This
is now officially the best electric 1/8 scale on the market. After a
solid year of testing by over 50 team drivers worldwide, every
modification for improvement was thrown at the Fusion EX1R to create
the 1.5r.
Want reliability and durability? Pillowball suspension and new driveline.
Want unlimited motor choices? Almost ANY brushless motor will now fit including 74mm length truggy motors.
Want
excellent handling? Well nothing has changed as that has always been
our best asset from day one, but since you asked, new towers, new
ackerman, new top plate, new wing, new shocks, new gearing, new tire
compound, new foams, new wheels (US version not pictured).
There
are no more excuses for anyone to overlook Caster Racing as the best
option for anyone who wants to race in the electric 1/8 class.
Everything has been looked at and improved.
Everything
that is the best of the best from Answer to Xray has been used.
Pictures do not lie and we do not exaggerate, mislead, overpromise, or
under deliver since 2008.
Big-bore oversized 16mm shocks for excellent handling on bumpy tracks and big jumps
Improved big-bore hard-anodized shock bodies
Protective rubber shock boots for big-bore shocks, front & rear
Ultra-modern improved plastic "space" racing body
Premium Shock Oils and Diff oils are required
#SKU EX1
Below is an exclusive interview with Mike Mazza of Caster Racing USA:
RCCA: Hello Mike. We have heard through the grapevine that you guys are coming out with a new electric buggy? Want to elaborate?
Mike:
"Well, it is true that we completely redesigned the fusion electric
buggy. As you know, we were the first manufacturer to actually create
an electric 1/8 buggy and truggy back in 2008. But being a small
company, we didn't get the attention we deserved for it, but we have
been growing exponentially even in this economy. Back to the subject,
we got input from over 50 team drivers all across the world on input on
what we did right and what we did wrong for the car. The one thing that
people need to understand is that we have always had the upper hand
when it comes to the car being able to put down fast lap times. To be
honest, I cannot recall anyone regardless of skill switching from any
brand to a Caster and not seeing an improvement and that is a huge
statement to be able to make. However, our car was a B+ car at the
time. So we did some changes that we feel will propel this car into the
spotlight."
RCCA: Such as what?
Mike: "First of
all, the biggest complaint was that it would not accept the castle
2200kv motors. Personally, I do not understand why someone needs such a
powerhouse in an electric buggy, but we felt it was an issue. The most
important part was that we had to keep all the geometry the same such
as wheelbase, angles, adjustments, etc... so we had to narrow the front
end to accommodate a 74mm motor. So that means that virtually any
truggy motor will fit including the Tekin truggy series, the Castle
2200, etc.... We also moved the chassis brace to the other side of the
front driveshaft to assure there were no more issues with the 36mm
motors running a heatsink.
We also looked at everything on the
market from Answer to Xray and decided we needed to make the ultimate
buggy. We looked at bearings, we looked at lightened parts, we looked
at carbon fiber and other exotic materials, everything was looked at,
everything that we thought could be improved was improved, and we
pushed ahead. For example, we decided to go with captured hingepins,
lightened outdrives, new spiral cut gears, new driveline parts, new
spur gear, and new driveline cups. heck, even the gaskets got changed
and that is just the driveline.
As for everything else, we used
to get complaints about our bodies being thin and fragile so we made a
new more modern looking mold and found thicker lexan that is more
impact resistant. We got complaints about the wing points digging into
the dirt so we revised them to not be quite as aggressive, yet still
retain the Caster look for our guys who make YouTube videos. We also
reformulated the plastic compound for the wings and wheels for better
durability. We got complaints about the foams so they got replaced.
Chassis plate now covers the entire battery trays and is very electric
specific, unlike everyone else. People also didn't like the radio box
so it got redesigned and moved. Of course, there were several other
small changes that the team guys recommended that we put into the cars
and those were all done also. I should also let everyone know we have a
1.5R nitro version and that we are not just an electric car company.
Actually some of these changes that are not electric specific are in
the new nitro buggy also.
But we did keep a lot of things the
same. We knew the saddle pack setup was the obvious choice for several
reasons. The biggest reason was balance of the car. There are several
people who claim that the one battery pack setup is balanced, but none
of them are unless the drivetrain is pushed off to the side. Of course,
having the drivetrain at an angle does produce more friction, so that
is something we chose not to do. We also knew that having 2) 7.4 volt
packs also was a blessing in disguise for the 1/10 scale guys where
they could drop in 2 of their battery packs and go and the 7.4 volt
packs are much more economical, but at the same time, a person could
run higher or lower voltage packs depending on the ESC they are using.
You can put 11.1 packs in the trays as long as they are the same
dimensions as the 7.4 hardcase packs for length and width. Height is
adjustable on our trays.
We kept the 7075 aluminum and even
added a few more aluminum parts, but do have a few made in the USA
carbon fiber upgrade parts that will be available soon for the people
who like carbon. We redesigned a few of the plastic pieces also such as
the upper arms and wing mount.
We kept the pillowball suspension since they are an integral part of our handling and durability."
RCCA:
We have read in a forum that you said that your cars were actually
better than some of the more common brands. Do you still believe in
that statement?
Mike: "I honestly believe so. 2 years ago we
had a sub-standard product and we created a forum and created a
nationwide test program and began doing research. We tallied every part
that failed and every issue that customers and team guys came across
and went to work. My goal from day 1 was to be the next Xray and I
publicly announced it. I got made fun of, called a dreamer, called
insane, etc. but it was nice having such a high goal. The thing that
was funny to me was that we were so focused on fixing our problems that
all of the sudden, we noticed that everyone else was having their own
issues. We were checking off issues as solved while some of the other
big players were still having them. I honestly believed that our cars
were not any good and that everyone else never had a diff issue or had
plastic break or have issues with ESCs and so forth. I was naive and it
made us 100 times stronger as a company as a result. I will not say
that our cars are perfect, but I have no problem challenging anyone in
any form of comparison with the new car. Name the contest...fast lap
times, parts breakage, price, value, quality, customer service,
support, information. Our ownerтАЩs manual is still being revised so
that is our Achilles heel for the moment."
RCCA: What else is going on in the Caster world?
Mike:
"Well, we have a 4wd 1/10 buggy coming in the next 3 months and our
1/18 has had more success than we expected. I didn't like it at first,
but after seeing the competition, I knew we had a winner on our hands
and the word is starting to get out on those also. It is funny because
we have a pro kit and a rtr kit for those. We did have an issue with
the servo, but now have a better one and we have an upgrade one that is
all metal gears."
RCCA: When are you announcing the new 1.5R?
Mike:
"Well technically, I guess we just did with you. The first batch is
literally in the air between here and Asia so they are not quite
available for sale in the US yet. But I do challenge everyone to
honestly look at the pictures and consider buying the car. It will not
let you down and it is literally at a different level than the Casters
of the past and we have built a great reputation over the past 2 years
as a US company.
RCCA: Finally, on your website you have this listed as $100,000. Really?
Mike:
"On the Caster USA site? It is what we do occasionally when we have a
new product that is not quite available for sale. It is more of an
identifier for the programming side to notice for going back in for
actual shipping weight, adding more pictures, double checking the
inventory, and everything else that might need to be revised or looked
at. I assure you that the street price will make it a great value in
the marketplace compared to the competition."