HPI Joined the Short Course Bandwagon
 

PRetty cool, ofna's short course truck is also on the way out.

I think the hpi truck looks to be a decent piece. I would get it over a sc10

We have a naming conflict on our hands :)

Man, the short course racing is really something to be apart of. I may have to pick on up now...

Got a real nicely built sc10 here just waiting for ya...:lol:

I'm still undecided on Associated stuff...

It's cool to see HPI took the opportunity to get a licensed design for the tires.

I DO like those tires...

Looks cool, not really the highrider stlye of the Slash or the Losi SC truck, but more like the SC10 (but I doubt as nimble.)

It may be high time to right some rules so if this does get big at tracks, you don't have half the manu's that can't meet specs, or have big adv. over the others.

If I were to get a SC truck this would be it. It seams like it would be a great balance between durability and handling... Hopefull it will breath some new life into the Firestorm layout.

I was so turned off my the Slayers performance I haven't paid much attention to the SC vehicles. Being a basher I didn't find it to be all the entertianing watching it roll over. Are the other SC rc similar to the slayer having the same problems or was Stumpy just an accident?

I have heard the slash has become damn near impossible to break, unlike the EMaxx and other stuff...

Me personally, drove my friend's slash when it first came out, about a couple weeks later, jumped a 5ft ramp, no kidding, this was when I was completely new to RC, and landed it on its wheels, and kept going around his track....

I was impressed, and thought every RC should be like this, wasn't quite so when I got the EMaxx......

I am too thinking SC.... but being a bit thrown off since I don't race at tracks, since there are no tracks around here....

It seemed really fun to drive them around my friend's backyard track though...

I had a Slash, super durable and handled pretty good. I got rid of it due to following other intrests. SC10 came out and I started rethinking getting another Short Course truck, Glad I waited because I'm really likeing the new HPI truck. The chassis design,shock placement, and several other features have caught my eye. The price should be acceptable also.

Sounds like it's gonna be a tough truck to break as far as the gearing goes.... Was the SC10 metal geared?

Nope.

So this would be the first truck to have SC metal gears...... I'm sure you could toss in a pretty slick combo....

The Slashy has all metal gears,It's the VXL Tranny. I distroyed a couple diffs in mine though. Cheap replacement at least.

Oh.... figures.

Destroyed the diffs yes but never touched the trans gears. They were like new when I sold it after beating it half to death. If the HPI gears wear tuff like that it'll be great.

I coulda swore the sc10's trans was metal...I asked this on rctech and they said yes but they aren't the most informed bunch. I also like this but I am too hooked on my slash ad my lhs dosen't stock HPI parts.

Anybody getting one of these? I got mine today :party: This is the first new truck I have been excited about in a while (the price I paid helps too...)

Overall I'm pretty impressed with some of the design features HPI included in this truck, it's more well thought out than the SC10 and Slash IMO. Of course HPI has had more time to iron out the kinks...

It's obviously based off the Firestorm, which from my experience working at the LHS has had some issues with breakages in the front end, usually the hinge pin brace, bulkhead, and upper deck. These breakages are likely the result of head-on or near head-on collisions, which shouldn't be an issue for the Blitz due to the nicely designed front bumper.

What caught my attention most about this truck is the way HPI secures the impact-absorbing parts to the chassis. The front and rear bumpers swivel on screws, while the plastic the bumpers are made of is very flexible. This combination is an excellent addition in my book. Not to mention the front bumper has an extra adjustment hole :lol:

The nerf bars offer the same flexibility, illustrated in my pictures below.

The tires are pretty significantly softer than the Slash tires, so they should hook up quite a bit better (not necessarily an issue for the stock motor...) but probably won't last as long. I think they're softer than the stock SC10 tires as well.

Another small thing that really stood out is HPI's use of screws. They are ALL hex head, and the majority of them have "12.9" stamped on the head. For those who don't know, Class 12.9 screws are some of the strongest you can buy, which means less bent screws (Slash has this issue in my experience) and the hex heads should last longer (as should your hex drivers).

HPI did a pretty good job with the shocks, they offer the suspension a feeling a million times better than the Slash. I personally like threaded preload adjustments, so that's a plus. On mine the back shocks feel dialed, but the fronts seem like they weren't bled properly due to a small amount of air in them. Not a big deal, it is a RTR after all.

Durability is up in the air at this point. I think it should be stronger than the SC10, and in my hands will probably hold up better than the stock Slash. I've only been behind the wheel of a Slash a couple times, but it wasn't nearly stock so I can't offer a fair comparison here. Only time will tell...

That's it for now, unfortunately I won't be able to provide a report on how it drives until tomorrow at the earliest (midterms/homework/essay) but I hope for the best!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8495.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8498.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8472.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8475.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8477.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8481.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8482.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8485.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8490.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8491.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8493.jpg

And of course the view a buddy of mine (Slash owner) will become familiar with:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...z/IMG_8502.jpg

Nice Pics and hands !
Let us know what you think after driving it.

Well, despite the my lack of free time I soldered on a Deans plug, topped off a 2s Lipo, and took this truck for a spin. I must say, brushless/higher voltage has really spoiled me. It could be the fact that this 2s pack is at least 2 years old, and was a 6400mah 15C, but the Blitz's speed was far from impressive. I'd estimate about 25mph. Even in the small area of my back patio it was full throttle most of the time, this is where brushless has made me a good driver.

I purposely rammed into some objects just as minor stress tests and am happy to report that (so far) this truck flexes just right. A lot of the steering of this truck comes from the back end, but it'd be even better if there was a thicker fluid in the diff (assuming it contains grease). Temps on the stock electronics were great after 10mins of HARD driving, relative to the meek power output of the motor of course!

My original intentions were to keep this truck as stock as possible... But I'll never want to drive something so slow LOL

You just had to go and post your Blitz pics dangit! Now I have my finger hovering over the checkout button on tower.

Sorry :oops:

i do like how the bumpers are mounted on the hpi and you cant deny its the best looking SC on the market.... but i went with a sc10 (only logical because i have 3 T4s and tons of parts).

do they sell those maxxis tires anywhere yet? id love to get a set for my new beadlocks for the sc10 they would like sick on my split sixes....

Looks nice! I got to race my Slash and SC10 tonight. I love the SC10 with the Tekin RS/Redline 17.5. Its so smooth and much quiter than the Slash!

There should be about 6 Blitz's at next weeks race.

That really is a great looking truck, body/wheels/tires look awesome.

I can't believe how fast this whole SC thing has caught on, this could easily be the next big class.

I have the SC10(by far the best SC I own), I had a Slash(not impressed), I own the Strike(waiting on parts after 2 runs), I also have a Aftershock 8e(awesome truck for the price), and I'm working on a SC hybrid of my own from assorted parts.

The Blitz is on my list, but it will have to wait until either the Hyper 10 SC or the Jammin SCRT10 is released.

Next spring can't come soon ehough, my back yard track is going to get a workout!:yipi:

It already is....

Here's a video of our A-Main Short Course racing on Thursday night:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2405465

The leader is driving my SC10(Tekin 17.5 setup), the rest are Slash Spec's.

Why didn't you drive ??

I'm driving the Slash in 2nd place. So my trucks were 1st and 2nd.

It was supposed to be a Slash SPEC class but we only had 5 racers. The driver showed up without his Slash since he was waiting on parts. So I offered him my SC10 to get another driver on the track. Well the SC10 took 1st in all 3 quals and Main.

Cool, Very nice of you.
He and the SC10 made a winning combo. The truck got around very well.