hit the road jack

Like a young teenager taking his first experience of manly lager, the Werks mill was sipping gently at the O’Donnell’s 25% fuel it was given through the break-in to see if it liked the taste, and then just as the teenager would, it decided it was lovely and started gulping it down. Luckily it didn’t start swaying, hurl abuse and throw up, but it did get somewhat lairy… in a good way of course.

I think some dirt deflectors would be a very wise addition to the rear end especially because it really collects a heavy load within the bracing on the arms, which in turn has a detrimental effect on everything from suspension reactions to the response of the engine due to overworking the clutch. But even before it gathered the extra weight it did suffer from some old Lightning traits like rear end sag under acceleration, and with the diffs unloading the power unevenly by not having any silicone oil in them, means it’ll be no serious race contender straight out of the box. But in its defence it is a Pro kit and not an RTR, so it’ll be up to you to fill them with your choice depending on what you want from it.

The steering was still not coming close to that of the leaders in this class of vehicle, it understeers on power and manoeuvrability is not quite sharp enough to be a real challenger. What it is, is forgiving. You don’t have to be a pro driver to make it dance a merry jig to your preferred tune, and it won’t bite when you mess up whereas the sharpness of for example, a Hobao Hyper ST could exaggerate mistakes even in a pro driver’s hands. A passer by marvelled at my driving so that goes to show the LSP2’s complimentary side, or how easy it is to master, and also the fact that some people are just easily pleased. If I had to sum up the Werks engine in one word, it would be “wow!” Performance is delivered crisply and by the barrel load, even when the truck was loaded up with heavy sand it still revved cleanly and aggressively.

conclusion

It’s good, but it isn’t great. With a few modifications and some time spent on setting it all up properly I think it would do a little better, and it would more than suit the new racer or Sunday basher who fancies more stability in his ride. Having such a rich legacy hangs round this truck’s neck like the heavy weight of the world’s expectations, but it also brings its saving grace through the wealth of tried and tested methods of changing things on it. So I’ll look forward to getting intimate with the LSP2 as I’m still a devoted fan of the Hot Bodies legend, but in truth it deserves a place in our hearts more than a place on the starting grid. Lightning can strike twice, but it doesn’t necessarily deliver the shock value it once held.

Distributed in the UK by Mirage