This week, RC Soup will be attending Motorama in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This is a very large motorsports event, with several different events all taking place at the same time.

I needed a new body for my Losi XXX-SCT, and I’ve wanted to try the JConcepts High Flow body since it was released. Do I smell Liquid Mask?

If you’ve driven a short course truck, you’re aware of the inherent “parachute” effect. Simplified, it is when you jump the truck, and too much air gets trapped under that enormous body. The truck will have a tendency to want to flip backwards. It became common practice for people to cut relief holes in their bodies in an effort to let the air out. The trouble though is that the more you cut away, the weaker the body becomes.

JConcepts solved this strength issue by molding in specific areas for you to cut out, making it structurally sound even after the holes were cut out. Here you can see the additional material around the molded hood scoop.

And in the rear deck area

Now there are a few ways you can cut out the vent holes. I went with a combination body reamer/Exacto knife approach. I started reaming a hole in the middle of the vent.

Then I used an exacto knife and a pair of scissors to finish cutting out the hole.

Next we’ll cut out the wheel wells, and fit the body on the chassis.

If you look at the picture below, you can see how far they sunk in the deck section. The rear fenders are full sized, but the inside deck area is much shorter than on a normal body. This should let some more air out as well.

Here she is all painted. Started putting some decals on it, just need our friends over at Vinyl7 to put some finishing touches, and she’ll be ready for primetime! We’ll report back on the performance differences, if any, after Motorama!

Here is probably the best view of all the vent holes. You’ve got the two in the front fenders, the two in the hood scoop, two on the roof, four in the rear deck, and two in the rear fenders. I want to also mention, I probably did this in the wrong order.  I cut out all the vent holes, and then painted. I found that I had quite a bit of overspray come through the vent holes. I should probably have painted the body before I cut the holes. I’ll try it this way with the next one I do.

Can’t wait to get this baby flying to see how it works. Stay tuned!