secondhand b max

[kitesurfer73]

Might be joining the b max clan soon moving over from x factory,
just wondering about a few things before i buy one,
Am looking at the champ pack.
How many of you have bought secondhand and cars been ok?
Can you buy the friont carbon shock tower easy is it available anywhere?
front wishbones sound fragile, is that due to the driver or is that a area that can be strenghtened?
The car am looking at has upgraded bearings and titanium screw set....
I have a friend on here and his car flys really well set up and not much out the box,car looks really planted and smooth not like some other makes i've seen cat/b44!!!!
Also were is best place to buy spares and i will need a shell as well?

look forward to reply's laterssssss mark.....

[CODMAN]

There car is very planted and jumps incredibly well (compared to my B44). I have it weighted down to 1800g, as was suggested by many competent guys on this forum. I just added about 70g of lead strips under the Lipos...

So far, I've broken 1 wishbone... After smashing full speed into a concrete block! Seriously, I've given it some decent hits so far (other than the block) and the wishbones have held up fine so far. I've found it tougher than my B44 for this. Obviously, wishbones are something that WILL break if you hit hard enough so definetly keep a few in stock. but they are quite tough in my experience...

Hope this helps a bit!

[kitesurfer73]

Originally Posted by CODMAN

There car is very planted and jumps incredibly well (compared to my B44). I have it weighted down to 1800g, as was suggested by many competent guys on this forum. I just added about 70g of lead strips under the Lipos...

So far, I've broken 1 wishbone... After smashing full speed into a concrete block! Seriously, I've given it some decent hits so far (other than the block) and the wishbones have held up fine so far. I've found it tougher than my B44 for this. Obviously, wishbones are something that WILL break if you hit hard enough so definetly keep a few in stock. but they are quite tough in my experience...

Hope this helps a bit!

Thanks helps alot,funny thing is the other car thaats on my list is b44 which i know parts are readily available everwhere,
Also no one seems to have issues with overheating but the guy i might be buying as holes everywhere so motor can breath,dont know if this is just a gearing promblem someone on here might know better....cheers

[CODMAN]

I saw one guy post pictures of holes drilled in the chassis to help the motor breathe. I don't know if this weakens the chassis or not, but it will let dust in (a big factor for my local track ). So far I've been running mine and temps are remaining below 140ºF, which is fine for the motor. The plastic under the motor gets a bit warm, but nothing disastrous I think... It's already plenty fast and I don't foresee my gearing it up to the 175ºF+ mark in the near future... So I don't think I'll be drilling holes anytime soon... Plus, I don't recall seing any of the sponsored racers drilling holes... SO why would I...

Just food for thought...

Originally Posted by kitesurfer73

Thanks helps alot,funny thing is the other car thaats on my list is b44 which i know parts are readily available everwhere,
Also no one seems to have issues with overheating but the guy i might be buying as holes everywhere so motor can breath,dont know if this is just a gearing promblem someone on here might know better....cheers

[Rob_B]

I've got the bmax 09 version ran it three times at southport happy with the car, All's i have broke is one wishbone and a front shock tower from big crashes. Just ordered some carbon towers easy to get hold of. Only problem's i have had is bending the screw on the shock towers that holds the shocks on but this isn't anythink major solved this by putting a spacer befor the nut goes on or shortning the thread of the screw, Also the cvd pin came out a couple of times this is proberbly due to not having locktite on them they came prebuilt in the kit and i just ran them, i would advise rebuilding them if you buy new. Gearing im running an 84 spur with a 21 pinion on 5.5 sp v3 no probs. Rob

[xtreme-rc]

hi
the b-max is a good car and spares are becoming easy to get hold of, we stock the 5mm carbon shock towers that are very hard to break, as well as all the wish-bones and drive-train parts. you will not find a better4wd for the price
ed
[email protected]
01304 374742

[kitesurfer73]

Have you all bought new?

just asking because my last car x6 was secondhand and need alot of rebuilding through the season,have money for stantand b max,and money also for hops as well or.....
get the b max champ and upgrade in the future when funds permit lol, what do you guys think...??
thanks for reply's.......

[grapejuice]

Originally Posted by kitesurfer73

Have you all bought new?

just asking because my last car x6 was secondhand and need alot of rebuilding through the season,have money for stantand b max,and money also for hops as well or.....
get the b max champ and upgrade in the future when funds permit lol, what do you guys think...??
thanks for reply's.......

Really matters who you are buying it from. I bought a secondhand bmax and it was nothing but a headache....cvd pins falling out, took forever to get the slipper to stay tight(biggest problem), shimming the diffs so that they didn't strip....got to the point that I didn't trust the car in races because I was waiting for something to happen.

If you buy one used, find out as much about the car as you can and rebuilt it when you get it....I just had bad luck because I've bought secondhand cars before that one and they have been fine.

[discostu]

hey kite surfer

my b max wasn't new as for your questions the carbon towers are ready availble xtream rc have them in stock if not we can get them to you pretty quick. as for the lower arms they are no weaker than any other car out there however the early ones had the mold spline mounted on the end which made this part weaker but they have now changed there mold so will be stronger the car is very easy to drive.

stu

[09 lex 250]

i bought mine new but all i can say is that the car is put together very well and is easy to work on! as far as the b44 goes.ive had nothing but bad luck with the diffs in that car.other than that it was a nice car to run but is very unpredictable.one round and the car is money and the next round the car is all over the place! i havent ran mine yet but i can tell you this much..the yokomo bmax looks and feels like its gonna be planted right out of the box.minor tweaking will probably be needed.but other than that..i think this car is way better than a b44.if your gonna pull the trigger and get one used..just download the manual and strip the whole thing down and rebuild it according to the manual and youll be fine.there are things in the yokomo manual that tells you what to do unlike the ae b44! ive seen 2 at m local track and 1 at the jconcepts clash and the car is extremely planted and handles like no other 4wd car i have ever seen except a tamiya 4wd but that car couldnt jump proper to save its life! good luck and keep us posted.you wont be disappointed with your purchase

[CODMAN]

Grape, I still can't believe all the trouble you've had with the Bmax... Mine, altough new, is just flawless! It's too bad. I fully understand that kind of thing can turn someone off of a car... It really is a great buggy and I couldn't be hapier. Too bad you didn't get the same quality experience out of yours!

Originally Posted by grapejuice

Really matters who you are buying it from. I bought a secondhand bmax and it was nothing but a headache....cvd pins falling out, took forever to get the slipper to stay tight(biggest problem), shimming the diffs so that they didn't strip....got to the point that I didn't trust the car in races because I was waiting for something to happen.

If you buy one used, find out as much about the car as you can and rebuilt it when you get it....I just had bad luck because I've bought secondhand cars before that one and they have been fine.

[grapejuice]

Originally Posted by CODMAN

Grape, I still can't believe all the trouble you've had with the Bmax... Mine, altough new, is just flawless! It's too bad. I fully understand that kind of thing can turn someone off of a car... It really is a great buggy and I couldn't be hapier. Too bad you didn't get the same quality experience out of yours!

Yeah, it sucked....really did like the car when it was working and could see the potential the car had, I would imagine a new one would be really good!

[fastinfastout]

Originally Posted by grapejuice

Really matters who you are buying it from. I bought a secondhand bmax and it was nothing but a headache....cvd pins falling out, took forever to get the slipper to stay tight(biggest problem), shimming the diffs so that they didn't strip....got to the point that I didn't trust the car in races because I was waiting for something to happen.

If you buy one used, find out as much about the car as you can and rebuilt it when you get it....I just had bad luck because I've bought secondhand cars before that one and they have been fine.

It doesnt matter if its a new car or a 2nd hand car. Seems alot of problems you are having is not just cos you bought a 2nd hand car. If you did the same things to a new car, than the problems will still arise.

Since its my ex car, I can give you a few tips.

1) cvd pins falling out
yes, they can fall out, but a little love and attention can prevent it. The cvd's come pre-built from the factory, and I think they were not built the best.
Pins will fall out of every car if preventative maintenance is not carried out. I've had pins fall out from AE, kyosho, losi, and im sure your getting the pattern here. Here is what I do from now on:
make a flat spot on the pin with a grinder/dremel where the grub screw will sit. This allows the grub screw to seat in more securely preventing the pin from moving. Using liquid thread lock on the grub screw, and finish off with heatshrink around the whole outside, and no pin is coming out in a hurry! It also helps if you have slightly longer pins.

2) never had a slipper problem, you just have to hold a 2mm allen key firmly in one of the slots when tightening the slipper. Most times I tighten the slipper when its out as its alot easier.

3) shimming the diff
Bmax's are not like any other shaft drive cars. They NEED to be shimmed tight, alot tighter compared to other shaft cars. Otherwise you will strip the bevel and drive gears. I stripped one in 1 race meeting due to me shimming according to what I thought was correct. This is the reason why bmax's run hotter compared to other cars. They are shimmed tight. Get some 0.1mm shims. Only you will know how tight you can get away with over time.

Have fun, and im still thinking about getting the factory kit after all this

[grapejuice]

Originally Posted by fastinfastout

It doesnt matter if its a new car or a 2nd hand car. Seems alot of problems you are having is not just cos you bought a 2nd hand car. If you did the same things to a new car, than the problems will still arise.

Since its my ex car, I can give you a few tips.

1) cvd pins falling out
yes, they can fall out, but a little love and attention can prevent it. The cvd's come pre-built from the factory, and I think they were not built the best.
Pins will fall out of every car if preventative maintenance is not carried out. I've had pins fall out from AE, kyosho, losi, and im sure your getting the pattern here. Here is what I do from now on:
make a flat spot on the pin with a grinder/dremel where the grub screw will sit. This allows the grub screw to seat in more securely preventing the pin from moving. Using liquid thread lock on the grub screw, and finish off with heatshrink around the whole outside, and no pin is coming out in a hurry! It also helps if you have slightly longer pins.

2) never had a slipper problem, you just have to hold a 2mm allen key firmly in one of the slots when tightening the slipper. Most times I tighten the slipper when its out as its alot easier.

3) shimming the diff
Bmax's are not like any other shaft drive cars. They NEED to be shimmed tight, alot tighter compared to other shaft cars. Otherwise you will strip the bevel and drive gears. I stripped one in 1 race meeting due to me shimming according to what I thought was correct. This is the reason why bmax's run hotter compared to other cars. They are shimmed tight. Get some 0.1mm shims. Only you will know how tight you can get away with over time.

Have fun, and im still thinking about getting the factory kit after all this

Oh I know and am by no means mad at you. I did do all that with the CVDs and it did work. As for the slipper, it was a combination of the adjustment nut/ring moving and the screw that holds the two halfs together that was giving me the issues. And yes the shimming was getting that spot where it wasn't too tight or too loose. I did get everything fixed and working...then the spur stripped for some weird reason....

Anyway....what I was getting at is regardless, when buying a secondhand car, first thing that should be done is to strip the car and rebuild it. Any racer knows that things can break or come loose or whatever at any time, so to be best prepared...rebuild first, unless the previous owner tells you they just went through the car.