The world-famous HB racing team has been developing the HB PRO5 for over a year, striving to take everything learned with previous HB touring cars and roll up this knowledge into a world-beating electric touring car. Drivers like former World Champion Andy Moore and up-and-coming racer JJ Wang have been giving feedback directly to HB designers and team mates in an effort to make the PRO5 the ultimate touring car racer for RC professionals and club racers around the world.
Taking the HB PRO5 global as a development chassis and regularly racing against the world's best drivers gives Team HB the opportunity to give the PRO5 a real trial by fire. Updates to the car are tested in the most strenuous conditions to give HB drivers a real comparison to other cars and against the most unrelenting competition. Week by week, new changes are rolled out to the Team HB drivers so they can make consistent updates as they battle door-to-door with the best of the best. This all adds up to the HB PRO5 being a completely new and totally fresh design, full of innovation and brand new parts.
The PRO5 is a culmination of the latest trends and developments in electric touring car racing, and is track-tested, rebuilt and dialled in week after week at race tracks around the world. Team HB has put in thousands of hours to make the HB PRO5 the best available touring car you can get today.
The PRO5 is the ultimate electric touring racer. Completely adjustable down to the finest detail, it can be adjusted for any driving style on any race track. From roll center to wheelbase, camber to track width, every parameter of the PRO5 can be tuned to make the car completely dialled under any circumstances. The PRO5 has the capabilities to take you anywhere you want to go - as long as you're aiming for the top of the podium!
At first glance, the PRO5 is a standard double-deck touring car, however it's only when you look closely that you notice the fine new details and all-new parts. The main chassis is cut from 2.25mm woven carbon fiber, fitted with 7075 aluminium bulkheads. The design of the motor and layshaft mount is all new, for better weight distribution and efficiency. A 2mm woven carbon fiber upper deck sits on top of the aluminum bulkheads, sandwiching the drivetrain in place. The PRO5 also features a woven carbon fiber floating servo mount and floating battery mount to allow the chassis to flex properly for consistent handling in all conditions.
A high-efficiency drive belt and alloy pulleys are standard equipment on the PRO5, and large 40-tooth pulleys at each end surround the new extra-large rear gear diff and the front solid spool. DCJ-style front universals and standard rear universals are driven by alloy diff outdrives for a supremely low rotating weight, and clamp-style hex adapters are securely fitted to the drive axles. The front hex adapters have an extra-thin narrow profile, allowing you to easily alter the front track width for an optimized steering feel for your driving style.
The suspenion features a huge number of updates and is full of completly new parts, including the thick woven carbon fiber shock towers, threaded aluminum big bore shocks and totally new suspension arms. New easy-access ball cups mean you can change roll centers quickly using shims, and of course a complete set of turnbuckles are fitted as standard equipment. With ultra-precise steering a requirement for all touring car racers, the PRO5 is fitted with reliable bearing-supported bellcrank steering for extra-smooth action, using alloy arms for strength and durability. The Ackermann setting is easily adjustable using orange-anodized shims, and the steering turnbuckles connect to woven lightweight carbon fiber steering arms.
We spoke to JJ Wang about the HB PRO5JJ is rapidly developing into one of the fastest touring car racers in the world, and has featured on Team HB since 2013.
When did you first drive the car and what involvement have you had with its development?
I first drove the PRO5 couple in late 2014, and the first major race for me was the ISTC worlds. I am happy to be involved in the process of making the PRO5, with the main designer Hara-tune, Hiro and Andy.
What do you think are the PRO5's best features?
I think the one feature that makes the car unique is our infinite selections of camber links, this makes it easier for us to make fine adjustments to the car. The PRO5 is designed so precisely that we not only focused on the geometry of the car, but we also focused on all the small details that make this car so flawless. Also, it fits both carpet and asphalt racing because the car has quickness and stability at the same time. I believe the PRO5 can be equally fast on both surfaces.
The PRO5 performs well when driven by pro drivers like you, but do you think it will also be good for club racers?
One thing for sure is that the PRO5 fits all drivers, the car is so easy to drive right out of the box and we made sure the car is both competitive and fun to drive.
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