HPI Baja brushless conversion?

Good luck finding even the cheapest brushless conversion for 100 bucks lol. DDM has a 5th scale setup for 425

I assume you are only looking for the hardware without electronics. And you are right. Everyone who sells them seems to be out of stock. I can only find the full conversion kits(motor,ESC,etc.) And they all seem to be $400+

that's right. only looking for the hardware. i always source my own electronics. the integy kit is 100 and the castle kit is even cheaper. i only see a no name brand ebay kit which looks to come with a lot of stuff (battery and receiver boxes, new steering linkages, etc) for around 220. i don't mind the price, but i'm skeptical as to whether or not the metal will stand up to prolonged bashing. i'd prefer a brand name kit

i've already done a losi dbxl electric brushless conversion so i understand the cost involved. i'm just curious as to why they're all backordered? are they in low or high demand? is there an issue with running electric on the buggys? i've read of people running 1/8 scale motors and escs then burning them out, but that's to be expected. i plan on running a toro 200a esc with a 780kv 1/5th scale motor 6s setup

I think you are referring to the KM setup on eBay. I own a KM and their alloy seem to be just as good as any other. I have read a lot of bad about Integy alloys so not sure about theirs. I see tons of threads on different forums of people converting to electric because they are faster and quieter. Which would explain all the back orders and out of stocks. I personally love the noise lol

Scruffy said:

I think you are referring to the KM setup on eBay. I own a KM and their alloy seem to be just as good as any other. I have read a lot of bad about Integy alloys so not sure about theirs. I see tons of threads on different forums of people converting to electric because they are faster and quieter. Which would explain all the back orders and out of stocks. I personally love the noise lol

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ah didn't realize that was a km kit. my buddy has a km and it does seem very solid. i'll give that kit some consideration. thanks

This one is by hobby pro. I think it's for the 5b/t but the description says losi5t. Looks like the one for the 5b to me
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/252776485435

Hobbyking do a good value conversion I believe, I run a Brushless Baja and absolutely love it ! crazy fast on 8s and since it's lighter than DBXL and 2wd you will get much better run time, i'm getting over 30 mins now and have more speed than petrol motors

The Hobbyking kits have been discontinued for some time now. I would have definitely purchased them seeing as how they are the cheapest.

I just took a stab in the dark and ordered the one off Ebay. The kit looks very complete and comes with a nice battery/receiver box. I hope it's decent quality.

BTW, how are these things on 6S? I have a large stock of 6S batteries I intend to run. I don't care much for top speed runs, I have other cars for that. I also don't like popping wheelies. I prefer controlled bashing.

6s seems to be the way to go if you want control. Never seen one in person but from the vids I have watched, 8s is hard to keep the front wheels on the ground

6s about 35mph 8s running about 42mph, I find 8s the way to go with good finger control or 6s for general running and bashing plenty of fun, you can also get 10,000mah 6s Lipo that fit straight in the box

So I finally got my Baja up and running. I'm running 4S 6200mAh 40C x 2 in series. The conversion kit I bought came with a 14T pinion with the stock 57 spur. I ran it first in the park with Proline bowties and Desperados, it was quite impressive. Lots of torque, really tore up the grass. The week after, I ran it on tarmac on tarmac busters and was less impressed. This thing has a miserable top speed. Also, are tarmac busters terrible tires? They don't seem to grip at all off the line, even from a soft rolling start. Anyways, which pinion should I run for a slightly better top speed? 16/17T? Any problems with motor temps? I'm on a 760kv motor. From my experience with 60mph cars, I feel like the Baja topped out at 30mph. I was expecting more from an 8S setup. I'm hoping it's the gearing, because I didn't feel much of a difference going from 6S to 8S. I'm assuming all the wheelie videos I've seen of 8S setups on youtube have slicks mounted to them.

I get the feeling the Baja really isn't made for tarmac. The handling on road is also pretty bad. It's fun as it drifts around and it throws it's weight around. It over steers a lot, on and off power. However, it's actually quite impressive and very controllable on grass. It power slides and hooks beautifully. It could just be the tires. Tarmac busters leave a lot to be desired. Realistically, considering how poorly it handles tarmac, maybe more speed isn't a good idea. My buddies 4WD Traxxas slash on 3S was sailing by my Baja

Im considering the brushless conversion. I wont be running on tarmac though. You could check your wheel alignment, front and rear. If your radio has it, you could slow down your steering rate. Does sound like you are over correcting. Larger tires might wallow more.
Im sure you've heard of Don Garlits in drag racing. He had the same problem with the rear engine dragster. After his bad accident he had in his front engine dragster. He went with the rear engine dragster. Some body had tried it first and just could not get it to go straight. After Don tried it, same thing, He would come back from a run and say. I was all over the track, I swear I feel like Im over correcting. His partner/ builder suggested slowing down the steering rate. He went straight as an arrow after that. We all know how much he won over the years.

not sure what gearing is on mine ( I have changed a few times to get it right ) but you should notice big difference between 6s & 8s ! your 760 motor is a bit low which will reduce top speed just go up a couple of teeth and try again but keep an eye on motor temps. The new castle 2028 is 800kv and is very quick compared to a Toro 760kv I had before

Running 8s on Castle 2028 780kv i'm 42mph offroad

Timbo said:

not sure what gearing is on mine ( I have changed a few times to get it right ) but you should notice big difference between 6s & 8s ! your 760 motor is a bit low which will reduce top speed just go up a couple of teeth and try again but keep an eye on motor temps. The new castle 2028 is 800kv and is very quick compared to a Toro 760kv I had before

Running 8s on Castle 2028 780kv i'm 42mph offroad

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Timbo, did I see you at Advance RC on woodbine and hwy 7 a couple weeks ago? I met a guy there that had a Kraken converted Baja as well.

Hi Bryan no it wasn't me, i've been busy building an FG Baja brushless over last couple months and it's now done ready to roll. Will be running it at Bashfest this weekend.

How you gettong on with yours ?

Timbo said:

Hi Bryan no it wasn't me, i've been busy building an FG Baja brushless over last couple months and it's now done ready to roll. Will be running it at Bashfest this weekend.

How you gettong on with yours ?

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Sourcing batteries is difficult and expensive. What size batteries are you running? The largest hobbyking carries are 4S 6200Mah. Those barely last 8-10min. At about $90cdn shipped each (x2, 8S), they get pretty expensive. That's $180 in batteries for 8-10min run time. Ouch. I'm having more fun with my electric converted Losi DBXL. For some reason I get more run time with that using the same battery setup even though the Losi is a good 10lbs heavier. Maybe more traction means less time in full throttle. Next step for the Baja is to fix all the play in the ball joints and control arms. I just replaced the lower hinge pin braces as mine were all ovalized. The rear wheels still wobble like crazy from all that play in the ball joints.

My conversion kit came with a sealed battery box, so I may have issues running larger batteries. The dimensions are approx. 165mm x 55 x 45 (x2) since there are 2 slots. I'm wondering if going with some plastic parts will help shed some weight and give me better run times. The roll cage, shock towers, hub carriers and some other bits are all upgraded aluminum.

I run the Zippy 8000mah 4s about £48 over here ( $65 I think ) your Baja should run for longer than the DBXL ! unless driving style has something to do with it, keep an eye on how much full throttle time using each car. All the play you have could cause massive drain with friction and wobble ? are you running same motor and ESC in both ?

Lid needs to come off battery box to make room, buy some heavy duty velcro straps and simply strap Lipo's in so you have more height for bigger batteries. main problem with Baja is narrow chassis !