Losi or Associated AGAIN !!

stefke · #1 03-10-2006

I know it must be the 135.368.123th time this question was asked, but since my B4 is a bit worn out after 2,5 seasons of racing, I'm looking for a replacement and am boubting between a new B4 and an XXX CR.

I started racing Losi XX and XX CR cars and loved the forgiving way the Losis handled, especially on rough tracks. But as my driving skills improved, I started to lack front end grip (or steering) with the XX. So after I tested someones Associated at the local track, I switched to a B2 and never looked back. After the B2, I raced a B3 and a B4 and liked them all.

But now I got to drive someones XXX CR and I must say I was amazed how good it handled. I lapped a few tenths a second faster per lap as with my B4 !! It seemed to have the classic Losi behaviour (forgiving, lots of rear grip) but has added the amount of aggressive steering mostly typical of associated 2WD's.

My question then : is this typical of the XXX CR or did the setup of the CR I tested just hit the sweet spot ? Do any of you guys made the transition from a B4 to a CR (or tested them both) and what were your impressions ?

bigred5765 · #2 03-10-2006

we've run b4 for the last 3 years but have moved to xxxcr enough said
steering is fine now

ashleyb4 · #3 03-10-2006

The B4 is a great car and is unbeatable. I dont think there will be another car that is so succesful as the B4 any time soon.

Go B4 Its a truely great car and really easy to set up.

ryan · #4 03-10-2006

i was asking my self the same question a few months ago and i found only one awnser THE B4. do you think theres a reason while losi named there car the CR-AP. lol the b4 is the best car ever made.

ryan

Slimboyfat · #5 03-10-2006

I am making the transition from B4 to XXX-CR at the moment.

The B4 is and awesome car but only time will tell whether the CR is as good or any better.

I will try and report back after a few meetings and give an honest impartial view as to what the score is in comparison.

bigred5765 · #6 03-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleyb4

The B4 is a great car and is unbeatable. I dont think there will be another car that is so succesful as the B4 any time soon.

Go B4 Its a truely great car and really easy to set up.

so how long did you test the xxxcr for then ash

bigred5765 · #7 03-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

i was asking my self the same question a few months ago and i found only one answer THE B4. do you think theres a reason while losi named there car the CR-AP. lol the b4 is the best car ever made.

Ryan

associated use to be good B4 losi xxxcr came out lol

i know you all asked for help and advice but you cant go of what your told all the time, and if you ask around you;ll find that one car suits some the other car suits others best of try for your self is the only way

PaulRotheram · #8 03-10-2006

I've ran a CR prototype all season with fairly good results.. E finaled a national with it, kept my F2 with it and Tq'd and won a regional for the first time. My all time best results so far

The car is VERY good it has to be said, but it's down to what you prefer.
You can set the car up as much as you want, or as little as you want. I made a nice 'general' setup i used for the start of each meeting and tweaked a little to dial the car to the conditions. The car is very good over the bumps, a great flyer and the rear end stays planted all the time.

The downfall of the CR I found was when the conditions get wet, the little lack of steering the car natually gives shows an awful lot with the front end pushing though the corners, mostly on the astro. This can be resolved with set up changes, but the B4 is definatly the dominant car when the rain comes.

Ive just got ahold of a B4 again after having the opportunity to have some help from other racers (of who i very much appreciate), and with the help I received the car was very good, my old b4 seemed to be very random, especially the rear end. But with the set up on now, the car seems to be dialed, it has the extra steering the losi slightly lacked which i could use to my advantage from the extra experience from the past seasons.

Sunday was a VERY random day, the track started off damp, dried up then we had torrential rain. And ive got to say the car was great in all the conditions - even when the bad downpour started the car still gripped.. on yellows ! but after the rain stopped and the track was just damp there was a distinct lack of rear end grip.. nothing else i could of expected after that much rain!

Both cars are very competitive, and you can do well with either.. the Losi is very forgiving and will get you a good time over 5 minutes, wheras the B4 will give you the fastest times over one lap and requires a good driver to keep them laptimes over 5 minutes.

If you have any questions i will try answer them as i like to think i've experienced alot from both cars.

Stu · #9 03-10-2006

Blimey Paul, that was a very long post.

Chris Doughty · #10 03-10-2006

I can't really comment as I have only run the B4 once. but the car was very good when i did run it and I am looking forward to the next time!

the losi rewards a driver that can wrag the ass of the car and drive it hard, this generates the steering, and the 'safe' Losi car can take it.

the B4 seems to reward a driver that drives smoother and controlled and the responsiveness of the car generates the laptimes.

ashleyb4 · #11 03-10-2006

B4's are a really succesful car and knowone should knock it.

ashleyb4 · #12 03-10-2006

Look at the results which car won the world championship and the national championship.

And when i scrutenered oswestrynational the B4 seemed to be alot more popular than the losi's.

And i love my B4 and i find it really reall cool.

A:tongue:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigred5765

so how long did you test the xxxcr for then ash

yin · #13 03-10-2006

I used to have a b4 and recently changed to the losi xxxcr.
I have noticed there is not a lot too choose between them.
At the last club meet managed .5 sec between my fastest lap
and average lap.
Plus still learning set up changes the car likes and dose'nt
so it cant be that bad

So try both and see what you think.

bigred5765 · #14 03-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashley

Look at the results which car won the world championship and the national championship.

And when i scrutenered oswestrynational the B4 seemed to be alot more popular than the losi's.

And i love my B4 and i find it really reall cool.

A:tongue:

BUT ASH HOW THE HELL CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT.
you have never run a xxxcr, it won the euros first time out, and do you think that Neil or braders would go any slower if they ran a xxx cr, well i know they wouldn't,yes the b4 is a faster car but it isn't as forgiving as the losi so any mistakes and the losi has just gone past you, b4 bits you in the ass on virtually every mistake

jimmy · #15 03-10-2006

woha! keep it nice guys!

PaulRotheram · #16 03-10-2006

nutters..

bigred5765 · #17 03-10-2006

i was being nice
lol
the b4 is a great car but it not for everyone,shouldn't just come one and say get this or that,you need to get someone to let you have a drive with both cars

jimmy · #18 03-10-2006

sounds like an offer to me carl!

when can I have a go ?

bigred5765 · #19 04-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmy

sounds like an offer to me carl!

when can I have a go ?

dude come to bury on sunday u can race it not a problem
i may even let you run it with the new 4300's we just got and a 8x2 for good measure lol

stefke · #20 04-10-2006

Thanks for the feedback guys, especially from those who have tried both cars.

I know the B4 is a very, VERY good car. After all, I've raced it for 3 years. I just wanted to confirm the impression I had that the new CR from Losi isn't suffering from lack of steering anymore like its predecessors. It used to be specially bad exiting a corner on power. It was there that the B2, B3 and B4 excelled and had a clear advantage over the XX and XXX. I always found the Losi cars more stable on entry and mid-corner though.
A lot of Losi drivers over here even put up tp 30g of lead in the front bulkhead to help solve the problem.

I also agree with the impression of some others here that while the B4 is the car to have if you want to put in some blistering fast laps, the Losi seemed to be easier to drive fast consistently. What surprised me the most with the test drive I had with the new XXX CR is that I not only was faster over 5 minutes, but I even put in a faster single lap then with my own B4 (and yes, it had a good setup

).

Since I'm becoming quite an old f*rt in RC terms (hey, I started racing a XX in the 90'ies remember

), the sometimes twitchy behaveour of the B4 seems to agree less and less with me. What frustrates me is that one heat the car is brilliant, the next heat I seem to be unable to drive a single decent fast lap.

I'm still undecided though, although the CR seemed to agree with me, a supply of spare parts, springs and front wheels also comes in the equation. It's a good thing though that AE and Losi use the same rear wheels !