Losi LST2

I feel like I’m repeating myself when I say that Team Losi have surpassed themselves again by releasing another updated truck that does the business, well I am and they have. The preceding LST was a marvellous invention that took the Monster Truck world by the scruff of the neck and gave it a good shake; fair enough it did have some weaknesses, but then so do most other newcomers. But we all love a sequel, yet not since the return of the Pink Panther has there been one of such quality and at least it isn’t a baby bird food kind of truck By that I mean it’s not simply regurgitated with just one or two upgrades and unveiled as a whole new truck… no company would do that would they? Surely not, they’d get savaged!

LOOKS AREN'T EVERYTHING
Indeed looks are not what makes a truck, but if they were the LST2 would take some beating as it lords it over some of the competition. First impressions are noticeably the sheer size of it, the box says it’s a “Team Losi LST2 Super Truck – Nitro powered RTR Monster Truck” and it sure is a monster. The shell is the first thing to grab your attention, mainly because it covers up everything else. It’s a tough old boot with lines and ridges to further improve the ability to take a beating without falling apart and comes pre-painted with a white front, flames licking over the sides and top and finished off at the back in either red or grey. The wheels and tyres are on show too and they are 40 series ATX low-profile racing tyres that wrap around a set of white dished 420 series rims that connect to the truck via some 20mm aluminium hex adapters which are far stronger than the normal sized plastic ones.

Taking off the shell reveals where the full cream gold top engine lies, the Mach 427. This takes over the power duties from the Mach .26 and threatens to launch this super truck at speeds of around the 40 mph mark, which is quite a feat considering its overall weight is nigh on six kilograms, but it does get some help from some aggressive porting, a dual stage foam air filter and the one piece aluminium tuned pipe that mates to it.

Sitting behind the gold anodised cooling head is a mammoth 220cc fuel tank with an inbuilt primer that should ensure some highly desirable runtimes and drastically reduce the number of fuel stops in a race. Another improvement is the sealing of the two speed spur gears, no longer will problems arise from stripped gears through a foreign body entering them on a seek and destroy mission. It may just be a moulded bit of plastic, but it does a vital job of protecting its internal organs that include an all new clutch bell. Instead of the three piece assembly of old, we now have a much simpler steel one piece bell that is lighter yet more durable.

The gearbox that the spur gears hook up to is of the same ilk as the original LST, this was an area that needed little tampering with, so two speeds and Hi/Lo ratio are still in attendance with the only revision being made to the shifter that just makes things easier to change and use.

As the power comes out of the gearbox, it travels along a new stronger drive train; all four driveshafts and axles are much beefier, with the thicker diameter shaft being so much more resistant to the engine’s desire to twist them through too much torque. In addition there are some heavy duty oversized bearings doing a shift inside the new hubs that equate to further durability and smooth running.