.
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