My 2nd RC car when I was a kid was a Kyosho Turbo Ultima. The thing I remember most with that car was how loud it was with the original 32 pitch gears. I remember getting a set of external Robinson racing 48p gears for it with saved allowance money and it was like someone hit a mute button on it. The old platinum shocks they had that had the dial built into the lower spring cup that you could rotate to alter the dampening was cool as hell. What I would give to get that old car back along with all the others I had in my childhood.
Hello and thanks for the awesome story. I love hearing about people's old cars from back in the day. I actually have a turbo on the bench (hopefully our next car completed) and it's just amazing. Must say I was a little disappointed when I saw the rere kit gearbox. Would have preferred to have that chunky old school cut gears...but I understand why they went that way. Modern brushless systems would have torn it up. Quickly falling in love with these Kyosho cars...they are top quality for sure! Thanks for the view and great comment brother 👍
In Silicon Valley during the mid 80’s you needed an Rc10 to even have a slight chance to be competitive. At least until a guy named Joel showed up at the local track with an Ultima and a short time later became world champ!
Would be good to see a Boomerang v Hotshot comparison off the back of this to see how they stack up, given the marginal weight advantage the Boomerang has.
Great work, Bro! I love the way you go to the trouble to set all the cameras up around the track - the result is great for us viewers! Awesome to watch this legend running around! Shocked by the lap times but your analysis was excellent and made a lot of sense. I agree that it's best to keep things stock as that makes comparisons fair and square! All the best from Mark... :))
Thanks so much my friend. One of the kicks for me is when another creator (who's channel I also love) enjoys our content. The Ultima is legendary indeed...and is easily one of my favorite cars to drive for sure!
@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC I watched cuz I picked up this kit (have yet to build it) but now I gotta watch all of them! Quick question.. I come from a background of crawlers so I don't know what kind of motor/esc to put into this kit when I do build it. I've never raced buggies, let alone vintage ones. What would be an appropriate motor to put in for running it lightly for fun at a local dirt track AND taking it for walks around a lake?
My older brother just bought this kit but doesn't have the time to build it and gave it to me to build. I just started and man the quality of the parts is insane. So many metal components. I built a Tamiya Hornet in 2016 and just not the same quality (albeit I love my Hornet).
Awesome and thank you for going through the upgrades over the original! You’ve inspired me to build mine now, worked its way up my list and hopefully will now be an autumn build!
They probably gave you the hard front tires because they wanted to reduce traction roll for the front tires so they wanted it to understand more just that's my train of thought on that.
Nice vid, thank you. I have a Tomahawk still to build and I've heard the front tyres on that are like plastic. Problem is going to be finding something sorted in the correct / vintage size.
Thanks my friend.These fronts were no good for me on my track. Fortunately because they are 2.1 I have plenty of options to swap out. I know Schumacher has some "vintage size" fronts...but they may all have spikes.
Very nice Videos and testings! You have to try my car. The Kyosho Optima Mid Custom Special from 1988. With brushed motor, NiMh batteries and digital speed controler. Would be so much fun! Greetings from Europe (Austria) over the sea.
Awesome video! The Ultima is an icon and although this isn’t a true vintage, it sure looks the part and drives very well (hard front tyres aside). Kyosho’s decision to upgrade their re-releases to handle modern day power is controversial.. but I can see where they are coming from and applaud their efforts at trying to improve on whats come before. It also makes us appreciate the real vintage ones even more.👍😊
Agree...a modern brushless system would not work out so well for the non slipper gearbox imo. The car runs fantastic. Thanks so much for the comment/view!
We've had , discussions, at the club with regards to the re re Ultima vintageness. I don't think it is, well, because its not, I think only the chassis is actually the same, but I love it!! I believe tamiyas are only ,pretty much ,the same as they where, because they still had all the original molds/tooling , where kyosho farmed the work out, so never actually owned the molds/tooling. Schumacher still have 2" tyres available, and the yellow compound Rib spike (U6847) I've found work quite well, on astro anyway.
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC, I'm in the UK, so Schumacher has been the goto for decades! Found the 2" 'block' to be the best all rounder, (they only do 2" front for 4wd though), and the 2" rear blocks -U6786, do fit on 2.2" wheels (bit like fitting hornet centre into tyres....😬)and a few clubs have used them as a rear control tyre on modern cars.
It is a terrific looking buggy and one that is high up on my list of kits to get! I am surprised the front tires feel that hard but I can see where some softer ribbed or spike ribbed tires would do better on your track. The track is looking spectacular BTW!! I am a little envious of how groomed and smooth it is, I really need to give mine some more attention!!!
Thanks bud. The track is so much darn work...lol. Few weeks later and it's a weed garden...haha. Kit is fantastic btw. You won't regret picking one up for sure.
I did a vintage meet with mine a few weeks back and even with super soft 2.2s on the front and softs on the rear it still pushed that front end through the corners. I ended up with about -4 degrees of camber to get it to turn. I'm going to play around with roll centre now to try to improve the steering.
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC I'd say so, most of the drivers that had the ultima we're having the same issues. I think raising the rear roll centre will help a bit as I have a TLR 22 as well that suffers from understeer and the difference was huge once I made that change and I'll play around with shock angles on both cars when I get a chance to get back to a track with it. Crazy the fox was almost as quick as it suffers from understeer as well and doesn't have near as much steering angle either. Keep up with the awesome content!
Love that slow mo shot round the deck! I am surprised this was not higher up the leaderboard but your explanation makes sense. Such a beautiful looking RC though in motion. Looks up there with the Hotshot to me 😎🔥
More steering would put it in Top Cat territory for sure. Part of the fun of running them "stock" I guess...we get to see the flaws too...lol. Thanks bud.
Camber on the front would help. And the traction level at the back would depend on how much the diff is locking up. Also which types of dampening oils you used. The thing with the Ultima was it was a good platform, but you changed many things to go racing competitively. Gold Shocks was the first thing back in the day. But I sense this is stock showdown and comparison so none of what I mentioned might be relevant.
Yep...box stock. I think it's a very easy "fix" and it would have been top of the chart. I try and do everything as stock as I can with the kit cars just to see what they can do with the manufacturers setup. Appreciate the comment and view brother.
Awesome video once again, great angles and shots. But you have to stick some better front tyres now you mentioned it and give it another go 😂 awesome 👍🏻👌🏻
I could be remembering wrong, but I think every Ultima I have (from these, skip a few, RBtypeR, RB5) all exhibit understeer out of the box. In this case tires, though I'm not sure with my originals, or the other ones that are Ultima in name only.
We have had to shut it down for the winter but it has been on my mind as well. Did this on the old track with the rc10 showdown. Might need to do this on the new/new track (we are moving).
Yes...so all of what we call our "pro cars" are running a 25.5 brushless setup. It keeps speeds reasonable for my small track. The car can handle much more motor. Gearbox is pretty beefy.
@@Rustydog1977 Yes...one of the things I "try" and do is match that from car to car as well. It's a huge pain sometimes stuffing in that large of a pinion.....lol. Can't always get it perfect.
Kyosho Ultima was my first "real" rc car when I was a young kid. Good memories.
My 2nd RC car when I was a kid was a Kyosho Turbo Ultima. The thing I remember most with that car was how loud it was with the original 32 pitch gears. I remember getting a set of external Robinson racing 48p gears for it with saved allowance money and it was like someone hit a mute button on it. The old platinum shocks they had that had the dial built into the lower spring cup that you could rotate to alter the dampening was cool as hell. What I would give to get that old car back along with all the others I had in my childhood.
Hello and thanks for the awesome story. I love hearing about people's old cars from back in the day. I actually have a turbo on the bench (hopefully our next car completed) and it's just amazing. Must say I was a little disappointed when I saw the rere kit gearbox. Would have preferred to have that chunky old school cut gears...but I understand why they went that way. Modern brushless systems would have torn it up. Quickly falling in love with these Kyosho cars...they are top quality for sure! Thanks for the view and great comment brother 👍
In Silicon Valley during the mid 80’s you needed an Rc10 to even have a slight chance to be competitive. At least until a guy named Joel showed up at the local track with an Ultima and a short time later became world champ!
That distinctive sound of a legendary Kysoho. It's like you can hear the quality.
Lol...should be their slogan. "You can hear our quality"!
true!
Enjoying these videos that demonstrate how each car achieves their speed differently, looking forward to more comparisons.
Thank you so much! It is fun now to go back and see how they handle for sure.
Would be good to see a Boomerang v Hotshot comparison off the back of this to see how they stack up, given the marginal weight advantage the Boomerang has.
@@soarin12 Wish we had one. Maybe next year if the rc gods find us a good deal...lol.
Enjoyed the video and your analysis of the car’s performance. Can’t wait to see what you run next!
Hopefully the weather holds out for us...winter will come quickly I fear this year. I appreciate the comment/view.
I still want an ultima. Such iconic kyoshos from my childhood
Great work, Bro! I love the way you go to the trouble to set all the cameras up around the track - the result is great for us viewers! Awesome to watch this legend running around! Shocked by the lap times but your analysis was excellent and made a lot of sense. I agree that it's best to keep things stock as that makes comparisons fair and square! All the best from Mark... :))
Thanks so much my friend. One of the kicks for me is when another creator (who's channel I also love) enjoys our content. The Ultima is legendary indeed...and is easily one of my favorite cars to drive for sure!
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC Love your channel too, dude - just keep em coming!
Thanks for the great video, maybe slightly stiffer on the rear too as it appeared to slap a bit?
Think the rear could use some more pack for sure. Appreciate the view/comment.
I loved how mesmerizing your running video is. Nobody does this as well as your channel does😊 thanks
Thanks so much for the supportive comment. We really do appreciate it my friend.
@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC I watched cuz I picked up this kit (have yet to build it) but now I gotta watch all of them! Quick question.. I come from a background of crawlers so I don't know what kind of motor/esc to put into this kit when I do build it. I've never raced buggies, let alone vintage ones. What would be an appropriate motor to put in for running it lightly for fun at a local dirt track AND taking it for walks around a lake?
@caseycole2371 a 17.5 sensored brushes system should be a good. For comparison I am running a much slower 25.5.
My older brother just bought this kit but doesn't have the time to build it and gave it to me to build. I just started and man the quality of the parts is insane. So many metal components. I built a Tamiya Hornet in 2016 and just not the same quality (albeit I love my Hornet).
It's a fantastic kit! Quality is really good and it runs as well as it builds for sure. Enjoy my friend!
Awesome and thank you for going through the upgrades over the original! You’ve inspired me to build mine now, worked its way up my list and hopefully will now be an autumn build!
We strive to inspire! It's a fantastic kit for sure. Appreciate the comment friend.
They probably gave you the hard front tires because they wanted to reduce traction roll for the front tires so they wanted it to understand more just that's my train of thought on that.
I love your time attack videos. Reminds me of Top Gear.
Thanks my friend. A viewer actually suggested it to me when we 1st started and thought it would be fun.
Cool RC and great run on the track, great video and information
Thanks friend. Appreciate the kind words. Rock on!
Nice vid, thank you. I have a Tomahawk still to build and I've heard the front tyres on that are like plastic. Problem is going to be finding something sorted in the correct / vintage size.
Thanks my friend.These fronts were no good for me on my track. Fortunately because they are 2.1 I have plenty of options to swap out. I know Schumacher has some "vintage size" fronts...but they may all have spikes.
Very nice Videos and testings! You have to try my car. The Kyosho Optima Mid Custom Special from 1988. With brushed motor, NiMh batteries and digital speed controler. Would be so much fun! Greetings from Europe (Austria) over the sea.
Awesome video! The Ultima is an icon and although this isn’t a true vintage, it sure looks the part and drives very well (hard front tyres aside). Kyosho’s decision to upgrade their re-releases to handle modern day power is controversial.. but I can see where they are coming from and applaud their efforts at trying to improve on whats come before. It also makes us appreciate the real vintage ones even more.👍😊
Agree...a modern brushless system would not work out so well for the non slipper gearbox imo. The car runs fantastic. Thanks so much for the comment/view!
We've had , discussions, at the club with regards to the re re Ultima vintageness. I don't think it is, well, because its not, I think only the chassis is actually the same, but I love it!!
I believe tamiyas are only ,pretty much ,the same as they where, because they still had all the original molds/tooling , where kyosho farmed the work out, so never actually owned the molds/tooling.
Schumacher still have 2" tyres available, and the yellow compound Rib spike (U6847) I've found work quite well, on astro anyway.
@@anthonyrawsthorne656 Currently heavily invested in the Schumacher tires for a "project"...
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC, I'm in the UK, so Schumacher has been the goto for decades!
Found the 2" 'block' to be the best all rounder, (they only do 2" front for 4wd though), and the 2" rear blocks -U6786, do fit on 2.2" wheels (bit like fitting hornet centre into tyres....😬)and a few clubs have used them as a rear control tyre on modern cars.
It is a terrific looking buggy and one that is high up on my list of kits to get! I am surprised the front tires feel that hard but I can see where some softer ribbed or spike ribbed tires would do better on your track. The track is looking spectacular BTW!! I am a little envious of how groomed and smooth it is, I really need to give mine some more attention!!!
Thanks bud. The track is so much darn work...lol. Few weeks later and it's a weed garden...haha. Kit is fantastic btw. You won't regret picking one up for sure.
I did a vintage meet with mine a few weeks back and even with super soft 2.2s on the front and softs on the rear it still pushed that front end through the corners. I ended up with about -4 degrees of camber to get it to turn. I'm going to play around with roll centre now to try to improve the steering.
Good to know brother. Think some weight up front would would help at all?
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC I'd say so, most of the drivers that had the ultima we're having the same issues. I think raising the rear roll centre will help a bit as I have a TLR 22 as well that suffers from understeer and the difference was huge once I made that change and I'll play around with shock angles on both cars when I get a chance to get back to a track with it. Crazy the fox was almost as quick as it suffers from understeer as well and doesn't have near as much steering angle either. Keep up with the awesome content!
Interesting about the tires. And an odd choice from Kyosho . 👍
Agree bud.
Love that slow mo shot round the deck! I am surprised this was not higher up the leaderboard but your explanation makes sense. Such a beautiful looking RC though in motion. Looks up there with the Hotshot to me 😎🔥
More steering would put it in Top Cat territory for sure. Part of the fun of running them "stock" I guess...we get to see the flaws too...lol. Thanks bud.
Kyosho did it right. They gave us a retro mod as they call it in the 1:1 car world.
Camber on the front would help. And the traction level at the back would depend on how much the diff is locking up. Also which types of dampening oils you used. The thing with the Ultima was it was a good platform, but you changed many things to go racing competitively. Gold Shocks was the first thing back in the day. But I sense this is stock showdown and comparison so none of what I mentioned might be relevant.
Yep...box stock.
I think it's a very easy "fix" and it would have been top of the chart.
I try and do everything as stock as I can with the kit cars just to see what they can do with the manufacturers setup. Appreciate the comment and view brother.
Awesome video once again, great angles and shots. But you have to stick some better front tyres now you mentioned it and give it another go 😂 awesome 👍🏻👌🏻
Thanks so much.....planning on "upgrade" vids in the future for sure.
Sure wish my wife would let us build a proper track in our back yard. 😁
I could be remembering wrong, but I think every Ultima I have (from these, skip a few, RBtypeR, RB5) all exhibit understeer out of the box. In this case tires, though I'm not sure with my originals, or the other ones that are Ultima in name only.
The kit tires just don't work on my track. Weight absolutely coming into play as well. Few simple tweaks and it should be dialed!
Love the Ultima!
Thanks bud...we do as well!
For the sake of comparision, it would be nice to know what time a modern competitive buggy (say Tekno EB410, TA B74 etc.) might fetch on this track.
We have had to shut it down for the winter but it has been on my mind as well. Did this on the old track with the rc10 showdown.
Might need to do this on the new/new track (we are moving).
Yeah a real legendary buggy, nice run.
Thanks bud!
I miss my original ultima! Wish I’d never sold it!
Had one as well back then.
Eventually stuck with the gold pan because of local parts support...but it was/is a really good buggy.
25.5 brushless motor, did I hear that correctly?
Yes...so all of what we call our "pro cars" are running a 25.5 brushless setup. It keeps speeds reasonable for my small track. The car can handle much more motor. Gearbox is pretty beefy.
@@VINTAGEBACKYARDRC I’m guessing the FDR would be extremely tall?
@@Rustydog1977 Yes...one of the things I "try" and do is match that from car to car as well. It's a huge pain sometimes stuffing in that large of a pinion.....lol. Can't always get it perfect.
That car is planted compared to the bounciness of tamiyas
Suspension is very plush!
Looked like a handful to drive , those tyres are crap🤣. Should imagine its 100 times more reliable than the fox.
Absolutely more sturdy. Was a bit of a guessing game if the tires were going to dig in for sure...lol.
Your "pumping" driving style is hindering better laptimes as well as a understeering car ...
Thanks brother. I will work on that. Appreciate the advice.