K1 or B44.2 or XB4
 

Moving from 2WD Short Course to 4WD buggy and have so much choice when it comes to 4WD buggy's.

So what are people's thoughs over these 3 cars? OR is their another car which I should consider?

K1 or B44.2 or XB4???????

My (now local) hobby shop 'Steve Webbs' in Frodsham recommends the K1 but he is a Schumacher team driver so maybe a little biased.

But my thoughts are leaning towards the K1 as spares would be easy to get from the my local shop and also advice would be readily available.

What does everyone think is my best option?

the K1 seems to be a fantastic car and is really quick.
I have built an sx3 and if the build quality of the K1 is anything like that it would be an absolute pleasure to build.

I have an XB4 and can honestly say its even better than the SX3 in terms of build. and the car itself is superb. it has everything in the box that you need and the upgrade kit that comes with the car makes it fairly bullet proof. The carbon on the shock towers isnt as thick as that on the K1 but when racing a few weeks back both myself and a K1 driver had an crash in the same part of the track, he smashed the front top diff housing and my xb4 appeared to be fine. after several more crashes in the same spot i thought my car was bomb proof, after getting home i realised the front shock tower was cracked, but thanks to the alloy plate that comes free with the kit my tower held together, and is still going strong despite several more crashes. the xb4 also has everything you need out the box.

The biggest thing though is price of parts. the XB4 is fairly pricey for parts and can be a bit more "twitchy" in terms of setup. if you over tighten the slipper you can strip the diff gears as its a geared diff with composite gears.

Both are very good cars though and as much as I'd like to say get the XB4, if nobody else is running one at your local, then go with the K1.
the help and advise from others is invaluable

I think these days most cars are very competitive on the track, I think like you said it comes down to what others are running locally for help and advice. The XB4 does look like a good option, I used to have a Xray T1 touring car which I loved but when Schumacher released the MI2 and then 3 the old Xray just could not compete.

The k1 would benfit from some upgradesout the box to improve it.
Bando belts. Alloy gear box uppers front and rear. Alloy yokes and pivot blocks.
All of which will be old sx parts so will add purple to the car which puts some people off

I personally love the Schumacher purple bling, but will these added upgrades actually improve the cars handling in any way noticeable to a intermediate (at best) level driver?

The alloy gearbox uppers will strengthen the car quite a bit.
The yokes and pivot blocks also add strength and performance options. Not sure how much difference you'll notice

Meanwhile the xray is super strong and doesn't need any upgrades to make it work. There was an issue with the front gearbox/bulkhead and they released a free upgrade package, which now comes with the kits to fix the issues. I'm still running my original gears, even though they issued revised parts. Issues were mostly US based, running on clay or carpet, with the slipper far too tight.

On the slippy indoor tracks, the new Ralls Racing rear shock tower helps, along with some under-Lipo weight. Other than that, its bulletproof out the box. The car is supergood on the astro outdoors.

Some spares are a little pricier over other brands, but you simply don't break parts like you do with the Schumacher or B44 from wishbones or shock shafts, so its not an issue.

I don't race 1:10th 4WD but personally I would go with a DEX410, if not then out of the three you suggested probably the Associated, just because they have been on the 10th scene longer than Xray, and the Schumacher is belt drive which puts me off.

XB4
 

I had the K1, great car easy for spares etc. But was not as nice to drive everywhere like the sx3 i also had was.

Not a fan of the B44..

I now have an xb4, love it. you can remove the fronbt drive shafts and run it in 2wd so its a multi class car if needed as well.

the spares are slightly more than schumacher yes, but you can buy wishbones as individual sides etc so you dont end up with loads of one side etc. The XB4 works from the box as mentioned and no upgrades needed. except for the propshaft cover. thats a weak point but only £8 for a pair to replace the plastic ones.

I would say go XB4. quality and no upgraded parts needed to make it run great. a few setup changes and your good to go.

So from what most people are saying then is that the K1 is a superb car however the Xray XB4 is better again!?

My only issue with this is parts availability in the UK. Where do people suggest I can purchase one with spares? Ideally some where that can take Paypal as I have money sat in their waiting to be spent.

Speak to Ross and Bally at MB Models, everything you could need in stock, and they take PayPal payments too.
http://www.rccarshop.co.uk

XB4 all day long, very simple but effective design and works straight from the box, very predictable car to drive, plus everything included with the car so no extras to buy!

Are they not all belt drive???????

ae is not belt driven at all m8

the only belt driven buggys there is the shuey ..

Tamiya TRF511 too.

I went for the K1 and so far really happy with it, very easy to drive (not far from the 511).
After a few months of use, I found it very reliable compare to the SX3, lots of details have been reworked nicely.

I'm especially floored by the way the car handles corners, very flat with almost no roll. Could be due to the optional front driveshafts but the overall package is very nice.

XB4 is very well conceived and quite easy to drive compare to a B44 for example.

So K1 for me.

yeah , i meant the ones mentioned above :thumbsup:

I think based on what everyone has said the XB4 would be the best option however the K1 is still a comparable car plus however it is supported with spares available from my local hobby shop.

Thanks for all the responses as I have been really torn between the K1 and XB4 changing my mind from one second to the next.

Cheers guys!

You won't be disappointed by either, both are great cars, quite easy to drive and reliable from what I've seen on tracks.

Just a matter of design and aesthetic choices.