DarkSoul's Baja 5T Review

[DarkSoul]

I was fortunate enough to get my 5T on time for the trip out to Imperial Dunes for Dunetoberfest, and since I kept having an electrical issue with my Sand Baja (I think it has a bad Rx), I pretty much ran the 5T for the majority of the time I was there.

When I got to the dunes, I figured I should run it pretty much stock and see how it does. The only things I changed were the following-

•Outerwears on the air filter
•Modifier clutch cover

Both of the above for sand protection

•Spektrum Radio
•Blue DS wheel nuts
•Set of paddles
•prototype 57t DS steel spur gear

I ran the truck for probably about 6-8 tanks over the course of 3 days (managed to get about 2-3 tanks in on my Sand Baja before the Rx started crapping out as well).

So, the truck of course looks fantastic, I have always been a big fan of trophy trucks, and as soon as I saw this, I was in love, no doubt about it, I had to have one.

Stock Tires


Sand Paddles


When I picked it up from HPI on the way to Dunetoberfest, I was amazed at the size, it is quite a bit longer than the 5B, mainly of course because of the front bumper-





Speaking of which, the bumper is great, aside from adding length, it also adds a bit of weight which does a great job of balancing the truck as a whole, it just seems to fly much more level than a 5B. It also adds great front protection, and is able to absorb front impacts, be it from jump impacts, or collisions with other rigs.

Tires

The stock tires on the Baja are a fair amount taller than the B's dirt busters-



They really add to the scale look of the truck, and the stock tread-



They do very well even in the sand. I ran probably 2-3 tanks with the paddles and the balance (3-4 tanks) with the stock tires. As long as you keep some momentum, they actually do really well, and gives quite a different driving experience in the sand vs. the paddles. The stock tires seem to keep the truck floating on top, and its more like a controlled drift when out in the sand bowls. With the paddles on, its more precise in it's lines, and although you can track a little better, I thought it was actually more fun with the stock tires in the sand.

Another great improvement to the 5T wheels are the addition of metal inserts that are over-molded into the wheels now-



You can see the steel insert there in the pic, and can see the tangs of the insert protrude outwards to stay well embedded in the plastic. No more stripped hubs.

The Body and new Plastics

The 5T body is of course........ HUGE, and, very well made. The plastic material they chose is very very tough. I am unsure of what the material is, I assume its Lexan, but it does not actually seem like it, maybe some special make up for this application, but all in all, its very strong and resilient.



The 5T body comes attached at 8 points, 2 hood, 2 bed, and 2 on each side. They also have these clever little grommets with body clip "leashes" that really helps to keep track of the little buggers-



There is a large cutout right behind the cab that is an access hole to get to the pull stater handle and also the new roof plate "handle". I don't know if that's what it's design intention was, but that's what I used it for, and it worked great for lugging this beat around.



The side pods do a great job of supporting the truck body and protecting it from side impacts. There are debris shields on the leading edge as well to help deflect crud from building up inside the chassis, they are angled downwards so as debris gets inside, its is sort of funneled out-




Engine

The 5T of course comes with a CY 26cc engine with a new can type exhaust, this can has probably twice the volume of the stock buggy can, and actually performed very well considering the size and weight of the truck (and larger tires)-



I did absolutely no adjustments to the truck's engine/carb settings except to change the idle setting a hair, and the thing ran very fast with very little bog in the sand once it was up and moving.

Overview

The 5T is a winner hands down, it handles amazingly well for such a large and what appears to be top heavy vehicle (which it is not actually). Out of the box, it runs great, and I am pretty hard pressed to find any faults in it.

I suppose if I had to really fins something wrong, it would be the lack of a rear bumper. The truck bed hangs out there quite a bit, and after repeated "ass in" landings, it eventually started to flex and eventually tear-



Now keep in mind, this is sand dune use, with huge airs, some, probably 10+ feet up; I truly think that any other manufacturer's large scale body could not have survived these type of landings at all. The fact that the 5T's shell is still in one piece, and is very much repairable with some "Shoo-Goo" and reinforcing tape, is a testament to how strong the shell is. Just the same, I am already working on a rear bumper

As usual, the plastic spur gear dyed a terrible death from the extreme heat of pushing this thing to its limits up sand dunes, but I think that comes as no big surprise to anyone, so this got replaced with one of my prototype lightweight steel spurs.

My overall opinion, on a scale of 1-10 its a 9.9 . I am pretty hard pressed to find any faults with this thing, and as much as it pains me to say it, I like it better than my 5B's , of which, I may have 1 or 2 for sale here in the very near future .

Pic by Frosty619

[DarkSoul]

Addendum-

This is but a short taste of the new HPI Baja 5T, to cover every small change and new feature of this truck would take hours to write up, and pages and pages of pictures and comments to point them all out. So if you have a specific question about something I did not touch on, please feel free to ask, and I will do my best to answer.

The one thing I would like to add, is that the suspension (SS shocks all around) is very plush, it seems smoother out of the box than say an SS. I have not taken a shock apart, or even read the manual yet to see how they are set up, but it is set up out of the box very well.

[silver04rs]

Great review... you nailed it!!!!!

Watching all the 5T's run out in Buttercup this past weekend was a ton of fun and when I finally got a chance to drive one it was just unlivable. Everything was much better balanced and precise... and they tend to land on their wheels as well after a roll

[C.T_07]

Great review Ted, sounds like you had great fun !

Thanks for sharing


C.T
___

[L3G10N]

nice tnx for the review but once again, lack of detail underbody pictures

like the lower arm that some people told they were bigger and every little details like this

[Hiks]

nice one Ted, the 5t looks great. Defineatly gonna get one ordered.

Good to see it holding up at stock so well!

you confirmed what I thought about the rear of the shell being a bit open as well, that will needed sorting as soon as.

The shell does look awesome though, I can't wait for a clear I prefer the 5t body to the proline truck.

[Silverback RC Products Ltd]

Is there as much wheel flex as the stock rims or did you switch the beadlocks over before you ran?

[DarkSoul]

Y'know Flake, its just too hard to tell running in the sand to what extent the rubbing will be. There are signs of rubbing on my 5T, but they are not as severe as I think they would be with the original wheels.

I have yet to fool around with putting extenders on it yet to see what the difference would be, I think in the dirt, it may make a difference, but the sand is forgiving enough that I rarely rolled because of track width.

L3G10N

The rear a-arms are beefier on the rear portion where the shock mounts. They have increased the thickness there. I will try to get some more pictures up in a while with the shell pulled off, and some better detail of parts of the truck.

Hiks

Still keep in mind that what I did to that poor truck out there is probably a little beyond what the majority of owners would do to it. The rig took many ass in landings from 10+ feet, as well at one point rolling down a really deep sand bowl 18 times,.....yes 18 rolls , it was a sight to see, Eddy was at the top of the bowl counting it out.

I have all the faith in the world that even at $200+ for just the shell, its worth every cent. And... as i said, the damage that it has sustained is repairable with some ShooGoo and reinforcing tape.

[silverback]

after reading your review and seeing the offer the hostile put up i just put my order in can't wait.

[olderrcguy]

I have a feeling that there will be a few Baja 5B's for sale .Looks like the truck is what we all really want.Does anyone remember the first RC10 ? It was one of the first buggy's to get converted.Then came the RC10T.Looks like a pattern.hmm.

[Monsterman]

Great review Ted, you beat the hell out of that 5T

[TurtleRacing]

That body definitely helps roll the truck back onto it's wheels in a crash. Great pics guys!

[fourwheeler]

Ted....when you say you like the 5T better why is that? Just the look? Performance? Or both?

[baja addict]

hey ted speaking of shocks,whats the status on the darksoul shocks for the 5b? when will you release them? I have 'nt heard any news on them in a long time.

[Scorpion Unlimited]

Nice review Ted. I think after reading it I might actually run my stock for a little bit before I throw all the upgrades at it.

[Disturbedearth]

Awesome review mate!

[DarkSoul]

Originally Posted by fourwheeler

Ted....when you say you like the 5T better why is that? Just the look? Performance? Or both?

Well as i said, I have always been a big fan of race trucks, so the looks are definitely a big plus for me, but so far, at least in the dunes, it seems to fly better off jumps. I don't know if its the added weight up front, the larger diameter tires (I was actually truly able to change attitude in mid air by tapping the throttle, more so than with the buggy), but it just seemed to me to be a better jumper.

Performance wise, I am really curious to see what happens when you start to pump it up. GBE had a pipe on his, and it was faster, and that did not seem to effect the handling negatively at all, but I think running in the sand (pumped up or not) is much more forgiving than a high bite dirt track / bashing spot.

I plan on dropping a Fuelie 23cc in it so I can run in the "stock" class at the HPI Nationals, so over the next 2 weeks I will be playing with some stock and not so stock stuff (SS pipe vs. 5T can, extenders vs. none, on dirt, etc) to see what happens.

To ultimately answer the question though, the looks had me sold first and foremost, performance, out of the box, I would say its as fast as an SS although its a bit heavier, it has taller tires, and different diff gearing. Its better protected by the giant, very thick body and all the side pods and front bumper. So given the choice, and although I sort of take a bit of a chunk out of my own business, I would opt for the truck before an RTR.

[recce01]

mmmmm not sure they are gonna have the trucks on the track at the same time as the buggies. I will research the option of a truck class though because I am in!

[DarkSoul]

Originally Posted by recce01

mmmmm not sure they are gonna have the trucks on the track at the same time as the buggies. I will research the option of a truck class though because I am in!

Ya, I have been reviewing the rule sets, and I am unsure as to whether they will be allowed or not. I sure hope so, nothing cooler than scale trophy truck races . I shot Andyh a PM and asked, so I guess we will see.

[Sime]

Thanks for the info on the metal inserts in the wheels, hopefully they start that trend on 5B wheels.