I never used the rear spoiler, I just use swaybars to tune-out the massive oversteer, but you do want *some* oversteer, because it's a rally car and rally cars are supposed to slide around corners.

Sucks that your body got messed up. But look at it this way, now you have an excuse to paint one for show, and continue using the scraped one for driving.

I'm not familiar with those other vehicles, so I'll take your word for it. If you get the XV-01T, don't bother using the wheels and tires that come with it. (well, the wheels are okay, they can be used to fit a 200mm race-truck body if you want.) The tires are awful; even with a cheap brushed motor I could spin all four tires on dry concrete without trying. They're just absolute garbage. Also, tires that size lift the body enough that if they *do* have enough grip, it will traction-roll when cornering.

The XV-01T is a good start for building a rally car, but it's a terrible platform for a truck. The wheelbase is way too narrow and it's almost impossible to find truck tires that fit without rubbing against the chassis when the steering turns.

I ended up converting my XV-01T into a FWD rally car (because I already had a 4WD rally car and I wanted something different), and it's great fun now.

I made a new spoiler from lexan and some modified HPI wing mounts. It's tougher than the original and easily repairable. Doesn't look as nice but it works well and it will hold up better should the car go flying through the air again.

I have tried multiple times to purchase the Killerbody Lancia but their website just does not work. I managed to make an account on their main site, get the body into the shopping cart and complete the checkout process. The only problem is, it never asked for a payment of any kind. Their USA site doesn't have online shopping. The prices are very reasonable for that amount of detail and all the stuff the bodies come with, they just won't sell me one.

They don't sell direct. Try HobbyTown or AsiaTees.com I'm nearly ready to buy their Lancia Stratos body. I don't like their Integrale, the grille looks

Also if you just want a runner body- get a Rally Legends Lancia Integrale from HobbyKing (int'l warehouse).

The only KillerBodies I've ever seen for sale are on AsiaTees or eBay.

Is that HobbyKing Lancia Delta body 190mm wide?

Can we talk about how terrible the stock "rally block" tires are? I mean seriously, the only thing they're good for is lasting a long time. I'm pretty sure the bare wheels would have more grip. Thank goodness HPI hasn't discontinued their Pirelli rally tires.

Yet.

<_<

>_>

*runs to buy more spare tires*

Yeah, run fast! Get that HPI stuff while (if) you still can.

Odd that Killerbody.com would have an account and shopping cart system on their website if they didn't sell direct but that does seem to be the case. That's too bad, really. Seems like a surefire recipe for failure in this day and age. There are no shops within 200 miles of me that can get them.

I saw the HobbyKing body and considered it.

I'd like to think HPI isn't stupid enough to discontinue a highly successful line of products (namely their wheels and tires), and I've noticed lately that a couple tires that were backordered for years are finally available again...but I don't trust them anymore. For all I know they'll decide to discontinue them anyway for some reason that makes absolutely no sense outside of the boardroom.

Okay, I looked up the chassis you mentioned, and the TA-03F-S is the closest to the XV-01TC. There's no meaningful similarity between the XV-01TC and the TT-02, aside from they both have four wheels. However, unlike the TA-03F-S, the XV-01 has a longitudinal mount for the battery, and can hold a standard hardcase LiPo pack with no modifications necessary.

Theres a bunch of guys in Colorado that compete in rally class.. (Thread is on rccrawler) Believe it or not the stock Tamiya tire their number one choice. They also use the Rallye legends tire a lot.

I have both rims and the HPI is good for Tarmac and light dirt. For heavy dirt, snow or mud, the Tamiya tire is superior.

There also guys in Czech Republic that have copied the Tamiya tire and made a softer compound.

At this point man, I don't think it's up to HPI. I can only hope they survive... whatever problems they may or may not be having, and improve their parts supply chain sometime in the future.

I should have a new front bumper skid arriving soon along with a sweet pit bag to haul my cars around in without damaging their wings and mirrors and such. I still need to install that last aluminum suspension mount under the motor and swap in the new carbon reinforced A-arm in the rear so it'll match the other side. I'm also building a new 30 amp charging box at the moment and I've been working on a crawler course in my backyard. Many RC things are happening right now!

Oh and that Rally Legends Stratos is 206mm wide. I just ordered it and two sets of yellow, 5 spoke wheels. It'll have a bit of overhang on the sides until I can find some 9mm offsets that look good on it.

The Delta Integrale is 196mm.

Fair enough, the tread on the Rally Block tire is basically the same as a dirtbike tread, but I don't run my rally cars on terrain that rough -- I have trucks for that purpose.

So...off-topic, but I just finished building a DF-03Ra to keep my XV-01s company.







In terms of build quality, the XV-01s are far and away better, but the DF-03Ra runs well enough. I didn't have the "massive push" problem that Jang reported when he built his; not sure why, but I'm not complaining. Interestingly, I tried using CVDs front and rear, and I had to remove the rear CVDs and replace them with the stock dogbones. Because the DF-03Ra is a converted buggy chassis, the rear axles are swept sharply forward to achieve a proper 1:10 touring-car wheelbase, and that sharp angle means the rear axles chatter like crazy unless the axles have the exact same type of articulation joints on the inboard and outboard ends -- different articulation joints have different angular-velocity profiles as they complete each rotation, and the difference between a dogbone joint and a CVD joint is significant enough at this sharp angle that the rear axles want to vibrate the wheels off the car. Since there are no sliding-spline axles or double-cardan axles that will fit the DF-03Ra, the only way to get the same type of articulation joint at each end of the axles is to go with the stock dogbones.

All that is to say, I like the drivetrain layout of the XV-01 better. But the DF-03Ra is an interesting change of pace nonetheless. And if I ever decide to get rid of it, the body mount holes are the same as the XV-01, so I can just move the body to a different chassis.

Gentlemen. I just ran a pack through my XV-01. It is RC excellence. That is all.

I'm glad you like it. I admit I was a little concerned you'd get one based on my suggestion and then hate it.

I just went back through this thread a few pages and saw where you posted that your friends are envious of your XV-01 even though they run WR8s. That's pretty cool. I'm sure the WR8 can drive fast on rougher terrain, but the XV-01 has unmatched handling. If I could only have one touring(ish) car platform, it would be the XV-01. It's just so versatile.