12Likes3Racing Sakura Advance Touring Car
09-04-2016, 11:15 PM
#16
First Impression
So I have not yet built the car, but here are my first impressions. After receiving the kit 2 weeks ago, I figured I might as well start getting the ball rolling on this car.
Other than a dozen washers, this car has totally departed from being pink, with aluminum blocks and bulkheads in black, and the spool and pulleys in a dark metallic finish. The CF plates are a nice change from the FRP I am used to with the Zero S and the XI Sport. The plates appear to be different from the Ultimate, as they appear more subtle and a lot less eccentric. Kit also appears to include:
- Black big bore shocks
- Aluminum pulleys, toe blocks, floating servo mount
- DCJ's
- Swaybars
- 3Racing tools (wrench & pliers)
- Graphite suspension components
I'm not a huge fan of the Graphite suspension components (which are identical to the components of the XI Sport composite components). I will dive into my box of spares to use the composite parts in place of these graphite parts.
Looks promising! More to come.
Other than a dozen washers, this car has totally departed from being pink, with aluminum blocks and bulkheads in black, and the spool and pulleys in a dark metallic finish. The CF plates are a nice change from the FRP I am used to with the Zero S and the XI Sport. The plates appear to be different from the Ultimate, as they appear more subtle and a lot less eccentric. Kit also appears to include:
- Black big bore shocks
- Aluminum pulleys, toe blocks, floating servo mount
- DCJ's
- Swaybars
- 3Racing tools (wrench & pliers)
- Graphite suspension components
I'm not a huge fan of the Graphite suspension components (which are identical to the components of the XI Sport composite components). I will dive into my box of spares to use the composite parts in place of these graphite parts.
Looks promising! More to come.
09-04-2016, 11:57 PM
#17
Packaging Evolution
Just wanted to talk about the packaging.
I was a fan of the look of the Zero S packaging. The box was distinctive, and the manual was beautiful - Laminated covers, color photos on excellent paper stock, and an actual table of contents as the first page. It would have been nice if the box was gloss laminated also, but that's about the only knock.
The XI Sport packaging was ugly - and inferior to the Zero S. The manual had no color and was printed on crappy paper. The table of contents was a small box on the inside cover. The box was gloss laminated - I'll give it that. But it had a car on the face of the box - which may or may not have been an XI Sport. I couldn't tell, as there was a body on the car. The rest of the box was devoid of any detail or presentation.
The Advance packaging went back to the roots I saw on the Zero S box, while maintaining the cheap-ness of the XI Sport box. No cheezy car photo on the box. A simple design which highlights the departure from the pink anodized finish. And yes, the box has gloss lamination. Now once I opened the box and took out each bag of parts, I see a stack of Xerox paper bundled together with an old office collate wire. Table of contents is an even smaller box on the inside back cover - which is Xerox paper. To top it all off, several of the pages were upside down.
Now I know that a shitty manual is not relevant to the quality or capability of this kit. I suppose my experience in marketing/advertising with publications is showing through. Plus the whole point is to cut costs down. But really.....Xerox paper? A burned CD would have been just as cheap. A nice card with a download URL would have been even cooler - and probably cheaper.
Anyways, the actual build to follow.
I was a fan of the look of the Zero S packaging. The box was distinctive, and the manual was beautiful - Laminated covers, color photos on excellent paper stock, and an actual table of contents as the first page. It would have been nice if the box was gloss laminated also, but that's about the only knock.
The XI Sport packaging was ugly - and inferior to the Zero S. The manual had no color and was printed on crappy paper. The table of contents was a small box on the inside cover. The box was gloss laminated - I'll give it that. But it had a car on the face of the box - which may or may not have been an XI Sport. I couldn't tell, as there was a body on the car. The rest of the box was devoid of any detail or presentation.
The Advance packaging went back to the roots I saw on the Zero S box, while maintaining the cheap-ness of the XI Sport box. No cheezy car photo on the box. A simple design which highlights the departure from the pink anodized finish. And yes, the box has gloss lamination. Now once I opened the box and took out each bag of parts, I see a stack of Xerox paper bundled together with an old office collate wire. Table of contents is an even smaller box on the inside back cover - which is Xerox paper. To top it all off, several of the pages were upside down.
Now I know that a shitty manual is not relevant to the quality or capability of this kit. I suppose my experience in marketing/advertising with publications is showing through. Plus the whole point is to cut costs down. But really.....Xerox paper? A burned CD would have been just as cheap. A nice card with a download URL would have been even cooler - and probably cheaper.
Anyways, the actual build to follow.
09-05-2016, 08:37 AM
#18
Tech Master
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Wonder if the car will have an option for the aluminum chassis, thinking hard about the 'Birds so new car on the horizon
09-06-2016, 01:11 AM
#19
On a rainy Labour Day, I figured it was a great time to finally build the car. I had purchased it 2 weeks ago on the Friday it was released, and paid a couple extra dollars to have it express shipped to Canada....where it sat on the shelf for 2 weeks.....
So as mentioned before, I was going to swap the graphite parts with composites in my inventory. I also had extra SSK DCJ's, so that I could save the ones in the kit for spare. While on the composite trip, I thought I would use the Xi Sport composite spool and bolt the 40T Advance gear to it. But during the build, I started to appreciate the metal spool, and so it stayed. I swapped the 64p spur for my 48P 66T, and decided to use the Power HD servo that I had shortened. I had spare steel turnbuckles from another Xi Sport, but opted to stick with the titanium ones in the kit, and have not regretted it one bit.
I was curious as to whether or not the chassis plates could be swapped onto my Xi Sport, so I did side-by-side comparisons. Sadly, the Advanced holes did not line up - they appeared slightly longer. The main chassis plate for the Advance is slimmer than the Xi too. I was originally going to file/CA the edges, but decided not to because I was not familiar with how it may affect the chassis (which seemed to flex easily and smoothly).
The smooth torsion of the chassis was likely a result of several factors - this being one of them. The floating pulley was a radical departure from what I experienced on the Zero and Xi Sport. Part of the reason why I opted to go with the 48P 66T is because the FDR was identical was 2.0 and allowed me to use the range of pinions I currently have. Also, I hate the way white spur gears look. The toe blocks could be interchanged with the ones for the Xi/Ultimate. But the point of this car for me was to keep racing with my inventory of spares, while getting away from the anodized pink. Pivot balls were dipped Tamiya AW grease.
The "HPI-style" camber adjustment is a nice change. Having run aluminum bulkheads on the previous models, this was one of the most inconvenient parts of the car to go over, as it required the shock tower sub-assembly to be removed. With all screws exposed, this would make that important "once over" much easier to accomplish. Too bad the kit came with pink washers. I'll have to remove these in the very near future and replace with metallic or black ones. The metal droop plates were also something I had not seem in the Zero or Xi Sport. Gone are the days of having a chassis hacked up due to droop adjustments.
The pink aluminum stand-offs are gone, and these slick "blade-type" stand-offs are in their place. They remind me of the old blade-type swaybars. As a result, I mounted this one in the front as standing, as opposed to layed down. Whether or not it will make a difference, is yet to be seen. But it sure does look cool. Again, the pink washers in this kit will be replaced by me, and I recommend you to do the same. 3Racing's intention was to make a car with spacers that are easy to see, in order to make adjustments easier. Personally, I think 3Racing just had a crap load of pink washers they needed to clear out. I'm thinking as to whether or not I have enough silver spacers to eliminate this issue for me.
Next up is the Factory Big Bore Shocks. This was a bit of a disappointment to me. The shocks are not any "smoother", as increasing the gauge of the shock is not directly related to making it smoother. If I needed a "smoother" shock in the past, I would simply change the oil. Furthermore, my old springs are not going to fit, as the picture shows a considerable difference in size.
All in all, the car went together smoothly. After completion, I was left with a bitter sweet taste in my mouth though. First, the car looks like a winner. There looks to be a lot of "modern concepts" in this car, such as the floating pulley, floating servo mount, HPI Pro 5 - style camber links, and lighter battery mounting system than previous models. I also liked the ball bearing swaybar system - which includes swaybars. I am not satisfied in the fact that minor items, such as spacers, are what prevents this car from being a complete departure from the anodized pink roots. I am also still a bit peeved that the manual is a bundle of Xerox copied papers.
With a sticker price of approximately $230, it is hard to knock this kit. Anyone who has had a Zero S or Xi Sport chassis, can easily transition a majority of their inventory to this car. Anyone getting into onroad racing could easily buy a pair of these kits for the same amount they would have spent for one kit from one of the other guys. I'm looking forward to seeing how this performs on the new black carpet.
So as mentioned before, I was going to swap the graphite parts with composites in my inventory. I also had extra SSK DCJ's, so that I could save the ones in the kit for spare. While on the composite trip, I thought I would use the Xi Sport composite spool and bolt the 40T Advance gear to it. But during the build, I started to appreciate the metal spool, and so it stayed. I swapped the 64p spur for my 48P 66T, and decided to use the Power HD servo that I had shortened. I had spare steel turnbuckles from another Xi Sport, but opted to stick with the titanium ones in the kit, and have not regretted it one bit.
I was curious as to whether or not the chassis plates could be swapped onto my Xi Sport, so I did side-by-side comparisons. Sadly, the Advanced holes did not line up - they appeared slightly longer. The main chassis plate for the Advance is slimmer than the Xi too. I was originally going to file/CA the edges, but decided not to because I was not familiar with how it may affect the chassis (which seemed to flex easily and smoothly).
The smooth torsion of the chassis was likely a result of several factors - this being one of them. The floating pulley was a radical departure from what I experienced on the Zero and Xi Sport. Part of the reason why I opted to go with the 48P 66T is because the FDR was identical was 2.0 and allowed me to use the range of pinions I currently have. Also, I hate the way white spur gears look. The toe blocks could be interchanged with the ones for the Xi/Ultimate. But the point of this car for me was to keep racing with my inventory of spares, while getting away from the anodized pink. Pivot balls were dipped Tamiya AW grease.
The "HPI-style" camber adjustment is a nice change. Having run aluminum bulkheads on the previous models, this was one of the most inconvenient parts of the car to go over, as it required the shock tower sub-assembly to be removed. With all screws exposed, this would make that important "once over" much easier to accomplish. Too bad the kit came with pink washers. I'll have to remove these in the very near future and replace with metallic or black ones. The metal droop plates were also something I had not seem in the Zero or Xi Sport. Gone are the days of having a chassis hacked up due to droop adjustments.
The pink aluminum stand-offs are gone, and these slick "blade-type" stand-offs are in their place. They remind me of the old blade-type swaybars. As a result, I mounted this one in the front as standing, as opposed to layed down. Whether or not it will make a difference, is yet to be seen. But it sure does look cool. Again, the pink washers in this kit will be replaced by me, and I recommend you to do the same. 3Racing's intention was to make a car with spacers that are easy to see, in order to make adjustments easier. Personally, I think 3Racing just had a crap load of pink washers they needed to clear out. I'm thinking as to whether or not I have enough silver spacers to eliminate this issue for me.
Next up is the Factory Big Bore Shocks. This was a bit of a disappointment to me. The shocks are not any "smoother", as increasing the gauge of the shock is not directly related to making it smoother. If I needed a "smoother" shock in the past, I would simply change the oil. Furthermore, my old springs are not going to fit, as the picture shows a considerable difference in size.
All in all, the car went together smoothly. After completion, I was left with a bitter sweet taste in my mouth though. First, the car looks like a winner. There looks to be a lot of "modern concepts" in this car, such as the floating pulley, floating servo mount, HPI Pro 5 - style camber links, and lighter battery mounting system than previous models. I also liked the ball bearing swaybar system - which includes swaybars. I am not satisfied in the fact that minor items, such as spacers, are what prevents this car from being a complete departure from the anodized pink roots. I am also still a bit peeved that the manual is a bundle of Xerox copied papers.
With a sticker price of approximately $230, it is hard to knock this kit. Anyone who has had a Zero S or Xi Sport chassis, can easily transition a majority of their inventory to this car. Anyone getting into onroad racing could easily buy a pair of these kits for the same amount they would have spent for one kit from one of the other guys. I'm looking forward to seeing how this performs on the new black carpet.
Last edited by (0000000000); 09-06-2016 at 01:26 AM.
09-06-2016, 01:37 AM
#20
Tech Adept
Although the car looks interesting, I am afraid there is not much market for this. Unlike the XI Sport, which truly is an entry level bargain. But for the price of this you can buy an used Xray from last year and have a car that is completely on a different level.
09-06-2016, 02:10 AM
#21
You have a point. For the price of one of these kits, a pair of XI sports could be purchased. For the price of an Xray T4'16, five XI sports could be purchased with change left over. Yet we still see novice drivers buying brand new T4's, TC7's, and BD7's.
This car is an improvement over the Ultimate, which also comes in at a lower price point. It is also a good upgrade for drivers of the XI sport who want to continue using their inventory of parts.
Regarding second-hand cars, we cant compare apples to bananas.
This car is an improvement over the Ultimate, which also comes in at a lower price point. It is also a good upgrade for drivers of the XI sport who want to continue using their inventory of parts.
Regarding second-hand cars, we cant compare apples to bananas.
09-06-2016, 07:31 AM
#22
Tech Master
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: A step closer to where I need to be a step further from where I was
Posts: 1,186
Trader Rating: 5 (100%+)
There is IF the car performs on the track, not sure about you but if I can get the same performance and spend half the money for something brand new, I will do it. Nice build review .... track review next, right?
09-06-2016, 01:35 PM
#23
My local club is still on gray Ozite. But i may travel soon to a race with black carpet. This looks like it would work great on asphalt, but I don't feel like beating the crap out of the bottom chassis plate just yet 
09-09-2016, 01:28 PM
#24
Sakura Advance
09-09-2016, 05:09 PM
#25
Tech Addict
[QUOTE=(0000000000);14661521The metal droop plates were also something I had not seem in the Zero or Xi Sport.[/QUOTE]I have them on my zero s cf chassis
What arm mounts come with the chassis?just the 3%*toe?
What arm mounts come with the chassis?just the 3%*toe?
09-09-2016, 09:32 PM
#26
It actually comes with a 1' RR toe block. So with the 2' rear hubs,it gives 3' total.
As the car is a bit different from the Xi cars that I have been running (4' or 5' total) - plus the fact that traction wont be an issue with black carpet - I'm looking forward to seeing how the Advance handles.
As the car is a bit different from the Xi cars that I have been running (4' or 5' total) - plus the fact that traction wont be an issue with black carpet - I'm looking forward to seeing how the Advance handles.
09-09-2016, 09:58 PM
#27
Subbed to see your driving impressions! 95% confident this will be my next car. Looks to be a ton of car for the money.
09-15-2016, 08:25 PM
#28
(00000000) - I just ordered one of these and i'm going to get the 48p 66T Spur Gear from Team Associated like you suggested. Any idea on a recommended pinon size for a 17.5T motor?
09-15-2016, 10:23 PM
#29
That will depend on many factors:
- motor
- battery
- esc settings
- existing setup
- surface
- layout
- etc etc etc
I geared my Reedy Mach2 at 3.88 with 38' timing on a tighter 36' x 60' carpet track.
I geared that same motor at 2.8 with 40' timing on a flowing asphalt track with a +200' backstretch.
- motor
- battery
- esc settings
- existing setup
- surface
- layout
- etc etc etc
I geared my Reedy Mach2 at 3.88 with 38' timing on a tighter 36' x 60' carpet track.
I geared that same motor at 2.8 with 40' timing on a flowing asphalt track with a +200' backstretch.
09-15-2016, 10:46 PM
#30
Tech Addict
All right let's post some pics of this chassis. 00000000 have you had a chance to run it yet?