DG Designs

iTrader: (14)

I wonder when we will see a more mid cab body? Seems like it would help balance the car.

Bcholka

Go mid-motor. Our track (Trackside Raceway in Wisconsin) is medium bite and mid-motors rock there!!!!
Lots of people "seem" to feel that you need very high bite for them to work--it's just not true. I think people have these ideas because certain "convertible" buggies (where you can switch from mid to rear) just don't work.
When you run a dedicated design (mid motor specifically) the geometry is such to maximize the buggy's performance.
Kudos to AE for releasing these dedicated designs!!

FantomLeopard

iTrader: (8)

Like this?



Well, I'll just have to wait until I have the money My track is a little dusty though so I don't know how well it would work there. With the new year coming though I'm sure the release of the B5M will bring a couple people back and I'm sure I'll have the chance to try one out before making the jump!

Davidka

iTrader: (86)

This continues coming up but what, exactly has been identified as a weakness with conversions?

The TLR 22 should be omitted since its motor is so far forward of the diff. But Kyosho, Xfactory, Durango? All of these are proven winners.

DG Designs

iTrader: (14)

[QUOTE=FantomLeopard;12860627]Like this?



Forgot about that one. The Finnisher came out so soon after it, it kind of got passed by. That and i don't think they did it for the long chassis did they?

Jmuck69

iTrader: (14)

I still think this is one of the better looking bodies out there along with the Finnisher. If they brought back the Punnisher for the B5 series....WINNER!

Bcholka

My experience since owning an X-Factory has been their efforts with creating "cvd bind" to assist with forward traction. It seems like the conversion vehicles work towards manipulating transmission height and adding weight for assisting with forward traction. As a result my personal experiences (along with observing others experiences) has been that conversions do fine on very high bite but dedicated mid-motor designs can excel on less than high bite. This is why I feel that anyone "on the fence" about MM shouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger--especially if they're worried about traction levels at their track--the dedicated mid's ARE the future!!
BTW--this isn't just with X-Factory--the Centro's do great as well. I love my X but have a B5M on Pre-order for my son to run in mod--can't wait!!!!!

Bcholka

Duplicate

FantomLeopard

iTrader: (8)

Nope, the body was made and forgotten about because 'cab-forward' became the new thing only months after. This body was basically a "well, moving it slightly forward works so why not move it all the way forward and see what that does?" kind of thing. I'm sure that PL and JC try out different body styles on new cars to make sure that whatever is best is what they are selling so if it turns out that the mid-cab body works better we'll likely see more of them

Mmmm See I think the finisher body for trucks looks better than the bulldog body but I still don't like cab-forward for trucks. The Illuzuion body (original one, not the 'high-flow') was the sexiest truck body since the Matt Francis body on the XXXt.. But for buggies, I prefer the bulldog body much more. But, the same with the trucks, the punisher body and the regular cab bodies are better looking I.M.O.

gticlay

iTrader: (14)

[QUOTE=DG Designs;12860747]Do like!

Davidka

iTrader: (86)

They need to stretch the scoopless Illusion for the +8mm (if it doesn't already fit). That was the best B4 body IMO.


Seems like any conversion that changes the gear box has the same opportunity. Could this be more a case of some getting it right or wrong instead of conversion/dedicated?

Bcholka

Very good point indeed!! The dedicated "mid's" run a 4 gear tranny. I believe the "theory" is the 4-gear allows the motor to now spin forward which provides an inertia benefit.
I also know through experience with the X-Factory that they redesigned the rear arm geometry to better assist with rear traction.
So to summarize I think the cvd-bind, the rear arm geometry and the 4 gear tranny all benefit the dedicated MM design.
What intrigues me about the B5M is they went to the gull-wing front arms. They stated that these arms worked great on the mid while the rear benefitted more utizlizing straight arms. Am very interested to experience this--sounds like yet another evolution in these awesome mid-motor designs!!
As a side note--people shouldn't criticize any company that offers dedicated RM or MM designs. For the SERIOUS racer this is the only way to go.

Bcholka

To all the ball diff experts out there--interesting that AE went from 12 up to 14 balls--the TLR guys didn't seem to be big fans of the 14 ball diffs--wonder how this will play out.....

adam lancia

iTrader: (2)

Assocciated has had a better ball diff from the moment they introduced the Stealth. I could never get a Losi diff to be as smooth or trouble-free as an Associated diff. In order to get a Losi diff as smooth, it would take a significant amount of work compared to an Associated diff. I'm figure the new diff is going to be just fine.

langsky

iTrader: (27)

So being that I am one of those "on the fence" people, do you think I would be happy with the B5M? I currently race B4s and will be keeping one of them for my son. I generally race on medium bite tracks, but occasionally I run on a lower traction dusty track. I just can't decide between mid and rear.