Xray XB9e build and comments (HQ photos)
 

Well.... So many mixed feelings about this car. It could have been the most perfect RC ever made if not for some unacceptable failures on Xray's part.


The car itself is nothing short of incredible in terms of quality, fit and finish, as expected for Xray, however, I feel that Xray have dropped the ball in some really unnecessary ways on this model.


The main problem is that no body is supplied with the car, and no body exists that is 100% compatible (yeh, really, can you believe it?). The official line on the Xray forum is: "We're making one, it might be ready in a few months (they said weeks, but they mean months, as always) in the meantime, the 808e body kinda fits ok" (it doesn't IMO). I was fuming. And that's not where the tightwadding stops... An inadequate number of shims are supplied for shimming the diffs (4 shims total for three diffs, I used three front and rear and none in the center), and these 'supplied' shims are the size that go BEHIND The bearing, as opposed to over the outdrive on the outside of the bearing. This means that in order to adjust shimming, the diff has to come apart, which means redoing oils etc. Given that the shimming will need adjusting after the first few packs, I decided to pause the build (on the very first step) and get the right shims, just because Xray are too cheap to include them.

Everything supplied in the box is the same as supplied in the nitro version (a mish-mash of XB9 '12 and XB9 '13 parts actually). Including the manual and the differential and shock oils, which are of course inappropriate for electric. The manual is compensated for by several 'supplementary' sheets detailing differences in steps. The quality of the instructions on these supplementary sheets is acceptable, but nowhere near the quality of Xray's usual manuals.

Given the sheer number of shared parts with other Xray vehicles (and the fact hat even the chassis is unchanged from the nitro version, flywheel hole and all), you have to understand how cheap it was for Xray to get this car to market, and they couldn't even be bothered to supply dedicated oils and manuals for the electric version? That's just poor. There were also screws missing/wrong due to the fact that while the parts bags had been updated from the nitro version, the screw bags had not. The attention to detail and production values of this kit are absolutely abysmal. I can only recommend building this kit to someone with a vast range of spare screws and a PhD in patience, lesser modelers will be left staring and saying '***?' on many occasions throughout the build.

The battery tray is a bit of an amateur effort (though it's nice it'll take a large 5000mAh 6S pack without modification) and there is no real cable routing. Also, note the RC Monster velcros in my build, the ones supplied were just awful.

Once I've finished compiling the list of all problems (yeh, there are that many) I will add another post detailing all of them.

Basically, while this is an Xray car in terms of materials and quality, the supporting package is a joke. I'm getting angry again thinking about it while I write this. Remember that this is a $600 model. There's a picture below showing how I adapted the new XB9 '13 low downforce body to the electric car, as you can see (and as anyone would expect), the problem is battery clearance. I'm not that disappointed with that compromise, though it's not ideal, it doesn't place the batteries in any danger or anything.

I really like the motor mount and shocks. I used the kit shock oils (500 front, 600 rear) and the front is a bit soft.

The final result is every bit as epic as it looks, the car is fantastic, and I LOVE it. It shouldn't have been so much heartache getting there though.

Anyway, enjoy the pics, all are available in full 1080p (click on them to go to photobucket where you can enlarge them with the plus sign bottom right of the image)...sorry about light levels in a few of them, due to the fact I was working outside. Why was I working outside? You'll see... ;)


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...pscb4d66ce.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps6f9b6816.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psa124a312.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps42a7a69a.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps686edf1d.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf2247c0c.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps9b98942e.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psba24df0c.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps34dc908c.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps1323429f.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf996d58d.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psbb7a0f7d.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4bf62b9d.jpg





http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps5cbcfc6e.jpg





http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps48b92d77.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps39338d34.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psd03f1f10.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psda434437.jpg


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...psb4f537f3.jpg


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps389b4923.jpg


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps36e22d81.jpg


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4e2aa622.jpg

Thanks for the write up and pictures Foxy, as you know electric is not my thing but I do like pictures. :)
I know how angry I would be if I had paid out for an Xray kit and found those tight-wad problems, so I can only imagine how you (as an Xray fan) could feel.

Oh...and I can think of a use for that electric motor on there....fit a chuck on the shaft to drill some mounting points in the chassis for that Ninja.28 you have tucked away. ;)

That thing will come out of retirement one day, don't worry. ;)

Great photos, and the buggy looks awesome...I really want to build a kit now.....
only thing..... I see this beautifully crafted car, top of the rage racer, hand built with love, T6 alloy, carbon fiber........ then.... The White cable ties....they kinda stand out against the black chassis....
u could of at least used blue ones to match the motor and servo horn lol :D

is this going to be a 100mph buggy?????

Thanks man, while the white zip ties don't bother me (they are heavy duty nylon, all the others are black), I plan to change the way the ESC is mounted. This is one of the annoying things on this car, not even notches for the zip ties. Not sure what I'll do yet but I'll think of something.

Not for speed runs, no. I'm actually thinking of doing a bit of racing. The local track owner is a friend and said I can run against the nitros if I want in the short heats. Might be fun.

im just pulling ur leg with the cable ties :)

its interesting seeing some decent photos, The only buggies i know are the losi 8ight and the hyper 7. and the xray is defiantly different.
I like the way it comes with all the CF bits. its like the Xray's come standard with all the go fast bits where most other brands u have to buy them as a upgrade...
Cant say ive seen springs like that?

They are always top spec. There are still a few options which would be nice, for example alloy c-hubs and uprights, carbon front plate, which is not included for the first time to my knowledge, also one side of the center diff mount is plastic too. It doesn't have mud guards or skid guards, but overall it is probably the highest quality out-of-the-box package available.The springs are new, Xray's new 'progressive' springs. Can't say that means a whole lot to me at the moment to be honest, but the shocks overall are possibly the best I've ever built personally.

Well that's a bit disappointing about the body, isn't it? Yeesh.

your pictures look good.. and while i do agree with the whole body issue.. there are some things i dont agree with..

the diff shim issue.. is not a good one.. #1, the manual states there is an optional easier shimming method.. which is what i personally use. being a racer.. i have plenty of these shims available in my shim box from previous cars. the way the book says to shim it.. you have to tear down the diff completely to get to those shims. for racing.. that is not a good thing. i have never had to shim more than one or 2 shims on one side.. and never.. ever had to use shims in the center diff.

if you have ever run xray before, you will know that Xray is in constant development of their products, and as you can see.. have a 2012, and a 2013 model of this car. they have always included supplemental sheets with the standard manual. especially if it hasnt changed.

Dedicated oils? each person setup is different. they cant provide a full list of oils for different tracks, and conditions.. my particular setup uses 600 and 550 oils. you can change shock pistons if you have to use the included oils. these are all tuning options, and everyone is different. just like sway bars..

the battery tray, while i do note a missing small notch for wires to be held, i dont deem this as a big issue.. i personally run my wire different, for easy of use with Hotwire product and programming.

Velcro straps?? whats the big issue there? no print on it?

I've built 6 Xray cars over the last ten years, raced 4 of them. With one of them I even won a couple of times. lol.

What exactly are you disputing? You said something about the shims, then went on to say the exact same thing I said? My issue is that it is a half-assed effort, which for Xray and the price paid, is inexcusible. Don't really see that there's anything to argue with here. Don't get me wrong, the car is great, it just could have been packaged a lot better and a lot more professionally. I got an email the other day that the body is now released. I have a FTW Night Fox on it now. After raising the front body mount 2mm it fits like a glove. I'll upload a pic tomorrow.

Oh, the velcro straps, one of them was delaminating out of the box, but apart from that, they just weren't nicely finished, cut straight, with threads hanging and all. And yes, not printed. :(

Amazing car though, must say, typical Xray in performance, just not in package this time.

By the way, I really wouldn't put your email in your sig, RCU is crawled every second by search engine bots, its a high ranked site, spammers will already be adding you to their databases. ;)

i dont even use that email address anymore.. and as you can see.. i dont post here either.. just lurk, and read.. :)

I liked the pictures foxy; also you have a nice view there. may I ask, what esc is that? ( I just happen to be obsessing over 1/8 scale esc's right now, to go on a truggy conversion; I don't think I recognize yours there.)

Thanks :) You would know it as the LRP iX8. The actual ESC in my car is a Nosram Falcon. LRP up until recently, marketed all their stuff in Europe under the Nosram brand. This is a fairly old model, but with a firmware update, it is identical to the LRP iX8. I'm not sure if I can recommend it or not yet, but that is again because of the old firmware in mine (I believe). Basically, I'm not satisfied with any of the braking profiles and under current firmware can't seem to find a way to manually program braking strength. I'm sure I'll get it figured eventually, and then it will be an awesome ESC. It has a higher amp rating than the Tekin which is it's only real 6S capable competition, and just the fact that you never hear the LRP ESC being discussed is a great indicator of its strength, since its human nature to vocalise mainly to complain. It's a world class ESC,

Sure looks good Foxy!

As far as the body issue. Why would Xray bother releasing a buggy with no body? That just screams we are lazy and want to release a unfinished product.. Imho

the body issue.. i can agree with.. that is rather upsetting.. wish they would have included a body.. i dont even think the stock xb9 body works with batteries.. due to the size of batteries..