In 2001, XRAY entered the touring car scene with the release of the T1—a self-proclaimed luxury racecar. With its high-performance design and eye-catching machining, it fit the bill, and so did the updated versions that followed—the T1 EV02, T1FK and T1FK’05. Five years ago, based in the Slovak Republic, XRAY was a new name in RC car manufacturing, but the company drew on many years of design expertise and experience in RC. It came out of the gate running, and the T1 received as much attention on the bench as it did on the track. The new T2 picks up where its predecessors left off, and although it might look similar, it’s an entirely new take on what a racing machine should be. The T2’s long list of new features includes its wild Multi-Flex chassis design, and the new platform has already dominated some major races. Let’s see whether XRAY’s latest goes as fast as it looks.

TESTING: Round 1
To see what the T2 is capable of, I ventured over to SpeedZone Hobbies in Rocky Hill, CT. This indoor, carpet track features fresh Ozite and a smooth, marginally technical layout. It’s a fun track to run, and its usual flowing design allows good, fast racing despite the fairly tight quarters. Knowing how well XRAY’s cars handle on the fuzzy stuff and seeing how well the T2 has done thus far at some big races, my hopes were pretty high. To my surprise, the SpeedZone crew put down a new and very different layout the day I showed up to test. Using some of my old race notes and by simply asking some of the local hot shoes, I came up with a good starting point for gearing. XRAY’s included glossy quick-reference charts made it easy to pick the proper pinion to match my tire size and spur gear. With the gearing in the ballpark, I knew the T2 would scoot along just fine. It’s easy to make any modern touring car go fast down the straights, but the real, race-winning difference is in corner speed. To be a winner, a car has to be able to rotate around tight corners without scrubbing off speed.

I built my T2 with the recommended XRAY foam tire setup, and my first impression was good. Nothing seemed out of sorts, but the car did drift all over the place when I really squeezed the trigger. This was no fault of the T2, as the new layout had no groove at all, and every car on the track experienced the same problem. It did get better as the night went on, but it was pretty rough through qualifying. During practice and after only a few laps, I brought the T2 in and tightened the front and rear differentials. I simply inserted a thin, hex wrench through a hole in one outdrive and turned the opposite wheel. On most other cars, this task could take about 10 minutes, but I had both ends adjusted and the T2 back on the track in about a minute.

The Team Brood 19-turn motor had plenty zip, and the Team Brood batteries provided serious punch. The numbers on these cells were better than most, so I wasn’t too surprised. The T2 is basically a rocket and was hands-down the fastest car down the straight. I avoided making any suspension changes, as the track was changing fast throughout the night. In my first round of qualifying, the track was still very loose; I over-drove the T2 and hit just about everything but the pace car.

I managed a couple fast laps but ended up breaking the steering knuckle and the C-hub. It was total chaos on the track, and all but one out of the five or six cars on the track broke. I repaired the T2 and prepared for the second round. I played it safe and put down a conservative run that was worth sixth fastest. In the end, I finished fifth in the A-main.

With differentials front and rear, the T2 again tracked perfectly straight when I stabbed the brakes, and it came off the line the same way, thanks to the torque-steer-free belt drivetrain. Although it was very responsive, the T2 was easy to drive. When traction improved, the T2 wasn’t twitchy and tracked straight; I was able to take corners tight, right on the pipe without having to slow down dramatically—exactly what I like in a touring car.

ON THE BENCH
XRAY kits are well-known for going together easily, and the T2 was no exception. It's a fun, easy build, but if you plan to race, I highly recommend that you take your time and make sure that each assembly works perfectly. The instructions are fantastic, as is the included setup guide; it is so good that I don't go to the track without it.

ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS
I built the shocks with the externally adjustable pistons, but before I left the bench, I swapped them out for the standard pistons. As much as I liked the idea of being able to dial in the shocks without taking them apart, I didn't feel confident that I would always get the setting I wanted. With the standard pistons, there's more labor but no guesswork, so I recommend them for racing.

SECURE UNIVERSAL JOINTS
To ensure that each universal joint's main pin won't back out, I used a drop of thread-lock on the setscrews and also wrapped the outside of the joint's cup with a band of heat-shrink tubing. The heated tubing should keep the pin in place even if the setscrew loosens.

SMOOTH CHASSIS
Most people will sand and seal the chassis plate's edges with CA, but you should thoroughly round or chamfer the bottom edge and knock off every sharp edge on the chassis' underside. During races, the chassis will rub the track, and you don't want a sharp edge to get hung up and cause erratic handling or to scrub off speed.

WIRING
As you can see in the chassis photos, I originally routed the positive battery wire over the top plate; I attached it directly to the motor and then to the ESC. That allows me to use little wire, but the wire could contact the spur gear. For peace of mind, I recommend that you run the wire under the top plate. You'll use a little more wire, but your setup will be much safer.

SECURE HEX PIN
The T2's hex pins are not forced-fit roll pins; they're much easier to install and remove, but they could also fall out easily when you remove the hex. You can solve this problem by placing a small drop of silicone glue on each pin. This will prevent them from falling out but will still allow them to be removed easily.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Length w/out body 14.6 in. (372mm)
Wheelbase 10.1 to 10.3 in. (257 to 261mm)
Width 7.4 in. (189mm)
Weight, as tested 47 oz. (1,332g)

Chassis 2.5mm laminated carbon graphite

Drivetrain type 4WD belt
Transmission ratio 1.7:1
Final drive ratio 5.99:1 (as tested with 33T pinion and 116T spur, not included)
Differentials Ball-type with lightened steel outdrives
Drive axles Universal joint

Suspension-type Lower H-arm with steel upper camber links
Inboard camber-link positions (F/R) 4/4
Outboard camber-link positions (F/R) 1/2
Shocks Threaded, plastic-body w/externally adjustable or standard pistons
Upper shock positions (F/R) 5/6
Lower shock positions (F/R) 2/2

Wheels Jaco white dish rims, 12mm hex
Tires Jaco premounted and trued foams
Body Not included