got to ask
 

what is the hole for in the gearbox opposite the layshaft?

It is useful so you can oil the top shaft bearing (the fastest spinning and hardest working one in the grearbox) without taking the box apart, the other side can easliy be accessed when the slipper plate is off..

It also makes removing that bearing easier too which was its main purpose.......

It's also brilliant for the bearing to be able to ingest the maximum amount of dirt and crud when driving in dusty conditions.:p

A piece of tape over it gets rid of that problem...

Never thought about oiling the bearing...

Principal reason is EZ bearing removal. We use a rubber sealed bearing and running on all dusty U.SA. tracks have no issues.

copy that :D

Do you guys really have a problem with this? I've (obviously) used every variant of X6 transmission each of which has the hole and never had a single issue with a layshaft bearing. It's within the shell so there's surely not that much dust that gets about.

On grass or astroturf it isn't. It's when you drive on dusty clay-type stuff that dust works it's way into the transmission.

Not a major problem though as a piece of tape keeps everything out.

Yeah, agree there. Same with the X-5. Even though I've really tried to make the transmission dust proof you wouldn't believe how much dust gets into the belt, bearings and diffs. Whilst the XX4s drivetrain is totally tight and 100% free of dirt!

We're talking high-end RC cars here and IMHO things like this should be 100% perfect. My advise is to make a small rubber plug or insert a small screw in the hole. I also use tape but that's not very sexy ;)

just use a circular decal then, all the sex you need right there.

talking of high-end no-compromise performance, less weight from the lack of material where the hole is, adding a rubber plug would add weight, weight above the CoG too!

I think you will often find that high performance cars (RC or even full size) use some of the crudest methods availble to get the job done whilest saving weight.

looking at the inside of some FIA GT cars its such a mish mash of wires, some taped up and whatnot.

Does it work - Answer: Yes
Does it look pretty - Answer: Does it matter?

I know some guys think the same way about women. I'm not one of them :lol:

Good looks never hurts! ;)

If I was given the option to race a world-beating car that used gaffer tape to hold it together or a car that was slower because compromise was made to make it look pretty I know which one I'd like to race.

its not to say that a car can't look good and go good too, Durango appears to be a good example of that. but im not afraid of some dremel or tape work in search of performance.

I'm the guy who put that hole in -- nobody else on the design team had thought of it. I was tired of wrecking perfectly good bearings trying to get them out of "normal" tranny cases. Had to stick a screw driver inside the inner race and work the bearing up out of the case -- ugly. Bearing in a blind hole is always a bad idea.

Up here in northern Ohio we run all summer on dusty clay outdoor tracks. Tracks so dusty we put water on them frequently, often every 5 minutes after every race. We have literally never had an issue with dust in an X - 6 transmission.

B.T.W., I'm not criticising -- I assume what you are saying is true. Amazing to me.

Are track regularly has dust twisters roam over it in summer, the dirt is like baby powder and we don't water, so by the end of the day everything(!) is covered in dust. One of the reasons we are going astroturf this year.

Prising bearings out with a screwdriver is really ugly :D I always use the top layshaft to get the bearings out. you only need a bit of a wiggle and out they come.

Lots of discussion about a tiny hole :woot: