TEST RACE
I took the BJ4we down to the Batley National. Apart from quickly setting up the steering and ESC on my table the car had not turned a wheel.
I pitted with JConcepts / Nosram driver Stuart Wood, and he helped set the car up. I went to 30wt front #3 piston and 25wt rear #1 piston. There was a problem with the rear end which was traced to the nuts on the top of the shocks, they were too tight and adding friction to the movement - a couple of turns and everything was great again.
I liked a one way diff or centre one way in the original BJ4x4 and never ran it with fixed drive, so I was a little sceptical about running the WE as it comes - with full time 4WD. I decided to at least give it a go so I could honestly say how bad it was.
I took the car out for the 2 practice heats before racing and was blown away by how well the car went, especially considering it was the first time I’d driven it. I had some fast drivers in my heat but I was right up there from the start. The car was so easy to drive and went over the worst bumps and ruts superbly.
I intended to add the centre one way after practice, but the car felt so good I stuck with the fixed 4wd for the first two rounds, putting in some good times. For the third round I decided to try the centre one way.
The centre one way uses a dogbone rather than a CVD at the front gearbox. A plastic washer is supplied to take away end float and stop it rattling about. With the one way drive cup installed I found the dogbone was too long and would bind when it was all assembled. I looked at the manual and realized the slipper assembly was installed the wrong way around.
Round 3 the car felt slightly harder to drive, but also quicker. I got out of a shape a couple of times before getting used to the characteristics of the one way. The time was only 1 second faster than earlier but every lap was 26 seconds apart from one 25 second lap, so very consistent.
For the final round I managed to source a one way diff to try, this was even harder to drive consistently than the centre one way but definitely felt faster.
This time I was leading when the car in front got sideways and collected me. We set off again, him in front and eventually I made a mistake - losing my cool trying to get past. |
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I’d hoped for the E final, which would have been my highest ever 4WD national placing, I dropped to 3RD in the F final though, behind some fast drivers.
I kept with the setup from round 4 since it felt the fastest. I managed to get mauled in the final and ended up dead last of the finishers, 7th. I was still very happy with the result and I knew the car was faster still - just some poor luck and poor driving toward the end of the day.
The BJ4we was utterly awesome. I’d intended to run another 4WD as well, alternating between them. But the BJ4 was so good from the first round of practice that I knew I could do well with it.
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Camber link fell off - seemingly no matter how hard I tightened the nut.
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Nothing broke on the car despite a few tumbles. The only thing that did fail was the rear inner camber link ball stud. The nut worked its way loose and came off at the end of my final - after crossing the finish line thankfully.
This happend again during a practice race, so I replaced the ball studs with longer versions - so far so good.
A screw in the steering rack came loose despite thread locking.
The rear of the chassis sheet wore quickly - albeit on a track with brick and concrete features.
The front shock tower was structurally fine but did take some hard knocks and it showed. It's very much in the firing line, so it would be a good idea to carry a spare. |
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Rear of the sheet wore on hard surface |
Steering screw came loose |
Tower takes some impacts |
CONCLUSION
The BJ4x4 Worlds Edition is a credit to JConcepts. The car is a complete package which suits the seasoned national racer and club racer alike. The hardy build and excellent handling, coupled with the ease of use, really makes this car among the top in its field.
Its nice to see JConcepts did not rest on success and sales of the original BJ4x4, instead choosing to push the design forward. The new suspension arms are a big improvement over the B4 arms on the previous car. I managed to break one on a fence post whilst practicing at a club day - but something needed to give and it wasn't going to be the fence, so no problem here.
The drawbacks are few and far between. Motor access is slightly frustrating, at least without the proper tools. The cell straps are similarly a tad frustrating - unless you do the mod' mentioned earlier.
The inner camber link ball studs are too short for much adjustment of height and the blue alloy nuts came loose alarmingly easily. The same goes for the rear inner hingepins which gradually back out without some filing / dremel work - some form of capturing would be good here as the grub screws don't seem quite up to the job.
The protective chassis sheet does a good job of preserving the carbon but wears quickly at the very rear - depending on surface. My local track is very hard on cars in this regard, I admit.
No Servo Saver is included and it is hard to find a servo mounted one that is strong enough for a car like this. So a strong - (metal geared) servo is required.
The car was surprisingly good with full-time 4WD and felt very safe. Both centre and diff' one-ways are available separately and make the car tuneable for all driving styles.
The small niggles are minor, and can't detract from what is a great car. The build-up is great and the car is thankfully a joy to build in the main, with very little work needed. I loved the original car and thought it was easier to use in some respects - however you can't argue with the superior handling or world beating credentials of the Worlds Edition BJ. The car is easy to maintain (compared to some other top-end cars).
On a penultimate note, I got the Original BJ4x4 for christmas 2004, a part was unfortunately missing from the kit. I mailed JConcepts and rather unbeleivably got a reply from Jason the same day - yes, Chrismas Day - and got the part a few days later (this being christmas it was maybe a week). Now that's service. It is nice to see companies like JConcepts (along with XFactory and a handfull of others) who really care about their customers - it's refreshing.
The BJ4 Worlds Edition has plenty to offer every level of driver and can't be recommended enough, JConcepts have hit the nail on the head with the Worlds Edition.
Discuss the JConcepts BJ Worlds Edition in the Forum!
Needless to say, i put a lot of effort into this review, so if you like it, let me know, thanks. |
