Vote & Win With Radio Control Car Action

Radio Control Car Action magazine is holding their annual Readers' Choice Awards for 2009. The incentive for readers to vote is the same as it was for last year's awards.


By submitting your favorites you could be selected to win one of the RC cars you vote for. It's not limited to RC cars either, you can vote on chargers, batteries, tires, engines, transmitters, etc. You may win your choice for those too. You must submit your vote before March 16, 2009.

Vote Now!

Last year, XRAY came home with one of these awards. The XRAY NT1 won the category of best 1/10th scale nitro touring car. I'm sure it's no surprise I'll be voting XRAY again this year.

1/10th Touring Car Balancing Weights

XRAY has released precision balancing chassis weights for their 1/10th electric and nitro touring cars. This means they are optimized for the XRAY T2'009, T2'008, T2R PRO and NT1.


These weights come in a set of 4 with two 5g and two 10g weights. They are made of steel and laser engraved so you can identify them. These can be used with other RC cars but they are designed to be mounted to XRAY touring cars with their pre-drilled chassis holes. Here is the part number if you want to order these weights.

#309840 - Precision Balancing Chassis Weights

If you need precision balancing, HUDY offers its Chassis Balancing Tool (#107880). The weights will cost you about $22 while the balancing tool is about $10. You can order these from RC XRAY or any XRAY dealer.

XRAY Shipment Arrives at RC America This Week

I called RC America today to check on the XRAY shipment of T2R PRO, XII and T2'009 kits we have been waiting on. This will be the first batch of the T2R PRO and XII and the second for the T2'009. I should also add that we're expecting a lot of HUDY tools in this shipment as well.


I can't remember if I spoke with Rocco or Ralph, but he told me the flight carrying the shipment should arrive in the US today. He said that "with any luck" the XRAY order will be at RC America on Wednesday, January 28th.

If this plays out as RC America hopes then they will be shipping preordered XII and T2R PRO kits and backordered T2'009 kits and HUDY tools from Wednesday through the rest of the week. Because of the end of year processes that had to occur at XRAY with their exports, we've had to wait quite awhile for this batch so I imagine RC America will be busy shipping inventory to dealers.


Based on that, I'll take a wild guess and say RC XRAY will receive our shipment by next Wednesday (2/4). I would think that we'll have it no later than next Friday (2/6). Keep in mind all of this is dependent on the XRAY shipment arriving at RC America on Wednesday (1/28).

No Surprise - 16° Aluminum Caster Blocks for 808

We all saw this one coming. XRAY announced the 16° aluminum caster blocks have been released for the XRAY 808. This isn't a surprise because we have previously shared the 10°, 12° and 14° versions.


Like the other aluminum caster blocks, the 16° version is very lightweight and strong. When combined with the 10° front kick-up on the 808, this gives you a total caster angle of 26° for lots of steering. Each aluminum block is marked so you know which one is left and right. This also means they are sold separately and here are the part numbers if you need these.

#352219 - XB808 Alu Caster Block 16° Right - Swiss 7075 T6 - Hard Coated
#352229 - XB808 Alu Caster Block 16° Left - Swiss 7075 T6 - Hard Coated

Each aluminum caster block will cost you about $44. Contact us if you would like to order them through RC XRAY.

Next RC America Shipment

I called RC America yesterday to check on the status of the first shipment of XRAY XII and T2R PRO kits. We're also waiting on the second shipment of T2'009 kits which has our backordered kits.


I was told that the absolute earliest the next XRAY shipment from Europe would arrive at RC America would be January 23. At the time they did not have an inventory of the shipment but they were certain the T2R PRO would be included in it. In one of my last communications with them they were not certain XRAY's new affordable touring car would be in the first shipment of 2009.


We'll continue to keep our preorder customers up to date whenever we hear more from RC America. We posted all of this to Twitter first so make sure you follow me to get the latest.

XRAY in January 2009 Issue of Xtreme RC Cars

This monthly tradition continues for January. Every month I list the XRAY mentions in Xtreme RC Cars. So here we go.

• Page 30: Two of XRAY's newest on-road RC cars are featured. The XRAY T2'009 and XII get 2/3 of the page. Both electric cars were announced on the XRAY website shortly before the magazine went to press. There's an Xtreme RC Cars FAIL. They incorrectly display XRAY's website as http://www.xray.com when it is actually http://www.teamxray.com.
• Page 61: XRAY took out a full page advertisement for the T2'009. It includes some history of the T1 and T2 touring car line and the specifications for the US foam and EU rubber versions. Juraj Hudy is also photographed in the lower right.
• Page 63: The first annual Team Orion Invitational was held on November 2, 2008 at Bending Corners Raceway in Orange, CA. The XRAY T2'008 was photographed and placed second and tenth in the Invite Mod class.
• Page 100: Xtreme RC Cars reviews the Mugen Seiki MBX6 and the XRAY 808 is listed as main competition of this new 1/8th scale off-road, nitro buggy.
• Page 150: Xtreme RC Cars includes a Learn How-To section each month and they describe how to adjust Ackerman. A photo of the XRAY T2'008 is featured on the last page of the article.
• Page 176: The In Gear section features the new Graphite Ventilated Brake Disks for the XRAY XT8 and 808. Xtreme RC Cars says the part number is 2206 but that's another FAIL. The correct part number is #354111. I'm also not so sure they will work with the XT8 because XRAY's part list shows the graphite brake pads are only for the 808. Two graphite pads comes in a pack and they'll cost you about $15 USD.
• Page 182: The magazine pulls out old back issues in their Xtreme Chronicles. 10 years ago they mention the HPI RS4 Mini Pro and how small scale touring cars never got going. They end with "If you ever want one of these now, check out XRAY's T1M.

Let me know if I missed one. Thanks.

No Firm Delivery Date For XRAY T2R PRO Yet

When I talked with Ralph Burch at RC America on Monday about the price and arrival of the XRAY XII, I also checked on the delivery date for the XRAY T2R PRO. Both RC cars are still available for preorder.


The new affordable 1/10th scale electric on-road touring car from XRAY is due to arrive in the US soon, but I was hoping for an exact date. RC America expects the next XRAY shipment from Europe to come in between January 15th and 20th. However, Ralph made sure I understood that they don't know for sure. This is what I was told for the XRAY XII. I asked if the T2R PRO would come in on the same shipment. The best Ralph could tell me is he hoped it would arrive with the XII.

US Price Set For XRAY XII

I called RC America today and got to speak with Ralph Burch. I asked him if XRAY's new entry in the 1/12th scale on-road electric pan car class had an official retail price yet. He had good news. The XRAY XII will cost $275.00 USD.


I also asked when he expected the first shipment of XII kits to arrive. Ralph said he hoped the XRAY shipment would arrive from Europe between January 15th and 20th. However, he made it very clear that he "just didn't know" when the shipment will arrive. We will begin contacting all of our XII preorder customers to settle the remainder of the cost. Your $50 deposit will be applied.


I have mentioned previously that if you follow me on Twitter you receive information like this faster. That is true again this time, but I bring it up because Mario Hudy at Team XRAY just created his Twitter account today. You may want to follow Mario on Twitter as well.

New Transmitter Bag From HUDY

Right on the heels of the release of the HUDY starter box bag, HUDY has announced their new transmitter bag. Given the amount of money RC hobbyists spend on their radios, a protective bag for transportation and storage seems like a pretty good idea.


The HUDY transmitter bag was manufactured to hold the large radios so feel certain that this is a one size fits all design. It's possible you may be able to fit two radios depending on their size. HUDY has already considered this so you can secure both radios inside the transmitter bag with an internal elastic strap.

The bag's construction is similar to the starter box bag. It comes with dual zippers for quick access to your radios and is comprised of three layers for protection. It is made of nylon with heavy-duty stitching and also comes with a wide, rubber-coated handle on the end. Finally, there's is a clear plastic pouch for a business or ID card.


HUDY added a couple features to improve travel with the transmitter bag. On the back you will notice there are two straps to secure it with your other travel luggage. At the top of the transmitter bag you'll see a plastic eyelet so you can run a strap through it to further secure it.

If this is the perfect accessory to your RC radio, here is the part number.

#199170 - HUDY Exclusive Transmitter Bag

You can order the new transmitter bag from any XRAY dealer. Like the HUDY starter box bag, I can't give you a price for it yet because it's not in my dealer price list.