bzyguy01

OK, I've read this entire post and want to give my 2cents... I LOVE This Truggy!!! I have alot of experience and I have sold all of my other trucks to keep this as my only one!
First.....The steering servo Sucks and MUST be replaced. Second..... Bolt check often and loctite dogbone allens. Third..... buy a spare mid range needle as it likes to fall out during races! Other than that. Go win some races.
I have raced mine 6 times at a small local meet and not on a pro leval by any means but I have won every race I entered with it. Well almost due to a flipper flipping it over on my lid and running off the track and then back out to get it back on the wheels. I almost reeled him back in tho......
I read earlier in the post " Drivers win races and the trucks just help" This is very true but this truck has what it takes to win and is rock solid for bashing! Recconmeded by me! Get one!

tommyjames

If you have any probs ask the guys at hpi. they are great. really supporting this model. My rtr is now an ss with the help of them. And the 4.6 is fast enough to hang and very torquey. So much easier to break in and tune than my new Ninja .21 in my mbx5 prospec. I'd have to say, its a great way to get into r/c nitro racing and do it in style... Just don't expect the local on-site shop at the track to have parts so stock up. Yes you will break stuff. I went through two sets of right front a-arms so get the tougher ones from hpi. Also invest in some loctite and use it right away on the grub screws on the universal joint that connects to the front and rear diff's. They will come loose after about a half gallon - Gallon of fuel. Especially if you run it hard. Just about everything you hear online in forums is going to happen before you get a gallon through it. Be wise and listen. The other thing to definitely do before you start fiddling around with any of the settings or whatever... If you go RTR - Put loctite on the Grub screws everywhere! They are not tightened enough from the factory and will loosten and you will lose the pins after they chew up your habs as they come out... It will end a day of racing quickly and you will have to find a replacement part... The best thing to say here is that many of the parts are universal or can be fitted from other vehicles to replace missing/broken ones. I'd say, the SS kit would be a great second vehicle for a true race fan trying not to follow the crowd. And it's comprised of some very well manufactured parts. Let me know if anyone wants to hit up the local SoCal tracks and share some tuning experience side by side. I play at ARC Raceway currently and Palomar. Been to the Dirt in Hemet, but its a bit farther since I am in Oceanside...

tommyjames

Oh and don't screw yourself out of some good runs right off the bat. Get a good servo and tighten down your servo saver all the way. It'll loosten up if you don't. I went with a HiTec 5955 Titanium unit rated at 333oz. torque. They come with a 2 yr. warrantyand are very fast as well. I went through 3 other servos( some good metal gear ones even) before this one and it is unbeatable. 130 bucks at the local hobby shop, but well worth it. I'm gonna get one for my Mugen 2.

tommyjames

OK, this is just short of spamming now so one last thing... Use all the methods recommended in forums and in mags etc... to get the most steering out of your truggy... Toe out in the front a couple degrees, 15 degree caster blocks, 2.5 mm wider rear hubs... etc... this will have you turning on a dime inside even the MBX5T's. I would say that is your main goal first thing, when tuning... i'd like to see more tuning tips here if you have any... I pulled my motor apart tonite to see if it looked like I should do that motor mod mentioned earlier in these posts, I read about it in detail in another, but I decided not to, just doesn't seem to need it. Yes it needs more top end, but I believe a bigger clutch bell will do the trick. I did install a set of aluminum clutch shoes and 1.0 lb Clutch springs, so I will test that out next trip to the track. I also threw in the 8.5 Carb Sleeve. Has anyone had any experience playing with those in this motor yet? I have an extra brand new k4.6 HO just in case things go wrong. I sooo want to bust that mod with my dremel, I just couldn't remove the cylinder sleeve easily, and I don't want to screw it up... Any recommendations? Anyone have trouble with it? Is it really worth it? Or can you screw up the port and get funky results...? Thanks, J

JagManSS

HEAR HERE ..... I LOVE my HellFire SS .... I have a STS.28 w/matched pipe ..... 17T CB ... and it flies ... nothing can touch it .. and I mean nothing ..... My buddy bought a Hyper 8 buggy (w/Axle .28) .... thinks that he is going to waste me at the track in the spring .. not if me and my HellFire have our way ... HellFire Rules ..... HPI should start a Team I would race for them or at least support them ( I think I am already doing that LOL ) ...

JagManSS

out of 100% the truck is 20% and the driver is the other 80% ..... the Hellfire SS rules ..... and you are really close on the 40 hour built time ( if you wanna do it right ) I have not found anything that even comes close to beating my Hellfire, if I have a good day !!!!!!

gojohnnygo

someone in my area is selling a used (he says 1/2 gallon including break in) and is "almost new" condition Hellfire for $380.00usd. it has HI-TEC 645MG servo upgrade, and glo-igniter/battery/charger/futaba radio. is that a good price? i'm considering it.

bhinton

go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

bzyguy01

Thats a very good deal.

sickfast

hey guys,
my father owns a hellfire himself hes having a problem with durability ..the rear hing pins keep breaking out the bushings everytime he hits a jump wrong or hits a dreaded nail !

so my question is that if anyone has this problem waht have they done ... is there anyine making a captured hing pin set for it .. cause i cant find one ..

now he is runing alum. arms and i will be changing them this weekend to se if that dosnt help .
if you guys have any info to share plz do ... im runing out of otons short of trade-in ..and after bu8liding my own mugen mbx-5 pro and seeing it built like a tank .. im thinking the mbx5-t might be a little more sutted for him but the thang is hes got alot in the hellfire and id hate to see it go ..so plz help

allbones512

guys I got my new hellfire and think the suspension is way too soft, Is anyone doing anything to the suspension or just running it soft?

lazyboy12300

Ive recently bought a second hand Hellfire SS with a Nosram 28 engine installed. Ive just got it runnin this weekend and i have say, THIS THING IS DAMN FAST!!!!! Maybe its just because im not used to truggies since i had a Savage before but i would recomend this to anyone. I took it to a skate park today at it flew perfectly, this was my third tank and i got about 8ft in the air. I still didnt brake a thing. The only thing i did notice was the chassis bottomed out. How would you recomend stopping this? Considering i am only 14 and relatively new to truggies (raced electric onroad for 5years) i think that this is a great buy for anyone thinking about this truck.
Just my opinion.
Scott

bhinton

if you guys find that it is to soft for you then use 50 wt shock oil

JagManSS

TommyJames ...... I LQQKed back in this thread and didnt see anything about engine mods .... maybe you could link me up .... or anyone as far as that goes .... anyone know where a guy would find out a little info on these motor mods everyone is always chating about ... maybe something like how to do them or who can do them for cheap ????????????????????//

Layzie

Ok, I bought the RTR Hellfire and put in the sf-3 metal steering servo gear upgrade $30, Nubz tires and wheels $80, and Hellfire wing kit $25. Took this thing out to the local track and drove for a full day. No problems, nothing got broken made the 30ft. triple every lap no problems..
<---First time ever at any track and i'll tell ya this truck did exactly what I paid $600+ bucks for it to do. Ive seen alot of people hate on this truck in other threads, but if you pay attention to the details on the truck, it runs awesome. There were some other guys at the track that looked to be regulars with their fully tricked out $1500 trucks and awesome radios and the hellfire was able to hang right in there with them until my rookie driving skills took over, running an entire tank of gas I wasnt more than 2-3 turns back. If it got stolen tomorrow I would go out and buy another one.[8D]

CRUZRC

I JUST GOY MY HELLFIRE SS KIT FROM TOWERHOBBIES , ANY SUGESTION ON A FAST WITH GREAT RPM ENGINE TO INSTALL AND BEAT ANY TRUGGY ON MARKET? THANKS ALL PEACE!

hellfireking21

ive had a normal hellfire for about a year and i have to say the price is alot but its worth it perfect handling fast my freinds got a 2wd schumacer rascal and my hellfire can beet it of the line

bhinton

axial 28 works perfect with the jp 3 pipe

CRUZRC

THATS WHAT I GOT, AXIAL 28 1S + JP3 pipe + 15T cluch
IT FLYES ALLTHE WAY,
I RACE MY RC10gt w/ os 18 and an Hot bodies lightning Gt10 stock , AND MY HELLFIRE SMOKES ALL OF THEM

j-boy

I had issues with turning left that I really thought was kind of sorry. If you check pages 34-36 or so on the official thread you can see my other posts. I was able to fix it though with a minimal amount of work ( little grindin here, little grindin there ). All in all though, I have been really happy with the SS kit. Now that I've got it steering left as much as it does right It's really a blast. I put a Picco P3 .28 in it and my biggest problem now is the insane torque that I get from this truggy.[>:] We use a drop gate at our club and I used to hang back to avoid those first turn pile up's but not anymore. I nail it off the gate and 9 times out of ten I can beat everybody to the first turn. Now all I gotta do is learn to drive so I can keep the lead.[sm=49_49.gif] I bought the SS cause I wanted something noone else had and I wanted to build my own racer. Tower is letting the roller go for a little less than 300 now and in myu opinion you just can't beat that deal. I am still a newb compared to most guys and if you saw me drive you'd know it. I have beat the heck out of this truck at the track for about three months every other weekend. I HAVE NOT.. thats right I said HAVE NOT broken anything yet. The only cheaply made part I've really even noticed is the HPI wing. It's too thin and it got out of shape pretty quickly from bein on my lid. Alls well though cause I got an Illusion wing thats just too sweet.

OH yeah Heres a pic when it was still pretty!

bioman35

Can someone show me a picture of the "dogbone" screw?

gtr

http://www.hpieurope.com/piw.php?lang=en&partNo=Z721

bioman35

That looks nothing like a dog bone. Where does that screw go on the hellfire? How come its so easily lost? No loctite on it?

agentM192

I absolutely love mine. It's flipped after awful jump landings, it barely takes a scratch, and is right back up ready to do it again! It is very fast. There's a billion options to begin with. Great manual. The list goes on!

gtr

I mention the set screw #Z721 is come from the dog bone.

Dont know you want which one ?
Pls see the pics as below.....