Milkdudd

iTrader: (13)

dmcguire, can I ask your opinion on the aluminum rear bulkhead? Kyosho aluminum vs. Exotek aluminum vs. stock plastic? To me the stock plastic one looks tough as nails but I sure love the looks of the aluminum ones. It looks like the only aluminum front camber link block is Exotek. Someone said it doesn't hold the steering posts as rigidly but maybe that's where that external support they offer would come in handy for only about $12 or so.

An unrelated subject, do you know where I could get the aluminum post upgrade for the battery hold down strap? The one that comes with the big knurled aluminum knobs? That's sold out everywhere and seems discontinued. I even put an ad in the wanted to buy section but no luck. I want that setup for my sc6 short course. Thanks

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

that is my next upgrade. However, I'm really curious on what is coming around the corner with Kyosho. I don't want to spend money on mods that I might not need right now. They said they have a lot of new products coming out between this year and next year. I'm crossing my fingers on a new ST or buggy. most likely not, but here's to wishing.

They did just come out with a new mini Optima Mid. It looks pretty cool.

dmcguire

iTrader: (38)

I haven't run any aluminum rear bulkheads honestly. I haven't had any issues with the stock ones, but a big help I think is to put small set screws in the unused ball stud holes. That will help with the plastic deforming and pulling out.

The front aluminum pivot block is very nice to have. The brass ones can deform on hard hits.

As for the aluminum battery posts, I would check Amain or eBay. The new oring hold down looks real nice.

Milkdudd

iTrader: (13)

Actually the manual instructs and provides set screws for the unused holes. I never thought of that but it seems like a good idea. I have already installed the aluminum front suspension pivot block and also have one for my short course that I will install. Ever since I broke one on my associated T6.1 truck I make sure to put them on everything. I was requesting your opinion on the aluminum front camber link/steering post bulkhead and if you think those are a good idea

Milkdudd

iTrader: (13)

Surprisingly, to me at least the rb7ss seems to be in stock again at A-main and HobbyTown online. Now it's the rb7 that looks just about depleted. Absolute Hobbyz is down to their last one and RC planet shows in stock. These are all at the $219 price, the more expensive ones have always shown available at many retailers. Not sure any of you guys are in the market but I figured it couldn't hurt to pass this on

dmcguire

iTrader: (38)

I haven't used the aluminum front bulkhead either. I would always try to keep it as stock as possible, only adding aluminum to where I REALLY felt necessary: C hubs, front pivot block, Rear hubs, steering rack, battery posts (for ease of use mostly). If you have a common part that breaks, then I would look into metal, but otherwise not. Adding metal parts usually adds weight, which in stock class (that I mostly run) is bad, though I never compared to be sure. Aluminum can also bend—sometimes not visibly noticeable—causing the car feel weird. You will be chasing the setup and pulling any hair you may have out. Maintenance/inspection is always important. It did help my wallet to be a little heavier with plastic parts though ;-)

Speaking of maintenance... In the case of the lightweight driveshafts on the SS, you really need to keep an eye on them. They will wear and cause more damage if not cleaned and blades checked on the regular. Just like the MIP pucks. So that may be a reason to look at the regular steel pieces, including diff outdrives if it becomes an issue. Always check that your hinge pins are straight and suspension is free. Properly operating shocks and clean shock o-rings are huge. Bearing inspection. Smooth/properly set diff/slipper. And generally all-around set up car. After every run I will clean off the car then go over ride height, camber, toe and make sure nothing is out of whack. Definitely finish more races that way. A lot of wrenching, but it's a hobby and fun, right?

Unless Kyosho comes out with a COMPLETELY new platform that shares no common parts in the very near future, you can't beat $220. I still have some RB5 parts (BB shocks, diff, trans parts) on one of my cars if that says anything about their mentality. The car is really durable and has largely remained unchanged since the original RB6 came out 7+ years ago. Hopefully anything will be refinements to the current chassis like they've been doing and just like most other manufacturers have been doing as well. But I have been known to be wrong Ha.

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

I have been keeping up with Kyosho since the Ultima came out. They do have a tendency to keep the same buggy a lot longer than everyone else. It is true, now that you mention it, that it would be worth waiting for a new buggy anytime soon. Just like all the other brands, I'm sure there wouldn't be enough updates on it to be financially smart to run out and pay the high price of a new one. From what is out there, the biggest change I could see is a quick diff access gearbox that will also allow easier diff height adjustments. Everything else seems to be pretty much up to date. Just like the RT6, I'm not sure what else they could add except the laydown gearbox as the standard gearbox and maybe the gullwing arms.

Khan48

iTrader: (3)

I just bought and built one of these buggys! Too good of a deal to pass up when i was eyeing another buggy. First Kyosho and it was quite fun to build. Some general thoughts on the build.

The Good:

• Those Kyosho shocks really are a pleasure to build and felt great on the car once mounted.
• Plastics quality seems very high and its interesting to see and feel the different compounds used on different components.
• The included metal wrench is actually pretty useful in some tight areas.
• Slop and bind was very minimal. I didn't have to do any shimming or trimming at pivot points
• The plastic washers for suspension pivot points didn't bother me much. The car felt good after the build and I think that metal washers would wear neighboring plastic components faster and develop slop at some point anyways.
• That Kyosho anodization on metal parts...

The Bad

• Plastic washers under the ball studs. I don't see any downside of their use compared to at pivot points, I bought and installed those in place of the plastic washers.
• The included L-style allen wrenches are awful, I'm not sure why kits bother to include them.
• The battery holder bracket has a plastic that was absurdly difficult to start screws threading into for some reason.
• Why is the shock mounting bolt on the rear tower so long? It's 5-10mm past the end of the nut and seems destined to hook on something in a crash.

The Ugly

• Getting the retaining collars on to the Universal joint was impossibly difficult out of the box. I got them stuck half way on and had to apply heat/cold to get them off.
  • To get them fully on i put the collars in the oven, the Universals in the freezer and greased everything.
• I can't understand why 4 metal lock nuts weren't included instead of the plastic nuts for securing the shocks to the shock towers. Has to cost Kyosho 5-10 cents at volume to do this...

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

Hello Khan.
Any relation to Khan Academy? Just checking.

Very nice build. What other brands have you built and how does this one compare?

For the rear shocks, I noticed the mounting bolt does protrude much more than mine. It looks like you missed installing the two spacers/washers that go behind the shock. I also wish they had lock nuts for securing the shocks.

Khan48

iTrader: (3)

Haha no, its an old handle from playing AOE2.

For buggies, I've built a 3racing Cactus, and an Associated B4 a long time ago. Also built a Tamiya XV-01 rally car. I think the 3racing build was actually better, clearer directions and better hardware (less plastics). The RB7 manual does weird orientation changes of assemblies between steps that I've not seen other manuals do. You definitely have to stare at it a while to figure out what's going on. The main plastics and alloy components on the Kyosho are nicer.

Thanks for noticing the shock mount, I'll check the instructions again.

OffRoadJunkie

iTrader: (9)

I agree with the Kyosho build manual. You definitely have to be an experienced builder to put one together. Their manuals have always been terrible.

Milkdudd

iTrader: (13)

Also the way parts, especially hardware are scattered across multiple bags. I think if I build another kit I will take all the hardware and all of the parts out of the bags they come in and organize them in a way that makes some sense to me. Also you need to be near artistic to trim some of the flash from the parts trees that would remain with the parts otherwise. Still in an odd way this is kind of adding to the challenge and fun of building it. I say the quality is so great, and recent prices so reasonable that all of this is more than worth it

Milkdudd

iTrader: (13)

I agree with everything you said except I'm going with Kyosho gunmetal aluminum spacers everywhere including suspension pivots and such. They are so nicely machined and anodized I don't think anything would wear from rubbing against them. I ended up using 5.5 mm Yokomo pivot balls and tie rod ends. For the shock mounting studs on the towers you can see what I did in the photos. I bought a used Yokomo not too long ago that used a flathead screw with the machined washers to match and it seems pretty slick so I'm using that same setup on my short course shown in the photos and will do the same on my RB7. I used 25 mm long flat heads that were perfect length on the rear of the truck and I cut a couple millimeters off of those to use in the front. A Dremel disc cutter goes right through them and then a little filing of the sharp edge. A tip is to always have a nut on the screw before you cut it so as you back the nut off it kind of chases the threads that might have bent out of place. Then I used Associated shock pivot balls (the part number can be seen in the photos) and generic nylock gunmetel nuts. The first Kyosho part I ever tried to put a screw in ironically was the battery hold down. I actually posted somewhere else a couple of weeks ago how absurdly difficult it was to get the screw started. I thought I didn't have it lined up or something and had to keep checking repeatedly. Now that I know the way they think it must be intentional to use a super hard plastic there because those take quite a load trying to hold the battery in place after a hard impact. Finally, I agree with you probably less slop in the suspension than any RC car I've ever seen. The truck was mostly assembled when I bought it so I haven't yet had the joy of assembling the drive shafts and retaining rings but that day will come so I appreciate the heads up on technique

Khan48

iTrader: (3)

Losi has sets of anodized washers that are very close to the kyosho ones and a good bit cheaper.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/team-lo...8aAl5rEALw_wcB

On the collars, I wonder if I got parts where the tolerances ran up in the wrong direction and made everything tight. You may be good to grease the collar and universal before assembling without doing the heating and cooling of parts.

dcerven94

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone have a solution for the sloppy plastic ball inserts that go in the shock ends and shock caps?