I now have a Losi 5ive......

[markymarky]

Well in a few days anyway 😁

Paid over the odds but it looks so very tidy and in good condition, even the chassis is virtually unmarked.

TBH I wanted a 5ive all along but there was nothing even remotely local to me for sale, don't get me wrong I certainly don't regret buying the Baja but the DBXL was a bit of an impulsive 5ive replacement.

I am not 100% if I am going to keep the DBXL now, we will see.

Also not sure if I am going to keep this petrol or go brushless, only thing helping me decide is the potential additional cost to go brushless, this is basically complete even though it will get a full strip and rebuild with some obviously added upgrades 😁

 

 

[Stormbringer]

Does look really clean 

[.AJ.]

Nice! I much prefer the black and white body of the og 5ive over the newer silver and orange 👍 

[Tug]

Brushless is awesome, but I'm biased as it's my preferred method of propulsion. 

 

However, it ain't cheap. You can cut costs with a 35 quid motor mount and make your own battery boxes. 

 

For the ESC, Max4 is king, awesome piece of kit. 

 

Cells? Plenty of choice out there. 

 

Looks like a well cared for, hardly used truck. Enjoy. 

[markymarky]

It was one of those, bought, used a few times then stuck in a shed and forgotten about.

 

[markymarky]

All being well should be getting this tomorrow, excitement starting to build now.

Had to get some bits to finish the Baja (well at least get it running) before starting on this one, however I might be restrained for now and completely finish the DBXL and Baja first otherwise it might not happen.

Still mulling over what to do with this and wether to stick to petrol or not.

[markymarky]

Can't get over how clean this is, almost feeling guilty at the thought of stripping it down.

Tempted to keep it as it is and just use it but it would need a kill switch fitting at least as it currently doesn't have one and I just think it would end up being a waste of £s if I do go brushless eventually and with 3 other RCs to use in the mean time part of me says stick to the plan 😁

Everything else looks so small now!

 

 

[Mack1]

Looks very nice indeed,Im impressed. Like the new wheels on it.(last pic)👌. A very capable machine even in standard form. Number 1 on your list is as you say, a kill switch is a must, trust me. I was lucky with mine, I hit a brickwall thats what stopped it😆. IMO I would definitely do the shoe goo mod on the bodywork.The first crash and subsequent crashes after split every panel, even on small rollovers etc. Something I regret not doing as now a new Losi body shell  is upwards of £250. I personally went for an air filter upgrade and an exhaust on mine. The standard exhaust I think sounds more like a petrol strimmer/lawnmower. Now mine sounds like a small motocross bike. Much better 👍. 

[markymarky]

Well I am going to keep this body and most likely get one of the 30deg North flexible jobbies, I quite like not having the rear fenders on the stock body and the 30DN has very minimal rear fenders so.........

Going to start with something cheap first and sort the shocks out, they are fine but the stock blue springs are weak, the previous owner wound the adjusters so low on the rears the springs were buckling.

 

[Tug]

I prefer soft suspension, the roll in the corners, the squat under acceleration, the nose kissing the ground under braking, awesome stuff. 

 

Nowt wrong with a bit of chassis slap, can aid handling. 

 

Enjoy!

[markymarky]

Well the honeymoon period is already officially over 😂

Was up early this morning so...... 

 

 

[markymarky]

This thing continues  to surprise me.

Got the back end in bits and had the diff out, was going to buy a rebuild kit but it really doesn't need it, the oil inside was clear as well, used to opening diffs and finding a black gooey mess but not in this case.

Ordered a Taylor RC rear diff case, shock tower, rear brace and diff oil to get me going.

Thinking I might mock it up on the stock chassis and then when it is all done (less motor etc) will transfer it all to a Taylor RC chassis, still toying with maybe sticking with petrol and getting a big bore engine so working along those lines.

If I do go brushless it will be 12s, hence me going a bit overkill with the rebuild ether way.

[markymarky]

Added a few more bits back on after yesterdays delivery, rear anti roll bar and bumper now in place. 

Changed fixings to stainless steel using some i had left from the Baja build but need to order a few more. 

Emptied and refilled rear shocks and ordered slightly stiffer springs. 

Shock tower and rear uprights next when i get paid in a few days. 

 

 

 

[markymarky]

Hoping i might have solved the issue where the steel droop screws on the arms gouge out the aluminium chassis. 

Ordered a couple of nylon tipped grub screws, not sure if they will work or if they are strong enough to last, only time will tell. 

[markymarky]

Back end just about done, might change the rear turnbuckles for titanium at some point, cheaped out this time 😊

Put the original springs back on as the ones i bought recently were just too hard when combined with the change of oil, it was all a bit to stiff. 

 

 

[Stormbringer]

very blingy 😎

[markymarky]

Did the centre diff today, messy but again existing oil was very clean. 

Tidied the rear centre drive shaft, was okay but a bit rusty in places, got some 16mm 4:1 heat shrink to cover over the nastiness 😁

Made a bit of a gaff and had to redo a small section towards the centre diff but you can hardly tell. 

 

[markymarky]

Taylor Rc front gearbox, shock tower and Bonehead RC front hinge pin holders came today. 

Refilled front diff with 100k while building and shimming it to get it nice and smooth. 

Waiting for a few more fixings to show up but got the front end pretty well nailed at this point, just need the steering top plate and brace to call it done. 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2024 by markymarky

[markymarky]

Looks like we are going petrol 😁

[markymarky]

Few more bits added today, Taylor RC titanium steering post's, Taylor RC front brace, Taylor RC top front brace and Bonehead RC Ackerman link bar.

Might well get the chassis next even though there are a few other bits I want as well but getting restless for the chassis 😁

 

 

[markymarky]

Taylor RC chassis arrived today so finally swapped everything over onto it that i have got so far. 

You can tell how much less flexible it is than the stock chassis cause when i put the top front plate on before i had to flex the chassis slightly for all the screw holes to line up correctly. 

With this chassis they were all perfectly aligned right from the beginning. 

I must admit i was dreading that a little bit thinking i would have to slacken everything off a bit to get it to up line up, but nope, lined up perfectly. 

Still not threadlocked it all down yet though just in case. 

 

 

 

[Stormbringer]

that looks sweet 

[markymarky]

2 hours ago, Stormbringer said:

that looks sweet 

 

Getting there 😁

Despite what I had said before I am still thinking of going brushless, thinking along the lines of MAX 4, 560kv motor and 12s

Taylor RC do a kit but it is for the 2.0 so well it would work on the new chassis I would need to move the centre diff and get new drive shafts to the front and rear along with new cups to connect them to front and rear diffs, about an extra £100 all in and of course there is none in stock anywhere right now.

[markymarky]

2nd attempt at droop screws. 

Some all nylon M8 grub screws, the nylon tipped metal ones didn't work, there was too much pressure on the tip and it just deformed over time. 

So, while these are plastic they have a 8mm flat base that hopefully is stronger, only time will tell though. 

 

 

[markymarky]

Finally had a bit of good news.

The brushless conversion I was planning on is only for the 2.0 version and the front and rear centre driveshafts I had wouldn't be the right length to convert it to 2.0 specification even though the chassis allows it.

However, I found a random post on Facebook (ironic seeing as I hate the site) where someone posted they used a V2 rear centre driveshaft from a 30DNT that will work for the rear centre and for the front centre driveshaft you can just use a regular 5ive front/ rear driveshaft.

I need to get the rear centre shaft but I had a spare front/rear driveshaft that I can use on the front, so basically rather than paying nearly £100 it will cost about £20.

It's subtle,the centre diff is about 1 inch further back than it used to be, and yes I know it is the wrong way around still.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2024 by markymarky