FIXING and RACING Two Vintage XMODS!
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- These two XMODS RC cars haven't been driven in years, and neither of of them work. We fix some broken components, and go over the complete restoration. In this episode of 10th Scale Garage, we fix the Nissan Skyline and Ford Mustang XMODS and take them racing. We discover the numerous upgrades that have been done, and show you how to get your vintage xmods running, drifting, and racing again.
Check out Jeff's channel here: czcams.com/users/RCAddictsGarage
I will
For Christmas one year, we got 3 Gen1 XMods. I got the Supra, my son got the Civic, and my son-in-law got the Acura. We had a blast racing them around the living room & dining room, but got the most enjoyment out of upgrading them. Yes, as RCs go, they are terrible. But as an intro to moddable, upgradeable, hobby-type RCs, they were superb. My grandson has now gotten into the RC hobby, and he loves XMods just for the coolness factor of having one that old that still runs & drives. Great vid, you guys!
They’ve brought the hobby to so many people, and for that- they’ll be loved forever.
It’s kinda funny to hear these referred to as “vintage”. I worked at radio shack when these showed up. I was totally hooked on them, instantly. I had a few with the lipo upgraded batteries and some had the RadioShack upgrades. It was also cool because my discount was 30% on RadioShack products and I also got to have returned and defective cars. I still have a ton them now. A couple are still unopened.
Would you sell any of the sealed?
@@nighttrain1565 Possibly. Let me think about it
@@kenyanr1did you sell them yet?
@@DrunkenFly98 Still got every piece
Do you remember, did RadioShack sell the carbon fiber body upgrade kit? Or did I buy it from ebay? I think I remember buying the kit from RadioShack, but I can't remember! It's been like 20 years now! Haha
I remember when Xmods came out but I didn’t think that it was over 15 years ago when they came out. Finding one of these cars is like finding a “Radio Shack.” But then I remember when Tyco made RC vehicles back in the early 90’s.
You can find them on eBay I just purchased a 1965 mustang generation one still sealed never opened
TYCO Rebound FTW
@10thScaleGarage! Hey, Found Your Channel via the Xmods! These are definitely owed some honors of making me a huge car guy. I have the complete collection and many duplicates still minus a few color variations. Regarding improving the steering...it can be done! Make sure the transmitter is set to "high" on top and the little dial in the back edge of the controller is turned all the way up also. Add a 3.3kohm resistor to each of the outside two servo potentiometer wires and boom! This was known as the "Tight Turns Mod" at the time. Will turn much tighter. Be very careful when doing this because wires are brittle. These are Xmods Gen1 cars. Gen 2 cars, the "Evo" or "Evolution" series had a different chassis that turned much tighter right out of the gate. They also introduced the truck chassis at this time.
Main issues I have come across are the steering wheel metal tabs(where you found all the dielectric grease) need to be bent to push harder against the circuit board, and sometimes the same for the throttle. On the EVO chassis, the tiny plastic steering servo gear cracks and the car no longer turns...there is an Ebay listing to replace those. You can buy every part in aluminum also and make the GTR AWD, even fit hobby grade electronics in them, and these are super popular for make 1/24 model cars into rc cars. One of the best things was the taillights getting brighter when you hit the brakes. Definitely ask me anything...I know wayyy too much about these! Ebay and Shopgoodwill are the only online places where these pop up anymore. There are several Facebook groups where Xmods are still alive and well also. Happy Xmodding!
My pops bought my brother, cousin and I each one of the first gen cars on a vacation to visit family in Pittsburg. We spent hours afterwards playing with and modding them. So much nostalgia
Got XMODS. They were lovely. Pimped them out pretty well. I’ll try to pull them out and take photos.
Literally been on ebay looking at xmods lots for the past 2 weeks for nostalgia and watching your video to trouble shoot them if they don't work
Same. I’m waiting on a good price for a Supra 😆
One of the best things about the xmods was following the tour when nopi Nationals had the big races at the track in Atlanta
When they were brand new they ran pretty good. A lot of us in the Xmod community update the electronics, that's where they shine now.
Update them with Mini Z parts?
@@10thScaleGarage Most use Mini Z but I have seen a few using ECX 1:24 electronics. I am currently working on one that uses Orlandoo electronics.
I just picked up the generation one 1965 Mustang brand new still sealed in box on eBay can’t wait till it comes in.One of my favorite times of my childhood was XMODS
They're pretty nostalgic!
I've got a whole shelf of these guys. I love my Xmods despite all the shit the comments section is is throwing on them. But the modifying part is really the most fun when it comes to these.
Totally agree.
I remember I got a GTR35 Xmods in middle school 2006 for Christmas. Definitely one of the best gifts I’ve gotten
They forgot the most important simplest best upgrade to do to them which is run rechargeable batteries it's a world of difference. As for the turning radius on the gen1 models there was a mod to be done called tight turns mod to the servo which was very much improved turning radius. And the most important and best mod you could ever do to them was to swap out the electronics for losi micro t electronics and remote. Once this is done they are on par with many Z's and way 3x faster than stock
Nice donation Jeff!!! Glad you guys were able to get them running👍 Rims you printed A+ for Resin printer💯
Bummer they didn’t preform better but they are old and had some cool upgrades. Great video really enjoyed it😎👊
Thanks Joe!!
You guys should look up the GL racing GLR or GLR-GT. Come as a kit you put together, no electronics though. Super fun and resembles bigger scale chassis!
When I first got into the Z’s we would buy the x-mods, fully hop them up. We would do some sort of steering mod to get more steering (I forget what.) we would just drift and bash them on the cement floor next to our carpet track for our Z’s. This was almost 14/15/16 (I forget) years ago or so! Lol! Glad to see some small scale stuff coming up and can’t wait to see it!
I’ve seen those! Wicked little chassis
They are awesome! I have the GLR with a 5500kv motor, it’s dialed back to 40% throttle cause it’s just to much for our track 😂
And also theres a steering trim on the top of the controller on the back to adjust how far the wheels move while steering
Man damn I miss these and ZipZaps.
I had the white Supra and about 3 other Xmods as a kid. Supra was and is my dream car. I still have the case to one, but no cars. I’m waiting on a good price for one on eBay and I’m going to grab it. Spent many hours tinkering with them as a kid. Had every part there was for them.
Enjoy your videos. Thanks man.
it's amazing these cars still have a following , my son gave me one years ago and i put it on the shelf after a few uses only to drag it off the shelf the other day and cleaning it up. new batteries and figuring it out a spun it around the driveway it started just going around it circles and driving drunk. needless to say the both steering pins - screws fell out 😐well ebay our friend and lots of stuff but this old stuff is like gold to the sellers, i did find some that fit Tamiya rc cars - trucks for $6. bucks that look the same which make me wonder if Tamiya made these for Radio Shack.
I got out of the shed yesterday and repaired the broken antenna after it sitting for years. It is the skyline body on it. Still in the case with the motor and gear upgrades that I bought for the car with the original purchase. Also still have the foam wheels that came with it. Had 2, these things are fun little cars to just scoot around the living room with.
Nice!
Crystals are alive like anything else in the universe! 🤯 😂.
They have magical healing properties
@@10thScaleGarage Where do you keep finding these? Rofl every time.
Cool upgrade
I have the r34 with the all wheel drive kit a honda civic and newer style mustang and a load of parts for the cars blast from the past cool video
I used to have a blast with these.
The nostalgia was real with these i had alot of these gen 1 and 2 versions the electronics were def Absolute trash.
Shift the battery tray for weight distribution and see how it does on the track afterwards
Those are cool! That '65 is awesome! No '64 1/2 fastbacks.... thanks for the hard work! I'm loving the mini stuff, so much fun!
My bad!
That underglow is pretty rad though
Right?
cool fixes and cool little cars
Thanks Duke!!
I miss xmods.
That's freaking awesome. I still have mine somewhere.
Good evening brother great video
I have 5 of them in a drawer, that i made 7.2 volts and change the motor and radioshack never let me enter theyre races even with all the conversion parts being from them
Good stuff - I have a huge collection of these cars - runners, new builts and many sealed. I have hordes of options for Gen1, Gen2 and trucks. Tag me if you want a list and photos. You guys need to check out the HEX BUGS HEXMODS car sets they released.... with XMOD DNA. They are 2.4Ghz so right off will be better. They have a $49 base set and a $89 set with all options. They now have built in rechargeable battery. Would make a killer comparison video.
Yeah, I’ve seen them…. But they without the nostalgia factor or licensed bodies- they just don’t interest me. I’m sure the video would be good but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t interest me, there’s no point doing it.
@@10thScaleGarage Yep I hear ya on Nostalgia. As you said... that is the only real thing that grabs you on the Xmods. An answer to one of the questions you guys posed.... Yep we are spoiled now-a-days. The XMODS have always SUCKED compared to the KING... the Kyosho Mini-Z (and others... there are many Mini-Z Killers out there that are even better).
Where can I see your collection?
And I have the same red Camaro, complete and barely used, without a scratch on it. For sale best offer! Get it before it goes on eBay!
Didnt know wot they were until this video...you guys made a not so good rc car shine..nice work
Hey thanks!
Have 2 of them in great shape with full upgrade kits. Am going to get them going again.
Yea! I’d like to see them! Send me a picture on Instagram or Facebook.
I definitely agree they are old and out dated but they are still cool...kinda lol. Great stuff boys!!! Thank you!!!👍🏾👊🏾✌🏾
Thanks for trusting us (mostly Ethan) with your toys. Haha.
The Gen 1 Xmods you can move the battery holders forward which will give you better steering.
I believe all of these are gen1
I think I can do that to mine
Enjoy the weekend
I found a package of motor upgrades for modes in a box in my garage yesterday.
Nice!
Def not fast and not great on the track but it was my first "hobby grade" RC. Not a true hobby grade, obviously, but parts could be replaced which is better than toy grade crap. Tinkering with my yellow Skyline was great. Loved changing out motors, pinion gears, tires etc. Also converted mine to AWD. Def a good intro to the real hobby grade stuff.
Yeah, it got a lot of people into the hobby.
I'm starting to rebuild my dad's old x mod I'm hyped.
Yesssssss
Fan fact. There's a RadioShack in Ashtabula Ohio that is Redcat dealer, and it has a full on 1/10 crawler course.
No way!
Do you all have a video on how to bind a new transmitter on to a car? I still have my car, but I'm not sure what I did with my transmitter.
Pretty cool looking small scale rc cars
Yup. They look cool, but that’s about it. Haha.
Really nice set up
Man I got rid of my xmods cars this year. Kinda annoyed I did now. Loved those things
Dang!!
Completely clapped out? Lol.. id ove to add them to my ever growing collection
Nice track
Woah wait, they made drag tires, track tires and drift tire packs.
It looked like they had drift tires on to me from that first test when the mustang worked again, but also, the old tires could be corroded so bad that they dont have the same tightness or softness that they once had,.
These things can go fast for their size.
Have you seen the mini Zs?!
I never felt like xmods or mini z were in the same category. Mini z were going for performance and function and xmods was going for scale replica. The design and placement of all the parts are supposed to mimmick a real car when mini z is just a regular RC car. Xmods were always in a category of thier own to me. Like functional scale model cars not really racing cars. Kinda like crawlers
Speaking of functional scale model cars.
czcams.com/video/k2Z67rSgGjY/video.html
I loved my xmods around 2004 and 05 had many custom ones. I still have a few and want to convert some to current hobby grade ad iv never stopped being into the rc world. As a long time kpoprc member I will get my rigs out one day foe a scale as shit pic. Keep it up guys
Do you guys have a video of how to install a body kit onto the x mod? I’m not quite sure how to piece the kit together.
Nope. We have a video where we build a brand new o e from stock though.
Y have two of them one yelow skyline with body kit and a black supra also wit body kit cool litle cars m'y has drift tire and lots of difrent rim
I found my dads old xmods supra all scuffed up under the stairs. All I had to do was solder the motor, antenna and battery holders back to the car. The auxiliary port had lost it’s connection wich meant the underglow couldn’t turn on so I just hardwired the underglow to the aux wires instead of the aux port. Voila
I agree with the review in every way! Did you turn up the steering range with the dial on the back of the transmitter? The steering still sucks, but better than it looked in your time on the track. I got three that I still play with, but it is definitely for the nostalgia of it and not for the driving experience.
Yup! That was maximum steering. We even made sure it was actually working.
There was a tight turns mod that added two resistors to increase the turn radius. I'm sure not being their toys, they didn't want to modify them.
Wonder if the xmods bodies fit the hexbug hexmods, you'd have 2.4 ghz then & a slightly updated gen 2 xmods chassis as well rather then generation 1 cars & the option for awd in the hexbugs hexmods 90$ kit.
Though if you want too make these properly quick i bet something like the Wltoys k989 electronics board, motor & some 3d printed parts too let you use the servo as well, or simply strip the servo down & wire the board into the original steering motor & potentiometer adding additional wires if needed & running the 2s lipo from the wltoys k989 would make it pretty zippy. Stock the wltoys k989 should do about 27 - 35 km/h
If you want too do a separate servo board, receiver & esc soldering up the pn racing mini-z servo board for the mr03,mr02,mr015,awd too the stock servo setup, adding in your own receiver,esc & motor you could put brushless in one of these pretty easily & depending on the esc either use the original setup or go lipo up too 3s.
Id fully strip down the cars btw & source a ball bearing kit for them as it looks too be struggling a bit on power, but maybe that's just the lack of grip in the tires ?
Maybe soaking the tires in hot water with some dawn dishsoap for like 20 - 30 minutes could revive them a bit grip wise.
Steering rate is adjustable
I have 7 or 8 of them sitting in my closet, im really thinking im going to try and put modern electronics in it
Hello, I recently found an old xmod with some broken parts could you send me the link to the parts that you guys found.
Also when I RadioShack's here in Peoria Illinois put them on clearance you're getting them for fifteen bucks fully loaded all the parts were on clearance for like two and $3 I still have my original Acura but I sold my GT-R which I'm heartbroken and I sold my G35 because a guy had one just like it and he gave me a hundred bucks for it
Can’t complain about that!
What is the maIn problem with the steering, is it the controller?
Im pretty sure these came out before bluetooth, i wonder if there smarter people out there who have come up with a new solution. To make it respond better
Not enough angle. Even with a different radio system.
I have a never assembled 67 Firebird in original packaging for sale for $100 + shipping. I'm located in Nebraska.
Throw that sucka up on EBay!
I really wanna get one of these small scale racers like the mini z. They look so fun but I heard it hard to get parts reasonably fast. I'm gonna have to look into that for sure they look so fun for indoors winter fun lol. But nice find for sure on the xmods they look pretty well built for when they were made
It really just depends on what parts you need. Stuff you go through like tires are available and there are even 3rd party manufacturers that carry them. Mini zs are pretty durable if you’re just racing them around a track or the floor. Unless you’re being irresponsible with them, they’re super stout.
@@10thScaleGarage awesome. I already got a buddy with both type 3d printers but that's something I really wanna get into myself since I already work at the hobby shop so I could sell slot of prints for sure. But I just started talking them into get a few mini z to see if they sell in our area. We have a few carpet tracks around us so I believe they will take off here too. 🤞
I still have an original Xmod red Camaro like that one. but lost the remote at some time long ago
You might want to look into getting a mini Z chassis. Brand new electronics and a huge aftermarket support. Your camero will fit right on there.
@@10thScaleGarage nice. Thats a good idea. I was already considering getting some miniZ parts to replace wheels and struts anyway. But that sounds like a better option. And was wanting to get the red miniZ ZL1 also. Those will fit well side by side I think
@@10thScaleGarage also subbed
I have the 65 Ford Mustang but I throw away the controller by accident
Cool cars i still have mine i have the Acura
That one is so sweeet
What 3d printer would you recommend, thanks. Great video 👍
Ender 3 pro
Are there any X mod exclusive sites that anyone could recommend?
Sweet!!!
Steelers Gang Gang
Dudeee i found my nsx gen 1, but can't finde the body and an evo, but doesn't work :'(
You can still get parts for them!
I have all of them and loved them great cars hpi had something to with Chinese side of them
That’s right! I remember reading that
I’d like to see an xmod race a mini z
My wife bought 2 of these for me back in 2003ish. Back then there were still huge car shows like the NOPI nationals and Radioshack/Hot Rod mag/Superstreet mag used to have trailer sized booths with tracks. They had nationwide competitions at all the major car shows around the country. Of course you could drive em around at the shows as well. Fun times were had. Still have both the Gen1 NSX AWD with widebody and RSX with different springs, motors, tires in the blister packs lol.
Yeah! I have a copy of the mini Hot Rod and SuperStreet mags!
Where did you get that shirt? The one with the vehicle on it I need that
10thscalegarage.com
Yeah I pulled my 2 xmods out a couple months ago to discover they don't work anymore despite new batteries 😒
I hate it when that happens! You can always get a mini z chassis and resurrect them.
German Collectors watching like
Yo try the WL toys the 1/28th scale they are the new version of these !!
I’ve got a couple. The best part about them is that mini-z bodies fit them.
I think they look really cool but I doubt they'd even be able to make the turns in my house lol.
I'd love to grab a Mini-Z myself since I really dig the idea of having a small car to hoon around the house but sadly haven't seen any of those locally.
The boys and I race mini z every Tuesday night at my place. It’s such a good time.
@@10thScaleGarage I'm super jealous lol. I'm going to hide in a plane destined for America so I can sneak into your house at night and play with Mini-Z's xD
I'd love to organise something similar here but I don't think Kyosho even exports their cars to anywhere locally or atleast I haven't seen any (I'm in South Africa so sadly a pretty small market)
They're awful, but they hold a special place in my heart
Same!!
Awful?
I've seen them build to beat mini z. I'm building on one now.
Man I sold my carbon xmods. I sold couple all I got left is the hummer scion mustang and Honda. I sold the infinity the skylines. And transformers police car and yellow mustang
Nice! Sounds like you were DEEP into it.
@@10thScaleGarage yeah i had 15 of them and some mini z and the losi minis sold them as well i was into rc since i was 13 i still have my og rc10 and a rc10L i built back in the 80s i used to have 4 t maxx and 3 revos one onfa buggy and rc10gt sold all the nitros i had i just have my og bruiser and a clone and gmade and axials
Its funny. I have about 6 or 7 of these thay got very little run time if any. And have a bunch of the extras for them. I was ready to sell all of them and extras for $50 at a garage sale. Glad i didnt.
I had these as a young adult. They were crap, the more i modded and threw money at it the more unhappy i was with the results lol. I thought i could make it much better and race mini Z guys at the local hobby shop.
Ha ha. As with most things, the more they’re modified, the less reliable they become.
"X Mods kinda suck". Kinda? They were a huge disappointment regarding performance. They look great and were fun to hop-up, but that's it.
Yup.
The next gen Xmod evos had way better driving dynamics.
They were bigger, and without licensed bodies, right?
@@10thScaleGarage The Evolution series came out a couple years later(~2005) and were still licensed bodies. The Recent ones before RadioShack left were made-up bodies.
But I still got all 15 of mine and I had three or four of those Camaros my dad built us a 20 ft by 60 ft table top race track for all the kids the neighborhood we would race on top of that table top for hours every Saturday we would have points racing that last like 3 months then we start over again we would have money race where every kid brought 10 bucks and then top three takes the money home and our only rule was it must be exmod approved Pop-Up parts only no exotic parts that were on these all these different websites and stuff like that has to be xmod hop up kits and parts only that was the only rule we had hell one night I won $600 cuz we had so many kids over there racing and it got a lot of us into actual RC hobby racing later on. I'm 29 still got table track and all my cars run still like new and right after they got discontinued I bought hundreds and hundreds of spare parts for them and bodies and tires wheels motors gears everything hop up wise and replacement wise it's worth about 10grand all the xmod stuff I got and crystals I love mine and me and friends race Emm still in my other bedroom in my apartment and I got a mini z track on floor I bought so we run miniz and xmods lol yes they suck rc car wise but still love Emm and I got some xmods that are drag only and they fly and I got two I 3d printed a pan car style chassis for it and it handles so good. But I also 3d printed steering parts for stock ones and they handle really good on the track. But I also race 1/10 scale indoor carpet pan cards on oval and road cores at our local RC track it's the CRC black carpet we bought this exact same track that was used to the 2019 snowbirds we just bought the snowbird track after we are done with the snowbirds that year in Florida and set it up here where we're at so we also have a local track that is the exact same track as the snowbird so it's a big oval and a huge for 110 scale carpet cars and it's a blast we have like 15 different divisions for oval and like six different divisions for road course and we swept swap so one week we went oval and the following its road course and then on road course weeks on Sundays we run off where we just had jumps the road course but then every Thursday we have Legends thunder Thursdays where it's only RJ speed legend cars racing on Thursday nights let me run for points and money sometimes on those nights but we race every week every Thursday and every Saturday and then every other Sunday for off-road on the carpet I took my ex mods over there for an open practice day so we have practice every night it's open for practice that thing flew around the track cuz it's so wide it made it to where it can actually turn there's enough room for turn around the track and it flew around the oval and the road course our fastest paying car glass will run the old and 4.1 seconds and my ex model was running it in 5.7 seconds so that's not bad at all for stockx mod
And dad of the year award goes to…….
@@10thScaleGarage it was fun memories and gave me a lifetime hobby enjoying RV car racing and rc planes it's a hobby you can always do no matter what your financial situation is and keeps you busy and you meet amazing friends that become family at the rc track
Search k989 xmod gen1 on youtube.
Thanks for the video there's ways you can improve the steering and speed look up tight turns mod and for more speed look for SnJ MAX fet turbo on eBay hit me up on Facebook for battery mods and special built Motors
Right on. I just can’t imagine a circumstance where I’d ever grab an xmods over a mini z.
@@10thScaleGarage that may be the case right now I got some projects in the works that may change that