Still not ready

Radio setup next and I found I only need an EPA of 50% on my throttle pull before the KO servos are trying to wrench the radio tray from its mounts, the steering was a breeze to set, 100% throw configured and full lock on this puppy means we’re looking to have a serious amount of turning ability, wow! I wish I could just get outside and race it, but there is a small matter of breaking the new LRP Z.28R engine in first. A quick check with the instructions and it says there is no need for a maiden tank at idle, it’ll be happy with two minutes of warm up and off you go… albeit slowly to begin with. Four tanks of running rich and it’ll soon be time for some power tuning! Being a bump start engine it’ll need setting up to a starter box, I have a Mugen box setup so perfectly for the 8ight buggy it seemed a shame to move the settings (and it can be a bit of a palaver to get right when you have to take the lid right off), so I chose a Thunder Tiger box instead because it’s fully adjustable from the top and because the 8ight starter box isn’t available just yet. With one of the rear pegs removed so it could sit hanging over the side of the box more, I sat the 8ight-T on top and guesstimated the right position, added some 7.2V stick packs into it and tried it. Now’s the time you have to ask yourself “Do you feel lucky, Punk?” As it happens, yes because it was bang on with the first attempt! What are the chances of that happening again?

Just drive it

The technical bumf is all well and good but most people will buy this truck for what it drives like, and that’s just what I intended to do with it too. I chose to break the LRP engine in on a MaxBashing bash day so the 8ight-T would take its very first steps on a racetrack, before it learnt to run. Everything went great and once tuning commenced, the Z.28R acquired some quite brutal power! With a burst of full throttle the 8ight-T is flawlessly stable, although it did still kick out the rear end a tad when the tyres lost traction over some loose surface dust, but its quick responsiveness meant it was an easier task to correct. The brakes locked up big time at the end of the straight so I’ll need to do some more adjusting there, definitely slacken off the front end somewhat as it takes away too much off-power steering. There are some sharp turns on the MB track and boy does this truggy turn! But it’s more a point and shoot style drive for me at the moment as the XTT tyres with their soft foam inserts weren’t hooking up well on the mix of clay/astro surfaces, yet on the grass sections they did pretty well, enabling some very high speed turns that left me feeling in complete control.

The on-power steering is great, it really beams with confidence through fast corners which relaxed me in my driving of it, leaving me in far better positions on the run up to a jump. I know that when racing big air isn’t really an achievement most would be aiming for, but I can’t help it, put a jump in front of my truck and I’ll have it! So whilst I’m all excited and grinning on the rostrum, the 8ight-T is calmly eating the ground up and then flying through the air with the grace of a Russian ballerina, easing its way around the track as if it were prowling its territory to see off the competition.

Being a bash day, there were a few others on the track and with no disrespect intended; some of them can’t drive for toffee! So there was a collision after I had spun out on a corner and as my truck temporarily faced the wrong way, along came another truck which clipped a front wheel ripping a tie rod end off. Happily though, that popped straight back on and didn’t cause any further concerns throughout the entire day. Then as I jumped onto the raised astro-turf section, I braked, turned hard and wrecked the steering servo which claimed the end of the day for the 8ight-T.   Not quite sure what happened there, the servo saver does seem on the tight side and the only criticism I have heard about the 8ight buggy is that.

Back at home I switched the dead KO servo for a Hitec HS-925MG, changed the wheels and tyres for a set of GRP Grips and I was ready to go out again in less than an hour of getting in. Although when checking for more rear brake bias I found that the rear brake disc was knackered. The central hole that should be diff cup shaped is now completely rounded, possibly from the callipers being set too tight so no wonder why I felt a lack of rear braking!
First thing Monday morning the 8ight-T and I were back at the track (stopping by at Apex Models on the way for a new brake disc) for a real rip about, but without the traffic this time.
With more suited tyres on, it became an even higher class of racer. It now seemed to vastly improve upon its off-power steering as it had good grip on almost all of the track and with the added on-power grip, it now slues fluently around carrying an impressive rate of knots through corners with little need for much more than a touch on the now well balanced brakes. The back end does still seem loose unless you employ a progressive throttle finger and I’m sure that’s down to the 5K of oil in the rear diff that’ll soon be changed to probably 3K so I can be more aggressive in my driving of it, but other than that it was just unbelievably great to drive.

End

This truck can go from myth to legend and I’ll die a happier man knowing that I have had the absolute pleasure of driving one. I have a lot of love for the Mugen MBX5T and I fully respect the Hong Nor CRT and Kyosho ST-R etc, but for the want of no simpler phrase, the Team Losi 8ight-T is better! Therefore, in my opinion it’s arguably the best truggy on the market right now. Race results may beg to differ for the time being because the top drivers of the other brands have had a whole lot more time to personally find the perfect setup for them, don’t get me wrong, the 8ight-T is setup pretty well from the box but with so many different surfaces to race on, it could take a race or two before your personal “dialled” feeling comes.
On the negative side of things, the clutch shoes are said to have a high wear rate and the tyres aren’t to my liking as even with a low sidewall I had some flex in them from the soft inserts and the rubber itself being such a soft compound, the GRP Grips were much better through being firmer. There are reports of some users bending the rear outer hinge pins, but I checked mine and they were fine, and there are aluminium chassis braces available for those worried about minimising further what very little chassis flex there is. I also had absolutely no trouble with the centre rear CVD pin coming out, but I’d heard they have been known to on occasions so I re-thread-locked them in nice and tightly before use. The positive points of this kit far outweigh the negatives though, it’s an immense truck that drives and handles like a dream, it has the best balance and tightest turning ability than any other truggy on the market and it’s like a missile on the racetrack. Team Losi have really hit the ground running with their opening assault on the truggy class and it’s hard to see how it can be topped.

Carlsberg don’t make truggies, but if they did… even they’d struggle to beat the 8ight-T!

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