HPI E-Firestorm Racing Thread
 

I know there is an E-Firestrom thread already on here but it seemed to have alot of bashing related info.

On here I will moniter and interact with HPI customers who are looking to drop jaws at the local track with on THE best valued race trucks on the market.

Coming soon are Tips, Setups, and a great community of Firestorm Racers.

Now our mission, should you choose it accept it, is to make this thread cooler and contain more real content than the "Ask Jeremy Fellas" thread. (Joke for those Hot Bodies-HPI Fans)

I don't have quite so much to contribute yet, other than to say the box-stock setup isn't very good at all for racing. Softer springs, lower weight shock oils, and Pro-Line tires suited for track conditions are a huge step in the right direction.

You can get by on the stock servo. I thought I would have broke it by now but it is still working. By this point though I'm starting to recognize that a higher torque unit would be very desirable

Aluminum suspension mount is good for durability, but definitely pass on the aluminum hub carriers as you'll end up breaking ballstuds back there very frequently on a racetrack with sizable jumps.

Need some expertise here.

Currently running with a trinity 13T brushed with 6cells nimh. Chassis settings are stock from the box. The car seems to be quite nose-heavy from jumps & often resulting in chassis facing sky-high. Im oso having problems 'catching' the rear end. Are there any tips/setups for a more balanced drive/jump? pse pardon this noob as im pretty amateur in trucking. Thanks.

How are the 6 cells spaced.

I know there are 3 foam blocks that you can use to adjust the cars attitude in the air. If it is jumping nose down then space the battery back one block at a time. Just move the block from the rear to the front. Move one at a time and then go out and drive to see if it feels better.

As far as catching the rear end are you refering to something like the rear tires not getting over the peak of jumps and "casing" the jump. This refers to the back of the car landing where the transmishion case is insted of on the rear tires. The only help for this is to go off the jump faster to land further down on the downside of the jump.

Let me know if any if this helps or if I completly misinterpited the problum.

regarding the foam blocks, i have tried placing 2 foams at the rear(as i have read that this wld give me more steering) & 1 each on the front & rear of batts. These 2 scenarios still result in nose-heavy which completely contradicts the review from rccaraction mag which mentioned that "this truck jumps as well as his competition trucks". Is it me or my settings? im quite skeptical at putting all the foams at the front as i wldn't want a wheelie-ing truck at the track

As for catching the rear, im actually referring to oversteering resulting in 'donuts' during corners. And again, is it me or settings? Is this characteristics typical of a 2wd?

Has anyone got the new and stiffer HPI composite arms yet? Graphite ones, I supposed?

The stock one is flexible, which is both a good & a bad thing.

Good that it don't break, and bad that it gets twisted under load after some time. My front arms are twisted enough to have added some front wheel castor, which could be the cause of my under-steering problem lately.

For the time being, can I use camber or other areas to compensate for the understeer? My LHS is taking a long time getting me replacement arms.

This can be cause from many factors. Are you running the correct tires and compound for the track conditions? Are your suspension settings stock? Why not use some of the Tein expertise here?! :D

I would refill the shocks with high quality oils and get a T4 spring set for the from and rear. (Assuming they fit well)

Interesting thread here, I have been eyeing the e-firestorm for a while and would like to try one out. Being that the E-Firestorm looks to be "influenced" by the T4 in more ways then one, has anyone tried any AE parts to see if they fit? Like arms, hubs, etc... I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the geometry points are the same, making these parts interchangeable... even if it requires a little shaving! :sneaky:

lol just like the nitro one is 'influenced' by the GT2. side by side compare them and see ;)

I would difinatly look at the fastest guy at your track and pick yourself the tires that he is running.

As far as the nose down thing, do you have a radio where you could dial alot of drag brake in.

I know what you mean. Try tuning with some Differential Fluid. That seemed to help that situation quite a bit for me. I've seen more folks mention to stay in the 1000-10,000 wt range. I may have gone overboard with my first attempt at 30,000 wt but even that was an improvement over the small amount of grease that's in the differential when you buy the truck.

For the jumps, I think it may be worth a try swapping the softer front springs to the rear. I assume that will make the rear end less bouncy, perhaps make jumping more predictable. I don't know how well it will work out for you but it is something simply you can try. With the stock motor, cheap 6 cell batteries and stock connectors I know I never really had enough power to pitch the nose up with throttle...best I could do in a lot of cases was maintain pitch or slow downward progress.

Of course doing both of the above will kill your steering off-road. No big deal for bashing but it could give you trouble on a track with tight hairpin turns.

Anyway I still think the truck setup out of the box makes it dog-meat on the track. I don't fault HPI, it does make sense to me that it is setup to favor bashing and reduced maintenance. It's a fine truck for racing but I believe you just need to tune it with softer springs, lighter shock fluid, softer tires, and diff fluid to prep it for track use.

Thanks guys.

Your advises have been noted. Will def give it a shot & c hw it goes.

DustinR: Is Hot Bodies looking to make a race version of the E-Firestorm?

Seems like it would be a great platform for long events where durability is key. Especially in RC Pro series rules where you can run with the gasers now.

This is the "Race Platform" baby. Yes the setup needs a little setup work but watch for this truck to show up more an more at tracks near you.

As far as a HB truck... Maybe :rolleyes: You never know.

Last race I made it out to I ran LiPo for the first time. Reedy 5000 mAH 20C Pro. Had some nice long practice sessions. At this point for me track time is more valuable than setup tweaking. I just had to remind myself to park it in the pits once in a while to make sure the wheels weren't falling off due to wheel nuts coming loose on long runs. Once I got rid of those aluminum rear hub carriers I could run without breaking rear ballstuds.

I ordered some T-Bone bumpers last week. I'm mostly interested in the protection it will provide for the motor. I'm landing off the jumps much better lately but there is still that occaisonal tail-ender that could be bad news for the spur gear or even worse the brushless motor itself. Plus practicing with those heavy 1/8 buggies and truggies on the track at the same time calls for added protection.