Building the kit up is fantastic. The looks are iconic. The finished result is utter disappointment.
I had the Kyosho Assault (other than being nitro, was the same architecture) as a kid back in 1986/87. Steering geometry still sucks, is super finicky and hard to dial,and basically impossible to run straight on anything other than a grass field.
They made improvements to the gearing, apparently 48 pitch, supposedly to handle brushless power, which is why I chose it. I went with the least expensive, but totally incredible $85 HW Quicrun combo, the 10BL120G2 ESC and 3652-3250kv motor to be exact.
IT IS QUICK. Runs unbelievably fast across manicured grass, think baseball diamonds and well maintained fields. Still understeers and turns terrible, but not as bad as the Assault due to less weight in the rear, but still horrible compared to a 35 year old RC10.
On the pavement it's just 1000% horrible, it can't hold a straight line for more than 30 feet before veering one way or another. Yes, I've adjusted EPA's and EXPO's. My servo geometry is square, it's simply terrible on smooth surfaces, undoubtedly THE WORST car I've ever driven.
The construction goes together beautifully, all parts and hardware seem high quality during the build, it's a gorgeous model and I literally couldn't stop staring at it after it was built. It really is something to hold, touch and look over when you're done putting it together. They don't make stuff like this anymore.
Running it is another story. Any speeds above 25mph can and will result in catastrophic rolls and tumbles which result in tweaking SOMETHING, be it thrown universal joints or steering trim adjustment due to soft frame rails and the way the servo mounts in the tub. Any, and I mean ANY impact to the front end and it knocks the steering geometry out of whack. Operating it just becomes a chore, something is always coming lose, getting bent or out of adjustment. Yes, Blue Loctite was used nearly everywhere.
This is a nostalgia kit. It IS NOT a vintage class competition buggy, it is not a kit for high speeds, brushless power or any type of jumping higher than a few inches. IMHO, it's not built for any type of speeds above 20mph. It's simply too fragile. If it wasn't for the natural strength and shape of the VW Bug body and its ability to roll and disperse energy, this thing wouldn't last 5 minutes. In all honesty, I haven't been able to get through two consecutive batteries without something sending me home, and alk I'm doing is running in an open field beside the dollar store. Yes, its that ridiculous.
The worst part is the cost of parts. OMG they take you for a ride. Save some shock lube for yourself, you're gonna need it. I've spent nearly $170 on spare replacement parts, NOT including two sets of spare wheels and tireS, which were the cheapest stock set in black and the bling satin 2.2 wheels from the Turbo Scorpion. The Turbo Scorpion set were almost $60 for a set of four. For a non modern, non competition, 1/10th scale buggy?.. CRIMINAL. Universals were over $35, frame rails over $25, 4 sets of replacement screws, rear roll cage/body mounts and various other small stock parts like body clips and plastic tie rod ball ends, basically small plastic molded parts that cost pennies on the dollar and should've cost less than $30. The replacement body itself is over $42. I'm telling you, if you plan on using this thing, save yourself lots of money and just buy two kits. Buying replacement parts will literally nickel and dime you to death.
The shocks aren't like the 80's originals, they are low quality, under sprung and leak. The new hex head hardware is nice but is made of soft steel, so you'll only get about two MAYBE three removals or tightenings before the hex strips and you need a replacement screw, and trust me, you better be proactive about replacements or you'll have a major headache removing fully stripped screws. Buy extras of every size surrounding the rear swing.arms and suspension, they'll be removed many times and need to be replaced while replacing everything else you'll be replacing...LOL. And yes, this is using quality MIP drivers and not being ham fisted about it.
I bought the universal joints right away, never even installed the stock dog bones. Turns out they're too short. They only make contact with the outer 15% of the diff cups. This stresses the cups and creates abnormal leverage thus creating excessive wear and tear on the entire diff. Ill be reolacing that next Im sure. Making it even worse is one out of 5 rollovers it throws the universal, which is the whole reason I spent the obscene amount of $35 to upgrade them then you have to pop the shock off the ball, wearing it out prematurely and the vicious circle of overpriced repairs continue.
All this has me terribly disappointed in Kyosho. I don't abuse my stuff but I expect it to run. Yes, things break but this thing is a drain on mind, time and finances. This was my return to the hobby after decades and is an extremely poor choice for something to run. Yes, it'll make for a swell shelf queen, but it IS NOT a durable runner unless you use some weak 540 brushed set up with Nicad power to keep it under 20mph.
Unless you shelf it or enjoy draining your wallet for overpriced repairs, go with something else. Trust me on that.
