Is the AE B4 still competitive?

[emtee]

I've started doing off road after TC's n minis... I feel I'm struggling a bit to get the B4 competitive... I feel like I'm still using TC driving style, opposite flicks, drifting the back end, drag brake etc... More importantly I'm struggling for pace... Granted Ive been indoors with it, but maybe it is the B4 chassis that lets me down.? What do you guys think?

[Aire valley]

There is nothing wrong with the B4....sounds more like your driving style as it needs to be driven smoothly.....
A good example is Adam Clark a regular. A finalist at Batley and York with an old B4 and nimh, batteries powering a brushed motor..!

[Adam F]

I don't think the B4 will do you any favours indoors, the recent crop of "high grip" cars will put you at a disadvantage, unless you are some sort of superstar you may be better off either converting it or swapping to something more modern..

[sosidge]

I don't think a driving style of flicking the back end out or using drag brake is very effective in TC in the first place! Smooth is fast every time.

Buggies are a very different driving style, if anything flicking the tail out is more common in buggies than in TC, off-road is more about pivoting the car in the corners and lining it up straight for the bumps and jumps whereas TC is about carrying speed through the apex and a flowing line between the corners.

So maybe turn the aggression down a notch in your driving and focus on being neat - it REALLY pays off in off-road.

I've just come back to indoor 2wd buggy after almost 5 years away, still using a B4, I have a setup from before that I am more or less happy with, and after a new set of tyres and a couple of race meetings I am lapping about a second off the pace - which is not so bad considering I was a second off the pace when far more people were running B4's.

[Dudders]

Originally Posted by emtee

I've started doing off road after TC's n minis... I feel I'm struggling a bit to get the B4 competitive... I feel like I'm still using TC driving style, opposite flicks, drifting the back end, drag brake etc... More importantly I'm struggling for pace... Granted Ive been indoors with it, but maybe it is the B4 chassis that lets me down.? What do you guys think?

No, forward or mid motor.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by x313

I don't think the B4 will do you any favours indoors, the recent crop of "high grip" cars will put you at a disadvantage, unless you are some sort of superstar you may be better off either converting it or swapping to something more modern..

There are often 2 viewpoints, and on this occasion mine is opposite to yours

I know the tracks Martin has been racing on and the grip (certainly at one venue) is far from high. Its more polished floor up here than carpeted surfaces
To this end the B4 as a rear motored car could well be considered an advantage!

The age of the chassis isn't everything, more so to the average club driver not trying to extract the last tenth from the car. The point was highlighted at one of our Xmas events when a decent driver (F1 licence holder) ran a 20 yr old RC10 gold tub in the vintage class. He was consistently lapping within 1 second of the pace he ran with a fully modern 2wd!
I too still from time to time dig out the original oOple X5 review car from what maybe 2006?? I can genuinely say I am still on the pace with this compared to the times I could potentially run with the latest 4wd

Martin, If you genuinely believe its the car (rather than just finding the sweet setup which suits you) feel free to borrow mine or Jon's car for a heat to feel if there is a difference?

[dodgydiy]

you can make most cars feel good to drive, mess with setups on the b4 and make it feel nice and easy to drive and you will go quicker. unless you are good enough to push the limits the b4 will be a good car for you. if you have been driving tc then driving a 2wd may take a while to get used to, you may well have to alter your driving style quite a bit, watch how other people handle them, i personally think throttle control is the key! i have both 2wd mid and a b4, i am quicker with the mid though as i can be more consistent with it, but can lap just as fast with the b4

[emtee]

Originally Posted by Oscar

The age of the chassis isn't everything, more so to the average club driver not trying to extract the last tenth from the car.

Originally Posted by dodgydiy

you can make most cars feel good to drive, mess with setups on the b4 and make it feel nice and easy to drive and you will go quicker.

Thanks for all your input guys I was kinda hoping the consensus would be that the B4 is Aok n I should stick with it! I will persevere and crack on with getting the set up to suit me and not the other way round... I've tried a few things such as anti squat setting(now 0 degrees) damper oil and springs, Now AE black up front and green at the back.. 30degree caster blocks along with swapping out the inline steering arms.. Hopefully I'm getting there, now I just need to keep it between the markers n I'll be good to go! Lol...