Review: Losi Micro Rally

Someone once said that “Good things come in small packages”. I’m sure it wasn’t the engineers over at Losi, but they did decide to use that phrase as a benchmark for their latest Micro release, the 1/24th scale Micro Rally. This pint-sized pocket racer comes with a great-looking Rally-inspired body, Rally-style wheels and pretty serious all-terrain rally tires. In fact, everything included is Micro sized (other than the transmitter), and should make my testing quite easy since I can do it in my flower garden!

THE FACTS
WHO MAKES IT Losi
WHO IT’S FOR Everyone
HOW FAST 7.3mph
HOW MUCH $110.00
BUILD TYPE RTR
VEHICLE TYPE 1/24-scale 4WD Micro Rally Car
THE BOTTOM LINE The Micro Rally is one of those take-anywhere-with-you cars, mainly because it fits just about anywhere. You’ll never have to be without your RC fix…ever again!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Yes, it’s 1/24th scale, and even though the motor is dinky and the battery looks like it could only power a wristwatch, this little sucker gets up and goes! It’s plenty fast with the included electronics, and the 2-in-1 ESC/receiver combo unit works great and saves a lot of space. I did give the Micro Rally a minus point because of the 27MHz radio system, but really only because that limits you to owning (or racing) 6 of these at a time.

• The Micro Rally comes with a 4.8v 220mAh NiMH battery pack. This is great for a beginner and should give you plenty of hours of worry-free running. Power is good, too, and charge times are just shy of 25 minutes. I’ve already scoped out some compatible LiPos to get this little sucker moving…but that’s another article.

• The Micro Rally rolls on a super smooth, shaft-driven drivetrain. A non-fluid filled gear differential is located at each end of the car and is easily accessed by simply removing a few screws. Located under the top deck (or cover), you will find one of the cooler features on the Micro Rally…an integrated slipper clutch! Adjusting this can help save the drivetrain from failure during your intense off road excursions.

• Losi has included a full set of oil-filled shocks. These cute little micro-units also include a bladder to help performance. The shock springs soak up most of the bumps the Micro Rally travels over, but hit anything big and this little guy will go flying! Try to keep it to 1/24th scale mountain roads and gravel pits and you’ll be fine.

• The steering linkage is also quite unique. Most cars come with a adjustable turnbuckle or threaded rod but, because the Micro Rally is about the size of a goldfish, sourcing an adjustable link is a bit difficult. To keep it simple, a clear piece of plastic is attached with screws to the steering bell crank and steering knuckle. While this setup does not provide any adjustments, making a new link out of scrap lexan is an easy workaround.

• So, you say to yourself, “Wow, a car this small has to be rolling on plastic bushings, right?”. Uh, no. This little dirt devil includes a FULL set of ball bearings. It’s hard to believe that considering the inexpensive pricetag, but Losi certainly wanted to make sure you got your money’s worth with the Micro Rally!

SPECS & TUNING OPTIONS
LOSI MICRO RALLY & SCT
DIMENSIONS
LENGTH 6.42 in./ 163mm
WIDTH 3.72 in./94.5mm
WHEELBASE 3.9 in./99mm
WEIGHT 5.3 oz./160 grams

SUSPENSION
• Shock position—3 holes on towers, 3 on arms
• Shock preload—adjustable collars

DRIVETRAIN
• Differential stiffness—optional grease
• Gearing—pinion

MAINTENANCE & TUNING TIPS
• Since there are lots of tiny moving parts, its best to pick up a fine bristle brush and a computer-cleaner air can to help keep the car clean.
• Losi offers a LiPo pack for the car. This certainly helps the car in the speed department.

PROS & CONS
+ Complete package, including battery and charger
+ 4WD makes it super easy to drive and can conquer most 1/24-scale terrain
+ Unique 2-in-1 ESC/receiver combo unit saves space under the shell
+ Body shell resembles quite a few of the real rally cars racing in today’s WRC series
+ Bottom-load battery means quick changes without removing the body
+ Good run times onthe supplied 220mAhbattery
– Radio system is 27MHz

– On/Off switch should be reversed so the car won’t turn off if something hits the switch.

ITEMS NEEDED
– 8 AAs for the transmitter

ITEMS USED
+8 MaxAmps AA’s

TOOLS INCLUDED & USED
+Hex key, wrench, extra gears and wheel wrench

DESIGN ANALYSIS
The styling of the Rally and SCT, which shares the same platform, are very cool— especially with the bumpers and side nerf bars. The soft bumper will help protect the cars from head-on impacts all day long.

The plastics used on the car are pretty soft so breakage should be at a minimum and the webbing on suspension parts keeps them sturdy.

A spring loaded servo saver helps protect the servo from damage, a nice feature for those true bashers.

We’re pretty impressed that this tiny car has steel dogbones to drive the wheels.

The U-type captured hinge pins are a neat way to hinge the arms.

Some of the screws are really tiny. Make certain you have the perfect size screwdriver if you want to take things apart or you’ll be stripping the screw heads.

PERFORMANCE
Test Areas: Dirt, carpet and asphalt

The Micro SCT and Rally were obviously intended for those who just want to go out and have fun. So rather than trekking out to a track we just threw down some red drinking cups from Costco as corners and chopped up and taped a few cardboard boxes to the carpet in the shape of small jumps inside our office conference room.

These micros are quick in a confined space which is perfect for the RC enthusiasts who wants to get some RC action in on a rainy day and they are fast enough for newbies to have fun without getting to out of control. Off of our make-shift jumps we caught some air and the trucks landed with a little bounce and sometimes got a little squirrelly. Gathering the truck back up after a jump actually added to the fun of our mock race. These machines have good quick darty steering on the carpet which would sometimes result in the Rally or SCT plowing through the red cups sending them flying all over the place. As usual, after the first few times setting the cups back up, it got old and the scattered cups became both a new course to drive around and more things to punt with the nose of the cars.

Out on asphalt, the cars seemed a bit more sluggish, only because we had more space to wind them out and they top out pretty quickly in the speed department. It was fun launching the cars off of curbs and hopping over raised storm drains, they were sure taking a beating. Then we moved on to some dirt action for our photography shoot. The cars didn’t throw up any roost of dirt from a standing start, but they did churn up the dust in the turns. They hopped around a bit on the bumps, but our fun was cut short when the dust and debris got into the internal working and started to bind things up in the drivetrain and steering. After some bench time with a brush and air compressor, we were back in action and kept our runs limited to indoors on the carpet, racing around our cups and over cardboard jumps. [Editors Note- Tony] Unfortunately for Greg, the loss of a five-lap shootout meant he had to buy ice cream for me. [Editors Note- Greg] Did you really have to order the biggest sundae on the menu, Tony?

THE LAST WORD
Losi has given everyone interested in RC cars a vehicle that they can take anywhere with them and play with any time they want to. Better yet, they still made them durable enough for competition. I love to RC, especially the competitive part of the hobby. As I say that, I sit at my desk with the Micro Rally sitting next to me, trying to figure out how I’m going to explain to my better half that I am contemplating tearing up a section of the back yard (honey, it’s a SMALL section) and putting in a rally track. I will most likely be getting two or three more of these and inviting my friends over. Rally day at the Phalen house…who’s in?

LINKS
Losi, losi.com, (877) 504-0233
MaxAmps, maxamps.com, (888) 654-4450