70 Series Xbrake now available

[Ben]

As far as I'm aware, contrary to what Angus suggested, it will fit a Manual 70 Series with a standard Exhaust without modifying the exhaust. As with all these things there are bound to be exceptions - but that's what we have found so far.

A transmission brake has two advantages over wheel brakes. First is that it is high up, out of the mud & water which reduces pad wear and gives it a better chance of working. Second, the holding torque of the brake is multiplied by the ratio of the diff - so for a given brake it will hold 3.5x that torque at the wheels so on the whole they are very effective, particularly with heavy loads / trailers. We have tested the Land Rover version holding a 7 ton rolling load on a 1:1 slope and can say that if you have traction, it will hold regardless of what you are carrying or towing!

I was sent a photo by a chap in the middle east with his truck parked on a steep causeway down to the sea - probably about 1:3. He was towing a HUGE boat that dwarfed the truck - and looked like it cost more than the whole of the UK put together. It was impressive - but made me wonder whether our liability insurance would cover multi-million $ boats!

Granted, if one rear wheel slips, the vehicle can roll and that's true on Land Rovers and any other vehicle they are fitted to. On the whole when this happens it's rare for the vehicle to move more than a few inches until the wheel has enough traction to hold.

Sorry about the price of it - the manufacture is a bit more involved, it has many more parts than the Land Rover kit and it comes with a cable. Our margin on this is lower than any of the other X-Brakes except Suzuki.

However, they do need some exposure - as people tend to buy stuff they have seen other people use and like. Therefore, for a group buy, say 4 or more to a single address - we will give you a deal which makes them cheaper than the Land Rover Defender version, kind of as a 'loss-leader'.

We have a plan for an 80 Series version, but we need to develop a new caliper for the job - which with the necessary testing & prototyping takes some time. But it is in progress.

Si

im still interested in a group buy. need at least another 3 70 owners now.

anyone else interested?

 

[X-Eng Simon]

I'm looking for an LJ70 PAS box at the moment. If you'd like an X-Brake - I'll do a straight swap, which has got to be good value!

Si

 

[Ben]

i spotted your wanted post Si, and contacted a mate of mine who breaks cruisers, to see if he has one, havnt heard anything back yet though.

 

[Simon_LJ70]

I am up for the group buy so that's 2

 

[hairyguy4]

i've held fire on one for now but i'm definatly interested in a group buy

 

[Chris Tupper]

Hi all, I have just fitted the x-brake to my mk1 70 series with no problems at all, although I do have a custom stainless exhaust! Which does now have to be modified.
Very exspensive, but good quality

 

[X-Eng Simon]

Unfortunately, the reception of the X-Brake for 70 Series has been that they are too expensive - though mostly that has been from people who have not seen, let alone tried one.

For that reason, I am going to reduce the cost of this batch to £245.99 - the same as the Land Rover version. This is below cost for us. Depending on the reception they get, we will determine if it's worth continuing with them.

We will however continue to support any that have been sold, whatever the decision. There are 20 available at this price. No need to organise a multi-buy - they are now listed on line at that price. The price includes free shipping within the UK.
http://www.x-eng.co.uk/X-BrakeToyota70.asp

Si

 

[Ben]

i noticed that they were out of stock the other day on the website, so i presumed they were selling well and youd sold all of the first batch?

i will be placing an order very shortly.

 

[Trevor]

I saw they were out of stock too and want to buy one as well.

 

[Ben]

ordered!

 

[Ben]

just fitted my X-Brake.

decided to go into quite a bit of detail on this in my build thread. as i know not many people have fitted these kits yet, and there doesnt seem to be any info out there about this kit, apart from on X-ENG's website.

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