Posts: 8
Joined: 6/15/2007 From: wentworth falls, AUSTRALIA Status: offline
heya, i picked up an xrc 1/5 th off road buggy about 2 months ago,and finally i think ive ironed all the bugs outta myne...the weak points that ive found are: .driveshafts will wear out or fail (throwing a pin) quickly..ive found maby 2-3 tanks for the standard shafts.ive found a cheap way of rebuilding them too which ill post later! .tyres just the same issues as ive heard the hpi guys complaining about,the rears have a tendency to self destruct...and thy are expensive to replace..ive developed a method of using mountainbike tyres as treads for the buggy ,they work 100 times better than "bought" tyres il post pics .steering servo,replace the steering servo with a steel geared unit!!!!!!! .the small steel pinion gear in the gearbox seems to wear quickly. .shocks,i cant seem to find shock absorber parts,so i have resorted to making upper shock mounting eyelets using 8mm wide 50mm long bolts. You cut the head down(to about 2mm) and round it off to fit into the upper alloy cap on the shock,then you cut the shaft of the bolt down the middle so it is a half moon shape all the way to the head ,then drill a hole to fit the mounting bolt, they end up being longer (depending where you drill the hole) so you can jack the car up and use more of the shock adjustments. .put a lock nut on either rear upper control arms,they seem to vibrate loose and you get one of the rear wheels developing about 20 degrees of Positive camber!! .slide half an inch of rubber fuel hose or similar over the front steering stoppers (the long bolts sticking up through the lower front control arms) this stops the front wheels turning too far and jamming in an accident (saving steeing parts and$$) .i made a manifold to suit a paper victa airfilter element which seems to breathe better than the standard filter which is not very effective!! .solder some heavy wires and a plug onto the battery (in the car) this alows you to quickcharge the battery without melting down the standard wires. .the alloy "t" pieces at the rear which hold the upper rear controls arm to the chassis are drilled of centre so they will break with the slightest bingle,not to mention when you tighten the grub screw too much...i ended up making a set using a 8mm thick nylon chopping board cut and drilled to shape.....i works great cos its flexible and you dont need the grub screw at all.... .standard radio transmiter (controller) was cheap and nasty and nearly caused the death of my buggy due to interference!!throw it straight away and get a decent transmitter!!!!!!! EVEN WITH MORE WORKSHOP TIME THAN DRIVE TIME,I LOVE IT ,ITS TAUGHT ME HEAPS AND GIVEN ME THINGS TO DO ON RAINY DAYS!![image][/image][image][/image][image][/image][image][/image][image][/image][image][/image][image][/image]
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< Message edited by prefa1 -- 6/17/2007 8:46:14 AM >
Posts: 8
Joined: 6/15/2007 From: wentworth falls, AUSTRALIA Status: offline
im still trying to find info on exchangeable parts,ive heard that a zenoah pullstarter will fit but i dont know from which motor,alot of 5b parts look very similar to the xrc but i havent seen one in the flesh....im trying to find a motor swap that will fit straight up without having to make an adaptor plate....so if anyone knows which car the xrc is a rip off of,maby that would be a good donor???? i got my xrc complete for au$675 from a hobbyshop so they must be mega cheap wholesale!
Posts: 16
Joined: 5/18/2007 From: SmithfieldSydny, AUSTRALIA Status: offline
Hi All. We actually race these buggies here in Sydney with Late Model Speedway bodies on them and found them to be quiet relaible for there price range. With the t piece rear arm holders i actually had some made from 10mm sheet of aluminuim and will never break again.As far as air filters go we are using a short stack foam racing filter.. With the exhaust take the stinger and rubber fitting off all togeteher and throw in the bin Have had problems with steering servos from new not being centred and as soon as you turn them on for the first they break if you dont centre them BEFORE you power them up. Pull starts are not a problem yet. Better spark plug is a must.. With the rear drive shafts we actually take out the drive pins from new and replace with hi tensile roll pins they work a treat. With the drive hubs when they start to wear we just fill the gaps with weld and temper them fixs that problem.. Any more tips we come across we will let u know Thanks Pete
Posts: 8
Joined: 6/15/2007 From: wentworth falls, AUSTRALIA Status: offline
hey pete,cheers for ur ideas,did you get many of the alloy t pieces made?or just 1 set?id be interested in picking up a pair to replace the nylon ones i made if you can get any more!! so you guys race on road cars....thats probably why you havent had any pullstarter issues yet,the offroaders seem to take more punishment... have you heard of any engine swaps that dont require too many mods? im keen to get another engine as just after running my motor in i inspected the airfilter and found the standard foam element wasnt sealing against the housing so it let in a heap of fine dust in!!!!yay!!! im not keen to rebuild it as im sure id be better off putting a bit of cash into a higher quality built motor! cheers,Ramon.
Posts: 16
Joined: 5/18/2007 From: SmithfieldSydny, AUSTRALIA Status: offline
Hi Ramon.No we actually racethe XRC Buggy and dont have problems with pull starts and yes i made about 15-20 alloy uprights P.M me and can arrange to send no probs If you arent busy this Sunday we are racing at Luddenham at the Model Park on luddenham road. Only costs $15.00 entry per car and the whole farm is operating not just the Speedway. Hope to meet you there Thanks Pete
Posts: 1
Joined: 8/25/2008 From: bristol, UNITED KINGDOM Status: offline
hi I have recently bought a xrc buggy, only had it two days and have not even run it in yet. I hear almost every one has problems with the gear running directly from the clutch but I did not even use one tank before this happened. should I take this one back? I can see the design fault as there is so much flex from the torque of the engine. I have thought of two things... firstly getting someone to machine me a gear maybe a fraction bigger so they are closer together or modifying with some kind of brace to keep the gears engaged. what do you think? cheers alex
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xrc 1/5 scale buggy tips - 
