Im thinking about adding a 4wd buggy to my racing fleet. I have it narrowed down to the B44.1 and the Durango DEX410R. I love my AE cars but the drive line of the 44 scares me a little bit. How often fo you have to rebuild the ball diffs? Also how much $ will I spend over and above the kit cost to make it race ready (Not counting electronics)?

Won't be rebuilding diffs much if they're built properly from the start. As far as the drivetrain goes, just add 2 shims on top of what the kit says to place to each side of the diff before you place it in the transmission case (6 gear side/4 other). This will prevent it from moving side to side and stripping teeth off the gear.

As far as cost after kit, the kit is race ready out of the box. Put in some electronics and grab some throttle.

Bingo. I've done very little outside the stock setup. I also haven't upgraded anything (doesn't really need it). Car is a missle. You will break front arms and shock parts but that's not the fault of the car. As far as gears, I'm still on my originals. Shim and lube and you're GTG. Now it they would release the BBs and maybe steel gears (better safe than sorry) I would be completely content with this buggy.

I have recently owned both cars at the same time. They are completely different animals. The 410 with it's gear diffs was easier to maintain, but harder to dial in with the right oil. If you know someone with a set up that works thats half the battle right there. I know four guys that had the 410 and all of them had a different set up. You also need to use Kyosho diff seals so the diffs dont leak. Also, parts in my area (AZ) are non-existant. The same four guys all stocked up on parts, I mean BOXES of parts. With the b44 you just walked into the shop to choose from a wall of parts. To me that was a huge deciding factor. But you really cant appreciate the parts supply thing until you have been through it. Every now and then I check amainhobbies for the 410. The 410v3 has been on and off back order for over 6 months. It is currently on back order. Durango was recently purchased and everyone said the parts supply thing would improve, but I have not seen it materialize yet.

Driving wise, the b44.1 is pretty good right out of the box. To compare it to the 410, it is not as plush, but is more precise and lighter feeling than the 410. The b44 feels like it has a lower roll center, and is more planted. On the other hand the 410 feels smoother, is easy to drive, and handles well on tracks that are less than perfect.

Fit and finish on both cars is pretty good, but the 410 seems to have a little more slop. Also, you need to be creative to squeeze the electronics into the 410. Tight fit is an understatement.

Hope this info helps you decide. If I had to choose right now, I would say the b44.1 with BB springs is the hot ticket.

well i am coming back to a 44 after 4 years away

I just like the fact that they don't leak, they're easy to bleed, and they are silky smooth. I'm currently running losi yellows in the rear and blues up front. This is the best the car has felt so far.

Thanks guys
 

Yeah I just ordered two new front shock shafts and the rears actually held up I thought they popped out but it was only the front after I took everything apart but I had replaced them with similar eclips but not associated should I redo all my shock shafts with associated eclips that I ordered??

That's what I would do.

Thanks
 

Yeah that's what I figured so I'll just rebuild everything and let you know how it holds up hopefully I'll be able to get to the track tomorrow

Ok that makes more sense thank you for all of your help.

So what's the Losi Big bore spring combo to use. Is it the same at the B4.1?

Avid purple fronts and white rears are working well at WCRC. I have only one practice day on them but they are good all around the track. Holds well on the sweeper and gives better "pop" on the triple. Stock pistons with 35/30 Losi oil.

I started with white also but went to yellow in the rear, white made it donkey kick a little, yellow is much better. If you try yellow let me know what you think. Im running the carbon c hub also, gave it a ton more rear grip.

I'm running Losi Green/White on mine w/ 35-30. Love the way the car handles.

Well I decided to go with the 44 platform over the Rango. Mainly because I alreadyhave a SC10 and a B4.1 so it makes things easier. So what are the upgrades the 44.1 has over the 44. I can get a 44 lightly used quite a bit cheaper. It has the V2 parts and lipo cradle already. Just curious as to why I should go the 44.1 route over the 44.