HPI Bajas

[JERRY2KONE]

looks like fun guys. I hope to get one of those 5b's one of these days. I still have a few SuperMaxx trucks to finish up, before moving on to something else. Some of us do not have the unlimited funds $$$$$ like you Billy. I have to wait each month to get more stuff to play with and upgrade what I have. Right now I am looking at maybe purchasing two Hyperian chargers and a nice power supply. Then I will begin investing in some Lipos and Lifepos for our toys. So the 5b will just have to wait until next Xmas. We have 6 Maxx trucks to play with right now and the boys are really enjoying them.

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

looks like fun guys. I hope to get one of those 5b's one of these days. I still have a few SuperMaxx trucks to finish up, before moving on to something else. Some of us do not have the unlimited funds $$$$$ like you Billy. I have to wait each month to get more stuff to play with and upgrade what I have. Right now I am looking at maybe purchasing two Hyperian chargers and a nice power supply. Then I will begin investing in some Lipos and Lifepos for our toys. So the 5b will just have to wait until next Xmas. We have 6 Maxx trucks to play with right now and the boys are really enjoying them.

Believe me, I don't have unlimited funds, especially after building these two bajas.

I do work at a LHS part time, so that does help a little. I take them in when I work sometimes and it does help sell bajas and parts, so we are starting to sell a lot more baja stuff. I am too scared to add up the receipts for these, yet I'm looking into two leads on used ones that I might pick up.

ALSO, here are some pics of my BL 5T. It is still a work in progress, but there is some dirt on it, and that is from running it. The upgrades are very similar, though not everything has been installed yet, such as the alloy transmission case, its just waiting for a rainy day.







That is a NEU 2230, and a Jeti Spin200. Steering is done with a JR 9100HVT and brakes are a JR9100HVS, just like the gasser. It has been run on 8s and 10s, and I don't know if I'm insane or what, but it needs more power still, I might try 12s or even 14s, if I can figure out how to fit the batteries in. The chassis is just too narrow for my use, HPI wasn't planning on filling the chassis with batteries I guess

I'm still not happy with my motor mount, but this was just a proof of concept. I am in the process of drawing up a better mount, that is more adjustable for gearing, moves the motor as low in the chassis as possible, and centers it a little better for better weight distribution.

i love brushless as much as nitro or gas but your 5T just looks..so...so...EMPTY! i dont know,something about wrenching on my big RC's next to my actual cars just feels good with a gasser,where most full-scale power adding concepts apply (unlike a nitro).--josh

Originally Posted by bigsteel

i love brushless as much as nitro or gas but your 5T just looks..so...so...EMPTY! i dont know,something about wrenching on my big RC's next to my actual cars just feels good with a gasser,where most full-scale power adding concepts apply (unlike a nitro).--josh

I thought the same thing you did.... until I tried to put my batteries in. Then I realized I could only fit 10s in without stacking, and part of goal with the T was to keep the weight as low as possible. I really do like wrenching on the gasser though, that is probably half the reason there are as many upgrades on there as there is. That has been torn completely apart at least a dozen times. Each time you take it apart you find a bunch of upgrades you want to do.

[FG101C]

I picked up a new 5b 2.0 from a buddy that never ran it. So far I still have not ran it but I have put a Mielke side mount pipe, Hitec 7955 for throttle/brake, Hitec metal gear steering servo, Killer Rc kill switch, suspension limiting straps and rear turnbuckle reinforcements. Other than that it's stock, these things are awesome and the amount of aftermarket parts makes my head spin. I probably won't do much as far as aftermarket aluminum, unless something breaks then I will probably upgrade.

Your Baja's look really good. Here's a few pics of mine. The last pic is of the pipe mount I made because the Meilke comes with a wire like a nitro buggy, it looked weak so I used some angle I had in the garage, it's actually the first thing I've ever fabbed up that turned out as good as it did.

Originally Posted by billy gunn

I thought the same thing you did.... until I tried to put my batteries in. Then I realized I could only fit 10s in without stacking, and part of goal with the T was to keep the weight as low as possible. I really do like wrenching on the gasser though, that is probably half the reason there are as many upgrades on there as there is. That has been torn completely apart at least a dozen times. Each time you take it apart you find a bunch of upgrades you want to do.

if it were me id try to make side mounted boxes like on a savage flux.either start by using the existing gaurds or fab your own with some nerf bars and heavy plastic or CF covering to hold the batteries.if you want 12s you could evenly space them with one 4s in the middle and 1 4s on each side.just my .02 --josh

Originally Posted by FG101C

I picked up a new 5b 2.0 from a buddy that never ran it. So far I still have not ran it but I have put a Mielke side mount pipe, Hitec 7955 for throttle/brake, Hitec metal gear steering servo, Killer Rc kill switch, suspension limiting straps and rear turnbuckle reinforcements. Other than that it's stock, these things are awesome and the amount of aftermarket parts makes my head spin. I probably won't do much as far as aftermarket aluminum, unless something breaks then I will probably upgrade.

Your Baja's look really good. Here's a few pics of mine. The last pic is of the pipe mount I made because the Meilke comes with a wire like a nitro buggy, it looked weak so I used some angle I had in the garage, it's actually the first thing I've ever fabbed up that turned out as good as it did.

Thanks, yours will be fun. You did some good first upgrades, a good pipe will help wake up the stock engine. Keeping the aluminum is also good, mine is a pig, weighing in at over 30# ready to go. Moving a 25# stock baja is a lot easier than moving a 30+# pig.

Originally Posted by bigsteel

if it were me id try to make side mounted boxes like on a savage flux.either start by using the existing gaurds or fab your own with some nerf bars and heavy plastic or CF covering to hold the batteries.if you want 12s you could evenly space them with one 4s in the middle and 1 4s on each side.just my .02 --josh

That was actually my first idea. I actually have a plan to make my own chassis on the back burner. I still have to draw it up and make sure that it will work, but my plan is to bend a new chassis that is wider.

[Unsullied_Spy]

Right out of the box I have never had another RC that was so durable and so much fun to drive! I don't have nearly as much $ in mine as most of you guys but still around $1400 and climbing! They are well worth it though, the whole experience is just something else.

[Gee]

Originally Posted by billy gunn

They shouldn't flood too easily. If yours is stock it should come with a Walbro 668 carb. They are actually very easy carbs to work with, make sure your H is at 1.5 turns and your L is at 1.25. (I think those are the stock settings for a 668) Also small changes on the needles makes a big difference. Check and make sure you don't have an airleak, also check your spark plug. If its hard starting, I have found those to be two common problems.

Also if it floods just take out the spark plug, tip the baja back, hold full throttle, and pull it a few times. Replace the plug and you should be able to start it.

Essential upgrade? I don't know I would recommend almost everything on mine. I think it really depends on where you drive, but outerwears prefilters, and the TR enclosed clutch setup if you drive in dirt and sand are good places to start.

A little water will be no problem, as usual the radio box is probably the most sensitive part. Obviously sucking water in the airfilter is bad, but an outerwears is water resistant.

The dominator line of pipes are built by DDM (Daves Discount Motors), they are all solid pipes.

The kill switch is just a third channel kill switch. It acts as a failsafe, and also so you can kill the engine using the third channel on your radio.

Thanks for the tips and info. I've been surfing the bajaforum looking for answers. Following this guide. http://www.hpibajaforum.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=63157
Started a HELP thread which helped the first time around. I am tearing it apart now going through the carb resealing everything, checking the magneto gap etc. Will grab a couple more new plugs tomorrow and give it another try. Just the little bit I ran it I could tell it was going to be a blast. Soon as I figure out this problem it will be. I've had possessed rcs before that they are just evil. Had a jato like that and sold it and got another jato that was an angel. I'm hoping this isn't one of those cases. A little more cash will be needed to flip it for a different one.

I still have a lst2 that is on the list to convert to brushless before this one. But I want to run it as nitro for a while first. I love the ease and low end power of brushless but before I do a conversion, I've always ran the rc as original as I could first just so I can get a good comparison of how the two different. So far the nitro/gas has had the edge on the bigger scale rcs I've done. On a side note though I've only used 6s max so far.

Here I go again, shopping for items and can't find one place that has them all in stock. So have to order from three different places and three different shipping costs. Damit to all Hell!


Jerry your better off waiting till the kids are out of the house. You'd need to take out a second mortage to get 6 bajas.

You guys got some good deals on your bajas. I can't believe the patience though of not running them yet. Impressive.

[JERRY2KONE]

Yea thanks Gee I know exactly what you mean about not getting into the Baja just yet. That would cost more than I ever plan on investing into R/C.

And it isn't that I have patients Gee. I really do want to get things up and running, but Money talks $$$$$. I can only aford to do so much at a time, and when you have 6 vehicles to worry about it adds up quickly. So I am forced to take my time. I made sure that the boys have everything they need to at least run the stock setups, with a few little hopup items. They got Axial beadlocks with Road Rage 11 tires for Xmas, and the last Novak super duty XR ESC's available at T/H's. The wheels are all setup now, taped tires and balanced for maximum staisfaction. Our next score will be batteries.

The 5b will be in the works next year some time. Sorry to hear about your luck with your new toy. We hope it all works out for you.

[pinkpanda3310]

Originally Posted by Gee

Nice baja billy. What are some essential upgrades for a kit?

If you have a standard baja then you basically want to bring it up to ss spec, decent pipe, metal diff cup etc...

I haven't got it for my car but a ceramic clutch is a good idea. They are 4-5 times expensive but last that much longer if not more. If you do run out of clutch pad you get metal on metal which generates lotsa heat on the crankshaft and screws the bearings. A ceramic clutch will just lose performance with out much issue.

I have also heard if you put aluminium arms on the front you havve a greater chance of cracking the chassis. Under the front skid plate is a couple of screws which create the weak point.

Use high octane fuel and synthetic oil, it burns cleaner so the engine will last longer.

There's probably a few other things but that's all I can remember right now. Hope it helps.

Oh yeah, something else. Use the outer wears not only on the air filter but on the pull cord casing as well. If you run in sand and dirt a lot (as it's the most fun) the stator will get sand blasted.

Originally Posted by pinkpanda3310

If you have a standard baja then you basically want to bring it up to ss spec, decent pipe, metal diff cup etc...

I haven't got it for my car but a ceramic clutch is a good idea. They are 4-5 times expensive but last that much longer if not more. If you do run out of clutch pad you get metal on metal which generates lotsa heat on the crankshaft and screws the bearings. A ceramic clutch will just lose performance with out much issue.

I have also heard if you put aluminium arms on the front you havve a greater chance of cracking the chassis. Under the front skid plate is a couple of screws which create the weak point.

Use high octane fuel and synthetic oil, it burns cleaner so the engine will last longer.

There's probably a few other things but that's all I can remember right now. Hope it helps.

Oh yeah, something else. Use the outer wears not only on the air filter but on the pull cord casing as well. If you run in sand and dirt a lot (as it's the most fun) the stator will get sand blasted.

A Lauterbacher or Alcon clutch is a very nice upgrade, but not necessary. I use the stock Zenoah, not CY, they are very different. Zenoah uses a better pad material that does last longer, plus once you do get to the metal shoe as long as you are paying attention, it will feel different. As long as you ditch the plastic clutch bell carrier, and go with either an enclosed clutch setup or at the minimum an aluminum clutch bell carrier the stock style clutches last quite a while.

Gas is fairly important, make sure the gas you use doesn't have ethanol in it. In some states they use oxygenated gas (I know in Utah they do), that just means that it has ethanol mixed in. While your baja will run on it, the ethanol shortens the life of the seals and diaphrams in the carb. As long as the octane is around 90 you should be fine on all but the highest compression engines. I use Sunoco 260GTX personally and find the baja runs fine on it. Also make sure you use a high quality oil, I personally use Castor 927. Using the cheaper oil designed for lower rpm 2-strokes will not protect the plating on your cylinder. The oil will shear off the wall leaving no protection and the plating will be damaged. As long as you use a high quality synthetic or I use the blend that is designed for high-rpms you will be fine.

I'm impressed at the number of baja owners on this forum. I think the percentage-wise the number of hobbyists that are baja owners is still fairly low though.

[Slowkrawl]

huh, you bring up and interesting point about ethanol. I have been running husky 94 octane which I think is 10% ethanol

I don't think I can find any gas here without ethanol in it....are there any brands that don't mix at least 10% ethanol in their gas anymore? Once the EPA killed MTBE, think everyone went ethanol.

When I was racing 2 strokes, Belray MC-1 was the oil to use - it was 50:1 and lubricated better than most premix oils at 20:1. CR480 never had an engine related prob.

Whats a good brand to use with a Baja? Prev owner was using Pro-Mix Premium - any good?

Originally Posted by Duster_360

I don't think I can find any gas here without ethanol in it....are there any brands that don't mix at least 10% ethanol in their gas anymore? Once the EPA killed MTBE, think everyone went ethanol.

When I was racing 2 strokes, Belray MC-1 was the oil to use - it was 50:1 and lubricated better than most premix oils at 20:1. CR480 never had an engine related prob.

Whats a good brand to use with a Baja? Prev owner was using Pro-Mix Premium - any good?

I'm not sure if any companies don't mix ethanol, I think that most if not all do now. You might look around and see if there is an oil/fuel distributor near you, and ask if they have any unoxygenated fuel. I am lucky enough to have an oil distributor down the street from where I work, and they sell Sunoco fuels by the gallon or the 5 gallon drum. I can also get 55 gallon drums, but I only use the fuel in my baja, and that would last me a while. If you can't find any, like I said ethanol is no big deal, just watch your seals, they may go bad faster.

Belray, Amsoil, Klotz, Castor 927, etc. Everyone will tell you their favorite is something different, and give you reasons why its the best. I use Castor 927 personally, I have no issues with it, it is a castor/synthetic blend, and some may complain that it will build up carbon faster than a synthetic, but I have not experience that. My personal feeling is that any high-quality two-stroke oil designed for high performance engines will work fine. I believe that Pro-Mix is designed more for lower rpm lawn equipment and such, I could easily be wrong, but I think I remember seeing it at Lowes/Home Depot, most of those oils are designed for lower rpm engines.