LOSI 8IGHT-T

This is it; this is the one that has had us enthusiastically excited for so long. In fact, gone are the days when we have to wait for an official release of information from the powers that be because no sooner had the Team Losi 8ight buggy been mentioned let alone released, the truggy version was in big demand. In fact demand is so high, the first two shipments into the country were completely pre-sold meaning the distributors didn’t have any spare for the magazines to review.  Fortunately we had a chat with our pals at Apex Models who kindly lent us one until ours turns up, nice one guys! So without further ado, let’s see what the fuss is all about because I personally could have filled an Olympic sized swimming pool with the dribbles of anticipation, waiting for… the one!

On the chassis

Once inside the big orange box we can see the truck in all its glory. For just a few seconds, the unpainted body shell blurs the vision and that’s not surprising when it’s 0.60 grade polycarbonate, but it was soon popped into a box and sent off for the talents of Jim at Absolute Control to cover in paint. Now I was greeted with a clearer view of the race roller professionally tuned and assembled at the Losi factory. Vigilantly, every screw that needs it has been dabbed with thread lock and they’ve even been done up to a specific torque setting such is the precision involved. I’ll be testing some of these claims as once it’s all ready to go, I’ll be straight out the door with it hoping nothing falls off. The chassis is a dominant feature because there is a fair amount of it on show without an engine or pipe and the radio tray not in place; it’s a lovely bronzy colour and made from 4mm thick 7076 T-6 premium aircraft grade aluminium and with several areas milled out to lighten the overall load. Looking underneath shows better how narrow the chassis is - purposely made to this configuration for quicker handling and more ground clearance - and every screw is nicely countersunk right into it.

Joining it from the sides are the guards, these are the first I’ve seen that incorporate big stone guards at the front that stop a lot of muck from finding its way under the body shell and they could also go some way to protect your truck from a side impact. The 150cc fuel tank is there in place where truggy tanks are usually found and this, like the 8ight buggy has a clunk pickup inside and also the removable insert to get a little extra runtime at club races (approximately 5cc of fuel), you wouldn’t want to take that out in a serious race like the Truggy Nationals as going over the 150cc limit could see a technical disqualification from the race or the results with scrutineers on hand!

The centre diff though isn’t quite in the centre. It’s further forward and over to the left side looking from the front of the chassis, the whole balance thing means that the engine is more or less in the centre of the truck because it’s the heaviest item on there. The diff itself has 10,000wt oil inside and is equipped with a gear cover that wraps around the 48 teeth of the centre spur gear from where the radio tray will be, right round to the clutch bell and at either end are the brake discs that are staggered in size to give a better feel to the braking qualities of the truck. It also has a large fuel splash guard installed here with a mounting clip to hold the air filter securely in place when fitted.

As for wheels and tyres, these are bright yellow race style dished wheels with strengthened hex slots and extra webbing behind them to tackle the roughest of treatment, clothed with foam inserts in the all new XTT tyres designed specifically for competition truggy driving. This low profile design and lack of sidewall supposedly makes for a more predictable response of the handling and the ability for harder cornering with their square lug pattern centred with a line of Xs.

The rear section

Shooting off to the rear of the truck is a universal jointed CVD that bypasses the plastic rear chassis brace which is held onto the chassis by its twin captured design, before the UJ runs to the left side of the offset rear diff case. The offset is made by the main 43T ring gear inside being turned about face enabling the engine to move over to a more central position. Within this diff case lies the rear differential that has already been filled with 5000wt silicone oil for its four spider gears to revolve in and with bearing inserts at both ends it becomes a totally sealed unit, there’s not even a void in the floor of it as with other kits, this will ensure exceptional performance and without any grit getting the chance to enter the unit to grind against the bearings, a better wear rate not to mention ease of maintenance.

Running parallel on both sides of the diff case are the hinge pins, captured of course and held with a two degree toe plate and with three degrees of anti-squat. At the very back runs a 2.7mm thick sway bar that connects to the long, heavily braced plastic A-arms before they in turn go on to the rear hubs that with the help of three spacers, can change the wheelbase slightly as a tuning option. Another pair of CVDs run from the diff cups to the hubs and through to the axles where a 17mm hex sits tight. A fat rear turnbuckle takes us back to the shock tower, 5mm thick and made from the same 7076 T-6 premium ally as the chassis, milled to lighten them without sacrificing strength and with four choices of mounting holes for the oversized threaded shocks.

These aren’t just any shock absorbers, they’re Losi shock absorbers. Precision made and hard anodised for greater wear resistance and a smooth operation with the entire body threaded for the aluminium collar to choose the ultimate setting of ride height and pre-load, filled with the finest 30wt silicone oil Losi make and completed with 4mm thick titanium nitride shock shafts and grey springs. The bottom rod ends attach to the lower arms via a choice of three mounting holes in a raised adapter, meaning the titanium shafts don’t have to be overly long where they could suffer from too much strain. Finishing off the back end is the wing stay that mounts to the shock tower and the rear diff case to hold the rear wing on firmly and at just the right angle, because its position is not adjustable.