clone vs real deal

[lordraptor1]

my friend lordraptor1 on another forum has a hpi B and its spends more time broke than running, and im not exaggerating, he tells me all the time it run 5 minutes then something broke. he doesn't bash it very hard,just something someplace on it lets go.

my KM T 1000 has had only one thing that really broke as stock, the pullstarter, discovered if you get a PS with the collar arounf pawl it solves the issue with the KM's and mine sits alot on bench but not from breaks, fromall the upgrading i am doing, but has never broken. i was messing with it one day and had it going prolly 30 mph, steering was touchy cuz i added the DS extenders in front, and couldnt adjust the speed of the steering servo with the stock flysky brand radio it come with, it turned sharply flipped and rolled end over end 5 times on concrete into the ditch. went to look at it, and other than a scraped rear shock top, nothing broke at all.

i keep hearing peeps say the KM's plastic is crap compared to hpi, but my pal can disagree with that as almost every plastic part on his has busted sometime or other. mine hasnt.

i believe Km's plastic isnt as brittle as they say, in fact i think its better.

or at least a lil better than hpi's.

facts are tho, with allthat being said bout upgrades do to them and pretty much not being the same anymore afterwards, why spend 1k on hpi when a km is a few hundred cheaper and are in most respects just a good as hpi is.

it just leaves ya a lil spending money to do upgrades with off the bat.

the main issue with hpi over km or clones are, the peeps that slam ya saying your not buying american if ya don't buy a hpi, and i do support this great nation i live in. but, i see no reason not to buy a km over hpi, my aftermarket parts i get are mostly made for hpi and fir the KM so im still supporting hpi in a sense by using parts designed for hpi.

oh yeah i have issues with mine and there are a LOT of peeps who don't belive me when i tell them my baja has been a big POS but oh well i haven't even really got to bash teh snot out of it yet and honestly when it is running i am always waiting for it to break (i haven't even got teh chance to try and break it yet LOL)

 

[Mike1970]

If you're going to buy a car with the intention of fitting hop ups, why not just buy the hop ups and the remaining bit you need, rather than a chunk of cash for the car and then the hop ups?

 

[voo2doo]

If you're going to buy a car with the intention of fitting hop ups, why not just buy the hop ups and the remaining bit you need, rather than a chunk of cash for the car and then the hop ups?

Very good point Mike,it would work out better in the long run.I done the same with an FG MT .I replaced 99% of the plastic with alloy but when I went to sell it I broke it for the alloy and then sold the truck in its plastic form.
J

 

[t2boats]

If you're going to buy a car with the intention of fitting hop ups, why not just buy the hop ups and the remaining bit you need, rather than a chunk of cash for the car and then the hop ups?

yeah this is it.. i initially paid almost £330 for the baja, and for what i've added to it, the total cost hasn't even come near the initial investment on HPI's 5b. and for what i've bought for mine, i'd have bought anyway to fit the 5b so i look at it in the way that i've saved just over £500, which is the difference between the two buggy's here in the UK.

 

[dwarfy]

If you're going to buy a car with the intention of fitting hop ups, why not just buy the hop ups and the remaining bit you need, rather than a chunk of cash for the car and then the hop ups?

Its all about the initial outlay. A HPI or FG is cost effective to run in standard form and you can add hop-ups over a long period whilst still enjoying your original purchase. Some just hop-up when a part breaks or wears out or just to gradually improve the performance and reliability when they uncover the minor faults or irritations on the standard model.

 

[jcshort]

it was a joke lol just another line from SW's.

should have thought of that vader said that to luke:lol::lol: you guys all have great points.. and after an all nighter watching you tube vid i see now reason not to buy a km or rovan baja and save some money and go have FUN and lordraptor1 i know that feelin well myself i have same problem with my losi after shock every time i drive it no bashing or any thing just driving it breaks

 

[voo2doo]

fftopic: But here is a line I used from SW's and it made me chuckle a little.
I used to work as an FLT driver in the Wirral(FLT=forlk lift truck. Wirral=my birth place) And one of the lads asked if I could move a stillage(metal container) for him. I said I was just going on my dinner and he said he needed to move it straight away. His name was Luke and my reply to him was "Use the forks Luke" He didn't find it as funny as me though!:lol::lol::lol:
J.

 

[pimpef9]

HPI Baja with KM parts



KM Baja with HPI parts

J.

i must say the KM looks 10x better then the real deal so yours saying in other words the km is better build whats the km 29cc engine like have you replaced yours, less breakages i see that's a good thing my main concern sorry about the questions my introduction thread will explain everything!

 

[jcshort]

from what i have seen on youtube the hold up just as well as the hpis:w00t::w00t:

 

[lordraptor1]

from what i have seen on youtube the hold up just as well as the hpis:w00t::w00t:

from what i have experienced from people who own a clone and myself owning a genuine i would have to say the clone is far superior (but i am biased based on my baja breaking every time i TRY to run it )

 

[jcshort]

i also have a buddy his hpi breaks every time he runs it and it the newest verison

 

[voo2doo]

PIMP
I have been into RC for about 30 years now and especially into large scale for 8 years so I have been there and done that(if you know what I mean).
There are various sites and various answers you will get from 'clone haters'.
I ,myself wouldnt waste money on rubbish.
I seen Jacko's KM alloy baja and I was smitten All the rubbish you hear about them comes from people who have never owned one or their mum's uncles sisters dad's son had one and said they were crap or have just left school and never owner a LS apart from the one their mates have told them to get and they have been told the copies are crap too! HPI used a 'clone' engine in their baja and brought a 'blackout' to the market which is a cloned Redcat so they are rip offs too!
My KM has outlasted my 5T by far!:cup-1: There have been minimal breakages to repair on it (only the ones I have done by mistake or abuse) it has been an excellent car compared to the HPI version which needed repairs everytime it went out.
You say you joined MSFUK,well that says it all.I'd say over 95% have never owned a fifth scale!:lol::lol: so they really don't know the score with them and are talking about what their mates have said.MSFUK is more for nitro(sorry for swearing) and elecs.LSF is a dedicated petrol/gas forum and large elecs.
As BTB said "You will not regret selling your nitro(Oop's ,gotta stop swearing)stuff" Everyone I have met said they would never go back to nitro as they are too fiddly to set up the engine.I have had allsorts of nitro and I cant understand why I wasted my time and money
If you had of bought a used HPI Baja you would be getting someonelse's hammered buggy and would have to spend a hell of a lot on it to get it right but there also are some nice used out there but they from what I have seen are few and far between plus tot up the cost to get a bog standard to full alloy???
The engines in the KM's are good but are also a rip off of a CY(the ones HPI use) that are also a rip off of the original Zenoah:drool: I am not saying you wont have trouble but different driving styles and different abuse will take their toll on any mill.I sold mine a few week ago as i was buying a Zen four bolt but it was still as strong as the day I bought it.
I would,and as all(nearly) KM owners have done is to upgrade all the electrical gear in it as its prone to failure especially the servos.
You have made a good choice in my opinion and will not regret it.

Good luck.
J.

 

[Lan-Ed-Tul]

the hitec 5755 servo fried last nite onme, as i was just setting up arm position and side to side throws. it suddenly started going slow, and delayed movement, then stopped and smoke from the bottom.

contacted DDM on it, and they told me to send it to Hitec for warranty. kinda makes me miffed, as they just pass it off to the manufacturer, instead of taking it back and THEY take care of it as they send me a new one. most places i have bought things from DO take it back, replace it, and they in turn send bad item in for credit to them.

so, at any rate, now i got to send not only a hitec 5755 servo back to hitec also the Rx from the darn radio. did range test on it got like 240 feet, so i bought another one as this one im sending in to replace or repair. the new one i did range test yesterday on, and got 1/4 mile at least, no loss of siganl at all. thats proof the original is screwed due to that pinched spot on wire i seen wheni removed it from radio box wheni got it.

for a 500 dollar 4pks i expect nodamage for that kinda money, and it works right. not a damaged antennae wire on Rx.

k im done ranting. i was so mad last nite i had to walk away and watch TV for awhile to calm down.

 

[rc_man1]

As a Hobbies with over 25 years of flying, running Cars, and Boats.. My experance with Hitec is great. I have sent any many servo's and they were great with sending me new replacements. Futaba has always been a pain in my a@# about returns. This is why I only run Hitec gear. As for clones.. I love my KM it's rock soild and clones just make it better for me because I can still find parts really easy because you can get them from KM or HPI... Makes it easy and plus KM you don't have to pay for brand name. My othere KM I bought I got a whole long list of upgrades done on it and I still didn't spend as much as the standard HPI.. I run my KM's with a lot of HPI's and they all brake just a matter of time...

 

[Lan-Ed-Tul]

i sent the Rx back to Futaba to get checked out, compared to the new one i range tested thursday, the one with the radio only got 240 feet or so, the new one went 1/4 mile and still no signal loss, so i suspect the damaged spot i seen on the antennae wire when i took it out of the radio box was screwed. also the 5755 servo last nite was brand spankin new i ordered both new servos when i ordered radio from DDM. i sent it back to Hitec as well. found another 5755 servo on ebay for 74 shipped. i bought it and its on its way here. DDM price is 89.99 with out shipping, so i got the new one cheaper and still should have Hitec fix the burnt up one.

 

[losinground]

Let me express how I feel. Never a KM again!!!!

KING MOTOR SUPPORT FOR THE 4WD SUCKS!!! NO ONE COULD CARE LESS. I NEED PARTS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE" IF YOU NEED IT, IT'LL TAKE A MONTH! THEY COULD CARE LESS! NO SENSE OF URGENCY. YOUR $1500.00 4WD IS YOUR PROBLEM NOW PAL!!!!!!!!

 

[lordraptor1]

Let me express how I feel. Never a KM again!!!!

KING MOTOR SUPPORT FOR THE 4WD SUCKS!!! NO ONE COULD CARE LESS. I NEED PARTS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE" IF YOU NEED IT, IT'LL TAKE A MONTH! THEY COULD CARE LESS! NO SENSE OF URGENCY. YOUR $1500.00 4WD IS YOUR PROBLEM NOW PAL!!!!!!!!

how much running did you get before you had a major brak down? i myself had a half tank after break in before a part on my genuine baja failed and every time i try to run it something breaks and strangely enough when teh part breaks there is roughly half tank of fuel left.

so the genuine HPI quality is NOT what i was led it to be and the only thing hpi has going for it is a call to hpi will get you somewhere. you can bet that if hpi had a 4wd baja then parts for teh 4WD km would be more readily available but since there is no real competition on the 4wd area from hpi i don't think km would care.

i do stand behind what i said though, if i knew then what i know now i would have saved on initial cost and got a KM.

 

[Lan-Ed-Tul]

nothing wrong with KM's. true mine not a 4wd, but really nothing so far with exception of pullstarter has even broke on mine yet. i did lots of upgrades which kept mine downwhile i waited on parts to arrive, but not from breaks at all.

 

[funbob]

Let me express how I feel. Never a KM again!!!!

KING MOTOR SUPPORT FOR THE 4WD SUCKS!!! NO ONE COULD CARE LESS. I NEED PARTS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE" IF YOU NEED IT, IT'LL TAKE A MONTH! THEY COULD CARE LESS! NO SENSE OF URGENCY. YOUR $1500.00 4WD IS YOUR PROBLEM NOW PAL!!!!!!!!

That does bring up an interesting point. With KM starting to produce their own designs now such as the T2000 and X1, support and parts do become a concern as there is no large corporate entity behind these things, a dealer and parts network, etc.. Just a factory in China and resellers buying them by the container load with no real support behind them. That is something to be aware of when you weigh the cost savings of the clone vs. having that widespread support.

For the folks who just have the straight clones, it's not an issue because you can just go out and get any part you need that's intended for the genuine HPI article but I can certainly see someone having issues with the unique designs.

 

[Lan-Ed-Tul]

that was one of the main factors i decided on when i got my KM, cuz i knew before i got it, that MOST all the hpi parts would fit, and anything just bout aftermarket wise made for hpi would fit as well. right now theres alot of hpi and aftermarket for hpi parts on my rig.