So a flat receiver pack is definitely called for and this should be secured on with one or two zip-ties just to ensure it’s not going anywhere. If you have a very small receiver, like the JR or KO one, you can actually fit a hump pack, the receiver and all the wires inside the box eliminating the external battery mount and shifting weight more into the centre of the truck. I, however, was using a standard Spektrum receiver which was just slightly too big to fit it all in together.

While I’m moaning that you have to remove fours screws to access the receiver, it does keep the box completely water tight and in reality with the Spektrum receiver and a charge lead for the battery pack coming out, there isn’t really any need to go back in here. If you’re not running this set-up and want easy access, two of our forum members (Shrek and Asterix - credit where credit’s due) came up with the clever idea of using bolts with holes on the top, like the ones found on the Associated RC18 (part number 6929 if you like the idea). Asterix duly fitted these and supplied us with the picture below of his setup (you do need to enlarge the holes in the top of the receiver box lid to make them fit).

FINER POINTS

With the truggy now ready to go, you’ve got to sit back and take a moment to admire some of the things that make this look like a really good bit of kit. The chassis, for example, is extended as it should be and made from 3mm hard anodised aluminium, but it also has a huge lump in the middle sitting under the centre diff making it around 6mm thick at this point. Along with front and rear solid aluminium chassis braces it eliminates virtually all chassis flex!

The front and rear arms are also extended so you aren’t reliant on any hub extenders although the Hyper ST does come with ¼ inch 17mm off-set wheels so regular 17mm truggy wheels won’t fit straight on without using at least 8mm extended hubs, although Hong Nor wheels will be a direct fit.  Sticking with the wheels and tyres and you see that HoBao have opted to move away from the traditional monster truck tyre mounting and instead use the system that’s found on 1:8 scale buggies. This is also used on the Traxxas Revo and the XTM large scale buggy and means the tyres for both these kits will fit on the Hyper ST wheels, which is handy as there are a couple of good choices amid this range (see our tyre guide in issue 36 for more info).  Although there are options to change the tyres, the ones supplied with the ST are actually very good. Inside they feature a waved rib all the way around to help prevent ballooning and on the outside they have a spiked triangular design which is meant to be mounted with the triangles pointing backwards. Mounted like this they give awesome traction on damp and wet mud and if you flip them around so the triangles point forward for a more aggressive tread, they work well on wet astro.

TWEAKS

While we generally try to run most of the review kits straight out of the box, I couldn’t help but make a few tweaks to this. I’ve already mentioned that I filled the diffs with silicone oil and while pulling the front end apart I noticed the steering bellcrank features four brass bushes, so I replaced these with four 10x4 bearings just to make it run a bit smoother. The knuckles on the ST are also made from a cast metal which is not uncommon in a lot of kits, however they are potentially a weak point if you whack the front wheels into something rather solid.

The good news here is that the CNC machined ones from the Hyper 7 and 8 buggies will fi t straight on and being a HoBao part, they aren’t that expensive. I resisted the urge to change the knuckles, deciding instead to see just how strong the stock ones actually were, so aside from the bearings and diff oil, there’s not really anything else that you need to do to make this truggy a real contender - which is handy as by now I was getting really quite keen to get this truck out and running!

BREAK IN

Of course before you start driving any nitro with aggression, you need to break in the engine. As it’s a pull-start I’ll admit I wasn’t overly looking forward to this process but I was gobsmacked when it fi red up on the first tug and then proceeded to idle its way through the entire 150cc tank of fuel. I did a second tank like this, leaning it off slightly, but even now the engine wasn’t really getting up to temperature, so it was time to get it on the ground and running. I got a further four tanks of fuel through it, leaning it out considerably, the high speed needle went in almost two full turns and the low speed almost as much. This is fairly typical for HoBao engines and it’s better it comes overly rich rather than lean so don’t fret too much if you have to lean it out lots.

RACE TEST

For this we descended on the Clanfield Off-Road track for the last round of their winter series. With shed loads of snow and rain the week before, even their track - which drains incredibly well - was suffering, but while the guys got to work sweeping any standing water off the track, we psyched ourselves up for the racing. It was at this point I bumped into HoBao team driver Rob Giles who was also running the Hyper ST. This was good news for me as my driving obviously wasn’t going to show this truck off to its best! Still I went out for round one with the intention of getting a feel for it on the track, and as it turned out, this didn’t take any time at all as it proved very easy to drive! As it’s a ready-to-run truggy I was trying not to compare its feel to the Kyosho ST-R that I normally drive, however, it was instantly noticeable how much tighter the turning circle is on the Hyper. Indeed, it felt incredibly responsive although this was aided by the bearings in the bellcrank and by using a good servo, but that doesn’t change the amount of throw it has. Hitting the jumps proved very satisfying as well, it flew beautifully through the air and landed with grace. . At the end of the first heat, one of the rear shock shafts had popped out but that proved to be a building fault, well, a dodgy nut to be fair to me.  After a heavy session with the air compressor to remove all the mud and with the shock fixed, I went out for round two. Another pleasing round despite not achieving quite as many laps, but that came down to a late start as we had to tie the gazebo down with the wind rising! In round three I unfortunately hit the tubing on the side and the steering locked. Thinking I had stripped the servo horn I retired, got it cleaned up and readied myself for the final. Looking at the servo horn, it didn’t appear to have completely stripped so I stupidly left it as it was which proved to be a mistake when the steering locked again in the final. I quickly replaced the horn (a job made easy thanks to the cut in the side guards) and got back out again. After this delay I wasn’t going to get a top finishing place but as the track had dried out nicely I did set my fastest lap of the day and thoroughly enjoyed driving the Hyper ST.

IN CONCLUSION

After a good day’s racing and a couple of further bashing sessions, I’ve got to say I’m really very impressed with the Hyper ST. It certainly lives up to the Hyper reputation with it being incredibly strong and durable and is a most welcome addition to the family. I’ve seen people say it’s equally as good as the Pro truggies which cost a couple of hundred pounds more and I’m 90% in agreement with them. I can’t fully agree as there are a couple of things that niggle me slightly, like the external battery pack and chassis guards that don’t cover the pipe - mine was filthy with baked on mud by the end of the day’s racing, not to mention it has no protection if you’re hit side on. Aside from this though, it’s a pretty damned good bit of kit and I found it very easy to drive. I’d go so far as to say it was a lot more forgiving than many of the more race-tuned kits, which enabled me to gain better lap times. With the ready-to-run version selling for around £350, it’s also very good value. There’s no doubting the Hong Nor CRT has been the King of the truggies for the last year but the Hyper ST is set to be a real contender and – as team driver Rob Giles proved by winning by two clear laps is more than capable of hanging with the best of them or taking a right old bashing up the common!

Distributed in the UK by CML Distribution