Radio Control Car Action X10 Review

[psteers]

Thanks DirtRacer. That layout was fun, I came in second at our season opener Trophy race in Gas Truck with my GT. We were lucky enough to get the second round of the RC Pro Series Northeast for truggy, buggy, and 1/10th scale gas truck, as well as the monster truck classes.

As you'll see with my extended experiences with the predator, I was able to obtain the super-stiff silver springs which worked surprisingly well with the indoor track I raced on.

I did try running Xray touring car shock springs, which fit, but were simply too short to do the job.

[Cooper]

Ooh my god, some people have misunderstood me again..... giving an ironic tone on a forum isn't poissible I guess. Dirtracer, I'm not going to give any more comments on your ideas. You don't like me, we all know that by now, and now you have gone over the edge in my eyes, I will not tolerate this any longer! (and that's something not many people have experianced)


secondly, I ment to be postive to P steers, there were alot of people saying the article was negative and on the B4 forum lot's of americans were giving judgements before they even had driven the car or even seen driving it. That's what I ment with **** americans !! I don't insult them I just want to give them a group name, I'm not an english native speaker so it's hard for me to defend myself here or make my statements clear for everyone. lets say the **** = 'unbelievable, conservative, ...' americans.

and I just said he has build his shocks wrong, I didn't write what exactly because I was in a hurry and I was curieus to see who else would notice it.

So Mr. Steers, I'm sorry if I have misled you, I like your article alot!

goodevening to you all,

Cooper (who's angry and that is something rare.... Thanks Dirtracer)

[Cooper]

P. Steers, I've send you an email to clear things up.

Chris, please pm me or email me for a 'chat' .....

[psteers]

Thank you for the clarification, Cooper, and for liking my review.

[chris burgess]

Right then!

I have read through all of the comments in this thread, and I am frankly, a little dismayed.

OK, we all have the right to say what we think, and we all have the right to air our opinions, even if others do not always agree. However, I am not prepared to have arguements and name calling that appears to be founded on nationality alone. I really do not want this arguement to go rumbling on, so i would ask all those involved to "let it be".

I want this to be a friendly forum that leaves behind the fighting, bad-mouthing and often argumentative threads of other forums, so if that means you have to bite your tongue sometimes, please do so. I don't want to install rules and regulations about what you can and what you can't say, so please keep it friendly!

and finally....
I know some people question my choice of administrators on this forum, but I have chosen the ones I have based on experience and knowledge of the T.Tech Off-Road cars. I have also purposely not asked some more "obvious" choices of administrators so I can keep the distinction between www.the-pred.co.uk and T.Tech Racing. Yes, T.Tech racing help me a lot, and I like to think we help them a lot, but it is a mutual agreement between Richard and myself that we work together for the common good of the brand/the cars, but remain separate entities so that this website can remain informative and impartial.

(If anybody would like to be a moderator/administrator of this forum, then please let me know why and what knowledge you have, and I will consider your request! ;D)

Rant Over.

Chris

[pro4nut]

I liked the review, i didn't agree with everything written but that was what i liked. To see someone giving an actual review of a product in a magazine is a rare thing. Especially when we have to put up with Helger Racing Monthly, and its rival publication Mirage Monthly. But my real point is when will we see a review of the X10 in the uk?

[psteers]

OK, here goes. Please don't hurt me....

Predator X10 Long-Term Review
Pete Steers

Ok, so after a long adjourn, I’m back to tell you my experiences with the famous Predator. Here’s the tale of the funkiest 4wd I’ve ever driven…

After the article was put to print, the car sat for about two weeks waiting for a new front gearbox top. You see, I was racing at the indoor track I mentioned in the Car Action article (Wolcott Hobby) and I bumped the inside pipe at the end of the straightaway, causing the car to spin around and smack the outside wall. This broke the gearbox top at the right steering bearing mount. I had no replacement so I waited patiently for my spares to come in from DTCRC.

Up until that point, I was doing surprisingly well despite some handling and driveline problems. I had stripped two spur gears in successive weeks, and the rear differential was continually coming loose. I ordered parts and for some reason, the diff screw was not fully securing in the opposing half. The loctite I applied during the initial build was not enough, so I used a liberal dose of the new blue thread locker that comes in a glue stick-esque tube. That did the trick, and in all my subsequent testing, I never had to rebuild either differential. If I were to say my “most favoritest” part of the X10 it would most definitely be the differentials. They are perfectly simple and work like a charm.

The week before I broke the gearbox top, I had received some new front springs (the uber-stiff silver mommas) from everyone’s friend Richard to stiffen up the front end of the car. I raced them twice, in two qualifiers, and I knew I was much faster than before now that the car would jump in a predictable arc. I was also able to get on the throttle sooner because the car would lift and gain rear traction more quickly through the turn. As a result, I carried more corner speed and lowered my lap times. I rebuilt my shocks with the new clear o-rings, and they sealed right up, like brand new. Also, I had received the new motor clamp from Richard in that same care package, and I found a new screw with a 3mm cap head and really socked that motor in there with a makeshift t-handle allen key.

A track note: the indoor dirt was becoming far more rutted after weekly racing sessions, so the track owner Lester and maintenance dude (my buddy Howard) made the decision to start performing a much more labor-intensive maintenance plan on the circuit. They started mixing up the dusty soil that pushed to the outside of the driving line with water and some Portland cement and started to actually trowel in patches on the track’s surface with a cement stucco trowel. As the patches’ areas grew, the blue groove started to form, in sections. As a result, the track stayed harder, longer, and I could start to feel the X10 come alive.

A tire change was in order. Blockheads up front – silver compound. A question arose; should I stay with Holeshots in the rear – or switch to the Worlds rear tire – the red X-2000? It turned out both choices had their strong suits on my particular racing surface. X-2000s had forward traction, but the Holeshots won the decision because of their excellent side bite.

Back to the car… After repairing the gearbox top, I made some changes to the car’s setup. I tried Tony Newland’s April fool’s classis setup he used at the Intermountain RC Raceway in Utah. The only differences between my setup and his were that I used the stock rear spring combination because they were all I had, and I removed the sway bar because my track was far smaller than the Utah track and the car had no need for more steering. I’ve attached the setup sheet as an image file to this post.

The car felt awesome. I won the first qualifier because everyone else broke – there were only 6 four-wheelers in the class that particular day. Second round, I came in second, but this time, I beat one of the local fast drivers fair and square (the current 4wd regional champion Mark with his BJ4 Worlds) but came in second to Howard (the Team Trinity driver with his pristine XX-4 Worlds). The track was dry and loose, and my tires had already lost their grab. I glued up new meats and I was ready for the third qualifier.

The third round was fun, but I seemed to be a little eager on the throttle all day, and the ears on the rear drive shaft pinion gave way to the torque of my EPIC shock 10-double. I took the rear of the car apart to try and salvage the gear, but to no avail. My day was done after I was on a TQ pace in the third qualifier.

And since then, about three weeks ago, I haven’t had the time to drive it again. I ordered the new gear and the neat little (overpriced) sleeve that goes over the ears, and I tested it out once, but other than that, the car has sat idle. The indoor track went under renovations to include an oval in the outside lanes, and the only other outdoor tracks available were rained out a few weeks in a row. I’m raring to go and try this car out at Xtreme again, with its huge back straightaway jumps and at the new Wolcott outdoor track designed for 1/8th scale buggies and monster trucks. Can you say red clay? I can’t wait. Until then,

Pete

[psteers]

Here's[/u][/url] that setup I last used. Watch out, it's a biggie.

[Cooper]

I like it very much Pete!
and it proves the car needs those latest hop up options. Maybe it's worth adding to your article that the latest kits have these options as standard?

[chris burgess]

Well, that's a fair review, and typical of the experiences that I have had with the car.

Overall though, how would you rate the X10 against other 4wd cars you have raced?

[psteers]

Cooper - You're absolutely right - I should mention that the latest kits have the updated parts. As soon as my long-term test is posted at the RC Car Action gorums, I'll post a footnote as a seperate post afterwards to let everyone know. Thanks!

Chris - Overall, the X10 doesn't really seem like a practical car formost Americans yet because the parts distribution isn't really in place yet. In a short amount of time, after Advantage Racing and DTCRC are around for a while, hopefully a larger distributor will pick up TTech and make the car a more reasonable option for most of us here across the pond. Performance wise, the car is right there. There's the hurdle of the new style of suspension tuning to overcome, but any driver worth his salt will jump past that obstacle with only brief probems. Really though, the only real problem facing this car (and sadly, most 4wd cars in general) is the parts support and distribution, as well as their initial price.

note: I should also mention that the X10's price has been reduced in my footnote...

[psteers]

Well, I raced the X10 yesterday (Sunday) at Xtreme. There was a new (huge) triple jump on the back straightaway, it must have been 20 feet long, and the double was extremely difficult to line up. I wound up stripping the spur gear again after a hard landing, so I think I'll be trying the new stronger units next.

The car fest like it was on rails, but the bumps really made it difficult because the back of the car was bouncing around a lot, so I put the hard pistons in as well as slightly thinner shock oil (losi 40wt) and that planted the car well. If I get the car back up and running by next week, I'll be sure to try it again next Sunday.

[TTECHAMERICA]

Hi Pete,
Glad you got your parts and are enjoying the X10. As you have discovered, for the larger US and Canadian style tracks the optional springs are a must have.
On another note, you should check out the new ttechracing.com ttechamerica.com websites, and check under the find a dealer section. We have been in contact with several shops, and the list will continue to grow.
As we are now a part of TTech UK, the pricing is now set as a worldwide trade price, but with the ease of availability arising, the car will surely be a contender. Look for more exciting products from Ttech and the best support on www.the-pred.co.uk

Cheers!