lower and not by much but they were. on this track i would struggle to get the 19 sec laps but,with the first outing w/ the X5 i had 6 of them in the first qual. a lot of them were LOW 19's. so im impressed and plan on doing great w/ it this yr. its not just the times its the durability. it doesnt flex soooooo much and i know the flywheel & spur wont crack or break on me or have the bell hit the chassis. the shocks are great the g-clip has a home in its groove unlike the xb8. all of these things were on my mind all the time. im at EASE knowing i have a great bug. it took me a month to find a good setup and get the xb8 dialed and i would still have to fight the conditions of the dirt so i kept tuning the xray. first time out w/ the MBX5 it felt dialed. now thats racing !!! it will let me be conmcerned with my driving and not worring about all the other bull.[>:]