LOSI XXX-4 Forum v2.0

[ALJR]

also, while i am at it.. i get a very noticable on power push (if that is the correct terminology for then the car does not steer well under acceleration)..

I moved the front shocks out one hole on the shock tower (so they are standing up more). I also installed the aluminum 10deg front kick up.. I have not yet run it with these changes! but am i on the right course for inproving the push?

BTW, i places 3rd in the a-main my first day out :) i would have finished 4th, but some one dnf'ed... the 1st and 2nd place guy's were hooking up! they were a lap up on me..

[winning edge designs]

ALJR, I mean that if the tires still have good traction when they are loaded up with dirt they are still working, which is good.

For on power steering try less kick up, so a 10 degree block may make it worse, go the other way. You can also try less anti squat which may help.

...Jim

[ALJR]

Jim,
So its normal for the tires to load up? Its just a matter of wether or not they provide traction after they do? I always assumed you would want the dirt/mud to fling-off and have traction provided by the tires tread pattern..

Ahh, less kick-up.. I will reverse my 10 deg block and try it in the 5 deg position (originally had the 7.5 in there but it didn't provide much on-power traction)...

any other sugestion on how to increase my on-power steering? maybe tighten up on the front diff a little.. right now, i have to let off the throttle (some time i may have to give a quick jab of the brake), turn, then get back on the throttle to make it steer around high speed turns.. I would like to be able to let off the throttle (but still cary decent speed) just enough, or maybe even maintain high speed and just power slide around the turn.

[TBone77]

What you need are "taper slicks". If your tires are loading up, then the pins are actually too "new". Run your tires on asphalt or concrete to wear them down.

You'll want a pair of normal ones on hand in case your track dries out a bit as the day progresses. When the slicks begin to lose traction, go to the normal tapers.

[SquirrelNutz]

here is a pic of my XXX4 basher. Lehner 4300 XL (emaxxed size) motor and 8 cells. fast!!!
http://tinypic.com/infuop.jpg

[ALJR]

here is a pic of my XXX4 basher. Lehner 4300 XL (emaxxed size) motor and 8 cells. fast!!!
http://tinypic.com/infuop.jpg

why not just use a 3c lipo instead?

[disq]

okay another question hope I can get an answer for this one :rolleyes:

I still haven't painted the body so it's sitting in a bag while I'm testing the thing at home (well, indoors)

I noticed that whenever I crash the front side, even on tough landings and not direct crashes, bottom of one of the front shocks pop up from the shock mount balls. Anybody using a spacer there to keep this from happening? Or are my shocks too smooth?

Thanks

[racer34v]

i use a flat washer under the head of the bolt, it'll keep you in the race

[winning edge designs]

Ya, I run a washer under the bolt head too.

...Jim

[disq]

done. looks good :)

[98zr2man]

Do you guys know if you can still buy the front delrin arms for the xxx4 from DMG racing. The old website link doesn't work.

Thanks

[knucklebusta]

I've heard trinity makes some aluminum parts for the XXX-4, however there is nothing on their website. I saw one XXX-4, all blinged out with aluminum blue anodized shock mount bushings, nuts for the shocks, wheel bolts, shock spring adjusters. Anyone know where to find those?

kevin

[winning edge designs]

I haven't had much trouble breaking arms on the XXX4, in fact spindles are what usually gives out in a bad enough crash.
Be carefull with aluminum sometimes it bends and binds up and is hard to repair. No to mention the added wieght if used too much in the unsprung portion of the suspension(under shock).

...Jim

[SquirrelNutz]

why not just use a 3c lipo instead?

honestly, i dont like lipos for some reason. I have yet to be sold on them.

[SquirrelNutz]

to add to the above.... it almost needs the extra wegiht with the lehner XL 4300 powering it. I also use 7 and 9 cells on my 18t. I just prefer the extra weight.

[mkuzmukerau]

Where can I get one used?!?! I know they are like 330 bucks new, and thats way more than I have at the moment, but the 2 or 3 on ebay are just about has much.... Anyone know of anyone selling one?

Mike
mkuzmukerau@hotmail.com

[racer34v]

check the classified on here, there are a couple real clean ones right now and theyre reasonable

alan

[minitee]

Guys,which ESC would fit nicely in my brand spanking new buggy.I mean brushless ,motor would be Lehner 5300 basic :confused:

[xhumeka]

So I order a brick of epic esp 3800 cells (24).

The first pack I assemble is a 7 cell SxS pack. Get it charged up, ready to go, when what do I find? IT DOESN'T FIT IN MY XXX-4!!!!

grrrrr!!!!!!!!!

my 7 cell nicad pack fits fine, so I know there are cells out there that fit in this tight spot, but now I need to find GOOD CELLS that fit.

Do IB3800's fit? 4200's? I want to know for sure it'll fit before I spend another $150 on loose cells :(

[Ventman]

So I order a brick of epic esp 3800 cells (24).

The first pack I assemble is a 7 cell SxS pack. Get it charged up, ready to go, when what do I find? IT DOESN'T FIT IN MY XXX-4!!!!

grrrrr!!!!!!!!!

my 7 cell nicad pack fits fine, so I know there are cells out there that fit in this tight spot, but now I need to find GOOD CELLS that fit.

Do IB3800's fit? 4200's? I want to know for sure it'll fit before I spend another $150 on loose cells :(

I remember how they announced this problem, only it was with the XXX-S that the battery's wouldn't fit, Here's (http://www.teamlosi.com/jrxs-page/trick%20tip%20pg1.htm) where they put a tip to help them fit. Give it a shot, the xxx-s and xxx-4 are practically the same in this department.

[SquirrelNutz]

i have a XXX4 with a lehner XL 4200 and a BK esc. I have the ESC mounted to the side of the spur gear case and I have to cut some of the body off for the wires. The basic 5300 would be fine with the body.

Here is a question though.... what aluminum shocks would you guys recommend????

[xhumeka]

I remember how they announced this problem, only it was with the XXX-S that the battery's wouldn't fit, Here's (http://www.teamlosi.com/jrxs-page/trick%20tip%20pg1.htm) where they put a tip to help them fit. Give it a shot, the xxx-s and xxx-4 are practically the same in this department.

That link brings me to a JRXS page - but I think I see what they are saying. Hmmmm, not sure I want to go dremelling my chassis, I think I may just create packs that fit instead.

Thanks for the tips guys...

[SquirrelNutz]

here is my setup:
8 cells (ignore the fray of wires from the reciever and the servo. its normally not like that):
http://i1.tinypic.com/o5p7km.jpg

7 cells:
http://i1.tinypic.com/o5p9gj.jpg

as you can see, 6 and 7 fit perfectly. with 8, i have not dremeled my body at all.

[SquirrelNutz]

by the way...shocks!!! I would like to upgrade my shocks! Im tired of the pink and would like alum. Does anyone know of any shocks that work with the XXX4G+???? Links or something would be great!!

http://i1.tinypic.com/o5pzbl.jpg

[winning edge designs]

You'll be hard pressed to find a better shock then the hard anodized TeamLosi units!

Try yellow springs for a change of pace, or you can strip the pink with oven cleaner and polish them. Some dye them black with RIT also, then scratch off a little on the spring cup area for I.D.

...Jim

[mkuzmukerau]

I've been thinking that a 4 wheel drive buggy could be fun, but have never seen one run... Does anyone have any video or action pics of their Losi xxx-4??? It would be GREAT!

Mike
mkuzmukerau@hotmail.com

[SquirrelNutz]

You'll be hard pressed to find a better shock then the hard anodized TeamLosi units!

Try yellow springs for a change of pace, or you can strip the pink with oven cleaner and polish them. Some dye them black with RIT also, then scratch off a little on the spring cup area for I.D.

...Jim

I ask becuase I knew a guy who had one of these (before I got mine) and he had red springs and alum shocks. the setup was awesome. He has since moved and I cannot ask him now where he got them.

[SquirrelNutz]

out of curiosity- do you think the XXXt or XX4 shocks would work???

[winning edge designs]

TeamLosi makes 3 shock body lengths and 4 different sizes of shock shaft lengths for their off-road cars and trucks. They offer .6 .9 and 1.2, the shafts are .6, .9, 1.0 and 1.2 shaft stroke lengths. The trucks use .9 front and 1.2 rear, the buggies all use .6 front and 1.0 rear shafts with 1.2 bodies.

The part numbers for each are on the TeamLosi site under the car your looking for them to be on in teh instruction manual section.

They also have a very large assortment of different springs, which are available in different colors to show the different rates to tell them apart.

www.teamlosi.com

Hope this helps, Jim

[losifreak2004]

I think the stock shock shafts for the front of the XXX series trucks (XXX-T, XXX-NT, AD1, MF1, AD2, MF2) are 1.0's. The shock bodies are listed as .9, however.

[Re-Mix]

Threaded shocks are the best out there and the ones included in the xxx-4 G+ kit are grade A. You would be downgrading by switching to aluminum shocks. You can try some red springs, and different shock oils to see what you like.

[winning edge designs]

All of TL shocks are aluminum, but the better ones are hard anodized and threaded outside as well.

I think when new they are all very close in performance, but the hard coated shocks and nitrided shafts last and remain like new longer.

...Jim

[pininfarina]

hi everyone,

this is my first non-tamiya... buggy... and I'm amazed abt the quality of materials and how well it handles... still first time on the dirt tracks....
losi did a great job :)

here's some pic of my ride..

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-01.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-02.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-03.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-04.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-05.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/pininfarina1/My%20Trucks/xxx4-06.jpg

[BloodClod]

Hey Pin, good to see you here. :)

Nice ride!


Now my question for the XXX-4 guys:

I've been experiencing an issue with my belt - in that it seems to run off the pulley every once in a while. When this happens I have to remove the tensioner and re-assemble everything again. Have tried tight and loose tensions in the belt to no avail.

Anyone else experience this problem? What might be the issue and any fixes?

I've recently upgraded to the larger pulley and yellow belt and am still experiencing this problem.

Any advice is appreciated... even if it's just to let me know I'm not alone. :)

Thanks.

[Gojira]

my belt has only popped off twice no big deal but i do know that TL makes an upgraded tensioner that may fix the problem,the stock tensioner has that fish hook cut out on it, the upgrade only has a hole and must be installed at the same time as the slipper,the fish fish hook one goes in after the slipper hope this helps

[pininfarina]

Hey Pin, good to see you here. :)

Nice ride!


Now my question for the XXX-4 guys:

I've been experiencing an issue with my belt - in that it seems to run off the pulley every once in a while. When this happens I have to remove the tensioner and re-assemble everything again. Have tried tight and loose tensions in the belt to no avail.

Anyone else experience this problem? What might be the issue and any fixes?

I've recently upgraded to the larger pulley and yellow belt and am still experiencing this problem.

Any advice is appreciated... even if it's just to let me know I'm not alone. :)

Thanks.


great to see you here too :)

nice buggy!

[sim600]

Great to see you two here too. Haha. Sigh, I want a XXX-4 now.

Okay now that I've come out of lurking, I've got a question for everyone. How often do you have to change the belt on the car? I know it depends on many things but I've really got no idea if it's weeks or years between swaps because I've never had a single belt car before, so any rough estimates?

[sim600]

You'll be hard pressed to find a better shock then the hard anodized TeamLosi units!

Try yellow springs for a change of pace, or you can strip the pink with oven cleaner and polish them. Some dye them black with RIT also, then scratch off a little on the spring cup area for I.D.

...Jim

"Why can't we pick our own colors?"

"No way. I pick. Be thankful you're not Mister Yellow."

[T/Losi]

Im looking at getting a XXX-4 w/Novak Brushless. How do these buggies go against 2wd stadium trucks (i currently have a XXX-T MF1)?

Cheers

[sim600]

They are lighter and grab the slippery ground with all 4 wheels, so they're faster but the track has to be pretty "groomed" for them.

If your track is meant for 1/8 scale nitros, or doesn't see much maintenance work done on them, the big wheeled stadium trucks are nicer to drive. That's my opinion.

[T/Losi]

How do they go on small cut grass good?
Are parts easy to get for a XXX-4 like the XXX-T? (Proline make wheels/tyres for XXX-T, RPM make aftermarket parts, Pro-line make bodies etc.)
Is there only one body availiable for the XXX-4?
Some people say that the XX-4 handles better in the rough? How and why?
If it was rough and you were going up against a 2WD buggy or 2WD truck, would u still keep up?

Cheers

[T/Losi]

How well does the clear belt cover keep dirt out?

Cheers

[T/Losi]

What weight shock oil do people use in them. I read that you get 25wt fluid with the kit. Isn't that a bit to soft?
Would thicker oil stop the chassis from slapping on the ground all the time?

Cheers

[T/Losi]

The stock kit comes with 30 weight oil and green springs on front and pink springs on rear. What do you use and what is your track like?

Cheers

[pyro18t]

I just bought a XXX-4 G+ from Horizon Hobby and I'm waiting for it to get here. Can't wait

I've been driving RC cars since I was 10 now I'm 23, but this will be my first 4wd buggy, and I can't wait. I ran my Tamiya Stadium Blitzer at The Ranch Pit a couple of times before it closed(the old timers will know where I'm talking about) I've had RC10T/2, HPI Micro (got stolen!) HPI RS4 Pro & Pro2, Tamiya Stadium Blitzer, Tamiya TL01 ( beat the stuffing outta my buddies TC3) , and now the Losi... well once it gets here

I live in germany right now and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find any local tracks so for the most part -sigh- I'll be "backyard bashing" minus the bashing part. I bought a set of Dirt Hawg III's so I wouldn't chew up my good tires when I run on the street, there are some people that get toether every sunday to do fun runs, but it's on the road.... Does anyone know of a decent street tire I can run.

I'm also looking for some body paint schemes can you guys post some picks, I'm going to have to keep it simple for the most part, I'm just OK at painting (rattle can)

I'm going to be running a 13x2 with a 18t and Amezcua's standard setup (went to high school with him) and I'm going to take it from there, any other help would be great.

Oh by the way I told some germans that I have a xxx-4 and they looked at me funny, they KINDA knew about losi, so I know I'm going to freak them out when I show up one of these sundays

[semore]

I just got my xXx4 a few weeks ago, I love it. It drives sweet. I would invest in a one way front diff, heavy dutty drive belt and the black belt tensioner.

I will be using either a Trinity Cobalt 9x2 flat wire or Novak SS+5800 brushless as the power plant for this buggy.

[pyro18t]

So my package came yesterday, April 4th (my brithday!) which was an awsome suprise considering that I ordered it on the 31st, and I live in germany (military)

So while building it I got to the step when you install the belt and tighten it with the tensioner, and I just couldn't figure it out for about an hour. So I called Losi and they said I had it in wrong, I explained it to him he confermed in the maunal that I did indeed have it in RIGHT. So I said (almost already know, just hoping not) is it possible that i have the XXX-S chassis? After a really LONG Pause he said ... "well yeah that would make sense" So I got the belt cover for the bottom of the chassis and it was an inch or so longer! SOB! now I gotta wait for my chassis, but to give props to Losi they are shipping it UPS Pro-Bono, and I don't have to ship the other chassis back.

Semore I think that I'm going to stick with the 13X2 Orion Method R for now until I get used to the car, then we'll see where I go from there, thanks for the advice though

Jay

Jay

[pyro18t]

So here's the update, I called Losi agian to check on some shipping concerns that I had, and they told me that they had a WHOLE BATCH of XXX-4 G+ 's go out with the XXX-S chassis and they are completly out of stock. He told me hopefully sometime next week they will get more in, it sucks man! all this new stuff and I just get stair at it



Jay

[wjco]

Is there any way to convert a xxx-s to xxx-4?

[losifreak2004]

Yes...but doing so would require so many parts that you might as well just buy the XXX-4. There isn't a whole lot of parts that are interchangeable between the two.

[pyro18t]

yeah, but the chassis sure do look the same!

It kinda sucks I got 5 different people to buy RC Cars, I was the first to order mine and now I'm the only one who can't race!

[losifreak2004]

The chassis for the XXX-4 is longer, as far the belts, etc.

[pyro18t]

The chassis for the XXX-4 is longer, as far the belts, etc.

Yeah that's what I was saying, they look the same but the xxx-4 is longer I found that out the hard way when I ordered my xxx-4 G+ and they had the XXX-s chassis in the box instead. I'm still trying to get the right chassis from them as we speak I notified them on the 4th, and it's all in the works ( I hope) about getting me the correct part so I can build my car

Jay

[egarnaat]

Hey, Ive been practicing with my XXX-4 on asphalt, I set up some disc cones and make an on-road track. But the proline "dirt hawg I" im useing don't give me enough traction (under high speed turning and minor braking in a curve the rear end breaks loose and the car spins out). I wondered if there were some foamies that would fit it, maybe some XXX-S tires or something?

[pyro18t]

I think that Tamyia makes some 4wd buggy on road tires. I asked Bill at Losi if he knew of any tires, I got back that it's really not that kind of car, it's more for racing than backyard bashing ( in so many words) I don't get it though 1/8th buggies have like 10 different tires for on-road, and we don't get any!

BTW nice to see the XXX-4 forum back at the top again

Jay

[losifreak2004]

In Europe, 1/8th scale off-road racing is referred to as "rally" or "rally game" and many of their tracks are a variety of surfaces..including asphalt sometimes, so the on-road tires are used.

Small pin tires like a Taper Pin, with really hard foam (like Trinity Bomb One blue) will probably work really well on the street.

[pyro18t]

Yeah, but wont they wear out really fast. I've got a set of dirt hawgs already, so I should be good with general back yard bashing for now.

Also any tips or things I should look out for during assembly? I can't wait to woop on all my buddies with my XXX-4

[losifreak2004]

Yes they will...but that's kinda the point. Slicks work very well on pavement, if you're looking for an on-road tire.

[pyro18t]

oh, ok now I see what your getting at. Well we'll see if I can find any tracks in the area, that are closer than 2 hours. I think there is one in Koln, which isn't TOO bad of a drive. Is there anyone on here that lives in Germany?

I was into a lot local on road racing in So Cal when I was in high school, and would really like to get back into racing. I found a really nice out door track about 30min away, but it's on-road. I asked the guy if I could drive on it, he said sure but NO GAS! :D I gave him a big thumbs up, cause my german pretty much sucks.

Man I can't wait to drive this thing


Jay

[Platymeris]

Hi, I don't own a XXX-4, I actually have a XX-4 on order, picked that mainly because of rough track ability, and the really inovative design, but what I've been reading since then on the XXX-4 G+ is causing me to reconsider. Is the XXX-4 G+ really a lot more durable than the XX-4 WE? I know the original XXX-4 had some durability and handling issues, but it seems like there are nothing but good things to say about the G+. I obviously don't plan on crashing a lot, but I don't want something delicate either, as long as I'm not giving anything up in terms of offroad handling. I'm also planning on running a Novak brushless setup, either the 5.5R, or maybe even the 4.5R, which chassis would be better at handling this power? Thanks in advance.

[pyro18t]

I would think that they would both handle the power just fine, they are world class cars, the quality of the G+ kit is amazing! But I can't comment on handling, because I can't put it to gether yet

Jay

[Mystracing]

I also got one of the XXX4's with a XXX-s chassis. Took me a while to figure that one out. Had to call a friend that had a XXX-s and he suggested it might be a XXX-s chassis. Fortunately they are back in stock.

I've only raced it once but like it as well if not better than my XX4's at this point.

[SquirrelNutz]

Hi, I don't own a XXX-4, I actually have a XX-4 on order, picked that mainly because of rough track ability, and the really inovative design, but what I've been reading since then on the XXX-4 G+ is causing me to reconsider. Is the XXX-4 G+ really a lot more durable than the XX-4 WE? I know the original XXX-4 had some durability and handling issues, but it seems like there are nothing but good things to say about the G+. I obviously don't plan on crashing a lot, but I don't want something delicate either, as long as I'm not giving anything up in terms of offroad handling. I'm also planning on running a Novak brushless setup, either the 5.5R, or maybe even the 4.5R, which chassis would be better at handling this power? Thanks in advance.

I bash my XXX4 G+. that is how strong it is! I was pretty amazed with it and bought another one. I run mine in rough spots as well. The XX4 does handle a little better in the rough spots but nothing that would warrant the shift over IMO.

I cracked a shock tower when I first got the buggy. I tried breaking the tower the rest of the way but could not. I could have ran the buggy 5 more times and the tower would not have completely broke. I thought that the claims of the G+ GRP was hype until I actually saw it in person do exactly what they said it would do.

[xhumeka]

I bash my XXX4 G+. that is how strong it is! I was pretty amazed with it and bought another one. I run mine in rough spots as well.

I completely agree...

I bash my xxx4 at the bmx track all the time, and RARELY break anything...

here's some pics from last sunday where I went through three ib3800 packs (about an hour of bashing) at a bmx track at high park - not one broken part!!! even after a couple bad landings :eek:

from first hand experience, these things are tough!

http://stasis.org/~xhumeka/eprot/2k6/4/10.jpg

http://stasis.org/~xhumeka/eprot/2k6/4/6.JPG

http://stasis.org/~xhumeka/eprot/2k6/4/9.JPG

[Csquared]

Do I really need to install the One Way Diff if I want to race?

Thanks,
C2

[minitee]

Xhumeka,were you jumping it at High Park in Toronto???? Where is the track located in the Park? I am almost finshed putting my gem together and love to try it out. I live 8km from the Park ;)

[xhumeka]

Xhumeka,were you jumping it at High Park in Toronto???? Where is the track located in the Park? I am almost finshed putting my gem together and love to try it out. I live 8km from the Park ;)

roger that!! I never knew it existed either until just last week. Do you know where colbourne lodge is? It's located in the south-east section of high park. If you park your car at colbourne lodge, follow the dirt path behind the lodge that leads towards an open grass field on your left. instead of turning left and heading into the field, continue straight along the dirt path and you can't miss it. it's pretty close to the queensway highway located just inside the tree line.

if you're from Toronto and want to hook up with us for informal park racing let me know! we meet twice a month at parks throught the gta...

here's a short vid of the bmx track - i'm recording so it's my buddy's b4 that you see jumping... but i'm filming facing south, and you can see the queensway highway if you look carefully. hopefully that will help you find it ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Y4OeAdepw

[minitee]

Let me finish my project first and see how this thing goes. Have you heard about bmx park on Meadowvale in Miss.? :)

[Csquared]

Has anyone tested the G+ vs the XX4 ? I have been reading some ramblings about the G+ not being as suited for rough tracks as the xx4 ?

Thanks,
C2

[Gojira]

anybody running a GTB ,just wondering if it fits with the fan ,not much room under the g+ body ,is the lrp a better choice

[pyro18t]

So I finally got the car together! Great traction, speed, handling. I do have one question though... When I take jumps it keeps nose diving. I'm not new to RC, I tried approching different, and different throttle control, but she keeps going nose down. So I grabbed my buddies Evader ST Pro to see if I lost my touch, NOPE every jump was perfect.

Is it because it's 4wd? Can some one give me some driving tips, or setups that I can try. I was running Proline dirt hawgs btw, we were just bashing. Factory setup per the book, batt is to the rear, and my A-arms level, at first I did have them a bit high in the front, but after a few jumps I put them to level, seemed to help a bit, but not much

Oh yeah I broke the 7.5degree block so I'll be putting in the... 10 degree? think that's the other one they have in the kit (G+) And i will be ordering the aluminum units as soon as they aren't back ordered. All in all the kit is VERY strong! Took some really bad landings at speed.

Any help would be great!
Jay

[Gojira]

as far as the front blocks go do yourself a favor and buy the aluminum ones the graphite ones break way to easy and for jumping you have to stay on the power allmost the hole time you are in the air 4wd is not as controlable as a 2wd in the air

[pyro18t]

thanks for the advice, I'm going to get the aluminum ones really soon, but the 7.5F are back ordered right now, so I might just the 5degree or 10degree one, which one would you think would be better for rough tracks/bashing?

Jay

P.S. thanks for the quick response this forum can be slow from time to time

[pyro18t]

Does anyone one know of a blue screw kit, I know it's a race car and I'm still looking for a track to race at, but i still like my car to look good. If I can't find a blue screw kit I'm going to get the titanium kit from RC SRCEWZ.

What happened to this forum? No one posts anymore! I'm going to see if I can change that. Can some of you guys post some pick of your paint schemes, and chassis shots?

[USATorque55]

Well, I'm getting a Supersport 5800 system to install in mine.

Hopefully a new body, along with wheels/tires, maybe a 7 cell pack or two, and a receiver so I can use the buggy with my M8.

I'll post pics when I get the system installed.

Guys, What spares should I have in stock if I have a G+ right now?

[pyro18t]

get some aluminum front and rear piviot blocks, not cheap when you add it all up but should be worth it mine are on the way, but I only got the outer ones I didn't have enough $$$ to buy all 4 parts (accually it's 6 parts but 4 part #'s)

All four parts should cost around 60 bucks

[Gojira]

thanks for the advice, I'm going to get the aluminum ones really soon, but the 7.5F are back ordered right now, so I might just the 5degree or 10degree one, which one would you think would be better for rough tracks/bashing?

Jay

P.S. thanks for the quick response this forum can be slow from time to time
the 10degree is better for rough track the smoother the track the flatter you want the front suspension

[pyro18t]

aswome thanks that's what I was thinking, does the same go for the rear?

[USATorque55]

Well, I broke a rear A-Arm yesterday cause I took a jump incorrectly. Snapped the A-Arm in 7 places. I thought that was pretty bloody impressive.

And today I broke a front pivot block because I took a jump and just landed pretty harshly. I got to that point where I used to be with my maxx, where you forget that your rig isn't indestructible.

Going to pick up some more extra parts because I plan on jumping a car just to say I've done it. Most of my accidents could be avoided by simply watching my driving before I hit the jump.




Am I the only XXX-4 G+ owner who is half dreading and half excited about a possible XXX-4 CR? Figure its nice to have some changes, but don't want to have to shell out the cash.

[pyro18t]

is there plans in the works for a CR? I mean dang it took them for ever to come out with the xx-4 WE, they never made a CR, to be honest I don't think it get to much more competiton ready than the G+. You should really invest in the aluminum front and rear pivot blocks, I know they are expensive, but they're worth it to me

By the way I'm picking up 1 1/2 XXX-S G+'s Ya know... keeping it in the family

I'll post picks of my 4G+ soon.

Jay

[pyro18t]

MAN THIS THING IS FAST!

Now that I'm getting more face time with my car I'm really learning how it handles. I took it out today with some dirt hawg II's on the street to try out my new gearing and mess with some setups and see how it affects the car.

Everything was great except my motor wires are to long (all still stock lenght) and started to melt as they hit the motor (they were zip-tied to the side), so it cut my run time a little short. It's cool though I've got 8 sets of deans ultra plugs and a hot solder iron standing by!

Jay

[USATorque55]

Glad to have someone else active with their XXX-4.

Took some time and went to a local park for some fun at a baseball diamond and a rock ledge. Photos were taken by my friend.

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6207/hpim27663qc.jpg
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2558/hpim27340yr.jpg
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/994/hpim27556vw.jpg
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/658/hpim27580ik.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/6447/hpim27704ns.jpg
http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/6858/hpim27695vc.jpg
http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/1531/hpim27636bl.jpg

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/1820/hpim27802tm.jpg
http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/2554/hpim27811yk.jpg
http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/9412/hpim27951me.jpg
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5311/hpim27989kz.jpg
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3875/hpim27997ha.jpg


I'm running Gp3300s(6) and a Novak SuperSport with 5800 brushless.

[pyro18t]

awsome I'll get pics up hopefully tonight. I just put in my speed gems 2 15x4 (old motor) and took out my Method R 13x2 just to see how my old motor does in the car. And to take my own advice and slow the car down and really learn how it reacts under power... this is my first 4WD buggy, and I have to say it's a different animal!

Jay

[USATorque55]

I used to run a Trinity 14x2.

I've had alot of experience with 4wd buggies, so this comes second nature. I curse everytime I jump my Matt Francis truck.

I'm hopefully going to pick up some alloy pivot blocks.

I was planning on buying just the front[10] and rear[1] main pivot blocks in alloy. Would it be wise to buy just the entire front set[main and inner]?

What springs do most people race with on dirt? Shock oil?

[pyro18t]

If you could aford them I'd get the whole sha-bang in aluminum.

jay

[Trav002]

Has anyone on this forum successfully put a lithium battery in the xxx-4

I have a 6000 mah thunderpower battery from my xxx-t that i am trying to put in the xxx-4 any suggestions would be appreciated.

I think the 1st thing i would do would be to cover the battery slots in the chassis with lexan so that the battery cannot be punctured


Thanks

[pyro18t]

I don't know about the XXX-4 with lipos, but on rctech.net someone put one in a XXX-S he said that he needed to grind down the tabs on the chassis designed to hold in stick packs to make it fit.

Jay

[microrcdude]

just drop it in and see what you need to do to secure it

[minitee]

I run 3 cell 5000 mAh Tanic battery with Quark 65 and their 5000 kv motor,gearing is 17/92 and this thing is phenomenal.Massive torque and max speed.Esc never got hotter than 150F and motor 130F.I am really happy with this set-up.Maybe one day I try Mamba Max.Need to save up first :)

[pyro18t]

got any pics of that setup?

J

[minitee]

I hope pic will go thru.Nice motor,eh?

[minitee]

Sorry for the messed up wires,project in progress! :)

[minitee]

Sorry for the messed up wires,project in progress! :)
This is my son's paint job,not bad.Ilove this buggy with that set-up I mentioned before.

[pyro18t]

WOW looks like it kicks butt!

J

[Trav002]

Can you get some better pics of how the battery is held in

how do you protect it from debris entering through the holes?


Did you dremel anything?

Thanks

[minitee]

Dont have pics now.Battery is fiting very snuggley.But it fits .I secure it with strong velcro straps.I covered bottom of the chassis with piece of lexan secured by....again ,velcro.Stops some of the debries at bay.Battery is really ''ice cold'', which means it keeps just above the ambient temp. outside.With 80F outside ,the batt never hit 90.And my son is really kicking the s..t out of it.
Belive me guys thus set up is just fantastic.I dont know if I gone get Mamba after all.
m. :) :)

[Trav002]

Heres some pics of how to add a 6000 mah Thunder Power Lithium to your xxx-4, and maybe xxx-s

I am in no way responsible if you battery falls out or is damaged if you use my methods, use at your own risk!! :rolleyes:


1. First the chassis needs to be dremeled so that the battery can sit flat. In the picture below the areas in red are the ones that need to be dremeled.
they are the things on the cahssis that help hold a stick pack.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/areastodremel.jpg

2. Cut a piece of lexan (ask your local hobby shop if you need some) so that it sits flat in the chassis and is level with the raised bumps that would hold a side by side normal 6 or 7 cell battery.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/lexantocoverholes.jpg

3. Cut another piece of lexan the height of the battery and the length. make sure the battery fits and glue it to the chassis. (as you can see in the picture i used a thin piece of aluminum to help keep the lexan on the batteries side) I used shoe glue.

I have a Question for you guys!!!!!
circled in green is some particles of my belt. The belt skips under hard braking and i think it is more than 2 or 3 like the manual says. how tight shold the belt be. I tightened it once since it was also slipping under hard acceleration, but it still slips under hard braking.????????
:confused: :confused: :confused:


http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/sidelexan.jpg


4. Unscrew the battery posts and use something to shim them up so that the battery strap is the height of your battery. use longer screws if need be.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/batteryposts.jpg

5. Take the battery bar and dremel off the plasitc on one side that is used to hold a side by side pack in. make sure you only dremel the side facing outward. this is so the body fits.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/Batterybar.jpg

6. Place the foam pads in and you are ready to race!!!

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/Trav-07/P1010394.jpg

[Trav002]

Please let me know what i should due about my belts tension so that it stops leaving the green particles behind when it skips

Thanks

[paulct]

I just put a Futaba 9402 in the Losi xxx-4. In the instructions it says to use the screw that comes with the servo to mount the servo saver/arm.

There is NO WAY that screw is long enough. Anyone know what the thread is on futaba's? I just left out the top "washer" for now as then the screw has enough length.

Anyone else ever have this problem? Thanks..

[EDS]

does anybody know the deminsions of a xxx-4 aurora body?thanks ethan

[jamesbernatchez]

Im looking for a XXX4 setup...i have a truggy to trade...anybody have one they would be willing to trade? I can do a partial trade like roller plus cash. There is $925 into the truggy setup that you see here! It is sick!! The only reason im selling is because I have 2 and am looking to trade/sell one to get into electric racing(ive had 3 xxx4's but never raced. Now that i think of it i have been in this hobby for 6 years and NEVER raced electric at all, only nitro :) )

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=224057

LMK, thanks...i know somebody wants a truggy, they are the ultimate off road racer. Truly amazing!

[T/Losi]

Has anyone tried the LI-PO packs in their XXX4?

Cheers

[Trav002]

i did look a page back on how i mounted it

[T/Losi]

Does anyone here go on http://www.losibk2.com

Cheers

[T/Losi]

What is the life span most people get out of their belt?

Cheers

[T/Losi]

Everyone is saying that the XXX4 G+ is very fragile and they break a part every time they use it, what is fragile with them?

Cheers

[microrcdude]

the whole car is....most people have moved to the J Concepts or the X-5

[Ian Scott]

What is the life span most people get out of their belt?

Cheers


I've actually been wondering this myself. I've probably run only 10 battery packs when my belt started poping off. (I have no idea why it was doing this, everything looks ok...) But after poping off a few times, the belt was shreaded to little strands :(

I can't get belts at my local hobby shop either, they only have xxx-s belts. Has anyone else had trouble with losing their belt? (I suspect the problem is in the idler pulley area.) Also, could a xxx-s belt be installed?

This site sells a heavy duty drive belt kit (http://h1070250.hobbyshopnow.com/products/description.asp?prod=LOSA3277) Think this is anything special that will have a longer lifespan?

[Ventman]

I suspect a lot of belt trouble is with assembling and installing the belt tensioner, and keeping it locked in place. As for the HD belt kit, it has a redesigned belt tensioner and pulley. I suspect it must help with the issue of the belt wandering off the pulley and ripping it to shreads.

[ben06]

the whole car is....most people have moved to the J Concepts or the X-5
Is that why i am having a hard time getting rid of my xxx-4?

[Mystracing]

The main reason youre having trouble is the market is flooded with them IMO. Mostly as a result of people switching to other cars. I looked a couple months back and non G+ rollers complete were going for $100 back then. I'll feel fortunate if I get $150 for a brand new G+ roller I'm just building rite now. I'm building it because I had it for spare parts and want to make sure all the parts are there. If you made it a complete car it would probably sell much sooner. Not having a complete car isn't helping.

[ben06]

mine is a full roller. just add electronics and a motor.

[Nitrospeeddd]

When the XXX-4 was first introduced, I bought one. I sold it a couple months later due to it always breaking. I've been thinking about getting one of the new G+ kits, just how much more durable is it than the original?

Thanks in advance guys.

[Medic203]

I'm thinking of getting one of two kits. Either the XXX-4 G+ or the XX-4 Worlds Edition. Any thoughts or opinions on which to get?

[Mystracing]

I'd trade my XXX4 G+ that's brand new for a XX4 knowing what I know now. That's just me though. Our track has jumps and it's often pretty choppy, the XXX4 is pretty scarry on it. Basically if the track you're going to run on isn't pretty smooth I'd go with the XX4 if you want a Losi. Add a B4 front suspension brace with some longer front hinge pins and the xx4 is as durable as any 4wd on the market. Then again if you watch the BST Forum you mnight get a new G+ pretty cheap in the next week or so.

I know pretty transparent but I didn't say it. :D

[Stormbasher3100]

What would a good starting point be for gearing with the Castle Creations CM-3677 motor?

[rca]

Stormbasher: Can the mamba max esc fit behind the motor or do you need to place it behind the steering servo? hopefully can get my xxx4 next week.

[Ventman]

The ESC will fit in either position, but I have mine behind the steering servo to give the wires some extra routing room.

[rca]

Thanks, so which mamba max motor you're using in the xxx4? hows the performance and is the belt holding up to the power mamba max? any belt skipping?

[Ventman]

I'm actually using a Lehner Basic 4200, but it's quite the rocket with a 22 tooth pinion. I'm afraid to open it up on the street it's so fast. The belt should be fine as long as you got most of the slack taken out, just go easy on the trigger finger both ways and you should be set.

[rca]

Ok thanks guys. Has anyone tried this belt hold down kit that eliminates belt skipping during hard bracking? I'm rather concern with belt slips as I'll be mounting a mamba max 5700 with apogee 3s magnum for ultimate speed.

http://www.iq-tuning.ch/en/belt.html

[Stormbasher3100]

I decided to go with the 16t pinion just to be safe. About the belt skipping, i have none while accellerating full throttle from standstill. Im using the 7700kv with 2s lipo and no problems yet. although my motor gets a little hot could this be because my pinion is to small.

[rca]

do you drill some holes on the body shell to let air flow thru to cool the motor?hows the speed with 16t pinion?with 2s lipo it should be ballistic eh?

[Stormbasher3100]

It is pretty fast and i did cut the air duct out that is right above the motor. Nothing else gets hot just the motor. but that could be from several full speed passes on pavement.

[minitee]

My son run our xxx-4 today to an insane speed of 64.01 mph {103 kph**.It was clicked on the Bushnell Velocity radar gun.The set up is as follow:3cell Kokam 3200 lipo battery,21/92 gear ratio, Quark 65 amp ESC and their 5000 kv motor.
Stock body, Pro-Line hawg II tires and Futaba 2PL radio.
It was insane fuuuuuuuuuuuun!! :D :D :D

[bigair78]

How much slipper from the belt grinding should I hear. I just got a used xxx-4 and I am running a MM 7700 brushless system in it. When I hit it brakes it sounds pretty bad. Not sure if it is the diffs or the belts. I have the belt pretty tight.

[slink]

I run the 7700 in my XXX-4 too.I had that as well I never got it track down but suspect it was the belt skipping on the diffs.I solved the problem by using less brake.I turned up the drag brake setting on the ESC & dont need to hit the brakes as hard anymore & havnt had the problem since.

[bigair78]

I run the 7700 in my XXX-4 too.I had that as well I never got it track down but suspect it was the belt skipping on the diffs.I solved the problem by using less brake.I turned up the drag brake setting on the ESC & dont need to hit the brakes as hard anymore & havnt had the problem since.

What gearing are you running and is yours getting hot? Also, do you hear it skipping on take off?

[slink]

92 spur and either an 18 or 20 pin cant remember which.Mine doesnt run hot at all.I never heard the skipping sound on take off.The only time I ever heard it was under hard braking.

[bigair78]

Mine is getting really hot with a 16t. Can you tell me your settings on the 7700/mm?

[slink]

Brake reverse type=propo w/reverse lockout
Brake=50%
reverse throttle=50%
punch control=0% Disabled
drag brake=40%
start power= low
motor timing= low
voltage cutoff= no cutoff

As you can tell most settings are default.I turned the timing from normal to low when I 1st put in the XXX-4 with the intention of turning it back up if temps allowed but since I am getting everything I want speed wise I didnt see any need to turn it back up.

[rca]

I use the belt hold down kit from I&Q tuning, with the mamba max 5700 on 19t pinion,94 spur, I havent had the change to run the car outside yet, but i lift the car, full throttle and brake, test run in my living room,full throttle from idle, no belt skipping at all, the tires spin like mad.I set the belt quite loose so that the drivetrain is smoother.I tried pushing the car while holding the spur and push very hard, no skips too. I guess the belt hold down works. I haven't buy a 3s lipo yet to try. Once i have the time,I will test with higher pinions and the mamba max 7700 motor too.

[rca]

How much slipper from the belt grinding should I hear. I just got a used xxx-4 and I am running a MM 7700 brushless system in it. When I hit it brakes it sounds pretty bad. Not sure if it is the diffs or the belts. I have the belt pretty tight.

are you using the HD yellow belt? its harder and stronger than the stock greeen one so it wont skip as badly.

[agwardo]

Hi all
I'm new to the forum but not to rc(20yrs and counting!). I already have a xxx4 g+ I use for racing, but I recently acquired a xxx4 non g+. My question is what should I do to make it into a backyard basher? I have plenty of extra parts, but I need to know what I should use for i.e kickup, anti squat, shock oil, springs, shock position, and any other parts I might need.
Thanks Ren

[rca]

Finally I have the time to test run the G+ on mamba max 5700 and IB4200 batt stick pack, I manage to reach speed of 40 to 41mph on 19t/94spur,using bushnell speedster to measure.full speed hard bracking did not cause any belt skipping at all, the I&Q tunig belt hold down is really good :) will further test with mamba 7700 and different pinions when time permits.

[rca]

Tested MM 5700 with 23t pinions, reach 46mph. MM7700 with 19t reach 47mph,the rear end spins out and I broke the front main block... both motors were very hot though. I did move the batt to the rear for more traction, helps a little but i need more rear traction.Anyone can shed some light on how to set the shocks for more rear traction?

[rca]

Is it true that we can soak the belts in wd40, dry it and it will smoothen the drive train? will this work in xxx4 or will cause belt skipping on the front/rear pulleys?

[pyro18t]

Is it true that we can soak the belts in wd40, dry it and it will smoothen the drive train? will this work in xxx4 or will cause belt skipping on the front/rear pulleys?

I'll answer you 2nd question first...
your not really going to see skipping on the front/rear pullies, there's to much belt-pully contact. If your going to see the belt skipping it's going to be on the spur gear (the one in the middle)

And for your first question...
Soaking rubber tires in WD40 has been a long time trick in RC to get better traction, at the cost of faster tire wear. But when your racing who really cares your going to go through a set of tires anyway. Yes you can soak your belt, it will probably make it softer... thus making the teeth wear out MUCH faster, it will also streach out faster, and then making your belt skip like crazy.

I bought a used XXX-S G+ that was used for carpet racing in the mild MOD class. And the guy I bought it from removed every other tooth from the belt for less rolling resitance, and it works great. It handles my 13X2 all day long on the asphalt without skipping, but I don't think that this would be a good trick to do on your XXX-4.

Jay

[rca]

Good thing I havent soak the belt yet.Guess it's not worth the effort. Thanks.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Hey, guys. I'm new to the FWD thing. I have an XX4 that I got a while ago and never really used. I am wondering what kind of tires these things use. For example, I know that my B3 uses "2.2 rear buggy" tires, and the stadium trucks use 2.2 truck tires, but what do these use? Also, is there a difference between fronts and rears? Can get them all the same if I want? Thanks, guys. I'm kind of clueless on this subject.

I noticed on the horizon hobby site that front and rear wheels were different products. Are rear tires wider? And if they are, do they have to be? or can I get all "rear" wheels/tires for my fronts and rears?

I am looking for course pin tires. Something like step pins would be nice for my application. The only thing I can find from Proline that is 4wd are the Inside Jobs, and Holeshots. What other tires of offered and by who? I am tempted to go with these Tamiya tires http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMGA3&P=7 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMGA4&P=M due to the fact that they're the coursest pin tire that I can find for these buggies. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks, guys.

-Jeff

[Ventman]

The XX4 and the XXX4 both use the same sets of front and rear wheels. For rear tires, you can use 2.2 buggy tires that all the 2wd buggies use, but it's finding the right set of matching 4wd front tires to go with them. 4wd fronts are bigger than 2wd fronts but smaller than rears, so having all the same tire/wheels on all the corners isn't going to work. Losi has tires for the buggies, just check out the tire guide (http://www.teamlosi.com/newprod/tirechart/tirechart.htm) , proline also has the dirt hawgs, which are excellent for street driving. The Tamiya tires you posted look great, and do look like the coursest pinned tires I've come across.

[pyro18t]

The XX4 and the XXX4 both use the same sets of front and rear wheels. For rear tires, you can use 2.2 buggy tires that all the 2wd buggies use, but it's finding the right set of matching 4wd front tires to go with them. 4wd fronts are bigger than 2wd fronts but smaller than rears, so having all the same tire/wheels on all the corners isn't going to work. Losi has tires for the buggies, just check out the tire guide (http://www.teamlosi.com/newprod/tirechart/tirechart.htm) , proline also has the dirt hawgs, which are excellent for street driving. The Tamiya tires you posted look great, and do look like the coursest pinned tires I've come across.

X2 on the dirt hawgs! they hook up REALLY well on asphalt, enought to traction roll the car. Those tamiya tires look nice, and if I know tamiya those tires are probably going to be a really hard compound, and they'll last a long time. So I'd probably use them more for bashing (most don't recomend bashing the XXX-4, but I do) or lower level racing. If you'r really serious about racing deffently buy the Losi tires!

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Thanks, guys! That was everything I needed. I'm revamping my XX4. It should be fairly nice when it's finished. new turnbuckles, RPM long shank ball cups, new spur gear, all new belts (HP), new white wheels, tires, body, wing, and of course - a blue aluminum screw kit. Should be pretty cool when it's done. I will probably just let it sit for a while until the hobby shop here finishes the track.

-Jeff

[microrcdude]

You could also post pics, sounds like it is going to be a fun project!

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Sure thing. I'll post it in the XX4 forum or the body detailing forum. I've been working on my airbrushing skills lately and who knows.. I might enter the body in the contest if it looks alright. I'll make sure to post a link in here when it's done. My girlfriend is visiting from florida between the 21st and jan 1st so I don't think it will be finished till after then some time :) I also may sell it on here or eBay when it's finished. Unforytunately we don't have a track around here (yet) and I already have a good bashing car (my factory team B3) :D so if anyone interested make sure to check back and I'll post a link.

-Jeff

[pyro18t]

where are you going to get a blue screw kit from?

[JeffEmbracedDC]

well I ordered a factory team tc4 screw kit. It looks like it has almost everything I'll need to make at least like 90% of the screws blue.

[JDT]

I think I used this one for my xx-4 back in the day

http://www.fastener-express.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1763

this is the red one but I know blue at least used to be available. They have several kits just click to find out what is contained in them.

Red Anodized Aluminum Fasteners for your Losi XXX Car
Price Qty
$17.85
Detailed Description
Red Anodized Aluminum Screws for your Losi XXX Car
Qty.17 4-40 x 3/8" Socket Head Cap Screws
Qty.21 4-40 x 3/8 Flat Head Cap Screws
Qty.8 4-40 x 5/16 Button Head Socket Cap Screws
Qty.4 4-40 x 1/2 Socket Head Cap Screws
Qty.4 4-40 x 1/2 Flat Head Socket Cap Screws
Qty.4 8-32 lock nuts

[pyro18t]

sweet i might have to pick up a couple of sets

[pininfarina]

The stock screw will oxidized

so I've gotten myself some new set of screws...

ordered the red anodised alu set... but not up to my likings..


so I've ordered the RCscrews... Stainless Steel... they seems to be tougher.. and complete

[pyro18t]

The stock screw will oxidized

so I've gotten myself some new set of screws...

ordered the red anodised alu set... but not up to my likings..


so I've ordered the RCscrews... Stainless Steel... they seems to be tougher.. and complete

Did you order the red screws as a set? and threw who?

[pininfarina]

Did you order the red screws as a set? and threw who?


they're set - from http://tracksidercproducts.com/

[pyro18t]

sweet time to order a couple of sets.... thanks!

Jay

[pininfarina]

sweet time to order a couple of sets.... thanks!

Jay

I don't know if it's a good idea to put in those aluminum screws...

it's kinda of easy to break if you use them for bashing isn't it?

hmmm

[microrcdude]

If your bashing, it would be better to just buy a Stainless Steel screw set through www.rcscrewz.com they make awesome sets, even includes wrenches and extra screws.

[pyro18t]

I don't know if it's a good idea to put in those aluminum screws...

it's kinda of easy to break if you use them for bashing isn't it?

hmmm


I remember when AE came out with all the blue screw sets, and used them in all their cars... more than likely I will not break a screw, I might strip it out, but I doubt I'll break it.

I've only had one alum. screw ever break on me and it was on my RC10T, one of the ones that holds the block for the rear A-arm down. Other than that I've had nothing but good luck with them.

Jay

[T/Losi]

Looking at getting a XXX-4 G+ and was reading on Losi's website that they recommend the PSP Shock Towers for added strength. Are they still the best ones to get? Where can I get some? Do they make front and rear? I went onto their website http://www.teamprpracing.com and they had no listing on the XXX-4

Cheers

[Y2KGTP]

How is belt wear on a brushless setup, and NiMH's? I have been thinking of getting one of these for 4WD Mod, but want to check into the reliability factor first......

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Do some people prefer the XX4? If anyone's interested I'd like to trade my XX4 for an XXX4. If anyone's interested, PM me. More information here: http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=232052

Thanks, guys!

-Jeff

[Sover]

I currently own a XXX-4 G+ and I have no problems with belt wear. Mine is realitively knew but a freind of mine has one thats nearly a year and a half old and extensively run and has never had to replace a belt. Honestly I love my XXX-4 and allthough its not a BJ it still holds its own on the track. Its very brittle at high speeds ( I'm running a SS 5800 ) so you have a major crash and your done.

[T/Losi]

I just put in a Airtronics 94358Z servo in my xxx4 and set the transmitter back to standard settings and the servo will turn all the way left but not right. Anyone got any ideas?

Cheers

[XXX-4 Junkie]

I just got a new xxx-4 G+ about a month ago. This is what i have in it as of right now:
Novak 3.5 Velocity Brushless motor
Novak GTB Spread Spectrum Speed control
Futaba S9550 Low profile servo
Futaba 3PM 2.4 FASST radio set
Trinity vis-pro 4200 team spec 6 cell side x side
Venom speed meter (53 MPH!)
Maxx headlights/taillights
HPI LED setup (for the lights)
Acer full set of ceramic bearings

what do you think?

[XXX-4 Junkie]

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[nitro_newbie]

hey is there a diffrence in width between the front and rear on the xxx-4 G+? cuz i wanna fab a truck conversion and need to know. thanks alot.

[XXX-4 Junkie]

hey is there a diffrence in width between the front and rear on the xxx-4 G+? cuz i wanna fab a truck conversion and need to know. thanks alot.

what part of the front and rear? like the gears the suspention be more specific please

[nitro_newbie]

sorry about that. i mean the fron and rear. it looks to me that the front is wider than the rear. and if it is possible can i get some to measure from axle end (were the wheel bolt goes on) to axle end in the front an rear? be cause i want to design some hex extensions and later some wider arms. so that way i can make a $wd stadium truck with the correct dimensions so taht it doesnt rub when i go full lock on steering. also length if possible.

p.s is this buggy as long as the t4?

[XXX-4 Junkie]

yes the front is wider than the rear but not by a whole lot. im sorry to inform you but i cant get the measurments because im in iraq right now and i already packed everything up to go back to the states next month after a 15 month deployment. so i wont see my car for a while. so i guess you can try someone else for the measurments but any other questions you have i might be able to answer them.

[nitro_newbie]

its cool. i just wanted to know if the front was wider than the back. i will figure it out when i buy it well if i dont change my mind and buy a baja 5b or b44 from AE. but how does this car rate compared to the shaft cars? is it pretty durable? and also good to hear your coming back.

[XXX-4 Junkie]

ok cool. you wont be dissapointed. it is very durable for me that is and i am a very hard driver. i am a basher right now because there are no tracks out here and i dont have time to make one because of my job over here. i do recomend a few things that helped alot the bullet proof your xxx-4 article. i myself couldnt find the better a-arms so i bought 4 extra sets nor could i find the tower upgrades for that i dont need to worry about over here because i can make aluminum ones if they break. i did get the titaniun screw kit and the aluminum pivot mounts. ive only had one bad crash so far and i happened to break something on all 4 corners. one thing being a front a-arm. anyway sorry to ramble. the belt drive is much quieter than a shaft drive, its really quiet when you have a brushless setup. you only hear tires when it wizzes by you at 50mph. i have yet to need a new belt so they are pretty durable to me. i do need a slipper rebuild kit though but i packed it before i bought the part so ill get it when i get back to the states. ok well got to go i hve pt at 8 so ill talk to you later again sorry for rambling and if you need any help ill try my best to do so



by the way are you a racer or a basher because my durable might be different from your durable

[nitro_newbie]

im a Bacer :) i race very seldomly i bash most of the time but i have an e-revo for the backflips and what not. this is more for the sand and messing around on this bmx track these kids built. and are you running a BL system? as i was thinking of sticking a mamba 5700 or 4600 but i dont know which one to get? i plan to make some aluminum(shocktowers) ones as well i dont like the g-10 stuff to brittle for my taste :). and i went and read that bullet proof xxx-4 thing and it seems like it doesnt need that many mods at all. just the hinge pin holders and the screw kit which seems minimal to me. and any other info that you want to tell me would be great as im new to the 1/10th scale buggies :). thanks again.

[XXX-4 Junkie]

i run a Novak GTB spread spectrum to go with my 2.4 radio and i run a 3.5 turn brushless motor thats how i got the 50+mph out of the buggy i forgot what size pinion i use but its about medium i guess. i use trinities 4200 mah i might upgrade to lithium ion later on to see just how fast i can get it. the hinge pins holders are pretty much manditory for bashing. the screw kit i think is just so you dont strip out the stock screws cause they do that alot.

[nitro_newbie]

oh okay kool. man thats alot of power you got there. i guess i will get those if i get it or when i get it.

[XXX-4 Junkie]

dont let me be your finnal desision because i dont know how the other systems work. i have a AE TC4 with LTP electronics and it went 70 mph so do some reasearch first. i dont know what your buget is cause i have bought like 9 cars in the lasy 14 months all with a grand or more in parts, so just do some reasearch before you make a desision.

[EricC17]

I got one for sale with alot of spare parts in the for slae forum.

Dont miss out on this deal.

[djkraz]

I'm pretty new to the rc car scene but I've been wanting to get into it for a long long time and now that i have the money, I'm diving all the way in. I bought an evader bx as my first car as a cheap way to start learning the game. Anyway, I am now ready to move on. From the many hours of research I've done, I've came to the conclusion that the best 4wd buggy is the xxx-4 and the best motor is the mamba max. The problem is that someone on ebay said they were selling there xxx-4 because it couldn't handle the mamba max. Does anyone know why this would be? Also, is there any difference between the xxx-4 and the xxx-4 g+ besides the graphite? Another thing, can the xxx-4 handle 7 cell packs? Lastly, I've recently been looking at the xx-4's too, but it looks like you can't use stick packs at all with them, is this true? I am very grateful for all information I receive, thx!

[tphss]

I just got a new xxx-4 G+ about a month ago. This is what i have in it as of right now:
Novak 3.5 Velocity Brushless motor
Novak GTB Spread Spectrum Speed control
Futaba S9550 Low profile servo
Futaba 3PM 2.4 FASST radio set
Trinity vis-pro 4200 team spec 6 cell side x side
Venom speed meter (53 MPH!)
Maxx headlights/taillights
HPI LED setup (for the lights)
Acer full set of ceramic bearings

what do you think?

What do you mean what do we think?
That's a hell of a setup you got there!
I would only get a lipo.

[GSMnow]

I have been a very long time Losi fan. I had JRX2's and I currently race a XXX-T MF2 truck. I want to go 4WD and I am comparing the cars out there. I realy like the design of the XXX-4 but I keep reading about it being too fragile. What parts break too easy? Does it break even without crashing, such as landing a jump good, but the bulkhead breaks anyways? There is a Hobby shop that has a couple XXX-4 standard kits still on sale. Are they worth it so save $70 off of a G+ version? What parts on a standard are too weak? Do the non graphite arms flex or still break at a lower impact?

If you have a non G+ what parts would you buy to beef it up? I have actually had bad luck with Losi's titanium turnbuckles, so I really don't see than as an advantage. The new EA3 composite sure seems like a better trade off of stiffness vs brittle hard but I don't think they make any EA3 XXX-4 arms. If I know where the weak poinmt are, I have made my own braces for my XXX-T and I have made it last months now without a broken part, and it has seen quite a few bad hits. I can do similar bracing on a XXX-4 if I know where it has a weakness. I found them on the XXX-T by breaking it, I would rather know what to brace before it breaks.

Thanks for any info. I have several people pushing me to a B44, and I drove one and it is nice, but I have never owned any Associated product and I really like my Losi stuff and have all kinds of springs and other hardware that I know I can use from my XXX-T and even JRX 2's and T's that are still carryover. If I can make a XXX-4 run with the B44 I will be in a better starting position.

[Mini-T Master]

i am probably getting rid on mine now. maby tou would be interested? bit it is a g+.
its just that i want tho go with a different 4wd or a 2wd truck.
these things are awesome though, this is my 2nd one, but i got it in a trade, and dont really want it anymore. it will be a roller.

sorry to get off topic, not really tryin to sell anything...i do actually have a question:
does anyone sell a stronger spur gear than the kevlar one?
i've stripped it twice with my MM 7700 and 2c lipo.
or should i just get a bunch of plastic ones? their cheaper.
i know why i stripped them(broken motor hold down) but is it worth getting kevlar over plastic?

[Mini-T Master]

also djkraz, it handles the Mamba Max fine, i just stripped out the spur gear from an improper mesh.
this thing is ballistic and alot of fun.
the differences are more than the graphite, you get better aluminum CVD's, better ball links, a kevlar spur gear, anda few other extras to make it better than the regular xxx-4
and yes, it can handle a 7 cell pack

[GSMnow]

Thanks for the info Mini-T and I would certainly be interested in your XXX-4 chassis depending on what it comes with and how much. If the condition is not great, then if the price is right, I can beat it up and see if I like it enough to then buy a new one and have a good set of spares. Or I would pay a fair price, if it is in good enough shape, then just race it and only need to buy spares. Do they have steel CVD's for the rear atleast?

The Kevlar spurs are very tough, but they are narrower. I will also have to see about using the Associated white slipper pads, I like them much better with the Mamba Max power. The Losi yellow pads slip when clod and then lock solid when they heat up so you have no slipper half way through the race. I had that problem on my XXX-T and since I switched to the Associated T4 spur and white pads it has been perfect. Just enough slip to save the diff. I would assume the belt would benefit from the same help.

[Mini-T Master]

i think its in ok condition, i'm ordering everything it needs this week except a screw kit (some stripped so i'll replace them all) it has aluminum cvd's all around, but they are much thicker than the steel ones, and actually stronger and lighter at the same time.
i'll pm you some pics and update you once all the parts get here.
also, i would prefer to sell it as a roller, because i dont wanna sell my mamba.
but who knows, the right price might convince me.

and thanks for the slipper tip!:)

[mrplease]

anyone know any good street tires? besides the proline dirt hawgs. i don't like those...

[GSMnow]

I bought Mini-T Master's XXX-4 G+ and I got it running last night. A few new screws and a few parts for the belt tensioner and slipper clutch, and it runs almost like new. With Mamba Max 5700 power, it is an outright rocket. I still have to do a bit of adjustinmg, and I have only ripped it up and down the street a bit so far.

As for tires on the street... I have a pair of totally worn to bald Losi taper pins on the front and a slightly less worn pair of Losi X-2000 tires I had from my old JRX2. The grip was not great, but with the 4WD it was easy to point and shoot it wherever I wanted to. One of the front shocks is leaking, so I need to address that. I have quite a bit of those parts from my other cars, so it should be ready for track time tomorrow.

I also mounted up a fresh set of Pro Line Hole shots to run in the dirt. I probably won't make the race tomorrow night, but I will get it on the track for some shake down runs. I still have to adjust my LiPo battery holder before I feel it is safe to run at the limit.

[Mini-T Master]

hope you like it ;) :D

[GSMnow]

I have about 30 minutes of track time on the XXX-4 now. I am very pleased with the handling of this thing. In crappy track condition (dry dusty and broken in places) I was still able to blow away my fastest times in good conditions in my XXX-T MF2 truck. The acceleration is crazy fast, but I am having a small issue. I think the slipper clutch is not holding good enough. As fats as it is taking off, I think it is slipping way too mauch, and I have it really tight. I can hear the motor rev way up ahead of the car's speed. It makes for very smooth acceleration, and very little wheelspin, so it is easy to drive this way, but I think a little more grab from the slipper could accelerate it even faster, especially if the track was groomed and damp, or full on blue groove without the dust. I am afraid to put any more force into the slipper wrench. It feels like something is going to brek. If I hold the spur and turn the wrench, the clutch just slips and won't tighten the nut. So I have to hold the wheels and the torque is going throuigh the belt. I can feel it stretch a little so I won't push any harder.

I just did a solid asphault run to wring it out after cleaning the dirt out. Bald old dirt pin tires all the way around on the street should spin pretty easy, but it still spins the slipper first. If I hammer it with the chassis alrerady out of shape, then I can just over power the tires. It's not like it won't put down any power, it is still just crazy fast, and it is pulling enough current to kill my 2S 3000HV LiPo's in just 9 minutes, 3 minutes faster than my truck ever depleted them. (running the same Mamba Max 5700 system) Is there anything in the slipper that might cause it to not hold torque, even with a new spring, pucks, and plates?I am getting a pretty good amount of white dust, I think worn from the pucks.They are still fatter than the gear, but not by much. I can just wiggle the gear between the plates.

[Mini-T Master]

mby you could try no slipper pads, it would just greb the spur for a really tight slipper setup.
but that may be to tight.

[GSMnow]

I think I may have found part of the problem. The 6 pins on the small pulley that go through the 2 plates were sheared about 1/4 the way through. This was causing a step that was keeping the plates from going together further. This limits the pressure on the pucks. I just got the new pulley with the pins on it. Once I get it installed, I hope it will take care of the issue. If it doesn't, I will have to look further. I am not sure the plates right on the spur will have any more grip. Smooth kevlar is pretty slippery. What I think would work is a set of pucks made out of the yellow friction material Losi used on the MF2 slipper. That thing would lock up and not slip at all.

[GSMnow]

I just finished rebuilding the slipper clutch once again. Yes, the time is right, I need to get some sleep, no test drive tonight. With the new pulley, it does seem to hold tighter, but it still won't hold enough torque to lift the chassis over 45 degrees, let alone to 90 degrees where it would possibly pull a wheelie. My test for setting the slipper is quite simple, and work well on my truck. I just wedge the pinion to spur so it can't turn backwards. Pickup the vehicle by the rear tires, and turn backwards. I set my truck so it will lift the chassis to almost 90 degrees when it starts to slip. This is usually right where I want it. Now with the XXX-4, it does have more of the total weight out in front of the rear axle, so maybe this setup is not as valid. I dialed it about as tight as I think it can be turned without damaging anything. I also made sure to put the torque only into the aluminum parts. I think the pins got sheared from trying to tighten the clutch in the first place. I was holding the rear tires while cranking on the wrench. This time I cranked it down out of the car while holding just the aluminum plates while turning the slipper wrench. If I hold it by the spur, pushing on the wrench will just slip the clutch and will not adjust the nut. I also scuffed the pucks on some fine sand paper and cleaned it all with alcohol. I am not looking to do wheelies or back flips, but I don't like hearing the motor rev to the sky while the car accelerates away slower. Last time on the track, the slipper plates hit over 170 degrees F. That is alot of slipping. I hope to have another practice track report tomorrow. And if I don't get stuck working, a real race on Sat.

[micah]

I have 600 bucks, I just got a brand new XXX-4... I have no supporting elec's..

Q: Do I get a bad-ass brushed/nimh setup, or an entry-level LiPo/Brushless setup?

It has to pay for the following:
*Radio (Preferrably an FM 2/3chan pistol with a decent steering servo)
*ESC
*Battery(ies)
*Charger
*Motor/pinion(s)
*Shipping

I'd post this in a new thread, but for some reason the forum is broken and being stupid at the moment.

Thanks in advance!
--Micah

[micah]

^^ Disregard that... I bought a setup. Here's what I got:

* Xcelorin 10.5T Sensored Brushless Combo
* Two Losi 2Cell 20C 7.4v 5000mAh packs
* Hyperion Balancing charger (0606i) w/temp probe just in case.
* Charge adapter for EC3 connectors
* Futaba 3PM TX/RX
* JR Sport Z590M Servo for steering
* 17/19/21tooth pinions to play with.
* Paints for lexan - to make it perty
* Set of super cheap paddle tires for the beach.

Anyways... Outta go pretty fast.. I'll probably upgrade to a 6.5T motor in the near future.. but I figure the 10.5 will be a good "welcome back to the hobby" motor for me.

Has anybody put 4wheel paddle tires on their X4G? i'm looking to do it.. even if it means trimming back the paddles on the fronts to prevent rubbing. Though, I haven't gotten the car yet... (still in the mail), so I don't know if there's an adjustable bump stop or something instead. I just think that 4 paddle tires pulling would be insane for soft sand.

[micah]

^^ thats assuming people actually visit this board. :)

[GSMnow]

I read the board. I have a XXX-4. I equipped mine a bit different. I spent a bit less than $600 on this.
I run
A Spektrum DX 3.0 radio system for $219
A Mamba Max 5700 system for $188
Two MaxAmps LiPo's 2s 3000 for $115
I already have a TC1030 charger, forgot what I paid

Paddle tires are not my thing. I run on a hard packed dirt track and pavement. I use J concepts, ProLine, or Losi tires depending on the surface, but they are all tiny spikes on dirt or totally bald on pavement. I can't imagine trying to drive my Mamba Max power on sand. I have driven a Novak 8.5 and it runs pretty strong, but nothing like my Mamba Max even though they turn close to the same rpm. The Mamba Max just makes huge torque.

Good luck runningin sand

[micaheli]

I read the board. I have a XXX-4. I equipped mine a bit different. I spent a bit less than $600 on this.
I run
A Spektrum DX 3.0 radio system for $219
A Mamba Max 5700 system for $188
Two MaxAmps LiPo's 2s 3000 for $115
I already have a TC1030 charger, forgot what I paid

Paddle tires are not my thing. I run on a hard packed dirt track and pavement. I use J concepts, ProLine, or Losi tires depending on the surface, but they are all tiny spikes on dirt or totally bald on pavement. I can't imagine trying to drive my Mamba Max power on sand. I have driven a Novak 8.5 and it runs pretty strong, but nothing like my Mamba Max even though they turn close to the same rpm. The Mamba Max just makes huge torque.

Good luck runningin sand

You spent more on the radio than I did... :) Though, I'm going from AM... so, its still an upgrade for me. something like 8 years out of the hobby has been.. interesting..

I had the Kinwald edition XXX a long time ago... Was a great car.. I only go to the beach 4 times a year, but when I do I always think "Man, paddle tires would rock"..

Most of the time I'm on dirt or hard-pack.

Whats the best way to measure brushless power? kv or turns? I'd assume kv is a REAL measurement, where as turns can be deceiving... like it was with brushed motors.

I keep hoping they come out with a STANDARD form of measurement like horsepower for cars... 1/2hp @ 20,000rpm or something like that. :)

Anyways. I'll have to report my paddle success. :) I only ordered a rear set, since I've never done 4wd before... so, wasn't sure what widths and such to get or if I could run rear wheels/tires in the front.

Forgive my n00bness. :)

[micah]

Well, I got my XXX-4 G+... assembled it with care.. and I must say.. I'm not as pleased with Team Losi as I was with my XXX... For one... It was missing a few parts which I had to go out and buy... the rear wheel nuts were one of them, the bolt that goes in the servo saver/servo, and something else that escapes me.. Nothing HUGE mind you... but annoying.

Here's where I need advice....

1) The slipper clutch assembly (namely the extremely thin reverse thread nut that you adjust it with) appears to rub against the idler pulley bracket... Is this something that just wears down/clearances itself eventually and stops being an issue? Or is something more sinister going on? I've stopped driving the car since I don't want to break anything quite yet.

2) The car did NOT come with CVD's at all... instead it came with two addendum parts bags with alternative dogbones front and rear... the rear with nylon knucles/ujoint parts on one side... Not a fan of plastic driveshaft pieces. The front has some very odd CVD-Esque driveshafts that appear to be 1/8" too short. The front hub pieces are plastic unlike the rear metal ones... They also had an alum ring around the outside (I assume to hold it together and not break).. When my suspension in the front is fully extended, the dog bones pop past this ring and make an audible click/pop noise... no doubt this can't be good for the car.

Should I be calling Team Losi on monday and bitching them out for sending me bogus parts or am I stuck with what I got..... Did I fubar the slipper install? (not sure how I could do that....)

Anyways.. any help is appreciated.

[GSMnow]

The slipper should not rub on the idler arm. There are two small shims that need to be on the main shaft between the slipper bearing and the idler arm bushing. Also, the idler arm bushing has to be with the flange towards the main gear.pulley. The idler arm will actually extend just past the end of the shaft, so it will be tight up against the inside of the tunnel in the chassis. It is a very tight fit in there. Especially if it came with the updated aluminum idler puller with 2 bearings. I recently installed that as am update and it is well worth the tight install.

I have the aluminum CVD's. If you are local, I will trade you in a heartbeat. With my Mabma Max 5700, I am eating the aluminum housing. The small pin is literally bieng pushed through the aluminum. I have fixed 3 of them now by drilling a new hole at a different angle.

The Nylon u-joint outdrives on the rear are nearly indestructable. I have them on my XXX-T truck and even with the larger tires, they show no wear after a year of brushless abuse. The front diff plastic out drives are a bit questionable. The aluminum ring does interfere with the dog bone pins. So my car had the rings removed and of course, I spit the diff outdrive after a few races. I re-built the front diff with the steel outdrives from the rear diff. It was about $25 worth of parts to do this. You need the two out drives, a new diff tube and the hardware kit for a shim washer. The diff tube from the plastic diff is just a hair too short. If you want to run the plastic diff for now, you could possibly grind down the dog bone pins until they clear the aluminum rings. I thought about doing this before I switched to the metal diff, but never tried to so I can't be certain if it would cause any other problem, but I don't see any reason why it would.

As for the front drive shafts.. Are they LCD's ?? LCD's look like two CVD's connected back to back with a sleave in the middle catching the two pins. I will be switching to those on the front of mine soon. They were out of stock last time I pulled the pin out of my aluminum CVD. Since the angle of the joint is split between two pivots, the action is much smoother and since it is steel, the wear should be less too. It is also a true constant velocity unlike a CVD which is basically just a U-joint with funny yokes.

Once you have the car together correctly, you will love it. The XXX-4 G+ is basically a touring car for dirt. The speed and cornering is just amazing. It does bottom out a bit more off the jumps than I would like, but I hate to give up too much of it's nimble cornering to stop a chassis slap twice a lap. So far I just went to a little thicker oil and disconnected the rear sway bar to slow the turn in. Other than that, I am basiccaly running the box setup and it works!

[micah]

The slipper should not rub on the idler arm. There are two small shims that need to be on the main shaft between the slipper bearing and the idler arm bushing. Also, the idler arm bushing has to be with the flange towards the main gear.pulley. The idler arm will actually extend just past the end of the shaft, so it will be tight up against the inside of the tunnel in the chassis. It is a very tight fit in there. Especially if it came with the updated aluminum idler puller with 2 bearings. I recently installed that as am update and it is well worth the tight install.

Thats how I have them installed... everything you just said is exactly as its installed.. The two shims, the bushing is flange side toward the slipper. I ended up with 2 extra of those small shims though (which was disheartening, so I went through the entire manual again.. they are extras.), so I was thinking of putting them in there one at a time to see if it stops rubbing.. And no.. it wasn't an aluminum pully.. just one bearing snapped into the middle of the plastic one. Its coming with an alum one now?! I feel ripped off....


I have the aluminum CVD's. If you are local, I will trade you in a heartbeat. With my Mabma Max 5700, I am eating the aluminum housing. The small pin is literally bieng pushed through the aluminum. I have fixed 3 of them now by drilling a new hole at a different angle.

Yeah, my rear ones are steel or atleast aluminum.. I can't tell.. I'm sure I'll find out when my Xcelorin 3.5T eats it up. :) I have the ESC set really low for now.

The Nylon u-joint outdrives on the rear are nearly indestructable. I have them on my XXX-T truck and even with the larger tires, they show no wear after a year of brushless abuse. The front diff plastic out drives are a bit questionable. The aluminum ring does interfere with the dog bone pins. So my car had the rings removed and of course, I spit the diff outdrive after a few races. I re-built the front diff with the steel outdrives from the rear diff. It was about $25 worth of parts to do this. You need the two out drives, a new diff tube and the hardware kit for a shim washer. The diff tube from the plastic diff is just a hair too short. If you want to run the plastic diff for now, you could possibly grind down the dog bone pins until they clear the aluminum rings. I thought about doing this before I switched to the metal diff, but never tried to so I can't be certain if it would cause any other problem, but I don't see any reason why it would.

Sweet..I might just do that down the road when these break... What parts will I need to buy? Do you have part numbers I could order now? Won't a rear diff just drop in and go? Can you buy the rear diff in one package? or is it a combination of parts I would need to buy.

As for the front drive shafts.. Are they LCD's ?? LCD's look like two CVD's connected back to back with a sleave in the middle catching the two pins. I will be switching to those on the front of mine soon. They were out of stock last time I pulled the pin out of my aluminum CVD. Since the angle of the joint is split between two pivots, the action is much smoother and since it is steel, the wear should be less too. It is also a true constant velocity unlike a CVD which is basically just a U-joint with funny yokes.

Yeah, sounds like they are LCD's... A bitch to put together compared to the rear nylon ones... but, definitely a cool design.. I was just bummed by the length, they seemed like 1-2mm too short.. but from what you are saying, its the diff yoke problem and not the driveshaft.

Once you have the car together correctly, you will love it. The XXX-4 G+ is basically a touring car for dirt. The speed and cornering is just amazing. It does bottom out a bit more off the jumps than I would like, but I hate to give up too much of it's nimble cornering to stop a chassis slap twice a lap. So far I just went to a little thicker oil and disconnected the rear sway bar to slow the turn in. Other than that, I am basiccaly running the box setup and it works!

[GSMnow]

Does your idler arm have a slot so you can slip it in over the belt, or is it just a hole so you need to thread the belt before installing the whole thing in the tunnel? My original had the slot and the plastic idler roller with one bearing. It worked okay, but I hacked the belt and needed a new one anyways, and I found a Losi factory team upgrade kit. It had the new arm with just a hole, no slot and the aluminum roller with 2 bearings. It came with a small addendum instruction sheet on the new install. It sounded like it could be a kit update, but I don't know if the kits ever shipped with it.

If you have all the shims and bushing in the right places and you still have a rub, I think your slipper may just still be set too loose. You really need to crank that reverse thread nut down to keep it from slipping under load. I have mine as tight as I could get it and the MAmba Max 570 still spins it for 1.2 the main straight, not 2 or 3 feet like they say in the manual. When the track is great i would love it a bit tighter, but when it starts going away and getting dusty, it is just about right, so I am lettng it go for now. On a drying track, I was still able to out drag race a B44 even though I heard the slipper wasting quite a bit of power.

I know what you mean about the dog bone seeming too short. At full droop the pins barely stay in the diff cups. But due to the large diff pulleys, the out drives are just too high in the chassis. So as the suspension compresses, the dog bones plung much further into the diffs. At full compression, I guess they felt they could not make them any longer, but looking at mine with how little camber I run, 2 mm longer would certainly not be a problem. Maybe the team guys run more negative which would push the dogbone further in.

I have seen aluminum bones withthe nylon u-joint, but I see no point. I would hope the shafts and dog bone pins are steel. That is what they are on my XXX-T MF2. I had t oreplace the diff out drive on that because the dog bones pins ate into them, but the nylon U-joint is still like new, no slop at all. They are tough.

For the steel diff, I think these are all the parts needed. I converted mine between qualifier heats, and had to take two trips up to the shop.

In your original manual the guide numbers are 86 87 and 153.
86 is the diff tube, it comes in replacement parts bag A3072
87 is the steel out drive. You only get one in package A3073, so you need two of them.
153 is just a thin shim washer, to get it you need to buy A6230 which comes with the entire diff screw kit, but for the 2WD diffs, not sure if it is the same, I have not tried it in mine. A2909 is the 4WD diff screw set that should have the shim, but it is not listed that way in the parts list. See if your LHS has these numbers and look for the shim. It is the same OD as the bearing in the diff, but it has a large ID and is very thin. Just enough to make sure the thrust bearing pushes only on the outer race of the bearing, not the inner race. Without it the diff binds up, trust me.

[GSMnow]

I love my XXX-4 G+ but I am sure I am not the only one having issues with the slipper clutch.

I am running a Mamba Max 5700 on 2S LiPo geared for just about 40 mph (16 to 94) and the slipper is seriously limiting the torque I can put to the wheels. I cleaned the 6 pucks and the plates with alcohol and tried to scuff the plates with emery cloth, but I didn't see any scratches. The hard anodize is very hard. I used a real wrench to tighten the left hand nut a full turn more than I could get with the stamped wrench from the kit, but I can still hold the spur and turn the pulley with my hand. When the track is damp I get good enough grip I can just slam the throttle and the wheels don't spin now. I can hear the motor rev to the sky as it spins the slipper like nothing. If I pull the trigger a slower, and try not to blaze, it, I have gotten more acceleration out of it, but it is nerve racking to have the phoney performance limit. I have white pads in there, does anyone make different pucks with more grip? I have seriously thought about just pinning it, but the Mamba Max will certainly over torque the diffs, if not the belt, with no slipper in there. Has anyone tried grinding slots in the plates, like a brake rotor? I'm thinking the pads might take a little more bite as the ridges try to go by. I am also thinking of trying the Traxxas slipper pegs. I could drill holes in the gear to take at least 12 of them, along with the stock pucks. What do you think?

[GSMnow]

I finally got a chance to try a different steering linkage mod on the front of my XXX-4 G+. I have seen several different conversions to use a rack from a 2WD buggy, and I see the advantage, but I didn't like the idea of having to chop the belt tunnel. I did a few sketches on paper and I came up with a fairly simple solution.

I made a pair of small plates. I used 16 gauge steel for a couple reasons. They are just 1/4 x 3/4 inch so they are not heavy, probably lighter than the buggy rack. I drilled 3 holes in them. One right in the center is drilled to clear a 4-40 screw. The outer two holes are tapped 4-40. All 3 holes are in a straight line, spaced 0.260 inches apart. I used short button head screws to bolt the center hol into the steering bell cranks where the tie rod ball joint used to go. The plate extends out off the end of the bell crank moving the tie rod ball joint forward and out slightly. Then you use another short 4-40 button head screw with a washer through the open web of the bell crank from the bottom. Use lock tight, it is into steel and can work loose easilly. Also lock tight the ball stud in at the end. This does raise the stud a little, so I also had to add 2 washers under the ball stud in the knuckles to get minimum bump steer. This does also increase the ratio of the steering from the servo to the wheels. I use a very strong servo, so I just dialed my end points down from 120 to just under 100% and the inside wheel still reaches maximum lock. The big change is the outside wheel now turns much more, still less than the inner wheel like it should, but much closer to the proper ackerman angle where the axis of both front tires meets on the line through the rear wheels. With no other change on the car, the steering was so quick and nervous, I had to dial in quite a bit of negative expo to calm it down. Low speed steering is dramatically increased. The inner wheel is steering the same as before, I only increase the angle of the outer wheel. I will be making a few changes to the setup to make use of this new found steering. I think I need to loose the rear sway bar now. I got about an hour of track time in varying conditions, and once I got used to the feel, I was turning some very quick laps. The tight sections I used to have to take very carefully, now had room to play so I could hit them much quicker. The 180 after the fast sweeper was the biggest change. Instead of pushing wide and having to be easy on the throttle to make it, I found I could rotata under power and make a 2 foot radius curve right around the inner pipe. I hope to run a real race with it this week and give a better report. The best part about this mod is that it is totally reversible. No change has been made to the tub or bell cranks. I could switch it back in a few minutes. I had to turn the tie rods just 2-3 turns to get toe back. I have not optimised this at all yet, but I made inside moves on a B44 and several 1/8 guys at the track. I was cutting fast turns tighter than ever before. No more washing out as it loads into the turn. I did a quick test on the street, and it was scary twitchy though. Way too much steering with the remaining dirt setup on the car. I rolled it twice just trying to do an oval in the street. Maybe it needs a front sway bar instead of the rear?? If anyone is interested, I can try posting a pic of it.

I also have the link from the servo going across to the battery side now, it does seem a little more linear from left to right, but that change was subtle.

[GSMnow]

I just replaced my front shock tower for the 3rd time a few days ago. As I looked over the car, I got an interesting idea. I bent up some 1/16 in music wire to act as a roll over bar just above the front tower. Original plan being to reduce the odds of killing another shock tower, at least during practice time. I could easilly pull it off for races if anyone complained. But then I got thinking, I know some people run nose wings on other cars. I modifed the top of the wire and slapped on a hunk of lexan. I now have a small front wing just above the shock tower with some nice springy wire holding it up. I took it for a test drive yesterday.

WOW!! The track was very dusty and totally dry, and I was still able to nail it into the sweeper quite hard and the car just stuck. I ran with no wings and the car would just slide up tail out. Then I ran just a rear wing, and it would push up so I had to slow a bit to make the end of the turn. Then with both wings, the car took a set and was able to corner a a much higher speed. It is not enough front wing to take over the car, it just adds a tiny push down on the nose so the front wheels have a chance at turning it. It is just a flat slab of Lexan, about 2 x 3 inches with a tiny turn up at the tail. No side dams at all. I started with it angled up about 30 degrees from flat, I have it a bit shallower now.

There is also a side benefit I didn't expect. I had a few small flips and the music wire actually had enough bounce to get the car back on it's wheels like 3 out of 5 times. I think the wing helped the handling enough, I just may have to buy the XXX buggy "Downforce Kit"

[BillH]

I have a question for you xxx4 owners. I am looking into buying one used. My question is what speed should I expect from a 12 turn double with 19/94 gearing on 6 cells. I am not looking for exact speed just a realistic ball park. Thanks Bill

[BillH]

Well mine is now in the mail. I have yet to buy a motor. I am looking at brushed.

[GSMnow]

I have been seduced by the dark side, BRUSHLESS! There is no reason to run a brush motor any more. Brushless is about the same price and you get better performance and a much longer life. I did have a problem, my own fault, after 1.5 years I had to send in my brushless ESC for repair. I tried to run brushed again, FORGET IT. To get even moderate performance I was cooking the brushes in just 2 heats. I bought another brushless ESC to run my 1.5 year old motor and it just plain runs rings around anything with brushes. There are some very good hand built brush motors will will hang with me in the infield sections, but they need brushes every 2 to 3 heats as well. I just drop in a pack and go. Maybe knock the dirt off once in a while.

My brother went with a Sidewinder system (70% little brother to my Mamba Max) in his XXX-t and it is more power than you can use without 4WD. You can pick one up for under $150 for the ESC and motor. You will never comeclose to the performance for that with brushed, let alone it will last years, not runs.

[GSMnow]

Oh, if you do go brushless, don't get caught up in the "higher KV is faster" mess. I run the Mamba Max 5700 and it is really about as much power as the XXX-4 can take. A 6900 or 7700 would not be able to be geared slow enough for the track here at Hot Rod hobbies. When I had my "problem" if the motor was hurt, I would probably have gotten a 4600. It turns lower rpm, but makes more torque, so you just gear it with a bigger pinion. That would put me in a better range.

[GSMnow]

The real reason I logged in...

Understeer at speed in the XXX-4.
I ran into a small problem that kept me behind a B44 at the track. I could not turn as tight of a radius as the B44's for any given speed. The faster I went into a turn, the wider the radius became. The winning B44 wasable to pass me on the inside with room to spare while moving at a faster ground speed so even with a tighter line he had a faster entry to each straight too. I was able to make up for it on the long straight thanks to the huge power advantage of the Mamba Max, but in the tighter infield, I could not touch him and he beat me by a bit over a full lap in 7 minutes.

He helped me out after the race and we found one problem, the steering servo saver (a brand new Kimborough) was not strong enough to tunr the front wheels against the caster load. We could see the front tires un-steering (is that a word?) as the car loaded into the turns. I built up a fresh Losi servo saver with all 3 springs on it, and it seems to have fixed that issue, but I still have a steady state understeer that is certainly limiting the maximum cornering force. I am now thinking of going to either a stiffer rear spring or a softer front spring, but I don't want it to become a tail happy beast. It feels about perfect in fast transitions. I still have the stock setup on it for springs, pink in back and green up front. I do have reds for the back (2.6 vs 2.3) and Silvers for the front (3.2 vs 3.5). Will either change alone be big or barely noticable? Will both be a huge change? I have the stock rear sway bar set as stiff as it will go. I have the rear shock in the middle hole on top and outer hole on the amrs. Front shocks are also in the middle hole up top, but in the inner hole on the arms. I will have to check my setup sheet again, but I think I am at 27.5 oil in back, and 35 oil up front to make it a little less twitchy on initial steering input. I may also try going back to 30/30 oil, but I like the turn in, it is the steady state that is killing my corner speed. We have 2 tight turns a good bit over 90 degrees, and 5 tightish turns that are close to 180's, and of course the fast large radius sweeper that is a good 180. I am washing out wide on all of them. A good lap is 20 seconds flat. I was turning high 21's on my best laps. Power and gearing are no concern, I have faster acceleration and more top end than anyone else in the class. When the track was very dry and dusty, I was sliding out in a 4 wheel drift and urned lap times very close even though I could not put down power in the dust. I didn't expect the improved grip from grooming and watering the track to make the rear hold so much better than the front.

I almost forgot, I even have a small front wing and it does help a little in the fast sweeper, but not in the infield at all.

Any suggestions?
I don't want to go to a one way though. I need the braking from the front wheels. The B44's are also running just front and rear ball diffs, and they have the corner grip, so I know it can be done.

[Y2KGTP]

The real reason I logged in...

Understeer at speed in the XXX-4.
I ran into a small problem that kept me behind a B44 at the track. I could not turn as tight of a radius as the B44's for any given speed. The faster I went into a turn, the wider the radius became. The winning B44 wasable to pass me on the inside with room to spare while moving at a faster ground speed so even with a tighter line he had a faster entry to each straight too. I was able to make up for it on the long straight thanks to the huge power advantage of the Mamba Max, but in the tighter infield, I could not touch him and he beat me by a bit over a full lap in 7 minutes.

He helped me out after the race and we found one problem, the steering servo saver (a brand new Kimborough) was not strong enough to tunr the front wheels against the caster load. We could see the front tires un-steering (is that a word?) as the car loaded into the turns. I built up a fresh Losi servo saver with all 3 springs on it, and it seems to have fixed that issue, but I still have a steady state understeer that is certainly limiting the maximum cornering force. I am now thinking of going to either a stiffer rear spring or a softer front spring, but I don't want it to become a tail happy beast. It feels about perfect in fast transitions. I still have the stock setup on it for springs, pink in back and green up front. I do have reds for the back (2.6 vs 2.3) and Silvers for the front (3.2 vs 3.5). Will either change alone be big or barely noticable? Will both be a huge change? I have the stock rear sway bar set as stiff as it will go. I have the rear shock in the middle hole on top and outer hole on the amrs. Front shocks are also in the middle hole up top, but in the inner hole on the arms. I will have to check my setup sheet again, but I think I am at 27.5 oil in back, and 35 oil up front to make it a little less twitchy on initial steering input. I may also try going back to 30/30 oil, but I like the turn in, it is the steady state that is killing my corner speed. We have 2 tight turns a good bit over 90 degrees, and 5 tightish turns that are close to 180's, and of course the fast large radius sweeper that is a good 180. I am washing out wide on all of them. A good lap is 20 seconds flat. I was turning high 21's on my best laps. Power and gearing are no concern, I have faster acceleration and more top end than anyone else in the class. When the track was very dry and dusty, I was sliding out in a 4 wheel drift and urned lap times very close even though I could not put down power in the dust. I didn't expect the improved grip from grooming and watering the track to make the rear hold so much better than the front.

I almost forgot, I even have a small front wing and it does help a little in the fast sweeper, but not in the infield at all.

Any suggestions?
I don't want to go to a one way though. I need the braking from the front wheels. The B44's are also running just front and rear ball diffs, and they have the corner grip, so I know it can be done.

This may be too simple but.....what motor is the B44 running vs yours? You mentioned:

"I was able to make up for it on the long straight thanks to the huge power advantage of the Mamba Max"

"I have faster acceleration and more top end than anyone else in the class."

Are you a bit overpowered for the track?

Slow down to speed up..... :D

[GSMnow]

The winning B44 is running (I think Speed Passion) 7.5 turn geared for just a hair less top speed than me, but also down on wheel torque.

It is very easy to just plain over drive it, I have 500+ watts available vs about 300 watts for the 7.5 turn. But he drove my car as well, and we even tried running right together, same corner entry speed, and my car would wash out wide and his didn't. This is at steady state speed, I have too much push. Unfortunately, I have not been back to the track to test any changes yet. I only want to change one thing at a time to see the effect. I put my now fixed higher torque Futaba servo back in and installed the strongest Losi servo saver setup from the kit. This should eliminate the "un-steering" effect we were seeing. The force on the front wheel caster was actually straightening the wheels a bit under high cornering loads. On pavement, it seems to be fixed, but it still has push, but I want to feel it out on dirt before I start changing springs.

I looked up the rates and have the next stiffer rear and next softer front springs in my race case to try. Once I get the steady state cornering to balance a little closer, then I will decide ifI need to change shock oil as well for the initial turn in. In my 2WD, I used fairly stiff front oil to numb the turn in. I thought about using a lighter front oil to make it turn in better, but the more I think about it, I have very quick initial response. It is nice now, not too nervouse, but crisp. My main concern is just the steady state, not the trasition, and the shock oil has very little effect on steady state unless it is a rough track issue, and the fact I saw the push on new smooth asphault makes me think that is not the problem. Cranking up the angle of the front wing also did not help much. I was able to enter the fast sweeper a little faster, but as I slowed for the decreasing radius, it just washed out the same as before. Wing downforce goes with the sqaure of speed. I need mechanical grip up front.

Anyone who has driven a Mamba Max and a ROAR legal sensored system side by side knows that the Mamba Max motors just make huge amounts of torque. I am very aware of the "slow down to go fast" rule. When the B44 owner drove my car, he was shocked at the power when he totally overshot the down side on the triple jump. And the rate he was able to just eat up the main straight. I have dialed in a nice throttle curve and reduced the timing to tame the control, and after 2 laps he dialed in his finger and was nailing the down side and rolling the power on at the limit of tire grip on the straight. He was about 1/2 second off of my lap times at this point, and totally agreed with me that the car just could not take the optimum line at the same speed as his car. The 6 180 turns gave him about 1 second a lap that I could never make up with just the one long straight to fly down. When he did come around to lap me, it was coming to the straight. When we both got on it, I pulled 4+ feet on him before the sweeper. I slowed to his speed and went a bit wide, and by the first tight 180, he drove insdie of me. When we got back the the front straight again, he got 8 feet on me. Back down the straight, I made up almost 5 feet of it, but again, he got back 7 or 8 feet in the tight 180's. His average lap was 22.0 (fastest in the low 20's) my average was 23.5 seconds (fastest 21.7). 1.5 seconds per lap. At 7 minutes, he had a total of 28 seconds on me. I also did over drive a few times trying to make it up, so he got a little more room on me total.

Having the extra power, and NOT being able to pull the trigger does get very frustrating. I drove well, the car has the power, and it even cornered well enough to lap all the other cars 3 times. The B44 had 19 laps, I just missed 18, and everyone else had 15 or less. He is a better driver than me, but I think I can be a lot closer with a bit less push.

At last though, it was sure great to get well over 20 minutes of track time and NOTHING BROKE!! It sure helps when you don't crash.

[Y2KGTP]

Ok...sounds like some minor tuning with the buggy then. The senerio seemed typical of a overpowered vehicle, but having another driver confirm the same observations of push, is a step in the right direction.

I assume here you are running the same tires as the B44?

[GSMnow]

The B44 that beat me was running the same tread, Pro Line Hole Shots, all the way around. I know mine are M3 compound, I didn't ask about his. The B44 I beat had the Hole Shots on the front, but IFMAR pins on the back. He had very good cornering grip with the odd setup, bu I think the Hole Shots all around were a little better in forward bit. He gave up a little rear side bit to get the turn in on the tight corners. It worked. But the Other B44 with the same tires as me was the class of the field.

I did some testing today on pavement. Not totally transferable to the dirt, but I wanted an idea how much it was going to change.

I use totally bald worn out Hole Shot M3's all around, they are completely smooth so there are no pins to grab, just the slick tire compound. My test course for today was smooth concrete, 3 different sections, with slightly different amounts of grip. I used the old setup with just the repaired servo and new saver setup. I used a steady skid pad to assess the constant grip. It was about what I remembered. At a very slow speed, it can turn as tight as a 4 foot dia (2 foot radius) circle, so I know it is steering the wheels quite far. As i sped up slowly, the line just gets bigger and bigger. At less than 1/2 throttle, I can't keep it on an 18 foot square concrete pad. To test turn in, I run close to full speed and try to turn into the same concrete pad. With the stock spring setup and 25 oil in back, 32.5 up front, it does have a very distinct push on entry. I have to brake a bit and if I don't get off the brakes soon enough it pushes very bad. I have to brake fairly early, get to a safe turn in speed, and actually apply a tick of throttle to rotate the car, under braking, or even coast it really pushed and I ran into the grass on the far side of the concrete several times.

Then I changed the rear shocks. I went up from the 25 to 35 oil and from the pink springs to the red springs, one step stiffer 2.3 to 2.6. I did the steady state first. It did the same radius at low speed as expected, and I was able to pull a little more throttle before I was too wide to stay on the pad. It was still progressively more push as I accelerated, never got loose in steady state testing. The turn in test was another story. Going up as much as I did on the oil was a bit dramatic, Turn in under braking would still push, but when coasting, it really tucked in hard, I even flipped it once. I was also able to make the car spin out from a throttle punch. The previous setup would just push away on a big launch, where now I could just whip the tail around, and I even made it flip the car over in a blink as it unloaded the tires on the inside and spun them into rubber pie plates. I knew the oil change was huge, but I also knew I needed to change the front oil as well.

So the next step was 32.5 oil in the front, in place of the 30 that was in there, and also changing the Green 3.5 springs down to Silver 3.2 springs.

The steady state sure felt a little faster still. It felt to me like I was able to get to 2/3's throttle before it would not stay on the 18 foot square driveway. I think it could go even a tick faster, but the inside tires were unloading and spinning which made it impossible to put down any more power. The turn in was very quick, but now it was controllable. The push under braking did get a little worse, but it tucks in very nice as the brakes come back off. I got a little too brave. I was shooting the sidewalk, reaching very close to top out at 40 mph, and them stabbing the brakes and cutting a 90 degree turn into the 18 foot driveway to do a 180 turn , then back down the same sidewalk again. I then do the turn in a different driveway in the other direction. The car was feeling very good. I got a bit carried away and started ripping the course as fast as I could. I should have packed it in to go to the track tomorrow, but I was having too much fun. I came off of the far drive a bit out of shape, with the car coming towards me at 30+ MPH, then I rolled into the power fast at the middle of the sidewalk between the driveways. The car slid a bit as it spun all four tires quite hard. I thought I had caught it, but it over corrected just enough for the left front tire to catch on something so it darted again and required another correction and since it looked like I kept it on the sidewalk I rolled the power back on, but I was far enough over that the right front tire touched grass. As luck would have it, it turned the car into the grass further and the right front caught a concrete street light pole. OUCH!!!

amazingly, the hop ups I have done did their job. It broke the A-arm, and made the hinge pin into a slight "Z". The shock tower also flexed back, but my brace kept it from breaking. I had an arm and a pair of pins, it is all back together already. I did a close inspection and found no other damage. The bang it made sounded life ending, but that graphite chassis is sure tough.

I will get it on the dirt tomorrow. There is another evening race, but I want some early track time to test the new setup in the dirt. I will report my findings.

[GSMnow]

I got one pack through the XXX-4 this afternoon. I tried it wioth the final setup I had on the street last night. Silver front springs with 32.5 oil and red rear springs at 35 oil. Stock rear sway bar. 2 degree neg camber all around, just under 1/2 inh ride height under chassis. M3 Hole Shots.

Firat thing I have to say is WOW!!

The track was dry and a little dusty, unlike the normal wet race setup, so it may be a little different tonight.

I took it a bit easy for a couple laps to dial in my brain. Even going a bit easy, I was turning 23 second laps, about what I was doing with the damp track. I was concerned it may get too loose, but that was not a problem. It still had a steady state terminal push, but the limit before it set it was clearly higher. I had to adjust my steering inputs and I was using far less steering input on most curves, and I think I never even hit full lock now that I think about it. The first two 180's off of the sweeper were "interesting" the first few times at speed, I actually came in too early and clipped the apex tubing. I found I could enter faster, still turn in later, and easilly make a tighter line. The center of the course was more of the same. In just one pack I didn't get the peak line quite yet, but I did top my fastest lap times from the wet track in dry dust. The last two 180's coming down the hill and onto the main straight were a blast now. Instead of going slow and waiting for it to rotate, I was able to lay down some power and hit the straight runing hard. I ended up with less wheel spin on the straight since my entry speed was quite a bit faster.

I didn't have great drivers to run up against, but I did lap a nitro truggy fairly easilly. I got a few spectators checking it out since I was the fastest car on the track, I just wish I had a few faster guys out there to make that distinction mean more.

Hopefully I will have an actual race report tonight.

[GSMnow]

Well the race didn't go as planned. Not too bad, but....

In practice, I was dialed in, ran almost a full pack through and turned some stellar laps. I was 4th on grid for the first Q and got a great start. I jumped the field and took the lead by the end of lap 1. I was turning 21 to 23 second laps and pulling away from second place. I was on a possible 14 lap pace as I came around to start lapping traffic. I miss judged a turn and was a bit out of shap into the double, single, table combo, and it cost me big. I missed the table top to the side and when it landed it broke the left rear camber link. The CVD dropped out and my race was done. I tried to limp it around, but in just 1/2 lap the stress on the front popped the pin out of the right front LCD as well.

I had hoped for a solid result in Q2 after putting the car all back together, but my hot practice session now cost me. I got as high as 2nd for a bit, but the car really started to push again and I had to back off for a decent finish. Qualifying 3rd with 13 laps, but the front tires are now bald. I don't have anything better in my box.

For the main, Another racer loaned me a single front tire he had that was in good shape. I put that on the right front for the faster turns and used my best tire for the left front. My rears were getting thin, but not dead. I held third at the start and for many laps. I even diced with 2nd a few times. In a 7 minutes main, I had 3rd locked up at 6 minutes, but then that same right front LCD did it again. The pin pulls out of the sleave and I have no front drive. On close inspection, I think the sleave is no longer round. That gives just enough room for the pin to pop out. The re-build kit comes with all the sleaves, pins, and screws for $15 so I will go through both fronts before the next race. I did limp it around and held 4th place still even with numerous spin outs when the dangling drive shaft snagged the knuckle. I probably should have parked it, but with only 2 laps to go, I needed the point. As it turned out, I actually will score as 2nd in 4WD as the other two ahead of me were 2WD's

[BillH]

Ok I'm a novak guy what brushless motor would you suggest?

[Y2KGTP]

Wow is this thread dead. :wave:

I have a used xxx-4 G+ I bought on the way to me, and was thinking of just running a Xcelorin Sensorless ESC\Motor combo of 4800Kv, as I have them available to me cheap.

There is a Slight Cog off the initial start, but other than that it is a fairly fast motor.....I have a Speed-T and even on a 7.4v LiPo, it makes plenty of power....

[GSMnow]

It is odd that I didn't get an e-mail there was a post here, I just saw it after checking in on the XXX-T thread.

I really like my XXX4 G+, but it is a bit more fragile than the B44. When my car is all together and working right, I can hang with anyone out there, but I had a DNF in a heat at the last 2 races, so I am getting a bit disappointed with it. Most of my problems probably relate to the Mamba Max 5700 system though. I have blown apart 3 CVD's and now 2 LCD's and there assembled and setup perfectly, it is just the insane torque rips the pin through the housing. I want to change to the old style cross bones in back, but there is nothing better for the front than the LCD's right now, and the steel sleave is just too thin. I wonder if I could get the old XX-4 cross bone front shafts to fit?

The Losi 4800 system is porobably plenty of power for any normal track, my MM 5700 will out pull even the top team racer, of course they can drive rings around me, but it is not for a lack of power, I even pulled a couple feet on Ryan Cavaleri down the straight during a practice session last summer. If you look back in this thread, I have had to deal with (too much power) with my setups. I am certainly not a world class driver, but I do understand the physics behind the chassis tuning. I have the car where I can run with our top local drivers, but when I rip out a CVD or LCD in a race, I am done. I have seriously thought about getting a 4600 motor to see if it would tame it enough, or even a ROAR style stator equipped motor to tone it down. I hate having to give away power to make it easier to drive, but that is the case when you have this much power. I keep hoping Castle will come up with software for torque limiting, but the best they have is the punch control, and it slows reaction too much and makes it so you can't lift the nose in the air on a jump, No good.

Enjoy your XXX-4, they are certainly a blast to drive.

[Y2KGTP]

It is odd that I didn't get an e-mail there was a post here, I just saw it after checking in on the XXX-T thread.

I really like my XXX4 G+, but it is a bit more fragile than the B44. When my car is all together and working right, I can hang with anyone out there, but I had a DNF in a heat at the last 2 races, so I am getting a bit disappointed with it. Most of my problems probably relate to the Mamba Max 5700 system though. I have blown apart 3 CVD's and now 2 LCD's and there assembled and setup perfectly, it is just the insane torque rips the pin through the housing. I want to change to the old style cross bones in back, but there is nothing better for the front than the LCD's right now, and the steel sleave is just too thin. I wonder if I could get the old XX-4 cross bone front shafts to fit?

The Losi 4800 system is porobably plenty of power for any normal track, my MM 5700 will out pull even the top team racer, of course they can drive rings around me, but it is not for a lack of power, I even pulled a couple feet on Ryan Cavaleri down the straight during a practice session last summer. If you look back in this thread, I have had to deal with (too much power) with my setups. I am certainly not a world class driver, but I do understand the physics behind the chassis tuning. I have the car where I can run with our top local drivers, but when I rip out a CVD or LCD in a race, I am done. I have seriously thought about getting a 4600 motor to see if it would tame it enough, or even a ROAR style stator equipped motor to tone it down. I hate having to give away power to make it easier to drive, but that is the case when you have this much power. I keep hoping Castle will come up with software for torque limiting, but the best they have is the punch control, and it slows reaction too much and makes it so you can't lift the nose in the air on a jump, No good.

Enjoy your XXX-4, they are certainly a blast to drive.

Do you have any EXP settings on your Radio, or throttle curves you can play with on the ESC to tone it down a bit?

[BillH]

I love mine though I still run a 10 t brushed.

[GSMnow]

I have the throttle and brake curves set to a point where I can smoothly transition it up or down anywhere from full power to coast without upsetting the chassis. It still takes a careful trigger finger as the MM5700 is a serious power house, but it is now managable. I have the handling issue just about worked out, I just have not had any track time in way too long of a time. In a steady state turn, the B44 just seems to hold a tighter line than mine, and anything I do to tighten it up just makes it too loose in faster turns. This has NOTHING to do with throttle or brakes, I am talking steady state roling through a turn. Same tires, same surface, everything. It seems to be a quirk of the front end geometry on slower tight turns. Too bad every layout we have had at Hot Rod hobbies has a couple of those types of turns. The current layout has something like four. I can close up on the B44's in all the fast sections, but I lose ground in the tight stuff, which happens to be the best places to pass, and I can't use em.