after having raced both the xray xb8 and xb8tq models for a long time i was intrigued to see how much better could the new xray 808 be. The previous xb8 models were renowned for their durability and build quality, but what could the new 808 bring to the table? ......Read on. First thing you notice [with this kit] is how light it is.. Much lighter than the older x8b and xb8-ec models, yet [the 808] still feels like its built like a tank, solid, no slop and very sexy ,the carbon shock towers would be nothing new to 10th scale racers but could they really work in 1/8th offroad wihout breaking... We [8th scale racers] have some incredible jumps (and crashes!) in 1/8th and alloy has always been THE choice when it comes to racing, surely the carbon would break wouldnt it? (Jimmy: If anyone will test that - Dave is the one!)
The electrics were a trouble free install, the large radio box has lots of room for the 5cell reciever pack - which retains its positioning from the xb8 models, right next to engine to keep the weight central. The little spektrum reciever I used looks almost lost in there and to fill the space I made a small foam block with a cutout in it to hold the reciever snug.. You could quite easily fit the largest of recievers in there,and if you should choose to, a lipo will also fit with a regulator in there.
Any previous Xray owners may notice the center driveshafts now run at an angle (compared to the xb8 models) because the engine has been moved to a more central chassis position, again keeping the heavy weight down the middle of the chassis, this wont cause any problems and the drivetrain is super free-running.
The new design xray clutchbell now uses larger rear bearings for prolonged bearing life in this high-stress area. The supplied clutchshoes are the xray aluminium 0.71 shoes which give a good bite on the clutch with no slippage, ideal on high grip tracks where low down punch is preffered,the clutchbell is a 16 tooth one, normally you'd use a 13-14t one but the internal ratio of the 808 allows this and the final ratio is similair to what you would expect from the old xb8.
The front end of the 808 has changed quite dramatically compared to the xb8 models, the front knuckles and castor blocks take on a different shape and are much lighter as are the bearings which utilize smaller balls for less unsprung weight and greater accelleration. Both the front and rear driveshafts now use captive pins which are held in by the bearing so no pesky grubscrews to strip should you need to clean them making maintenance much easier.
The rear of the 808 is pretty traditional, again using smaller bearings and a carbon shocktower - apart from that its pretty straightforward with no surprises. The differentials however stray from the norm a little, they use a small plastic bushing that goes around the smaller diff bearings, this allows xray to use smaller & lighter bearings - These can however be replaced with 'normal style' larger bearings by leaving the plastic bushing off, this will give slightly longer life at the expense of performance, for the average club driver this might be a good idea.
Xray has always been renowned for having one of the most adjustable cars available..Sometimes a lttle too adjustable and it was sometimes far too easy for the average racer to get lost in all this. Xray have chosen to narrow down some of the options to make this more user friendly.
This does not mean that the car is 'dumbed' down though, Xray have worked hard on the settings and found a good setting on the options that you may normally get lost on (lower front kickup,antisquat and toe in) and have them now set as standard taking the hard work out of getting a good setup. Naturally however option parts are being released for those that like to tinker with these settings.
The hingepin holders are now made from a tough composite material (as opposed to the xb8 aluminium ones) which again saves weight and have already proven to be very durable, again xray aluminium option parts are being released for those that like their 'bling bling'
Ok, so how does it perform? To answer that we decided to make the 808's first race meeting a tough one.. So we went to Dave Cromptons track at pendle, North West England. This has dirt, tarmac and some decent jumps - and usually water and mud when it rains, which it did later in the day!
The engine fitted was my trusty ops speedster which i knew ran well, so i could concentrate more on the car and give it 100% commitment.
The first practice I was a little nervous as we had no spares, and with a track with jumps this is always a concern so I drove quite slowly to get a feel for the car.
everything went smoothly, the car felt good and I soon settled into a consistent rythym. 9 minutes later just as the tank was getting low I had no steering to the right so we stopped the engine and went back to the pitting area. It turned out a rather large stone had jammed in the steering link and stopped the servo moving... phew, I thought I'd broken a servo but the practice was good because the tank was empty and no crashes..I had a big smile on my face haha.
So now the fun begins - time to race and I'm nervous.. What if i break it, what if it falls apart (legitimate concern - I built it! - jimmy),what if its slow around the track compared to the other buggies. Now is the time to find out just how good/ordinary the buggy is - or how slow I am!
Xray provide a neat little Hudy Off-Road set-up guide with the 808 - handy!
I left the kit setup on for the first run and drove quite steadily, trying not to crash for fear of breaking something and having to go home early. The car went well and was very easy to drive, very neutral in handling with a nice chassis balance although it felt a little bit 'springy'. Straight away I felt at home with the 808 and was soon forgetting I had no spares and started to drive the car a little harder. I crashed over the triple jump (which is very tricky to get right in 1 jump) - the car rolled end over end for what seemed like an eternity, landed back on its wheels and i carried on... But there was something not right with the front end, it looked very low but i carried on and finished the race winning my heat.
Upon inspection after marshalling I saw that the plastic balljoint on the bottom of the shock rod had broken and this let the car ride very low at the front. Admittedly it was my silly crash that did it, it could have broken on any car I suppose, so onto race 2.
The Start of round two and down comes the rain - and when it rains at Pendle the track gets very muddy, with standing water so I was reluctant to go out with a brand new car but thats what it's made for - so on we go!
We changed the shock setup on the back to 1.4 pistons to help with the landing from the jumps and fitted grey springs all round which are a little softer than the kit silver ones and decided to push a little harder this time.
The car was much better this time, the grey springs suited the car better for me and this was also confirmed by another xray 808 driver on the day, the car was even more easy to drive now and I could push the car harder even in the muddy conditions,the car ran faultless even tho it was getting lower and lower to the ground as the race went on as more mud made it heavier and heavier. This didnt stop me taking the win though and after 2 rounds of qualifying I was in 2nd place overall. I was shocked as this was higher than I had ever finished before with the older xb8. A lot of people agreed how good the car looked on the track.
The 3rd and final round of qualifying I decided not to go out and race as there was now standing water and big pudles on the track and I didnt want to ruin a new car and risking the engine and all my electrics so I cleaned the car instead. I found another broken plastic balljoint under all the mud - this time on the front camber link and it must have broke at the same time as the front shock one, but because it only had a hairline split in it you didnt see it under the mud.
After speaking to some of the team drivers later on the xray forums, it seems that the front droop screws were not in far enough and on the crash the shock took the force of the crash and thats what broke the part.. Touch wood in even more testing and some very fast heavy crashes no more have broke.
So after 3 rounds of qualifying I ended up 4th in the A final which I was very pleased with to say that the car had not been driven until we got there that morning!
Setup wise the car doesnt need to be 100% to work ok.. Even if your off a little on the setup it still drives ok and lets you get away with a little more, its safer to drive and that means more consistency for the driver, this leads to more speed and the confidence soon builds up,even after only 2 races it felt like I had been driving the car a lot longer as it did exactly what i asked it do very easily..its almost like cheating!
Is it a good club car as well as a racer?
compared to the old xb8 the 808 is more nimble, it accelerates faster, turns faster and corners like its on rails, the back end does not break loose like on the
xb8 which means you can drive it harder and be more in control..Ah and did I mention it jumps like a kangaroo!!
The car is tough as old boots is all I can say,we have done some extensive 'crash testing' trying to break something, I gave up first!
We had some initial doubts about the front carbon shock tower but it hasnt broke, we have landed upside down on astroturf many times and bounced across the ground and still no breakages or anything came undone, its easily as strong as anything out there with build quality second to none.
For the club racer the car should enable them to drive more consistently as the car is hugely forgiving, with consistency comes speed, this can only help the average racer.. I keep getting asked if I've bought some new thumbs from somewhere - the car is that good.
so to sum up..go buy one now,you wont regret it!!
And finally a big thankyou to Team Xray driver Kevin Brunsden of apex models.
,the carbon shock towers would be nothing new to 10th scale racers but could they really work in 1/8th offroad wihout breaking... We [8th scale racers] have some incredible jumps (and crashes!) in 1/8th and alloy has always been THE choice when it comes to racing, surely the carbon would break wouldnt it? 
