SWorkz S350 Evo II- DAY 3 The Facts

Greg Vogel May 13, 2015 Vehicle Week - S350 Evo II

So you’ve checked in on Day 3 of the SWorkz S350 Evo II here at RC Driver’s Vehicle week and so far we’ve checked out some build photos on Day 1 and some details on Day 2. Now let’s talk the facts, what features this buggy offers that sets it apart from other vehicles and what we think about some of those features.

FACTS
– SWorkz started the Evo II with a hard black anodized flat aluminum plate chassis. There is a lot of mill work on the chassis to reduce its weight and it features some etching with buzz words like “Hard Coated” and “Flat Chassis System Set.” Doesn’t it sound fast already? What I like is that the mud guards are secured with screws that secure the guards to the chassis from the top. Sworkz includes a carbon fiber front top plate that mates up with a composite chassis brace while in the rear, a similar brace mounts to a machined aluminum mount on top of the gear case. The electronics tray spans the passenger side of the buggy with the steering servo mounted far forward, the receiver pack toward the front of the side pod, the throttle servo across from the engine and the receiver out back. SWorkz includes an aluminum brace plate to keep the throttle crank well supported.

– The suspension arms on the buggy are the latest arms designed by SWorkz that are well braced both front and rear to be both lightweight and strong. The front suspension is a pivot ball style setup which is thought to be more consistent on a wider range of tracks. The steering knuckles now pivot on one-piece hard-coated pivot balls. The arms mount to hinge pin blocks with inserts that allow you to tune anti-dive, anti-squat, rear toe and front roll as well as caster. The adjustability options on this buggy are pretty intense and certainly for the hardcore driver. The shock towers really stand out with their well machined, lightweight design. Then you get to the shocks, these dampers build beautifully and feel so plush when bench testing the buggy. They are dual O-ring sealed with Teflon pistons, high wall lower perches and an aluminum shock pivot, all top-end stuff here.

– The driveline may be considered the most impressive part of the buggy. All of the driveshafts are super thin to reduce rotating mass. All of the differential components are as light as possible; lightened ring gears, lightened spur and lightened outdrives. Even the bearings in the gear cases for the bevel pinion are a smaller 5x11mm size to reduce weight. Stopping power comes from professional brakes. No really, it says so right on the brake plate, “Professional.” The brake plate features a fiber pad to clamp the steel discs. On the clutch side, the aluminum flywheel has three steel posts for the three-shoe clutch setup. The clutch shoes have a unique red coating on them and grab a standard style clutchbell.

– No worries about steering durability on this buggy, SWorkz included an aluminum servo saver arm to beef up the equipment. The lower half of the servo saver is composite plastic as is the other steering crank. The drag link is aluminum, too, with three Ackermann positions. Of course the cranks ride on ball bearings for super smooth operation.

– SWorkz is know for details so let’s talk all the little things that set this buggy apart from the rest. The buggy comes with a skid style front bumper that protects the front of the chassis, too. The steering link pivot balls have flanges to prevent the ball end from popping off. Inside the tank is a clunk attached to an aluminum barb with a quick-fill pull tab on the tank lid. Angled engine mounts―not every car has these―and the swaybars are held in place by swing-away plastic plates on the gear case.

– A stylish Falcon II cab-forward body provides downforce with a low-cut back section so plenty of cooling head on the engine is out in clean air. A swoopy double deck wing provides downforce in the rear and the wing stay offers two position angles for the wing. Another neat note is the spring type rear body mount that flexes as the chassis flexes. No rims or tires are included in the kit, but as a racer I bet you wanted to pick your own anyway.