Exact difference between XLS / XL / SWB

[smokin]

Would anyone mind telling me this, and is it possible to create a SWB from an XLS, (and a custom made shorter chassis)
Also would an XLS body fit a SWB if cut down?
Thankyou

[dangermouse]

The C.A.T. (Competition All Terrain - aka SWB) was obviously the first car to be released.

It was a quick car in the right hands, but was very twitchy and took a lot of concentration to keep it on the track. Schumacher released an XL Long Wheelbase conversion kit for it, comprising:

1" longer chassis, body/undertray/beltcover with matching front belt.

CAT XL. Basically exactly the same as the SWB, but with the long wheelbase conversion parts.

The XL was a much better car to drive, but Schumacher kept coming out with optional parts to improve it. Parts they brought out were:

Front ball diff to do away with the one way front diff. This made the car understeer less through corners, but sacrificed turn in and straight line efficiency.

One way Driveshafts. In combination with the front diff this improved turn in and gave the car much better steering through corners, plus improved efficiency.

Front widening kit. This brought the front of the car out to the max legal width of the time of 250mm. It made the front of the car smoother with less tendency to flip over. Basically it came with new shock uprights with more castor and spacers to widen the track... also had a wider steering rack bit to correct the steering geometry with the wider front.

Rear widening kit. This widened the rear of the car out to the limit. It also improved the rear geometry by dropping the inner pivot point of the upper arms and giving the rear of the car more anti-squat. Basically it comprised a wider fibreglass upper suspension bracket, a long through bolt and some spacers... new holes for the upper mounting had to be drilled lower in the alloy gearbox sides. Coupled with the front widening kit the car was less likely to want to flip over in the turns on high traction tracks. Also made the car much smoother and more predictable.

CAT XLS. This was basically an XL kit with all the above upgrades included. ie, front diff, oneway driveshafts, front and rear widening kits. Also had the sexy chrome rims included.

The were a few other bits I didn't mention above that changed through the models:

Grey front bumper (rare in good nick) was included in the SWB and earlier XL kits.

Longer driveshafts. Came out in the XLS to take into account the widened track.

Probably a few other minor variances I haven't included. Apologies if my meanderings are disjointed at all, but I am on a netbook and it is a pain to type on.

You could possibly cut down a LWB body to fit a SWB but it won't fit the greatest.

[CNA75]

Thanks for all that great info!!

[smokin]

Yeah, thanks for comprehensive answer, i'd been wanting to know for ages !

[CNA75]

Can I extend the scope of this post to include differences between the CAT XLS and the ProCat? Can anyone help with clarifying the differences between these two cars? It looks like many of the CAT XLS parts were used on the ProCat...

[QuackingPlums]

Hi! This is my first post since joining up - just bought myself a new Cat SX and am now overcome by a flood of nostalgia! I'm a bit surprised nobody else has replied to this question given the serious depth of knowledge here!

Anyway, my first CAT was an XLS and my third was a ProCat - I haven't had them in decades (mum made me give them away - gutted!) so this is from memory:

7-cell saddle-pack chassis replaced 6-cell stick pack chassis
Rear diff in solid "drum" with solid layshaft like TopCat (which almost everybody replaced with a one-piece MMS unit)
Rear belts upgraded to TopCat belts (wider)
TopCat-style rear suspension consisting of "A" frame lower arms, multi-point adjustable turnbuckle upper links, multi-point upper shock mount, redesigned uprights and one-piece lower arm mounting blocks. Rear toe-in was no longer easily adjustable.
Narrower (BRCA legal?) front bumper
TopCat-style O-ring wing mounts
Optional overdrive front pulley (can't remember if this came in the kit or as a hop-up)
Adjustable front belt tensioner (i.e., two screws in the diff housing)
Rose joints replaced ball joints in various locations (I think! Can't remember if these were my own mods!)
Mini spikes replaced full spikes
White wheels replaced silver wheels
New body, obviously!

As far as I remember, the front ends were largely the same. Same shocks, one-way roller drive shafts, crash-back front end, etc.

I remember putting the TopCat rear wishbones on my XLS in the run-up to the IFMAR Worlds in Australia (1989?) but this made it TOO long - tendency to flip during cornering and less control mid-flight. As we later found out, the actual ProCat release had a new design of wishbone that handled much better.

I so wish I had kept all my old cars...!