OFNA dominator a leaner, meaner monster

Radio Control Car Action, Jul 2002 by Onorato, Paul

OFNA didn't Invent the "buggy monster" (Kyosho was first with the Nitro USA-1), but thanks to its Monster Blazer and Monster Pirate, OFNA has become a serious source for buggy-based monster trucks. The recipe of massive tires, a capable 1/8-scale buggy chassis and .21 power has served OFNA well and appeals to a lot of truck enthusiasts. But we all know what the newest rage is: the Traxxas T-Maxx and trucks like it.

Lighter and more agile, this new breed of monster machines sport smaller engines yet deliver equal or better performance than the giant-tire, old school trucks. OFNA's answer to this new breed is the Dominator; it's a machine that combines the best traits of the Monster Pirate with lighter, low-profile rubber, some choice chassis and drive-train tweaks and a gorgeous, now factory-painted body. It looks leaner and meaner than any previous OFNA monster. Let's see whether it drives as great as It looks.

DOMINATOR

FEATURES

The Dominator looks all new, but there's still plenty of Pirate in the truck That's a good thing; the Monster Pirate Is a well-proven truck, and many Items from OFNA's deep pool of upgrades can be bolted onto the new truck. Here's what's new to the Dominator and what's off-the-shelf from the Pirate.

NEW DOMINATOR

FEATURES

1 SUPPER CLUTCH. OFNA wisely speed an adjustable slipper clutch for the Dominator. Mounted on the spur gear to spare the driveline parts from extreme peak stresses, It softens the jolts from high-traction launches, throttle-on landings and high-speed runs on rough terrain.

2 BUMPERS AND SKIDPLATES, Chrome-plated front and rear bumpers mounted to the shock towers with beefy plastic standoffs add style, and thick, plastic skidplates protect the chassis and allow the truck to just skip off raised obstacles Instead of being stopped by them.

3 SHOCKS AND SWAYBARS. The addition of front and rear swaybars and new larger-- volume shocks increases the Dominator's bump-handling capability. Soft silicone boots shield the shafts from dirt.

4 BODY, WHEELS AND TIRES. OFNA gets high marks for the Dominator's good-looking, pickup truck body that sports a red-to-white fade paint job and a chrome-plated roll bar and side-view mirrors. This body Is a keeper.

New, light, low-profile wheels and tires found their way onto the Dominator and significantly add to Its updated appearance.

5 NEW CHASSIS BRACES, On the Pirate, to reduce chassis flex, OFNA used two braces made of threaded steel rods and heavy-duty ball ends: one between the rear shock tower and center bulkhead and another from the bulkhead to the front gearbox support. The Dominator has a similar design but varies It with a longer front brace that's mounted directly on the front shock tower.

RETURNING MONSTER

PIRATE FEATURES

6 GALUMINUM CHASSIS. A 3mm-thick, blue-- anodized chassis plate makes Its return as the Dominator's backbone. Channeled plate sides make It an extremely rigid platform.

7 SUSPENSION COMPONENTS. Upper links on both ends of the truck are adjustable, and the front units were designed for caster changes. The lower A-arms are made of thick plastic and are built with some forgivIng flex Instead of part-breaking rigidity.

8 DRIVE TRAIN. Robust drive components were transplanted from the Pirate to the Dominator. Dogbones receive the spin from a centrally located, steel spur gear and feed grease-filled planetary gear diffs. Up front, CV-joint front axles use dogbones to turn the rear wheels.

9 GNYPER .21 ENGINE. The huge, black 8-fln head cools the big .21 powerplant that features a rear-mounted pull-start, a 3-needle carb and true ABC piston-and-sleeve construction. The exhaust exits from the rear of the engine Into a large header with a big tuned pipe.

I DRIVE IT

To see just how well it steers in out-of-the-box trim, I took the Dominator for a quick jaunt with its standard steering servo. As expected, the servo strained to point the truck's wide tires, and only when it was up to speed could it manage wide, sweeping turns. I figured that any true trucker would quickly install a stronger steering servo, so that's what I did. Out came the factory-installed 94102, and in went an Airtronics 94358Z with 200 oz.-in. of torque. The Dominator attacked the track with new vigor and impressed me with its buggy-like handling.

The large-diameter rims and low-profile rubber make the Dominator far more responsive than the Monster Pirate ever was (or could be), and because of the reduction in rotating mass, it launched harder than any previous OFNA monster. The "Big D" quickly gets up to a top speed of 38mph and sounds as if it could go still faster with a taller gear-if that's your goal. As is, the truck has mounds of torque to flatten any hill or slog through grass and sand, and it's probably better left with its stock gearing.

Cruising rough terrain wasn't a problem. In addition to the noted acceleration improvements (thanks to the Dom's lighter rolling stock), OFNA's weight-loss program also improves suspension action. The lighter rubber can cycle up and down over bumps much more quickly, and that makes the truck feet far more in touch with terra firma.