1/10 HOSIM 9125 (Upgraded) Review

on Jul 20, 2022 0 Kommentare

Make: HOSIM

Model: 9125 (Upgraded)

Scale: 1/10

Length: 13.5” (approx.)

Width: 12” (approx.)

Drivetrain: 4WD

ESC: 60A 2-in-1

Battery: 2 x 1,600mAh 25C 7.4v Lipo

Motor: 2 x 390 Brushed

Servo: Plastic 5-Wire

Overview

The HOSIM 9125 is a 4WD 1/10 scale monster truck generally marketed toward children, adults, and families. With a claimed top speed of 48km/h (30 mph) and an estimated battery life of up to 40 minutes (when using both of the included batteries), the 9125 seems like an ideal beginner truck! This truck is sold on both the official HOSIM website and Amazon.com, offered in red and blue variants. Replacement parts are readily available and costs are generally low, making this HOSIM vehicle a good option for the first-time buyer. Alongside the vehicle itself, the 9125 ships with:

(2) 1,600mAh 7.4 Lipo batteries
(1) Parallel battery adaptor
(1) Battery strap
(2) USB chargers
(1) Lipo-safe bag
(1) Unpainted Lexan body
(8) Extra body clips
(4) Extra wheel nuts
(1) Mini wrench

Build Quality

Body Shell:

Like most hobby-grade RC vehicles, the 9125 has a painted Lexan body. Although somewhat thin, the body itself is durable enough for casual use. It’s held onto the truck using four body clips which slide into a single hole on the body post mounts. You can adjust the body shell height on this model.

Chassis:

Made from a rigid plastic, this chassis uses a unique design that encases the entire drivetrain. The plastic doesn’t offer any flex and is protected by two metal skid plates on the underside of the chassis (one under the front differential, one under the rear differential).

The front of the chassis is protected by a flexible bumper. Although it seems weak, this bumper actually proved to be quite durable during testing. Unlike its counterpart, the rear bumper is made from a stiffer plastic that offers little to no flex.

Battery Mounting System:

Batteries are mounted in different ways, depending on if you’re using a single battery or two batteries at the same time. For a single battery, the clip-on battery cover keeps it relatively secure. Due to the low profile of the cover, getting the battery and the battery connectors to fit underneath can be somewhat challenging, but it is doable. I would recommend using the battery strap to secure this cover if you’re going to a skatepark!

If you’re using both batteries (running through the single parallel connector) or a 3s battery, the cover won’t fit. This means you need to use the strap, which does a sufficient job. There is room for the batteries to move around, but this isn’t an issue if the strap is tight enough. Alternatively, you could just use a thicker strap.

Shocks & Shock Towers:

The 9125’s shock towers are made from a semi-hard plastic and connect to six oil-filled shocks (two on the front, four on the rear). As expected, this gives the truck a stiffer rear suspension, resulting in a bit of bouncing over hard bumps. However, you can remove a set of shocks from the back for a smoother ride if you wish.

Arms:

Made from a semi-bendable plastic, the arms take punishment well. While they probably wouldn’t survive clipping a pole at 30MPH (many metal arms wouldn’t either), the relatively conservative speed of this vehicle definitely helps with their longevity. A set of plastic non-adjustable steering linkages is located behind the arms.

Drivetrain:

The entire drivetrain of this vehicle is made from aluminum. Unlike some other companies, HOSIM has opted to use bearings—rather than bushings—throughout the drivetrain, which likely contributes to its quiet operation. The front and rear differentials are completely open, and cannot be filled with oil due to their non-sealed design. Like many other models, the 9125 uses CVDs in the front and dog bones in the rear. Overall, this system holds up well, although it will eventually fail from aggressive bashing. I recommend replacing both the center driveshaft and the differentials at the same time, as this is relatively cheap and avoids any complications.

Wheels:

Moderate in both size and width, these wheels look like generic monster truck tires. The tread isn’t incredibly deep but works adequately on-road and good off-road. The compound itself is pretty firm, which means that you won’t need to replace the tires very often. However, the plastic rims will start to crack if you’re constantly landing on concrete. These will need to be replaced eventually, but shouldn’t pose an immediate issue. If you’re not using the vehicle in the skatepark, it shouldn’t ever be an issue. Since the 9125 uses a standard 12mm hex, you have a nearly unlimited number of options when it comes to wheel replacements.

Electronics

Transmitter & Receiver

The receiver is built into the 2-in-1 ESC and uses a 2.4GHz radio system. The short 05-inch antenna is barely noticeable. HOSIM claims that this system will work up to 80 meters (262 feet). Although I have not tested this, I didn’t have any issues with range while using this RC.

As a two-channel radio system, this transmitter doesn’t offer any special features, but it does include all of the basics. The transmitter offers steering reverse, an electronic gear shift (speed limiter), steering trim, and adjustable steering dual rate. It has a foam around the wheel, a smooth trigger, and just feels nice in your hand. You’ll need 3 AA batteries to power it.

ESC

Officially, this 60-amp ESC only supports 7.4v (2s) batteries. However, in testing, it had no problem running 3s batteries. Some users have even tried it on 4s or 5s! Still, overheating will become a problem if you’re continually running this RC on 3s. I would recommend installing a fan to help combat this issue. If you disconnect the lights, you can use this free plug to power the fan.

Motor

The 9125 doesn’t have a single motor: it actually uses two 390 motors! In “Low”, only a single motor is engaged. In “High”, both motors are used. The casing around the motor provides a small amount of airflow, but this design isn’t ideal. Integrated heat sinks would be a better solution.

Servo

Unfortunately, HOSIM hasn’t provided a rating for this servo. That said, I can tell you that it’s adequate, if a bit underpowered. The steering response is average, and it doesn’t seem to struggle when making turns. However, centering the vehicle when running 3s is somewhat challenging, as the servo isn’t strong enough to maintain a perfectly straight line.

Nonetheless, it handles well overall and performs better than your average five-wire servo. Still, it would have been nice to see a three-wire servo instead, as this is the main issue you will run into when attempting to upgrade this RC.

Included Battery:

This truck comes with two 1,600mAh 7.4v Lipo batteries, as well as a parallel Deans adapter which can be used to run both at the same time for longer runs. I wouldn’t recommend using the adapter; it can be hard to detach. Using the clip-on case system (which can only hold a single battery at a time) is much easier.

Additional Accessories:

A set of lights is also included with this vehicle. Connected to a single plug, both the front white lights and the red rear lights are powered via the single plug on the ESC. These lights are quite bright, making it easy to operate the 9125 at night. However, I would not recommend leaving them attached if you’re going to the skatepark. The wire is just long enough to reach both the front and the back bumper. With the increased forces and flex caused by harsh landings, your lights will inevitably rip from the wire. Fortunately, replacements are fairly cheap.

Performance

Onroad:

If you’re hoping to go fast then on-road is where you’ll be driving. Peaking at 21.6 MPH (on 2s) and 29.5 MPH (on 3s), the 9125 essentially meets its advertised speed claim. As mentioned above, the truck does wander a bit on 3s, but this can easily be countered with small steering adjustments. At full throttle, the truck turns wide, which is to be expected. However, simply letting off the throttle and turning will result in a complete 180° in only about 3 feet. This makes the 9125 extremely nimble. The truck also brakes very well on 2s without skidding out of control. Sudden 3s braking is a bit dicey, but still manageable.

If speed runs aren’t really your thing, this truck can also provide hours of entertainment “drifting”. Due to the hard compound of the tires, the 9125 can be made to slide quite easily using a combination of throttle control and hard turns. Personally, I found this more entertaining than simply driving it down the road!

Skatepark runs are also another fun option, but you’ll need to be prepared to replace parts after the trip. After 20 minutes of jumps and front flips onto flat concrete (from a height of about 10 ft.), the servo on the 9125 finally stopped working. This outing also resulted in a CVD breaking soon after. Even with these two breakages, the replacement parts only cost me $24, which is far less than the cost of my average skate park trip. I think this makes the 9125 a good contender as a skatepark RC.

Offroad:

The 9125 is a bit slower offroad, peaking at only 23.4 MPH on 3s. However, the suspension works amazingly here, absorbing each and every bump as you soar across the landscape. While it is possible to flip the truck, it doesn’t happen often enough to be considered an issue. The tires have considerably more traction off-road, and wheelies (or accidental backflips) are actually possible on 3s! While short grass is preferable, the truck can still manage to go through six-inch tall grass without getting stuck.
If you drive it on dirt, the 9125 is very easy to handle. Donuts and drifting are even easier than when driving on-road; the only issue you’ll run into is braking. If you had a small track to drive on, you could definitely have a lot of fun with this truck!

Improvements & Upgrades

The 9125 is intended primarily for newcomers to the hobby, not more experienced enthusiasts.

For those people, the truck is fine in its RTR (Ready-To-Run) form. However, in the spirit of nitpicking, I was able to find a few areas that could use improvements!

The metal quality could be better. If you’re heavily bashing this truck then the metal will eventually bend. If you’re constantly running on 3s then the gears will begin to strip. That said, these activities are going well beyond the advertised capabilities of the vehicle.
It should have a fan. This is something I think would be legitimately useful. For people who live in hot climates, it’s very easy to overheat (and ruin) their RCs. Adding a fan would be extremely easy and wouldn’t cost enough to affect the overall price.
The motor could use more venting. Granted, this is only an issue if you’re running on 3s. If used as intended, the integrated air vents work fine. Still, I think heat sinks would be a superior option.
Adjustable shock collars would be nice.On the other hand, you could also just buy your own (or use preload clips).
The light wires aren’t long enough.The lights will rip out if you leave them in while going to the skatepark. Then again, you don’t really need the lights in the skatepark.
It needs a larger battery case. This is a legitimate grievance! While I still think they should include a strap (for added security), it would be much better if both of the included batteries could fit under the battery cover.
The diffs should be sealed. A first-time user won’t care about this, but weighted differential fluid can often be added into the diffs, limiting wheel slip and improving handling. Since the 9125’s diffs have holes in them, you can’t do that: you have to run it as-is.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a cheap-yet-reliable RC that won’t break the bank, you can’t go wrong with the HOSIM 9125! HOSIM gives you everything you need to get into RC with this truck, including two USB chargers and a Lipo-safe charging bag. It’s not the fastest truck and its “1/10” claim is debatable, but it works great as a backyard basher and provides an excellent value for the price. I would recommend this truck to first-time users, budget-minded individuals, and people who just need an excuse to get outside. Pick up a HOSIM 9125 for yourself by clicking the link here!