RPaulG87

The way I see it, and the reason Iwent with the cheaper ones and am happy with it, is aluminum is aluminum. You put the right amount of stress on it from a jump, or whatever, and it will bend, regardless of how "high grade" it is. Rather be replaceing 15$ towers than 35$ towers.

KeithjV

Im not arguing with you. I just wrote what Ive heard. And you are right, if you land hard enough even the "strongest" parts are going to bend/break.

RPaulG87

Aluminum looks great..but I do wish RPM actually had parts for the Hellfire, they make look bad, but you sacrafice looks for durability, which if you bash is a must. On my E-maxx and Rustler, Inever remotely damaged a RPM part even that one time whenI snapped the E-maxx chassis in half, only the stock points broke.

KeithjV

I agree. I have the RPM arms on my Savage. I wish they made parts for every RC model. They are a huge improvement over stock

RPaulG87

One thing I've noticed, generally people seem to bend thier shock towers by jumping, it flipping, hitting the shock tower and bending it...since Ihave a steel roll cage on, which completely protects the shock towers (as well as engine and everything else) I'm doubting I'll be bending the shock towers, without bending the steel cage first?

KeithjV

I would say they should be pretty safe. If you manage to bend anything under that roll cage its probably going to be from a pretty horrorific crash.

sleeper341

Assuming that it is due to the compression, I'd look at buying a replacement engine. What would you guys recommend for the Hellfire? What are your experiences with the different engines? I don't race, I just bash.

Thanks again for the help.

KeithjV

You cant go wrong with an LRP. Either the .28 or the .30. I have 3 .28's in different trucks and I love them. Tons of power and easy to tune.

stussman

How much $ you want to spend?

sleeper341

No more than $200 - $250 ideally. I was looking at the STS D30 too, how do you think it compare with the LRP ?

thanks.

stussman

The LRP 28 is a great bashing engine. If you get the pullstart version you will need to shim the engine up slightly on the mounts as the pullstart backplate gets in the way. Its no big deal tho. The bumpstart version slots straight in but you need a bump box.
The STS engines can be powerhouses but can have crank issues. I would get the STS 28 5 port for a trug not the STS 30.
Search around on this site .For $250 you could get a good, possibly modded 21 that would fly.
Search on Utube for vids of engines your interested in.

Iam considering a STS as there cheap but can be hit or miss.

RPaulG87

I know whenever my 4.6 HO Nitrostar takes a dirt nap I'll be moving to the LRP .30 more than likely, I think I'd want the extra power since my Hellfire weighs...quite a bit now

3130pembroke

everyone is correct- only the hpi SS shock tower is strong enough for abuse- I have had every brand on my truck and bent every one except the SS 7075 billet- you get what you pay for........................



As far as motors go if your bashing why not just keep throwing the $100 axials in (same as stock hellfire motor) - change it every 7 8 gallons. then as you collect them you'll have extra carbs and parts. Make it fancy and put a nova head on it.

RPaulG87

I'll bet you two HF SS towers that if I bash my Hellfire enough,Ican bend the SStowers

I'd like to see where you have found the Nitro Star 4.6 HO for 100$ the CHEAPEST I have found on Ebay, is 150$ +shipping, all other sellers have them at 200+

KeithjV

I wouldnt spend that kind of money on an HO. For a few dollars more you can get an LRP or an SH which IMO are far better engines.

RPaulG87

Oh Iknow, I'm just saying, his 100$price figure is non-existant, some companies are even selling them for 270$

KeithjV

You can probably find and Axial for around 100-110 but still not worth it. Spend a little more on a decent engine and you will save yourself a lot of headaches. You'll spend more time running then tuning.

K-man 15

What weights of diff and shock oil are you guys running?
I need to switch them out and I just want to know what would be best.

KeithjV

Your diff oil is going to depend on where you are driving. If you are doing a lot of straight line high speed driving then you will want a heavier center diff oil. If you are on a track with a lot of tight turns the you'll wait a lighter center diff. A good starting point is 7/10/3

K-man 15

I usually run on a track that just has a few tight turns and some pretty good sized doubles. and i usually chassis slap on the landings, so does that mean i need heavier shock oil weight?

KeithjV

Yes Id go a little heavier on the shock oil and maybe stiffer springs so it doesnt bottom out. Unfortunately the HF is a very heavy truck

K-man 15

I still have the 20 wt oil in my shocks from factory settings so would I want like 45 or 50 wt?
and pink 7lb springs in front and white 9lb or yellow 10lb springs in the rear?

KeithjV

Try the 45 and see how it goes. You might be able to make the adjustments you need with just the oil and not have to touch the springs. Its a trial and error thing.

nitroexpress

A good setup will have some body slap on the biggest jumps. Otherwise you wouldn't be using all of the suspension travel. 20wt oil is too thin.

sleeper341

I have 60 in mine (adjustable Hot Racing shocks with the springs that came with them, can't remember what colour/weight) and it still slaps a bit when landing big jumps.