New car ... kind of ... HPI Rush Evo

[red]

So not a real car but I've just taken a punt on an HPI Rush Evo, a nitro powered radio-controlled car

It came up on a local buy/sell site for £40 with no radio gear and after asking the seller a few questions and checking eBay where 'buy it nows' were in the region of £150 I decided to take a punt. It turned out that the seller then got impatient waiting half an hour and lowered the price to £25. I went over and picked it up this afternoon.

Now, I've never owned a Nitro RC, I have two electric ones which I built, a Tamiya Grasshopper II and a Deagostini Subaru Impreza which I built from a rather expensive magazine subscription.

Anyway he assures me the 'it runs well' but obviously we won't know until I get some Nitro and give it a go. He recommended using "25" grade but I have no idea what that means but he did say "30" might melt things.

Seems in pretty good condition, so far I've noted it needs two tyres and potentially a bearing on the nsf once I've confirmed it runs

It came with the servos, receiver and starter tool.

Just need to work out wtf I'm doing with it now :lol:

I think it's got te Dodge RAM shell on it, I'm going to do some more sleuthing on the truck / manufacturer but as a starting point I found this link

http://hpiracing.world/en/kit/562

I'll probably keep track of it here if I get it running, buy any parts etc.

 

[Dal]

That looks like lots of fun once you get it going. k:

 

[Puma Lee]

i use to have one of these they are so fun, id reccomend this nitro fuel

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/modelsport-uk-professional-25-nitro-fuel-1-gallon/rc-car-products/29350

hours of fun, good buy

 

[red]

Still no fuel but I did dig out my old controller and after some fresh batteries and installing the RX crystal in the car I've confirmed that at least the receiver and servos are working

Also replaced the shell clips with 4 that match rather than 1 clip and a paper clip

 

[red]

Got fuel today but it wouldn't start, I'm going to get a new glow plug and glow starter as both look like they've seen better days plus when testing it hardly glows at all and all the videos look really bright.

Also found 3 of the 4 screws fixing the pull cord starter to the engine are missing :?

Now just need to wait for the postman

 

[TGPlayer1]

I think it's got te Dodge RAM shell on it, I'm going to do some more sleuthing on the truck / manufacturer

Seeing as it says Chevrolet Silverado on it i'd say that it's probably a Chevy Silverado k:

 

[red]

haha good observation!

 

[mihalyn90]

red let us know about how it goes...

first of all, put fuel and drop on a prime... pull the pull start for 2-3 times... also check what engine is, get a manual and do the start-up set-up...

when you start it... if you put on the glow plug and try to start it... it won't work... let it heat up the glow plug 30-40 seconds...

btw i hope you got an R3 glow plug

it will be a pain in the arsh getting it set up...

here is mine...

 

[red]

Cool pictures

Yes I bought the R3 as that was what was standard I believe.

I'll check the engine but I imagine it's standard.

New glow plug and started arrived today so I'll be able to check it either way later, just need the screws to fix the pull start on properly!

 

[mihalyn90]

it's not about the engine... it's about the model...

all has a different type of carb... you have to set it properly... usually you should start with the idle, then the low speed and high speed pins...

if yours is too lean... it will sprint out of your hands...

if it's too rich... it won't start, or will start but will sound like a drunk going to vomit and stop...

all are different of the model.... but you should start with the stock HSN and LSN and IDLE


To prime your engine, hold your finger or a cloth over the exhaust and pull the pull start (or turn engine over with rotor start if you don’t have a pull start) several times until you see fuel being sucked through the fuel tube into the carb. There will probably be air bubbles in the fuel line at first so keep priming until these clear. Some engines will have a prime button on the fuel tank; you can push this a few times to achieve the same thing.

Note: If you can’t get the fuel to flow through the tubing there is probably a blockage in either the fuel tank, tubing or carb. This is often caused by dirt, debris or, if the car has been sitting a long time, old fuel can go solid

Once the engine is primed push the glow igniter onto the glow plug and set the throttle to around a quarter open and attempt to start with the pull start or roto start. Hopefully, after several attempts the engine should start.

The LSN and HSN adjust the mixture of fuel and air entering the carb at low and high throttle settings. If your nitro engine was working perfectly one week but not the next, the different weather, temperature or humidity could cause your engine to run at a richer or leaner setting than it was previously tuned to, and this could be the cause of your starting troubles.

LSN low speed needle too lean

If your nitro engine’s low speed needle is very lean, not enough fuel will be getting through and this could cause it not to start.

Your low speed needle adjusts the mixture for the bottom end (usually all the way up to half throttle) so this is the one that will need adjusting.

Richen the LSN by turning anti clockwise in small 1/8th increments. I think it is better to run an engine slightly on the rich side rather than too lean.
LSN low speed needle set to rich

If the LSN is set too rich, this could also make the engine hard to start. You may well get the engine to start eventually but it will quickly choke up and stall.

You’ll know if it is running too rich – unburnt fuel will probably be spluttering out of the exhaust and there will be lots of smoke. It will bog down and cut out if you try to rev it.

Lean the LSN out by turning clockwise in 1/8th increments. Be careful not to tune the engine too lean as this will cause it to get too hot.

 

[red]

I read about adjusting the idle and mixture, that was going to be the next step of learning once I've tried getting it started but it's obviously all inter-linked!

Thanks for the information, I'll have to see if I can identify the adjusters! (The idle screw is pretty obvious)

New air filter just arrive too, as you can see if the pictures there wasn't one. There was one in the box of crap hat came with it but the pipe was too big so just bought the standard fit item.

 

[mihalyn90]

that is simple... btw you have the hpi g3.0 block

 

[red]

The actual block says 'Acme Racing' on it and looks like this:

From what I can see this is a completely different brand?

Also as a brief update I did get it started yesterday but didn't have time to try and get it to idle etc.

One thing that concerns me slightly is the screw you can see on the photo above is bent on mine and I assume this is for adjusting the idle.

Also after starting the car do you immediately remove the glow starter?

 

[mihalyn90]

yes... this things stay on idle around 6k... ) max power around 32k 36k... some on 44k RPM... with that speed... the glow plug does not have time to cool so it's always hot

 

[red]

Looking at pictures of a Rush Evo, I'm not convinced this car is even a rush evo. All the parts other than the engine seem to say HPI on them i.e. servos, radio box, shell etc

Hmmm..

 

[mihalyn90]

that idle screw is not bent... it's angled... calm down

HPI is a really good maker i'd go back in time and buy myself a baja 5SS... but for that price ) i bought my puma haha

 

[red]

Well, good and bad news...

.. I found out that this car was actually a HPI Firestorm..... just before I sold it.

That was the successor to the Rush which is why it looked similar but different.

I was already fed up with the prospect of throwing good money after bad getting it up and running properly, it needed at least a new carb and tyres and that was before checking the clutch and brakes etc.

Sold it today for £35.

Anyway I managed to raise some funds to buy a better one by selling a GoPro I never used.

Put a bid in on a HPI Firestorm :lol: won it for.. well much more than the one I just sold. It's the latest model and the current owner bought it new in 2014 they've advertised it as spare / repairs so hopefully I've not made a mistake but it just sounds like it's flooded with fuel.

I'm hoping I'll get it and just be able to use it!!

 

[red]

:roll: well the above sounded rather naive in retrospect!

I got it and inevitably couldn't use it.

The "stuck pull cord" has turned out to be a broken conrod. When the car arrived it was suspicious that the starter and cylinder head had been taken off and loosely re-attached. The seller admitted that he had removed these which means he would have known that off of the block the pull cord was loose and free moving!

Needless to say, even before I found the broken conrod (since I didn't want to touch it incase it was being returned), I requested a full refund and return but we ended up agreeing on a part refund so that I could put it towards replacement parts.

As you probably read in my grumbles it also turned out that I paid more for a car with a broken engine than the seller had bought it for brand new... and are still available for less.

Anyway until further updates here's a few more photos from after it arrived and I cleaned it up a bit.

 

[Robyorks]

My motto 'If your buying a nitro, buy new'

Fingers burned many many times in the past. Sad fact is most people buy them 'RTR' and ruin them in the first week, get bored because they won't run properly then toss them in the garage and forget about them.

I have 4 nitro vehicles and would gladly chuck them all in for a good electric one, much less mess

Rob.

 

[mihalyn90]

Robyorks well pointed out...

Anyway i bought nitro second hand both were damn good... running well It's a shame i don't have videos of them...

anyway... Red I'd suggest go for a brushless conversion... in the long rung, it's better... get the conversion kit + brushless combo and you are happy to go... charge and go...

no more problem with expensive nitro, expensive parts... charge and go...

downside:
- no more vrum vrum sound
- no more burnt nitro smell

upside:
- charge and go
- no need to tune on every run
- no need to change glowplug now and then
- no noise (can be used in parks and your neighbors won't end up calling the police for noise complaint
- cheaper in the long run