Jump to content
  • Join our community

    Sign-up for free and join our friendly community to chat and share all things R/C!

My HPI Q32 Formula (bad) experiences...


DanDare

Recommended Posts

I bought two last week, one for me & one for a mate. The 1st one (mine) wasn’t packaged properly ie, the chassis was tied down but the front wheels weren’t sitting in the holes in the cardboard, this meant the front arms/wishbones were bent giving huge negative camber & toe in. I turned the chassis upside down, re-tied it & left it for 3 days. This didn’t work. I guess I could have returned it but I’ve bought the plastic parts set from eBay inc. new arms so hopefully it’ll be ok.

My mate asked if I could unbox his (blue/yellow), sticker it up, charge it etc so it would be ready to use when I next see him. This doesn’t have the above issue but, this time the charge port has a bad connection, with either the radio lead or the USB charger I bought. Touch it & the light flickers on & off... damn ! 

I contacted the seller (on eBay) who requested I return it & they’ll replace it & reimburse the postage, fair enough. This was sent back today.

Prior to unboxing the blue one I ordered a 3rd one from the same seller as a Xmas present for my nephew. So today I decided my mate could have this one instead & the replacement could be for my nephew.

So, opened it up, wishbones ok but... same charging port problem !! Again, I tried both the radio charge lead & the USB charger.

 

Having now seen a reviewer on YouTube with the same issue I’m starting to question HPI’s quality so will probably ask for refunds on both of them & just keep the one I’ve bought new wishbones for.

This is disappointing as my one drives nicely & I feel we could’ve had a blast racing these around the living room !

 

Maybe I’m just super unlucky...

 

 

 

Edited by DanDare
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im certain its just hpi selling a china toy rc. I got the first one 4yrs ago. Then when hpi brought the Q32 out i saw a v2 china version with 2.4ghz. £10-15 each depending on v1 or v2. Mayb under 10 for the v1 now they use a ps1 controller styled remote. The v2 uses a trigger with wheel remote and has proportionate steering. The v1 didnt have proportionate steering. 

 

They both blew me away tho cheap fun for sure and they are fast on the highest speed setting but varible from a dial on the tx. Perfect for kids. I kept it on level 3 for my kid but she soon realised which button gets full power and made it into a spinning top. Just a blur spinning it was so fast. 

 

But she rammed them full speed into something crunching the gears on both cars. I still might get another tho but lock it to the 3rd speed setting. 

 

The first we had looked like a micro traxxas revo. Inc the talon tires design. 

The 2nd was hpi baja 5sc style but still with talon tires. 

 

The hpi mini recon was a "radio shack pro pulse 2" the radio shack version was much better and even had titanium upgrades available. 

 

If you can return them for refund honestly just try the cheap one. But be careful to not crunch gears. The hpi gears pack costs more than a new car tho. I think it was branded later by wltoys too. L989 or L959 Ill find out. 

 

Edit. 

 

There not so cheap now but with a search i bet they can be found. I did find this one its a V2 looks like the V1 we first had. Traxxas revo styled. 

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F282729372625

 

This is the v2 or 2.4ghz version we had but for £15ish. 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192274625353

 

Ther all the same underneath im certain hpi just changed its chassis slightly to look more baja. The elecs are identical. Tiny silver long bl motor. I saw a buggy version just too. Searching  "1/32 scale rc" or "WLtoys L989"

 

I think you've seen that the hpi badge doesn't mean anything but higher price for this model lol. Idk cash out if possible. But i never did find out if the hpi gears fit the no name ones or wltoys ones. But i did look at the cheap gears and hpi gears and they looked the same to me. But different tooth counts 

Edited by RCbutcher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The seller (eBay) has offered to refund both cars inc. my return postage costs etc so both have now been returned.

I received the new wishbone(s) for my own Q32 F1 & fitted it today so at least mine works lol.

 

Certainly those on the links look very similar to me, could be worth a punt, though as far as my nephews Xmas present goes I’ve now bought him an Revell (Dromida) 1/18 SCT RTR so I’m sure he’ll have no complaints :lol:

 

Edited by DanDare
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t quite believe my luck with these things !

 

The only one I have has just packed up, fresh charge & about 30secs use it doesn’t go forwards any more, only backwards & steering !

Tried re-binding, checking for fluff build up etc but no, the 3rd out of 3 has already given up on me. 

 

These are the worst rc’s I’ve ever had lol. Guess I’ll be returning this one too...

Edited by DanDare
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hobbyking have some for £10 now as well. Only one colour in the uk though which is annoying as wanted to get a few for indoor messing about with the kids.

 

 

Seems about the right price based on your experience with the proper ones!

Edited by wiggles
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I got one for Xmas. Within 5 charges it lost forward drive :boredlook:. I've sent it back to wheelspin.  They're saying they'll get it running properly.  Should I email hpi ? I'd prefer a refund so I can put the money towards an ae sc28.  Mine flies really well & ain't broke yet, even after a damn good bashing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...