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I haven't had a XX-4 yet, I just got one on eBay. I was wondering what are it's weak points? Which parts should I be on the look out for and stock up on? Any thing I should change right away to save me some pain?

crackin' open a can o' worms there...

front arms are weak, 2 things to do
1. rc10B2 front hinge pin brace across the bulkhead, required dremeling the bulkhead down to let it sit smooth
2. get the caster screw kit from xfactory (www.4wdrc.com). if not theirs, then make one of your own
2.5...i have seen some people make a brace going from the front caster screw to b2 hinge pin brace, then bolt through it where the shock mounts also...supposed to be bulletproof

shock towers

while i havent broken many, people swear by the penguin rc shock tower braces (and i think x factory is making some also)...i picked up a car that has the penguin braces, they look awesome, i just havent had time to hit the track

belts...keep a full set handy and replace the ones in the car with the newer green belts (if it hasnt already had that upgrade)...when you replace belts, good idea to replace pulleys.

they car will take a ton of power, one of my fellow racers runs a 4.5 novak in his, crazy fast and powerful, rarely has drivetrain issues

clean it up, get your favorite radio gear in there, put on a set of fresh tires and tear up the track.

As J.K. Racing says.

Only advice I'd add is to make sure you've got the slipper set right as it's there to protect the belts more than to stop the wheels spinning. I've never stripped a belt since sorting my slipper out but I've seen Losi team drivers who change all three belts every run at National's just to be on the safe side

Shock tower braces are a MUST. Go for the X-Factory braces over the Penguin ones. With the thick X-Factory ones you won't break a tower.
With the Pengun ones, your tower will part break and the brace will allow you to finish the run, but it'll still cost you a new tower. If it's a bad crash, you'll break the tower & the Penguin brace and that's annoying & expensive

In 2 years I've broke three front wishbones (none since fitting the X-factory caster screws), 6 front towers, 4 rear towers (none since fitting the tower braces), 2 rear wishbones plus the front bulkhead doesn't break for me but gets sloppy and allows the wishbones pivot pins to move too much.

http://www.xfactoryrc.com/storeESpeed.htm

just came accross this: easy enough to find but saves you the search

Perfect, thanks guys. I was just taking a look at X Factories web site, would you recommend the steering rack to go with the shock tower brace?

How about this, came across looking for other spare parts. Would this solve the front bulk head issues?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Team-Losi-A-1201-4WD-Revised-Front-Bulkhead-XX4-Parts_W0QQitemZ260383783183QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio_Control_Parts_Accessories?hash=item260383783183&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Forgot to ask, what is the stock spur size? I am thinking of installing a MM7700, but I thought I would gear it way down to give the drive train a break and to get some good run times as well. Also I was thinking of offering my 7700kv motor for trade for a lesser kv motor (6900 or 5700), or maybe a Novak 10.5 or 8.5 as the MM can run both sensored and sensorless motors.

the stock gear (purple) is 84 tooth. i have seen the 86 installed, but you have to dremel the chassis for clearance (not my cup o tea). i use the bulkhead brace with the white front bulkhead. i havent heard feedback on the steering rack, i think it changes steering angles, not really for strength.

i ran a MM4600, geared it 21/84 and it was crazy fast. tons of top end, crazy accelleration, i motored down to a 10.5, and am dropping down again to a 13.5 (running superstock class).

like minichamps said, the slipper settings can make/break the car for maintenance. i do the "set it and forget it"...i never adjust it once it is okay.

i also dont run saddle packs, i run a single lipo stick pack down the side

Ah, ok, I am not a fan of grinding the chassis either. So I will stick to the stock spur size and put a small pinion on it. I know the MM7700 is really over kill, but my other systems are all being used. So I will gear it down as much as possible and tune it down with the software until I can find some one to trade motors with me.

the trakpower 3200 lipo fits perfect on the standard layout on the xx4. i only use 1200 in a 5 min race with a trinity shock 10x2 which is a rocket. the stick pack layouts are done nicely though.

This might be blasphemous to say, but is there a mod, or a way to lock the front clicker to make it a standard diff? Maybe I am just not a good enough driver but I just find it to squirrelly for me.

why...yes, yes there is!!!! I run this way.

On the clicker assembly, remove the nut/retainer/spring. Cut a piece of fuel tubing and slide over the shaft (size may vary). Reassemble. It should take most if not all the one way action out of the clicker (this is where size matters).

Thanks, I will give that a try.