I have been around large scale for a relatively short time, but have been into RC for quite a while. For me, this is what I would call my first large-scale build with all new parts. The large scale aftermarket manufacturers have been around for a few years now and the transition to a new brand was a quick jump. That said, there are far more parts available than I could afford, so being on a budget, I stuck to what I felt are the most necessary parts for a more durable car.
Looking at the Losi 5IVE-T truck, it’s a really solid truck. Out of the box, it will take a real beating, so deciding on upgrades was a bit of a challenge. I used my past experience at some large scale events to lead me to some of the products used.
The Build
The first thing I wanted to address was the stock motor. Driving a short course truck is a different need for power. The all-wheel drive on an oval can use as much power as you can find. Seeing first hand (in my other large scale oval car) the power and durability of the Dogpile Wildchild 29.5, the engine selection was an easy choice. Bob has worked as hard as anyone could to produce an engine that is nearly bulletproof. Dogpiles pipe recommendation was the Victory, however since I had one readily available, I decided to give the Losi pipe a try. It is an easy install and a very nice looking pipe. Losi has provided plenty of room on this platform for a good pipe.
Moving to the clutch, I replaced the stock carrier with the Hostile open clutch carrier. I liked the solid look of it and how open it was to allow great cooling. As you might expect, the fit was perfect.
Moving on to the gearing selection – the higher the better, I always say! Changing the pinion gear to the 20 tooth requires you to also change the Losi engine mount inserts on the bottom of the chassis to the matching set. Easy swap; it took about 15 minutes.
Looking at the chassis braces, I picked up a set of Turtle Racing parts for the front and rear. These are great looking parts that will also stiffen up both ends of the truck.
In my opinion, front and rear aluminum hubs are a must. The last thing you want is to take a shot to the corners and break a hub. I opted for the Losi front hubs; great parts that do an excellent job at strengthening up the front end. Out back, I used Hostile’s rear hubs mainly for the perfect bearing fit and super-easy install.
While setting up this build I really wanted it to look like a car, so finding the look I wanted caused me to go with another brand of wheels. I wanted a wider tire with a lower profile but, of course, this lead to another problem – the wheel clearance. The wheels I picked did not clear the hubs so but I found an easy fix – a set of 4 CraftWerks RC axle extenders. I really like these because of the design. In addition to the use of a large set screw, an o-ring is utilized to keep the wheel pins in place. These hubs also privided just enough clearance for the wheels and gave me the wide stance I was looking for.
The tires always vary depending on the surface you are racing; for asphalt or hard packed clay, the Hostile slicks are a no-brainer. On the dirt, though, I went Hostile’s Mini MXs. Besides working great these tires are, in my opinion, the most durable tires for the money hands down.
Wrapping up the performance side of things, I installed a set of Full Force Shock covers and a TGN gas cap. Both add a bit of functionality and flair to the overall look of the car.
The body I built from scratch (it’s what I do). For the nose piece, I re-used a mold I had built from a previous project, however I had to split it and add an additional 2″ to the overall width. Because it’s up front and will undoubtedly take some abuse, I pulled it from a piece of .060 clear polycarbonate. The rest of the body, also hand made, is made from .040 polycarbonate which is then cut out on a CNC router and bent to fit. I used the stock body washers and other hardware that was included in the kit to mount the body. The bumper was made from .187 aluminum and covered in foam to allow a bit of cushion. This seemed a bit overkill and adds a bit too much weight, so the kit will have a .120 polycarbonate bumper with the foam cover.
Performance
I know with anything you change or modify there will always be some sort of break-in period. With the Losi 5IVE-T and its fantastic AWD system, center diff and plush suspension, set up is a little easier.
After a few practice runs and motor tune in, this Losi was an absolute blast to drive. Thanks to it’s superb handling, I would pretty much run any line through the corners I wanted. I was able to initiate a slight drift going into the corners and, with it’s super grippy AWD, yank my way out and down the straights at almost full throttle. The Dogpile Wildchild 29.5 had outstanding power from start to finish. Bob builds one of the most reliable engines on the market and it seems to match up great to the Losi pipe. He informed me that I might be a bit more speed from the Victory pipe, so that’s next on my list of upgrades.
Even though I geared the Losi to the highest available gearing at the time (riding on the HPI 5B wheels and tires), the Losi was gear bound. I feel with the stock 5IVE-T wheels and Hostile tires the motor will really turn some great top speed.
Having some other large scale oval dedicated bodies, I could not wait to build a body for the Losi 5IVE-T. When the truck was debuted to the public at Hostilefest, I knew this was a build that I really wanted to do. The 5IVE-T platform is the best for building off of; its easy to access everything and work on.
Ronshop Racing Late Model Kit
The Ronshop Racing Late Model kit comes with all the hardware, bumpers and mounts needed to convert the truck to a dirt oval specialist. Using the stock body buttons, the body is mounted solid to the stock cage and the wheel wells are left small for trimming, depending on which tire you select. No modifying of the stock cage is necessary, therefore you can retain the option to change it back or put it on another cage, allowing you to run in another class with the same truck.
Since this was my first major build, it took me a little time to put together. I am sure there are even more aftermarket parts out now for the Losi 5IVE-T at this point.
If you like oval and want to do some fender to fender racing, this might be the build for you.
Parts List
Losi
LOSR8020 Losi Pipe
LOSB5045 Losi 20 Tooth Pinion
LOSB5802 Losi Engine Mount Inserts (20 tooth pinion)
LOSB2091 Losi Aluminum Front Wheel Hubs
LOSB2970 Losi Rear Springs (gold)
LOS05002 Losi 5IVE-T 1/5 Scale Gas-Powered Short Course RTR Truck
Craftwerks RC
11686 Craftwerks Wheel Extenders
Full Force
L5T018 Full Force Shock Covers
Dogpile Racing
295dcomp Dogpile Racing Wildchild 29.5
Hostile Racing
L3000R Hostile Rear Hubs
L2000C Hostile Open Clutch Carrier
3345R Hostile Slicks (HPI 5B)
1350V2 Hostile Mini MX (HPI 5B)
HPI Racing
3226 HPI Racing 5B Rear Wheels
Ronshop Racing
RSL85v Ronshop Racing Losi Late Model Body Kit
TGN
1505 TGN Aluminum Fuel Cap
Turtle Racing
TUR-L0002 Turtle Racing Chassis Brace Set
Links
Losi, www.losi.com
Full Force, www.fullforcerc.com
Dogpile Racing, www.dogpileracing.com
Hostile Racing, www.hostileracingproducts.com
HPI Racing, www.hpiracing.com
Ronshop Racing, www.ronshop.net
TGN, www.tgndistributing.com
Turtle Racing Products, www.turtleracingproducts.com
Just getting into this hobby where can I get a Rtr oval dirt car ??
I don’t think I know of any RTR Dirt Oval cars. Most are kits, meaning you’ll not only have to build them, you’ll also need to source the electronics for them yourself as well.
how did you get the truck so low?
You’ll want to get shorter springs and move the shock collars up as far as possible. The ride height in the pictures if more for visual purposes; this is probably a little too low for racing. I’d raise it up some and then lower the body back down a bit.
i actually would like to keep it low and put some slicks on it as i do not want to run it on dirt but on real nice smooth pavement. thanks for the info. and real nice build by the way.