XRAY - Model racing cars

Gentlemen,
I have run my new ‘012 in competition twice now, once on my home track and once on a “foreign” track. It is a wonderful car; easy to drive and steady as a rock – certainly the best XRAY I have had and I have not yet really started to try tuning it from kit setup. Every time I have raced at this “foreign” track with a new XRAY I have always struggled to find a good setup (very different track to my home one) but the ‘012 with some shock oil changes went like a dream.

BUT

It is nightmare in the pits! Please redesign the top deck so that you can fit new pinions from the top without having to remove the top deck – jeez I had to do that about 6 times at the foreign track, where I was trying out a new to me motor and needing to find the right FDR . That’s 6 * 2 * 10 screwings!

Two of those were because I tried to change to a pinion with one more tooth only to find that I could not move the motor back to accommodate it because although the motor mounts allowed it, the rearward movement of the motor is baulked by the top deck.

I might accept that if the deck were a third party one but not with one straight out of the XRAY box.

Twice I tried to fit the pinion using the driver hole underneath but both times the pinion came off during the race and I will just never trust that method again.

I am sorry but compared to my previous XRAYs the top deck design in terms of maintenance is terrible – I will settle for a car which is 0.1 sec a lap slower for a return to normal XRAY top decks!

Also it would be good if you could find some way of designing back in the quick Ackermann adjustment of previous cars. When racing in regional or Nationals on “foreign” tracks I have often used Ackermann as an adjustment to get the car sweet but with the current design which looks like you have to dismantle the front of the car and add/subtract shims, it just looks like a time consuming pain that is not worth going through for one meeting on a “foreign track”. The previous design was SO easy.

Like the car though

I'd prefer to have 0.1sec of a lap on the race track than in the pits.

Using the hole underneath for pinions is easy, I do it all the time, the trick is when putting a pinion on, already have the set screw sticking out just enough so it will only go onto the flat section of the motor shaft and when removing a pinion make sure the motor flat spot is facing down.

Even if the pinion is too big for the top deck, you should only have to undo the 3 screws on the rear of the top deck at that side.

Ackerman is the same;
Remove the bumper. now turn the steering almost full lock. You should now be able to get at the Ackerman screws by putting the hex driver from the front where the bumper was, past the underside of the spool (to the left or right of the pulley) and into the ball cup... done.
Now turn the steering full lock the other way and put the driver through on the other side of the spool to do the other shims.

P.S. We'll always take 0.1s over ease of maintenaince

i do akerman by removing the steering post screws and swigging it over to the left or right side of the car and getting at the shims through there.

removing bumper might be easier but I've done it so much times now it takes 5 mins if that.

Lol love that, 5 mins to adjust Ackerman and then the car falls apart during the race.

Seriously I tried it today and (by going in through the front ) it was a lot easier than I had imagined it would be. Adding a shim I did it in 3mins 36 secs. Could have been a bit quicker as the driver disengaged from the screw head once. But equally there is the danger of dropping a shim which we have all done, which could add considerable time. I found removing a shim more difficult, about 5 mins.

The I made the same adjustment on my 009 – 11 secs.
Case closed I think!

Well I think the pinion thing is a case of each to their own. All I can say is that I know a number of drivers at my club and another club, who having been driving the ‘012 for longer than me, who have given up and now always remove the top deck.

Will be grinding a lump out of the top deck tomorrow so I can move the motor back to where I need it for Sunday.

Very cool to see how to change akerman easier. To be honest Iv never experimented with this adjustment as it always meant taking the top deck off. Time to experiment!