RB5 2008 Conversion Kit

[mart]

Hi All,

Any one been running the new rear conversion and what are your thoughts?

Cheers, Martyn

[sparrow.2]

Kyosho team Germany have all been running the conversion kit and reckon it's better on dirt. One of the biggest advantages apparently is the smaller rear shock tower that breaks less.

[Taman]

So is it the same just replacing the shock towers with the Atomic Carbon ones? I'm assuming they arent going to break in a hurry and they also allow you to change teh shcok angles. :thumbsup:

[RSharpy]

So is it the same just replacing the shock towers with the Atomic Carbon ones? I'm assuming they arent going to break in a hurry and they also allow you to change teh shcok angles. :thumbsup:The new rear end is not the same as the atomic carbon tower. It drops the tower down and it also includes shorter shock bodys. If anything it does the oposite and lays the shocks down rather than giving you the option of having the shocks stood up straight like with the AC tower.

I have never ran the new rear end but have seen one built up on a car and can see why it would be better on dirt but for British tracks i'm not convinced it would be of any benifit.

My RB5 is going that well standard with the AC tower, I'm not in a rush to change it :lol:

[RogerM]

I have been running the wide rear end on my car since the begining of the year and I personally, for my driving style, think it is an improvement.

The conversion pack includes

rear wishbones from the ZX5 "mid-rear" set .... part number LA243
driveshaft dog bones for the orginal ZX5, 65.5mm long
purple rear springs

All these parts are fitted to my car (although mostly I use silver rear springs now)

it also includes...

shorter rear tower and shorter shock bodies.

The combination of these actually lean the shocks over more than the stock arangement as has been said. This is the very last thing you want with the car in the UK!!!!!!!

I keep meaning to ask Jonathan at Atomic Carbon to do some new shorter rear towers but keeping the shock angles as per his current towers ..... I'll ask him at the weekend if I see him.


The wider rear end actually reduces the loading at the rear tires contact patch and thus helps the car rotate, not only earlier but with more control. To my mind the combination of the Atomic Carbon rear tower and wider arms / driveshafts really make the RB5 the best 2wd car I have ever driven (and considering how fond I was of my XX-CR & B3 cars that is really a bold statement).
Everybody who has driven my RB5 has said how nicely balanced and predictable it is, no matter what car they drive themselves they have been instantly on a similar pace with my RB5.
The only surface I am struggling with is carpet / high grip indoor but on the odd occassion I get to run on that sort of surface the car is improving run by run.

My advise is to go for the conversion kit but not fit the tower / shock bodies ...... until the AC version is available that is.

[mart]

Thanks for you replies guys...

Like sharpy, my car has also been awesome in the standard form with the Atomic rear tower but I decided to go against "if it aint broke..." and have a play with the conversion set at Coventry last Sunday!

Roger you've confirmed my thoughts and the new rear tower/shocks doesn't need to be fitted. With the new lower tower fitted the car does tend to buck around a bit and felt getting those rear shocks stood up would help this. The new shock bodies do look ace and will be a shame to take them off, for now any way!!

[caneye]

I have been running the wide rear end on my car since the begining of the year and I personally, for my driving style, think it is an improvement.

The conversion pack includes

rear wishbones from the ZX5 "mid-rear" set .... part number LA243
driveshaft dog bones for the orginal ZX5, 65.5mm long
purple rear springs

All these parts are fitted to my car (although mostly I use silver rear springs now)

i....

are those the original silver springs that came with the kit?

[RogerM]

The rears yes, the fronts no (they are #35 and far too soft for anything!!)

[richardj]

Having run the new rear end for a while, Mr Sharpy is right with the angles of the shocks, also new rear uprights included. I have found it to be more positive (not twitchy though) all the way through the corner on grass. It does need to be run with the shocks in the most upright position for bumpy tracks though. Normally run with Kit Silver or Losi Pinks on the rear.

Rich J

RB5, ZX5, 777WC, Stallion Shin TC

[SimonW]

Any shops got this, in the UK

[mart]

Try PBM Racing or DMS.

[Darren Boyle]

Yes we have them on the shelf

[Pledger]

Is the new conversion kit good for astroturf tracks?

[sparrow.2]

Is the new conversion kit good for astroturf tracks?

A mate of mine didn't do too badly with it in Kampenhout. B-Final in 4WD with the Ultima. Looked like it was flying :) The new rear shock tower doesn't break easily either, as it is a lot shorter than the original one.

[Chrislong]

A mate of mine didn't do too badly with it in Kampenhout. B-Final in 4WD with the Ultima. Looked like it was flying :) The new rear shock tower doesn't break easily either, as it is a lot shorter than the original one.

Was that the red one? I agree, I noticed it looked very good.

[sparrow.2]

Was that the red one? I agree, I noticed it looked very good.

It was the orangey-red one with the fat smelly bloke driving it. He would have had a beard but someone twisted a rubber band into it the weekend before and he had to cut it off! Class! :woot:

[Chrislong]

It was the orangey-red one with the fat smelly bloke driving it. He would have had a beard but someone twisted a rubber band into it the weekend before and he had to cut it off! Class! :woot:

Ha ha, I think thats the same one I was watching. Can't vouch for the smell though, Tony had wind and my nostrils were "out of order" for several days.

[sparrow.2]

Ha ha, I think thats the same one I was watching. Can't vouch for the smell though, Tony had wind and my nostrils were "out of order" for several days.

I know the smell exactly. Had plenty of time to sit through it on the way home :) Olli is fun :)

He broke two of my ribs trying to throw me for a laugh a couple years back :lol:

[Gayo]

Wow, that is fun :eh?: :p

Was that Ultima that ran also on 4wd? He was on my heat and he beat me at every round. Of course I was running a 4wd :thumbdown::lol:

[sparrow.2]

The one and only BigO :)

He was only so quick because he wanted to get back to the waffles and pancake stand.... We ended up getting a discount for waffles because we were there fairly often :thumbsup:

[SimonW]

Dbl post oops

[SimonW]

Thank you DMS great service ordered yesterday afternoon and arrived today Woo Hoo. The car looks awsome with the kit on. I already was running the wide rear but now it just looks the part, hope it goes as good as it looks. For those interested,you will have to run the kit shafts as the 54mm shafts are too long (the shaft hits the top and leaves 2-3 mm hanging out) BUT if you build the shocks and measure total length of the shaft+eyelet @ 59mm overall you will be 1mm down on the overall droop when running the middle hole on the arm. HTH

3A pistons and 30wt oil feels about right too with the Cobalt/purple springs and 3B+35wt in the front with silvers.

[Supergreg]

The conversion pack includes

rear wishbones from the ZX5 "mid-rear" set .... part number LA243
driveshaft dog bones for the orginal ZX5, 65.5mm long
purple rear springs


so there's no change in rear hubs, is that correct?

[mes]

Hi Kai!
Let's see what Kyosho America says:

Upgrading Your RB-5 to the Mid-Arm Conversion
To upgrade your RB-5 to run the latest mid-arm conversion setup, you will need the following parts:



LA243 - This comes with a front and rear arm. You only want the rear arm. So the customer will have to buy 2 of these.
LA232 - This comes with 2 complete dogbone and axles built. The dogbones are what you want. The axles are too narrow.
W5183-2 - This comes with both shock shafts.

[Supergreg]

ok, I got it. I managed to make a semi-2008-rear-conversion to my RB5 with the parts I had lying around.

now let's see if it makes any difference :)

thanks.

[Kopite]

does anyone run the conversion to use b4 wheels on the rear of the rb5?

also, why does it state that the 2008 conversion kit is a limited edition?

and finally, cos most people agree that the plastic chassis are the way to go, why is the rb5 running carbon? (i'm not questioning this, i'm just wondering the thoughts behind it)

[Kopite]

so, nobody who runs this car can answer any of the above questions? :o

[sparrow.2]

I know one of the German team guys runs US wheels, but only because he had a large sack full of them when he changed to Kyosho.

I've also seen people progressively dremeling the living daylights out of their chassis to get a little more grip and forgiveness into their Ultimas. They cut the strengthening ribs out of the chassis.

[minichamps11]

does anyone run the conversion to use b4 wheels on the rear of the rb5?

also, why does it state that the 2008 conversion kit is a limited edition?

and finally, cos most people agree that the plastic chassis are the way to go, why is the rb5 running carbon? (i'm not questioning this, i'm just wondering the thoughts behind it)

I use the B4 wheel conversion - it drops straight on and gives you exactly the same rear track as the Kyosho wheels. It's a pain free transparent way to use Losi / B4 wheels.

As for the carbon chassis thing..... Even I could tell the difference between my B4 with a plastic chassis versus graphite (more forgiving to drive). The RB5 is dead easy to drive (albeit not necessarily the fastest car) straight out the box so perhaps Kyosho see no reason to make a more flexible chassis.

With the 2008 "Limited edition" conversion kit, perhaps Kyosho intend to the same as they did with the Lazer SP conversion - sell it for a while to allow current owners to upgrade and then release a new version of the RB5 kit.

[caneye]

...

also, why does it state that the 2008 conversion kit is a limited edition?

...

where does it state that the 2008 conversion kit is a limited edition?

are you referring to UMW510?
http://www.pro-s-futaba.co.jp/store/images/UMW510.jpg

[Jez]

maybe not limited edition,just limited stock available through kyosho uk?dunno

[SimonW]

Any news about a shorter (worlds spec) Rear Atomic Carbon tower, if there is i will get myself one ?

[Kopite]

maybe not limited edition,just limited stock available through kyosho uk?dunno


just clocked it as 'limited edition' on the dms racing website

[caneye]

have you installed the rear conversion kit?

i'm in the process of doing it now .. giving the car a "refresh" after a year of racing.
can't wait to test it out on the weekend.