FH questions

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two more places that carry firehammer buggy and truck parts, most of the parts that fit the firehammer buggy will also fit the truck.

www.greathobbies.com stock parts

www.rcnutshobbies.com FG parts that will fit the FH

www.hobbyoutlets.com stock parts

www.largescalerc.com FG parts that fit the FH

www.fg-hopups.com Bling Bling

www.davesmotors.com

and www.ebay.com check out the austrailian stores and some of the europe stores

all the carson comanche and the XTM grizzly and the Austrailian no name truck parts will fit the firehammer and smartech its all basically the same truck with a few minor differences between them. like my body is plastic instead of lexan basically same parts just different matterial on some of the trucks.
 
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Where did you get your truck because I would rather the lexan. Thanks for the links those are much better than tower. I know you don't drive the buggy much, but do you think the truck is almost as durable as the buggy? Is the truck stable at mid to low speeds and does it have alot of "push" when turning? How are the electrnics on the truck, have you stripped the plastic servo?
 
i got my truck second hand from ebay in a brand new used condition. its the smartech bigfoot Ford Bla Bla Bla. I believe the XTM and the Carson Both have plastic shells. the Firehammer MT is the only one that has a lexan shell.
As far as durability the buggy is a little tougher than the truck with accidental hits doing little or no damage. im not sure if i broke the shock end on my truck jumping or if it was cracked when i got it and i finished it off. Thats the only thing i broke so far. the little plastic shock end split and came lose from the mounting bolt. The truck is pretty stable at low and mid speed, if you really just push it to the max speed it can achieve and try to make a quick turn its gonna flip just like any nitro monster would. basically its a huge nitro truck as far as handling just squat and get. the suspension on the truck is rather stiff so it makes it handle poorly at high speed. It does push through the corners, i think a pipe will cure it though its almost like it tries to spin the tires and slide around the corner but then they grip and it goes straight. The radio system is as basic as they come. Get a failsafe for sure, the firehammers come with a fail safe and a good rechargeable pack. my truck had no fail safe and its got a cheap 1800mah pack which lasts ok but it could be better with more amperage like a 3000+. The trucks come with a metal gear steering servo i had a weird break on mine. the metal gears are made of what looks like a steel gear pressed and splined into a brass outer gear. The steel gear part of the middle servo gear stripped out the brass outer gear and began spinning. Thats probably a 1 in a million break though, it was like a manufactureing problem or a part of the previous owners wreckage. all of the trucks have metal geared steering servo. the throttle servo on my truck was terribly slow so i switched it out with a futaba servo i had lying around the house.
 
Ok so my upgrade list so far is:
- blue firehammer buggy air filter
- 2 1800 packs at $11 each or maybe one good 3800 for $45
- maybe a tuned pipe when I regain some money..
- throttle servo maybe to get best throttle response

Should I keep my 3PM fm radio or sell it with my buggy?? If the smt radio gets bad range i guess i will keep the 3pm but if you think it is good enough..
 
it takes a flat 5 cell sub c size battery pack. sub c cells lined up like lllll instead of a hump style pack like the nitros and the baja buggy. If your getting the firehammer mt it comes with a decent battery pack. If your getting the smartech you may want to ask if it comes with a battery pack. I got my truck used so i don't know if he bought the pack for it or what. The throttle/brake servo isnt a big deal you can still drive it with the stock servo it just seemed a little slow to me compared to my buggy and the nitros ive driven. The smartech radio and receiver are total crap, they just about wore out my failsafe. the range was similar to a radio shack model for cryin out loud. so yeah use the one you already have. the airfilter is functional for mild dust conditions but if your in a very dry dusty area i wouldnt trust it.
 
check these videos on youtube. the first one shows a bone stock smartech truck doing a little bunny hopping and donuts at a track.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JCiYN-D3K7w

here is a video of what they accelerate like when there stock. the discription says its a 27cc but i don't think they are. it goes just like mine does and mines 23cc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q6pjw8uclqY

heres the bouncy stiff suspension i was talking about

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AsspRnNWIAc

and the only stock baja 5b i could find on youtube lol

http://youtube.com/watch?v=etScDRxzPeI
 
radios

I have switch the radio on my FH and went with a specktrum DX3.0 that way you have a built in fail safe and I used the z570 sevro as my throttle and I love it I have a jetpro pipe and aftermarket airfilter and it works awsome now I am looking into the clutch spring .but I like the big truck !a lot of fun
 
I think if I can find a baja for less than $750 shipped I will pick it up. Does the baja need anything done to it or any upgrades from the box? I like the idea of buying another Hpi.. Does the SMT have more bashing ability than the baja? Like running over stuff and jumping high that kind of stuff. I know the baja is a buggy but it has high ground clearance. How does it do on rough terrain and do the chassis' sit at around the same height for the buggy and truck?
 
the buggy and truck sit at pretty much identical hights maybe 3-4 inches off the gound. on the buggy you only need to take the exhaust tube off the cheesy pipe deal that is conneted to the can muffler, it only restricts exhaust flow and hinders acceleration. Also if you would like a louder and just a touch more acceleration you could clean all the mesh out of the muffler. i don't thing either one has an upper hand on rough terrain. they both handle it pretty much the same, which is pretty well i think. The truck has a lighter front end which makes it more capible of wheelies if you get enough pipe on it. either one can do them but i think the buggy having the engine further in front of the drive axle will have a tougher time getting the front wheels up. but if you make the buggy wheelie on command you have really done something, i think the truck would only need a torque pipe to raise the front wheels. the engine is almost directly over the drive axle. If you put the buggy and the truck side by side with the shells off and just look at them. you can tell the buggy has had more thought put into its construction. the truck is just built to be functional and fun. the buggy looks to me to be built with the racer in mind everything on it is quick change. its build like the savage with body clips holding each component on. the truck has phillips head screws holding each component on.
 
Awesome, thanks for the info. Thtas what I like about HPI, you can tell each part had a decent amount of thought put into it by the way they are designed and i think tat shows in the overall performance of the vehicle.. This is what leans me toward the baja. It seems to me like the baja would be just as fun (to me) if not more because it should handle a little better right? Less like a mt, and im not sure yet if i want the monster feel or the buggy feel.
 
handling on the baja is identical to the handling of a 1/10th scale electric 2wd buggy.

handling on the truck is identical to the handling of hmm its kind a unique i would say it handles like an emaxx kinda. its not a racer for sure it just your basic basher model.

for the first 1/5 scale i would say get a baja its the most user friendly its handles better and its got better top speed and acceleration. i think the only advantage the truck has over the buggy is the jumping. the buggy will jump higher from a shorter run up but the truck will land better. you can use the brakes and throttle to correct the buggy when its in the air to help it set down better but the truck just kinda lands well on its own.
 
I do want to jump, but the baja looks like a good jumper I guess you just have to get the hang of it. What terrain is the buggy best on? Like I can really tell my little dark impact craves dirt, but I don't have much of it and I am getting tired of electric. Is the baja drivetrain fairly tough?How are the brakes? Do they lock like the FH trucks tend to do?
 
the baja will go on what ever surface you put it on grass, dirt, street, snow, ice what ever. The dirt tires are real soft so keep em off of the pavement and concrete as much as possible, if you keep em on dirt gravel sand grass and all the other loose surfaces they will last a while. Also don't let them spool up like you would a nitro, not spool i mean balloon like if one tire gets stuck don't spin the other up to try to get it unstuck the tires will pop and rip all to peices. i would suggest you get a set of tires for each surface, sand, dirt and pavement. the drive train on the baja is bullet proof as far as im concerned, i know that people with the hopped up motors and/or huge tires have been breaking the outdrives so if you plan on bolting a 30.5 or getting some larger tires on there you may wanna pick up a set of hardend outdrives from turtle racing i believe is where you get them. the stock motor should not break any of the driveline its only when you beef it up alot that it starts to break and its only minor stuff, check the hpibajaforum.com for more info on what breaks i don't know. steering servo is probably gonna be the only issue during normal driveing its got plastic gears and a direct hit to either steering tire will smash it. the brakes on either buggy or truck are totally tune able either by sliding the lock collars or adding or removing shims behind the break shoes. you can set them from just bearly grabbing enough to slow the buggy down or you can make them lock up with just a touch.

you have to really just set out to destroy the baja in order to break anything on it.

the truck is really ify or if its gonna break that day or not. not saying is a turd and fragile its just not as good quality as the buggy but it will hold its own if you drive it normally and don't try to do stuff it cannot do.
 
Another thing i noticed about the baja is when they turn the rear tires fold up, I have never seen that before. Are the tire sizes about the same for both? Should I get the TGN redneck or just an outerwears prefilter? Why do you need this? Isnt the filter a dual element? I can understand if it will be in sand then it makes sense. But just for dirt is this neccesary? If i buy new tires could I just get new rears or pavement? I know sand will probly require the ribbed tire up front to turn. After running in sand (which i would only do once or twice a year) do you have to wash all the parts out?
 
im not sure what you mean by the rear tires folding up. are the tires sizes the same for both what. If you mean the buggy and truck then no the truck tires are wider and taller than the buggy tires. if you mean the dirt, sand, and tarmac tires then yes they are all the same size. its quite a chore to dismount tires on the baja there are 20 bolts that hold each rear tire on the rim. its actually a bead lock system two rings with 10 bolts each hold the tires on the rim. you have to undo 40 bolts to change from one tire to the next, i would recommend ebaying for used complete rear tires. You could then buy the rear tarmacs and sand paddles new and just install them on the ebay rims and foams. The dirt tires do ok in the sand but you wouldnt believe how impressive it is with the sand paddles. as far as sand running, i would just grab a water hose and hose the thing off taking care not to get a direct flow of water on the carb, airfilter, radio box, or fuel cap. after the hose down i would spray a light coat of WD40 on all the wheel bearings and what ever else may rust. i don't think there is any steel on the buggy though its mostly aluminum the only steel i can think of is the rings on the wheel hubs and the wheel bearings and some of the bolts. you just wanna wash all the sand out of the bearings and stuff so they don't get ground up. the Redneck filter is a duel stage filter. the stock filter assembly is a dual stage and inner foam element and an outer foam element just like the savage monster truck. adding the red neck will make it a 3 stage filter total and then putting a prefilter will make it 4 stage. which is way over killed in my opinion. for just basic dirt driving such as a wet dirt track the factor 2 stage is fine, but if your going to get into a place with a fine dust then i would suggest the redneck filter instead of the factor outer filter. the prefilter is just an extra precaution and a bit of fashion as you can match it to your theme on the buggy. ive made a couple of posts on the hpibajaforum about the rear tires having too much toe in from the factory. they will include a set of thin shims in the spare parts bag. the go between the rear uprights or bearing carriers and the part just behind the wheel hub, you swap them by removing the wheel, wheel hub, and the 4 screws. this will make the tires wear on the middle instead of on the inside edge and will put less stress on the tires at high speeds.
 
Baja rims only fit the baja, its got its own original set of wheel hubs that are unlike any other 5th scalers. the FG, SMT, DTX, XTM, Carson, And hobby pro all use the same square hub. the baja is a 23mm hexagonal hub i beleive its 23mm im not sure 22,23,24 something like that. There are wheel adapters to put proline 40 series wheels on the baja and adapters to use the square hubs like the FG's and all that i listed up there. Oh and the stock ribbed front tires do as good as the single ribbed front sand tires for turning. i wouldnt even worry about buying the front tarmacs or sand tires unless you just want the fronts and rears to match. the front stock tires do just as well on pavement as the front tarmacs do.
 
Ok, sounds good. I saw that the stock hex's were 24mm on ebay. i also have been warned not to use wd40 on bearings because it is a solvent.. I don't know how much truth there is in this but I was just letting you know. Do you know of any good dry oils that wouldnt collect dirt? I cant imagine how much fun the baja would be in the sand but i guess i need to find a place where there are not many people so that i don't get kicked off. I like the idea of beadlocks but it seems like they made them really hard to use and they rip tires out.. or is that due to a weak tire? I saw those adapthers to be able to use the 40 series rims but i think they were a little overpriced at over $50 for a set. I wonder why hpi chose to make a new hex size, only 1mm away from a wide choice of rims?
 
If i stay closer to the water where the sand is more packed would i need paddles? This would be a once a year thing so I don't really want to spend that much on paddles. Should I get the pullstart outerwear?
 
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