Big Squid RC

For Bashers, By Bashers!
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HPI Blitz’ Category

hpi blitz flux

I know we a lot of people have been waiting for this one! HPI has finally announced the new Blitz Flux! Some highlights include a Flux Shot 4300 motor, Flux Reload V2 speed controller, Waterproof, RTR with a 2.4GHZ radio system, HB Megabite tires, and can handle up to a 3S lipo.

From the press release:
Factory-assembled and painted 2WD short course racing truck
HPI Flux Shot 4300KV motor with heatsink casing
HPI Flux Reload V2 with 3S capability, cooling fan and waterproofing
Long composite chassis fits 7-cell NiMH or hard case LiPo battery pack
Painted and detailed body with matte black/graphite look
HB Megabite tires for extra grip and control
High performance racing shocks for extra tuning capability
2.4GHz radio for easy, no-crystal control
Proven racing design for winning potential
Steel turnbuckles for easy tuning
Sealed gear drivetrain for extra durability
Waterproof receiver box
Waterproof steering servo
Tough bumpers front and rear to protect the suspension and chassis
Long wishbone suspension design for amazing handling in rough conditions

Everyone here has been a huge Blitz fan, so it’s nice to see this version finally make it’s way to market. Street price will run about $350.

Click HERE if you are looking for more HPI news.

Cubby

Do you guys have team drivers? Because I would love to sport the name of BigSquidRC! I am 15 years old and race at the local track here in Washington. My classes of choice are pro short course 2wd and 4wd. Last year I finished 3rd in points in the 2wd and 4th in points in 4wd. I am planning on racing at the local tracks and a coupple of bigger events such as the northwest short course nationals. It would be great to sport the name!!!
Thanks,
Nick V.

Cubby- Hey ya Nick, thanks for the email.

We’ve been getting a couple of “sponsorship request” emails a week lately, so I’m posting one for all to see. BSRC is a site about bashing, not about the much smaller racing scene, so as such, we don’t “sponsor” racers. Although, Nicks email got me to thinking…

So what if BSRC decided to start sponsoring bashers? Like way-super-dope-uber-bashers? I mean like the guys that huck it off 5 stories buildings for lunch, and 10 story buildings for supper? We hook up our “factory bashers” with trucks/stickers/etc and they make the mainstream news because they hucked a Savage over the Luxor? Lets say bashers look’n to make the squad submit us videos of their biggest jumps etc?

I think I’m on to something here… Nick, ever jumped over a school before? Ever hit a low flying full scale plane? Ever get your truck stuck in the top of a tree? If so, let us know, we might be able to hook ya up.


Hello nice build review.

I have one question in the Article you said “But, if you race on a small track, or one with lots of tight 180′s, the SC10 will be turning under you. There are two reasons the Blitz can’t/won’t cut the tightest corners- 1. it’s limited in steering travel, and 2. the Ackerman isn’t optimal for tight corners. You can fix #1 fairly easily by removing some material on the steering blocks for more throw, we did this mod and have a couple pictures to show you what material to remove.”

I did not see the pictures of this mod in the article could you please send a link to these pics or email me the pics? I am very interested in this mod.
Thanks so much..
Dan

Cubby- Yo thanks for the email Dan. Hope you are dig’n your Blitz as much as we dig ours.

The pics referred to were included in the article. They are THIS ONE and THIS ONE. And yes I must admit I was the one who shot those pics, definitely not the best, but I’ve been working on get’n my photo skills up past “blind man during an epileptic seizure”.

The first pic (ese15.jpg) shows the stock part on bottom and the part with material removed at the top. The second pic (ese16.jpg) shows an unmodified c-hub on top and after modification on the bottom. In reality you really don’t need to see the pics, just turn your Blitz to full travel and see where it is hitting at, then remove a small amount of material to allow a greater range of motion.

Since posting the Blitz ESE review we’ve learned a lot about more about the truck. The Blitz is right there with the Traxxas Slash as the “always ready to grab and go” truck sitting around the office. I dare say we’ve put more miles on our test Blitz than any other truck in the office the last 12 months. With all that trigger time we’ve learned a lot about how to give it more steering, so…

Right now our favorite steering mods are-
1. Use the included in-line steering blocks instead of the stock trailing blocks. Instantly gives more aggressive steering.

2. Remove material for greater range of motion, this aids in a tighter turning radius.

3. Sometime we run the ballstuds in the front of the steering rack instead of the stock location at the rear. I recommend this only for very high bite surfaces. The rear of the truck will become crazy loose if you aren’t running on a high traction surface with this set-up. Sometimes when we run this set-up we run all the foam battery blocks to the front of the battery tray, sometimes one in the rear, two in the front.

4. Use tires that provide more side-bite up front, and tires with less side-bite in the rear. This gets the front to plant better in corners while allowing the rear to rotate.

Try all those out one at a time, then in combinations to see what steering set-up works best for you and your driving style.

Peace and love, peace and love…


Bigsquid,

Guys I am going to be honest and state up front that I’m an rc noobie. The one thing I’m having the biggest problem with right now is how to solder, what do you think is the best way to learn?

Bradley

Cubby- Thanks for taking the time to shoot us an email Bradley.

What’s the best way to learn how to solder? First I’ll tell you how I learned- I grabbed a soldering iron, some solder, and two pieces of wire and just played with’em for a few hours. I would solder’em one way, then another, with a a good solid yank determining if the work I had done was good or bad.

I’ll admit that being self taught was not the “best” method, so with that in mind this is what I recommend for you- to seek out advice (in person) from someone at your LHS or track. Any decent hobby shop employee will take the 10 minutes to show you how to solder, and the same can be said for any decent racer at your local track. If you have neither close to you, there are a million videos on-line that you can watch to get an idea, although being able to ask questions first hand is highly preferred.

The biggest single problem I see at the track with solder noobs is they are trying to use a $5 soldering iron that just doesn’t have enough oomff to get the job done. So if I was going to give you a couple quick pointers-

1. Cut the check for a decent soldering iron. It’s hard to put a dollar value on cursing, but trust me on this one, spend a bit more up front on a iron with adequate output to save yourself from hours of swearing in the future.

2. Use good solder. I use Novak Lead Free Silver Rosin Core, so do a lot of racer types. Don’t use the stuff that’s as thick as your thumb from the hardware store.


That’s it for this week ya bunch of crazed rc lunatics. Submit your questions, death threats, and unopened bottles of Glenlivet to- Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com!

YOUR Cub Reporter

 strc blitz hop up parts  strc blitz hop up parts  strc blitz hop up parts

Need some bling for your Blitz? ST Racing Concepts has a bunch of awesome looking hop-ups for the HPI Blitz! They have new front and rear aluminum skid plates as well as hex adapters. These things are CNC’d out of a solid block of aluminum so they can also take some bashing abuse! They are available in Orange, Gun Metal, Silver and Red anodizing.

Check out the STRC web site for more info.

Click through for a few more pictures. READ MORE

Racers are an insatiable bunch.  You give them a sweet ride like the Blitz and they want a high-end race version.  So you give them the Blitz ESE, which is ready to tear up tracks and win races all over the world and they want more hop-ups for it.  So what is HPI to do?  Release more hop-ups of course.  These new aluminum front suspension mounts are for those of you that want to tweak your steering response just a bit more.  The pretty orange mount is made to reduce front kick-up by 3° while the silver mount reduces kick-up by 5°.  They are ready to be bolted on to all versions of the Blitz as well as the Firestorm stadium truck.  The aluminum front suspension mounts have an MSRP of $27 and they are available now, so be sure to be bugging your local hobby shop for them.

Check in with the HPI web site for more info.

So you got a brand new Blitz, the body is pristine, the tires are shining, and the chassis is unscratched.  You wish it could stay like that forever right?  But you know the first time you run it all that new car sheen is going to be worn off and you can’t handle that.  So HPI is stepping in to help.  The HPI Blitz Chassis Protector is a heavy duty vinyl applique that will keep the scratching on your beautiful chassis to a minimum.  The chassis protector is available in black or white and features Blitz logos for added style.  It’s made to fit all versions of the Blitz, including the high-end Blitz ESE.  MSRP is $20, much cheaper than a replacement chassis, and it’s available now.

Check out the HPI Racing web site for more info.

HPI Racing Blitz ESE Review HPI Racing Blitz ESE Review

Holy cow! Cubby does some work! The RC Reviews section was just updated with the HPI Racing Blitz ESE Review by our own Cub Reporter! You don’t want to miss this one! Click the images or here for the review!

Hard Body’sz USA has a cool new aftermarket part for the HPI Blitz.  Their new full roll cage not only adds to the realistic looks of HPI’s popular short course truck, but should probably add to the overall strength and durability of the Blitz.

It’s available in in chrome and flat black for a list price of $77.99 through TGN Distributing.  Hit up the Hard Body’z web site for more info about them and then check out the TGN web site for ordering info.

HPI Blitz ESE HPI Blitz ESE

In the ‘better late than never’ category, we finally got our hands on the HPI Blitz ESE! Many of us in the office are huge fans of the original HPI Blitz, so we have been looking forward to this for a while.

HPI Blitz ESE HPI Blitz ESE

Whenever I see the UPS guy walking in the door with a box with bright orange tape allover it, I always get a bit excited! I wanted to share some of the unboxing photo’s with you, but I didn’t want to dig into the bags just yet as our own Cubby will be doing the build and review on this one. You guys think he lets people have it on the site.. you should see him when you loose a part he needs! LOL!

As you can see, this is a serious kit. There are a lot of parts in a lot of bags! So don’t go thinking your going to pick one up, and be racing in an hour.

Enjoy the pics, and watch for a full review plus build coming soon!

HPI Blitz ESE HPI Blitz ESE

Drop by the official HPI Racing site for more information.

ST Racing Concepts HPI Blitz strc

Looking for more hop ups for your HPI Blitz? ST Racing Concepts has ya covered! The new STRC In-line Steering Knuckles for the HPI Blitz are CNC machined aluminum. They help improve durability and give you more steering with the in-line bearings. The should be around $20 a pair and come in some sweet colors! I’m digging that Orange.

Head over to the ST Racing Concepts web page for more info!

RPM HPI Blitz In-Line Steering Blocks
Looks like RPM is showing more love for the HPI Blitz, Blitz ESE, Firestorm 10T, and E-Firestorm owners. The new In-Line Steering Blocks allows for the bigger 5×11 bearings improving durability and performance. The new bearings are NOT included, so you’ll have to get those on your own.

Visit the RPM RC site for details.

Pro-Line has a new F-150 body for the Ford lovin’ HPI Blitz drivers in the crowd.  It’s officially licensed and features all the Ford styling that all the Ford fans seem to love for some reason.   This body comes molded in durable, clear Lexan and includes all the usual stuff: decals, masks, and over-spray film.  It’s a quick and easy drop on replacement for your, no doubt, beat up and tired Blitz body.

Get some more info and pics at the Pro-Line web site.

Hey Pro-Line? Where’s the love for RAM fans?  A Tundra body would be cool too.

Pro-Line Chevy Silverado Pro-Line Chevy Silverado

Just in is the new Pro-Line Chevy Silverado 1500 body for the HPI Blitz! Excellent detail with pronounced fenders make this body stand out in a crowd. Throw a little paint on it and tear things up!

Stop by Pro-Line for more information.


While we were out at the Short Course Showdown we had a chance to hand out two more Basher Approved ™ awards. It’s always more fun to do these in person, then to just mail them out.

HPI Erik Shauver HPI John Schultz

On the left is Erik Shauver from HPI Racing accepting the award for the HPI Blitz. He was one of the major designers behind the Blitz, and it was pretty cool to meet him, and have a little chat. On the right is John Schultz, also from HPI accepting the award for the HPI Savage XL. Both of these vehicles have really held up to some amazing abuse. We own three Blitz vehicles, and have barely busted a thing on them for months of abuse. The Savage XL is just a beast! Besides being super powerful and fun to drive, it’s really easy to work on, and brings a smile to our face every time we fire it up!

Congrats to HPI on two amazing vehicles.