B44

[Tom3012]

Hi all....

Right.... im after a new 4WD and the B44 is what most people at my club will be racing next year (i think). So, this is what i am most likely going to buy:)

jus wondering.. whats the first thing i will brake? most people will probably say wishbones but for some reason i hardly ever break them at all, trust me i have tried! even drove a pred for a year and only broke the odd one!

so in my list....

1 -one set of front wishbones, one set of rear.
2 -front and rear shock towers?
3- what else... this is where i get stuck :p

any thoughts welcome guys

cheers, tom

[racdeaf]

here wot i got for my in case of breakage
2 x front arm
2 x rear arm
2 x front shock tower
1 x rear shock tower
2 x caster block
2 x steering block
1 x transmitter case
2 x rear hub carrier

but funny enough since i had the b44 3 week ago and 3 meeting at my club as i haven't broke any of it !
it be flipped god know how many time

[Tom3012]

cool! i might get the same! jus one of each item! :) thanks mate!

[IceMike]

yer i got roughtly that list. also a full set of bearings never know when sumat will break, an it ant like there all standard some are odd. also diff gears, just cos its hard to get trackside. an i got some of the rubber seals for things just incase they wear out, cos there is nothing else holding the pins in, in some places. full screw kit is also useful

[craigosh]

Things i usually break on the BJ4 tom are front arms and front shock towers, but i stuck two towers together and havent broken one since touch wood...

But deffo arms, mainly front, Paul has done in steering knuckles, and i bent a rear hinge pin. thats about it.. mostly front arms... rear ones from going backwards into things!!

[PaulRotheram]

Gears! get a set, maybe even two. If you dont have the slipper and diffs adjusted right the gears will take all the abuse and strip.

Front arms, Front tower, Steering Knuckle, Front shock shaft and replacement O ring seals.

That's what I broke/replaced after running the BJ for over a season.

[RogerM]

Tom ... why are you leaving the Pred??? Thought you loved that car and for my money it has to be better suited to the UK tracks than the BJ4WE and clones? This time around maybe the Pred really is the "unfair Advantage" the advertising always claimed!

[PaulRotheram]

Then explain why there are hardly any more preds running on the competitive scale (national level and above).

[ben]

I may be way out of line saying this but to me the pred isnt really a true off road car. it always seems to struggle on bumpy tracks:eh?:

lil ben

[Richard Lowe]

There's no reason the Pred shouldn't go over bumps just as well as other cars, it's just no-one sets them up right IMO, but thats another thread :)

[RogerM]

Paul, no idea mate in all honesty!!! Maybe it is fashion driven, sponsorship driven or parts availability driven I don't know! I've been away for too long to comment on why!

Never had any trouble with mine and I ran them from 93 to about 2001.

As Richard says it's all in the set-up and quite a few people just want to download a setup when they build the car and leave it at that .... never going to work with the Pred. Having said that I used to alternate between 3 base set-ups ... bumpy high grip, bumpy low grip ... smooth and slippy ... and tweak from there on the day.

At the end of the day it's all down to what suits you as a driver is it not!?!?!?

Was just curious as to Tom's reason for change ... more to try and get a veiw of where the Pred is these days than anything else!

[Tom3012]

There is nothing wrong with the pred at all, I love the car, and I also think its probably just as fast as any of the bj4,b44 etc!

But for me,its too inconsistent, its not that its fragile its just the way some of the things are put together... E.g the gearbox top.

However, these have been fixed on the x11 and if I could afford an x11 I would have one without a doubt over any other car! But, £300+ for an x11 is the price of a b44 and a lot of spares!

Tom

[RogerM]

fairysnuff .... I must admit that I was swayed away from the X11 due to not seeing much suppoer for the car trackside so I take your point!

[Tom3012]

if i had the money to buy a pred i would email them now and order one.... the x10 is a fantastic car! and the x11 i believe will be better as it has sorted out all the little issues with the x10!

i was tempted to buy the upgrade kits for my x10 to make it sort of x11 ish.. but again, they are rather expensive.

i will probably keep the pred so i can compare it to the b44 if i do get one:)

[Tom3012]

Then explain why there are hardly any more preds running on the competitive scale (national level and above).


maybe due to the parts availabilty/cost? or the fact that the pred requires a certain driving style which may not suit most people....

just look at a pred... if you can look me in the face and say its a boring car like the bj4 and its clones (my opinion) then :yawn:

lol...

tom

[Tom3012]

^^^^^

that was not supposed to sound really arsey by the way :rolleyes:

[RogerM]

maybe due to the parts availabilty/cost? or the fact that the pred requires a certain driving style which may not suit most people....

tom

I think that 'certain driving style' is so ingrained in me now that I have trouble driving anything else ... certainly doesn't work with a BJ4WE that is for sure .... LOL

[Mike Hudson]

think ill have to get some spares ordered myself espec the front wheels for when i finish off my first set as i dont particualy want have to buy losi wheels

[Tom3012]

£200 posted for a brand new B44, built with unpainted shell and 2 undertrays.....

what you reckon... good deal?

[AndyM]

depends how well it's built, if everything has been stripped then no, if its built well, then go for it :D

[Tom3012]

good point!!!

well, heres a link to it, what do you reckon?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300186600613&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

[AndyM]

im not sure, it loooks nice and shiny :D but the main bit is what sort of state the screws are in.

i wonder why he is selling it?? surely it would be a massive waste of his time and money to buy it, build it and sell it again? hmm...

looks good from the outside though

[showtime]

£206 with post

MK Racing sells em new for £215, might even do you a deal on postage too ;)

for the sake of a few quid surely you'd be better off with a new one :confused:

[Tom3012]

he says something about not wanting to do 4WD..... reckon he might be lying???

[Tom3012]

£206 with post

MK Racing sells em new for £215, might even do you a deal on postage too ;)

for the sake of a few quid surely you'd be better off with a new one :confused:


think mk do free postage over £30

DC have them for 210.. but im not sure on postage costs....


by the way... do you drive a pred? fancy another one?:rolleyes:

[showtime]

not just yet but i did just see somebody on here who does ;)

[Tom3012]

ohhhhhh who? :D

[sly]

ohhhhhh who? :D


Tom, si, cds models £210 posted for mine next day post too.
Goooooogle it.

[sly]

just looked £250 now

[kfcaddict]

£200 built? I thought built cars lost money not kept it?
I was looking at the B44 aswell. I've found it for £148.48 + shipping from Obrien Hobbies. http://store.obrienhobbies.com/teas1b44tebu.html Cheapest I can find it anywhere. I also emailed them asking about shipping and was told that it would be sent with a value of $40 to cut the importT. Dunno how UPS Int postage works and if it is 'recorded' so you wouldn't loose out if in the unlikley event it went missing.

[frogger]

With UPS you are almost guaranteed to get nailed by customs. I have every single time they were used.

The £40 things works sometimes but its illegal for them to do and they stand to get a big fine if caught so tread carefully ;)

[sosidge]

The B44 UK price really is a steal, there is just no point in grey importing one. By the time shipping and the (very likely) tax and duty and clearance fee is added you will have saved virtually nothing.

Just compare the price of the TC5!!!

Plus you are supporting a UK business and you know you will have help at the end of the phone if you need it.

[_JP_]

I'd say about 50-50 for customs charges for me.

I looked at importing one when I wanted to change, but it was going to work out about the same if I got stung for import duty.

I'm really surprised that we got it so cheap in the UK :)

[IceMike]

im gunna get my next one from the uk. import duty is a joke. meant i payed more in the long run

[Mike Hudson]

i got myn from uk cheap and cheerfully :) took 1 day to recieve no annoying import taxes or long wait just not worth the effort importing from the us unless your gona save atleast £30

[Tom3012]

well, i got it ordered today... and if the website i got it from is being honest with me;), then they have them in stock and it should be here soon :D woot!

[AndyM]

where did ya get it from? :D

[Tom3012]

DC... Got it dad to order it while I was in town, there goes my wages and some crimbo money:p

PLEASE DELETE. Double Post.. sorry...

[Tom3012]

DC... Got dad to order it while I was in town, there goes my wages and some crimbo money:p

[Mike Hudson]

come to the b44 side :p

[Tom3012]

all i need now is a blue case for my nosram speedo :p

[Tom3012]

so with my B44 supposedly on the way:D.....

i have just ordered the following spares...

1x front and rear shock towers
1x front arms
1x castor blocks
1x steering blocks

anyone think i might need some other stuff???

tom

[AndyM]

rear top decks are weak...apparently

enjoy it! :D

[ben]

I think i saw 3 rear top decks break at teesside. Must of found a weak spot already on the car

lil ben

[ryan]

Front bulkhead

[B4james]

The rear top deck is a known weak spot on the car and Associated have acknowledged on RC Tech that they will be changing this to be stronger, they are also looking at releasing new front arms and pins that do not use the chassis to hold the pins in.

people have also been breaking the front shock shafts but no one has them in stock at the moment, you can adjust the B4 shafts to fit the right length though.

[Tom3012]

DC can't the B44 till the end of the month, and no other shop bar apex has them... But apex want 240:( so I'm waiting on cml and DC

Where can I get a front one-way and what difference will it make?

[losixxx]

tom you spoke to CDS they have 1 left the other day, speak to sharon tell them i said to phone and she should do you a kit at the right price

01527 577175

[Mike Hudson]

if not dms-racing has them for £215 and p&p is only around £5:)

[Mike Hudson]

Just a quickie for those who know, what would be the best pinion for an 81t spur and a 9*2 brushed motor on the B44 for indoors, for tracks like yorcc and batley

[peetbee]

The rear top deck is a known weak spot on the car and Associated have acknowledged on RC Tech that they will be changing this to be stronger, they are also looking at releasing new front arms and pins that do not use the chassis to hold the pins in.

people have also been breaking the front shock shafts but no one has them in stock at the moment, you can adjust the B4 shafts to fit the right length though.
So you buy the kit and then have to go and buy the extra parts to stop it breaking?!

[Cruise]

So you buy the kit and then have to go and buy the extra parts to stop it breaking?!

The new front arm are more a cosmetic change as you can do that yourself by using a set screw to plug the a-arm and shorten the pins as most of the team drivers do.
The top decks are indeed an issue but i think there will be an running change because they have only to change the design slightly.
The breaking shafts should be caused by the hardening, and the non-availability could show that the are already "made new".

Cruise.

[peetbee]

The new front arm are more a cosmetic change as you can do that yourself by using a set screw to plug the a-arm and shorten the pins as most of the team drivers do.
The top decks are indeed an issue but i think there will be an running change because they have only to change the design slightly.
The breaking shafts should be caused by the hardening, and the non-availability could show that the are already "made new".

Cruise.
Sorry, I was very grumpy that day!
I'll mod my wishbones (does anyone know what size screw is needed) and try not to break anything else.

[Cruise]

M3 or 4-40 set screws as used in pinions will do the job,

Cruise

[peetbee]

Cool, thanks.