HPI Hellfire SS Kit Build & Long Term Review
04-06-2007, 05:40 PM
#32
Originally Posted by DiscoDan
From what I can see... once the truck is assembled it would be a pretty major undertaking to get the diff's out for a diff fluid change.
Instead of building the diff/bulkhead parts like a typical 1/8 scale racer, they seem to have put the diffs inside what looks to me like a Revo inner diff housing.
Instead of building the diff/bulkhead parts like a typical 1/8 scale racer, they seem to have put the diffs inside what looks to me like a Revo inner diff housing.
04-06-2007, 07:55 PM
#33
1. Front and rear ends are assembled...
2. I like the fuel tank mounting... the stand offs are flexible plastic and they put a pad of foam on the bottom of the tank... with all the broken tanks on other brands of machines I saw from landing hard off the massive 38' quad at this year's Canadian Winter Nationals race, I think this feature might have helped them.
3. Here's the front and rear mounted on the chassis, with the fuel tank, and the spur/center diff assy installed. The brake/c.diff assembly seems well designed and sturdy enough.
4. The upper deck with servos mounted (I scrounged up some Hitec 925's). The receiver box has lots of room!
5. The upper deck mounted on the chassis
So far, the build has gone well. I can't really say anything either good or bad about the truck at this point. It looks OK.
2. I like the fuel tank mounting... the stand offs are flexible plastic and they put a pad of foam on the bottom of the tank... with all the broken tanks on other brands of machines I saw from landing hard off the massive 38' quad at this year's Canadian Winter Nationals race, I think this feature might have helped them.
3. Here's the front and rear mounted on the chassis, with the fuel tank, and the spur/center diff assy installed. The brake/c.diff assembly seems well designed and sturdy enough.
4. The upper deck with servos mounted (I scrounged up some Hitec 925's). The receiver box has lots of room!
5. The upper deck mounted on the chassis
So far, the build has gone well. I can't really say anything either good or bad about the truck at this point. It looks OK.
Last edited by MadHacker; 03-04-2009 at 08:37 PM.
04-06-2007, 08:02 PM
#34
1. Engine is now mounted. I had to do a bit of work to make the ol' novarossi 528XSP fit. The bottom of the backplate hung down too far, so I had to sand it so that it was flush with the bottom of the crank case, and add a set of shims to the engine mount. If I were using an engine intended for a UMT, I probably wouldn't have had to do any of this. If the 528 works well in the Hellfire, I'll probably get the backplate kit for it and buy a starter box.
2. Here's what the inside of the receiver box looks like. I like the top cover mount for the receiver... if any moisture got in, the receiver would be safe because it's up high. Also, there's tons of room in this box!
3. Here's the truck with the wing and body mounts on.
4. The wing mount looks beefy. Also, I have to say that the shocks impressed me. They're designed to self bleed and are silky smooth! All you do is fill them up to the top with oil, put on the caps, and they self bleed as you screw them down, and seal when tight... Very nice!
2. Here's what the inside of the receiver box looks like. I like the top cover mount for the receiver... if any moisture got in, the receiver would be safe because it's up high. Also, there's tons of room in this box!
3. Here's the truck with the wing and body mounts on.
4. The wing mount looks beefy. Also, I have to say that the shocks impressed me. They're designed to self bleed and are silky smooth! All you do is fill them up to the top with oil, put on the caps, and they self bleed as you screw them down, and seal when tight... Very nice!
Last edited by MadHacker; 04-07-2007 at 02:27 PM.
04-06-2007, 08:18 PM
#35
Well, I'm pretty much done building the truck. The only issue I had was that the screws given to mount the rear wing were too small ???... Hmmmmm.... so, I used some larger ones from my spares collection. The other small issue was that the numbering of a couple of the plastic parts in the manual were wrong (wrong identifier numbers).
All I need now are a flat pack receiver battery and a header/pipe set! Once I get these last few items looked after, I'll take the truck out for a spin and let you all know what my initial impressions of the truck are.
Please keep in mind that this is my first 1/8th scale real "race machine" build... so I have nothing to compare to. I have built a number of Savage SS kits as well as an RC10T4 and an RC18T.
All I need now are a flat pack receiver battery and a header/pipe set! Once I get these last few items looked after, I'll take the truck out for a spin and let you all know what my initial impressions of the truck are.
Please keep in mind that this is my first 1/8th scale real "race machine" build... so I have nothing to compare to. I have built a number of Savage SS kits as well as an RC10T4 and an RC18T.
Last edited by MadHacker; 04-06-2007 at 08:29 PM.
04-07-2007, 04:44 AM
#37
very nice 
take a video when you run it and post it on youtube.com
take a video when you run it and post it on youtube.com
04-07-2007, 02:24 PM
#39
Originally Posted by T493
I like the 16.5 mm shocks
Comparing the Hellfire to the CRT, I get the impression that the Hellfire might be a little more difficult to work on due to the Hellfire having an upper deck. As I start to run the truck at the track this summer and compare notes with the CRT and STR owners, I'll have more definite comments to make about how the Hellfire stacks up.
Last edited by MadHacker; 07-10-2007 at 01:47 AM.
04-07-2007, 02:25 PM
#40
Originally Posted by Benduchi
very nice
take a video when you run it and post it on youtube.com
take a video when you run it and post it on youtube.com
Now to figure out a paint job for this thing... Hmmmmm... will have to check out some photos of what others have done and come up with something of my own.
04-07-2007, 02:32 PM
#41
Originally Posted by T493
I like that it has an included tuning guide
- Update - the manual does not include any instructions for roll center adjustment. I had to study up in the Xray truggy manual to figure this out.
Last edited by MadHacker; 07-10-2007 at 01:49 AM.
04-07-2007, 05:31 PM
#43
Originally Posted by Perry
Make sure to stay away from the team Greg pink paint when you do the body!
Consitering the name i would go red but with Gregg it is out of the Question
Last edited by T493; 04-09-2007 at 09:32 AM.
04-07-2007, 09:41 PM
#44
Originally Posted by T493
Maby he wants a Pink Hellfire Consitering the name i woulb go red but with Gregg it is out of the Question
Consitering the name i woulb go red but with Gregg it is out of the Question
04-07-2007, 09:54 PM
#45
Well, I took the Hellfire out for a spin tonight. I didn't take any video because I was alone, sorry, maybe next time...
Anyways, I put a Jammin JP-2 pipe and header on. And was running Sidewinder 20%Nitro 16%Oil blend. The Novarossi N528X ran well, and stayed fairly cool... so no problems with the engine. It doesn't seem to be too much engine for the truck either. The run time on a tank was quite good as well. I didn't have a stop watch with me, but it felt like at least a good 10 minutes.
The kit came with a 13t clutch bell... that's way too low geared for the 528... so I upped it to 15t. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to run it again as my receiver pack died, but I'll try again tomorrow and see how that works.
The brakes on this thing are very nice. They have a very linear feel to them, not grabby at all! I can slowly apply the brakes and they feather in a very linear manner, just like driving a real car. If I apply them all the way, I can just barely lock them up on the pavement using the Hitec 925 servo (107 oz in of torque at .08s transit time), so they should have lots of stopping power on the dirt. So far, so good!
I can't really test the handling of the truck just yet, I only have some dry pavement to drive the truck on at this time... still waiting for all the snow to melt. However, my initial impression (for what it's worth) is that this truck seems somewhat dosile in the handling department. If it handles this way on dirt, it should be easy to drive for a beginner truggy racer like me.
There was some concern amongst some of the more experienced racers at our local club that this truck might be twitchy due to the very rigid chassis... it doesn't seem to exhibit this kind of handling, at least not on pavement, anyways.
Anyways, I put a Jammin JP-2 pipe and header on. And was running Sidewinder 20%Nitro 16%Oil blend. The Novarossi N528X ran well, and stayed fairly cool... so no problems with the engine. It doesn't seem to be too much engine for the truck either. The run time on a tank was quite good as well. I didn't have a stop watch with me, but it felt like at least a good 10 minutes.
The kit came with a 13t clutch bell... that's way too low geared for the 528... so I upped it to 15t. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to run it again as my receiver pack died, but I'll try again tomorrow and see how that works.
The brakes on this thing are very nice. They have a very linear feel to them, not grabby at all! I can slowly apply the brakes and they feather in a very linear manner, just like driving a real car. If I apply them all the way, I can just barely lock them up on the pavement using the Hitec 925 servo (107 oz in of torque at .08s transit time), so they should have lots of stopping power on the dirt. So far, so good!
I can't really test the handling of the truck just yet, I only have some dry pavement to drive the truck on at this time... still waiting for all the snow to melt. However, my initial impression (for what it's worth) is that this truck seems somewhat dosile in the handling department. If it handles this way on dirt, it should be easy to drive for a beginner truggy racer like me.
There was some concern amongst some of the more experienced racers at our local club that this truck might be twitchy due to the very rigid chassis... it doesn't seem to exhibit this kind of handling, at least not on pavement, anyways.
Last edited by MadHacker; 04-07-2007 at 10:18 PM.