EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes with X Factory

 

Over the past weekend we attended the 2011 JConcepts Winter Indoor Shootout hosted by Fastlane Raceway in Blue Springs, MO. In attendance was everyone from first time R/C racers to former world champ Jared Tebo. While their was packed house full of people, we were fortunate to sit down and spend some time with the father/son engineering duo behind X Factory...none other than the voice behind the mic Chazz and Paul Sinclair!

 

While cruising the pits we were introduced to the all-new production X-60 short course truck. Paul gladly gave us a few spy shots of the trick new short course conversion which will be available within a few short weeks for X Factory dealers. The new SC10 conversion kit offers a variety of performance enhancing, weight losing, and trick new list of features!

 

 

As you can see the ultra lightweight carbon fiber chassis and top deck combined with the mid-motor configuration provides a very unique and sleek layout for the new X-60 SC.

 

 

This up close shot of the ultra narrow chassis shows all of the production parts, excluding the battery holder. The receiver and esc are mounted in the middle of the truck with the battery behind them, as opposed to the stock SC10 which everything mounts to each side of the battery.

 

 

Very trick carbon fiber and aluminum accessories including the re-designed rear tower (shown left), and the rear chassis brace and mount (shown right).

 

 

The ultra-light, ultra-narrow chassis replaces the stock plastic tub style chassis of the SC10.

 

 

 "X Factory launched the first mass marketed molded chassis mid-motor off-road 2WD buggy in 2006, and since then has sold thousands of mid-motor buggies & trucks world-wide.  Rear motor cars were developed in the ‘80s with extremely loose tracks and very hard tires so as to generate forward traction in difficult circumstances.  X Factory believed, correctly, that the rear-motor design was no longer needed, and the weight distribution advantages of moving the motor forward far outweigh any lost forward traction.  Further, with modern clay tracks and super soft tires, the rear motor configuration is no longer needed for forward traction.  X-Cars do wheelies at will on any track.
 
Mid-motor cars eliminate the “pendulum effect” of a rear motor, and this manifests itself in many ways.  First, the car will negotiate a corner safely at higher speed.  The driver is no longer dancing on the edge of a cliff waiting for the rear end to step out.  Yes, the mid-motor car will spin if driven in a corner too fast, but the transition is much more gradual, thus controllable.  X Factory’s mid-motor cars shine in sweeping turns and are great at dirt oval.
 
Second, X-Cars are much better in bumpy sections or on rough surfaces because the “donkey kick” effect of the rear motor is gone.  With its mass concentrated in the middle, the car rides smoother.  Mid motor is far superior on rough tracks.
 
X Factory cars are easier to control in the air too.  Here, the mid-motor means that the effect of the motor’s rotation is more pronounced, so the car responds better to throttle inputs.  Also, because the rear does not “donkey kick” at the beginning of the jump, X-Cars fly flatter.  Much better jumping all around.
 
We started with the X – 6 buggy in ’06, then two years later made the X – 60 stadium truck.  Shortly after that we re-designed the X – 6 and released the X – 6 Squared.  The X – 6 Squared and X – 60 are our primary products today.
 
But during this time the short course class began to boom, and customers began asking for a mid-motor short course X-Car.  Team driver Alex Krieg’s father, Chris “Speedy Dad” Krieg, has a 3-axis mill in his garage.  As you might imagine, Speedy Dad loves to design and build things.  Dad wanted a mid-motor short course to race himself, cut apart two X – 60 truck chassies so one had a longer front end and one had a longer rear end, put them together with carbon fiber reinforcements, and – presto! – the SCX – 60 was born.  In short order Alex wanted one, and a few modifications were implemented in the second SCX – 60.
 
Many people saw those trucks and wanted one.  Dad volunteered to make them one-at-a-time for X Factory, so we sold about 100 SCX – 60s during 2010 and the first half of 2011.  In each case we shipped two X – 60 chassies to Speedy Dad, he built one SCX – 60 chassis, and shipped it back to us.  We then packaged the Kit and shipped it to the customer.  Cumbersome, but worth it.  They immediately began winning races.
 
In the spring of this year, Speedy Dad wanted to make an SC for himself that would be even better than the SCX – 60 and would look even cooler, so he designed and built a carbon fiber SCX – 60CF.  No more two-piece put-together molded chassis.  An all-new carbon fiber chassis, with CF reinforcements and a CF top deck was created with a very narrow look.  Even the antenna mount is a small piece of CF.
 
The truck accepts standard saddle pack or the new “shorty” pack, and its narrow design has handling advantages over the original SCX – 60.  We are still working out set-ups to take advantage of this.  Also, the new truck is very light; ready to race with a standard saddle pack the CF truck weighs in at 2060 grams - just under the ROAR weight limit.  This allows drivers to add a small amount of weight in just the right places and still have the lightest truck allowed for competition.
 
The SCX – 60CF will first be offered as a Conversion Kit for the AE SC10, either FT or RTR.  Everything needed to convert the SC 10 to a mid-motor SCX – 60CF is included in the Kit, right down to the screws and washers.  Customers, who will become part of the X Factory Family, will use their existing SC10 body with just two new holes in the rear to mount it.  The Kit should ship to fine hobby stores everywhere mid-December, so they will go under the Christmas tree if the Family can keep from building them immediately!  Perhaps Santa can put the completed truck under there.
 
As with all X Factory Kits, there will be a complete instruction manual with photos and words walking you through the build process.  A die-cut decal sheet will be included, as well as our unique set-up sheet.  Parts will be in the usual lettered bags so the customer can follow the instructions.
 
Perhaps the most dialed thing about the SCX – 60 is that all the chassies were hand-signed and numbered by Speedy Dad.  For the SCX – 60CF, a decal is being made with Dad’s logo; each decal contains a space for the chassis number, so the SCX – 60CFs will be numbered too.  Speedy Dad started out as just another Family member.  X Factory listens carefully to feedback and suggestions from the Family, and several important changes have been made to various cars and parts as the result of Family input.  Dad’s sticker is a tribute to his invaluable help over the last few years.
 
Most Family members report their lap times go down immediately, no matter which X-Car they buy, often by 3/4 second per lap.  The car is just easier to drive than their old rear-motor vehicle.  X Factory engineer Paul Sinclair says, “The mid-motor principle is magnified when the car is longer.  The X – 6 Squared buggy is dialed, the longer X – 60 is even better, and the longer yet SCX – 60CF is the most dialed thing on the track.  My first race with it I TQ’d the short course class – 2wd’s AND 4wd’s.  My fast lap with the new truck was only 3 tenths off the fast lap in the 2wd buggy class!  With continuing set-up development, this truck is only going to get better.” - Chazz Sinclair

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