XRAY - Model racing cars

So XRAY has posted their basic setup for US Style tracks for the new XB8EC...

xform/index.php?act=view&ID=3&setup=xb8ec

Now my question is that since no one other than Josh Wheeler and Justin Wheeler have run the XB8EC in the US and since their setups were totally different, then who came up with this setup?

Specifically why are the diffs recommended at 10,000 for the front, 7,000 for the center, and 7,000 for the rear and why is the rear camber recommended at a whopping -5 degrees? No one runs camber or diff fluids like that here so I'm wondering if this really should be the recommended setup. Especially since the recommended setup XRAY published for the XB8TQ when it was released had a weird diff choice that no one ended up using including the top pros in the US that run the car as well as normal racers. Well at least the ones who were smart enough to realize that the setup you guys recommended wouldn't work here.


Is XRAY using Yannick's setups for their basic setup?

Maybe they are using the one he tried at the Nitro Challenge here. If so, that is a big mistake because virtually no one in the US (or anywhere else for that matter) drives with the unique driving style Yannick prefers.

Don't get me wrong, I love XRAY's products, but it doesn't look to me like XRAY puts much thought into their basic US Style track setup sheets for the XB8 series. All 3 releases of the XB8 have had seemingly poor diff recommendations for a starting setup for US style tracks included in the instructions. When most people buy a kit, they put it together and set it up directly from the instructions and if the recommended setup is poor, you can bet what will happen.

There is a lot of interest in this new buggy here in the US but if XRAY doesn't do their homework and come up with a good setup that the regular Joe at his home track will like then many people here in the States are going to drop the XB8EC quick and its going to get an undeserved bad rap. This happened somewhat with the original XB8 and XB8TQ. Most people only try the recommended setup and if the buggy doesn't work well, they see it as a problem with the car itself, not the setup. So by continuing to provide poor setups for US style tracks in the instructions, XRAY is directly affecting the sales of its buggies in a negative fashion.

Don't take all this wrong, I am just giving you a bit of advice from a customer who has followed this buggy ever since it was first introduced in the US. If it was any other company, I wouldn't care because most companies don't care about their customers. But I know that XRAY does and that they often listen to the needs of their customers which is one reason why their products turn out so great and why their customers are so loyal. A prime example is the XB8EC itself. It has pretty much everything we requested here on this forum and then some. You even listened to my advice about the shock boots tearing too easily and the shock/diff oils not being rated with an industry standard such as CPS or cTs and came up with solutions to fix those seemingly minor problems. So I don't mind giving a company like that good free advice.

So how hard could it have been to get the cars into the hands of more of your sponsored drivers here in the US and have them to come up with a good setup agreed upon by the majority? Again, if you are only using what Yannick recommends you are making a big mistake. Bu maybe I am wrong. Maybe XRAY did do its homework. Well then who actually came up with the setup and where in the U.S. was it tested? Concerned XRAY fans in the U.S. would like to know.

P.S. - The rear roll center setting has not been filled out on the setup sheet either. Anyone feel free to comment.

Look at the shock pistons.
Does the EC come with the 38 tooth front gear?

Yes I saw that too. It looks like they are recommending the conical shock pistons and the 38 tooth gear is shown. Hardly anyone in the U.S. uses the conical shock pistons even though they have always come with the XB8. Antisquat also at 4 degrees (max) when normal settings I would say is 2 degrees. I bet this is coming straight from Yannick's setup at the Nitro Challenge. So why would that be chosen as the Basic U.S. Style Track setup when his driving style and setups are not normal nor recommended for the average racer?

It's not like its an all new car, and any average joe club racer (I would think) would go about it in an intuitive way, see what has worked on their tracks in the past, etc...

Jason Branham put as close as he could to his old setup on his car last weekend and ran it and with a few tweaks, his EC was STRAPPED!!!

(Jason's setup from TX nitro invites is the one I'm talking about, but ofcourse the shocks are a little different)