Venture... Into the Outdoors
The Venture FJ Cruiser is the ultimate
adventure-ready scale RC trail truck. Developed from the ground up to be the
most advanced and driver-friendly scaler truck available, the HPI Venture is
ready for trail driving across mountains, streams and more. It's the perfect
trail companion for anyone from weekend ramblers to globe-trotting adventure
heroes!
The Venture combines a realistic front-motor position and formed
steel chassis rails with a realistic suspension and drivetrain. The Venture
chassis is finished with the fabulous look of the celebrated Toyota FJ Cruiser
for a fantastic scale off-road experience only HPI can deliver! With a fully
licensed replica body that includes front and rear bumpers, mirrors, functional
roof rack and swing-away spare tire mount, the Venture brings total scale
realism to crawler fans right out of the box. Underneath the body, the steel
C-channel chassis rails support a front-mounted motor, transmission and servo,
plus a central transfer case that sends power to telescoping driveshafts and
solid axles with metal diff covers. Authentically scaled oil-filled shock
absorbers and full-time locked differentials work with the realistically treaded
tires for confident driving in all off-road situations.
Official Replica of the Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser body
included with the Venture RTR kit is completely outfitted with a range of
fabulous scale items that would be extras on many other scaler trucks. In
addition to the officially licensed replica FJ Cruiser body on its own, you'll
find a pair of side mirrors, a functional roof rack ready for a range of scale
accessories, a working swing-away spare tire mount on the back bumper, working
D-ring shackles on the front and rear bumpers, tubular brush guard and mounts
for LED lights on the front bumper, and adjustable-width rock rails that help
the truck glide over tough obstacles.
Scale Chassis Design and Layout
The Venture FJ Cruiser features a formed
steel C-channel chassis and cross braces as the foundation for a realistic truck
chassis. To make sure the truck has a front weight bias that improves its
climbing ability, the 35-turn crawler-spec motor and the transmission are
mounted right up front - just like in a real truck! For additional weight up
front, the steering servo is also mounted to the chassis next to the motor.
Aluminium Diff Covers
The Venture FJ Cruiser is packed with awesome scale
details - and real metal diff covers are just one of them! Known as the
"pumpkin" by most off-roaders, the differentials on each axle on the Venture
feature aluminium covers for an instant custom look. You can also customize the
diff covers yourself by polishing them or painting them your favourite colour!
Swing-Away Tailgate
With a functional swing-away spare tire mount on the
back bumper, the Venture adds a super cool feature that is a unique feature
among all stock scaler trucks! Fitted with a real, ready to use spare tire (the
all-new Rockthorn off-road tire on a black CR-10 wheel!), the spare tire mount
also helps hold the back of the replica Toyota FJ Cruiser body in place.
Front & Rear Bumpers
The Venture FJ Cruiser features sturdy front and
rear bumpers to protect the replica body and the chassis from the inevitable
scrapes and incidents that come with off-road trail driving. The front bumper is
fitted with tubular brush guards and holes where you can mount LED lights for
night driving. Both bumpers feature functional D-ring shackles so you can use
ropes and bungees to strap down scale gear or attach winch cables.
Functional Roof Rack
No trail run is complete without a full set of scale
overland accessories like a rolled-up tent, sleeping bags and more, and the roof
is the perfect place to store that while driving from campsite to campsite. Side
and rear rails let you use bungees to hold down your gear for extra scaler
points - or use a cargo net for ultimate scale realism!
Rock Rail Sliders
Robust side bars, known as rock sliders or rock rails,
allow the Venture to slide over obstacles that are just a bit too tall for it to
completely clear. Stretching from the front to rear wheel openings, they serve
to aid off-road performance as well as protect the body from scratches by ground
obstacles like rocks and boulders. Although they are the perfect fit for the
replica Toyota FJ Cruiser body, they can be adjusted in width to fit other
scaler bodies.
Rockthorn Off-Road Tires on CR-10 Wheels
Venture FJ Cruiser features
all-new Rockthorn tires with thick, self-cleaning tread blocks for driving on
hard-packed dirt, gravel, wet or dry rocks, loose dirt, mud and more. The
Rockthorn tires have additional sidewall tread to help get the truck over
extra-difficult obstacles like slippery rocks and tree roots. The tires are
mounted on great-looking CR-10 1.9" beadlock-style multispoke wheels, which
themselves feature centre hub caps that hide the wheel nuts for maximum scale
realism.
Balanced Weight Distribution
The chassis layout of the Venture FJ
Cruiser, with the forward-mounted motor and transmission, plus the
chassis-mounted servo (CMS), puts most of the weight at the front end, giving
the Venture ultra-realistic driving performance and an advantage over most other
scale trucks when hitting the trail.
All-Metal Transmission
The Venture FJ Cruiser is the first RTR scale
truck to feature strong metal gears throughout its transmission. With a main
gear set taken from the ultra-fast and ultra-strong Savage XS Flux, the Venture
drivetrain can handle LiPo power up to 3S without any upgrades.
Perfect Off-Road Trail Gearing
With the transmission drive ratio of
1.53:1, the overall drivetrain ratio is 7.6:1 for a good all-around gearing and
a final drive ratio of 30.4:1 out of the box. This will get you up or down most
trails and get you started climbing difficult inclines. With pinion gears of
15-28 teeth, you can get final drive ratios of 30.4:1 to 16.2:1. You can easily
alter the ratio with an optional 56-tooth spur and pinion gears from 19-32 teeth
for final drive ratios of 22.4:1 to 13.3:1.
Centre Transfer Case
In addition to the motor and transmission at the
front, the Venture FJ Cruiser features a centrally mounted transfer case with a
gear ratio of 1.5:1. In addition to putting the maximum amount of weight to the
front of the chassis, the central location of the transfer case allows the
drivetrain to sit low and down the centreline of the chassis so the driveshafts
are perpendicular to the axles for maximum power transfer to the tires.
Low Angle driveshafts
The low angle and central position of the
driveshafts allows for maximum power transfer, so as much power as possible
reaches the tires. The driveshafts are composite slider-style shafts with
universal joints at each end, where they meet the transfer case and axle. At the
axles, 13-tooth pinions and 43-tooth ring gears (axle ratio of 3.31:1) sit
inside the "pumpkin" or centre of the axles. Each differential is equipped with
metal diff lockers for pure 4WD traction at all times.
Adjustable Slipper Clutch
An externally adjustable slipper lets you
tackle slick rocks and loose surfaces without having to make big changes to the
setup of the Venture. Correct adjustment gives you the perfect amount of power
and grip by reducing wheelspin, which enhances grip - and the easy to reach
adjustment nut lets you make quick adjustments on the trail.
Advanced Truck Steering
The steering system for scale RC trucks is very
important - and that's why the Venture FJ Cruiser was designed with the latest
advancements in steering and suspension for strength as well as realism. This
makes the Venture the most versatile scaler truck on the trail! With a
Chassis-Mounted Servo (CMS) and Behind The Axle (BTA) steering, plus a
functional Panhard bar, you get perfect scale looks with realistic and ideal
performance, no matter what terrain you're hitting. Aluminium mounts for the
Panhard bar and aluminium steering plates add the strength and durability to
give you total confidence on the trail.
Panhard Bar
A Panhard bar on aluminium mounts provides extra scale looks,
because it's featured on most off-road trucks and vehicles. The purpose of the
Panhard bar is to maintain zero bump steer as the axle rises over bumps and
falls into holes and ruts. This helps the Venture FJ Cruiser go exactly where
you want it with precise steering control!
CMS (Chassis-Mounted Servo)
The realistic steering for the Venture FJ
Cruiser begins with a Chassis-Mounted Servo. With a strong SS-20WR servo firmly
mounted at the front of the chassis, the weight of the servo aids the front
weight bias of the Venture. The solid metal steering link also looks like it
came out of a real truck, and connects to the tough steering knuckle. The high
torque (6.5kg-cm/90 oz-in at 6V) SS-20WR servo is water-resistant so you can
take it through water, snow and mud without fear of damage, and if you want to
upgrade the steering it's easy to drop in an ultra-powerful servo for maximum
off-road steering
Zero Ackermann Steering
For a super-tight turning radius, the Venture FJ
Cruiser features zero Ackermann steering angle. This basically means you have
equal steering angles for the front tires when they are steered all the way to
the left or right - the maximum amount of steering for the best performance when
tackling rugged off-road terrain.
BTA (Behind The Axle) steering
The Venture FJ Cruiser features Behind The
Axle (BTA) steering linkage out of the box, so you don't have to do any
complicated modifications to get maximum performance on the trail. A tough steel
rod connects the two metal-reinforced steering knuckles together behind the
front axle. With all of the steering linkage kept out of the way of potential
obstacles such as rocks and roots, the truck has a much better approach angle
than with standard crawler kit steering designs
Maximized Clearance Angles
The Venture chassis is loaded with potential,
making it extremely versatile on the trail and up tough climbing routes. Its
capability lies in several factors, including off-road friendly clearance angles
from the tire contact points to the bumpers and chassis, as well as good ground
clearance thanks to its minimal diff case size.
Break-over angle: 44.5 degrees.
Approach angle: 55 deg.
Departure
angle: 45.5 deg.
Max climb angle: 49 deg.
Max tilt angle: 28 deg.
Axle
articulation: 30 deg.
Ground clearance 68mm capable: (2.7").
Ground
clearance at standard ride height 60mm: (2.4").
Axle ground clearance 32mm:
(1.3").
Trail-Ready Suspension
Good suspension is at the heart of every off-road
vehicle, and this principle is evident everywhere you look on the Venture
chassis. From the aluminium mounts on the axles to the dual-stage shock
absorbers, the Venture FJ Cruiser is packed with advanced features unseen on
other scale crawlers - without purchasing optional parts! The Venture can
perform on any trail, thanks to adjustable oil-filled shock absorbers and
standard-sized 12mm hex hubs to fit a huge range of scale wheels and tires.
Rugged Aluminium Parts
Enhancing the look and style of the Venture
chassis are aluminium suspension parts that are a fantastic throwback to truck
kits from RC's retro golden age. From the axle covers which have the HPI hex
logo on them, to the thick shock and rod link mounts, the real metal parts add a
great look to the Venture that other scale trucks can't match! Both Panhard bar
mounts are also aluminium, as well as all four hex hubs for the wheels. Each hex
hub is also held in place on the axles by steel setscrews for additional
security.
3-Link Suspension
The Venture features a sturdy and reliable 3-link
suspension front and rear. Two composite fixed links form the lower suspension
links front and rear. The upper links consist of an alloy single link for the
front, and a Y-shaped composite link at the rear. If you prefer, the rear
suspension links can be easily swapped to 4-link suspension with the #117079
Option 4-Link Set.
Dual Stage Coil-Over Shocks
For ultimate trail tuning, the alloy shock
absorbers feature dual-stage shock springs. This means the short spring softens
the gentle bumps and dips you encounter while driving, and the longer firm
spring catches the harder hits, such as when the Venture is descending a steep
embankment. HPI designers have found the perfect combination of springs and oils
for all-around driving, but you can fine-tune the ride of your truck with
different shock oils and springs to make the Venture perform at its best on the
trail.
Adjustable Wheelbase
The Venture chassis lets you change the wheelbase
from 290mm to 315mm (11.4 to 12.2 inches) by modifying the length of the
linkage, which can change the look and driving of the truck. If you fit a
different body to customize your Venture, adjusting the wheelbase lets the tires
fit in the wheel openings, which helps the truck look perfectly scale.
SC-3SWP3 Crawler Edition ESC
The Venture FJ is equipped with a highly
versatile and fully waterproof HPI SC-3SWP3 Crawler Edition electronic speed
controller, which is packed with a full range of adjustments and capabilities.
In addition to being able to take power from the included 2000mAh NiMH (nickel
metal-hydride) rechargeable battery pack, you can swap the battery for a 2S or
3S LiPo (lithium-polymer) battery for extra power and runtime. The Venture on 3S
is a beast on the trail!
The SC-3SWP3 Crawler Edition also features our HDC
Hill Descent Control adjustable electronic drag brake system to make driving
down steep declines more controllable at all angles - just like modern luxury
off-roaders!
High Torque SS-20WR Steering Servo
The water-resistant HPI SS-20WR
steering servo is the ideal companion for the Venture electronics package. This
is a high torque servo with up to 6.5kg-cm/90 oz-in holding power at 6V, plus
it's water-resistant so it can easily handle splashes and water drops when
driving through puddles, snow and mud. Mounted directly to the chassis next to
motor, it provides extra weight over the front axle to enhance the front weight
bias of the Venture.
Operating Voltage: 4.8-6V.
4.8V: Speed: 0.14 sec/60 degrees, Torque:
4.2kg-cm/58 oz-in.
6V: Speed: 0.11 sec/60 degrees, Torque: 6.5kg-cm/90 oz-in.
Servo Spline: 25T.
TF-41 2.4GHz Radio System with Waterproof Receiver
The popular steering
wheel & pistol grip HPI TF-41 radio system controls the Venture on its travels,
giving you total control of the steering and throttle/brake. The carry handle
makes it convenient to take on your trail walks, and the shape of the controller
lets you set it on the ground for easy picking it up by the grip. The folding
antenna allows it to take up the minimum amount of space in your backpack on the
way to the trail. The RF-41WP receiver is fully waterproof, so you don't have to
think about what you're driving through. For extra protection, the receiver is
encased in a secure receiver box which also allows you to install your own radio
set.
35-turn Crawler Spec Motor
A sealed, brushed motor with 35 turns provides
the perfect mix of speed on the trail and crawling torque for climbing steep
embankments and obstacles. It's a standard 540-size motor, so it's easy to
change the motor for something else you've got in your collection. Thanks to the
all-metal gears in the transmission and standard electronics sizing, you can
easily upgrade to a brushless motor and 3S battery for extra speed and wheelspin
to get over anything.
Features:
- Factory-assembled & pre-painted electric-powered full-time 4WD 1/10 scale off-road truck.
- Officially licensed replica Toyota FJ Cruiser body.
- Functional roof rack plus side mirrors.
- Front bumper features brush guard, light mounts and D-ring shackles.
- Rear bumper features swing-away spare tire mount and D-ring shackles.
- Adjustable rock rail side sliders help the truck get over tough obstacles.
- Formed steel C-channel chassis rails.
- Front-mount motor and transmission position for ultimate scale realism.
- Front weight bias improves climbing traction and provides more realistic driving.
- All-metal gear drivetrain for extreme durability.
- Central transfer case with slider driveshafts to front and rear differentials.
- Transfer case prevents motor stall for the best climbing action.
- Transfer case also straightens & lowers centre driveshafts for more efficient power transfer.
- Axles feature small diff case or "pumpkin" size for best possible ground clearance.
- Aluminium differential pumpkin cover.
- Locked differentials for superb off-road climbing traction.
- 12mm aluminium hex hubs to fit any available crawler wheels.
- Shock towers have multiple shock mounting positions to allow for wheelbase options.
- BTA (Behind The Axle) steering linkage for improved approach and departure angles.
- Panhard bar for scale looks and optimized geometry with zero bump steer.
- Zero Ackermann high steer knuckle design for improved obstacle clearance and tighter turning radius.
- 3-link front and triangulated 3-link rear suspension.
- Oil-filled aluminium coilover shock absorbers (63-90mm stroke).
- Adjustable threaded shock bodies for quick ride height changes.
- Dual-stage shock springs.
- Aluminium lower link/shock mounts.
- Aluminium panhard mounts.
- CMS (Chassis Mounted Servo) realistic steering setup.
- Adjustable body mounting to fit any style of off-road body.
- Fully braced rear body mounts.
- All-terrain Rockthorn 109mm x 38mm soft S-Compound tires with chunky tread blocks.
- Beadlock style CR-10 ten-spoke 1.9” wheels.
- HPI 35-turn crawler spec motor provides speed as well as crawling torque.
- HPI waterproof SC-3SWP3 Crawler Edition adjustable electronic speed control.
- HPI water-resistant SS-20WR steering servo.
- HPI TF-40 2.4GHz radio system with carry handle.
- HPI waterproof 2.4GHz receiver in protective case.
- Full set of ball bearings.
- Includes NiMH battery and charger and 4 AA batteries for radio transmitter.
Specification
Dimensions:
Length: 527mm (20.7"). Width: 227mm (9").
Height: 238mm
(9.4") with roof rack, 217mm (8.5") without (will vary depending on tire choice
and suspension settings).
Wheelbase: 311mm (12.3").
Front overhang: 101mm
(3.9").
Rear overhang: 135mm (5.3").
Weight:
Running weight: 2.4kg (5.3lbs).
Weight without battery: 2.1kg
(4.7lbs).
Body Weight: 0.21kg (7.44oz).
Capability:
Break-over angle: 44.5 degrees.
Approach angle: 55 deg.
Departure angle: 45.5 deg.
Max climb angle: 49 deg.
Max tilt angle: 28
deg.
Axle articulation: 30 deg.
Ground clearance 68mm capable: (2.7").
Ground
clearance at standard ride height 60mm: (2.4").
Axle ground clearance 32mm:
(1.3").
Gearing:
Drivetrain ratio: 7.6:1.
Transmission gearing: 1.53:1.
Axle
gearing: 3.31:1.
Transfer case gearing: 1.5:1.
Comprehensive Instruction Manual
All HPI Racing kits include a detailed
multi-language instruction manual. Exploded diagrams and extensive information
about your Venture FJ Cruiser ensures that you have the know-how when it comes
to maintaining and upgrading your kit. You can also download a digital version
of the manual to your personal electronic device and keep it with you for easy
reference on the go.
MYhpi: The Ultimate Resource for Your Venture
Once you've got your
Venture, add it to your MYhpi garage to get direct information about what will
make your truck grippier, more adjustable and easier to tune. Add your entire
HPI collection to your MYhpi garage so you can directly access manuals, videos,
tips and help for each of your HPI cars!
Please Note: If you have not used an RC car before we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the controls prior to use. We do not recommend the use of RC cars in confined spaces or domestic environments. Your model is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty; however this does not cover damage to parts, due to driver error or loss of control. Like its full size counterparts; an RC car has its own sacrificial parts which are designed to save additional components from damage. These inexpensive items are engineered to fail first and are commonly available. In simple terms, accidental damage is not covered by the warranty.