X - 7 Gen 6.2
 

Ellis got his 6.2 last week, and got a few packs through it on May 27. He took 4th with it at E.P.R. yesterday, and pronounced the 6.2 greatly improved over the 5.1 he has been driving. And that's after taking third at Stotfold with the 5.1!

Paul took his 6.2 to Summit R/C in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on Saturday. It was a club race day and they did not have a 4WD class, but he ran several packs in the 6.2 and also says it's a big improvement, very close to a production car. Some new pix on our FB page, http://www.facebook.com/XFactoryRC

Nothing special about the pix, just wanted to show you we continue to work and make progress with this new car. We won't release it until we are sure it's right.

Hi Chazz,

Is it the final version of the X7 prototype? Are you going to make some changes /corrections at the 6.2 Version?

What's about the release date? Do you have an idea?

Greets - Daniel

We keep thinking that every one is final -- wouldn't make it otherwise. And we realize that engineering projects have a way of never being done, that there always can be improvement.

Ellis agrees the 6.2 is a significant improvement over the 5.1 that he has been running. It's very close to production. We moved some components around between the 5.1 and the 6.0, then moved them again in the 6.1, and changed a significant position for the 6.2. The 6.0 and 6.1 are C.A.D. only, they were never made. When we made the 6.2 we spent much time talking about how this car would be produced.

We now think we may have gone slightly too far and may have to come back a touch on one of the moves. We do expect to produce several more of what will be a 6.3 so more Team guys will have them for testing and set-up work. This will be done ASAP (Remember that the router is busily cutting SCX - 60CF stuff. Paul was at the shop until 10:30 tonight.) and we expect this last little bit to do it.

You'll know we think we're there when you see other Team guys with them beside Paul & Ellis.

Thank you for your response. So we can soon expect the first official pictures of the final version and a release date?

Have you actually taken over parts of other cars, such as parts of a B4 for the X6?

Ehm...Could I also get an X7 prototype to test? ;D Let me know if you looking for drivers in Luxemburg ;D

Sorry for the many questions, but I can not wait to see the new car...I'm looking forward to this new chassis :)

whats the x6 body?
http://www.facebook.com/XFactoryRC#!...type=1&theater

The "Galaxy" body by Team AJ.......

Durango, there are a few parts from other cars. We are using B4 diffs so The Family will only have to carry one set of those parts. And we plan now to sell the car with AE V2 shocks, so, again, fewer parts for The Family.

The rear hub carriers will probably be AE parts too, same as the X - 6, and the front hub carriers & spindles will be from another car, probably not AE. Other than those items, it will be all X Factory. The Kit will include all those parts; no more Conversions.

any date at all yet:thumbsup:

trekkker

Hi Chazz, good idea keeping the most maintenance-intensive parts (diffs and shocks) compatible with the X6. Will it be possible to fit gear diffs though? The DEX410 showed it could be at least as fast as ball diffs.

@trek: No firm date yet. We are trying for late this fall, but we are notorious for missing those kinds of dates. More likely next spring. Let's put it this way: As soon as we possibly can!

@Kick: We have done no testing with a gear diff, and do not plan to. The AE ball diff is a good, proven unit. One thing is, which outdrives to use? Go with the original ones that fit the B4 and X - 6, or with the newer B4.1 metric ones?

If you were to use B4.1 metric ones one could probably fit a B4.1 gear diff in there if they wanted, more options for the end user even though you are not going to test it yourselves?

Of course you would lose compatibility with X-6 as far as the outdrives go, but maybe it does not matter?

And the metric ones might be more futureproof as far as parts availability goes?

I think the cross compatablity here with the X6/60/SCX60 range is crucial to the design concept and to make cross over of parts as easy as possible.

Dont worry too much about availability, since I am sure in time X-Factory are going to be getting their own high quality outdrives made just as they have with slipper plates, CVD's, axles and the top shaft already. If AE ones dry up in supply then this will just be sooner than expected....

Darren, how do you know what we are thinking??? Have you been sneaking around our shop at night???

ROFLMAO

Too bad for the gear diff, from what I hear at the track it's a real deal-breaker for some. We run on a high-grip carpet track that's rough on the ball diffs, and it's a pain to rebuild often. Even if you don't do extensive tests, that would be great if it could fit, even with a bit of modding.

Also, symmetric X6 rear triangles were a good idea (can be used for left or right). It would be nice if X7 ones were too.

Anyway, thanks for making great cars. I started RC one year ago with a X6², I don't regret it one bit :thumbsup:

And he's FAST.

Why thanks Tom, I hope I'll be this week-end :blush:

This is true for me, after 2 1/2 years with a Durango I won't go near another ball diff.

None of the top drivers uses the gear diff -- there must be a reason.

If we go to the metric outdrives, it will be because they are current production and we want to stay current.

We understand the gear diff is slightly wider than the ball, and that's the big reason why it will not fit in the 4-Gear transmission. The X - 7 will use the same pivot width as the 6, so even if we use the metric outdrives I doubt the gear diff will fit.

The car should be all metric. Just my opinion.

Not so sure about that, it goes against compatibility with X6/B4. And I'm from EU where it's a pain to find anything imperial.

This may be true, but there are way more Average Joes than top drivers...
I ran nothing but SCTs with gear diffs for the past three years, and they're very convenient. Now, I am back to 2WD with a Yokomo B-Max2. Although I'd love a gear diff inside, especially after trying a Losi 22 RTR last week, there probably won't be a gear diff option for the buggy ever. If I hadn't been a Yokomo fanboy, I'd probably bought another (metric) car. European X-Factory fans will probably get the X-7 with or without gear diffs, less biased drivers might look somewhere else.

In your position, I'd go for the metric outdrives and consider the work-in-progress AE big bore shocks (really love the big bores in my B-Max2). Guys always want the latest stuff.

On what ground was the X7 actually tested? Ran the chassis generally well?

Whether or not metric, it does not matter for me... Xfactory must own. I am convinced that in any case Xfactory will make the right choice and ensure that everything will be available in parts :)

Really? cos I've looked through some of the newer 410 set-up sheets of Hupo and he is quoting diff fluid, so unless he is using diff fluid instead of grease on his balls, sounds like he still has a gear diff in it.

Plus, where is the ball diff option for the 410? people thought there was one coming 2 years ago, not been seen yet;)

It's a shame your not going the gear diff route with the new 4wd Chazz, as it's probably the only 4wd about/coming that might've made me move away from the Durango, not that I want to change.

I really think that all manufacturers now should make their cars with the option of ball or gear diffs. Let each driver test and choose for himself. C'mon it's 2012 now ;)

I live in the US where imperial is common and find that most cars that use imperial hardware usually requires a greater number of tools to carry and have on the bench than cars built with metric hardware. With Losi/TLR (22 series) & Associated (RC8 series) moving their newer kits to metric I think it's time to bite the bullet and change.

This past winter I ran in a series of races that Paul attended. It's been fun to watch him work through the R&D process. My opinion the car will retain the bump handling the XX-4 and then X-5 was known for and will develop more grip and corner speed than it's predecessors.

The Durango uses a gear diff. AE has one in their SC10, and the team drivers routinely take it out and put a ball diff in. AE tried the gear diff for what they were calling the B5 and abandoned it after much money, time, and effort, instead bringing out the B4.1. There must be a reason.

We will make as many parts on the X - 7 as possible. It will not be a Conversion Kit. As with the X - 6 Squared Entire Car, you will get everything except electronics, wheels & tires, and lubricants. The parts we do not produce in-house (or have made by subcontractors) will be purchased here in the U.S. Thus not Durango, and, since we have an existing supply source, probably AE. That maintains compatibility with our current cars. Thus, AE ball diff. Only question is which outdrives?

Darren posted above that we continue to make more and more parts ourselves, including parts that fit our cars and other cars too. Will we make the outdrives in the X - 7? Depends on pricing. We'll not make the Kit cost more just to make our own outdrives, or anything else for that matter.

For those with (or without) difficulty finding U.S. hardware, we make the Box 'O Bolts, which will likely end forever your search for the right fastener. A total of 156 fasteners in every style and common size all in one compartmentalized little box. Priced attractively and very cool indeed.

Chazz, you have answered previously about the production of the x7 and at what point it will go into production. At what point will you decide to release body off pictures of the car ?.

Good question!

I have a feeling Losi will finally release a new 4WD next year, which surely also will retain the fantastic XX4 bump handling. I think it would be wise to "hook" some XX4 lovers right away... :D

A few points, the B5 would have been 2wd, we're talking about a 4wd that will put a lot more stress through the tranny, a gear diff will take the abuse a lot better then balls.

The Losi 22 I had was way better after I fitted a gear diff, so a 2wd will work with one.

And since when would you chaps take what Associated think as gospel? after all you took they're B4 and improved it by turning it into the X6;)

I tried one and hated it, it leaked and the handling was horrid !
Put the ball diff back in a ha presto, a car that easy to drive !

Also tried the gear diff's in my Tamiya TRF511, bloody awful

IMHO

I agree that the team drivers of most of the major manufactures all use ball diff's except Rango's ( do they make a ball diff ? ).

Reason is ( again IMHO ) you can make it slip a little without taking the whole diff apart and changing oil !

The only reason for a gear diff is lack of maintence to RTR vehicle
Ball diff's are for racing !

Simples

Right on NightHawk. We make race cars. We assume no X-Car has ever been run in a back yard. We also make cars for experienced racers who, we assume, take pleasure as we do in working on/improving their cars. Sometimes assumptions kill, but that's who we are and what we do. We believe a person who races on Sunday and puts the car away until next Sunday probably does not own an X-Car. We have as much fun working on it Tuesday night as racing it on Sunday. TV? I gotta move my hubs back.

There are a number of physics/engineering principles on the X - 7 that we have seen nowhere else, so the official body-off shots will come shortly before the car is available. On the other hand, several months before release the car will be in the hands of several Team drivers, so those at the right track at the right time may get a look.

Those persons exist, and that's why they love the X-car. Simple setup changes transfer a high gip astro car to a low grip clay car.

Charge and race!

:thumbsup:

Having seen the car in action Xfactory's development of the car is spot on.. I can't wait to get my grubby paws on one..

This sums up what its like to race rc cars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpK2pdLj7Y0

The design of the X-7 is such that there is room for a gear diff, should we ever want to fit one.

all this talk about gear diff's haha
well i a big fan of gear diff's and hav been runnin my durango 4 3years now and think the gear diff is perfect but the drive train has no give and its always wearing drive shafts and out drives :confused: so i thing the x-7 should b balled diff's as i just dont think the idear of having a delt driven car with gear diff's.
but on the other side of things if they could b worked in 2 the car with out upseting anythin then people can choice and work out 4 them selfs
so just a thort 4 every1 b4 they get it in ther heads that gear diff's are the way 2 go in every car :thumbsup:

Good boy! :thumbsup:

So by using metric outdrives it would already be an option as a gear diff is available for b4.1. I really don't see why NOT to give that option. :)

X-7 looks quick, and has the right hardware for me.... namely X-6 compatability, belt drive, ball diffs.

I am 1 of them who only race my 2wd and 4wd buggies mainly on a sunday and also when our regionals are running.

I ran my X6 for the first time on sunday..........

Rd 1, brakes were too harsh and slipper set too tight and servo to slow

Rd 2,3+4 DNF due to esc problems

G Final (bottom, but would have finished a bit higher) finished 2nd and ended up lapping a few people but some way behind 1st place !!!

I never had time for any testing or setup changes other than adjust slipper and brakes on esc but couldnt beleive the big difference between my X6 and B4.......

Cant wait to race again indoor this sunday :thumbsup:

Maybe I came off as too harsh above. Didn't mean to , but maybe I did. Let me try to re-state it:

X Factory builds race cars. Some other companies build RTR cars meant as much for the back yard as for the race track, and they sell a ton of them. They sell more cars in a week than we do in a year, and it is tempting to change what we do so we can sell lots more cars; however, that's not who we are.

Paul and I are both all-or-nothing types, and we love racing, so we build race cars. We make only Kits because neither one of us wants to own an RTR. We want to build and modify the car ourselves. We eat, sleep, and breathe racing. Mom and Ceci have gotten used to us talking racing at Christmas.

But we DO want to have the whole world know the joy of doing what we do, so we work very hard to be certain the average club racer will, A) be faster driving an X-Car than any other, and B) X-Cars will be easy to work on so the average club racer can build a great race car and can repair it quickly when needed. Part of the "faster" is adjustability; we recognize this is a great advantage which paradoxically can cause difficulty for the average club racer who doesn't live and breathe this as we do.

To solve that problem we maintain a far-flung Race Team of drivers selected as much as anything else for their willingness and ability to help and work with others. We also work hard to be on forum boards and our FB page to communicate with you. All of us at X Factory love The Family -- it just feels right.

So please keep on racing Sundays, Dexter, and have a great time doing it -- you and those like you are a big part of The Family. Have a great time with your family, work, life the rest of the week and go get 'em on Sunday!