Test and Reviews

X2-CRB PRO

Intro

The tool used to clamp the shock shaft you can find here

After starting in 1990 the products of Hong Nor have found their way through different channels all over the world.
In Europe most products are sold under the Hong Nor name, how ever in the USA their products mostly carry the JAMMIN name or OFNA name.
Beside off-road Hong Nor also make some road cars in 1:10 and 1:8 scale.
However Off-road looks to be the influence inside the Hong Nor factory.

Jay Halsley from Jammin (Jammin is owned by OFNA DISTRIBUTION) again has a lot of influence in the designs of the current X2 serie of cars.
Jay started with OFNA and the Hong Nor products in the late 90's.
At the Worlds 2000 in Las Vegas Jay was already wrenching and upgrading/improving Hong Nor
The X2 CRT truggy was released in March 2008 (see the review by clicking here) and just before the Worlds a new version of the highly regarded X1X CR PRO Buggy was introduced for some TEAM drivers. With this prototype Taylor James took TQ and won the Worlds warm up! During the worlds James achieved a 6 th place in the A-main final proving the potential of the new X2 CRB version.

Hong Nor engineers in conjunction Jay Halsley have done a nice job and once again the product looks swell from the pictures provided already.
Quality and durability is the key point and on par with other highly regarded "A" brands like Mugen and Kyosho as we already know from all other Hong Nor based products and this car will be no exception.
What could they improve over the X1X CRB PRO buggy to this new X2 CRB PRO buggy?

According to Hong Nor  Public Relation lady Sammi Wu the following:

The steering geometry has not been changed but the weight distribution has.
The chassis is narrower with the engine moved forward and more to the center.
We have gone away from the center universals and added light-weight aircraft grade alloy center drive shafts.
The Center differential mount is the same design as the optional aluminum mount, but is now made from a lighter nylon to save weight.
The front and rear shock towers are a 4mm carbon fiber further reducing weight.
Our new BT-118 tires and ultra light wheels are included and are proving to be a popular wheel and tire choice.
Our optional long life silver clutch shoes are also included.
Our 16mm big bore shock absorbers are included along with the suggested springs to suit.  
A new body has been designed for this model with a separate nose cone.

The list is long but most changes are not visible from the outside of the car.
Here are some high key points that have been changed/improved over the previous X1X CRB PRO.

Now for those who just bought a X1X CRB PRO and are happy with it just keep racing or bashing, but if you like to have the same performance as the X2 CRB PRO then you can buy a X2 CRB conversion kit.
This kit contains the following parts to make it a X2 CRB PRO

* Lightweight T6-7075 Chassis
* Aluminum T6-7075 center drive Shafts
* Lightened Center Drive Cups
* 44th Spur Gear
* 17 tooth clutch bell
* 10/45 helicoidally Ring Pinion Gears (2)
* Carbon Fiber Shock Towers front and rear
* Carbon Fiber Radio Tray
* New Body
* Rear aluminum T6-7075 CNC Chassis Stiffener
* 2 piece plastic Center Diff Mount with offset brake cams
* Carbon Fiber front Top Plate.

Our review will also go in depth for the weight reduction in the drive train and over all mass to see how much lighter this buggy has became.
We will measure all components.

	When we opened the box. This is what we found. Nicely packed.
	We first took the manual to see if things have been changed or made better. The previous manuals were OK and so is this one. All is nicely mentioned like screw size and type on the left side.
	Now we even know how much is 80%.| Do not fill it more as then the differentials will leak for sure.
	Speaking about oils. Enough to do 2 fillings or more. Comes in: Shocks 30 for front and 40 for rear. Differentials 3000-5000-1000 from front to rear. Jacco Koch has measured with the RHEOMETER silicone oil again at cSt conversion value. HN 30 = 393 HN 40 =  511 HN 1000 = 1120 HN 3000 = 3900 HN 5000 = 6380
	One of the cartons opened. All parts put in labeled bags from 1 to 10. Unfortunenatly you might need to open one or more bags for the build. So take a large dinner plate or glass bowl and put all parts from bags into it.
	The longer chassis seen from the bottom.
	The engine and center differential have been moved forward compared with the X1X version. This to gain more steer. Weight already reduced to the maximum as standard.
	The decals and window masks.
	The kit now has the LPR buggy rims and tyres as standard. The foam is the soft type. Harder molded foam inserts are available separate.
	The high down force wing we see already for a long time as standard. Although the picture shows different it does not comes pre drilled which we find should be standard for wings that comes with a kit. For the RTR they also put a drilled one on the car so why not put this drilled version in a kit?

The Hong Nor webpage can be found here
The Jammin webpage can be found here

Read the manual closely first a few times and then follow our steps to complete the car.

Extra tip before you start!

We recommend to use proper machines hexagon tools as shown in the picture below
The 2 mm head hexagon screws in the car are more sensitive to strip when not used with correct fitting tool when they are threaded first time into the plastic parts.
The kit supplied L-shape 2 mm tool will work but lifetime will be less on the screws head and your hands.

Enjoy this review

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This car is provided by

Taiwan