rvrslt1

iTrader: (35)

What car do you think is best for this class?

lyons238

iTrader: (15)

a light car i would say. b44.3 is light. sucks but its light.

WillS

iTrader: (32)

The Xray XB4 2016 has the freest drive train and is the lightest for the class. As for being slow, I have beat 5.5 and 6.5 with my 13.5 wheeler. If your pace is not as fast or a little faster than the top 17.5 2wd buggy guys, you have some work to do.

I have seen many manufacturers be competitive. Find one that you like how it handles for you and work on freeing it up from there. Key thing is free drivetrain, this keeps heat down and allows for a more consistent motor.

lyons238

iTrader: (15)

if anything xray is one of the heavier cars. depends which electronics and which internal gears and such you use, but yeah its def rather heavy.

and its just my personal opinion that they're boring. i like to go as fast as i can. i like to be driving as fast as possible while barely being able to hang on to the car, any mistake is going to cause you to lose traction or lose momentum. it's fun to drive punched and on the edge. driving stock just doesn't give you that feeling, its all about momentum, consistency, and line choice. def takes a certain skill. just not my cup of tea.

BACK ON TOPIC:

I can honestly say the B44.3 buggy would actually be good for stock. it's not the best buggy out there, it's not the most durable, nor is it the most capable. but in stock class it def can be. a friend of mine has one and its super light and just does well with a 13.5 motor. plus it's shaft driven...

the TLR 22-4 2.0 is amazing but your def going to have some drive train drag with the belt system. same with the yokomo and schumacher. im not sure how belt cars drive with a 13.5 motor but they must have more drag i would imagine.

the xray IMO is NOT suited for stock, it's rather heavy and tank like. it likes to be driven fast and smooth.

WillS

iTrader: (32)

My 2016 weighed in at 1620 out of the box with RSX, fullsize servo, tornado fan and protek shorty. So I am not sure why you claim it to be heavy. The 22-4 2.0 has loosen up the belts but it is no where near as free as the 2016. The b44.3 has won, but it has a lot of drivetrain drag, let alone its arm issue.

Now depending on track surfaces you run into issues. The TLR is probably the best all around IMHO. The Xray is best on high bite and can be loosen up to run on lower bite surfaces but at the costs of Xrays high prices. I have seen people happy with their zx6 but when I look at the 13.5 class, I see TLR and Xray as the majority at big races.

MantisWorx

iTrader: (28)

A properly setup 13.5 is not much slower than mod. Look at the national events with the class. Fast lap is less than 3 tenths slower, and you get less tire and drivetrain wear. So Boring and slow is simply not a true statement. here locally we mix the class and i have won more races with 13.5 then i did with mod. FYI 13.5 is not stock 17.5 is....

To answer the OP's question the losi 22-4 is an excellent choice for 13.5.

Cain

iTrader: (294)

For this class personally I would like to give it a try here indoors since the track size you wouldn't be giving up much ( I run an 8.5 and its right there at being a bit much for the track). We also run 17.5 2wd buggy on the track and have close battles.

A big thing I think is that 13.5 makes the class more approachable for people new to either the class or the hobby.I know, people will say "start here" for true newbies hence 2wd, but getting new blood into 4wd isn't a bad thing, and considering people starting new into say "4wd touring" dont' have a 2wd option and we don't instantly run them out the door, maybe we should have something that brings in the blood so to speak.

Anyway, For you guys running this class, are you finding you want the higher torque rotor options on tighter tracks or are the common 12.5mm rotors seen in many motors out of the box sufficient?

boucher

We're in the middle of a multi-state points series that's offering a 13.5 wheeler class and it's pretty popular. Last round, some 13.5 guys were running faster times than the mod guys, with talented guys in both classes. I see it as a gateway class to 4wd, which is great for someone new-ish looking for a second class.

Now to finally get back OT, in our series there are a range of different manufacturers. Most popular around me is the B44.3, but that could be due to the fact they already had them for a little while. I don't think 13.5 is as limiting as 17.5t is for 2wd, so I don't see a minor weight difference meaning that much from car to car. I'd go with whatever your shop carries parts for and what some local fast guys are running so you'll have some help when you run into issues.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

lyons location says it all.

Scargoes

iTrader: (6)

I enjoyed 13.5 in both my K1 Aero and B44.2. Lap count at my home track netted on average 1 lap less than a mod wheeler. The fast guys in mod were the fast guys in 13.5. only benefit I saw was that 13.5 had a lot more cleaner racing.

But there is something cool about seeing a 1/10 wheeler making it a quad vs a triple single.

hacker

iTrader: (141)

The current generation of 4wd's are not the best cars for 13.5

Im running a tamiya 511 belt drive, converted to shorty, and need to ADD weight to make minimum weight. And our minimum weight in Australia is 1600 grams. Even though it's a belt drive and not as free as a shaft drive, it's lower rotating mass makes up the difference. We run 17.5 as stock. And I get asked if I'm running 13.5 quite a lot. My car is generally the quickest!

lyons238

iTrader: (15)

one good thing about the xray is you could go with a full graphite drive train aside from shafts but full graphite gears, that would certainly be the best for 13.5 and lighten up the overall car substantially.

my personal xray is rather heavy with all steel gears etc...

Cain

iTrader: (294)

the durango I run, the dex410v5 if what I am reading is right says its 1800grams running weight. Curious though if it was with a shorty or not. I'll have to give it a look as I am curious now.

rvrslt1

iTrader: (35)

Good info well I think.... What is the hot 13.5 motor? What about gearing on a B44.3 with center gear diff? I don't like the idea of a car with belts. Leaning the B44.3 direction.

lyons238

iTrader: (15)

xray with full graphite gears would honestly be the best bet. probably b44.3 second best, with TLR 22-4 2.0 equal or higher. that belt system is pretty solid, not much drag.

i would say trinity D4 maxzilla for a fast 13.5 motor