Words: Derek Buono

I guess I am a sinner. As a matter of fact, sometimes my friends and I probably fight for the front seat on the bus to hell, but then again it seems like most of the people I know will be there. So when HPI released their new truggy with a name that is pretty badass, most of us took notice. The new HPI Hellfire is ready to bring its punishment to us sinners, or perhaps racers as we sometimes like to be called, or even bashers. HPI's sister company Hot Bodies pretty much changed the face of monster truck racing forever with the first truggy designs, and HPI is trying to ride that wave with their latest kit that is sure to leave its mark on the backyard and the track. While some may have an issue with the controversial name--another magazine wouldn't even print it--others will be glad they are a sinner and can roll with a new Hellfire. Is it getting warm in here?

Features You might think that since HPI and Hot Bodies combined forces, that the Hellfire might just be a new version of the Lightning, but that's not true. The Hellfire is a 100% pure HPI project and the attention to detail that HPI is known for is apparent in this truck. Being RTR, our first test kit may be targeted more at the basher and occasional racer, but what we got to see is that when this truck is released in more of a racer package it will be ready to rock. Got Flair • It's easy to make a flat chassis, but there wasn't an "easy button" on this truck. Even in full RTR trim the Hellfire rewards you with quality design. The sides of the chassis are rolled to increase its stiffness. It will also help keep some of the mud out of the chassis, and if being run in really rough terrain it will reduce the chances of the chassis digging in and getting caught on something. Bulkhead Bridge • The chassis alone wouldn't be stiff enough, and while some chassis designs use braces that go from the bulkhead to the chassis, HPI did something a little different. They decided to stretch the radio plate from the rear bulkhead all the way to the front and used braces from the towers to that top deck. The result is a very strong resistance to flex. This also helps with cleaning because with a few screws you can remove the radio gear and braces to give more access to the chassis, which is a place where dirt likes to hide. Arms Race • The first truggies had nubs for arms, and others decided to stretch the wheelbase with bearing-stressing hub extenders. As the new generation of trucks is released you'll see all of them using a similar get up to what the Hellfire has. The long width is achieved with extended arms and those arms have an adjustable upper link to let you make camber adjustments. In Tune • Everybody loves options. You'd never want to walk into a gas station for a drink to see only cola, and the same holds true for RC cars. Even though most will probably never use the options, it's nice to know they are there. The Hellfire has a heckuva lot of tuning options and this will help you learn chassis tuning or just take things apart and put them back together. The rear toe can be adjusted to 2° or 4° depending on your needs. She's Easy • One of the trends with cars and trucks is something we all can appreciate. It's being easy to work on. The Hellfire's designers obviously had ease of maintenance in mind when working on the truck, and if you just look at how the diffs come out you'll be happy. The diffs can easily be removed with a few screws without the need to take a bulkhead completely off. That's a nice touch, and combine that with the other convenience features like the top deck and you won't be upset if you want to try adding different weight oils into the diffs. Instructions HPI has been putting out some good instructions for a long time and even their RTR kits come with some of the best out there. You get full instructions on how to put the entire truck together along with the basic operation instructions that others seem to only give you. You won't have to search for help with these if you need to tear something apart and if you lose them you can download a PDF off of their website. Testing Choosing where to test the Hellfire was a tough decision, and I eventually settled on The Dirt in Hemet for my first testing with the truck on a track. I tested the truck on the street with the stock tires, but wanted to get a feeling for the suspension on a track. I swapped the stock all terrain tires for some HPI Nubs and drove out. After 3 whole laps and a broken axle, I headed back to home base. I then decided to play it safe and go to the closer Revelation Raceway to complete the testing. Acceleration and Speed • On the street the Hellfire pulled really well and delivered speeds that will satisfy most. Once on the track I could test how the truck accelerated not only in a straight line, but through the ruts and out of corners. I was pleased with the performance of the truck on the track but did feel that the suspension was probably more biased for the street and bashing than for pure racing. Which really isn't a fault of the truck, it's more of tuning it to where it will be used the most. Rating: 8/9 Braking • There will be no worries when it comes to stopping the Hellfire, as the included twin brake setup with fiber pads never seemed to be bothered or need much in the way of adjustment for the testing. There was a required tune to the brakes after a few tanks of fuel as the pads scrubbed in, but after that they worked without flaw and could easily be adjusted. The bias is easy to tune as well, and with a few twists I dialed in a little more rear brake, which is what I prefer on the track.. Rating: 8.5 Low-Speed Handling • Here's where you can feel the difference between basic radio gear and quality electronics. Luckily for us our stock servo decided to call it quits early in the testing and we swapped it out for something that was actually up to the task. With the stock servo response was sluggish and not very impressive. Reaction was slowed and this made the truck a little more difficult to control. Once that servo was sent to the garbage and a real servo was used in its place, the truck responded better and felt easier getting around the track. Rating: 7 High-Speed Handling • The high speed handling suffered from the same sappy servo that led to the low speed handling delay. It's not the worst feeling to experience, but once you throw a good servo in there you'll be much happier than with the stocker. With the good stuff in it, the truck is very capable of making you look good. The stock dampening again seemed to be skewed towards on-road or more of bashing, but it wasn't bad in stock trim. With some oil and maybe spring changes the RTR can be pretty competitive on the track. Rating: 8 Rough-Track Handling • On miscellaneous surfaces the suspension worked like a champ by soaking up some bumps and skipping others. Once on the track it was easy to feel that the back shocks needed some work to get around at the speed the Hellfire is actually capable of. The Dirt proved to be the short test of the rough track as my time there was shorter than expected, but in those few laps I was able to get a quick feel of the changes needed to make it handle better and I thickened the rear oil to make it less springy and things got better. The Hellfire's wide arm design was made for the rough stuff and even in stock trim it will work pretty well. Rating: 9 Jumping • Taking the Hellfire over some jumps with the stock setup, the truck seemed to kick its butt up in the air like a cat in heat. It required more throttle correction to keep the rear from popping up too much. Once I changed the shock oil and played with the angles I was able to get it to hit the jumps like it should. . Rating: 9 Wrenching Maintenance • The Hellfire won't make you think of new curse words when things go wrong or when you're getting deep inside for maintenance or tuning. Getting to the diffs is the hardest part of any truggy design, and the Hellfire does its best to let you get there with the least amount of wrenching possible without compromising strength. You must expect that at some point you are going to need to change a few broken parts or you're not driving hard enough. Rating: 10 Wear and Tear • I'd like to be able to say that testing went without a hitch, but our Hellfire had some issues. The first being that the outer hinge pins pulled out of the arms without much abuse. During our photo shoot one popped out, and during the initial testing it tore out of the right arm causing an axle to break. A call to HPI revealed that the first batch of arms were softer than spec (you can't really test mass production until it's in motion) and that replacement parts will be sent out to owners with the soft front arms. This was a little frustrating having a new truck with no parts at the hobby shop, but HPI has some of the best customer service in the business and should take care of those with that issue. Another problem was the steering servo. It really isn't up to the task of holding up on a race track, and if you're headed out into the outback or at a track, I wouldn't expect it to last very long. Ours closed for business fairly early on in the testing and we replaced it with a better one and didn't have any issues after. That's the trade off of buying an RTR kit. Our final issue was more of a fluke as our engine decided that the internal bearing wasn't going to stay together and seized up. We got a replacement engine and haven't had an issue since. We're pretty sure that it wasn't indicative of the engine or the bearings since we've tested this engine in other kits and had really good comments about its durability. Most new kits go through some teething issues and if you know HPI they'll be hard at work correcting all the little problems that pop up (and the big ones) so it will get better and better with the running changes they make. Rating: 6 Tuning • HPI says this is a competition truck and we have to agree. While it's an RTR first, you won't be limited by the truck's ability to be tuned. There's more than enough suspension tuning to satisfy even the most anal tuners. If you plan on hitting the track you may want to make a few changes to the damping off the bat to get it a little more compliant in the rough sections, but for the most part it should handle very well for those on the street and the track. Rating: 10 Conclusion The Hellfire is really a good truggy that is capable of winning races and putting a smile on your face if you're more into the sport of having fun than winning a trophy. It's well designed and should be able to hang with the big dogs of the class. Despite having a few issues with durability I was impressed with the truck on the whole. I'm positive that HPI will address the issues and make all their customers happy with their purchase in the end. HPI doesn't have a race team per se, but they do have lots of loyal customers that will represent on the track and at the park.

Manufacturer: HPI Racing Web: www.hpiracing.com Phone: 949.753.1099 Address: 70 Icon St Foothill Ranch, CA 92610