My view so far...

[kaylon]

So...I'e been driving the blast quite hard indoors for a few weeks now and thought I would share a couple of impressions.

The Blast has a promising future I think if a couple of minor but yet performance killing issues can be resolved.

The build quality is okay but it's spoiled by the bad drive shaft/servo issue and by the fact that the car is by far the nosiest I've ever heard. No matter what I do the sound of the blast is quite horrendous.

The steering set up is also an issue for me...as it seams to have a huge amount of 'wobble' and free movement. And of course locking up due to cutting down onto the actual drive shaft.

The blast also has issues using other wheels...I tried to put a set of my fastrak studs on and all locked up against the hubs as the hex fittings are slimmer then most. By default I think 12mm hex should fit a 12mm car...

The suspension set up also has issues. If you tighten the pins that hold the lower arms onto the car you get slight binding witch means the car does not 'lift' back up after taking a jump...lots of squat problem caused by this, you have to loosen the pins a bit to get free movement and that's just not a good thing to do...

So...like I said the car shows promise but currently I'm going back to just racing my X-Pro for now.

J

[mattybucks]

The build quality is okay but it's spoiled by the bad drive shaft/servo issue and by the fact that the car is by far the nosiest I've ever heard. No matter what I do the sound of the blast is quite horrendous.



You are wrong, I think it's a well known fact that the original predator is the nosiest car ever built/made. You could actually hear it shredding the gears as it went past on the track.

[samd]

You are wrong, I think it's a well known fact that the original predator is the nosiest car ever built/made. You could actually hear it shredding the gears as it went past on the track.


:lol::lol::lol:looked nice tho

[antnee]

The wobble and free movement in the steering is probably down to how flexible (and rubbish) the steering rack is! You can do a mexican wave with the part in your hand :o

[Aran]

should get come carbon fibre cut for the steering rack, that will stiffen it up.

might not get one of these now :P

[kaylon]

should get come carbon fibre cut for the steering rack, that will stiffen it up.

might not get one of these now :P

There are probably many things you could do to fix these issues, including as you suggested Carbon parts for the steering. I'd like to see a smaller diameter drive shaft, maybe made of titanium or something, Carbon Fibre Shock mounts and alloy hubs. If they were competitively priced these few items would help the cars build quality a huge amount. Not sure if that would fix the noise it makes though :)

J

[rocketrob]

I don't know why people buy "budget" RCs and then complain about the quality of the rig. :rolleyes:
It's like the yahoos that bought Yugo's in the 1980s, and then told the neighbor "it sucks, bigtime."
(with the chap standing there saying to himself, "of course it does, it's a Yugo.")


ever heard the concept "you get what you pay for" ???? :thumbsup:

[antnee]

I going to try the 3Racing ZX5 steering rack at some point

I don't know why people buy "budget" RCs and then complain about the quality of the rig. :rolleyes:
It's like the yahoos that bought Yugo's, and then told the neighbor "it sucks, bigtime." (with the chap standing there saying to himself, "of course it does.")


ever heard the concept "you get what you pay for" ???? :thumbsup:

There is a difference to a el cheapo RC which you expect to break compared to a model like this which LRP says can be raced though!!!

[rocketrob]

There is a difference to a el cheapo RC which you expect to break compared to a model like this which LRP says can be raced though!!!

True, but this is more of a "starter" car intended for rookies than an all out racer for the more experienced hobbyist.

Again, "you get what you pay for." And IMHO expecting much, or perfection, from a £150-ish RTR is asking a bit much.

[P_B]

Rocket has a point - for a cheap car it's a huge bonus that it's raceable. As a race car though it's fairly limited. Not much point spending tons of time, effort and possibly money on upgrades, either run and enjoy it as it is or get a better chassis.

[antnee]

Well hopefully mine should get its 2nd run out tonight! Rebuilt it last night and the rear diff seems a little iffy, but can't see anything wrong, so just going to run it as it is

[kaylon]

That's 2 suspension towers broke now :(

I ran the LRP and an Ansmann Master Smacker at my club on Sunday...the Ansmann is far better all around. It was driven by two kids (12 and 7) who have never tried RC before and they drove the poor thing hard, Not a scratch...damn tough car is that Master Smacker. It was being driven for almost 4 hours non stop...

I drove the LRP blast and was not driving too hard so to keep the kids racing :) and only got maybe 1 and a half batteries driving in before the tower snapped again.

The Ansmann is £30 cheaper then the Blast and by my reckoning a far better car. Sure it does not have big bore shocks or anti-roll bars...but it's smooth to drive, handles very well and so far has proven to be hard as nails.

LRP needs to look at cars of this range, like the Ansmann's and make some changes. At £140 RTR the blast is cheap yes but with all the upgrades I would need to even bring it to a Smackers level of quality it's probably working out to be about £160 just for the car, that's heading to Kyosho and even B44 territory...and so far it's just not even close to that good.

Needs lots of work this one...

J

[antnee]

Ran it that Friday with no real problems to report, was crap at the regional, so swapped to the B4.

Turns out there is something wrong with my diff, as I chucked another geared diff I had in and its all fine! A lot quieter (once it was shimmed correctly :) )! Finally broke the front shock tower, but the replacement is a different design so I think LRP may have revised it :thumbsup: Then it absolutely flew in the last 2 rounds on friday, I was keeping up and pushing at times and Cat SX driven by an experienced racer :D Shame I couldn't keep away from the track markings :(

But overall things are looking a lot better for the Blast, I think the Chinese guy that assembled mine must of been pissed or something, but I think I've sorted all the bits he's messed up now

[Dave Dodd]

The Blast is fine they are just not Antnee proof :lol:

[Robbiejuk]

Some say he could break a mardave in the warmup before the race had even started, and the health and safety executive have a complete crisis strategy ready just in case he turns up.. All we know is that he is called the Ginger Stig!!

Seriously though I think Ant has done LRP a favour by buying this car. the Mk2 version will be built like a brick Sh*thouse at this rate. I mean the only reason why the Tamiya TRF 511X's drive train is so strong is because Ant brought a durga.

I think the LRP is getting tarred with the same brush as the Ansmann madrat was when it first came out. The Madrat had little niggles here and there and Team C have worked on them and made the car stronger, and now that car is a really good buy for the price and a great beginners car.

Keep up the good work Ant! :D

[antnee]

I should seriously think about contacting some manufacturers about becoming team driver, in charge of strength testing!