Academy V2 Pro [Archive] - oOple.com Forums

jimmy

08-01-2007, 10:59 PM

The new Academy SB V2 Pro has been released - I have seen the V2 in carbon guise already long ago, but this is the first time the V2 has been released in as a PRO and it contains some upgrades / changes from what the earlier Academy V2 team cars.

Possibly winging its way to a review near you some time ? who knows :)

http://rcforum.co.kr/rcbbs/data/rcnews/SBV2_Pro_Add3_LOW_RES.jpg

DCM

09-01-2007, 12:00 AM

Still got plastic towers, naff shocks and wobby carbon then.... they just haven't learnt then.

jimmy

09-01-2007, 12:30 AM

I thought the 12 cell slots was daft, no need! but this one seems to have a centre alloy brace to the upper deck, which I would of thought should help things.

Doom

09-01-2007, 02:10 AM

non threaded shocks? i dont beleive it. The best idea is the ability to run the motor on either side, and the cells can go just about anywhere

BenG

09-01-2007, 09:10 AM

n and the cells can go just about anywhere

So can dust and dirt:D:D:D

Brewer95

09-01-2007, 08:50 PM

Ive been racing the SB V2 car with the FRP chassis for a few months now and ive been really impressed! It performed really well out of the box and apart from having a few proplems with the diffs (all sorted now after a rebuild with some better grease!!) its been fantastic!

Its very stable in the air and handles the rough stuff very well and it even runs well indoors!

Im new to racing buggies and dont know a huge amount about them but its put a huge smile on my face! especially as it beat a X5 and a tamiya 501x indoors on sunday :D

DCM

09-01-2007, 11:14 PM

The actual dynamics of the car was sound, it was just the implementation and material usage let the original car down, and the carbon used on the first car was pointless, I do sincerely hope they got it right this time, but they are still way off the mark for a 'Pro' car.

Doom

10-01-2007, 10:44 AM

So can dust and dirt:D:D:D

Team Academy presents: the SBV2, if you remove the undertray you can have your own sandpit right ontop of your pit table!

cutting edge

14-01-2007, 07:43 AM

Im new to racing buggies and dont know a huge amount about them but its put a huge smile on my face! especially as it beat a X5 and a tamiya 501x indoors on sunday :D

This was due to the Academy had funny tyres that stuck to carpet and expanded to twice there size when you reved it up :eh?:
Oh and yes the Tam was running full spikes all he had and the X-5 was running 10 year old gone hard mini pins :(

Oh and i may be wrong but i am sure it was the X5 driver who noticed and fixed the diff on the Academy LOL.....

But enough with the Excuses well done Jimbo ill get you next time ......

Davey G

09-03-2007, 05:00 PM

DCM: Have you seen the new car in person yet? The new carbon material is of a higher quality then years past, the plastic is made out of a new material. If I recall, doesnt the xx4, Laser ZX5, and a few others come with Plastic towers? There arent too many companies that offer all time 4wd and a one way in the same package either. :cool:

Dave Graboski
RC CAR PRODUCT MANAGER
Model Rectifier Corporation

DCM

09-03-2007, 05:10 PM

Dude, over here in the UK, we tried very VERY hard to push the Academy kit, and get Academy to push things forward, and it all took to long, great concept, wrong company.

I have seen the SB2 in person and it was mostly similar materials, an improvement, but not a package that is fully raceable.

Davey G

09-03-2007, 05:20 PM

Not Fully raceable? Wow....

Time will tell. :)

Cain

09-03-2007, 06:07 PM

DCM: Been a long time since we spoke, all well over there in the UK?

I got the SB V2 Pro new in the box here, and there is ALOT of improvements here that I think you should take another look at the vehicle. The graphite chassis alone not attached to anything felt significantly stiffer than my fully assembled SB V2 Sport did. Really beefy.

The suspension parts in the new hard material are just that, HARD. No flexing around anymore.

Also, with the included extras for the price over heard (about the same the ZX-5), you get a lot of vehicle for the money.

I hope oople does a review soon of the new vehicle. Academy really stepped it up with the V2 Pro.

As for threaded shocks, yes that would have been nice, but, never won a race because my shocks were threaded :)

DCM

09-03-2007, 06:41 PM

My first question would be... have they changed their metals, like in the outdrives, the drive pins on the driveshafts, the drivecups on the shaft.....

Gearbox internals were fine from what I remember, it was all parts ofaround it that wore at a stupid rate, the stuff that had to be done to remove the wear was daft.

If those are sorted, wishbones, steering arms, caster blocks, steering knuckles are properly stiff, then it might be a workeable base, but I would want to see a V2Pro in my hands and check it out before I would part cash for one.

dave g

09-03-2007, 06:51 PM

as steve said..we worked our butts off to get the original sb raceable and quick,even i made a C final at nationals with it so we must have got something right...but oh the wear on the outdrives,having to replace every 2 meetings was not good.

we sent suggestions over to academy(korea) and spoke on the phone in length about the problems but all we got was empty promises,nothing got changed and we had to have parts manufactured ourselves.

too much damage may have already been done by academy to ever get back up with the big boys over here but time will tell...

dave

DCM

09-03-2007, 07:00 PM

I remember tapping out drive pins out of the ends of the CVD's and replacing them with stainless steel pins and bonding them in place to just try to reduce the wear, it was daft.

I even made topdecks (single peice) to run the 4wd nitro truck steering arms, as they were nice and stiff. It wasn't so much tweaking the car for the UK market, a few of us ended up realising that the car needed redesigning from the chassis up.

I wouldn't refuse a free kit though, to test and make me change my mind.... lol

dave g

09-03-2007, 07:05 PM

i machined a front kick up plate and cad drew the new one piece topdeck...then the front steering arms.

dave

Davey G

09-03-2007, 08:13 PM

The v2 never came with metal outdrives, nor was there ever an issue with the universal pins. All of these issues were with the original SB. The v2 and v2 pro have single piece topdecks. The V2 and the V2 Pro solved all of these issues. I really think you guys will be very impressed with the V2 Pro. Looking forward to you seeing it.

Cain

09-03-2007, 08:55 PM

DCM: You know that I remember those days well. But the V2 Pro has really fixed those issues. Give me a list of what you would like to see about the buggy, and I will take pics, answer questions, etc as the build goes on.

Not sure what is done with Academy in the UK now, but it would be worth a look if someone gets the SB V2 Pro local.

DCM

09-03-2007, 09:45 PM

Cain

16-03-2007, 03:14 AM

Got to finally begin my build!

The diffs went together great. Went with AE greases instead of the kit stuff, noticed the kit stuff however looks to be different than what I have gotten before. Different labeling.

The SB V2 Pro parts are a whole lot stiffer than the previous iterations, heck, I don't think my AE graphite parts were this stiff or beefy! Really impressive. The graphite is also light years stiffer than anything before too!

So far only issue is that I get a slight "ping" sound when rotating the drivetrain. I am not sure what it is, I am thinking it will probably go away once I drive it to set the gears. It sounds like its coming from the slipper spring area.

Pit Bound

23-03-2007, 01:19 AM

We have been racing tenth scale off road for several years and running mostly Losi & Associated Buggies and Trucks. With over 400 1/10 scale races at the finest track on the Eastern US Coast we understand what it takes to win...all I can say is don't pre-judge the new SBV2 PRO. Our season is just starting in a few weeks, but already the SBV2 PRO has the attention of many of the drivers.

Everyone has there opinion, but at least drive it before you comment. IT IS A WINNER in the making! :)

Cross over the Pond and come to Family Hobbies Raceway in NJ, the BEST Off Road track on the East Coast and in existance for over 20 years. Everyone from Kinwald to Gil Losi himself has raced here. Come and see how it's done if you can survive the boards! No Candyland plastic pipe here. Hard wood, hard dirt and big air. Come on over and play...we have alot of Fun along with some fine racing. :)

Davey G

28-06-2007, 12:23 PM

For those of you who are interested in the V2 Pro and support parts it looks as if there may be a UK distributor signing on with ACADEMY. Stay tuned for more details.

jimmy

28-06-2007, 12:37 PM

That would be good news indeed, it's been a while since this brand has been pushed over here and I think it's a shame as the 4WD looks good for the money.

Southwell

28-06-2007, 12:37 PM

Do we old team drivers get our sponsorship deals back then :D
I still got my SB's!

DCM

28-06-2007, 12:39 PM

Do we old team drivers get our sponsorship deals back then :D
I still got my SB's!

Form an orderly line Ian.... behind me, roflol, still got pics of the SB shell and tray I did for you!!

Southwell

28-06-2007, 12:40 PM

Form an orderly line Ian.... behind me, roflol, still got pics of the SB shell and tray I did for you!!

The SB shell is still in my cupboard brand new :D :rolleyes:

dave g

28-06-2007, 12:46 PM

both of you can get to the back of the queue :)

dave

k£v!n

28-06-2007, 07:43 PM

I was really tempted to buy this kit or the pro version, as Jimmy says the price is very tempting the only thing that stopped me in the end was the fact that there were only one or two shops that sold spares!

DCM

28-06-2007, 08:04 PM

Unless a distributor is willing to push the car, it makes running one very difficult, without Helger pushing the car, what was the point. If someone is seriously looking at pushing the car in the UK, there are quite a few of us who may well be tempted back.

Davey G

29-06-2007, 12:36 PM

ACADEMY RC is speaking with a MAJOR player in the UK, stay tuned for more details!!!! Its nice to see the eagerness of your guys to jump on board with ACADEMY vehicles!!!

Talk to you soon!

DCM

29-06-2007, 12:56 PM

I think for most of us, the firsdt thing we would look at is the diff outdrives and the material, then basicaly all the alloy drive bits, as they were the first fault of the SB, then the plastic and it's rigidity.

dave g

29-06-2007, 01:58 PM

i didnt mind the plastic as such,it was the outdrives and the flex in the steering bellcrank/servo saver that was the worst point.

dropping a carbon topdeck and extra post in to stiffen it up along with the alloy bellcranks made the world of difference as you know steve..something i pointed out to academy immediatley but fell upon deaf ears.

dave

DCM

29-06-2007, 04:08 PM

I know Dave, we all did, the outdrives were a mix of poor alloy and the pins on the dogbones being too short too, culmination of errors. If they are fixed and the price competitive, I might be tempted. Not convinced on the Swiss Cheese chassis though, especialy on high grip.

Davey G

26-07-2007, 03:29 PM

I am trying to get confirmation as per who will be distributing the ACADEMY line in the UK. I will post as soon as I hear. :)

ashleyb4

26-10-2007, 12:56 PM

I saw one of these in the skin for the first time last night it was stans very impressed with it the diffs where relaly smooth we couldnt believe stan built them and the slipper looks good. The only fault i could see was the steering as it foulled on the gear box cover so stan had cut the first hold off so it had more lock. Other than that very impressed. And there is defently an interesting way of holding the wheels on.!!!

A

matdodd

27-10-2007, 08:57 AM

If thats like the old way which I think Stan said it was, its funny not interesting Ash!

ashleyb4

27-10-2007, 10:59 AM

I would love to loosen one off for the comedy effect. The wheel comes off and so does half of the front end of the car lol

A:o:o:o

the wheel

16-11-2007, 04:12 AM

Man you guys are very hard on a car that works very well .I think Academy has really steped it up with there newer vehicles everything is stout solid ,durable, you guys talk about wear they are race cars for goodness saks your not going fast enough if your car is not wearing not only that it is 4wd people ,they are fast, they they fly farther then any other electric cars they are going to wear and if you say that none of the others wear your full of it.

TEAM ACADEMY DIGGITY DESIGNS MAX AMPS.COM

Lee Martin

16-11-2007, 01:09 PM

Qui.......?

DCM

16-11-2007, 01:13 PM

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.

Wraggy

16-11-2007, 01:30 PM

, they they fly farther then any other electric cars

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

Gaz_Stanton

16-11-2007, 03:18 PM

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

davidka

16-11-2007, 03:35 PM

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.

Metla

16-11-2007, 10:57 PM

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.

big_boss

18-11-2007, 07:44 AM

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.

3975dave

18-11-2007, 10:18 PM

I thought the pro ones had alloy bodies??

davidka

19-11-2007, 12:51 AM

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.

Metla

19-11-2007, 12:54 AM

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.

big_boss

19-11-2007, 07:44 AM

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

davidka

19-11-2007, 01:50 PM

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.

big_boss

19-11-2007, 07:26 PM

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

davidka

19-11-2007, 10:34 PM

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.

rcrcman

20-11-2007, 03:45 AM

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

davidka

20-11-2007, 04:17 AM

rcrcman, are you drilling those piston sizes from blanks?

big_boss

20-11-2007, 10:33 AM

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.

davidka

20-11-2007, 03:34 PM

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.