agh!!! lol... I fixed all the other pages and forgot the index.html

thanks chris! ;) vicky was beta testing !! :p

Great review Jimmy, nice and clear.

Spot on mate

Very clear and objective.

I have to agree it is a shame the instructions and some components ie ball joints and front driveshafts haven't been upgraded for the re-release. But hey changing parts would hike up the cost of the kit for little gain and being cheaper than what i paid for a xx4 some 9 years ago i aint complaining.

Thanks for this great review!

Very fair and objektive again I think, so you have to go for the longer or shorter
wheelbase? how much is it btw? Did I overread it?

Greets,
Micha

Nice work, Jimmy. It sounds like many people have had parts missing or unusable in their newly re-released kits. The QC for Losi isn't very good, these days. I'm still waiting to find replacement parts that were missing in the main diff/thrust assembly.

It's too bad there isn't a US option for the outdrive savers. Maybe Chris will sell me a bulk load of them and I can be his US distributor. ;)


d

Im sure he would mate, give him an email [email protected]

Thanks for the kind comments.
I thought it was quite well done, the shock tower with the missing holes was really odd though

I saw Stuart (can't remember his last name, Dammo's mate) fit a replacement at York reg that had no holes for the wing mounts at all!

Shocking! haha
:p

Weird how no one noticed and they sell loads of them with the same flaw ? I have 2 of them myself, I at least have some holes tho! ooer.

ApexSpeed, I swore I saw the same outdrive savers Jimmy used in his review for sale on ebay. They were listed from somewhere in the UK, so I just assumed they were from the same manufacturer Jimmy was using. I'll check later to see if I can find them.

Jimmy, once again you've written up an excellent review. You have quickly become my favorite R/C magazine! Seriously, I've longed for the days that r/c mags would just write ONE REVIEW that was honest and objective! Too bad its gotta come out of your own pocket, but I guess that's what it takes to get an honest review.

Few things I thought were worth mentioning:
1. The 'graphite' or plastic wrench included in each losi kit is usually pretty good for the wheels. I have three losi kits and those wrenches never give me problems.... for the wheels. The 1/4" size strips out quite easily and won't work very well for the 1/4" nut on the top of the shocks or front wheels on a 2WD buggy. I suggest just buying Dynamite's 5-piece nut driver set. It's only 15$ here in the states so I figure it would be some comparable price in the UK. The setup you have for your wheels on the XX4 right now should be the 3/8" size. The CVD setup should be 11/32". All these sizes are included in that set. I know its a pain to own two different sets of wrenches and nut drivers (I know, I feel the same way), but there's no changing it anytime soon. I wish everything here was just metric. It'd make things a lot easier. :)

2. I'm amazed you were given UJs in your kit! The new released kits over here are packed with doggies (or so I'm told)! It's mentioned on the 4wdrc.com site and other friends of mine that have picked up the new re-released kits..... hmmm... Maybe they meant 'UJs' when they said dog bones? I'll have to check. When I originally heard dogbones I thought they meant the old sliders (like what is on the rear of the ZX-5). Anyways, I just thought of that when I was reading your review. If the kits over here are packed with the UJs, I don't understand why people would complain using them over CVDs.

3. Taper pins are the bomb! lol. :) Hopefully sometime in your life you'll get an opportunity to run on a track where Losi taper pins are useful..... much the same as I hope to run a track someday where I get to use Schumacher mini spikes. We don't even have those for sale over here in the states. I've never seen them. Just curious, does Schumacher make them for the front too or are you guys cutting and gluing rear ones to fit the front? Also, what other tires do you guys use on your tracks? Does Schumacher make a wide variety of other tires?

Chris (the same person)was selling the outdrive savers on EBay recently. They will be the same ones.

G

Hi bluesfan

Thanks for the kind comments like, makes it worthwhile.

There is a plastic nut wrench ? I didnt have one in my kit, unless I somehow missed it, and I did look. Thats a shame If I missed out on that as I ended up using pliars and scratching the nuts and rims..

I dont know why, but people call UJ's dogbones ? a dogbone is a single bone shaped shaft which floats between the outdrive and axle (like on the back of the zx5 like you say)..
The XX4 comes with UJ's, I think people are just confused when they say dogbone.
Shame it didnt come with the new LCD shafts really, if they are better.

hehe, to be fair with the tyres im sure they are good over there, I just cant imagine where anyone would use them over here, but yes, would love to race on more dirt tracks, cars look ace in photos on dirt also. The schumacher mini spikes are available in 4wd front yes. Outdoors at most tracks mini spikes are the only tyre to use, they work well on most surfaces with the occasional bit of spike-clipping to tame them down.

Oh, and yet, the out drive savers on ebay are being sold by chris long.

jimmy

There is someone selling a truckload of them in titanium on eBay, too... and a painful $48 a pair.

:o

blimey!! wonder if they are old stock ? I had some Ti ones on my old XXX, very posh they were.
$48 tho! mad.

Yeah, it looks like the guy bought up some old hobby shop stock. He has 22 pairs to sell... at $48 a pair, he might be selling those for a LONG time. Gotta love people who are trying to get rich off of eBay.

Im guessing he saw some maniac pay that much once, so thinks everyone will pay it!?
If they are that necesarry though, I cant understand why they aren't included.

Jimmy, when I get home from work this evening I'll take a pic of the Losi plastic wrench. Hopefully for the time being it isn't too difficult for you all to find US standard size nut drivers over there. I can't imagine trying to install those wheel nuts with pliers!

Secondly, I have a small request of you: If I recall you mentioned one of the updates to the re-released kits are new, stronger belts? If so, could you post the part #'s for them if they are listed in the manual? My friends that have the new re-released kits will not be racing this weekend and another friend of mine just bought a used 'old' XX4 with the older belts. He obviously would like to get the new ones so as to avoid opening that tunnel as little as possible.

Anyways, I look forward to your racing review of the buggy. I'm curious how you think it handles compared to the ZX-5. I'm also curious how you think the buggy handles once installing the new LCDs.

He had 22 of them, now hes down to 15.

Ugh. That's sick. :( :eek:

OH! I almost forgot to mention something else about your review. You mentioned something that I swear no one else has ever noticed except for you and I about Losi kits.... well, at least I never hear anyone else complain about this: Why, oh why doesn't Losi include a turnbuckle wrench that actually fits the turnbuckles?! At one point, Losi did make a turnbuckle wrench that fit, but they don't include it in the kits anymore. I've got one. It sez 'Team Losi Performance' down the side. I'll snap a pic of that too tonight. Also, the turnbuckles included are in fact Lunsford.... but Lunsford isn't too proud of 'em. Losi asked Lunsford to make them to Losi's specs. That is why if they bend Lunsford won't replace them under any sort of warranty. If you try to, they send you a letter that tells you Losi asked them to make them to a certain specification that Lunsford didn't approve, so that's why they bend so easily.

Lastly, I used to think the Losi UJs on the rear were difficult to put together as well, but I have a certain way that makes it a lot easier. First connect the ball joint to the axle. Next, screw the yoke to the drive bone. Take some needle nose pliers and pry up one end of the yoke while pushing one end of the pin (on the ball joint connected to the axle) into the other side of the yoke 'not' being pryed up. While keeping the yoke 'pryed up' angle the axle towards the pryed up end and push. It'll snap right in. Sorry if this sounds awkward, but I couldn't think of any other way to say it. Maybe I should make one of those short vids Jimmy puts in his reviews. :)

The biggest problem with the turnbuckles is losi have had the pitch of the thread increased meaning they have a tendancy to be ripped out of the ball joints.

I have to agree about the losi QC it hes got worse in the last few years i now have a nice selection of 2 hole losi pistons ons even one without holes from this kit.

how many people are having problems with the front wishbones snapping at the wheel end have 1 broken and 2 cracked.

Nice catch. The stock t-buckles are standard 5-40 threads, and the Lunsford t-buckles are metric, IIRC.


Funny, I am chasing down an odd problem I am having with the car surging and shutting down on hard launches from a dead stop, and while I was running around the basement last night, I tore the right front corner off in a test of Newton's first law of physics with the couch. :mad: I just ordered a couple packs of front A-arms about 10 minutes ago.

They are a bit frail, in my opinion. Then again, I don't think many parts would have won in the car vs. couch confrontation.

Jim, yet another great reveiw.

Sweet paint job, your colour blends around the cockpit are ace.... want a source for cheap Faskolor??

Cheers steve!
And yes, I do want a cheap source of faskolor! :) I do need a bigger range of colours like.

Makes the QC of the Pred sound good guys! :)

Jimmy, check the arts & crafts stores for Creatix brand water-based paints. Creatix paints are re-labled and sold for more money as "special" R/C paints as Parma FasKolor. Same exact paint, all of the colors.

Also, when you find the art store, you can also find those same little plastic bottles for paint, empty (and they are cheap, too). I use them for mixing new colors and creating new hues.



doug

I want my free plastic wheel nut wrench !! :(

Cant find Createx over here, I asked at a shop that had some in a kit with an airbrush and they reckoned it wasnt imported any more.. :(
I got some in canada on my honeymoon, good stuff.. wish i had got more.

not been able to find any suitable pots / bottles for mixed paints either yet..

Jim, PM me and I will give yo ua link for sealed jars and for createx, you can get the same size bottle for about £1.50 cheaper than Faskolor, and twice as much for about £1.50 more, plus there is lighteners and all sorts of stuff.

Added a few big photos to the XX4 Review (in a seperate gallery linked from the review). Shame it was a dull overcast day!

Think they only come in the truck kits so you will have to review one of those to get your plastic wheel nut wrench:)

ah I dont feel so bad now!.. need to buy some nut drivers anyway, all I have is the AE plastic ones and a couple of tamiya jobs! :D

Hey Jimmy how did you get your servo horn's so white cause they are normally a dirty yellow white color.

Drove the XX4 in anger yesterday, I was surprised how much steering it had, (cells forward), once I got used to the car it was really quick. I was on the wrong tyres but the car was easy to drive fast- felt a bit distant, not sure how to describe it but even though it was going over the bumps and where I pointed it, it was almost driving its self, the zx5 was a lot more direct and felt like it needed a lot more 'driving'.
A rear belt broke, not sure if this was slipper tension or just an old belt (this was my other XX4, older worlds edition).


Looking forward to driving it again, apart from the old belt breaking, the car held up well, I was sure I would need a one way in the front but it felt good with just the clicker.

How heavy did you have the clicker/slipper, Jimmy?

I've been patiently waiting for the announcement that DCRacing has released their front one-way, but it never comes. :(

It was quite tight, but still had a decent one way effect. The car had plenty of steering and was fast without a one way diff.
I would like to try it with a one way diff but the front drive shafts need upgrading so its an expensive proposition.

Why not just use the Losi one way? It fits without modification and if you build them correctly, I have found them more than up to the job. I'd be happy to let you know how I build mine. Plus they are cheaper to buy [if you know where to shop ;) ]

Yeah, I built the car with CVDs up front planning ahead, so that's one thing I don't need.

I've thought about the Losi one-way, but the prices that I have found were less than good with the kind of reputation they have for breaking. I haven't heard a lot of good things about the sturdiness of the Losi part, at all. What are you doing differently, Oscar?

Basically what i have found , is the reason the Losi 1-way fails is due to the outdrive cup moving partially out of the one way roller bearing (which is quite small). If you can prevent this they should run fine.
The way I run mine is, firstly glue the alu saver rings in place on the outdrive cups. Secondly (possibly most important) grind down the pins on the driveshafts until they pass easily under the saver rings at all levels of suspension travel. Thirdly take a scalpel (or xacto knife or similar) to all the plastic faces which come into contact with a bearing including the outdrive cup. By scribing a cross hatch pattern or similar to all the surfaces, this will effectively raise some of the material slightly and make everything a tight push fit.
Should the worst still happen (possibly after a heavy collision) rather than replace the whole "diff" half at a cost of $27, simply dissasemble and push out the one way roller. This small bearing can be purchased quite cheaply from any good bearing supplier (approx £4 localy here).
I would post some pictures to illustrate this, but Jimmy has my 1-way at the moment for an upcoming review. If this description is not easy to understand let me know, and I'll see if I can arrange some photo's.

a pictoral version of the 'scoring' method

http://www.doughtyuk.net/index.php?pid=13

I wish I'd known Chris, you could have saved me all that typing........... ;)