HPI Sprint 2 Sport

[Jus]

I was toying with the idea of getting an on-road electric r/c to mess around with.. I have access to a couple very smooth and clean pavement lots nearby I'd like to try setting up really tight auto-cross type courses to run through. I DON'T want brushless but do intend to run lipo. I don't need 50mph top speed I'm more interested in 10-15mph with lightning fast response and acceleration.

I've started looking at cars but really have no idea what I'm looking at as I have no experience outside of rock crawling and scale-ish 4x4 trucks.

I'm currently looking at this particular car, unfortunately it's a RTR but I like the sound of it and since these cars are mostly AWD anyway, might as be a replica of a car that's AWD in 1:1 form.
HPI Racing RTR SPRINT 2 SPORT W/2.4GHZ & SKYLINE GT-R BODY

Is HPI generally a good company or should I be weary? I want to keep this car clean so no rally action out of this one, or probably even dusty pavement. :lmao: So the belt drive should hold up O.K.? Or maybe for this purpose it's actually better than shaft drive?

Thanks for any and all experience/advice you can share.

 

[SwampDawg]

i own the sprint 2, sweet ride for what it is!
just needs the diff case cut out on Fr/Rr to allow debris to vear away from the belts.

myself, ive installed a spool up front and locked rear diff (drifting) and also customized a widetrack for the rear-end by
installing RS4 rear arms, NTC3 CVDs, etc and still waiting for my HPI superslick tires for this set up

 

[meatmonkey]

Overall I'd say that HPI is a solid company. The Sprint 2 is based off the RS4 Pro and RS4 2. Lots of parts are interchangeable, but their remains many small differences, such as the newer RTR is all phillips hardware and the older kits are allen drive.

If you can deal with used, you can still find the earlier, more race prepped, cars on ebay for cheaper than the new RTR.

I believe that, theoretically, belt drive with a traversely mounted motor is better for perforamce since the torque of the motor is distributed across the wheelbase, not the track width.

But, open belts and debri don't mix well. You have to consider the belts a wear item, especially if running outside. If you don't keep spares on hand, you'll likely pick up the only pebble in lot and shred a belt.

I too, toyed with the idea of a awd 1/10 touring car, but quickly realized that it's not much fun if I can't jump it and get it dirty. So then I started looking at 1/10 rally cars. The only one I like so far is the discontinued RS4 rally. So now I'm looking at 1/8 rally cars...

 

[Jus]

I got jumping and getting dirty out of my system with my Slash.. I'm done with that. break too much stuff.

The one spot I'd like to hit with this car is a pristine freshly paved basketball court that is rarely if ever used. It's super clean and smooth. I want to try my hand with precision driving through a road course. Can't do it it 1:1 so I'm wanting a little taste of it in smaller scale.

 

[SwampDawg]

i have a carbon fiber sprint1 chassis i dont use with motor heatsink, etc

only differences between old to newer versions were adjusitbility such as droop soforth.
Sprint2 is solid and fully adjustable!

you want better then go better such as TC4 etc, but for the dollor value.....Sprint2 by HPI

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Why don't you want to go brushless? Or are you thinking purely in RTR terms?

I would find a good used roller for cheap and add your own electronics. You'll be miles ahead.

 

[Jus]

Why don't you want to go brushless? Or are you thinking purely in RTR terms?

I would find a good used roller for cheap and add your own electronics. You'll be miles ahead.

I've had bad luck with brushless.. I've popped Nimh cells and also puffed several lipos and I can't figure out why and don't want to waste more money on batteries. Nothing was ever geared too crazy either I just don't want to mess with it anymore for a while.

Other than that, I'm just looking at features vs. cost.. As a first vehicle I want to start fresh with something new and well put together. Something that can be run reliably without a lot of fuss. Something to just grab and go have fun for a half hour.. if I want to tinker I have 6 Axial based crawlers and trucks to tend to. :shock::ror: Running some quick and cheap brushed motors geared conservatively on 2s lipo sounds relaxing and headache free and a good way to start out.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

I've had bad luck with brushless.. I've popped Nimh cells and also puffed several lipos and I can't figure out why and don't want to waste more money on batteries. Nothing was ever geared too crazy either I just don't want to mess with it anymore for a while.

Other than that, I'm just looking at features vs. cost.. As a first vehicle I want to start fresh with something new and well put together. Something that can be run reliably without a lot of fuss. Something to just grab and go have fun for a half hour.. if I want to tinker I have 6 Axial based crawlers and trucks to tend to. :shock::ror: Running some quick and cheap brushed motors geared conservatively on 2s lipo sounds relaxing and headache free and a good way to start out.

If you're killing batteries you've got too much motor, simple as that.

I would still go used in good condition. Nearly every time I buy new I think "damn, I could have spent half or less on a roller and bought some good stuff to add to it". A few years ago I bought a used TC3 roller for $50 from the LHS. Bought tires, a body, added some electronics I had laying around, and I was blazing across the parking lot in a very capable car for way less than a new RTR.

If you comp or race with anybody, ask around, I'm sure somebody can hook you up. At the weekly races I go to there is always somebody with something for sale, and usually pretty cheap too. Its nice that way because you can actually put your hands on it and eyeball it really good or even drive it before you buy it.

 

[Grundy]

I have the HPI Sprint2 Flux, the Flux is the Brushless Sprint. It has been trouble free and is a really fast car; however you can detune the esc with a castle link while you learn to handle the speed. I’ve done many, many, modifications and really enjoy it.

I also have a Tamiya TA04S with a brushed motor that has also been trouble free. It’s plenty fast until you put it up against the HPI Flux.

Both of these will give you your speed fix, and are a lot of fun to drive.

However the Flux will eat tires if driven really hard.

If you want to know about HPI Sprint 2 and Flux start reading here.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8320349/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

 

[Jus]

The only brushless motor I've used is the Traxxas VXL 3500kv. I'm sure in the realm of brushless it's far from being *too much motor*. It's just put me off from the whole idea for a while. DOn't want to clutter this thread too much with the subject but as an example, I puffed a couple Thunder Power 2250mah 3s 45c in a FOFF rig with a Sidewinder + VXL motor geared 87/20.

I'd like to be able to check out a race and talk to people but in my little corner of the universe R/C is pretty much not existent. I have to drive at least 1.5 hours just to reach a hobby shop worth visiting.

Grundy, thanks for the link, I'll be sure to check it out tonight when I have more time.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

The only brushless motor I've used is the Traxxas VXL 3500kv. I'm sure in the realm of brushless it's far from being *too much motor*. It's just put me off from the whole idea for a while. DOn't want to clutter this thread too much with the subject but as an example, I puffed a couple Thunder Power 2250mah 3s 45c in a FOFF rig with a Sidewinder + VXL motor geared 87/20.

I'd like to be able to check out a race and talk to people but in my little corner of the universe R/C is pretty much not existent. I have to drive at least 1.5 hours just to reach a hobby shop worth visiting.

Grundy, thanks for the link, I'll be sure to check it out tonight when I have more time.

If its educational it can't be bad, right?

VXL's are power hungry amp suckers. Ballsy motor though. That battery you listed wasn't big enough for what you were doing with it.

With an onroad car you won't be so limited in space for a battery, so you'll be able to use one that is quite a bit bigger. It's also not going to pull near as hard as a FOFF.

 

[Jeepfixer1]

I have the sprint 2flux brushless. It is the only on road car I have. It's awesome. Never had any lipo problems with it or any of my RC's . Once u go lipo/brushless you never go back! "thumbsup"

 

[17dean]

Sprint 2 sport and sprint to flux! Either way , you cant go wrong! I owned the both of them and still have my sprint to flux. No issues and if my money was right I would get another.Like Duuuuuuuuddddeee says , try catching one used and get ahead and use that extra money on hop ups!