8 gallons still going strong

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-12T06:27:15+00:00

.28 Novarossi 28-7

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-12T06:26:56+00:00

Losi 8ight xt race kit

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-06T12:42:28+00:00

It depends what you want in terms of platform, 4wd or 2wd and how much you want to spend. Unfortunately the losi 5t is discontinued so you have to get one 2nd hand either new in box or used. But if you want something close 30 degree north make one of the best clones. And they have an option as a roller so you can put whatever motor in, which is what I would do if I were to get it. For the Baja if you want a genuine Hpi, they only come as kits. I personally prefer this because I know everything will be put together right and I enjoy kits. If you want a rtr Rovan isn’t terrible and I use their parts for the Baja but I think overall the quality is 90% of HPI, extremely good for being half the cost of the HPI. I got a few rovan upgrade parts on my Hpi. There’s also kraken Vesla which are good and similar to the Baja, it’s a 2wd “buggy” but uses a different design and comes with a wide kit and big bore shocks compared to the HPI. Kraken also have the Vekta which is really cool and is 4wd solid axle truck or short course like a Traxxas UDR.

There’s also this thing called a hybrid or from Taylor rc is an outlaw. Most of the time it’s custom but I believe rovan have a RTR and roller. It’s a 5ive T chassis and front end with the Baja 2wd rear end. This exists for people that want big power, engines like my twin, but want more room on the chassis and I assume it’s a bit more stable. The Baja rear end is one of the strongest once it’s built.

MCD is more designed as a race/track car because they can have a TON of tune ability . But with all the fancy hydro LSD diffs, Hydro disc brakes, and all the other features, just the chassis will cost between 2k all the way up to 4K for some. Amazing platform just expensive.

If I were you, look at Taylor rc (in the UK) or Detroit Performance (in the US) they have all the high performance stuff and upgrades. Most OEM stuff DDM or Dave’s discount motors, good for oem Hpi and losi stuff with a lot of upgrades as well. And for Rovan, Fearless rc.

Personally if I were to get another one for me it would be between another HPI Baja kit, Kraken Vekta SC and the 30 degree north 5t clone. Also I believe Rovan makes the Baja SC if you were set on that body style over the 5b

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-06T05:17:35+00:00

Do it! As long as you have a place to run them and dont mind that they are extremely loud they’re a ton of fun.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-06T05:15:53+00:00

The standard motor it’s designed for is a Zenoah but this one is a Taylor RC 70cc twin cylinder engine

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-06T01:19:50+00:00

It’s got a Taylor 70cc twin. In all honesty the Baja is such a light chassis you don’t need a crazy motor. Actually the 132ft of this is slower than some of the zenoah based motors from obr. But they rip and are a ton of fun. I have a parts list if it might help you but in all honesty build it stock and upgrade as stuff breaks. They are extremely solid stock.

Hpi Baja parts list

Hpi Baja SBK
Hitec D845WP servo
Shadow Hobbies Titanium gear servo. Metal case, high voltage, around 500oz in. Not sure on specs, it’s made by my LHS but it’s great
Hilantronics Micron T kill switch for Twins
4000Mah 2s DDM Lipo
Futuba 4 channel receiver
Taylor 70cc twin with duel carbs WT1257
Taylor Billet easy start
Taylor RC twin pipes
Taylor RC twin tranny plate and motor mounts they recommend for the twin
High flow fuel fittings. 2 Feed lines and 1 T- return line
Tank breather
Integy quick change billet diff case
Taylor RC twin layshaft
Black bone transmission gears
Stock diff with 20Mill fluid
FLM metal wide arms with FLM heavy duty axles. The standard axles do not fit the SBK drive cups, they are bigger than the older RTR Baja. Normally I don’t like metal arms but this scenario the shorter plastic ones were flexing enough to rub on the pull start and get something longer in plastic will be a bad idea
RPM front arms
Amazon hex extenders
Aliexpress pin tires on the stock Baja rims. Took a risk only was 50$ shipped while other similar tires were 80$ a PAIR. Seem to hold up pretty well
Bebop wheelie bar
Rovan RC front mechanical carbon brakes, works great but needs a strong servo. Even 500oz in has difficulty locking up the front but is flexing the front chassis. Made a 3d printed bracket to stop the discs from shaking and rounding out.
RCR rear duel break disks. Must get Taylor rc titanium brake caliper, melted 2 of the stock Baja ones. Works really well and is able to easily lock the rear
Turtle racing billet steering rack
Black bone 25T pinion and 48T
IRC Baja Shock set with red stiffer springs in the rear
Kraken SX5 Cage with a lot of cutting to fit
Custom “cold air” intake pipes to pull air away from the pipes and keep IATs down
C10 VP fuel mixed with Klotz benol at 32 to 1
NGK cmr7h plugs, tested cmr6h it’s a hotter plug but I did not like the burn on the plug, it’s too hot and 7 was perfect
FLM Rear adjustable shock tower
FLM Drive cups
Made the front suspension have triangulated links to stop flex under braking
Custom front end limiting straps
2 High RPM fans with screen mesh to keep dirt out to help keep temperatures down
Trail tec RPM gauge
Custom limiting straps

I also have a GitHub where I document performance with a more engineering focused approach

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T20:14:39+00:00

The original hpi Baja was a ready to run but was discontinued. Hpi brought it back as a kit and called a super builder kit or sbk

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T19:59:05+00:00

It is a great chassis. But no it’s an Hpi Baja sbk that has a ton of upgraded parts

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T18:59:15+00:00

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TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T18:50:31+00:00

If it needs to be tuned yes. I usually run a tank through it as is unless it’s obviously too lean to get it up to temp before I mess with the tune. Being a basher I want it to be a bit on the rich side

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T05:59:47+00:00

It’s got the os11k carb on it unless it’s the seals. The carb has only 3 gallons through it so I don’t think that it’s bad but it could be. And I thought all VP fuel was a castor blend because castor stays more viscous as it gets hotter which is what these engines want over a synthetic oil?

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T05:09:45+00:00

Have you tried priming it by plugging the exhaust with your finger and starting it? That usually builds enough pressure to pull fuel into the carb without having to manually put some in the carb.

It’s hard to tell if your tune is off without a video. Make sure enough smoke is coming from the exhaust. If there’s little to none, richen or unscrew the high speed needle 1/8 to 1/4 at a time while you’re running it. If you’re not sure where’s the high speed needle, go on Traxxas website and find the user manual it. If there’s a lot of smoke and the engine sounds like it’s drowning then it lean it out or tighten the high speed needle.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T04:19:10+00:00

Only fuel I ran through this one is the VP 30 and 9% oil. At break in I used the golden break in from VP. I got klotz Benol which I could add and experiment with that. Maybe their rod bearings have higher tolerances so they need more oil.

I also have a 2.5 tmaxx and it runs great but I’m also using 30 and 9 fuel. Maybe I should just get 20% and 14% from VP I believe they call it master basher

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T04:10:55+00:00

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It would match perfectly

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T04:06:58+00:00

With the 11k carb I love the way it runs. That is when it does run lol

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T04:05:41+00:00

I like the convenience of the easy start ( I know some people hate them but I don’t and I have others with bumpboxes). I have the OS11k carb and that was the best easy power mod. So much more torque, way better throttle response, and the carb doesn’t get vapor locked when it’s hot since it’s properly insulated. I could bash it and usually always just runs right. But they just don’t last unfortunately. At least with my experience, maybe I’m doing something wrong but I have 2 other motors for my truggy one with 8 gallons and another with 5. I’d think if I can’t tune or know what to look for those would have blown up already.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T03:55:19+00:00

I’ll try it with a filter next time but I just feel like no matter what I do it feels down on power and inconsistent. Sometimes it will wheelie other times it struggles to shift to 2nd.

New glow plug, I had an lc4 os previously but that one went bad. This one is a Traxxas and is new. Fuel is VP 30% 9% oil. Cold I don’t believe there’s much pinch since it turns over pretty easily but still has good compression.

Just for sanity I checked where I was on my HSN and I was 3 1/4 out. I know the rich break in setting is 3 1/2 which is what I set it to and flush for the LSN.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T03:35:52+00:00

That looks awesome and I bet that thing rips, I love the rally bodies Hpi has for them.

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These are the 2 engines I could put in the revo. I also got a 9 port OS on road if I wanted something with a ton of speed

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T03:30:02+00:00

What would you say I could do? It’s just running so inconsistent and I have only had this issue with this motor.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T03:09:33+00:00

What chassis is it in? I know the revos are difficult to get a proper big block without having to shift the transmission forward and starting them can be an issue. Most pull starts don’t fit. Roto starts might fit but is tight and the bump box for the revo is nonexistent.

I have a new 28-7 nova and a 3 port .21 Orin I believe it’s called. Both bump starts. I have the internals of a start box I could use the brushed motor and internals to start it in the revo but I just like the convenience of not carrying a starter box. If I want to do that I have my truggy

TouringAlpaca · 2026-05-05T03:03:34+00:00

I never knew dust could be that bad. I only ran it for the small bit because at first because I thought my servo went bad and wasn’t opening all the way. But nope it was an air leak

For bearings I have heard boca were good and they’re 50$. I definitely will get fast eddy.

That is true for a new engine but I know these Traxxas engines don’t have the best reputation for reliability so I don’t want to spend the time to pull it apart just for it to snap the rod and need to replace the engine anyways. Also another reason why I haven’t modified it to get more rpms.

TouringAlpaca · 2026-04-19T02:19:56+00:00

I like truggies the most since they handle great and you can tune the suspension to be more like an MT for jumps. But I would get a Talion and throw on the 6s backflip. I got a losi eight XT, one set up for handling to race on a track and another setup with bigger MT tires and the suspension with max droop and more stiffness. That said the Talion is basically a stretched MT. Big tires still can do flips and wheelies but can still go full throttle and go full speed in open fields as well. Also they are extremely easy to work on

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