offroad 4wd and why its not popular (for the time being)

[Matt]

for the boys who are into offroad racing, this is a great read. the pro's in the US discuss why 4wd off road is a dormant sport. it turns out there is huge demand out there for 4wd... its just that the poor quality of buggys available on the market is the reason no one buys them.

a good read:

http://www.rc10b4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5741

matto

[Matt]

from that link, a post from "Tbone" lists the current popular 4wd's and their common problems...

__________________________________________________ ______
I think this is mostly due to the fact that, even though there's a selection now, it's still a bad selection. When racers consider a new car, they evaluate several different aspects of it: quality, parts availability, aftermarket support, price, etc. Each offering out there right now is fails in at least one of those categories. That inherently stymies the market.

Yokomo

Strike 1: Belt
Strike 2: Parts/Kit Availability
Strike 3: Aftermarket Support

Academy

Strike 1: Parts/Kit Availability
Strike 2: Aftermarket Support
Strike 3: Not Competition-Class (bushings in the drivetrain, etc)

Losi

Strike 1: Durability
Strike 2: Belt

JConcepts

Strike 1: Price (not their fault, though)

[BAGES]

Interesting stuff Matto - its funny how he thinks 2WD should be non-existant - obviously there is no enjoyment in driving one - NOT.........he got this reply from someone else on the site "And to your statement about 2wd's. I just bought a b4, and it is by far way more fun the drive than the bj-4 I also own."

[Bowling Ball]

Interesting thread.

I think the cost and reliability factors the purchase of 2wd/4wd. 2WD is and always will be cheaper than 4wd (2wd = less parts!)

I think Shaft is the only way to go personally. Shafts are more durable from a drive line sense. Shaft is finally getting there too, look at the following link and scroll down the bottom - check out the Durango and the "revised" BJ4

http://www.teamorion.com/live/results-cars.asp?id=162

They are both centralised drivlines with center spurs, they took the drive line geometry from the 1/8th gas buggy's. Everything is centralised and gives better adjustment and wieght distribution.

The BJ4 in the pics is a newer revision to what we had shipped to Aust. The batteries now even out the wieght balance of the vehicle but it still has its silly fault - the front arms. The front arms on a BJ4 are B4 arms in reverse (actual B4 Part) the design of these arms were never ment to take impact in this way.

I am still interested in a 4WD for myself, but not until there is something thats shaft that I like the look of. I have been looking at the Academy offering - I don't care is its "not competitive", thats a driver thing, not a car!

My 2 cents :)

[James]

Predator X10 ? looks nice, but expensive, and fragile. I can see me going Losi XXX4, at least you can get parts easily and the kit is considerably cheaper than all the others.. just a shame they break fairly easy :)

[nexxus]

Hey I am starting to wish my offroad wasn't a 2wd, my lap times at Ryper are a good 5 seconds behind the 4wd's and that's in novice! Heaven help me should I want to beat anyone, like, well, EVER!

[KingBob]

Thats coz it's a duratrax! Get a real truck, get a T4!

[nexxus]

Well, I can still beat my girlfriend's Duratraxx, thats one...

[James]

it has nothing to do with being a duratrax... it's just practice.

[nexxus]

meh, need new tyres at the back for grip. Working on a 25/78 ratio now see how that goes

[49er]

the losi xxx4g kicks! its a great car and fairly durable "unless running mod " were a crash can result in broken front end parts . in the few months ive had mine i havent broken to many things and it easier on the tires to compared with the b4 buggy

[James]

cool :) I'm picking up a XXX4g+ this week. and will be racing it as well as my BK2 next weekend, weather permitting...

4wd is gaining popularity, big time, esp with the recent worlds event. I can garrantee a huge 4WD line-up at the next couple of big events...

[KingBob]

Since Losi have stopped shipping xxx4g+ kits and gearing up for it's successor, and there are lots of new 4wd's soon coming to market, i'll be looking for a 4wd at some point soon myself. Either a buggy or perhaps i'll make BB happy and buy a maxx.

[Bowling Ball]

E-Maxx E-Maxx E-Maxx!!!!!! (and run the gas monsters off the track - they're too slow muahahaha)

[James]

I believe I'm acquiring possibly the LAST new xxx4g+ in the country (no, really), I've even spoken with the distributer and hunted down shops for stock, zilch. I'm still fingers crossed that it will arrive this week.