I'm new to this forum but I've had my xt8 for three months now so I figured I'd write a review of my experience so far. First I would have to say that I really like this truggy. I have had some pretty rough runs and the truck has held up well but some things have come undone. While assemblying the truck originally I found that I had a large amount of play in the differential bosses. X-ray came to my aid and provided replacement parts. Early on I found that I had to modify the body posts by removing the nubs and adding a second set of screws thru the lower holes. Of course I could have prevented this by staying off my lid, but they are a bit flimsy either way.
Next I found that the e-clips had to go. I was gluing them but I still had an arm come out during a main. The I.S.S. parts offer more adjustment anyway. If you order these parts make sure to get the buggy bumper kit which includes the rear bumper. This is necessary for the gap left when you pull out the plastic rear toe. The next thing I modded was the clutch bell. I found that I was burning thru bearings because the supplied washers were too wide for the I.D. so I found an aftermarket kit for servos that had a great adapter which was turned down to a near pefect fit.
I then found that I was breaking the hardened washers in the shocks. This occured on the upstroke of the shock so I knew that I had adjusted my downstops correctly. The fix for me was by using non hardened washers from my work. I don't know who makes an easy to find alternative. Then I found that my wheels were rubbing due to the steering mod that I had done. Although I turned down the inner edges of the wheels to prevent too much rubbing I still had a break during a qualifying run. The fix was found when I borrowed a set of Mugen tie-rods from another racer. Later that week, I ordered a set and when I installed them I found that I only had to use the relief ball links and the 7mm ball studs. Now I have more than enough clearance.
Now I noticed that I have a pretty rough looking set of gears in the rear diff. I think I will have to order the aluminum rear brace and get a new set of gears for next year.
All things considered I think the truggy has held up well. Some things could be better but I know that my truck really gets beaten up due to my driving so I really can only blame myself. I guess I just wrote this to compile a list of all the issues that I have encountered in half a season of racing. So if you're looking at getting into a new xt8 be aware that like any other good race truggy out there, things will have to be adjusted and added on to. Being bullet-proof isn't always as easy as one would hope.
Thanks for viewing!
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