Xray vs VBC
 

T4'14 vs VBC's top TC chassis. What are the pros and cons of each? Which is better? Oh yeah we're only talking about club level driving, so best bang for your buck! And.............go!

I currently run an Xray T4 2014 but my local track has had an influx of VBC cars lately, some of which I had the opportunity to drive. The quality of both cars are excellent, and both drive very well. I'll give the durability advantage to Xray, but the price of VBC parts is cheaper. You really can't go wrong with either honestly.

I also have Xray T414 but hear good things about the VBC cars.

agree with both the above comments, also just as another alternative have a look at the arc r10 2013
if i were to rate these in order
arc
vbc ( testing the new dynamics kit this friday )
xray

for me there is not nuch between the three so it comes down to price of new kit, price of parts & availability of parts should you need them

of course you will get a lot of different opinions when you ask a question like this

good luck with whichever kit you decide on

Well I already have a T4'14....I've just been hearing a lot of buzz about the vbc stuff
I haven't even looked at arc yet maybe I will....keeper comin guys.....it's all great advice for everyone new to the hobby it's kinda like a buyers guide

Xray cars are always good. No doubt. Had the pleasure of running the VBC D06 for the past few weeks. Great quality, superb handling, and comes with a few extras in the box. Center servo mount and DCJ's included was a big bonus. My car currently has fastest lap and fastest qualifier at the track over a couple of very fast xray and yokomo cars. Can't go wrong either way but I prefer the looks of the wildfire.

agree also with stiltskin,some really nice additions & in the dynamics upgrade kit you get both the alloy & carbon chassis plus some other goodies

good luck with the choice

I have VBC's and love them. Parts quality, build, and look is great. Parts availablity is ok through either timezone hobbies or gridworks racing and both have great customer service. Plus the gunmetal color (to me anyway) looks soooo much better than all that orange. But Xray makes a great car and parts are a little easier to get. Ive got a Dynamics on the way and cant wait to get it running.

I have built 5 VBC touring kits and can confirm the quality is extremely good. I will still give a slight edge to Xray in overall quality but it's not enough to bring me back to Xray. For durability, I actually give VBC the advantage mainly because the steering knuckles and C-hubs are tougher (the v2 parts included on the D06 and now included in the Ghost kit). Yes VBC is less expensive but I didn't really buy mine because of it - the cars are easy to work on, stay tight so that your adjustments actually do something - literally a quarter turn of a turnbuckle makes a difference. Oh and they are fast!

Ultimately for me it came down to a few minor differnences between the Xray and VBC.
- VBC is slightly easier to adjust overall (belt tension)
- VBC had a few design differences that I preferred over Xray (motor mount, 4mm shock towers - I race on carpet and ARB mounts)
- Cosmetics... nobody can touch VBC here and yes it makes you go faster.

Also, I really love the ball joints on the VBC - they stay smooth and free of slop.

Looks like there's more than a whiff of inspiration from Xray in the VBC (amongst other things, perhaps the layshaft is the most poignant, especially when most other manufacturers move away from bearing in support setups to cantilever bearing in pulley setups). Which might mean the next iteration of the Xray might do away with it if only to avoid parts interchangeability chipping into their margin.

Don't know what the VBC goes for, but have you considered the Yokomo BD7 RS? To me that is hard to beat in the bang for buck category.

XRAY and Schumacher have both drawn inspiration from Awesomatix, the same can be said for a number of similarities between a number of the current touring cars. While there are visible similarities, the suspension geometry of the VBC differs from that of the XRAY and it certainly doesn't feel the same.

When compared to the XRAY, the D06 is more affordable, builds extremely well, is arguably more durable and just finished on the podium in Open Modified at the 2014 RROC.

To be honest, there really aren't many bad things to say about either car, but I believe there is a clear winner when it comes to overall value per dollar spent.

Really tempted to get a D06 Ultimate (running a T4 '13 right now). Quality is a #1 must for me with design/handling a very close second.

I've seen Xrays survive crashes a bit better than the D06, but this is at the modified level.

T4 '13 is not the latest chassis, so you could pick a new or used up for a good price.

I have not broken anything on mine and used it for a year.

It's a tough car - even on wooden track boarding :tire:

If you get the 13 or the 14 make sure you have an upper bumper brace and the hard bumper. Or risk breaking the chassis in a very hard front impact.

The way I see it, everyone has their own driving style and one car might be terrible in the hands of one person but be the best car the other guy ever drove.
I only say this because I've put other guys setups on my car and it was completely undriveable, but the same guy won snowbirds.
It comes down to, especially with the new electric tc's, parts availability. Who cares what everyone else at the local track is driving, unless you're just starting out, and don't have any idea how to setup a car, everyone's car will have some differences.