With the release of its new Triple-XNT Sport, Team Losi hopes to set a new standard for nitro-powered RTR stadium trucks. The Sport offers the race-winning design and technology of the national champion Triple-XNT in a feature-packed, affordable RTR package. Although it’s manufactured and assembled overseas, the Sport is 100-percent Triple-XNT, with 100-percent parts compatibility between kit trucks and RTR.

The Sport is loaded with hot racing features, including a complete set of ball bearings, a powerful and reliable .15 pull-start engine and a custom-painted body. You also get a completely adjustable suspension and a race-proven drive train inspired by the top-of-the-line Triple-XNT. And that isn’t all: the Sport comes equipped with a full-feature JR Racing XR2 computer-radio system with a pair of Z270 servos installed on the chassis. Sounds great, but just how good is this new truck? Let’s head to the track and find out.

Features
Chassis. The Sport’s 1/8-inch-thick aluminum chassis plate is configured identically to the Triple-XNT’s chassis, except it’s made of a different material and has a silver-anodized finish with a unique, sand-blasted surface. To prevent its screw heads from scraping on the track, all of the screw holes are countersunk on the chassis’ bottom. The engine-mounting holes are slotted and recessed to provide fine gear-mesh adjustment.

The chassis is supported by a long, molded upper deck that spans from the front bulkhead to the end of the fuel tank. An aluminum brace attached between the upper deck and the transmission housing reinforces the area around the engine. The standard JR Z270 steering servo and ROAR-legal, 75cc fuel tank are installed in line and are caged by the upper deck. The receiver is taped to a platform on the right side of the upper deck and is protected by a molded box. Another JR Z270 servo installed on separate mounts handles the throttle and brake chores. The throttle servo mount also doubles as a switch-harness mount.

A molded battery box attached to the rear end of the chassis houses the included 4-cell battery holder. The battery box easily accommodates the 5-cell, rechargeable receiver packs that are commonly used in nitro racing, and it does a great job of protecting the cells from the elements.

Transmission. The Sport features a low-profile, 3-gear racing tranny with stepped idler gear and bottom-mounted ball differential. Like t.he rest of the Sport, the tranny’s molded parts are identical to and interchangeable with those of the U.S.-made XNT kit truck. A dual-disc adjustable slipper clutch is also included. The Sport’s tranny includes shielded ball bearings instead of the more expensive Teflon-sealed bearings found on the kit trucks. Additionally, the Sport’s ball diff is equipped with hardened-steel diff balls instead of tungsten-carbide diff balls, and a diff spring replaces the stacked bevel washers found inside the Triple-XNT diff. This change was made for easier assembly and maintenance and doesn’t seem to have affected the diff’s performance.

Like the Triple-XNT’s, the Sport’s disc-brake mechanism is mounted on the same shaft as the idler gear. The fiber-composite rotor floats on a molded brake hub that’s mounted on the idler shaft on the left side of the transmission case. The hub has a lobed shape to more evenly distribute loads on the brake rotor, and this should extend rotor life. A long steel brake lever actuates the aluminum brake calipers to put the pinch on the brake rotor.

Damping is handled by aluminum-body, hard-anodized shocks that are identical to Losi’s Hard Body shocks. The shocks feature bottom-loading shock cartridges with internal seals and molded shock pistons. All four shocks are equipped with orange springs, which are a good spring rate for most track use.

The Sport’s dual-bellcrank steering system incorporates an adjustable servo-saver and features Losi’s “advanced geometry design” (AGD), which has the bellcranks mounted at the same angle as the steering blocks to improve the steering geometry and eliminate bump-steer. Steel turnbuckles are included to allow front and rear camber and front toe-in/out adjustment, but they aren’t the same turnbuckles as the kit XNT’s; they’re actually better, with more robust flats that are wider, easier to turn and less likely to strip.

Left: The Sport’s 4.11:1 tranny makes it possible to use a much smaller spur gear for a given final drive ratio, with the benefits of a lower overall CG and superlative slipper clutch performance.	Right: Losi didn’t skimp on the exhaust system; the pipe and manifold are black-anodized aluminum with an etched logo for bonus style points.

The Sport includes a complete set of bright yellow, one-piece dish wheels, tires and inserts. The ribbed front and step pin with square-lug rear tires are not official Team Losi rubber but are molded of a semi-soft material for longer wear. To get you running in a hurry, the tires arrive bonded to the wheels. The Sport also includes shielded ball bearings for the front wheels and rear axles to provide smooth, hassle-free running.

Rating the Triple-XNT Sport
I'm impressed! The Sport truck handles excellently. That really isn't surprising when you consider that it's a clone of the national championship-winning Triple-XNT kit truck. Team Losi has put together an excellent RTR truck that is easy for beginners to get rolling yet has performance that even hardcore racers will appreciate. The Sport arrives professionally assembled, includes a powerful and reliable engine and a full-feature computer radio and covers it all with a factory-painted, clear-window body; all in all, one of the best RTR values in RC.

What you get and what you'll need
The Sport comes with a complete Triple-XNT instruction manual as well as a “Getting Started” guide, engine break-in and tuning instructions and a “Troubleshooting” section. The only thing left for you to do after you open the box is to mount the antenna tube on the chassis and install transmitter and receiver batteries (not included). To get your Triple-XNT Sport running, you’ll need the following:

• 8 AA alkaline batteries for the transmitter.
• A 5-cell rechargeable receiver pack (Trinity makes a great one that’s custom-fit for the XNT), or 4 AA alkalines for the included receiver battery holder.
• A glow-starter to heat the engine’s glow plug for starting.
• A fuel bottle for easy, no-spill fueling; if you try to pour fuel into the Sport’s tank from a gallon jug, you’ll drown your truck and waste a lot of fuel.