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Im currently knee deep in restoring a couple of my Optima's and have a new Optima Pro lexan set to go on one of the cars Im rebuilding. I was hoping some one with some good knowledge of the Optima Pro might share their thoughts on the further forward placement of the battery pack and the steering servo being mounted at the rear. From experience I find the Optima to have a little too much oversteer out on the race track and regardless of shocks, coils or settings I find the car turns in quite hard at times. I know the wheelbase is relatively short when compared to cars of today but I got to thinking if shifting the weight a little further back might aid in rear traction and less bite up front.

I wonder why Kyosho pushed the battery (and weight) further up front?

Could it have been a response to the increasing numbers of mid-motered 4wd's around that time? Or maybe the heavy servos of those days actually helped shifting the weight back? Any way: it's such a goodlooking body, and the bellypan is such a nice bonus. You just have to build at least one... and then try it ofcourse

I wonder if reducing the amount of servo steering would help with the oversteer by limiting how much the servo turns in either direction?

Appearance-wise, I like the Optima Pro--up until the hindquarters. I think it looks lacking with the stock wing, IMHO it needs a proper wing.

Is the wheelbase the same between the Pro and previous Optima variants? It looks the same...but that under-tray probably wouldn't work with the Option House sideguards, I'm guessing...

As far as I know, The Pro's battery is pushed forward slightly to add some weight to the front and increase steering. Standard Optimas tend to push a bit using period tires and batteries. If you're using modern stickier tires and a modern lipo (that weighs less than a NiCD), a standard Optima is probably more balanced; maybe even a little too much to the front. BITD, I made a custom chassis for my Turbo Optima that I used to race with my friends on parking lots. I pushed the battery forward about 10mm to get better steering and compete with my friends running Optima Mids. Today, using the same tires, I find my battery mounting position is too far forward with a lipo.

All rear motor Optimas use the same chassis and have the same wheelbase; only the top deck is changed on an Optima Pro.