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Winter in the north of England; never a great time to get photos or test out a new car. Still, after the rain had subsided and before the sun went down I took the car down to a large dirt car park for photos and a little test run. The car is instantly a familiar car to drive, there are no nasty surprises, its not exactly dull to drive but it goes where you want it and feels planted and, well, right. Its an easy car to drive, much more so than the likes of its successor the XXX4g+ which needed a lot of modification to work well in the UK, the suspension works well and despite the rough stone ridden surface I tested it on, the car remained stable and predictable. Test Race and long term test to follow. (Bury metro cancelled due to rain) Conclusion The XX4 has already long established its self as a force in 10th Off Road, with multiple world, european and national wins to its name, there is little I can say to add to that record. Overall the kit, despite its age, goes together great. The manuals are a bit of a pain to work through and really should have been integrated into one for this re-release. The individual bagged stages are really well done with no jumping back and forth between bags. Basic allen keys are supplied which might help someone, though they are not nice to use. A turnbuckle wrench is supplied but doesnt fit the steering rod. No wheel nut wrenches which is a shame. There is little to critisize on the XX4, there are minor updates to the kit, it would be nice to see a few more though. The kit ball cups, not Losi's best, being the most basic flimsy versions. The turnbuckles aren't geat despite their looks. The rear plastic outdrives really need some collars to strengthen them. It would definately be nice if Losi could re-design the belt covers for easier access and maintenance. The one way clicker is good, it gives at least some one-way effect and speeds the cars rotation around corners, but for me a front one way would be the "hot ticket", you can fit the one way from the XXXs series of touring cars with the minimum of work I'm told, but the front drive shafts are not up to the stresses and need replacing with CVD or the new LCD style shafts. Its a great car, fiddly to work on and parts are not cheap (which puts me off a little) but are becoming more plentiful after its resurrection, best of all of course is that it's a winner virtually from the box and the setups are already there. With one setup being adaptable to most track conditions its an easy car to turn up to a track and just race. I've been waiting for this car for a while as I'm very excited about the possibilty of running it, I didnt want to publish a review without a proper test and evaluation, but that can wait, after all, the car is a proven winner anyway.
Discuss the XX4 Worlds in the Forum! |
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Ellis Staffords Euro Winning XX4
NEW BiG Photos ! NEW
Many Thanks to the following for their help with the review: John Price, Chris Doughty, Jonathan Clark, Richard Cree, Peter Byrom, Chris Long, Ellis Stafford, Paul Rotherham, Daniel Carter, Vicky oOple, Em Shields. Special Thanks to Atomic Carbon for their great help with supporting the review and the rear brace- www.atomic-carbon.co.uk and Chris Long for supplying the Outdrive Savers, Contact chris on - chrisl@trumeter.com |
