Lightning Stadium 2 Pro

Once upon a time, there was a racing class that barely existed through its lack of patrons, only a handful of racers who owned either a GS SUT or a converted rallycross buggy were allowed to ride in the Outlaws, although there were some brave enough to admit to owning a Dominator and they were entered too. The HPI Savage was busy dislodging the Traxxas T-Maxx as the must have truck to be racing with while the rallycross buggies had the monopoly on all out speed, handling and thrills. The status quo was challenged though when the Hot Bodies Lightning Stadium Pro rolled into town, it was new and exciting, it was good and because of this it was popular, success was only a racing season away and the status quo was changed forever! Hot Bodies had unwittingly produced an historical benchmark that would revolutionise radio controlled racing as we knew it. Not only did it capture a huge fan base and a vast amount of victories, it transformed the thinking of an industry to spawn what is now the fastest growing RC racing class in the world. Furthermore it did the absolutely unthinkable… it got buggy drivers to drive trucks! Now that’s a testament to just how phenomenal the LSP was.

Soon the parade got rained on by newcomers to this new truggy breed, namely the Hong Nor CRT, and then as time advanced an avalanche of amazing and fantastic trucks continued to steal the limelight for a period until we reach the Team Losi 8ight-T, the Xray XT8 and Hobao Hyper ST Pro that roam our tracks so dominantly today. Hot Bodies though are ready to make another challenge with the Lightning Stadium Pro 2! Will it have the same effect on the industry? Of course not, that’s impossible! To even consider another RC vehicle in general could possibly repeat the Tsunami wave of change it created just isn’t fathomable. But they know what they’re doing back at HB HQ, and they know that not many people buy trucks for their sentimental value, so if it’s going to hang with the big boys on the racetrack, it’ll have to do it by merit.

dig in

Whipping the LSP2 out of its box sees a distinct difference to its forerunner (although it’s more closely related to the latter Pro-R version), and enough is done so that you won’t have to re-mortgage your house to get it up to racing standard. Many an old LSP had more money spent on it than it was originally bought for, mine included as it lapped up all the hop-ups Vertigo Performance Products and KingHeadz could muster, the chassis was switched out, the hubs were converted to have 17mm hexes, the engine was tossed away for an RB unit, the fuel tank exchanged for a larger one, a rear wing was sourced, new servos, the list still goes on but my head hurts just thinking about it now. The new truck has the solution and that is to simply have most of the hop-up list installed as standard… result! But enough of the wander down memory lane, it’s time for the LSP2 to stand on its own two feet (or four wheels) and be judged on what it’s got.

You don’t need to remove the clear lexan body shell to notice that it needs a trip to our new painters, Airhead Graphics, but it does feature two bulbous lumps to cater for the raised front shock towers and some sleek lines that help make it rigid and strong. As it comes without an engine you can get a good look at the chassis that’s made from 7075 T-6 aluminium, and milled out wherever possible to lighten it. Quality-wise, there are machine marks all over it where it’s been milled and the level of flex in it is quite disturbing, even with the thick carbon fibre rear bracing attached by two machined ally mounts.

You do get two machined billet engine mounts that bolt to two thick ally plates which allow the engine (once installed) to be removed without having to faff around resetting the gear mesh, and in front of those is a new 150cc fuel tank (25cc larger than before). There’s more carbon fibre to be seen in the radio tray and centre diff mount, which then carries a pair of cross-drilled steel brake discs, helped in their stopping duties by a new one piece calliper and high strength pads.

Held within the confines of the centre diff mount is the centre diff and its 50T steel main gear, inside this and also the front and rear diffs are the completely sealed four planetary gears, but the difference is that the front and rear diffs have spiral cut gears to provide a more consistent and tougher drive train. This drive train is further enhanced with steel outdrives, a full set of six universal dog bones and a plethora of rubber sealed bearings.

But alas, as it is so often found, there are plastic bushings located within the steering assembly. Surely HB could have rounded off their “next generation truggy” package with four extra bearings? The steering on a Lightning was always lacking a tight turning circle, so any help it could get, it should, and hence that’s why I stripped the bushings out and replaced them with a set of shiny bearings. As said the turning isn’t quite up to the standard of turning on a sixpence, but this is only because the hubs restrict the knuckle’s movement, and the old fix to this was to grind some of the hub material away till a full swing is achieved, a job I duly got out of the way early and before its first outing.