HPI Sport 3

[JpSonoma]

I signed up for the email updates through the HPI site for this car, got one email today saying they left the factory and are on the way to the distributors. So hopefully that's a sign that these will be available within the next few weeks.
Now lets just hope the option parts aren't too far behind.

[bvrc]

According to this they're shipping soon. who knows what that means...

[pixelnate]

That is how the Europeans do it, but I think that we, in the states, prefer the safety of a drivers stand. Less walking, ya know?


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[alexchen86]

WHY does HPI after sooooo many releases of their Sprint line finally go shaft drive?! Everyone hated how exposed those belts were.

Even the slightest grit if sand patch on a wide open parking lot would fray the rear belt first then the front. I mean it was designed to be an entry level touring much like the AE TC3, Tamiya TT-01, Losi XXX something or another with belt cover, and with that said most people would take an entry level straight to a parking lot or empty street where pebbles and sand grit is everywhere.

I tried modding 4 Sprint 2's opening up the front and rear areas where debris builds up....but expect to have belts and e clips ready! But the low CG chassis and smoothness of the belt out handled and definitely more controllable than all else in its class....

Makes me wonder how the shaft drive will perform!

[JpSonoma]

It looks like these are finally hitting the market, I just ordered one up, hopefully I'll have it in my hands before the weekend. It would appear the BMW and the drift version are available but the Porsche isn't.

[JpSonoma]

The Sport 3 showed up on my door step a couple days ago.
First impressions are good, fit and finish looks good, doesn't feel cheap. All hex head hardware.











Started disassembling it so I can use my own electronics.
Sealed receiver box.


Top driveshaft cover removed, comes with bearings in the steering posts, that was a surprise.


Front and rear diff covers appear to have built in sway bar mounts, I'm guessing a future hop-up option.


All metal gear diffs front and rear. Not sure if its the same size as the other HPi/axial gears or not, it looks close though. I'll have to do some measuring to find out for sure.


Bottom access plate, it actually fits incredibly well, I was worried about how this was going to work but it appears to seal quite well.




Solid A-arms are a nice touch, they also have holes for droop screws. The lack of turnbuckles is a let down, but it's easily upgradeable. I've never been a fan of cam-type motor mounts either but we'll see how it performs. Overall it looks like a solid platform and a good replacement for a Sprint 2.

[going2fast]

really want to see some stock video of the oem set up . cant wait to see how this thing dose

[Sith Lord]

How much ride height would be possible do you think? Would you need to grind the chassis to allow the arms to droop enough?

[JpSonoma]

That's a good question on ride height for rallying. Mines currently in pieces awaiting electronics and turnbuckles. At first glance I would say you need grind the spots in the chassis where the droop screws are. But, it also has independent suspension arm mounts like a lot of the touring cars nowadays, so you could possibly shim them up higher to clear the chassis. I'll do a little more experimenting once my parts come in.

Originally Posted by Brandon

It shares diffs with the WR8 I was told.

You Sir, are correct. These are the exact diffs that are in the WR8. The box also lists a spool as an option part.

[Sith Lord]

Originally Posted by JpSonoma

That's a good question on ride height for rallying. Mines currently in pieces awaiting electronics and turnbuckles. At first glance I would say you need grind the spots in the chassis where the droop screws are. But, it also has independent suspension arm mounts like a lot of the touring cars nowadays, so you could possibly shim them up higher to clear the chassis. I'll do a little more experimenting once my parts come in.

Sweet. I remember I had a Thunder Tiger a while back (basically a TC3 or TC4) and had to grind off the bit where the droop screw hit. Didn't like doing that...

[going2fast]

oooooooohhh. that meens the wr8 can get a spool as well .. heck yeah

[JpSonoma]

Originally Posted by going2fast

oooooooohhh. that meens the wr8 can get a spool as well .. heck yeah

That is correct, the WR8 guys will have a spool now as well.

Started installing my electronics, Savox servo doing the steering dutys. Another thing to be aware of is that they DO NOT include any other splines for different servos, so if you want to use the stock servo saver then you need a 25T servo (Futaba, Savox)


I will say the receiver box is extremely tight on space, I had to modify my futaba receiver quite a bit to get it to fit under the cover, but I feel like futaba receivers are some of the largest on the market right now anyways. If you have something smaller then it shouldn't be a major issue.


I opted for a Tekin RS spec esc and their 21.5 RPM motor combo, I know 21.5 is fairly slow, but I enjoy them. If I get bored I can always step it up to something faster.


I also bought some turnbuckles and RPM rod ends, had to swap all the ball studs from the stock 4.6mm to 4.3mm to fit the RPM rod ends though.


I have some old HPI shocks from the RS4 rally laying around, so my next step is to see if the length of those shocks will work and how much ground clearance I can achieve.

[Sith Lord]

Nice! Very clean install.

[JpSonoma]

I spent a little time trying to fit some old hpi RS4 rally shocks to the car, and overall they seem to work good with no modifications to anything. The length and stroke of the shocks are perfect.

The hpi rally springs are good on the rear but the fronts needed to be slightly shorter. You could use them but they max out the suspension and you have zero droop. I dug through all my parts bin and found some springs that are slightly shorter than the hpi's, although I really have no clue what brand they are or where they came from.

Rear


Front


Ride height


Stock body position still


It's sitting at just over 13mm ride height.
The rear has about 6mm of droop, and the front has about 3mm of droop. The front down travel is limited by the front C-hubs bottoming out in the lower A-arms. It might be possible to get more droop in the front if I get the dremel out, but I think I might try it as is for a little while before I start modifying it.

[going2fast]

looking good

[Sith Lord]

Looking good mate. I do like the look of the chassis. Not sure about 13mm ride height though. That's not much for rally that has any sort of jumps or rough terrain...

[going2fast]

we need some vids

[alexchen86]

I got a new Sprint 3 flux off eBay for $250 and shipping from a soldier selling his never ran just opened...can't say I'm a fan of the Porsche body but I figure I'll keep it on road bashing for now to keep up with my OFNA GTP2e Mamba Monster V2/2650kv 4s setup with 30/54 gearing.

I already have 2 rally bodies on the way lol! Still waiting on tqracing to restock on their Tamiya Sport Series 44mm CVD's. As far as that and servo....that's the only upgrades I plan to do until things start breaking.

Probably will upgrade shocks later on as I see fit.

[singletracksean]

Any updates with these cars? I'm curious about rally setups?

[cullen colapietro]

Ttt, any updates? Get this or the mst rally?

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