The XT8 looked good when I saw one run earlier this year. IDK, though, the Losi felt better to me. Might be cause the XT8 was brand new-not mine-didn't want to break it. LOL. And I'm used to the Losi vehicles. Plus I've only raced for one season, so I don't have room to talk.
I'll take some pics of my center diff in my 8-B tonight and see how it compares to the pics you posted Rezenclowd. My buggy has 13 gallons of race time on it, plus a one or two gallons when it was still an RTR. It might be ugly in there. LOL.