These Formula 1 style RC cars are pretty amazing looking and seem to have some very high tech just like the real F1 cars. I bet you can do some serious damage to one of these if you hit a curb at speed. Which of course I've never done
Yup "pretty amazing looking" for sure It was too bad I discovered it after I had just bought my Baja 5B otherwise I would certainly have been the owner of the FG Formula ... but parts availability would be an issue for sure !?! Hitting the curb at speed would no doubt be grim ... ...
Hydraulic Brakes certainly are cool ... Almost don't count for nothing but I almost bought a set of Hydraulic Disk Brakes for my Baja 5B ... Still might, eh ...
Even outside would be good ... ... Only because of the noise issue in a densely populated neighborhood like mine, ... a quite electric would be more welcomed ... But holding me back, as always, is the COST of the conversion !?! ...
Wow. A Castle Creations XL2 combo for 1/5th scale is over $400! http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBWUS&P=FR
And that doesn't include installation hardware (Mounting KIT) nor a few batteries ... ... I was actually thinking at least over $1000.oo or more for the complete conversion ...
I always forget to account for the batteries. You're right too, they make up a significant part of the expense. Some time back Tiger turned me on to the HobbyPartz "Gens Ace" brand batteries and I got a couple of these 4S 5000 mAh LiPos for my OFNA 1/8th scale on-road car (link here): http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-40c-5000-4s1p-hardcase-direct.html I can verify that the Gens Ace batteries are very good and they cost significantly less than the Thunder Power batteries I was considering. I don't know how many cells you need for a 1/5th scale HPI Baja conversion, or how much room you have for batteries on the chassis, but I presume you will need more than 4S.
I also don't know ... It's been along time since I looked into all this !?! I only know they are BIG and EXPENSIVE, hehe,. EDIT: I found the OLD thread I posted for the Conversion KIT ... I also looked-up the SPEC page for the KIT at Castle Creations QUOTE: "The Baja chassis has plenty of room for up to 8S 2P LiPo, (33.6 volts). Run times with 8S 1P 5,000 mAh class cells are approximately 15 minutes – depending on driving style." FYI: The BEST brand name 8S/5000mAh/70C batteries would cost me $429.99CAD (retail)each ... OUCH ... Obviously discounted no-name batteries would cost significantly less ... ...
That's not too bad since the Castle Creations conversion kit also has all the hardware you need to change from gas to electric. You should be able to find batteries a lot less expensive than $280. I am using some Turnigy Nano Tech batteries for my hexacopter and a lot of the local airplane guys are also using them in their airplanes. I found this one which meets the specifications Castle Creations mentions and it *only* costs $158: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__19158__Turnigy_nano_tech_5000mah_8S_65_130C_Lipo_Pack.html That's still a chunk of change for a battery not to mention that you'll certainly want two or three of them to make the trip to somewhere to run your Baja worth while. That's after you've torn up your living room a few times of course. EDIT: That's a seriously big a$$ motor in that kit! I thought the Mamba Monster motor in my 1/8th scale was huge, but this motor is really big! Part 1 There are a lot of parts to this video in case you want to watch the whole conversion.
Sorry, I was editing at the time. I was looking at the wrong battery and price. ... It's NOT $280 each as I had first posted, they actually cost $429.99CAD each for the BEST brand name ... Yes, regardless it's "still a chunk of change for a battery not to mention that you'll certainly want two or three of them" ... anyway we SPIN it teh conversion is out of my league ... With everything else on my WISH-List it's just too darn expensive for this wanna-be ...
