Jeff Hoy, American

Back in the day Team Losi was an innovator.  They had probably the top engineering department in all of r/c.  Their work led to more trophies than you can shake a stick at on the regional, national, and world levels.  Things like the JRX-T, which was the first purpose built off road stadium truck in the industry; the Hydra-Drive, which was a hydraulically controlled slipper clutch similar to torque converters in full size cars, or the Mini-T which pretty well started the mini revolution.  Team Losi were leaders in the industry.

But then they were bought (or sold-out to, depending on your POV) by Horizon Hobbies and everything they released seemed to be rehash after rehash of existing product lines.  Sure they introduced something new now and then, like the mini slider which breathed new life into the dirt oval category, but they just seemed to lose the prestige they once held.

One new product caught my eye though, and it’s making me think that maybe, just maybe Losi could once again jump on top.  The SmartDiff as they call it is a self adjusting differential for use on their 1/8th scale 8ight series of nitro buggies and truggies.  I won’t get into all the details, but I will copy this blurb from the press release.

Losi engineers have designed a patent pending differential that knows exactly how to respond to track conditions and throttle input. Losi’s innovative custom SmartDiff design adjusts the amount of lock based on throttle position for optimum power transfer into and out of corners. The results are improved maneuverability, increased off-power steering and outstanding acceleration.

I’d like to see some reviews of this new diff.  I’m really curious as to how it actually works and how it affects handling.  Losi apparently still has some talented engineers on board.  Let’s hope this is just the beginning.

Check it at RCeasy.