Pro Drive – Xray T2R Pro
Track test
The track test was, well, a boring affair. This may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. In combination with Take-Off CS-27R tyres the T2R was a pleasure to drive. The rear of the car was nailed to the ground, the front only showed a slight but very controllable push mid-corner. Otherwise everything was perfect! Our initial gearing with a 25T pinion was a bit on the long side so we swapped it for a 24T which also gave a touch more acceleration in the tight infield of our carpet test track. We set the ride height to 5 mm front and rear with a droop setting of 6 (front) and 5 (rear). When driven very aggressively one could notice that the light LiPo pack changed the handling in left and right hand corners so it would be an idea to balance the chassis with the optional Xray weights to avoid any unwanted tweak. Driven more smoothly (but still fast and consistent) the T2R delivered better lap times without having to worry about the different handling produced by the light LiPo battery.
A bit later during that day the grip came up which turned the slight understeer into some corner entry oversteer tendencies. After the experience we gained with the T2 ‘009 we changed the rear upper links to the lower inner position on the shock tower as this led to what seemed a more forgiving ride. We also only sauced the front tyres on the inner half of the rubber and left the outer 50 percent untreated. With the new set-up the T2R Pro still was on the lively side in corners but had a touch more grip on the rear which was perfect for us.
Runtime with the 3800mAh Team Orion pack was around 10 to 11 minutes depending on the driving style. Tyre wear was excellent due to the low weight of the car which also leads to very consistent grip during the run. The new Protoform LTC-R body we used seemed to deliver more front end grip when compared to the Mazda Speed 6, as it offers a very precise handling especially in fast corners.
Conclusion
The T2R Pro is a welcome addition to the current line of Xray T2 cars. It offers loads of value for money, good specs and an outstanding performance for a car in the 250 Euro range. With less ‘bling bling’ parts like L/R turnbuckles or carbon parts the Pro looks less technical compared to the expensive T2 ‘009 but you can spend all that saved money on motors, batteries, tyres …
Specifications
Scale: 1/10
Chassis: 2.5 mm glass fibre
Upperdeck: 2.0 mm glass fibre
Drivetrain: fulltime 4WD
Differentials: spool/ball differential
Suspension: independent double wishbone
Shocks: alloy/oil filled/coil over spring
Dimensions
Length: 367 mm
Width: 187 mm
Wheelbase: 256–261 mm
Track – front: 162 mm
Track – rear: 162 mm
Weight: 1280 gr
*Stock set-up with wheels as tested
Equipment
Car: Xray T2R Pro [teamxray.com]
Motor: Speed Passion Ultra Sportsman 9.5T [speedpassion-europe.de]
Speedo: Speed Passion GT LPF v1.1 [speedpassion-europe.de]
Batter:y Team Orion Race Spec 3800 30C [teamorion.com]
Charger: Robitronic Overloader 2 [robitronic.com]
Servo: KO Propo PDS-2367 ICS [ansmann-racing.com]
Receiver: Futaba R603FS [futaba-rc.com]
Body: Protoform LTC-R [prolineracing.com]
Performance Tips
> It is recommended to screw a 3×4 mm grub screw into the unused mounting hole of the rear hub carrier as the holes can be stripped during a crash especially when shims are used under the ball stud of the upper links.
> The rubber diaphragms (volume compensator) of the shocks have a small amount of flash on the outer edge that should be removed with the help of a sharp scissors. This helps to ‘seat’ the rubber part better into the shock cap. Be careful not to remove too much material as this can make for a leaky shock.
> Beware not to use pinions with long grub screws as these can damage the front belt.
> Use balance weights to achieve a 50/50 weight balance left to right when using light LiPo battery packs.
> The rear differential outdrives show a small amount of flash where the diff plates touch the outdrive. Use a sharp scalpel to remove the flash as this can make the diff action erratic.
Review by Sebastian Suerstedt
