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Old 19-09-2011
/tobys /tobys is offline
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Default X6 updates?

I know you guys are working hard on the X7 4wd but can we expect any updates to the X6? Lots of new mid-motored cars coming out and likely to raise the bar in performance stakes...
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Old 19-09-2011
Darren Boyle Darren Boyle is offline
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Originally Posted by /tobys View Post
I know you guys are working hard on the X7 4wd but can we expect any updates to the X6? Lots of new mid-motored cars coming out and likely to raise the bar in performance stakes...
Always working away behind the scenes on all of our products

However, the X7 is taking up the "vast" majority of time and resources (both human and financial) right time which is quite obvious really.

Dont expect a complete makeover or revolution for the X6 but just maybe a small subtle change here and there in the not too distant future.......... maybe.......
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Old 20-09-2011
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There's not much point to change a great car for the sake of change. Heck, the original X - 6 is still as fast as anything out there; the primary reason for the Squared was to improve quality and ease of working on the car.

As Darren says, that does not mean we have no ideas to improve the car. We do have ideas, and have tested some. But also as Darren says, there are no plans at present to make any major changes to the X - 6 Squared. You can buy an X - 6 Sq with confidence. We will not soon change it because it's still the best car out there.
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Old 20-09-2011
canon67 canon67 is offline
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Originally Posted by DMS Racing View Post
Always working away behind the scenes on all of our products

However, the X7 is taking up the "vast" majority of time and resources (both human and financial) right time which is quite obvious really.

Dont expect a complete makeover or revolution for the X6 but just maybe a small subtle change here and there in the not too distant future.......... maybe.......
Whit all the hype on long wheel base going on have you guys tried this in the past or do you intend of trying this option
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Old 20-09-2011
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Brian Kinwald started the long chassis craze 2 1/2 years ago when he drove for us by lengthening his X - 6. Later he decided the first version was too long and made a second one shorter than the first but 5mm longer than stock. Paul had a 5mm chassis at the 2009 R.O.A.R. Nationals. He destroyed the car in a monster crash at full speed on the back straight. Kinwald continued to run his "limo" until we parted company early this year.

Paul has been running the stock chassis ever since with excellent results, and all other Team drivers, including Ellis, have always used only production chassies. They all know about Kinwald's "limo," and the pros & cons have been discussed throughout the Team. All drivers are free to do as they see fit, and so far all have used only production chassies.

The "limo" suited Kinwald, so if you can drive like a World Champ it might suit you, but our experience indicates most other drivers will do quite well with the standard X - 6 Sq chassis.

Did Ellis modify his Squared to accept saddle LiPos? Yes, and that chassis, part #1009, is available at fine model shops everywhere. For tuning purposes, you have your choice of three chassies for the X - 6 Squared: #1005 graphite standard in the K019 Conversion Kit, #1006 plastic standard in the K021 Entire Car, and #1009 LiPo plastic available as a part.
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Old 20-09-2011
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I personally believe that a new chassis - that's slim across the middle, with a new slimmer body would be VERY popular indeed.

All 3 chassis's are 'fat' due to the original design needing to accept a full length NIMH pack - sideways across the chassis.

Keeping the same layout - but making a slim chassis with a slim body would appeal to every X6 racer ? IMO the cars look a little silly alongside the slim modern LIPO specific chassis cars we have now.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still quicker with my X6 than my Losi 22 and I love the car - I just hate how it looks compared with newer cars that are designed around today's electrics.
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Old 20-09-2011
Darren Boyle Darren Boyle is offline
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Originally Posted by andys View Post
I personally believe that a new chassis - that's slim across the middle, with a new slimmer body would be VERY popular indeed.

All 3 chassis's are 'fat' due to the original design needing to accept a full length NIMH pack - sideways across the chassis.

Keeping the same layout - but making a slim chassis with a slim body would appeal to every X6 racer ? IMO the cars look a little silly alongside the slim modern LIPO specific chassis cars we have now.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still quicker with my X6 than my Losi 22 and I love the car - I just hate how it looks compared with newer cars that are designed around today's electrics.
But.........

Some people and some tracks will be (and still are) suited better to the full size stick across the middle. We have customers frequently telling us that for their driving and their local track that stick across the width still suits them best, by going "slim" we cannot do this just like all the "other" slim cars out there right now that dont have that option either.

Currently, in my opinion, we do have the best of all options, we can run stumpy packs if required, stick or saddle across the middle and of course saddles centrally mounted too, not many other 2wd's cater for this at present and also bare in mind as great as some of the other (UK based) 2wd conversions are, they have NOT been designed or run on dirt as much as the X6 has, where this option is still very useful at times.....

Another intersting point is that a lot of people think the X6 is mega wide, in fact it is exactly the same width as the B4 which surprises a lot of people.
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Old 20-09-2011
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I should have said UK tracks !

I don't know of anyone running cells across the car - that's why we went to the saddle chassis ?

I did this - I know I have the side pod weights in on this shot - didn't run them though.

I still think X Factory have missed a major trick with the car though.



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  #9  
Old 20-09-2011
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I've been running the X6 and then X6sq for over 3 years now relatively succesfully (with many top 15 finishes at nats and an A and top 3 in the worksop series for the last 3 years) with no support or sponsorship (ie encouragement - its been my choice) at all, as i've thought it was the best allround car, but i find now that i have to drive it so hard to get pace out of it compared to other chassis out there that its time to move on. The car is excellent, for everyman, it works with loosely the same setup everywhere and i think the saddle pack arrangement works better on the tracks i drive on, problem is its just not quite agile enough, same width as a b4 at its widest point yes, but overall weight distribution is over a greater width which will make it slower to react. I think it needs to be narrower, fractionally longer and slight geometry changes to the rear to give a bit more drive. Thankyou trusty old x6, goodluck and goodnight!
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Old 20-09-2011
Darren Boyle Darren Boyle is offline
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Originally Posted by andys View Post
I should have said UK tracks !

I don't know of anyone running cells across the car - that's why we went to the saddle chassis ?

I did this - I know I have the side pod weights in on this shot - didn't run them though.

I still think X Factory have missed a major trick with the car though.



Your car looks really good there...

X-Factory do aim to give the car a global appeal, a car that works on all surfaces, what is right for the UK may not be in he USA, Far East and even several European countries that run on dirt too.

You would be surprised at just how many people do "still" run sticks across the centre, a lot more than you would think..

Also, in the slippery and wet conditions the addition of the rear pod weights is somthing used a lot too, the width of the car allows us to do that, making it narrower would take this away and drastically reduce space within the car too and you only have to read through a handful of the TLR22 threads to see how many people complain about the lack of space in one of them...
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  #11  
Old 20-09-2011
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Paul runs the "shorty" LiPo pack across the back. He had to just touch the CF battery strap with his Dremel to clear the wire connectors. Lets him keep the electronics in the center and gives the weight distribution he wants.

Darren is, as usual, correct. In most places around the world the battery is run across the back. The saddle chassis (#1009) sells mainly in U.K. and other European places with grass/astro tracks. There you've got traction as though paved. On dirt, a small amount of body lean is good, and it seems we've got the right combination.

Could we make a new chassis for the 6? Sure. Remember it would take a new body too. You have to make molds for both, the chassis mold being extremely expensive, the body mold being just expensive. Will we sell enough to pay for either mold, much less both? Money spent on new tooling for the 6 can't be spent elsewhere. How long do you want to wait for the X - 7? And, after that, Darren is right again: many tuning options disappear.

A lot of 22s are for sale for a number of reasons: They are too long. Small companies like us are making short chassies for them. There is no room to move anything around. You need lots of weight carefully placed (no room) to get them to work. Why should we go in that direction when we've got a great car now?

@James: We're sorry to see you go. You've done very well with your X - 6. Not sure why yours has become difficult to drive because you're right -- only minor changes are required to the base set-up for different tracks, and the base set-up is very easy to drive very fast.

Often a top-20 driver wants a car that's hard to drive and when he's right on the edge it's faster. This usually comes with increasing skill and experience, and does not work well for the average driver -- that's why so many put the "driver X set-up" on and it does not work. Kinwald repeated often: "This set-up worked for me on this particular car at this track on this day at this time. Ten minutes later the temperature was different, or the track surface was different, and I changed it."

The average weekend warrior does not want to drive right on the edge -- he can't. A car that's easy to drive fast will give him more consistent laps and better finishes. He will have more fun driving it -- weekend recreation is what this is all about for him. The X - 6 is the perfect car for him.

At the same time, our Team drivers continue to prove that the X - 6 Squared is the fastest car out there.
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Old 20-09-2011
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Ineresting read Chazz

UK drivers obviously run the cars very differently.

Which countries account for what percentage of X6 sales ?
I always thought the UK would account for a significant percentage of sales, is this not the case ?
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Old 20-09-2011
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I love my x6 sq just as it is . I run full size lipo's across the car as thats what I have got . I will try the saddle setup when I do another chassis i am on my 2nd this year . I have found some weight in the rear pods work for me on slippy wet grass . I am running in my clubs A finals a lot more now i have my x6 sq than my old b4 . Ill be staying with it for a while yet keep up the good work guys
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Old 20-09-2011
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i wanted to ask about some sort of kit to centre the motor in the chassis. maybe using longer gbox screws and the motor plate spaced over along with a spacer for the inner slipper plate. Doing this would mean the spur would be where the ball stud is if using the espeed hangars but i know that a new rear tower with the ball studs on that would sort it and i understand that you guys at x factory are using a new tower moved forward, with the ball studs on it anyway.
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Old 20-09-2011
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My X6 is THE best car I've ever owned. I set it up for indoor last year, never bothered to change the setup for outdoor and it still drove amazing and got me another F3 grade in the regionals. Its the perfect car for me, the lazy racer .

I run full sized lipo with just 75g under the speedo and 50g under the lipo and it works great.
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Old 20-09-2011
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OK, if we're debating the merits of a slim chassis, I'll bite.

I don't think the X-6's pancake-style chassis is a disadvantage. Possibly even the opposite.
For one, it provides some room to get the weight balance right. Some people like sticks, other people like saddles. Some people like the brass weights in the rear pockets. They certainly stabilize the chassis. There is room for large electronics and a piece of lead here or there.
The sides and the rear pod areas hit the ground every so often. But I think that's actually an advantage. It stabilizes the chassis, it gets pushed level again.
We've actually tested modified, slim X-6 chassis. We didn't spend a lot of time with them, but they weren't great.
And as for the length, I'm fairly sure the chassis is about right where it's at. With the arms and hubs spaced back all the way, the car is starting to feel like a limo, and it's not quite efficient around tight bends. But OK, a normal chassis with the wheels set back is not the same as a long chassis with the driveshafts swept forward, so there's a chassis lying on my desk which has been stretched by 5mm.
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Old 20-09-2011
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Ian Mellish ran his x6 with the x60 truck chassis on all year this year at nationals and had his best year yet! Yes it looks like a boat but managed to get his F1 for the first time ever!
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Old 20-09-2011
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I am a club racer who gets to play once a month, i have one orca big fat stick pack and that fits nicely with the raisey bits and lasts 2 runs before a charge. My car handles as well as i can drive it, i have a base set up- thanks to ellis.... That will do for me. It puts a frigging huge smile on my face when i finish my 5 minutes. I bought the x6 to do that and it delivers. When i purchased it other kits were available but i felt this was the best available and i still believe it is for a club racer. The service from dms is FANTASTIC, when something arrives next morning when you pay for it at 6-7 pm.
I am glad i'm in the family

I think the family got it right and little upgrades are a bonus.

I have also run out of stickers lol......
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Old 21-09-2011
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@ Andy. Obviously we'll not discuss sales figures. In the world-wide R/C market, U.K. accounts for 15 - 20% of the total, and X Factory U.K. does a great job for us. Even if U.K. were 50% of X Factory's market, there is no way we could invest in a new chassis tool if U.K. were the primary market.

@ Stuart. Glad you are happy, and good to have you in the Family. Sorry to hear about your chassis luck. Are you running graphite or plastic?

@ Adey. Several drivers have centered the motor. The motor is deliberately off-center just a bit so the total mass of motor, trans, motor plate, and slipper assy. is centered. If you center the motor, you center that rotating mass but the total mass is now off-center. The disadvantage of off-center motor rotor is less than the advantage of total weight centered. The drivers who moved their motors have returned to standard.

@ Dbizzle. The truck chassis is just too long on all counts. Short wishbones, small tires, it just doesn't work as a buggy. The AE and Kyosho drivers all could have used truck chassies at the Worlds, but none did. They all did a lot of extra work to use lengthened buggy chassies. I don't know how long, but I do know that 5mm seems to work best for the X - 6 Sq. Your friend probably would have been quicker with a standard buggy chassis than a truck.

@ MRD & Jaxx, Thank you. We're glad to have you in the Family!
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  #20  
Old 21-09-2011
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Recently i made a move from a B4 and convert it to Xfactory

After 2 races i am happy about my choice cause the car is very stable and can keep better average laps

At last Euro Ellis was the only mid-motor on the final and in front of all those slim looking new cars

The track had a low bite clay surface and most a final cars had lengthened chassis

That has to prove a lot about the design
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