New member with a new KM and issues out of the box

[ProStreetCamaro]

Hey folks glad to have found this forum. I have been into RC for years off and on. Always wanted a 1/5 scale so I finally decided on a KM baja. I figure as a break stuff I will just upgrade anyway so no use starting out with a genuine hpi.

Well my new 002 came out of the box with broken front shock tower and supports. The rear hub on one side was also broken. Dan sent replacements and I got it all fixed up. Took it out to fire it up and break it in. Started right up and ran good. Couple minutes later a horrible grinding sound and the engine died. Brought it in and found the starter exploded. Bolt fell out and everything inside got mangled up. Dan sent me a new starter and i used the ultra high strength red lock tite on that bolt.

So finally get it breaking in and start to drive it around. After a tank I started getting on it a little harder. Jumped a small bump in my yard and it landed funny and flipped over. Put it back upright and the shock tower, supports and servo horn are all broke. I ordered aluminum shock tower and supports and alloy servo horn and am waiting on them to get here.

My question is.........is the stock plastic THAT fragile on these? It was in the 20's outside so I guess the cold could have made the plastic brittle. Anybody else run into any issues like this?

 

[Snowman95]

I broke those front shock tower supports to, they suck, go aluminum. I also broke the rear wing, lost compression on the motor after 1 gallon of gas, had rear sway bar hitting a drive boot, drive boots cut from debris and a cracked a roll bar. You will be breaking stuff on this thing, be prepared to replace with upgraded parts until you get a solid platform. It's all part of the game .

 

[jaygreig]

I had been running mine pretty hard with a little warm spell here in Indiana. Lots of large to largish jumps without any issues. Took it out last week with 26 degree weather and at about 8 mph, hit a low rock right at the front skid plate joint...fairly solid thud. Upon inspection...total of 6 separate fracture points on 4 different pieces. I believe the cold absolutely played a factor in that.
If you're interested, I made a template for the axle boot guards I fit to it. I used the black plastic from a $8 expanding file holder from walmart. I also cut 2mm off both end of the rear sway bar to give the clearance needed.

 

[Go fast]

I purchased my KM 2.0 EX from Dan had it just over a month so far so good it does have the upgraded aluminum parts and I'm in Miami so no 26F weather. I've been beating on this buggy pretty good a few flips also , and must say I'm impressed and the power is awsome gps'd 45 mph so far.

 

[airoscar]

I have the geniune HPI 5b ss kit, the front suspension tower factured the first day out and I had no idea when it cracked. It seems to be a really tight fit when I built my kit, I think it might been a design/fit issue: the parts have lots internal stress with each other, and with a little bit impact, it will fracture.

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

I have the geniune HPI 5b ss kit, the front suspension tower factured the first day out and I had no idea when it cracked. It seems to be a really tight fit when I built my kit, I think it might been a design/fit issue: the parts have lots internal stress with each other, and with a little bit impact, it will fracture.

I agree it seems like a terrible design. I went ahead and installed an aluminum tower and braces. I also installed an aluminum servo horn. I still don't even have a full tank through it yet. I think I might go ahead and sell it to be honest and stick with my 1/8 brushless trucks. I tried to post a for sale ad but I don't have enough posts yet and have not been a member for more than 3 months.

 

[airoscar]

I agree it seems like a terrible design. I went ahead and installed an aluminum tower and braces. I also installed an aluminum servo horn. I still don't even have a full tank through it yet. I think I might go ahead and sell it to be honest and stick with my 1/8 brushless trucks. I tried to post a for sale ad but I don't have enough posts yet and have not been a member for more than 3 months.

Just to clarify on my baja, the front suspension support centre cross piece cracked vertically right in the middle, but it didn't require any repair, i been bashing around with that crack and its holding up fine, because it's just a fitment issue.

In terms of fun, 1/8th are not even close to the baja. My roommate just bought a revo 3.3 and i was almost gonna pick one up myself too, it has cool bells and whistles like the two speed transmission with reverse, and traxxas telemetry. But i was driving it, it just doesn't do it...(and I'm glad i tried his revo out before i bought one myself cos i will have regretted).

First, the revo 3.3 does not have the torque, even when we are bashing in the snow, it picks up first with its 4WD, but my baja will just take that over with shear engine power and acceleration. The E-revo brushless is a whole different story than the nitro revo, but unless you have unlimited supply of lipo batteries, you get to watch your nitro/gas buddies play more than you drive your own e-revo. I was a BL guy myself and got a number of lipo batteries and chargers from HobbyKing, but i don't think i wanna go back to electric ever since i got my hpi baja 5b ss. You can take a gas/nitro camping in the summer and never worry about recharging somewhere.

Second, the 1/5th feels much more substantial, i guess the size does matter in a strange sense, the engine noise, the weight of the vehicle, etc. There is nothing like the 1/5th scale in the 1/8th department, not to mention the electrics.

Third, i find the handling and the driving experience of the RWD much more rewarding. Some people might complain that it doesn't handle very well... I think they just need to learn to control their throttle, i been bashing my baja with a 4wd revo in the snow, i do not feel its lacking handling in any way other than maybe over rough terrain. It's a much sportier handling. But that might just be i'm use to driving a RWD, i drive a mustang all winter long up north here in Canada.... The only time i find my baja lacking is in an area where the snow is more than a couple inches deep and soft, the revos can power it through and the rwd baja will get stuck, but maybe i'll invest in some snowmobile kit next winter if I'm gonna be going in snow lots....bottom line: the 1/5th scale is much more fun all around.

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

Just to clarify on my baja, the front suspension support centre cross piece cracked vertically right in the middle, but it didn't require any repair, i been bashing around with that crack and its holding up fine, because it's just a fitment issue.

In terms of fun, 1/8th are not even close to the baja. My roommate just bought a revo 3.3 and i was almost gonna pick one up myself too, it has cool bells and whistles like the two speed transmission with reverse, and traxxas telemetry. But i was driving it, it just doesn't do it...(and I'm glad i tried his revo out before i bought one myself cos i will have regretted).

First, the revo 3.3 does not have the torque, even when we are bashing in the snow, it picks up first with its 4WD, but my baja will just take that over with shear engine power and acceleration. The E-revo brushless is a whole different story than the nitro revo, but unless you have unlimited supply of lipo batteries, you get to watch your nitro/gas buddies play more than you drive your own e-revo. I was a BL guy myself and got a number of lipo batteries and chargers from HobbyKing, but i don't think i wanna go back to electric ever since i got my hpi baja 5b ss. You can take a gas/nitro camping in the summer and never worry about recharging somewhere.

Second, the 1/5th feels much more substantial, i guess the size does matter in a strange sense, the engine noise, the weight of the vehicle, etc. There is nothing like the 1/5th scale in the 1/8th department, not to mention the electrics.

Third, i find the handling and the driving experience of the RWD much more rewarding. Some people might complain that it doesn't handle very well... I think they just need to learn to control their throttle, i been bashing my baja with a 4wd revo in the snow, i do not feel its lacking handling in any way other than maybe over rough terrain. It's a much sportier handling. But that might just be i'm use to driving a RWD, i drive a mustang all winter long up north here in Canada.... The only time i find my baja lacking is in an area where the snow is more than a couple inches deep and soft, the revos can power it through and the rwd baja will get stuck, but maybe i'll invest in some snowmobile kit next winter if I'm gonna be going in snow lots....bottom line: the 1/5th scale is much more fun all around.

That might be true if i can ever get a chance to actually drive mine with out breaking something. I know i have the front shock tower issue solved. The new rear tires will be here tomorrow. I will take it back out and see if I can get through a tank without it breaking again LOL

I have a thunder tiger eMTA that is absolutely bad azz. Honestly it is almost too much power on only 4s and it will handle 6s just fine if you can touch the throttle without it doing 360 backflips from a standstill.

 

[Johan]

Hmm.. although I've added more than a few hop-ups to mine now the only thing I broke when I first got my KM T1000 was the front bulkhead and the rear shock mount when I hit a post.

This was in august last year. Posted on another forum at the time it happened but copied it here. Click the image for better resolution:
Had about 3/4 of throttle from the dirt pile:



About 50m later I mange to plant the left front tire into this pole




Resulting in this






Found the hinge pin (which is still straight), the turn buckle and the sway bar ball.

Took the front apart
All aluminium parts are ok and the chassis seem undamaged.









Arm looks ok, no tearing and no other visible damage




Everything looks ok


Bulkhead.




Broken parts: front bulkhead, rear body post and two e-clips.

I'm still running the same a-arms, hinge pins and so forth. I replaced the bulkhead with one from the HPI Baja.

 

[lrgscalr]

I also have a km Baja and knock on wood have flipped it, rolled it and nothing broken yet. Also my plan is, as I brake thing replace them with hpi parts.

 

[moneypitbaja]

Issues

Hello new owner, I somewhat consider myself an expert (well at least a heap of experience) on these bajas as I have owned 8 of them and can rebuild them in my sleep now, lol. The shock towers is always my first replacement even before I run it I always broke that first day for some reason. Cold weather and plastic is not a good mix, if you ran your Baja in Arizona or the summer heat you are less likely break anything, plastic does not flex below 32 degrees. My essential upgrade recommendations include Shock tower (front) rear hub carriers front lower a-arms throttle servo, killer rc kill switch (tot the Chinese piece of junk from ebay (don't waste your money) and oh yea steering assembly (aka wiper arms and servo saver) these replacements in aluminum are the most common failures (and they will fail) of all brands, (its not a KM issue) and will assure you a ton of bashing time with minimal down time.