SG 1602/1601 and HBX 16889 Review - an excellenT budget brushless 1/16 truck

The SG 1602 Brushless RC truck is a 1/16 scale 4wd off road truck/buggy (truggy) that has a powerful and efficient brushless motor/esc system. Note, this appears identical to the HBX 16889 and shares the same parts. It is available from Banggood for less than $90 and as little as $70. I've had one of these for about 2 months now and for the times that my son lets me drive it I've had quite a few runs to get a good feel of performance and durability. My full review is below.

What's in the box?
Actually this is pretty well equipped:

• The Truck (4wd brushless 1/16 scale)
• 2.4GHz remote
• 2s 1300mah li-ion battery
• USB charger
• LED Headlight system (for user to install)
• Wheelie bar (for user to install)

In order to get this running you'll need 4 x AA batteries for the transmitter. These 2.4GHz transmitter are extremely efficient so you'll get good battery life even with cheap alkaline batteries. As mentioned above there is a nice set of headlights and wheelie bar included and these are very simple to install with well laid out instructions.

LED headlight integrate nicely in the bumper and are easy to install

LED headlight plug into a spare port on the receiver/ESC and have a power regulator. Spares are listed on Banggood for $3

The wheelie bar is mounted solidly to the frame and is absolutely necessary given the power. Spares on Banggood for $6

Specs and design

• Overall truck design is a low centre of gravity with compartively large truck wheels and body 'truggy'. This design tends to have the best combination of handling and ability to clear obstacles.
• It is shaft driven 4wd which is the most common format presently due to durability and low maintenance requirements.
• POwer system is based around a brushless 2435 sized 3900kv motor. Compared to the brushed counterparts these have way more power and torque AND have better efficiency. Win win!
• Receiver is integrated in the ESC for simplicity and it's good to see a 3-wire servo meaning this can easily be replaced with an aftermarket unit if you wish to upgrade (although stock performs well).
• Being 1/16 this is very small and light which means it will be fast and carry less momentum in a crash = more durable.
• Tyres are hardish rubber but are wide meaning you should get a good balance of grip and wear.
• Suspension is friction dampened only which means it'll be bouncy but oil-filled upgrades are available at a low cost.
• LED headlight integrate nicely into the electrics and the wheelie bar is well built. Definitely keep the wheelie bar on - it gets a lot of use!
• Body is durable and held on by split pins. Truggy design means there is no overhand and keeps the dust out well
• There is a full set of ball bearings on the driveline which minimises friction and wear
• Battery included is a lithium ion 2s 1300mah. These offer excellent energy density and enough output to power this along for around 15 minutes which is pretty amazing given the speed.

Truggy style rc trucks have a low centre of gravity and large tyre are for grip. Bodies are small meaning they don't collect debris.

Propeller shaft drives the front and rear metal diffs off a spur gear. Very efficient when done right (which this one is)

Brushless 2435 sized 3900kV motor is highly powerful and efficient - an excellent design choice.

Wide hardish tyres offer a good combination of grip and wear life

Friction dampers are typical in this price range. An upgrade yields a significant improvement

Polycarbonate body is tough. Make sure you remove the protective plastic!

Getting it ready to run
The main battery is an 18500 1300mah 2s li-ion pack and charging couldn't be simpler - plug the included USB charger into a USB port on one end and on the JST balance plug (white plug on the battery) on the other. It'll take 2-3 hours to charge but it is very simple when you compare the alternative of using a hobby-grade charger like this one. I'd recommend using a USB power supply rather than plugging into the USB port on your computer just in case the QC is a bit dodgy.

The only other thing you need to do is add 4 x AA batteries to your remote. Turn the remote on, turn the car on, put the shell on with split pins and you're ready to go!

In operation - remote
Trigger remotes are the most common controllers around for good reason - they are very intuitive. Pull the trigger to go forward, push to brake and then to reverse push it again. Everything is full proportion i.e. if you pull the trigger a little it will run slowly, if you turn the wheel a little the car will turn a little. Steering and throttle trim on the remote it is set the centre-points for steering (to make it run straight) and throttle (to make sure it is in neutral when trigger released) respectively. Steering dual rate will change the range you can steer - leave this wound clockwise on this model. Unfortunately there is no throttle dual rate which is a very good tool for limiting maximum throttle for the learner. You can ignore the bind mode, this is not used here and performs no function if pushed.

Lastly the control link has no interference but the range isn't fantastic. After about 50 metres the signal can be lost at which point the truck becomes unresponsive in a failsafe mode rather than running off with the last control that was input. Raising the remote above your head can often get you back in range.

Remote is a simple 2.4Ghz unit with trim but dual rate only for steering.

Receiver is integrated on the ESC. You can see the small antenna circled. If there is interest in extending range, please leave a comment and I'll write a mod article.

In operation - performance
Man this little truck is quiet and fast! Quietness suggests a will meshed gearset with little friction and this truck is very impressive in that regards. This means a lot more power to the ground rather than being lost in noise and heat. I haven't run a GPS speed on it but it is a lot faster than the WL toys 12428 which my other son owns. In addition to top speed this has massive pick-up. It will wheel-stand anwhere there is a reasonable level of grip, it is most impressive on short grass in particular where it will wheelie right to the end of the battery.

Some have said these tyres are too hard but I think they are perfect for the application - they offer great grip on grass and are predictable on concrete/tar seal. They are hard enough to make sure they last a good amount of time before replacing. They seem to be glue to the rim fairly securely. Spares are available here.

Tread pattern is fairly positive and should last well

You can see about 10 runs of wear here, half of those runs on tar seal

Large footprint area for tyres mean than hard compound will still grip well

Being a truggy style truck it has a fairly low centre of gravity and will not flip when using full throttle and steering unless you hit an obstacle. Compare to the WLtoys 12428 where full throttle and full steer from stand still or at speed will cause a flip. The stock suspension is very bouncy and tends to bottom out over jumps. This is because shocks are friction only i.e. they lack oil dampening. I highly recommend the oil shock upgrade front and rear but I'll cover this more in the section further below. With oil shocks this things handles very well indeed but it's pretty good for a car of this price range even without them.

Durability
This is the section that takes the longest to review because I can't make a call by driving it once or twice (even 10 times). So far I've had to replace nothing at all and it has been well abused by both myself and my 5 year old who is learning. Furthermore there is no wear on the driveline I can see or hear which is promising. I've also just learned front and rear diffs are metal with metal conical gears which means they should last the life of the car at least (unlike the plastic gears on generation 1 of the 12428 buggy which stripped with regularity). There is no obvious wear in drive cups and shafts at this stage.

I am wary of the way the front and rear arms mount directly to the front and rear diff housings but so far the plastic seems to be of the right blend of compliance and bendability. I'm also not a fan of the way the wheels mount by bolt rather than nut but again, this is a design comment rather than a specific durability issue. Update: there are upgrade available if you wish to go to a tradtional universal shaft and nut retainer as below:

Plastic steering and suspension linkages are obviously not adjustable but have proven very durable for bashing with my 5 year old

Chassis showing signs of scrapes but no breaks. I would have like arm pin mount to have been separate to chassis/gearbox but at least they are strong

Universal drive shafts in the front means good steering and suspension movement without fear of losing a dogbone.

Upgrades
First off there are no critical upgrades. Everything runs well as is and there are no glaring design issues. With that said I would recommend the oil shocks as it greatly improves on an already good handling truck. Oil shocks will improve dampening mean it can better control the springs making it less bouncy during running and lessen the chance of bottoming out over jumps. The official upgrade parts are actually decent - unlike other cheap oil shocks I've seen they offer about the right amount of dampening and spring strength for this truck. You can no doubt find shocks from other cars to fit but you can guarantee these ones 'just work'. There are a range of other parts below but I'll only be getting these upgrades if/when the stock parts break. The full list of upgrade and replacement parts can be found here.

Stock friction dampers do the job but are my first recommendation to replace

These oil dampers are designed for the SG 1602 and HB16889 so fit perfectly with the right spring rates. They are sold in pairs here for about $6 and I'm super pleased with the improvement they have brought.

Fitted on the front

...And the rear. I've since wound the tensioners right up to reduce sag. 

Conclusion
I'll be brief here. For me this is the budget RC car to have at the moment if you are looking to step up from a toy grade without the expensive of a full hobby grade setup. This is because it offers they key elements you want in an RC car:

• Speed thanks to the awesome brushless setup
• Durability thanks to the light weight, smart design and use of materials
• Handling thanks to the truggy style layout

Compared to his older brother's WL Toys 12428 which is a standard in it's own right, this out performs it in every facet including battery life which is over double in comparison.

Further more the small size means it can be easily placed in a backpack, in the bottom of a baby buggy or however you want to carry it.

This is an easy truck to recommend and I think will be very popular. If you are looking to buy, make sure you get the brushless rather than brushed variant. The same truck is sold under SG and HBX brands. To be safe I've identified the correct models in the links below and in this article:

6 month update - My 5 year old son has now been running this every weekend for the last 6 months. It's yet to break anything substantial. This is definitely my recommendation for a fast reliable and tough RC car for friends' kids and would recommend the same for reader. More details on the 6 month update in this article.

SG 1602 2.4G 1/16 Brushless RC Car High Speed 45km/h Vehicle

HBX 16889 1/16 2.4G 4WD 45km/h Brushless RC Car with LED Light Electric Off-Road Truck RTR Model

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