Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Land Models / June 2005

I have bashed with my XXX4 and had a blast.  I put ProLine Dirt Hawg
tires all the way around and used a 19 turn motor.  On real rough stuff
the XXXT with larger tires will bounce less and be easier to control.On
pavement and hard pack the XXX4 will handle great.  My XXX4 had no
major problems with any of the surfaces but you asked for a comparison.
At a local park I went down a concrete sidewalk, across a loose stone
parking lot, jumped off a 3" wall into grass, drove through the grass
and into a sand volley ball pit then began to tear around the sand
kicking up a cool roost and had no problems getting traction the whole
time.  The 4wd actually keeps the lower clearance from being to much of
a problem.  I almost never high center it since as long as one wheel is
touching it will keep pulling.  The Stampede we play with gets stuck
far more then the XXX4 and it has monster clearance, the problem is
when you get something under the back gear box your stuck, no matter
that the front is on good ground.  The XXX4 hill climbs better then my
Twin Force or E-Maxx electric monsters ever did since it did not have
the whole "roll over backwards" problem.

Jumping is trickier with the XXX4.  It reacts much more to throttle
control so you need to land it, the XXXT will land on it's own.  If
your used to a 1/8 then you already know that.

On the downside the XXX4 is made for racing and mine is set up for
racing and has not survived all my bashing trips.  I would say after a
year of bashing the XXXT would be easier on your pocket.  It is cheaper
to buy and will eat less parts.  I noticed that once I started bashing
my XXX4 parts started breaking a lot more during races.  I stopped
bashing and am not breaking so many parts anymore.  I would love to get
a XXX4 for bashing with a brushless setup.  If I see a used XXX4 cheap
enough I plan to grab it for just that.  I have been thinking of
getting a new XXX4G+ to race and turn my updated XXX4 into a basher but
the price has stopped me.  I think if I set one for bashing, going for
strength over weight and handling etc, it would work pretty well.

If you go for the XXX4 I would suggest a XXXS sedan bumper kit.  The
front fits perfect and will cover the nose and half of each arm.  The
rear bumper is also larger, I use the rear one on my race XXX4.  I had
the front on for a while but once I got better at driving I went back
to the original.  Don't use the foam part for the front, that will look
stupid, just the plastic part.  I would suggest you run a sheet of
lexan over the bottom.  Mine got pretty chewed up.