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Features
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1:8 Buggy 4WD (Compétition)
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ohne Motor /ohne Fernsteuerung
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Bauanleitung Deutsch/English/Französich
The world wide HB racing team is extremely proud of the D8 buggy. It's the logical next step in top level racing machines for Hot Bodies, and racers around the world have been waiting for the follow-up to the Lightning 2 Pro Evo. D8 racers, whether they are directly on our racing team or local club racers, will benefit from the racing experience of the worldwide HB Off-Road Racing Team through the latest, top performance setup sheets and state of the art option parts development.
The HB website provides extensive set up sheets from the latest races and detailed build tips to get the best performance out of your D8 nitro buggy.
Just like the Cyclone touring car and D4 World Championship Edition buggy, the HB racing team will constantly develop the car and new options to stay on top of the competition. This means you will always have access to these developments and also stay on top of the competition with a future-proof platform!
Off-road racers will also be able to easily find spares and options - comprehensive parts lists, exploded views and the power of the world wide HPI/HB logistics system means that parts will be easy to find and supply will be constant and free of interruptions for D8 owners around the world.
The D8 starts with a brand new chassis made from a solid chunk of 4mm thick 7075 aluminium, with 10 degrees of front kick-up. The chassis plate has angled sides for extreme stiffness front-to-rear, giving you a solid platform for race tuning.
You'll notice right away that the balance of the chassis is shifted from previous HB buggy designs. The engine is moved far to the centre of the chassis, and the innovative radio tray shifts the battery from the rear to almost the very front. Stand-up servo mounting points allow the weight of modern metal-gear servos to sit as close to the middle and front of the car as possible. This is just one of the many reasons our team drivers exclaim the D8 handles better than anything they've ever seen.
Strong composite chassis braces connect the front and rear bulkheads to the middle of the chassis for extra rigidity. Special composite material is used for extreme light weight, helping to enhance the driving feel, acceleration and braking of the car.
The engine area features a huge milled-out area to lower the weight of the engine for a low Centre of Gravity (CG). Even the area below clutch bell is cut out for clearance and reduced weight.
Giving the D8 an even lower CG are special milled-out areas for the standup servo positions. These put the weight of the servos as close to the ground as possible, for tremendous corner handling and lightning-sharp reactions on the track.
The radio tray has many of the forward-thinking features that racers have come to expect from Hot Bodies, including moving the weight of the receiver battery ahead of the engine, just behind the steering servo. The compartments are sealed from the elements and a switch cover and transponder mount are included, as well as an innovative super-strong aerial mount.
Underneath the chassis, there is plenty of room for a starter box wheel to reach engine flywheel. The opening is large enough for rocks to work their way out of the chassis when on the track, and the engine mount screws are recessed to prevent wear and tear.
Aiding clean-up of the chassis at the end of the race day is the easily removable radio tray, just a few screws takes all the electronics out of the chassis to keep fluids and water away from expensive servos, receiver, etc. We know racers like to get dirty, but a clean car is a happy car!
The suspension of any racing car is supremely important, and while most RC racing cars these days have 'good' suspension, it takes something really special to have 'amazing' suspension, and this is where racing knowledge, a complete racing team, months of testing and a top-notch designer come in handy. Luckily for the Hot Bodies International Racing Team, we've got all of these elements in place! In addition to keeping the car pointed in the right direction, the suspension has to keep the tyres on the ground as much as possible, so the power from the engine is transformed into traction on the ground! This is the job that the D8 suspension must cope with, and we know it's up to the task.
 Let's start with the shocks. The new HB Big Bore shocks are MASSIVE - at 16mm across, they are some of the biggest shocks you can find on any racing kit. With rubber boots, hard-anodized bodies and threaded adjustments, they have all the standard features you'd expect from any top-level competition kit. So what's special about them? These are equal-length shocks front and rear, enhancing the 'weight-forward' design philosophy of the D8. With the increased oil displacement of today's off-road racing shocks, the extra length in the rear isn't necessary is just extra weight. The question shouldn't be 'why are the rear shocks shorter', the question should be why have we been dragging all this extra weight around?
 Now let's check out the front suspension. Weight distribution is important for acceleration and mid-air handling, while the front end is what gets the car pointed in the right direction. Without a well-designed front end, any race car is just a mess of parts spinning out of control. The D8 is no exception, and the front suspension features a long list of features, including the HB Inverse Steering Block Design, adjustable roll centre, thick turnbuckle links, aligned king pin and universal joint pivots, sway bar, steel turnbuckles and HB's own counter-rotating shock mount screws.
At the rear end, the D8 has everything you'd expect from an all-out competition kit, with optional hinge pin holes for the uprights, adjustable roll centre, thick turnbuckle links, aligned king pin and universal joint pivots, sway bar, steel turnbuckles and HB's own counter-rotating shock mount screws.
Power is nothing without control, a famous advertisement once said, and this is especially true when you're striving to hit the big A-Final. Having confidence in your steering system is so important when you're wheel-to-wheel with 13 other drivers, all going for the same apex. This is when the D8 reigns supreme, and you'll be trusting the thick anodized aluminium steering bar and thick steel turnbuckles to guide you through the mess. Steel screws, locking nuts and sturdy nylon steering arms and turnbuckle links complete the steering. A hand-adjustable servo saver provides extra peace of mind for your steering servo, and four sealed ball bearings let the steering glide effortlessly in the muckiest of conditions.
 Another Hot Bodies innovation are the solid suspension arms, which prevent mud and rocks from slowing you down on those inevitable wet race days! The exact compound of composite material used is a Team HB secret, and was developed over months of testing in wet and dry conditions. Each suspension arm also features handy travel-limiting droop screws to allow you extra tuning ability when you're up against the clock and the competition.
The suspension mounts front and rear are machined from sturdy aluminium and anodized to match the chassis and steering plate. A steel screw and washer hold the suspension hinge pins firmly in place so you don't have to worry about them falling out on the track.
As dedicated racers oursleves, we're still shocked when we see top racing cars still shipping with e-clips in place - rest assured there are no e-clips anywhere in the suspension of the D8!
Getting the power from the engine to the tyres is yet another job that any good race car must be able to perform properly. Getting as much power as possible with a minimum of loss or drag is just as important as keeping the tyres in contact with the ground, which is the job of the suspension. The D8 features every detail you'd expect to see in a top-level competition car, and more, when it comes to the drivetrain.  Continuing the rugged reliability of past Hot Bodies nitro buggies and truggies, the D8 uses spiral-cut 'worm gear' diffs to get the power from the driveshafts to the wheels. A spiral cut is more reliable and much stronger than standard straight-cut gears, giving you extra confidence and fewer maintenance headaches. You can adjust the diff action with thicker or thinner oils because all three diffs are sealed against leakage, giving you a fantastic boost of tuning ability!
Six steel universal dogbones are used for the centre driveshafts and at each corner to get the power from the middle diff to front and rear diffs, and also from the diffs to the wheels. Spinning on rubber-sealed bearings, the axles are hollow for low rotating mass and the wheels rest on black-anodized 17mm aluminium hex hubs.
Controlled braking ability is provided by the front and rear, individually adjustable brakes. Constructed of thick fibre and drilled for low rotating mass and extra cooling ability, the brakes are extremely powerful without being too 'grabby'.
There's nothing worse than skidding through a corner with no control, so the brakes can be adjusted separately front and rear using the unique brake linkage that brings the adjustment linkage of both brakes above the middle block deck. This is just one more 'why hasn't anyone else done this before?' feature that Hot Bodies is proud to bring racers!
In addition to a full suite of rubber-sealed ball bearings throughout the car, the clutch features new extra-large 5x11mm bearings for longer clutch life and extra durability. Everything in the drivetrain has been maximised for efficiency and long life!
The large fuel tank is just the size needed for pro racing, and is mounted on o-rings to keep the fuel from excessive foaming. Large baffles inside the tank keep the fuel intake guzzling nitro when the car's going through the rough stuff, and a strong sealed cap snaps into place after pit stops thanks to a stiff return spring. Handy fuel tube guides help keep everything nice and tidy!
The unique feature of the D8 fuel tank is the 'clunk' inside it, which allows the engine to keep running while the car is flipped over. There's absolutely nothing more frustrating than qualifying well and getting put on your lid when going through the first corner - unless you're talking about a lazy turn marshall who doesn't see your car with its wheels in the air!
Included with the kit are new Team HB wheels that are the maximum legal dimensions allowed by IFMAR and EFRA dimensions. Tyres are not included with the kit so you can dial in the D8 to your local track or club.
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