oh dear.... nobody every said that other cars don't wear, just that the alloys used in academy cars previously had a very soft nature so wore out at an accelerated rate, plus some fit and finish of the products caused the wear to. The design was good, the fit and finish wasn't.

isnt that dependent on what motor you are using !!!!
nothing at all to do with the car .....:rolleyes:

or how annoyed you are when you chuck it... :p

The fit and finish is all fixed with the V2 kit. The plastics are stiff and strong and the alloys are all on par with anything else on the market. I firmly believe this is the most durable and easy to run (no exposed diffs or finicky belts) 4wd car on the market right now.

As Ashley pointed out, the modification to the front gear case (shave the backs of the steering arms on the hubs too) is a standard mod here in the US for more steering lock.

I run on a high grip track where slicked tires are used and the car is incredibly fast through the turns. It is probably nit as high grip as turf but it is by no means slippery. I like to run two chassis braces, the kit comes with one and a second can be purchased aftermarket.

If you're thinking of trying one, do. You won't be dissapointed.

SBV2 Pro is a piece of art, Reeks of quality, drives like a weapon.

I run on a track thats probably quite harsh in comparison to the intended surfaces., plenty of wear, deep dust, rough spots, Takes a good car to take her at speed.

Hi All
Just got mine on friday & finished building it today, just the speedo & motor to go in. Oh yes I also need to think up some way to keep the orion lipo(4800) from moving about on the chassis.
Just a quick word to all you guys who suffered with the original SB (me included) (I still have the car,just don't know what to do with it), Let me say that this one is a big step in the right direction, and that's good news.

As far as the plastick are concerned they feel like the losi graphite parts, I have been with Losi since they first started so I bellive I should know. the fit & finish is first class but it's a pitty they did not take care of the steering bellcranks at the factory also the instruction manual is a bit jumbled up, it is probably the "sports" manual so it has pics of parts that are not in the box as this is the "pro". workable but not on par with the big boys. the shocks seem to be very smooth. not alloy which sucks but then again niether are the ones that came on my xray T2 or the T2 007 (I broke a shock body on that car once), but time and a lot of testing will tell if the are any good.
The car once built feels rigid to the "grab the car at both ends & twist" test, very impressive, as are the plastics(arms,spindles hubs ect) nice & stiff very good quality all in all.
So far this is looking good, as far as how it drives & survives that remains to be seen.

I thought the pro ones had alloy bodies??

Yes, pro car has teflon coated alloy bodies.

I run the Oripon 4800 pack in mine. I epoxied two "L" shaped plastic rails on the chassis (be careful to place your inner rail far enough from the center, the square profile of the battery strikes the rear drive cup more easily than you'd think). I also ca glued strips of bicycle inner tube rubber on the chassis slots and to the battery strap to further secure the battery. So far zero issues.

I ditched the stock shocks after the very first run, They were pretty good, a bit out of their depth for my local track which looks smooth but isn't. And I figured the car was so damn good I wanted what I consider to be a damn good set of shocks, As I consider threaded shocks a must.

So I purchased and fitted a set of Tamiya DF-03 aluminum shocks, Beautiful, The tires now hug the ground, she cuts a sweeeeeeeeeet track.

Although, The courier just rocked up with my Lipo, First one I have ever seen, and going by the lite-weight of this new battery the old shocks may have suited the car better.

Nothing a bit of trial and error won' sort out.

sorry
 

I don't know why I said the shocks were not alloy, Sorry Academy.Brain glitch prob.

I have found the stock shocks to be excellent. I changed away from the stock pistons right away because they had holes that were too big for modified racing and the type of grip I run on. They have been great so far.

Yes I saw that as well, I too have put Associated pistons insteads of the originals. #1in front & #2 in the rear as per Alberico's setup.I think though the rear is a little slow on the rebound (not enough spring) & too much spring in the front. All this from bench testing as I haven't driven the car yet so I'll see how it goes on the track first.... better shut up now....:D

I found Dave A's setup to be too stiff as well. Give my setup a try:

Front: Shocks, AE#2 piston/35wt losi oil, academy green spring, middle tower/arm(2/b). camber link pos #1 (upper/inner), -2* camber 1-2* toe out. Ride height, arms slightly above level.

Rear: Shocks, AE#2 piston/Losi 27.5 oil, Academy white spring, shock pos. 2a (inside on arm, 2nd from inside on tower). camber pos out on hub/ctr on tower (4b), -1* camber/3*toe in (option part), stock anti squat.

Car is lipo/BL and weighs 57.5oz. Go up a oil and spring weight if running conventional batteries. Track is a med-high bite that calls for losi pink tires sanded slick. The #2 piston in the front shocks with 35wt was the last change I made and that really made it work. The car has better high speed steering with more stability and lands jumps better than with the #1 piston with no perceptible loss of turn in.

I and a team-mate have run two different setups and both TQing on the same track

stiff: Albericos with a shorter rear link for more steering, 3' rear toe to stabilize on throtle, and 35wt in the rear

soft: F = 3x1.5mm pistons 35wt R = 2x no.55 pistons 30wt

both with stock springs and Ablericos camber links positions

Both cars fast, but for different driving styles

rcrcman, are you drilling those piston sizes from blanks?

I believe he is using stock academy pistons (3 hole 1.5mm are optional if they don't come in the kit, I got 3 hole & 2 hole with the kit can't remember if they are 1.5mm or not). the 55 are Losi pistons.

He would have had to drill the 55 piston. Losi calls there pistons 55, 56, 57 etc. but they are all 3 hole pistons (and don't fit in academy shocks, just a hair too big.) and he stated a 2 hole. I believe that Associated #1 pistons are 2x55 holes.

I have only run associated pistons so far mostly from Dave A.'s suggestion plus just my familiarity with the associated piston sizes.

Thanks, I'll try yours first this weekend.

yes a 2 hole #55 we use a drill and start with a little piston like an AE #3, those never get used and are easy to find

My bad then.