CodeToad

This is for the folks that are new to the large scale RC scene, like me, and confused when they opened the door to what is supposed to be a high-end forum (advertises in magazines and everything) only see poo flying wall-to-wall and children unable to discuss like adults. If you don't have something constructive to say (positive or negative) keep it to yourself.

I ran my Baja today again, this has been the 5th tank I have been able to run. The Baja is EXACTLY what I wanted in a large scale vehicle, and I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. I was looking for a vehicle that was fun, durable to my standards and terrain, easy to maintain, and fun again. I was able to test-drive a local's large scale monster truck and another's buggy prior to receiving my Baja, and they were nice but not what I personally was looking for.

My point is simple, for those of you who come here looking to research a product line that is difficult to find information on, please do look past the skin. Is the Baja for everyone? Of course not! Was the Baja for me? Absolutely.

JQuest64

You will always find "fanboys" perse on any message board. Like you stated however, when you look beyond them here, there is a great wealth of info here, and some truly helpful members.

Congrats on the Baja, enjoy it, and keep us posted. Welcome to large scale!! There is no turning back now

Timmahh

If only Wed would get here yesterday, then i too could be Chillin like a villian like CODE is.
Timmahh

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

Just to add to the value of this thread.... What terrain and what type of driving do you subject the Baja to? In comparison to the other large scales, what made this one better suited to your taste? I don't mean to ask this as a Baja vs. any other large scale, but the posts so far on RCU have neglected stating Pros and Cons (and maturity in some cases). I am a proud FG owner, but I have always had good experiences with HPI (Savage, RS4, MT2). The Baja looks amazingly well scaled, and best of all different than the other 1/5 scales of which half are simply clones. I am looking for a thread with a good balance of info, I hope this one can keep on the informative side. [8D]

CodeToad

Acs - Not taken in that way at all

I drive in primarily south-eastern clay/sand/dirt, both empty space in the yard plan for the local track next week. I also have been driving in a cleared but empty lot that has a mix of grass/stones/sticks/dirt etc. It will have a taste of some rock type road in the mountains, but I haven't had the time to take the drive yet. I would love to race if enough people get 1/5th scale at my local track, but if not I will bash, some jumps here and there but nothing "crazy" just fun.

The monster truck I was able to drive was nice, but it was a monster truck. It wasn't nimble like a buggy, and that was what I was preferring since it matched my terrain better. The buggy I drove was a nice model, quick and much more agile than the truck obviously. It felt somewhat bouncy too me which may have been the owner's setup. This was a few months after I had seen the Baja online (Decemberish) and I was indeed drawn to the Baja's look. I priced some other units with all the gear I'd need to have them run and found them to be more expensive. I decided I'd make the plunge and go for the HPI based primarily on: Parts availability (local said he had a hard time with his model), price, and design/looks. I liked the longer suspension arms, I liked the differential, and I obviously liked the "look".

Now that I have my Baja, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I wasn't sure if I would like the fact that some parts on the Baja are secured with body-clips, but now that I have it and have been cleaning it I do enjoy this feature. I have been having a fantastic time so far and I can't wait until I have time to fuel it up again!

Especially for the folks new to large scale, I hope too that this stays on the informative side too.

D0G

My Feedback: (1)

I dont own a baja, I own an FG MT, had the chance just today to rip around with a friends baja, and I must admit, they go pretty good. Handle better then my MT, was faster then MY stock MT, ALOT more stability thats for sure..Would I buy one YES (if I can borrow some cash from someone )
They are definatly great competition for the large scale RC's out there. Great RC.

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

That's great! I am a similar style driver to you, and the Baja is sounding better and better. Too bad I am getting married in 2 months.... I guess I could blow the money I have saved for the honeymoon and get a Baja instead! What do you think of that idea??

Timmahh

heh, playing with fire on that one. i ll keep my thoughts to myself on that one Acs...lol you ll have enough to deal with being your women in the last 30days will be on the verge of a nervous breakdown getting ready for the bling day.lol but if you DID BUY ONE. at least youd have a good escape from the nutyness..lol
Timmahh

CodeToad

Hahaha, I have a feeling you'd get in some trouble for that one... You could always take a trip to the desert...with a Baja... [8D]

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

Lol.... I am not too much for starting a fire I would have to put out.

Anyway... Have you noticed any issues of excessive wear on parts or had any breakage at all?

CodeToad

Today I ran my 5th tank through my Baja, and I was driving in an empty lot with rocks/sticks/grass/dirt. I hit a stick (1.5" or so diameter) and it stabbed the CV boot and made a little hole in it. I wouldn't have noticed but some dirt stuck to some grease that came out of the hole. My fault on that one, but the good news is that a set of 4 spare boots is $7 bucks

I took a look at the spur gear today, when I was cleaning up, it looks brand new aside from some dirt

Like any gasser, have to make sure you keep the pull-start area clean, but that hasn't been a big deal for me.

The wheels are designed to flex which is nice. I noticed at higher speeds when I turn in a high traction area like grass the rear wheels flex noticeably, which is kinda cool. I noticed that the inside of the bead loc ring rubs into a screw on the top of the c-hub and a tad on the lower control arm. I don't think it's a big issue and it definitely isn't excessive wear. Once the aftermarket jumps on and offers stiffer rims it would "fix" this, but I don't think I would change it. Even if it meant replacing a bead-loc ring and a round-head screw every so often, both inexpensive, and for now I like how the rims give a bit, I think it plays a part in the Baja's handling characteristics which I like

Other than that all systems are go. I had few crashes and roll-overs, but nothing too severe. I think tomorrow instead of running I'm going to spend the afternoon cleaning some land up and try to make a track for myself

brice_arnold

My Feedback: (6)

CodeToad- Your wear and tear sounds identical to mine. One boot worn out, wear on the screws due to wheels rubbing.

Timmahh

so far i have noticed a small amount of SIDS on parts, the boots as mentioned, front shock shafts, some unusual wear here and there, by the rear tires, but noting unexpected or extroidinary to speak of... it is a first run after all, and something always gets missed.. I remember when Cadilac came out with the Deville. not the coupe deville, just the deville. i can distictly remember 2 different caddys in 2 different local citys, both had the rear drive shaft depart from the pumpkin.. it seams the setup that held the rear passenger side axle in was weak due to poor metal quality, and broke allowing the rear wheel and entire axle to leave the vehicle... luckily both local incidences happened at 10 or so mph so no REAL damage and NO injury....Bonus!!!

My Baja should be here Wendsday and I will be placeing an order today or tomorrow for a few things. 1- a new set of boots, 2- 2 sets of front shock shafts or i may just buy a set of front shocks and an extra set of shafts for the front, it comes with another set of rear shafts, ( im not planning on useing this like a china doll, I will drive it like i stole it!!!) and the XCan. so i should have it all by end of next week so i can put a proper not worried about a few broken parts run. i ll also probably get a set of drive shafts when available. just cuz i d rahter have them than be down until they arrive...
other than those mentioned above, 1 report of a Killed Baja, ( i ll let that owner state his case).
COMON WENDSDAY!!!!!!!
Timmahh

original.mb

codetoad,

good to see you've had a positive experience with your new large-scale look forward to seeing pics and video of your baja bashing

and welcome to the realm of gassers, all in all we are a good bunch here

brice_arnold

My Feedback: (6)

I'm kinda surprised that I havn't seen this mentioned yet but the Baja does come with quite a bit of extra parts. Including . . .

- two shock shafts
- air filter
- spur gear
- servo-saver arm
- servo arms, steering
- rear upright spacers
- diff seals
- brake pad shims
- screws, nuts, e-clips, body pins, set screws, plastic washers, etc. . .
- diff oil, shock oil, air filter oil, fuel oil

Tigger N. Bennie

To date, I have broke one front shock shaft and bent one front turnbuckle while "bashing" it.

Time spent was on two different tracks during the day and at night over a weekend, as well as in one of the parking lots (both days at both tracks): one large 1/8th scale race track (home of the Silver State Nitro Challenge and of the recently held R/C Pro Series West Round 1; the other is the former home of the Silver State Nitro Challenge which is currently under reconstruction and is set up as a bashing track--lots of dirt with no barrier rails in place for lanes. I have ran numerous tanks through it and hope to run a lot more as soon as I get a replacement front shock shaft since I really don't want to use the extra rear shock shafts that shipped with the Baja5B. And the last I noticed, HPI did have the turnbuckles in stock but not the front shock shaft. I have also spoke to one of the employees at one of the local HobbyTownUSAs and they will be carrying parts for the Baja5B.

Consequently, I have already informed one of the HTUs about the front shock shaft and turnbuckle so they can have extra on hand. I also know of another independent LHS who is supposed to be receiving one Baja5B, but I assume he may only stock parts on an order basis though if I talk to him about the front shock shaft and turnbuckle, he may also keep some on hand. I just know that at least one of the HTUs ordered more Baja5Bs than the independent and one of the other employees had pre-ordered one. If it takes too long to get any in stock, I'll probably just order the turnbuckles from HPI and the titanium shock shafts from overseas.

Attached are several photos that I took in Boulder City, Nevada. The driver was Cody King (Kyosho plus others). If you have trouble seeing the antenna tube, it's because I'm using a Nomadio Sensor.

Croozer

My Feedback: (1)

The FG-MT is a Monster Truck with a much higher center of gravity, of course it is not gonna handle as good as any buggy style car.

TurtleRacing

That's great, I'm sure he didn't realize that when he posted & it's good that you could come around & point that out!!

I run on completly hard packed clay, there's not forgiving! I've only had problems with the boots & chipping a tooth on the steering servo, but I'm still driving & not letting up. i've tumbled my Baja something terrible,barrel rolled, end over end, the whole works & the few minor problems I've had I can deal with! Still Lovin it! I saw where one person said he only considered what owners of multiple large scale had to say, too bad, I don't have to own any other to know this thing is great!

1saltykracker

after running my baja through 3 tanks of fuel, and running it aggeressively, (big time bashing) it has ripped the rear tire along the bead lock all the way around(tires seem alittle soft)....and the steering servo gears stripped(took a really hard end over end) hpi has a metal gear set for 30 bucks..shouldve been in there already though. other then that it was everything one would expect from a buggy..

CodeToad

Thanks for the welcome, original I haven't been able to take any action pictures yet because I have been busy driving, but here is a shot next to my Mini-T right when I took the Baja out of the box:



Croozer, yep, that’s exactly what I mean If folks are looking for a monster truck and plan to drive in monster truck terrain then they should be looking at monster trucks. Like I said, I drove a local's monster truck prior to my decision and it was definitely a lot of fun, but I wanted a buggy since they are more suited for the terrain I drive on for the reasons you listed

tizdaz

lol nice pic, makes the mini T look like a matchbox toy