Oasis

iTrader: (38)

Anyone using the “old style” aluminum shock caps on the 5.0 ? I just bought a used one, and the stock shock caps the bleeder screws were all leaking and stripped, I had an old set of aluminum caps and they fit and seem to work fine, just curious is all, after testing they seem to work fine..

tilimil

iTrader: (1)

The 22x-4 is great out of the box with the carpet setup without having to modify the hell out of it. Not sure why they won’t do similar for the 2wd buggy? I would buy one tomorrow.

After this season I’m selling my aging 22 and going to look elsewhere. Probably associated although I’m tempted to look at X-ray just to try something different.

Panther6834

iTrader: (2)

I'd have to agree with the majority of the things said by BigBuckORamma in his last three comments. Whatever the "reasoning"...and, whether these decisions were made 'internally' (ie. by Losi), 'externally' (ie. by Horizon Hobby), or by a combination of both, TLR is "falling behind in the race". This is part of why, when it came to building new 1/10 buggy (which I, now, can't even race, having moved from San Jose, where NorCal has a great indoor carpet track, to Las Vegas, where the only carpet track, 702 Speedway, closed last year), I decided to "give up" on TLR...and went with an XB2C from XRAY. I also have an 8ight-XE, which, from now on, I'll be using as a street/dirt basher (just need to switch tires). As for the two 22 5.0s I mentioned previously, one I'll be selling, while the other is going to be converted into an NPRC drag car. I might buy other Losi vehicles in the future...but, I have a strong feeling I won't be purchasing anything further from TLR.

JetsoN115

iTrader: (1)

Considering getting back into RC and shocked that TLR doesn't seem to support their 1/10 2WD. Really wanted to go the X-Ray or Schumacher route, but not too much local support and it seems that their parts are always out of stock. So after some research it appears that I'm going over to the darkside (Associated) since they have more easily found information about setups and the parts are available. If anybody can share links to updated setups and upgrade parts for TLR please provide so I can change my mind.

KINGZJ

iTrader: (4)

I'm not really sure what the deal is here but the 5.0 is very competitive. Yes I would like to see an updated kit but honestly it doesn't need much. The "mods" are not really that big of a deal to get to the current setups. Tlr team guys are very approachable and will give you setups. I asked on Facebook and got several team guys reaching out. If you are looking for reasons to leave or not like tlr it's not to difficult to find an excuse to move on but if you are struggling with a 5.0 elite kit moving to ae or xray is not going to be the secret pill that makes everything better.

BigBuckORamma

I will try to give a somewhat simplified answer to this, but realize that there is significant nuance to the bigger picture.

The High Mount Wing provides more downforce behind the front wheels. Some will call this more "stable" and balanced.

The Front Mount Wing puts the downforce in front of the wheels, giving the front end more bite at speed. But this can make the front end feel overly sensitive to input, and some people call this "darty".


The nuance of the bigger picture has a lot to do with which tires you run, what surface you are running on, and most importantly, which body you are running. All of these physical factors, along with your driving style, and what you expect the car to do, will determine which is best for you.
Personally, i like having a lot of front end, so i run the front mount wing. I find the high wing offers better mid corner stability, but struggles on turn in.

I also find that on certain bodies, like the Pro-Line Axis, the high wing feels like it doesnt do anything. I think that has a lot to do with the relationship between the high wing and the cab forward design.
And on some bodies like the JConcept F2, the front wing makes the car unbalanced, and feel nervous. So i run no wing at all.

The only correct answer is to run both of the wings yourself, back to back, and determine which fits best with your set up and driving style.

BigBuckORamma

I dont think anyone of us think that the 5.0 isnt competitive. It clearly is...in the right hands. I think the bigger issue, is that the car, as run by the factory drivers, isnt even close to the out of the box car anymore. And so far TLR has made no inroads into offering upgrade parts to bring the car closer to what the team is running, and they really dont seem to care to.

TLR could...
Offer a new C-Block to run 22X-4 arms.
Offer a longer 22 Arm that matches the geometry of the 22X-4 arms, but works with the standard C and D blocks, such as Associated 73mm and 75mm rear arms.
Offer a new narrow Front Spindle to perform the "Front End Mod" without hacking up a set of caster blocks with a dremmel.

And that is just the short list. I am sure there are more things that could be argued to be done.


But more than that, with the change in the structuring of the team...frankly...there arent a lot of "TLR Team Guys" left at the local tracks. As most all of them were dropped by TLR, and now have a really bad taste in their mouth, and are insistent on running anything BUT a TLR car. Sure, the normal team guys are active on 22 Empire, especially Zeke Ballinger, but thats about it. Maybe its different in your area, but i hear of far more people walking away from their TLR platform, than running to it.


And, for what its worth anecdotally, despite all the mods to my 22 5.0, i struggled with it tremendously. The first outing in my B6.4, i went from "Team Next to Last", to "Team Almost A-Main", and have been slowly moving up since then. So sometimes it is the car, and it is the way they drive, and not every car will work for everyone. For example, i wouldnt trade my 22X-4 for a B74.2, as i believe the 22X-4 is superior, and drives WAY better.

silence360

The fact is, they put all there eggs into one basket keeping Dakotah, they can't really afford anyone else. It sure did leave a bad taste in a lot of mouths. I am really curious how this affects them moving forward by doing this. I think this is going to bite them in the butt not having those local TLR Team guys as this sport doesn't revolve around 1 person, but is a community. For me, I think the best thing to do is sell my 5.0 while it's still worth something then wait it out to see what comes out in the future, and hopefully by then 2wd off-road will pick up again in my country. Right now the popular racing is 1/8th scale nitro. The 1/10th track owner seems to be concentrating his energy on Crawlers these days, and not holding any 1/10th club racing unfortunately. The 22x-4 however I will keep regardless, I just love that car.

I wish they would do the mods BigBuckoRamma recommended, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. But that is good for the aftermarket companies so they can continue to make money because we all know they love straight up imitate stuff from these aftermarket companies. Just like with the 8ight-X 2.0, the 4 degree incline spindles, and ackerman steering plate was originally designed by Hagoth RC, and ProRc, and the steering plate is a 100 percent copy when overlaid over the ProRc. These companies are improving the platform, and they are basically taking these mods, and making it their own, and now cutting these companies out of the equation.

RC10Nick

iTrader: (9)

I don't even think it's the mods you have to do to the car. It's as simple as price. They just need to release a new kit that has everything you need to be fast on carpet for maybe no more than $440 and I think they'll be fine. Carpet has exploded since the original release of the 5.0 and I just don't think it's wise to ignore it the way TLR has. TBH in another 5 or 10 years I doubt there will be many indoor dirt tracks left - for a track owner the economic advantages of carpet over dirt is just too big. In my area alone I can think of at least 5 carpet tracks but only 2 indoor dirt tracks.

ChocoTaco73

iTrader: (3)

BigBuckORamma Is Zeke still hanging around 22 Empire since switching to Schumacher?

ChocoTaco73

iTrader: (3)

It's a real shame about the AC being discontinued, I was able to pick one up NIB about a year ago and it's a great place to start for carpet. 3mm shocks, gear diff, brass goodies, 0 degree hubs, standard height towers and sway bars plus I think you could find them for $270 or so, it was a steal! Granted once you added the 22x-4 rear arms, VHA hubs, Elite C&D blocks and pills, rear sway bar and front end mod it bumps up the cost some but it all added up to a carpet missile.

BigBuckORamma

He seems to be. He has replied to a few posts in the last couple of weeks regarding the 22X-4 rear arm conversions. So, I guess he is jsut trying to be a nice guy, and help out the community, despite no longer being officially a TLR driver. Super commendable.

BigBuckORamma

I would imagine the cost of taking a DC Race Roller and adding a Sway Bar kit, and 0 degree hubs would be about the same as the AC.

About the only thing you would be missing is the brass bits.
As the Race Roller comes with a G2 Gear Diff, 3mm Shocks, Standard Height shock towers, and VHA Hubs, and the Elite C and D blocks.
You would just need to do a rebuild, and change fluids and springs.

ChocoTaco73

iTrader: (3)

Completely forgot the Race Roller was still a thing lol

BigBuckORamma

Haha, i think everyone does. Though, to be fair, it should be called the Rebuild Roller. They always seem to have a ton of finger problems right out of the box. Leaky shocks and Diff. Which, if you are going to rebuild those, given the effort taken to get to the Diff...you might as well do the whole car.