- Hot Bodies Cyclone 12 Review by R/C Car -

Stephen Sohl

Okay, when’s the last time you saw a 1/12-scale pan car review? That’s right, it’s been, like, forever. Now consider this: 1/12-scale Stock is one of the most popular indoor carpet racing classes in the country; there are more kit choices than any other class, and it’s possibly the most affordable class to race in RC. We’re definitely overdue for a solid test drive and, frankly, a wake up call for everyone. What better to smack us back into 1/12-class racing than the Hot Bodies Cyclone 12? This car uses 100% percent Hot Bodies parts while many car manufacturers share parts and collectively develop performance ideas. Combine the exclusive parts with input from multi-World Champ­ions Atsushi Hara and Andy Moore and you’re surely to develop a top contender in this heavily-contested 1/12-scale racing arena. Let’s see what they came up with.

Kit Features

Traditional T-bar design. But that’s where the similarities end. HB has integrated multiple tweak screw locations in their 1.6mm thick fiberglass T-bar for further adjustability and tuning options. Combine the T-bar style design with a 2mm woven carbon fiber chassis and rear lower pod and you got the platform for a very stable and aggressive car. With T-bar style pan cars, you have to use a split four-cell sub-C battery setup. HB has engineered a battery strapping system to add ease and effectiveness to keeping your batteries in place at all times. The system in conjunction with battery trays adjusts for front or rear battery positions.

Aluminum threaded micro shock. 1/12-scale shocks have always been an issue. Flimsy and unreliable has been the norm. Not anymore. HB’s new micro shock builds exactly like any other larger scale shock for modern touring car—shaft, c-clips, piston, bladder, etc. This departure seems incredibly logical, and I can’t understand why it wasn’t done earlier. Add aluminum screw-on caps for both the bottom and top of the shock body and now maintenance is a breeze. The shock attaches to the chassis via an aerial mount that also includes setscrews for securing the rollover/antenna post.

Forget the tape! The Cyclone 12 uses a trick battery tray system to hold the 4-cell saddle pack in place, utilizing straps that hinge out of the way to allow for easy ingress and egress, and lock securely in place without body clips or screws. The cells themselves sit in a comfortable cradle of molded plastic to make sure your packs stay put during a hard wreck. The whole system combines a great mixture of security and convenience that traditional 1/12-scale chassis can’t match.

Two-piece aluminum rear axle. The rear axles of many pan cars have all been the same or fairly similar. Again, HB decided to come up with a unique two-piece aluminum rear axle and diff assembly. The axle uses a steel pin covered by a rubber O-ring to unite the two axle pieces just to the inside of the differential hub. This design allows for easy replacing of the worn or damaged spurs or other diff parts. Not to mention you can have several diff assemblies built, and swap them out with ease.

Three-way adjustable reactive caster blocks. Though not new to the 1/12-scale market, these adjustable caster blocks are a must-have to compete with the numerous other kits out there. Basically, two screws hold the block in place. Remove the front screw, loosen the rear screw and the block pivots to three reactive caster positions: zero, five and ten degrees. Tighten the screws down after you move the block to your desired setting. The blocks also feature convenient clips to tune caster angles, and they have made space for an optional HB Front Cross Brace (#61673).

Performance Testing

We took this C12 to 360 Speedway & Hobbies, West Babylon, New York, for a complete day of testing. The car launched smoothly and tracked straight even after a few board taps. It didn’t take long for the C12 to get up to speed and lap consistently with the rest of the stock 1/12-scale cars. It carried plenty of corner speed, but the tire choice seemed to make it grab too much mid-corner, so I switched to harder compound tires to free it up a bit.
On-road racers have a notorious attention to detail, and serious competitors will spend lots of time to simply ensure their cars roll as freely as possible. Out of the box, the Cyclone 12 coasted as though it was on a cloud of air and continued to get better as the bearings loosened up; this translates into class-respectable acceleration from the first time you pull the trigger. Even when outfitted with a 17.5-class power system, our C12 launched from the starting line and shot out of corners with authority. Just as well, the differential and two-piece rear axle performed flawlessly to provide efficient acceleration and smooth action through corners.
The C12 is very sensitive to oversteer, as most T-bar cars can be. Larger turning circles seemed to reduce the high-speed oversteer significantly, but now my racing lines had to be more precise in the low speed and switchback sections. After a few more laps playing with radio settings, the car got into the groove and lapped comfortably, predictably and stably. What more could you ask of a car?

What did we like?

We like T-bar pan cars. They seem to be more consistent and less finicky than spring pan cars. The use of a real shock design means that setups are more consistent because it’s easy to build, bleed, and adjust correctly. Also, the two-piece axle design is easy to build and tear down for maintenance. It’s very cool to see new features like these added to cars that leave relatively little room for innovation.

What would we change?

Brushless motors are the norm for 1/12-scale racing, so we’d like to see a little roomier rear pod and a smaller spur accompany the kit. In addition, the front arms need more ride height adjustability.

Conclusion

The Cyclone C12 is a respectable and formidable weapon in the highly contested 1/12-scale racing arena. With Atsushi Hara and Andy Moore helping to develop this car, you know it’s going to just get better and better. The car is fast, easy to adjust, and features new details that have catapulted this racer to the top of the charts at both Worlds-level events and local races across the country. We can’t wait to get our hands on the upcoming evolution of this 1/12-scale standout, Hot Bodies’ new Cyclone 12X.