HG-P407 "Bruiser Clone" Arrived Today!

[Basher67]

Did you order the rtr or the kit?

[Dadio]

I ordered the RTR in white . I have a three channel TX that I use the 3rd channel for gear shift on a Twin Hammers but the 3rd channel is a two position switch so I'd have to mess around with the dual rates switch to get all three gears , it just seemed simpler to get the RTR and replace the steering servo if I feel I need to .

[Basher67]

Yeah, if you want to be able to shift all three gears, that is an issue. I've found that 2hi and 4low is all I really care to use so my spektrum worked good for me. After buying all the receivers to try to get all my runners down to 3 transmitters, the thought of buying another transmitter didn't sit well with me. I'd love to here about the quality of the build of the rtr version when you get it.

[XLR8]

[Basher67]

Even though the front drivetrain is turning, the steering is improved when in 2wd. Also, it's a scale thing to run into an obstacle, spin the rear tires, lock it into 4 low, and continue on in 4wd. The original tamiya hilux had true unlocking hubs that you could pull out and twist to lock or unlock at the hub.

[XLR8]

[Dadio]

I'd love to here about the quality of the build of the rtr version when you get it.

I'll let you know about the build quality for sure , I kind of look at RTR as ready to rebuild so it's likely going to be quite heavily inspected before driving it , ftom what I gather though the "kit" is already partly assembled , axles and transmision already built etc so you may already have an idea of build quality , I'll probably start another thread rather than hyjack yours unless you think it's best to keep all the relevant info in one place ?

[Basher67]

I don't mind at all. You're more than welcome to add onto this thread if you like.
Yes, the kit arrived with the axles, transmission and frame already assembled. The thought occurred to me to tear them down and build them from scratch, but they seemed to be done so well, I thought I would give them a chance the way they arrived. I have not regretted my decision as of yet.

[Dadio]

How supple do you find the suspension ? It's going to be quite important for me to get it to really work well. After seeing the YouTube video of someone adding 1.5 kilo to make it work I was quite impressed and your information about removing leaves from the springs gets me very optimistic .
How do you find the suspension ?
BITD a friend had a Hi Lux and I remember it was quite a hard ride even with the weight of the Tamiya battery that would have impressed the builders of Stonehenge , I was always disappointed that he took the body off to run it so it stayed pristine , I guess that would have paid off if he still has it .

[Basher67]

The suspension is extremely stiff. However, I have seen quite a bit done on these, from removing, replacing, to modifying the leaf springs to get the articulation needed in a crawler. The shocks are absolute garbage and were my only complaint about the truck so far. I have no idea if the bruiser shocks were equally crappy or not. I don't remember any of my old tamiyas having decent shocks. They were all crap.

[Dadio]

The original hot shot shocks were really good , came with different piston heads with a variety of hole sizes and polythene washers that you could fit above or below or both sides of the piston head as a read valve so you got more damping on the down , up or both directions , they even had a floating cap with bleed screw for a constant volume effect , all waisted on a poor mono shock suspension system of course .

[Basher67]

To be fair, now that I think about it, I seem to remember my Avante having some pretty nice shocks too. But when I think Tamiya shocks, I'm thinking about the cheapo crap that came with my Frog, Blackfoot, Monster Beetle, Hornet, Falcon, Clodbuster etc, etc, etc.

[Dadio]

Or "friction shocks" .......

[XLR8]

[Basher67]

My complaint with the shocks was that they are far from smooth. They feel very scratchy/grindy when cycled. Like a metal on metal scatchy. In the future I will be replacing them with some scale ranchos or something similar.