RC Driver Online Article: hpi_ultimate_baja_experience

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Most RC drivers have wanted to do this, drag race a real car and an RC car while driving from the real cars passenger seat. Kent from HPI was the lucky RC driver and Shawn was behind the BC Challenge cars wheel.

Flat Punched! Tearing down the road, dirt roosting off your rear tires, there’s a turn ahead. You keep on the power to the last possible minute and then slam on the brakes. Your buggy checks up, drifts sideways and you plant the wheels into the berm to get the most tire bite as you power through and out of a corner. What lies ahead? It appears to be a big rolling jump. You nail the gas and head at it full charge: its airtime, baby! Right before the jump, you let out a little and then nail the gas again to raise up the front of the buggy. You accelerate off the jump and hear the engine scream in RPM as the wheels spin from not touching the ground; you’re sailing in the air. The landing was plush and stable and you have a grin from ear to ear as you blast full throttle toward what’s ahead.

DUST TO GLORY!

HORSEPOWER RANCH - Here’s the home of Wide Open Baja and this is the site we
were greeted with as we rolled in on the tour bus.

What I just described was my experience at HPI’s promotional event in Baja Mexico for their new Baja 5B 1/5 scale gas buggy. It was unlike any other I’ve encountered before and occurred with both HPI’s Baja 5B and Wide Open Adventures BC Challenge Baja prepped racecars. We’re about to dive into HPI’s huge promotional experience and it all started because of the 5B.

The Baja 5B was designed by Akira Kojawa, who put all his efforts into building the ultimate vehicle. The 5B is unlike other 1/5 off-road vehicles on the market—it was designed from the ground up with functionality and realism in mind...but we’ll get into that later. For now, let's take a look at the Baja 5B and then talk about the event.

BAJA 5B PREVIEW

THE ULTIMATE BAJA EXPERIENCE

FEATURES

CHASSIS

• Rigid air craft 4mm aluminum 6061 T6
monocoque chassis
• High impact nylon Baja style roll cage
• Large fuel tank allows over 30 minutes of
run time
• Water resistant radio box

DRIVETRAIN

• Sealed torque control viscous differential with 4
pinion gears and filled with silicone oil
• Double wishbone suspension with adjustable roll
center
• Twin plate ventilated disk brake
• HD metal gears with sealed gear box
• Ventilated dual disk brake
• Rubber gater protected steel drive shaft

SUSPENSION

• Long travel threaded
aluminum shocks with 5-
position adjustable
dampening
• Dual rate springs
• Super long suspension
arms
• 3-piece high impact nylon
bead lock wheels
• Dirt Buster rib style front
and spiked rear tires
• Adjustable camber, Toe-in
and front caster
• Suspension travel: Front
95mm/Rear 100mm

ENGINE

• Air cooled 23cc 2-cycle piston valve
gasoline engine with recoil starter,
primer, choke, kill switch and a high
performance dual element foam air filter
• 2.4ps Maximum output
• Box style muffler with rear stinger
• Runs on Premix 2-cycle gasoline
• Automatic long life centrifugal clutch

RADIO, DIMENSIONS

• TF-10 FM radio system with fail safe system
• Hi torque Steering servo and throttle servo
• 2000mah 6-Volt rechargeable receiver pack and AC charger

OVERALL LENGTH: 817mm WHEELBASE: 570mm
HEIGHT: 255mm 1G (280mm with 0G)
WIDTH: Front 460mm / Rear 480mm
TIRE TRACK: Front 395mm / Rear 400mm
RIDE HEIGHT: 76mm WEIGHT: 9.6kg (21.3lb)

The roll cage gives the buggy an aggressive
realistic look. The roof bash guard is
aluminum.

The shock tower is a hefty item and needs to
be with the abuse this buggy will endure. A
nice feature is the aluminum plates that retain
the suspension pins.

A high flow foam filter keeps debris out of the motor and sits neatly on top of the
large fuel tank.

Check out the bulky adjustable upper
suspension arms and the dual rate spring set-
up on the aluminum threaded shocks, this
car’s damping is plush.

The 5’s front suspension arms are very rigid
and even incorporate a shield on the bottom
to protect the shock ends.

Talk about protection, the buggies receiver
and battery are tucked away in this water
tight radio box. Rubber covers allow access
to the crystal and plug to charge the battery.

The brakes are nested between the spur gear
and transmission.

Under the gear cover are the buggies
clutchbell gear and spur gear. HPI though of
everything to reduce the amount of
maintenance you need to perform on the car.

The shock tower is a hefty item and needs to
be with the abuse this buggy will endure. A
nice feature is the aluminum plates that
retain the suspension pins.

The rear section of the chassis that usually
gets beat up during play is protected by a
composite plastic dirt shield.

Now this is cool, rubber boots on the axles and outdrive cups.

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