xray t3 attention to the details PERFORMANCE TEST

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1 xray attention to the details words and photos: Carl Hyndman Do I need to grow back my mustache to race XRAY? Touring cars are very technical and XRAY has always given hardcore racers one of the best options out there. From the first opening of the box, to the last turn of the final screw, my grin just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Every attention to detail is usually covered and I ve been lucky enough to build these little jewelers dream kits from time to time. Each year XRAY releases a new version with the lessons learned from the testing done by an amazing team of drivers and engineers, and now for 2010 the T3 looks to follow in that tradition. The class looks to be gaining some momentum again, and for those lucky enough to drive these intricate marvels, take a look at what s here. Juraj Hudy has a macho mustache! FEBRUARY

2 XRAY XRAY T3 01 PART #: STREET PRICE: $499 Price as tested: $1,512 setup time: 7 hours experience level: Advanced SCALE POWER TYPE DRIVE ackerman settings 01 This one features the special Quick-Saver servo saver along with five Ackermann settings that can be changed for different styles of tracks. Ackermann is a powerful tool for tuning your steering and XRAY pays close attention. VEHICLE INFO CHASSIS LAYOUT: Double Deck thickness: 2.5mm Lower, 2.0mm Upper material: Carbon Fiber SUSPENSION TYPE: 4-wheel independent TURNBUCKLES: HUDY Spring Steel STEERING: Monocrank SWAYBARS (F/R): 1.4mm / 1.2mm Refined to the Max! bodies: SHOCKS Plastic damping (F/R): XRAY 350 wt. / XRAY 350 wt. Proven 2-belt drivetrain builds to be one of the most efficient and free systems ever! 02 SHOCKs These aren t new to XRAY, but they pistons (F/R): 2-hole springs (F/R): 3.0 / 2.6 drive train Lots of gold bling here! New motor mount optimized for brushless motors, 3mm closer to centerline updated chassis 03 This new chassis still can be used with traditional the NiMH juice, but it now includes hardware to use with LiPo batteries. The upper deck is higher and the LiPo parts make battery security less of an issue. are still pretty trick. You can build them up with the included standard multi-hole pistons or use their own unique design with adjustable pistons. With a quick twist, you can change your pistons without having to disassemble them. type: differential: axle type: transmission: spur gear Material: BEARINGS: 4WD dual belt Rear diff, front spool HUDY Spring Steel universals Single-speed gearing Hardened plastic Rubber shielded 1 st Pinion/spur: 23/84, 48-pitch GEAR RATIOS: PRIMARY: 3.65:1 INTERNAL: 1.9:1 FINAL: 6.94:1 body: tires (F/R): diameter/ width: body, tires & wheels NA XRAY cars are so sensitive; just like Derek. hex size: wheels: 14mm dimensions weight: 3.09 lbs., 1,402g New elongated 1-piece top deck mounts independently of motor bulkhead. track width (F/R): wheelbase: ride height 7.40 / 7.40 in. (188 / 188mm) in. ( mm) 0.2 in. (5mm) New aluminum rear suspension holders feature integrated rear toe-in FEBRUARY

3 Mod touring cars are very scary to drive but fun. Testing With temps dropping for the winter in Southern California (ok it s relative, but a couple degrees is a lot right?), I headed over to West Coast RC Raceway in Orange County. The facility is indoors with baby s-butt-smooth permanent asphalt with high curbing. Since the asphalt doesn t ever see outdoor weather, the traction is usually consistent and very high grip. The lanes are divided by wood 2x4s with painted cement curbing in various shapes for the corners that can send your car into the stratosphere if you don t take the right line. The track has a lot of layout options, but this one had been set to be fairly flowing and high-speed with some tighter-low speed sections that made for a very challenging test overall. Acceleration and Speed I programmed my LRP SPX at 7 (advanced timing) in the power settings, geared the 10.5 pretty low, and hit the track. I was amazed at the range of power the car had, and it was much quicker than what I was used to for a motor in this range. The acceleration was snappy and strong. Traction was high and the car was able to move around the track at a pretty scary pace. In fact, I found myself overdriving it for a little bit until I calmed down and controlled my nervous throttle finger. I was using a LiPo battery and needed to add weight in order to balance the car, or it would wander and pull to one side. Since most people will probably be using this car with LiPo batteries, make sure to balance yours out properly or you will get some handling side effects. Unfortunately, as in-depth as the XRAY tuning manual is, it really doesn t give too many details about weight balance, so you will have to address this yourself since this is a huge issue with the design of the car. Rating: 10/9 Braking The new T3 comes with a spool instead of a multi-diff up front, which helps greatly with braking. In fact, the car needs to be used with the supplied spool since the multidiff supplied in previous cars will not work properly without some modifications. As with acceleration, make sure your car is balanced with weight when using a LiPo battery. Rating: 8.5 xray test GEAR radio: Airtronics M11, 90270TX75, $270 Module: receiver: steering servo: SPEED CONTROL: Spektrum Pro SM1001, $110 Spektrum SR3500, SPM1210, $99 Associated Electronics DS1015, $99 LRP SPX LRP80710, $199 MOTOR: Team Epic Nemesis 10.5T TRI10558, $84 battery: tires: Team Epic IP3200mAh, TRI20804, $99 Sorex 36R Premount GT40436W, $33 body: Protoform LTC-R - #PF150530, $20 CONTACT XRAY: Dist. by RC America airtronics: Protoform: team epic inc.: Team Associated: LRP: Spektrum: Team sorex:

4 Low-Speed The car was very smooth and carried a lot of corner speed. The instruction manual did call for two shims under the links in the rear hubs, but the top of the link would rub on the inside of the wheels, even with some shaving down of plastic on my Sorexes. In order to remedy this, I had to run less spacing under the link, which may have contributed to the car getting a little too aggressive in the corners. Since there are a zillion other things to adjust on the car, it wasn t too hard to find a fix to the problem. High-Speed Handling High speed steering was well balanced and solid and took the big sweepers on the track well. I could run the curbs tight and fast with a lot of confidence. Rating: 10 and can t easily be replaced by a common shim or ball stud. Tuning This is where the car really shines. Just about everything can be changed on this car and those minor details can be felt on the track. Chassis flex is still tunable (albeit with some less overwhelming options), Ackermann can be changed in small increments, droop is easy, diff height can be adjusted with the nylon hubs, and with some option parts, you can adjust just about everything else. Most racers may not ever need to touch some of these things, but for a race car of this nature it sure is welcomed..5 xray SCORECARD SCALE RATING: 1=POOR 10=EXCELLENT 9 INSTRUCTIONS 10 9 durability 9.5 tunability 9.5 parts quality/fit overall performance Like a Swiss Watch, only it s from Slovakia? Wrenching Maintenance Maintenance is pretty straightforward stuff for a touring car. There isn t anything too weird or unusual that would make these common things like droop, ride height, diff rebuild, camber, etc., extra hard or time consuming. Luckily the diffs are sealed and just about everything can be accessed by removing a few screws. Now if they could just find a way to lessen the wrenching needed for touring cars in general! Wear and Tear These days touring cars really move around a track and that is where this car is at home. Unfortunately, its speed comes at a price and if there were a fight between a wooden 2x4 and the T3, sometimes that 2x4 is going to win. Yeah a couple of things could be beefed up, but as with everything, performance is usually the trade off. Fortunately, this car does a little better than cars in the same class. Take note though, often the parts on this car are specialized Conclusion The new T3 is an evolution of design from years past and it has a very impressive list of results to back it up. Unfortunately, as LiPo takes over as the key power plant for touring cars, this car only slightly addresses this need. However, if you pay special attention to this element, you will be rewarded with a car that is very deadly to your competitors on the track. Also, be sure to have some back up parts since this car has some very unique items that are specific to the design, and parts support is thin without going online. Still, if you burn with the need to win, look no further. 9 value hits Very tunable Quality materials and fit Great team and factory support misses Pricey Parts are hard to find at your LHS Weights and instructions for balancing your LiPo aren t included main competition Tamiya 416X, Hot Bodies Cyclone TC, Team Associated TC5-R, Schumacher Mi4, TOP Racing Photon, Yokomo BD5 who it s for Experienced racers who want a very tunable kit with great team and factory support

5 XRAY SCALE POWER TYPE DRIVE POWERPLANT INFO The Team Epic Nemesis 10.5 BL Motor is a very strong motor that can be finetuned to your needs. Its top-of-the-line components make this motor a real screamer on the track. Since a 13.5 motor has more power than most will encounter, I was anxious to see what this missile was capable of. With timing already set in my ESC, I geared fairly low and was rewarded with wheel-spinning power out of the corners. As the ESC kicked in the timing (I left the motor in the stock timing spot) on the straight, top speed was very quick and rocketed my car toward the tight 180 turn at the end. Good thing this motor has good power for brakes because I needed them as my speeds approached 50 mph! After a few packs, the motor stayed consistent, strong and showed no excessive heat buildup. motor data MOTOR: Team Epic Nemesis 10.5 wind: 10.5 kv Rating: rotor type: sensor: solder tabs: performance INFO acceleration curve N/A Sintered Yes/Removable Yes 0-60 ft: mph Top Speed: feet Average Run Time: 7 minutes (before noticing the lipo go soft ) test conditions weather: Temp/humidity: Barometric pressure: altitude: Track type: Indoors 68 F in. N/A High bite smooth asphalt with concrete curbing. Permanent. Slovakian power mustache awesome! I vote for Paul Lemieux to grow a mustache. handling TURNING RADIUS: On power: off power: braking Control: Fade: Overall: 2 ft. 8 in. Oversteer Neutral Poor Satisfactory Good Excellent Poor Slight None Poor Satisfactory Good Excellent FEBRUARY