Complaint Dept. Why I hate my XX-4 - Page 2

ashleyb4 · #21 24-10-2007

Undergearing is generally just as hard on the motor as its reving its bollocks off about 1 meter down the straight you need to get your gearing right as for getting dirt in i have never had a problem with getting dirt in the belt tunnel.

A

Lee · #22 24-10-2007

Gearing is a happy medium mate, there is an optimum ratio.

Dropping a tooth or ten in your case will only let the motor run cooler if its over geared, think of it as riding a bike, would you like to pedal along in 1st, with your legs going like hell but going no where fast. Thats what your motor was doing.

And i think changing a shaft is pretty easy, certainly no harder than changing a belt?

Tom3012 · #23 24-10-2007

i think people are forgetting though, isnt the xx4 like ancient compared to the new tamiya, B44 etc? yet its still up there with the latest and greates 4wds!

i dont own a xx4 but c'mon give the old timer a break!!

Richard Lowe · #24 24-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by anoolite76

He meant that it takes less time to change a belt than a driveshaft.

I can change a centre CVD bone in my BJ4 Worlds in less than two minutes I bet, oh wait I never have to because they don't break

Lee · #25 24-10-2007

Rich, you dont even change the setup anymore

niggs98 · #26 24-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Lowe

, oh wait I never have to because they don't break

ROFPMSL

Northy · #27 24-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by anoolite76

He meant that it takes less time to change a belt than a driveshaft.

Nah, I don't think thats what he meant. Fiddybux, what did you mean?

G

Fiddybux · #28 24-10-2007

I read somewhere that belts were faster than a solid shaft...but it appears that my point was somewhat unfounded.

I have since found information that counter both the pro belt and pro shaft arguments.

Truth is that both have pro's and con's and neither is better than the other overall.

bender · #29 25-10-2007

I currently run a Tamiya 501x but years ago I ran a XX4 for a season or two.

Now, racing in Australia in very dusty conditions makes maintenace a real pain, but to be honest I found the XX-4, when assembled correctly, could run for months without any maintenance at all

All of the drivetrain bearings are sealed, and therefore fairly well protected from dust at least, and I always found the the upper chassis tunnels sealed very well indeed.

I could comfortably run my car in these conditions for a few months at least without any reduced efficiency in the drivetrain. I felt this was one of the best features of the xx-4.

anoolite76 · #30 25-10-2007

Alrighty then, I must have major issues with the belt cover sealing correctly. I changed out the pulleys and the thing still skips. The power from the Novak 6.5 is probably plenty to get the car to do a wheelie, but it never will because the belt will skip before that happens.The bearing surfaces for the front and rear diff are very much exposed, and I am stunned that running it in Australia (a dust bowl) isn't causing major problems for you, bender. Yeah, it was an ebay buy, but that's really not the root of the problem. I have some threads stripped out on the chassis and changing it out might solve the problem (at a $50 expense). I wish there was a good way to repair the threads, but I tried already by filling them with epoxy and tapping them. No dice. All good to hear everyone put thier ideas on the car in here. Awesome! I didn't catch anyone standing up for the crappy flappy rear brace. You know why!

Richard Lowe · #31 25-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiddybux

I read somewhere that belts were faster than a solid shaft...but it appears that my point was somewhat unfounded.

On a high grip surface a belt drive car usually gets off the line a bit quicker but I'm only talking the first 3 feet or so, every other situation though a shaft drive car will accelerate quicker

The main advantage of a shaft drive car is the throttle feel, very direct and doesn't feel like there's a slight delay between you accelerating and the car accelerating.

Gayo · #32 25-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by anoolite76

I didn't catch anyone standing up for the crappy
flappy rear brace. You know why!

This one's easy. Just use shock shafts instead of the stock hinge pins so you have e-clips to hold the brace.

Slimboyfat · #33 25-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayo

This one's easy. Just use shock shafts instead of the stock hinge pins so you have e-clips to hold the brace.

and to add to this order the Atomic Carbon rear brace from Jonathan (Mr Atomic Carbon) on here. That coupled with Gayo's suggestion is what i have done and it is sorted.

Try CVD's on the front rather than lcds if they are too expensive.

Smoking motors is something i've never done in the XX4, Burning the comm on brushed motors yes (8,9 and 10 turn) but most is down to preparation and gearing.

The belt issue can only be knacked belts or pulleys. Guys in the UK regularly use 5.5 LRP/Nosram/Novak Brushless on grass and astro which is high bite with no problems so it cannot be the motor in my opinion. Only other thing could be the slipper. If it's too tight you may be putting too much of a strain on the drivetrain hence skipping belts.

stefke · #34 25-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmy

I've no idea how long it takes to change a 501X belt - maybe just as long since the top decks etc all need taking off. But it doesn't feel as long since you're not swearing and in tears -and I base that off personal experience

.

Wait untill you have to change a belt on a TRF501X. You''l be swearing and in tears

.
Luckely, that's about the only thing that breaks on the entire car, and mostly on high grip astro tracks. I guess it will be better with the long belt-18T-37T conversion.

The eternal belt vs shaft argument !
I'm going to try to explain it one more time :
A shaft car is more efficient and accellerates more directly and thus is generally a bit faster of the line. But the latter is also its weak point. With modern power systems, the power delivery can be very brutal, making the wheels spin initially faster on acelleration compared to a belt drive where the belts first stretch a little, taking a bit away from the power peak. Now this is all on a microsecond scale, but that microsecond makes all the difference. It gives the tyres a bigger chance to grip. Read the interview with the AE TC5 designer on rc-caraction

For all you guys here familiar with MotoGP racing or the old 500cc class racing, it's a bit like "Big-Bang" engines. They lost some horsepower compared to a "screamer" but it made bikes a lot more rideable because the tyre had more time to "settle" between cilinder detonations.

RogerM · #35 25-10-2007

Geepers .... I thought I was the biggest XX4 hater in the whole world but this thread has made me think again on that score...LOL

I just hated the way it handled, or rather didn't. Absolutely, totally, utterly 100% wrong for my driving style in as much as the pred was 100% right for it.

Belts were a pain in the arse when they broke and as I used to race Standard motor class in Radio Race Car the lack off efficiency hampered me too.

I do know a few people who will miss the car greatly when it's gone though, horses for courses.