The Downsides

I must admit the smile was wiped off my face a of couple times during the build but I solved this by making another Jack Daniel’s and coke!  However it is a real disappointment to see the use of E-clips and plastic hinge pin retainers on the lower A-arms at the front and back.  Xray make a big thing about their Integrated Suspension Settings (I.S.S) and one of the key points of this are the varying sized caps used in the aluminium hinge pin retainers.  On the XT8 however, you’re just given a standard plastic brace and the option to have two or three degrees of toe-in on the rear.

When you build up the rear end you’ll also spot that you’re only given plastic braces to sit between the wing mount. Similarly the engine mounts are just plain aluminium compared to the lovely finned ones found on the XB8 EC.  Okay, neither of these make much of a difference but when the rest of the kit is so blinged up, parts like this would just add that finishing touch.

The other noticeable cut back is the use of composite plastic chassis braces, this isn’t such a disappointment as the current trend is to use plastic over aluminium braces because they allow slightly more chassis flex and therefore give the rear end more traction.  Add this to the fact the rear brace is secured to the chassis with three Nyloc nuts and the front with two and you know that they aren’t going anywhere.

Rubber Included

On the flip side of the cheap plastic hinge pin braces, Xray have included a set of their new Thrax tyres with the kit and as a set of truck tyres are going to set you back at least forty quid, it goes some way towards compensating things.  The tread on these Thrax tyres bears a remarkable resemblance to Pro-Lines’ Crime Fighters although there is no internal ribbing and they haven’t got such a low profile but they should be a good option for dirt and grass surfaces.  The tyres mount onto the supplied 17mm white dish wheels, which have a very slight offset (around ¼” or 6mm).  This gives the XT8 a slightly wider stance but more importantly means the inside of the wheels don’t rub against the steering turnbuckles!  Do bear in mind though that if you are using non-offset wheels on this kit you will need a minimum of 6mm extended hubs (these are available from Kyosho and HoBao).

Extras

As this is a pro kit, you’re going to need a few bits and pieces to get it up and running.  For a power plant, I opted to use the Falcon M21B engine and coupled this to a Jammin JP-3 pipe and let it drink away on some Tornado 30% fuel.  I did have the option of using the new Falcon .28ci truggy engine but having run this in the Hyper ST, I felt it was just too powerful for a pure bred racing machine and of course it drinks more than an Australian on Foster’s day!  For servos I used the trusty combination of a Sanwa ERG-VZ for steering and because this servo is quite expensive, I used the more economical Futaba 3035 for the throttle/brakes. 
To control the kit there is no other choice in my opinion than using a Spektrum receiver and of course my Futaba 3PK which I just couldn’t do without.  This  also meant I could set up all the end points on the servos and ensure they were not over-strained at any point.

Face Lift

With just about everything looking so damn fine inside this kit, it would be criminal not to finish it off with an expertly painted body shell, and of course we turned to Jim at Absolute Control who did us a massive favour by turning it around in no time at all (and it only cost us an extra crate of Jack Daniels).  I decided not to get too flash with the design and opted to have a slightly simpler version of the scheme Xray use on the actual box.  Of course Jim’s more than talented enough to produce an exact replica but considering that he only had one evening to do it so we could get the review in this issue, I thought it best not to push my luck!

Testing Time

I’ve got quite a lot riding on this truggy as my results so far in the truggy nationals have been less than impressive For one reason or another.  So I’ve got my hopes pinned on the fact that a top bit of kit and a reliable engine will help me beat Neil McRae (my main aim in the series along with not coming last overall) and in order to get a feel for the XT8 I took it out for a good run on out own track and also popped down to Clanfield who are hosting the final round of the series.

The Clanfield off-road track has a hard-packed dirt surface, good variety of jumps and a smooth flowing line. So out I went and the first thing I couldn’t fail to notice was how incredibly useless the Thrax tyres were on the hard-packed dirt surface, I think there would have been more grip driving on ice!  I even let their top team driver, Simon Freeman, have a go to ensure it wasn’t just me who was slipping and sliding all over the place.  After a few unsuccessful laps I swapped over to some Pro-Line Holeshots but as these are mounted on non-offset wheels, I needed to add some 6mm hub extenders which Tony at Bolwextric handily had in stock.

With the Holeshots on, it was a hole (pardon the pun) different story and I settled in to driving the track.  In no time at all I felt completely at ease with the XT8, it handled like a dream and even with my lack of skills it looked very competent out on the track.  Its balance in the air was perfect as it flew gracefully over the jumps and the high traction Ferodo brake pads provided excellent stopping and mid-air correction when I didn’t hit the jumps quite right.

When you compare a truggy to a rallycross buggy, it always seems to lack in steering and while recent kits have done their best to overcome this, it’s remains a concern.   As Clanfield is a faster paced flowing track, I felt compelled to try the XT8 out on our new MaxBashing track which features a much tighter technical section and I’m pleased to say it coped with this equally well.  Grip levels are much higher here with its grass/dirt surface and the Thrax tyres came into their own in the damp conditions.    It tucked into the corners with absolute ease and wormed its way through the tighter sections like a snake on acid.

Overall I found it a very easy kit to drive, falling into that comfortable category.  It wasn’t biting my hand off if I made a mistake but was as competitive as the other big names brands out there.  In fact I was keeping pace with Losi’s, Hong Nor’s and Kyosho’s without a problem and it simply flowed round. 

In Conclusion

The XT8 in my eyes is definitely a very welcome addition to the truggy market and while it’s one of the last big makes to reach us, it’s certainly worth the wait.  Just about every aspect of it follows the “luxury” standards you expect to see from an Xray kit with the design and engineering behind it making it so much more than a converted rallycross buggy.  Unfortunately, the plastic hinge pin braces are a real disappointment, not so much because they are plastic but at this level of kit I really do expect to see captured hinge pins all round.  The only positive thing to these braces are the fact that it keeps the cost of the kit under £400 and in-line with the others, if you really want the aluminium braces, they will set you back around £70.

Overall however, I’m very pleased with the XT8.  It smoother drive and excellent handling  mean it’s certainly going to be my primary choice of truggy for the rest of this season.  It’s a credit to Xray’s line up of kits and should prove to be a real contender on the track and in the championships, although perhaps not in my hands!

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