XRAY - Model racing cars

I am still using a T1 and last week I changed the rear belt of the car. I am not sure if the belt was kept too long or if it is like that when manufactured. It felt stiff/tough. It made my drive train heavier. I was wondering if there is a faster way of running in the belt. (Softening it) I was told to soak it in WD40 overnight. Will that help? Anyone? Thanks.

There are two different belts you can get. I'm not sure XRAY ever acknowledged it on these forums, but at one time you could order the standard belt and a narrow belt. The narrow belt was also not as tall and much more free feeling than the standard. However, it doesn't last as long either. I can't seem to find part numbers for the older style, perhaps an XRAY person can be of assistance here.

I post this because using WD40 on anything is premature death. It still amazes me how many people suggest it.

The current belts are already the narrow version. We used to have 4 and 3mm ones, now we only have 3mm ones. There used to be very thin 3mm ones for top competition racing but these would not hold up for much more than a single race so these are no longer available. The current 3mm ones are thinner than the older 4mm ones, but not as thin as the top competition ones that are no longer being used (and yes, the team is not using them anymore either).

As to using WD40, as long as you don't overdo it there is no problem. But those that soak them for 24 hourse should expect the need to replace the belts within a couple of races. Personally I agree with SuperXRAY, it is best not to do this as the belts will get more flexible pretty fast anyway.

Thanks for the clarification, Tony, on the belts. Thanks for agreeing with me on something too! Yippee, hooray!, heheheh.

People generally tend to run their belts too tight too. It requires a little more maintenance, but I run mine as close to the skip point as possible. It keeps them from stretching and frees up the drive-train in low speeds.

Just out of curiosity, Tony, do you have problems with your belts flipping over? A friend of mine runs an 04 and it seems like every couple runs his front (sometimes rear) belt flips over. Even a new belt did the same thing. I've looked at his car a couple times but couldn't find anything majorly wrong, although buildup in the pulleys could cause it.

It has happened to a friends T1R belt too. Could it be a broken strand of fibre within the belt? The belt was new with barely any wear. It just flips. Not sure if he used WD40 or not.

Thanks alot for the replys guys.

I flipped a rear belt one my T2 a couple of meetings ago but since I've tightend it it hasn't flipped again.