HSV427

iTrader: (30)

You have made the right decision the car will feel a lot more plush and the rear end is dramatically calmed down, i personally was astonished at the difference, even when you hold them in your hand you can see the quality, and as some one mentioned earlier the fit is perfect and you don't get any blow by like the stock ones which is a shame cause XRAY stuff is usually top notch.

hugin_q3

Exactly, that is why I don't understand some top brands like Xray and others that don't go with the CNC made pistons when they put so much effort into the cars in all other places of the kit. Many would say that this will not make the big difference all in all on the track, but all the small things like this will add up and all those loose variables on a car like this will be eliminated, hence making the car more consistent. And not to forget the part where you will eliminate the part where you will get uneven pistons. I mounted the shock with the stock piston before I got the Avid CNC ones, and I measured them to be off by .4 mm each. That is much when it comes to fine tuning the shocks.

I hope that they would at least have parts like this as an option and TBH ditch the plastic tree piston for good. But most likely not, as many are pleased with them as is, and you get allot of option to choose from for a low cost production to add to a kit. That's why they will most likely always be there.

So, as an option part is the way to go I guess right?
Not always we would get CNC pistons as an 3rd party production for all types of cars out there either. The salvation is that most CNC pistons cross-fit anyways.

My two cents...

HeavyD99

iTrader: (15)

Well, what's funny is that Xray never even offered up machined pistons as an upgrade, I mean, AE and TLR offer machined pistons for $13 for a set, it's a built in money maker!

Perhaps seeing the new AE shocks with their special Fox coating, screw in pistons and new shock shaft coatings for an additional $100, that the next big thing for the XB4 will be completely upgraded shocks with machined bushings as well. More reason to upgrade right? Ya gotta have it! Lol.

jmkalt

I've been using AE B5 shocks and springs on my xb4 for a few months now. They are a direct fit, although you also need the associated standoffs and longer screws. A definite improvement over the X-ray shocks and they make the car feel a lot better, IMO.

BDRMBULLY

iTrader: (40)

Xray shocks get dirty oil so fast!!!!.
Not a fan either
Doing 12 to 15 packs in one night on my buds back yard track prob doesnt help though....heres the track.
Watch "Drc late nite" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/7TPZWvezcPw

raved007

iTrader: (36)

I agree with you. Don't know how it comes get dirty easily shock oil. My tekno sct410.3 and run 10 times pack than my xray '15 but the shock oil still look fresh.

Mizchief

Are you running boots vs. no boots on the tekno? The boots make a big difference in keeping the oil clean.

hugin_q3

+1, and that is what Xray needs to 'upgrade' to the next years editions of their cars. They do not need to hunt the ghost that is called 'We need to find a new revolutionary new concept for this car next years also'. Just refine what they have man, and CNC pistons are one of the things they need to address. They have 'luxury' in the name titles for many of their kits, or at least on the T4, so why not actually be that then and ad CNC pistons?

raved007

iTrader: (36)

Good point thats a different from my tekno because of the shock boot 😀

BDRMBULLY

iTrader: (40)

I guess luxury means , high maintenance. Haha
Thats wheeler I guess. At least this kit is easy and fun to work on ?;@)

Freeski

iTrader: (3)

First, thank you for all that made suggestions. It really got me pointed in the right direction. I am including the original post along with the responses in case someone is in the same boat and this will help.

Here is the setup sheet of the setup that I am currently using. I know that the setup is track dependent and also depends on driving style, but the car has never felt better than this.http://www.rctech.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1439940902CORRECTION: I DID use all chassis screws even though the setup sheet shows 3/4 used

By moving the front shock to the inner hole on the tower and also moving the front shock to the inner hole on the arm as well, it gave me the steering I was looking for and basically eliminated the mid corner stall I was experiencing. This was a great tip.

As suggested, I did try no front sway bar, but although the car had very linear steering, it didn't fit my driving style. For me, the car pushed a little more than I liked and I felt like I was better off with both front and rear sway bars being used. I started with stock sway bars (f/r/1.2), but the car felt a little twitchy. I then went to (f/r 1.1) and that calmed the car down and was better.

Because the car handled great with the 1.2 f/r sway bars(great rotation, but was twitchy), I decided to try the front arm graphite stiffeners in the hope that it would calm the steering down a bit, but still provide the awesome rotation while in the corner. I always thought of the graphite arm stiffeners as a carpet only option, but I can tell you from personal experience that if you want to take away a hair bit of steering and want to calm the car down from being too twitchy, this option worked great. NOTE: you can get the car to calm down by using the 1.1 f/r sway bar if you don't have access to the arm stiffeners

I did order the 4 hole aluminum steering rack made by xray. Like some have mentioned before, the holes on the 4 hole rack do not line up with the holes of the stock rack. The front hole of the 4 hole rack falls in between the front and rear hole of the stock rack. So the 4 hole rack offers four completely different hole locations than the stock rack provides.

Lastly, the shock oils I am using are a bit higher than I would normally use. The layout we currently have needs a little higher oil or else the chassis slaps hard in certain sections, but I have used AE 40wt in front and AE 32.5 wt in the rear with great success.

I hope this helps someone as much as you guys have helped me. Thanks.

Mizchief

Lol yea trying to change the front diff fluid on the 44.3 was enough to make me sell it and get an xray.

TPR 1

iTrader: (26)

my 15 with no top decks running chassis braces on low bite track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdHJKCi8aWU

raved007

iTrader: (36)

Great driving skills.Could you share your setup

Racer Tick

iTrader: (1)

What brand of shock oil are you guys using?