FINISHING TOUCHES
The effectively trademark threaded hard anodised oversized shocks are next on the list to be made and filled with the supplied 35wt shock oil before you slip on those lovely rubber boots and some springs. Two sets of these are supplied with the set-up sheet advising the use of the soft silvers for the front and the stiffer greens for the rear, so this is what I did. Once in place the chassis guards are attached and the buggy is starting to take its shape now, especially with the radio tray on its way. Once again it has to be different and in keeping with the idea of the best weight distribution it features two boxes. The rear one will house the battery and you get two covers for this depending on which battery you have - hump pack or lipo. The Spektrum Pro receiver I used was then right at the front, next door to the steering servo. With both servo arms provided and in place you’ll need either eyes like a hawk or a magnifying glass to find the numbers on the servo horn adapters. I needed number 24 for the Hitecs I planned on using and if your eyes are bad, these are the ones in the middle of the parts tree. Since the steering servo is adjacent to the receiver box, its wire goes straight inside with only about a centimetre or so exposed; the throttle servo is close by too and this wire is only out for 3 – 4mm so no danger of them getting caught up in moving parts. The completed tray is then secured in place by only four screws, big ones mind, but a nice quick and simple job to remove in future.

CLUTCHING AT IDEAS
Nearly there now with only the engine to take up its mount and I chose an OS .21 V-spec with matching 2050 pipe to go in because I’ve had them both for a while now and not had the chance to use either. Of course, to yet again challenge the norm, Losi have included a four-shoe clutch (two aluminium, two composite shoes) and flywheel that is a joy to build. It firmly bolts onto the crankshaft as per normal but you then insert the clutch springs into little slots on the actual shoes. Through the more conventional holes pass threaded clutch pins which screw directly into the flywheel, securing shoe and spring in place, with no fiddly bits or any danger of stabbed fingers here then, lovely!

WE'RE ALL DOMED
A domed (yes domed, not doomed!) 14t clutch bell with an oversized inner bearing drops over the clutch set-up and the V-spec is bolted down to the long aluminium engine mounts and finally onto the chassis. This leaves me to glue up the step pin tyres to the yellow, dished TL wheels, plop on the finned black wing, set it up on my KO Helios transmitter and admit that I’m already overly amazed at it. That’s my work done really, but the cherry on the cake is the custom painted body shell freshly back from the talents of Jim at Absolute Control, who converted my idea of a chequered flag front flaking away into a deep green with a silver rip to black on the rear, to the word, and I have to say it’s just beautiful, I love it. He’s now even got the driver name stickers and included this in with the shell to add a certain personal touch, so if you’ve ever wondered where you can get your own name stickers made up, you only have to ask Jim and you’ll get them. He prints wheel stickers and T-shirts too if you’re interested.

DRIVE
I couldn’t wait too long before having a drive of the 8ight and at the first opportunity I took it out for a cheeky test drive in my road. I did have to set it up on my starter box first and the instructions say that if you have a chubby starter wheel it’s best to chamfer it down so it’ll fit up into the smaller flywheel hole on the chassis. Luckily for me my Mugen box seemed perfect already, oh happy days! The V-spec started easily and had been previously run in so only needed some fine tuning to suit the new model as I hared it up and down. I decided straight away to switch over the front silver springs to match those of the stiffer greens on the rear because on braking heavily for a turn the buggy had a tendency to lift a rear wheel. Even though this was on tarmac, I still wasn’t happy with the looseness of the front end. I may yet make a few other changes from the standard set-up especially since Adam Drake sent me his new set-up to try out, but I wanted get a feel for the original first in order to notice how the changes affect its performance.

In order to do this, an open track day was definitely in order and happily for us we were allowed out to play on an empty Clanfield racetrack. This is where the 8ight belongs.

The first thing that stands out is the awesome sharpness of the steering; it’s immensely responsive and quick. Straight line handling is supple and so easy to control it’s like an arrow and speed wise, it’s a scorcher, with the high revving V-spec and the 14t bell on. The brakes are quite strong too but because the front disc is larger than the rear there feels to be a higher level of feedback so with only a small adjustment to shift the lions share of braking to the rear it feels about perfect. Cornering is just as impressive and helped a lot by the slimmer chassis that gives a better ground clearance and also brings the pipe in further for added protection; it cleanly carves its way around with good on and off power steering. It even excels itself in the air and with the weight distribution of it’s internals, that’s no surprise. It felt like I’d done this one jump a hundred times and only once did I have to make any in-air corrections; like a dart heading for the bullseye it flew straight and true virtually every time. I like it so much I have a sort of glow about me, but that could be the Readybrek I ate for breakfast. In fact, I think if I were a dog, this kit would be the one to find that sweet spot on my belly that makes my leg twitch - it suits my aggressive driving style so well. I lost count of how many tanks of fuel I put through the 8ight but it was more than I’d usually do and certainly enough to develop an understanding between us and I’m already looking forward to driving it in anger in a real race environment.

IN THE END
This is possibly the ultimate design for a rallycross buggy; it is simply breathtaking in all departments! I know I’ve previously described a rallycross buggy to have a telekinetic link, but this one is like a psychotic psychic because with all the precision, grace and deftness of an artiste, it will attack everything with a hefty level of ferocity. However, it still swans around with an aura of greatness but is as happy as Larry (whoever he is) to get stuck in and show its rugged side. The team that conjured up the 8ight have probably been forced to wear specially padded shirts to help cope with all the well-deserved pats on the back they must be receiving on a daily basis, because it is nothing short of fantastic! It would have been nice to have had the upgrade aluminium chassis braces included over the plastic ones but hey, I wouldn’t say it actually “needed” them, but I do love a bit of bling. Other than that I cannot find fault with it and am just happy to enjoy the new ride and spread some Losi love.

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