Here’s the fifth part of our exclusive Pro-Line Pro-2 short course racing truck kit build and review! This step is all about installing the electronics into the Pro-2.
Just in case you missed them, check out the first article here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here and Part 4 here.
The Pro-Line Pro-2 short course racing truck has been out for a little while now, but this is the first and ONLY complete build guide you can find anywhere! Read on below to read how the assembly of the front end goes!
The first step is pretty simple – installing the foam bits from the Foam Bag.
And there we go! Of course the front pieces of foam can change depending on the size of the battery you’re using.
With the hard plastic supports preventing the battery from moving forward and backward, I’m…not really sure what the huge foam block is for at the back end! but, it’s in the instructions so it’s in the chassis.
Now it’s time to make the servo link and install the servo.
The servo is very easy to install – remove the four screws that will hold in the servo, and remove or loosen the one screw holding the front servo mount.
The rear mount is held in place with a screw at the top and bottom, so it doubles as a secure fixing for the brace that goes over the steering posts and over the servo.
I’ve fitted the extra-strong HPI SF-50WP to handle the steering – it’s a VERY strong servo, I usually use these in my crawler projects because of its power rating of 266.6oz/in or 12kg/cm, so it’ll be more than strong enough for turning the front wheels at speed. The speed is good, too: 0.18 seconds to turn 60 degrees, so it’s no slouch on the track either. It’s not ultra-twitchy like some off-road racers like to use, but it’s pretty good all the same and my ‘go-to’ servo for my RC servos.
I mounted the receiver for the Absima CR4T upright behind the servo – it’s just a bit too wide to sit flat, but I’m sure a pure racing radio will have a narrower shape to fit perfectly flat in place.
From the side, you can see the servo link is parallel to the chassis with the servo arm perpendicular (90 degress) to the chassis. I’ll be upgrading the servo arm to a much stiffer aluminum piece, but for now I’ll use the really stiff and thick plastic arm that came with the HPI SF-50WP servo.
From the top, the servo link should be parallel to the servo and 90 degrees to the bellcranks. The Pro-2 kit includes 2 blue spacers but this install needed only 1.
In the back goes a Team Orion 3750KV motor which is specifically made for SC trucks – it should be plenty of grunt for the Pro-2!
Nicely finned and the color even matches the chassis!
Before putting the battery in, you’ll need to change how the straps are fitted to the chassis. On the left is how they come out of the kit. On the right is how the manual shows they should be installed to properly fit the battery. Don’t confound yourself, follow the manual!
And there’s the battery installed. It’s another piece of HPI electronics, this time the Plazma 5300mAh 2S LiPo. It’s not a high-power battery, as it’s only 30C, but it should be a good start to get used to racing the Pro-2.
The HPI Flux Reload is an older model speed controller, but it is perfectly suited for all kinds of RC work, including racing and bashing SC trucks. You can change its settings with the setup button or an external programming box if you really want to get into things, but you can just plug and go too.
I had to move the receiver to the side of the chassis so the ESC wire could reach it – at this point I considered drilling a hole in the battery brace to make an antenna mount, but I’ll see what the range is like before I try that.
Having an antenna mount on both sides of the battery brace would be extra-helpful, but that’s just something that I’d suggest if I absolutely had to think of an improvement.
The wheels are held on with super-sharp serrated wheel nuts – I tightened these on and it took a serious amount of force to get them off again!
And there she is!
Just need to paint up the body and we’ll be set to hit the track.
The Pro-2 really does look just all-business. No messin’ about!
With all the electrical bits installed, next up is the fashion show: the body painted and the action video!
Here’s the video showing how the shocks went together, including an example of bleeding the Powerstroke shocks:
We’d like to thank everyone at Pro-Line for sending us this review kit – we really have been wanting to check out this truck in person for quite some time, and we’re so happy Pro-Line graciously sent us the Pro-2 to review and share with all you RC Racing TV fans!
There’s more to come – check back on RC Racing TV real soon for more of the Pro-Line Pro-2 kit build and review!
