XRAY - Model racing cars

Things I'd like to see improved on the successor to the 808:

1.-The weirdo bearings in the hubs & diff housings have got to go. The current gearbox/bearing/pinion system, while maybe a hair more efficient, is an absolute chore to take apart and hasn't proven itself convincingly reliability-wise.

Solution: go back to a more tried-and-true gearbox/pinion/8 by 16 bearing setup (see Mugen MBX-6)

2.-Redesigned battery/receiver box. Current design is tight (especially for lipos) heavy, and allows lots of contaminants in.

Solution: a larger box design with thinner walls, hinged covers (think Kyosho) and a very easy solution to keep dirt out--include simple rubber gaskets to help seal the box at the hatches and wire exit points.

3.-Better fuel tank with a clunk design, a lip to minimize spillage, and an integrated pull-ring (see Kyosho.)

4.-Longer radio tray screws.

5.-For God's sake, get a better distribution setup going! The main (and only) reason I got rid of my 808 is that parts distribution/availability is terrible in Canada (and it likely is for everyone who doesn't live in the 'states.) Improved distribution & availability means XRAY can sell more kits, parts, and make more money; win-win situation.

I just thought of something while lookig at a picture jnfweld put up of tie rods on another site. Make the tie rod threads symetrical meaning when you twist them forward they either open or close but both sides of the car turn the same like every other MFG has.I set all my other cars the same,twist forwards makes the links smaller & backwards makes them bigger all the same on every link on every car forwards is always smaller. Cant believe I didnt remember to post this sooner.When all the threads are covered by the rod ends it sucks ass trying to remember wich way to turn what side of the car.

Maybe Xray should laser etch instructions on the tie rods on which way to turn them? LOL

also, maybe it's just the system I use to clean my bearings, but my main drive line bearings are still 100% orriginal. and my car is over a year old. Everytime I take my car appart to clean the bearings they Ziing forever, and have little to No side to side play. So I lightly oil them with 10-w 30 oil and stick them back in for another 2 weeks. and I do race every weekend for 7 months out of the year.

the only bearings I have replaced on the car are the outer hub bearings

It may sound funny but I think your awnser is a good one! Scribe a arrow on the tie rods,Actually that was my idea at first till I tried it with a carbide scribe I used when I was a fabricator,not happening.The lazer etch part works pretty well on the drive shafts though.I wonder how much it would cost to do etch 2 flats on each rod? After all I run X-ray because it makes my life easier.

As far as 10w30,Mobile one is what I used to use but about 2 weeks is all you'll get then have to re lube.At a buck a piece I'm happy to toss after 2 +gallons for outers & 4 gal for the rest using the stock grease.I would guess I rum about a gal a month right now & go through spurt of 2gal a month so $4 in outer wheel bearings every month or 2 aint bad I guess but could be better with 8X16 unless it ruins the way the car feels for some reason.

I think it has been 5 races and 2 full training days (I've been lazy) with 808 this summer and NOTHING has broken... I mean NOTHING! I think its down to maintenence - how often and what you do to the car.

I'm running old bulkheads with the new alu shim in between the bearings and screw the package in quite tight (not loosening the scres too much!). I also pack the bearings with lithium grease. I bought a big tube of Pennzoil Lithium Grease (will last for 10 years at least) and use it with a syringe. A LOT of it. Its sticky stuff, so some drops of motor oil (10W-30 at the moment) on the diff input gear and bearings and things move easily again. I think the bearings are 3 races old now, opened up, cleaned cleand between the races!

BTW I think that the overall design of the car is down to the designers and team drivers. One thing like "tilt the engine" or "make the driveshafts straight" doesn't do the job. You have to look the car as a whole package. With tilted engine comes many-many problems and I wouldn't want to experience them. I've seen Hyper9 guys suffering - binding linkage, overheating engines, special clutch that doesn't last etc.

Who has the time to make a summary of the suggestions? It would be nice to see, which points got most attention...

I hope Xray is already hard at work designing new buggy and truggy, like the F1 teams designing their 2010 cars

XT8 2009 Spec on the podium at the US Nationals... Are we still complaining?

I just recently got an X-ray and have had no major issues. But I have read about some on this forum wanted to leave my feedback on refinements and suggested changes. Some of this feedback just provides questions to which your designers might be able to find ideas to a solution. But some of the feedback are solutions that I would love to see implemented now! hehe

First in the industry:

1. Use quadrings instead of orings for the shock seals. These would work in the diffs also. They have less friction and seal better. http://www.afmusa.com/doc_generator.asp?doc_id=3251

2. It's an extra step and PIA to clean out the screws to remove the radio tray. Creating a radio box/tray that comes off from the top eliminates this issue. The radio box mounts to posts or small blocks above the chassis. The post/blocks mount to the chassis. The blocks/posts can be weighted to provide your weight balance with a lower CG, while keeping the higher radio box lighter. If you really want to get anal you can have different weight mounting blocks to match different battery/receiver/servo combos. (I also agree with the previous suggestions on radio box refinement)

3. It seems the trend is to move more weight forward. So would moving the rear shocks forward help without creating any major chassis changes? Why are the shocks mount in the rear anyway? It would make more sense to protect them by mounting them in front of the rear shock tower and in front of the rear arms.

4. Is there enough drivetrain efficiency loss to warrant using a thrust bearing on the front/rear diff ring or the small pinion gear in the gearbox? Thrust bearings could be added to take on the side loads. This could also solve the gearbox bearing issues I am reading about. Currently all the bearings in the gearbox are mainly made for axial loads. Smaller bearings could be used if they only had axial loads. Furthermore it would offset the weight and cost of adding thrust bearings with no loss in reliability.

Maintenance/Tuning refinements:

We don't need to re-invent the wheel just pull designs that work and incorporate them. Consumers could care less where the idea came from as long as its the best solution.

1. On the shock o-ring issues: Are the o-rings really silicon? Silicon orings swells with silicon oil and will change size and feel over time. Try a different material. Experiment with chemraz rubber if it can be found with a softer material. Chemrez is chemical resistant and won't swell. If that doesn't work, there better materials that are compatible with silicon oil.

2. Rubber boots for all cvds to reduce maintenance and wear. (make them chemical resistant for maintenance)

3. Lines on the chassis to line up the motor mount at the proper angle (ala Losi)

4. Clunk tank with overspill lip and drain

5. Is it confirmed that the wear on the front gearbox bearings is due side load on the bearing when the dogbone shaft gets pushed forward into the bearing during chassis flex? If this is true, more clearance is needed to prevent this during flex, or stiffen the front end brace.

"A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions--as attempts to find out something. Success and failure, are for him, answers above all." Good luck on the 2010 808!