Thank you! I wasn't too sure if it would work on the Optima. I did a similar thing with my JJ Ultima as the stock wing is a little on the fragile side. I'm pleased with how it turned out. It looks a little better with some black wheels. I tried a white wing + white wheel combo, but the three shades pf whites didn't quite match (wheels, wing and Tamiya PS-1).
When you can get a tune on one of the best rc car designs of its day, awsome vintage set up. I hope Kyosho get back to their more formative days. The Optima is a classic rc!
It looks amazing David and loaded up with a pile of great upgrades!! It looked good on the track but I can see where it would be a bit too tall and grippy for the carpet. On the dirt it would be a monster for sure!
Oh yes, it sure does look good on the track.😎 I find myself spending more and more time at the circuit, and while it's nice to run the Genova, the S1RM, the YZ2 and other "modern" buggies, I really want to run my vintage stuff more. But in standard guise they're a bit like fish out of water on the carpet, especially the technical track I run on. And harder to drive means more likely to crash. 😩 With this build, plus the JJ Ultima and Super Dog Fighter I now have three vintage machines that are setup for regular track duty. Happy. days! 😁 (I would be spending more time on the outdoor track, but with every day being around 38º ~100ºF pretty much all of us are spending out time indoors...with the aircon! 😂)
@@KaiCityRC Yes, I can understand not wanting to be out in that heat. One of the reasons my track had gotten into such bad shape is It was too hot and nasty to do any work on it. I am looking forward to the fall for sure. Plus you will have all the leaves to run through at the park!! I love that!!
It is certainly handles the jumps a lot easier than the 870c! 😁 But the 870c's lower ride height and overall lower centre of gravity allow it to corner much faster than the Optima. The smooth drivetrain wand minimal moving parts make it feel quicker around the track. Fortunately. as the 870c came out in '87, it won't be in the same race class as the Optima. 😅
Thanks! After the nose-diving, cartwheeling crash fest that was the Yokomo 870c's first carpet outing, I was expecting it to be a total disaster! But to my surprise it went round without any trouble - stock tires and all! 😲 😁
Snap! Been waiting for the production run of this and the Javelin. Been acquiring the parts too .. building a special carbon and gold Javelin with white cage. Great builders think alike
Truth be told, most of the carbon pieces/upgrades I had collected over the last 6 month or so were intended for a Carbon Javelin build too! Putting them on an Optima is ok, but the body hides all the carbon! 😅 Reason for the chassis change was to meet class regulations for a vintage race - I needed something produced on or before '85. The Javelin came out in '86 so technically isn't allowed. 😩 Oh well, I guess I'll start collecting the parts again with an eye to build the Carbon Spec Javelin at some point in the future... 😁
Thanks! I didn't want to push my luck so only did the one lap or so. I'm used to driving while filming in large open spaces. On a tight, technical track it's a lot more difficult, especially with an iPhone. But silly me brought two Go Pros, multiple battery packs and not a single micro SD card! 😅
If I'm honest, bodies aren't my forte and I couldn't be bothered with the masking required for an "interesting" paint scheme! So I figured I'd blast the whole thing over in white and set about applying the decals. The fact that Kyosho kindly pre-cut them out sealed the deal. I'm not a huge fan of the Optima box art color scheme, but in person it doesn't look half bad! 😁
That's a very broad topic and will depend on a myriad of factors. Fine tuning suspension is a bit of an art form and one I'm still learning myself. A little more info would be helpful. 🙂
The dampers are the Optima Pro/'87 Worlds Kit dampers. Pistons are "B" 2 hole. For oil, I'm using 300 weight front and rear. I also added Kyosho grooved o-rings. The springs are Kyosho yellow (UTW009) front and blue (UTW008) rear. The shocks have been set up as per the manual, so that's including the 2mm spacers. Front pre-load adjuster is set to 0mm from the top. Rear is about 5mm. It sits way higher than I'd like for carpet use. I should add I'm still in the early stages of testing to see what works. The footage in the video was shot during the early shakedown run and tire testing. I've yet to try different springs or play around with the dampers. My Ultima is using the hardest springs (gold) at the rear, so I'm tempted to try those out too. I feel gold springs at the front would perhaps be too stiff. In the slow mo it looks to me like damping is very well contained, though depending on the battery I used (for some vintage classes only heavy nimh and nicad batteries are permitted) the rear end would bottom out on the bigger jumps. At the moment the main issue is sorting out the occasional traction roll during hard cornering. Usually in the tight hairpin turns. Sadly the relatively high centre of gravity the Optima has puts pressure on the springs. Sway bars are a must. Stiffer springs might help, but I find they can make the buggy unpredictable in the jumps. As with everything, it's all just trial and error. The track you plan to run on makes a big difference too. If I wasn't bothered about keeping things "period correct" or "vintage" in appearance, then a set of custom tall shock stays and triple caps would go along way to sorting out the handling. 😁 One final thing, most of the vintage races here use 540 silver cans or similar, so the speeds aren't that high. If I put a 15t brushless setup in the Optima, or even a 17.5 things would fall apart rather quickly. Especially on my home track! 😬 Hope that helps!
Hi, I am about to build my first RC in 30 years. Turbo Scorpion. Have all other parts sorted but cant decide on a transmitter/receiver. Is there one that you would recommend for mid range price, decent range for general use (not racing). Been watching all your legendary series vids. Ta, Ian.
Hi, thanks for watching/commenting. Some 20 odd years ago I had a mix of systems - Sanwa, Futaba and Hitec. They were all good. Over time I've sort of drifted towards Futaba. I wouldn't say they are better than other makers, it's just a personal preference. I don't have any direct experience with these, but the 3PV and 4PM are reasonably priced and would offer all the functionality you'd need. Futaba have a pdf available on their website listing exactly what receivers work with what transmitters. I'd go for the 4PM as I believe it has a greater number of model memory slots. (it's surprising how quickly you can fill those up! 😅) I should add, I'm based in Japan where the market is dominated by Futaba, Sanwa and KO Propo.
@@KaiCityRC Your subscribers are (nearly by definition), people who act and think more or less like you. So you thought that with your dedication and attention to detail, nobody would notice the white instead of yellow ? :)
Note - this is not a review of the Optima or of the parts I've fitted to it.
This was my first RC in the 80’s beautiful buggy
More Kyosho content is always appreciated. The shortened body looks odd, but weirdly fits the aesthetic, so does the wing. Great work.
Thank you! I wasn't too sure if it would work on the Optima. I did a similar thing with my JJ Ultima as the stock wing is a little on the fragile side.
I'm pleased with how it turned out. It looks a little better with some black wheels. I tried a white wing + white wheel combo, but the three shades pf whites didn't quite match (wheels, wing and Tamiya PS-1).
When you can get a tune on one of the best rc car designs of its day, awsome vintage set up. I hope Kyosho get back to their more formative days. The Optima is a classic rc!
I really like the addition of the wing!
Thanks! 😊 It's something a little different. I like the Javelin rear wing as it is pretty durable and stands up to frequent crashes. 😅
Very beautiful version of the Optima.
The wing fits perfectly.
This iconic model deserves your full attention.
Bravo
Thank you! 😊
Looks nice with that added wing
Looks great David. Appears to run great as well.
For a vintage machine it goes pretty well! Easy to drive. Its biggest drawback is the relatively high ride height with stock parts.
This is the most beautiful rc car I have ever seen. Awesome!
Thank you! ☺️
Beautiful build.
Thank you for more great content!
Thank you! 😊
It looks amazing David and loaded up with a pile of great upgrades!! It looked good on the track but I can see where it would be a bit too tall and grippy for the carpet. On the dirt it would be a monster for sure!
Oh yes, it sure does look good on the track.😎 I find myself spending more and more time at the circuit, and while it's nice to run the Genova, the S1RM, the YZ2 and other "modern" buggies, I really want to run my vintage stuff more. But in standard guise they're a bit like fish out of water on the carpet, especially the technical track I run on. And harder to drive means more likely to crash. 😩
With this build, plus the JJ Ultima and Super Dog Fighter I now have three vintage machines that are setup for regular track duty. Happy. days! 😁
(I would be spending more time on the outdoor track, but with every day being around 38º ~100ºF pretty much all of us are spending out time indoors...with the aircon! 😂)
@@KaiCityRC Yes, I can understand not wanting to be out in that heat. One of the reasons my track had gotten into such bad shape is It was too hot and nasty to do any work on it. I am looking forward to the fall for sure. Plus you will have all the leaves to run through at the park!! I love that!!
Awesome build man! Thanks for sharing what you put into it!
I bet it will do surprisingly well!
It is certainly handles the jumps a lot easier than the 870c! 😁 But the 870c's lower ride height and overall lower centre of gravity allow it to corner much faster than the Optima. The smooth drivetrain wand minimal moving parts make it feel quicker around the track. Fortunately. as the 870c came out in '87, it won't be in the same race class as the Optima. 😅
Nicely done sir I in joy that a great deal
Thanks 👍
Epic build. We can see that it's a very good jumper 😉 Well done 👍🤝
Thanks! After the nose-diving, cartwheeling crash fest that was the Yokomo 870c's first carpet outing, I was expecting it to be a total disaster! But to my surprise it went round without any trouble - stock tires and all! 😲 😁
Snap! Been waiting for the production run of this and the Javelin. Been acquiring the parts too .. building a special carbon and gold Javelin with white cage. Great builders think alike
Truth be told, most of the carbon pieces/upgrades I had collected over the last 6 month or so were intended for a Carbon Javelin build too! Putting them on an Optima is ok, but the body hides all the carbon! 😅
Reason for the chassis change was to meet class regulations for a vintage race - I needed something produced on or before '85. The Javelin came out in '86 so technically isn't allowed. 😩
Oh well, I guess I'll start collecting the parts again with an eye to build the Carbon Spec Javelin at some point in the future... 😁
Thumbs up indeed for driving one handed and filming 👍👍😆
Thanks! I didn't want to push my luck so only did the one lap or so. I'm used to driving while filming in large open spaces. On a tight, technical track it's a lot more difficult, especially with an iPhone. But silly me brought two Go Pros, multiple battery packs and not a single micro SD card! 😅
This makes a very nice build, and probably very expensive. But like we say in french, when you love something, you don't count :)
Appreciate your videos!
And I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment! Thank you! 😊
Nice one David! I have a similar plan for my Optima. I will probably use the Top Force wing mount which fits perfectly on the re-re-wing.
Thanks! I wasn't sure if a rear wing would work on the Optima body, but now I've done it, I really like it! Good luck with your build! 👍
Stunning build! The shortened body and rear wing look great. 👍 Box art though!? 😮
If I'm honest, bodies aren't my forte and I couldn't be bothered with the masking required for an "interesting" paint scheme! So I figured I'd blast the whole thing over in white and set about applying the decals. The fact that Kyosho kindly pre-cut them out sealed the deal.
I'm not a huge fan of the Optima box art color scheme, but in person it doesn't look half bad! 😁
love it :)
Thank you! 😊
Hi, great video, thank you. Do you have any advice for shock absorber settings? Thanks
That's a very broad topic and will depend on a myriad of factors. Fine tuning suspension is a bit of an art form and one I'm still learning myself. A little more info would be helpful. 🙂
@@KaiCityRC hi, I’m keen to know which springs, oils and pistons were used on the Optima in this video, thanks
The dampers are the Optima Pro/'87 Worlds Kit dampers. Pistons are "B" 2 hole. For oil, I'm using 300 weight front and rear. I also added Kyosho grooved o-rings. The springs are Kyosho yellow (UTW009) front and blue (UTW008) rear. The shocks have been set up as per the manual, so that's including the 2mm spacers. Front pre-load adjuster is set to 0mm from the top. Rear is about 5mm. It sits way higher than I'd like for carpet use.
I should add I'm still in the early stages of testing to see what works. The footage in the video was shot during the early shakedown run and tire testing. I've yet to try different springs or play around with the dampers. My Ultima is using the hardest springs (gold) at the rear, so I'm tempted to try those out too. I feel gold springs at the front would perhaps be too stiff.
In the slow mo it looks to me like damping is very well contained, though depending on the battery I used (for some vintage classes only heavy nimh and nicad batteries are permitted) the rear end would bottom out on the bigger jumps. At the moment the main issue is sorting out the occasional traction roll during hard cornering. Usually in the tight hairpin turns. Sadly the relatively high centre of gravity the Optima has puts pressure on the springs. Sway bars are a must. Stiffer springs might help, but I find they can make the buggy unpredictable in the jumps.
As with everything, it's all just trial and error. The track you plan to run on makes a big difference too. If I wasn't bothered about keeping things "period correct" or "vintage" in appearance, then a set of custom tall shock stays and triple caps would go along way to sorting out the handling. 😁
One final thing, most of the vintage races here use 540 silver cans or similar, so the speeds aren't that high. If I put a 15t brushless setup in the Optima, or even a 17.5 things would fall apart rather quickly. Especially on my home track! 😬
Hope that helps!
Hi, I am about to build my first RC in 30 years. Turbo Scorpion. Have all other parts sorted but cant decide on a transmitter/receiver. Is there one that you would recommend for mid range price, decent range for general use (not racing). Been watching all your legendary series vids. Ta, Ian.
Hi, thanks for watching/commenting. Some 20 odd years ago I had a mix of systems - Sanwa, Futaba and Hitec. They were all good. Over time I've sort of drifted towards Futaba. I wouldn't say they are better than other makers, it's just a personal preference. I don't have any direct experience with these, but the 3PV and 4PM are reasonably priced and would offer all the functionality you'd need. Futaba have a pdf available on their website listing exactly what receivers work with what transmitters. I'd go for the 4PM as I believe it has a greater number of model memory slots. (it's surprising how quickly you can fill those up! 😅)
I should add, I'm based in Japan where the market is dominated by Futaba, Sanwa and KO Propo.
You have bought a new car for the cs version or just convert your old car?
The sensible thing would have been to modify the Optima I already had...😅
And we won't make any comments about the backside of the driver cabin being white instead of yellow ! ;) ;)
Well, most of the backside is missing so I didn't think anyone would notice...😬
@@KaiCityRC Your subscribers are (nearly by definition), people who act and think more or less like you. So you thought that with your dedication and attention to detail, nobody would notice the white instead of yellow ? :)
Great video. But I prefer hearing your commentary