Manufacturers Product Listing

General Information

• One set is will do one side of a vehicle (Front or Rear)There is no difference between right or left.
• To completely outfit a vehicle you need to order two sets of fronts and two sets of rear’s.
• The RPM Part #’s 82251 (Rear White) and 82141 (Front white) can be died using RIT Fabric Dye or equivalent.

RPM REARS

• Some peoples rear arms line up fine, other peoples don’t.
• When they don’t line up they seem to be commonly about 1/8″ off and put stress on the turnbuckle, ball end and rear upright.
• Regardless of the alignment issue, the new arms are much stiffer and cause aftermarket and factory turnbuckles to snap — often leaving a portion threaded in the upper a arm. Easiest way to remove is use a dremel cutting wheel and notch the broken piece enough to allow a flat head screwdriver to remove it.
• People are making spacers using aluminum or steel tubing and nuts, or threaded aluminum tube to spread the load across the faces of the upper a arm and ball end. I have seen aluminum tubing up to 1/2″ in diameter. People doing these mods seem to be posting positive results. (12mm is factory camber settings)

Link to spacer mod

RPM FRONTS

• I haven’t seen one bad review or comment about fitment or performance.
• Lots of E-Clip eliminator mods don’t work properly cause the material around the lower ball is thicker. Basically you have to remove the E Clip ring to free up enough space to get something to work OR you have file down the head of the bolt.
• The upper arms eliminate the plastic C-Clip — this means that mods like using an additional factory brace at the back of the bulkhead doesn’t work without shaving down either the bulkhead or the suspension arms. I believe this is also the reason why the Modifier front lights don’t work — but I don’t own them so I can’t confirm.

Pictures of the brace mod and arm mod can be found here:

http://www.hpibajaforum.com/forum/sh…ht=rpm+tetsulo

Must have items:

• Outerwears Pill start cover
• Outerwears Air filter cover
• Fuel filter.
• Ratio Rite measuring cup

Optional Items but worth looking at for your first purchases:

• Axel Extenders
• Clutch / wheel shims
• Clutch carrier

Pull start and Airfilter covers will keep the dust, sand, grass, and dirt out of the covered parts. Dirt in the carb is the #1 reason for engine failure. The pull start will fail quickly is not properly protected. If nothing else get these two items. It will be the best money spent.

An external fuel filter will keep the crud out of your engine. The Baja has an internal “Clunk” style filter but it doesn’t always catch everything. This is a cheap and easy part to get and will again, help insure that you are protected. When you go to get one, make sure it specifically states that its for GASOLINE.

A Measuring cup designed for mixing fuel and oil will help make sure you are getting the proper mixture. Performance issues and blown engines can the result of errors in mixing your fuel and oil.

Axel extenders will help stabilize your new ride. If your driving style finds you on your lid often, look into a set of extenders. You will be amazed at the big difference they make. Several companies offer them. The most popular ones are made by DarkSoul Racing but there are several other companies to choose from.

Clutch and wheel shims are a needed item. From the factory or during your build you will notice a lot of in and out play in your wheel hubs. Installing the proper thickness shims will get rid of this “Slop” In return, your bearings will last longer and you will reduce C-Clip failure on the front hubs. The stock clutch bell has a lot of “Slop In it. Shimming the bell will reduce all sorts of slop related issues. The same shim size is used in both places. HPI offers the proper size shim in one thickness and Team FastEddy offers a Shim Kit that includes several different thicknesses to get everything just right.

The stock clutch carrier will be fine for a while. Its made of plastic and can quickly distort from the heat and torque. This will cause many issues down the line including melted spur gears, broken pinion bolts, and quickly trashed bearings. An alloy holder is a great solution to this. HPI had their “HD” carrier that includes larger bearings, Turtle Racing has an enclosed  HD Clutch System that is close to bullet proof. There are others on the market as well, Do some research and choose one that you like.

Once you have these “Essential” items covered its time to go have some fun and know that you have made you rig more “Solid” and dependable.

Submitted by:
HarleyDan

To submit a “Quick Tip” Please visit:
HPIBajaTutorials.com

Attaching the foams to the wheels:
Centrifugal force causes the foam to expand. The foam inserts act like air in a car tire to keep the tire on the road as well as giving the tire a cushion when pressed on. As the wheel turns faster the foams will expand changing the properties to be different then they were intended to be. Attaching the foams to the tire will help to eliminate half this problem. The other issue is having the foams move around inside the tire rotating and causing them to wear much quicker.

Attaching the foams to the wheel can be achieved in several ways. I use a rubberized CA glue designed to mount tires to wheels in the RC industry. There are many different glues available. Look at the properties of the glue and pick one. You mentioned Velcro, Hmm… haven’t heard of this one yet but I dont see why it woudnt work as long as there is enough to keep the entire foam secure to the wheel and that the glue on the velcro stayed attached to the foam. Only issue I see is what a pain in the ass its going to be to get them on strait.

Second foam issue is that once attached to the wheel the foam itself can expand during use and tear itself apart. For this people will use tape around the outside of the foam to help hold it together and to keep it from expanding. Choosing a good tape is the secret. You need a tape that will not easily stretch. A GOOD quality duct tale or strapping tape is what seems to work best. This is tape that had strings in it to help it from stretching while its under a load. I like to get a 3-4 inch wide tape that will cove most of the foam at one time rather then using 2 thinner strips however either will work.

Ballooning tires:
This is also an issue. the centrifugal force causes the tire to get larger as they turn faster. This can cause several issues one of them being that they can pull the lugs out of the bead locks. It can be addressed the same as the foam by taping the inside of the tire much the same as we did the outside of the foams.

Beads pulling out of the bead locks:
Once you have minimized the the tire and foam expansion this will also minimize the chances of the beads pulling out of the locks. Now we need to look at other reasons this may happen. The tile is held in by a bead lock that captures the tire mounting lugs in between the wheel and the lock. Anything other then a tight lock will give the opportunity for the bead to pull out. When assembling the bead locks its important to make sure that you tighten the screws down properly but to not over tighten them. The screws will easily strip out the plastic and allow for them to pull out. Its a delicate balance to get them tight but not to damage the wheels.Take your time, look and feel whats going on and you will be fine. Another fix for this is to get longer screws for the fronts and to put a nut on the inside. If your after a more permanent solution you can use the rubberized tire glue and glue the bead lugs onto the wheels then glue the bead locks onto the wheel sandwiching them followed up with the screws or screws and nuts.

The easiest and fastest way is to do the following:

1. Remove the spark plug
2. Turn your Baja upside down.
3. While its upside down, pull the starter cord several times. (10-20)
4. Turn your Baja back over
5. Wipe off the wet tip of the spark plug
6. Re-install the spark plug.

You will want to do this in an open and properly ventilated place. There may be a good amount of fuel in the engine and it will come out with force when you pull the starter cord. We recommend that you use protective gear such as eye and skin protection. Do not look down the spark plug hole while pulling the starter cord.

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.
www.HPIBajaTurorials.com

The Baja stock radio has a built in failsafe. What this does is to apply the brake when the radio signal is lost. If you have burned out your throttle servo on more than one occasion chances are that you have turned off your transmitter and did nit turn off the power switch on your Baja or that you are not powering on and off in the proper sequence.

The proper power ON procedure is as follows:

1. Turn your Transmitter first. Wait 5-10 seconds.
2. Turn on the power switch located on your Baja

The proper power OFF procedure is as follows:

1. Turn OFF the power switch located on your Baja
2. Turn OFF your Transmitter power.

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.
www.HPIBajaTurorials.com

This is a controversial topic. Depending on who you ask, you will get several different answers.

HPI recommends a fuel to oil ratio of:

• 25:1 (25 units of fuel to 1 unit of oil.)

This is a great place to start. Using the HPI oil that comes with your Baja mixed at 25:1 will keep you safe. It’s recommended that you use this for the first gallon of fuel during the engine break-in process.

After the first gallon, if you’re confident in your tuning skills you should be fine by leaning out your oil and running 32:1. If you decide to use synthetic oil after the break-in period, 32:1 seems to be a good mixture.

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.
www.HPIBajaTurorials.com

HPI recommends using a gasoline with the octane rating of:

• (US) 87-93
• (Europe-Asia) 92-98

Most people will find this at their gas pump marked as “Regular”. If this is not available, a “Premium” or “High Test” can be used without harming your engine. There is no need nor will you get better performance by using a higher octane rated fuel in your stock CY engine.

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.
www.HPIBajaTurorials.com

• Battery Technology. Nichel Metal Hydride, Nicad, Lipo?
• How many milliamps is your battery?

Most chargers will have settings for the “Kind” of battery you are using. A majority of the battery packs used in the Baja are Nichel Metal Hydride (NmH) If your charger has a setting for this, set it to the kind of battery you have installed. All the new Baja kits have NmH batteries however some of the original RTRs did use Nicads. Double check and make the proper adjustments toy your charger.

Many chargers will have a setting for the Milliamps. Most of the Baja 5B RTRs and the 5Ts come with a 3000 ma battery installed. Its a good thing to check this before charging just to be sure. If you have an aftermarket battery look to see the Ma rating and remember what it is. If your charger has a setting for the Milliamps, go ahead and set it to match the battery you have. Some chargers do not have a setting for this and will auto detect this.

Your battery pack is a 5 cell battery pack If your charger has a setting for this you will set it to 5 cells.

Now the fun part. How many Amps do you set your charger to? This topic is a never ending debate. I will explain briefly. Rule of thumb is to not charge the battery over 1C. Keeping it simple this means if your battery is  3000ma dont charge it over 3amps. If it is a 4000 ma pack do not charge it over 4amps. Your standard choices are 1amp, 2amps, and 3 amps. The higher the number the shorter time it will take to fully charge. The lower the number, the easier it is on the battery but will take longer. Take your pick on the amps to set your charger at but unless you know more about all this stuff, doent exceed the 1C rule of thumb.

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.

www.HPIBajaTurorials.com

In the long run getting a battery charger that uses “Peak Detection” is much faster and safer then using the stock charger. Rather then charging by time, it will detect when the battery is fully charged and either shut off or enter into a trickle charge to keep the battery topped off. Once the charger indicates that the battery is fully charged you can be assured that you will not get a runaway due to a low battery. When using an overnight charger, you have no easy way of knowing if your battery is fully charged.

There are many different peak detection chargers available in many different price ranges. Choose a charger that fits your budget and has the bells and whistles you would like. Here is a small list of things you will want to think about before buying a charger.

• Is it a peak detect charger.
• AC or DC. Will you be using this charger only at home or out in the field.
• Amp settings. The higher the amp setting the faster the charge. 1amp, 2amp, 3amp are the most common.
• Will you be using this charger for other RCs. Look to see the requirements of your other batteries.
• Does the charger specify Nickel Metal Hydride. This is the most common battery that is used in the Baja
• Will it charge a 5 cell Sub C battery pack. This is the most common battery that is used in the Baja

If you would like more information or to ask question about this topic, please visit our forum.

www.HPIBajaTurorials.com