HOBAO HYPER 8 PRO

The HoBao Hyper 7 buggy has reigned supreme in recent years and is one if not the most popular buggy in the rallycross market at the moment. It has appeared in many guises from the TQ sport to the Pro UK and catered for the wide spectrum of hobbyists. All of them of them have the ability to hold its own on the race track or be equally enjoyable as a basher that can fly with the greatest of ease off a ramp.  The time however has come  for the Hyper to evolve into the next generation and the new HoBao Hyper 8 buggy enters the market to stake its claim as the new Sheriff in town.

The foundations

The first view you have of the kit is a rather sinister looking black and red box that contains the lethal racing weapon in its rolling chassis form, meaning this does require a little work before it can be used. But your immediate reaction to seeing it will be “Wow” as you’re greeted with some elegant bling. The front and rear chassis braces and radio box top gleam with chrome delight, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all just for show though, as they are an integral part of the strength it holds (well maybe not the radio box top, that’s just pimp).

Breaking down its qualities, I’m going to change the habit of a lifetime and not come at it from the rear, because the front end has its own host of improvements.  Firstly the hinge pins are captured, sitting in bush retainers that relinquish the use of E-clips. The hinge pins on are contained within the new chunky, curved and ultra rigid suspension arms, with the lower set featuring some hefty stone guards. Sturdy adjustable tie rods and turnbuckles with shaped steering ball ends giving maximum steering, most impressively, the caster blocks have an interchangeable insert that allows the caster angle to be changed quickly and without the need to remove the driveshaft, the choice being either 18, 20 or 22 degrees.

The machined aluminium C hubs have CVDs running through them to the six geared Spyder differential in the front.  The steering is taken care of with the variable angle alloy Ackerman plate and the dual bellcrank and servo saver.  This is protected by the carbon radio plate which the front chassis brace is firmly attached too (instead of going to the chassis itself). 

The radio tray positions the steering servo in a lay down position like the old Hyper 7 Pro UK but it now faces out making it much easier to adjust. It also has an AMB personal transponder mount which even has a wire runner built into it. The front carbon top plate holds everything down and also contains the front body mount which is behind the 4mm thick shock tower that has a multitude of different suspension positions.

The connection between the front and centre diffs is made by a thick aluminium dog bone drive shaft which passes the new style fuel tank that has a side opening top, splash guard and the yet to be installed fuel filter on a swivel mount. The centre Spyder diff is has a stunning S shaped carbon top plate and twin metal brake discs with fibrous pads either side of it.

At the rear of the chassis we come back to the shiny radio box cover which is kept closed and sealed by a body pin, yet pops off for fast and easy access, within the box lies a set screw that holds the antenna tube in place and it has the luxury of a thin layer of black sponge coating its entire interior (including the lid) which will protect your receiver and rechargeable hump pack. Yes, that is a hump pack instead of the Hyper 7 flat pack and it brings the weight closer to the centreline.

There’s more evidence of the weight being brought closer to the centre when you take an overhead look and see how the dogbones are noticeably offset on the centre diff, this allows the engine and fuel tank to be moved over a tad too. Before we check out the rear suspension,  we see more bling in the form of the rear chassis brace that, like the front one has the Hyper 8 logo etched into it and is anchored by a dual screw setup to the hard anodised aluminium chassis.  The chassis itself is 20 grams lighter than the ancestral Hyper 7’s and is cushioned along the entire length of both sides by the plastic side guards that also give some protection for the steering from mud.

Now we finally get to the rear end to find it’s much the same as the front, with another 4mm thick ally shock tower, captured hinge pins, CVDs and chunky arms, but with the upper arms featuring an angled ball joint allowing for an excellent suspension travel whilst preventing any wheel binding.   The rear toe is adjustable with different coloured hub inserts and the wheelbase is variable by 0.15mm via some interchangeable spacers. The wing mount is also strengthened where it meets the chassis brace and has three shiny ally braces of its own and is all ready to have its crisp white wing screwed on that’ll perfectly compliment the five hole Revolver wheels that have been fitted with a set of unglued Fire tyres.