After reading about these and a few people at my club using them i decided to buy some of these to try out. For the price of one genuine Xerun 120a Ver 2.1 i got five of the £ 11.80 copies. My theory being that if i get 2 or 3 good ones out of them it will be worth it, and they are perfect for clubnight buggies and vintage runners.
Once i'd found out about having to do the the 'motor wire swap' mentioned above to get them running properly, I powered a couple up a couple of weeks ago and tested outside. Perfectly fine, just needed a proper race day test.
So, last night at club i tested a copy on two identical 2wd Vega TRF201's, built exactly the same with Novak 7.5's, only difference being the speedos - one genuine Ver 2.1, one a £11.80 special.
I didnt even flash the software, just used the hobbywing cloned software that it came with as standard as a baseline, used a genuine HW 2-in-1 program box and set it up the same as the genuine Xerun. And i also left on the underpowered fan that comes with it, and kept the 14g wires.
I could not tell the difference. Really, the clone seemed as smooth and progressive as the genuine article straight out of the box. Just as fast, just as good on the brakes. It lasted half a practice, five heats and a 6 minute 'B' final - which i won btw
- with no problems at all. Straight after the 6 minute final i checked to see how hot it was, and it was barely warm.
Result !
The only thing i can say is that the clone-car did sound slightly louder electronically on the brakes, if that makes sense. But as the brakes worked as strong and progresively as the original, i can live with that.
Speaking to other members that are using them, the only real blown failure was a very, very good driver that used one on his 4wd with a 6.5. That popped after getting extremely hot. His theory is there that he didnt bother swapping the factory 14g wires for 12g and there wasnt much ventilation around it compounding the heat problem. His thought are that if he had upgraded the wires, put a decent fan on it and had some good airflow around it, it would probably still be going fine now. One or two others are using them in 4wd with no problems, so they can last in 4wd if you get a good one and make sure its stays as cool as possible.
However, my personal thoughts are that if you do get a good one they are perfectly fine for 2wd buggies, but 4wd im not totally convinced on yet. Personally i wouldnt i'd risk them for Regionals or other bigger races on a 4wd, even with 12g wires, decent fan and good airflow. They may say 120a, but being sold for £11.80, i woudnt be suprised if they are more like 60a - 90a. So i'm keeping my genuine 120a Xeruns for my 4wd's, and the copies are now going in all my 2wd's and vintage runners.
It has been reported in the past that its a bit of a lottery if you get good ones or bad ones, but as others have previously said, if it initially lasts a few heats it will probably last as well as any other speedo. If it's going to blow due to sloppy workmanship, it seems to do it in the first 5-10 minutes of running, or 1-2 heats. And I've heard that some run and last fine but dont feel quite as fast or smooth as the originals, but they seem to be rare and are still useable in any case. They could have been early versions is my theory, as people i know that have got them in the last few months all seem to have good ones.
At the end of the day, you pays your money and takes your choice. I did, and im quite happy with what i got for the money.