XRAY - Model racing cars

hi to all ,been reading the thread on the bearing failure problem on the pinion of the 2010 spec,my 2010 spec has the two bearing with spacer system, does anybody have the part number for the three bearing replacement parts and does the pinion have to be replaced aswell? i havent had any problem with mine yet but i havent been running the buggy that long

yours should be fine mate as i presume u run at navan on astro where there is no dirt.if you decide to change which you dont need too, you need the pinion an extra bearing and a new type shim .we ran all winter at navan with no issues.

If you want to change it to the 3 bearing pinion than you have to get: #355113 -2x, #352077, #355690 and #931320.

Hello,
Yet another update to the Diff Pinion nightmare. I sold one of my 2010 specs two days ago, and the other is currently on ebay for auction. Ok Im ready now for the backlash. I have been dedicated to Xray now for over 7 years and I am done. Here is my opinion.
Now with the three pinion bearing design release, it appears once again that Xray has made a error in design. Why would they yet change the design again if it was solid. I appreciate the fact they make upgrades. The XB808 2010 spec is a far cry and superior machine in comparison to the XB8 unless you are referring to the drivetrain. But this is getting a bit stupid and it has cost me a alot of money to try to own the perfect Xray Buggy. Why did I upgrade to the 2010 spec? I upgraded to the 2010 spec because I had the confidence that Xray (Mr Hudy) had finally solved the engineering challenge of his pinion design. I assuming not the case, since once again their is a design change (attempt) to fix things, at the expense of my wallet. I'm done. Goodbye XB8. Goodbye Xray.
Rob Knasel

the 3 pinion bearing thing is pretty dumb.. ive had mine apart alot and the more i look at it the more dumb it seems.


Here is my idea on what they should do.


design the pinons with a lip to put the axail load on the bearing closest to the ring gear. put a raised lip inside the case (13x19 or 13x20 bearing doesnt matter) so with that you would place the bearing on the pinion then insert into the diff case. You would then slide the out side bearing over the shaft up to pinion in the case like old stlye case BUT since it has nothing to hold it in the case because it is capturing the drive pin you would put your 3 little screws on the outside to hold the outter bearing in which can be very easily replaced at the first sign of wear.

basically you need to load the bearing that stays clean (inside) not load the bearing that also has to deal with all the dirt and grit.

you could take it a setup further and have some custom deep race shielded beaings just for the postion of those inside bearings, this would also greatly extend service life and durability.


SO you could take my idea and run with it (please send me a new kit as payment since it was my idea atleast) or you can just accept the fact that the desgin has flaws and give us a standard pinon setup just on those center two drive shafts which would use the truggy pinons and bearings, a remold of the case, and two lightened standard style driveshafts think 09 spec truggy type and again all the 808 problems would be SOLVED


If it wasnt for the pinon bearing junk the 808 would be the hand downs best buggy in every aspect.


rant over

Im not trying to sound like a rocket scientist here guy's but this design will never be durable. The fact is there is just way to much spinning mass and race speed for these bearings to last. Most buggy designs have a pinion bearing that is a third the size of the 808 and they last for a long long time. Why? Because the ball bearings rotate between the races three times less per revolution at a third the speed creating a third of the heat. To make matters worse the pinion on the 808 spins inside the inner race causing even more heat leading to pre-mature failure. This vicious cycle of events causes the 808 pinion bearings to fail three times faster once they start to fail initially. I think Xray should scrap this design all togeather before the new truggy comes out. The extra load from the weight and possible use of a .28 will destroy this design. I love my 808 But I get sick of replacing these every 2 races. Wish I had my old TQ driveline to fabricate on this buggy! How perfect a buggy would that be?? Those bearings never failed.

If the diff case fits the chassis I sure would give it a try. You would probably have to make custom center driveshafts or find a make thats the right length. The ratio is different so you would need to change your pinion/ spur ratio and possiblly shim the center diff up to accomodate a larger spur gear but if you pulled it off, that would be the perfect buggy!

I never ran a TQ. What do you feel is better about the TQ driveline when compared to the XB808's? What was the reason to go to the current configuration in the 808? Is the captured pins the main improvement on the 808?

What is better? its working with 0 failures and almost no maintenance at all.
I have the "old style" driveline on my brushless XT8 and XB8 EC. Never had any issue with them
in the past (I ran them both very hard for more then a year)

The TQ & EC were almost identical. They did not turn well at all and were somewhat inconsistent through the air. But they were tanks. Like Benji said, No failures and little maintenance required. They both wreaked quality with machined aluminum everywhere right out of the box and long lasting Hudy drivelines. I think the front end and lack of big bores was the only thing wrong with the Tq/Ec. The 808 is lighter more stable and handles better all around and of course has big bores. But, the driveline needs lots of attention and will rust to pits in minutes if you leave any moisture beads on it when cleaning. I don't think theres a better performing buggy out there but I wish it had the old Xray quality and feel

So has anyone really found a pinion bearing that will last longer then then xray ones in the 3 bearing pinion setup. I would love to hear from anyone because I'm am so sick of pulling my car totally to pieces after every drive to check the bearings. I'll try anything at any cost as long as it lasts. Love the car but just about over this bearing problem.

I have tried them all and there is no difference. Three races max on the best bearings I could find. Tko did not offer that size last time I bought bearings but I have not checked to see if they offer the 2010 size.

I'm looking for feedbacks on the Diff Bearing grease tech tip. Any improvement with the lifespan?

i have been doing something similar since the first 808 came out ...i have had zero failures .And i race near every weekend .The only difference is i remove all the sheilds except the front one facing the middle of the car and load the crown gear with grease ...i use lithium grease thats used in cv boots on cars its pennys in car parts shop. the tech tip allows the same idea that as the diff heats up the grease melts or works its way into the bearings keeping them nice and silky. the bearings come of feeling nice and smooth .some have complained they drag more but i think there are far to many other variables in off road to worry about ......... i only change them when the lift in the bearing race is not to my liking .

That is simply a band aid that would be expected from a lesser quality vehicle.

So I'm about to build new diffs with the 3 pinion bearing setup. What is the best way to go? Do I pull the shield all out of the bearings an pack full of grease or leave bearings along and just change after every few race days ? Please help

Just put the bearings in the car, and keep an eye on them.

my 3 pinion bearings lasted 6 races, trick was i rotated them around after every other race. now after 6 races all 6 of the stock pinion bearings are gone and i have been using the tip since new.

we shouldnt have to replace a particular know problem bearing on our "luxury buggies" every 2-3 races at best... when the bearings in other non "quality or luxury" cars bearings last atleast a SEASON with nearly zero maintenance...

This pinion bearing problem is very frustrating to say the least. To have a kit of this caliber be crippled by something as simple as pinion bearings is very disapointing. Xray please do something and quick. I love my 10 spec and I have'nt been able to be as fast or consistant with anything else, but I dont think i wanna deal with the pinion bearing issues to much longer.