Tamiya Durga DB01 EP Buggy (A cheaper 501X?)

[Toonz]

I finished building the chassis today and I added some spacers to the DF03 Alu shocks. It all looks great now! I added 5mm to the rear.

Should the car be lower on the front or should the chassis be parallel to the ground?

the front can be 1mm lower than the rear.

for example, F: 23mm R: 24mm

[Toonz]

1 K post ..lol :woot:

pop a beer!:thumbsup:

[Carlos69]

pop a beer!:thumbsup:
Don't mind if I do ! :drool:

[Toonz]

the durga front and rear assembly universal and front and rear dogbones
are up on stella! woot!

[Vin]

the durga front and rear assembly universal and front and rear dogbones
are up on stella! woot!

Thanks for the advice!

I hope to see how the Durga goes this weekend. If I get dissapointed I'll but those CVDs right away ;)

Note that I'm using the 5mm (under the rear pistons) spacers to correct droop on a carpet setup. 3mm in the front seem to level out the car. cvd's are near/slightly above level. Car feels good. So

I was planning to add the 3mm to the front also. However with only a 5mm spacer at the rear the front was slightly lower than the rear which should be a good thing right. If the handling isn't what I expect it to be, I'll add a 3mm to the front also. Thanks for the heads up!

Here's a picture of the car. The rear looks a bit high on the pictures as there are no electronics mounted in the car. However now with the motor installed it looks a lot better. I'll post another pic when finished

http://foto.modelbouwforum.nl/albums/userpics/11306/IMG_1452.JPG

[dflament]

2 small questions i have, im sorry if already asked before...

- Can you fit a 501x into a durga, is it the same?
- Can you fit the Team Azarashi Tateego or Gomurph body?

thank you

[budgio]

queation 1 ???
question 2 No from what ive heard

[General Accident]

Put a new Schumacher 16t pinion in mine, still sounds as rough as hell though. Most of the whining seems to be coming from the spur area but there is also a definate rattling emanating from the rear diff area. All the outdrives and CVD joints are tight and there is no visible vibration in the shafts. The diff assembly itself is all lined up and all the mounting screws in the cover are tight. When I hold one wheel and give it a tiny bit of throttle, there is a definate tight/loose/tight/loose thing going on as the free wheel rotates. If I rotate one wheel by hand the other contra-rotates as smooth as anything. I just don't get it but it feels and sounds 'orrible.

On the plus side provided I grit my teeth and ignore the racket it goes well enough but I think the slipper needs tightening more than the 3mm specified (running a 7.5turn brushless). Sharp bursts of throttle are not getting through to the wheels, just get a high pitched zizzzzz that gradually fades as the speed builds so I guess thats the slipper doing its job.

Does anybody know what size wrench fits the turnbuckles? I need to tweak the steering servo link but nothing I have in my pitbox will fit (not surprising as most of it is imperial US stuff for the RC10).

Is anybody doing the Broxtowe Indoor series with a Durga at all?

[General Accident]

- Can you fit a 501x into a durga?

Depends how fast you're going with the 501X when it hits the Durga, I once fitted a Rover 213 into a Ford Fiesta :lol:

[sosidge]

Put a new Schumacher 16t pinion in mine, still sounds as rough as hell though. Most of the whining seems to be coming from the spur area but there is also a definate rattling emanating from the rear diff area. All the outdrives and CVD joints are tight and there is no visible vibration in the shafts. The diff assembly itself is all lined up and all the mounting screws in the cover are tight. When I hold one wheel and give it a tiny bit of throttle, there is a definate tight/loose/tight/loose thing going on as the free wheel rotates. If I rotate one wheel by hand the other contra-rotates as smooth as anything. I just don't get it but it feels and sounds 'orrible.

On the plus side provided I grit my teeth and ignore the racket it goes well enough but I think the slipper needs tightening more than the 3mm specified (running a 7.5turn brushless). Sharp bursts of throttle are not getting through to the wheels, just get a high pitched zizzzzz that gradually fades as the speed builds so I guess thats the slipper doing its job.

Does anybody know what size wrench fits the turnbuckles? I need to tweak the steering servo link but nothing I have in my pitbox will fit (not surprising as most of it is imperial US stuff for the RC10).

Is anybody doing the Broxtowe Indoor series with a Durga at all?

I always find the small pinions noisy. My Durga seems noisy on the bench but quiet enough on track.

4mm on the slipper is a good setting.

4mm wrench for the turnbuckles.

[General Accident]

I always find the small pinions noisy. My Durga seems noisy on the bench but quiet enough on track.

4mm on the slipper is a good setting.

4mm wrench for the turnbuckles.

Thanks sosidge, I'm not used to such small pinions but to be honest the whole gearing thing seems weird to me. I had the 7.5t brushless in my RC10 and it needed a 20t pinion so I had nothing in my pitbox lower than a 19t and had to search for the 16t I have now. According to the gear chart I need to go to a 14 or 15 to get the optimal ratio of 12:1 that the motor instructions say it needs!!

[dflament]

2 small questions i have, im sorry if already asked before...

- Can you fit a 501x into a durga, is it the same?
- Can you fit the Team Azarashi Tateego or Gomurph body?

thank you

lol, my apologies, i forgot 'diff'

so is the diff from a 501x the same as the one from the durga?

[Mutant]

the 501 diff is all metal and the durga has plastic diff ring seats. i believe somebody else on this thread has fitted the 501 diff in the durga.

[sosidge]

lol, my apologies, i forgot 'diff'

so is the diff from a 501x the same as the one from the durga?

Don't forget that the Durga runs 37T pulleys and big plates as standard. Otherwise outdrives and thrust assembly are all compatible.

[Vin]

the 501 diff is all metal and the durga has plastic diff ring seats. i believe somebody else on this thread has fitted the 501 diff in the durga.

That would be nice, because the diff joints of the Durga seems to wear quick (like the Dark Impacts diff joints did).

I finished the Durga and took it out for a spin today, it really runs very nice and it's very agile. It tends to oversteer when exiting a corner too fast. However that's easily controllable and makes driving very fun! I really love it :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

http://foto.modelbouwforum.nl/albums/userpics/11306/IMG_1467.JPG
http://foto.modelbouwforum.nl/albums/userpics/11306/Durga_mobofo3.jpg

[Kiwi Kruisa]

Nice car!


Where did you get the bling turnbuckles from?

R

[Vin]

Nice car!


Where did you get the bling turnbuckles from?

R

Thanks mate! The turnbuckles are from the DF03 (Hard Turnbuckle set), which is a set of 6 turnbuckles. However the ones for the steering are too long. So I used the kit supplied turnbuckles there.

[Spoolio]

Well, first of all I've got to say it got some attention even if a combination of crap build and crap driving did its best to ruin the day. The car was built with kit oil, pistons and springs and managed 2 qualifiers OK. Running minipins on a mix of carpet and boarding I certainly did not suffer from a lack of steering, the car was very pointy indeed. On the sleeping policeman jump the nose had an almost magnetic attraction to the floor and I was constantly flipping the car over - never really sorted that one all day, but generally got the hang of flying it OK over the table top. Had huge chassis-slap issues until I put loads of spacers on the springs then it sorted itself out. The slipper slipped a bit too much too, but adjusted that for Q3 and was much improved until the crap Tamiya quality kicked in and one front shock lower ball end came out of the rod allowing the spring and seat to make a successful bid for freedom. I had reservations about this when I built the chassis as the plastic is very soft and the rod only seemed to thread in about 4mm. I put it all back together for Q4 without much hope and sure enough BOTH front shocks did the same thing on landing from the first jump. Bugger:thumbdown:. For the final I bodged it with some RPM ball ends out of my RC10 spares. Was doing OK (started 3rd) and kept my nose clean despite not being particularly fast.

Then my crap driving kicked as I went over the tabletop at a slight angle and the rear right wheel nicely caught on the exposed lip of the downramp where it was wider than the tabletop. This removed the rear corner with surgical efficiency. I'm sure it would have done the same on any car so I can't really knock Tamiya for that. I eventually managed to find both the ball ends for the end of the hinge pins too and nothing actually broke so I assume the impact flexed the rear fixing enough for the hinge pin to pop out. Need to fix this for next time or at least buy lots of spare A-parts!

The one-way stayed in the pit box as I really didn't need it, there was plenty of steering and this was a very tight track, the carpet helped there I think.

The car got some good comments and I was very happy with how it went straight out of the box - it can only get better with practice and a bit of time setting it up. Found out when I got home the the cambers were all different on every corner - so much for the dimensions given in the manual.

[greeny]

hi all, ive seen how cheap these buggies are...

are they good... im onyl a club racer but i want something i have at least a chance of beating other people with...

the reason i ask is... im moving from TC to off-road, but for how much my budget stretches too, i can only have a 2wd... i dont really want this... id rather a four wheel drive...

where do you guys get spares for these cars?
what about alloy thread shock? where do you get those from?
and anything else you need?
im running on outdoor grass so im guna need some spring no doubt... which ones?

thanks jordan

[Spoolio]

I'd fully recommend it - Jimmy's Durga shows that the basic speed is in the car 'cos he is a decent driver. I'm rubbish but I was doing better than some of the B44 crew today so I guess that proves something. Just get a slipper if you intend to run a decent motor. Spares are very cheap from Hong Kong, so much so that there is no chance you'll get hit with import duty as you'll struggle to hit the limit unless you go mad.

[DCM]

buy a slipper, and when 3Racomg pull their finger out, get the alloy suspension mounting kits front and rear, the rest is tuning.

[sosidge]

Well, first of all I've got to say it got some attention even if a combination of crap build and crap driving did its best to ruin the day. The car was built with kit oil, pistons and springs and managed 2 qualifiers OK. Running minipins on a mix of carpet and boarding I certainly did not suffer from a lack of steering, the car was very pointy indeed. On the sleeping policeman jump the nose had an almost magnetic attraction to the floor and I was constantly flipping the car over - never really sorted that one all day, but generally got the hang of flying it OK over the table top. Had huge chassis-slap issues until I put loads of spacers on the springs then it sorted itself out. The slipper slipped a bit too much too, but adjusted that for Q3 and was much improved until the crap Tamiya quality kicked in and one front shock lower ball end came out of the rod allowing the spring and seat to make a successful bid for freedom. I had reservations about this when I built the chassis as the plastic is very soft and the rod only seemed to thread in about 4mm. I put it all back together for Q4 without much hope and sure enough BOTH front shocks did the same thing on landing from the first jump. Bugger:thumbdown:. For the final I bodged it with some RPM ball ends out of my RC10 spares. Was doing OK (started 3rd) and kept my nose clean despite not being particularly fast.

Then my crap driving kicked as I went over the tabletop at a slight angle and the rear right wheel nicely caught on the exposed lip of the downramp where it was wider than the tabletop. This removed the rear corner with surgical efficiency. I'm sure it would have done the same on any car so I can't really knock Tamiya for that. I eventually managed to find both the ball ends for the end of the hinge pins too and nothing actually broke so I assume the impact flexed the rear fixing enough for the hinge pin to pop out. Need to fix this for next time or at least buy lots of spare A-parts!

The one-way stayed in the pit box as I really didn't need it, there was plenty of steering and this was a very tight track, the carpet helped there I think.

The car got some good comments and I was very happy with how it went straight out of the box - it can only get better with practice and a bit of time setting it up. Found out when I got home the the cambers were all different on every corner - so much for the dimensions given in the manual.

Reading your post reminded me so much of my first outing with the car two months ago! Same kind of handling (good except for the chassis slap and limited damping), same kind of interested looks and nice comments - and also my own driving letting me down :(

All I broke was a rear tower and since moving the wing back I haven't broken a single thing since having run the car at four or five race meetings so I rate it as pretty tough.

I have now got some TRF dampers on the car at last so hoping this will solve some of the damper/handling issues.

[Bsr241]

Hey sosidge, can you give us the details on how you moved the wing back? I broke my rear tower again and have been waiting 2 weeks for a new one.

[sosidge]

Easy, cut the holes about 6mm ahead of the dimples - wing sits just behind the tower, haven't broken a thing on the car since.

[sim]

Thanks mate! The turnbuckles are from the DF03 (Hard Turnbuckle set), which is a set of 6 turnbuckles. However the ones for the steering are too long. So I used the kit supplied turnbuckles there.

I'm really curious about this. The DF-03 camber links are 50mm and steering rods are 46mm (the kit ones are anyway, according to the manual). The DB-01 (also kit, also according to online manual) are 42mm for camber and 32mm for steering.

You are running the DF-03 (shorter) rod ends?

[Spoolio]

Anybody know where I can get spare A-parts and a bodyshell? Been to the usual suspects and can only get arms, uprights, castor blocks, B-parts and M-parts. At this rate I'll probably end up with another car for spares!

[Vin]

I'm really curious about this. The DF-03 camber links are 50mm and steering rods are 46mm (the kit ones are anyway, according to the manual). The DB-01 (also kit, also according to online manual) are 42mm for camber and 32mm for steering.

You are running the DF-03 (shorter) rod ends?

As far as I remember I'm running the long ones. It's not only the rod that determines the length of the plastic thingies that go on them (I believe they're called rod ends right). The 'rod ends' supplied with the Durga are a lot longer than the ones supplied with the DF03 Turnbuckle set. Look at the picture below and you'll see what I mean:

http://foto.modelbouwforum.nl/albums/userpics/11306/IMG_1480.JPG

I'm not at home right now, but if you want I could measure them next weekend.

[25pie]

apparently from an insider source tamiya has decresed worldwide sales by almost 30% since 2002 and is now having financial difficulities..... hopefully it is not the end for the mother of all RC!!:eh?:

[jimmy]

I can believe that, I love Tamiya but over here in the UK it's so far out of it - at least from my perspective. They seem to advertise in the mags - but that's about it. All the time companies like HPI are becoming more 'Tamiya' than Tamiya - getting their products into mainstream shops and on the TV. Tamiya just sit back and stick an advert in the back of a magazine for a car they don't even support (501X, for instance).:confused:
Forgive my rant! lol

[DCM]

your mixing your manufaturer and your distributor there Jimmy, Hobby Co don't support any TRF car directly, but Tamiya tell them what to advertise I think.

[jimmy]

Well yeah, I refer to HobbyCo as Tamiya UK here - when really they just distribute low level cars to shops. I'm pretty sure you're right also on the advertising - but you have to admit at least over here they are losing ground on manufacturers that seem to do a lot more PR work.

[DCM]

I think they have lost the club scene and the collector due to the price you ca get EVERYTHING from HK being so much better.

[dflament]

i was thinking the same thing, i ordered the Durga from ebay, it cost me about 120-130€, the same car here in Belgium costs 220€ in the nearest R/C racing shop

[Spoolio]

I think they have lost the club scene...

Definately agree here. Last Worksop meet, about 100 drivers I think and 1 Durga. Same last week at Broxtowe, 49 drivers, 1 Durga. Judging by the interest I got in mine Tamiya just need to get product and spares back into the shops that sell to racers but they will have a hard time overcoming the "its a Tamiya therefore its a toy" prejudice that has been allowed to develop. Don't get me started 'cos I can rant all day:mad:.

[25pie]

HPI have made loads of money from quality RTR cars (such as the firestorm and savage) whereas tamiya never really got seriously into the rtr scene and the cars which they sell as rtr are just not up to the standards (for example) set by hpi, i mean just compare the Tamiya Nitrage 5.2 and the Savage X, Savage is just better... Also another problem about tamiya that they are simply too big: it sells just about anything which has to do with modeling but children today would rather play on a PSP than build a 1/35 scale tank, and as Jimmy said PR in UK is virtually nil which is the same as the whole of EUROPE sadly :(
(don't get me wrong i despise rtr but damn it they sell to the masses):mad:

[sim]

Tamiya's strategy consists of three steps:
1. Recruit racing talent from Europe
2. Get them to win races
3. Sell kits to Americans
:thumbsup:

[Toonz]

4. poison the asians with hop-ups parts

[SiR_Dave]

5. Make 6 versions of the same car and with every change they just add one hop up or new item to make the car different:confused:

[ralphee]

Anybody know where I can get spare A-parts and a bodyshell? Been to the usual suspects and can only get arms, uprights, castor blocks, B-parts and M-parts. At this rate I'll probably end up with another car for spares!


Hope the linky is cool Jimmy, but i got my spares and a body from these guys spoolio, ask for Ryan he's there U.S rep and a great guy, i think you can mail him direct on the site as there is an english page, if not ill dig out his Email, they do a great service and most my stuff arrives in three days.

lee

http://www.rc-rainbow.co.jp/

[Spoolio]

Hope the linky is cool Jimmy, but i got my spares and a body from these guys spoolio, ask for Ryan he's there U.S rep and a great guy, i think you can mail him direct on the site as there is an english page, if not ill dig out his Email, they do a great service and most my stuff arrives in three days.

lee

http://www.rc-rainbow.co.jp/

Hi ralphee, been onto the site but got confused as it says the US guy's last day for posting stuff was...yesterday, damn:thumbdown:. All I really need urgently are the A2, A4 and A5 parts for the rear end, anybody got any ideas - this is another Tamiya thing, why are spares so bloody hard to get hold of and why do you have to buy a whole stuffing tree when you only need one part, they could really learn from Associated and Losi here.

[TRF_AK]

apparently from an insider source tamiya has decresed worldwide sales by almost 30% since 2002 and is now having financial difficulities..... hopefully it is not the end for the mother of all RC!!:eh?:
The market for R/C is changing rapidly over the last couple years and Tamiya is having to change the way they do business in order to keep up with the changing market. Tamiya will not be going out of business and that should be evident at the Nuremburg Toy Fair this weekend.

They recently sold their U.S. facility (with track and warehouse....and the track was amazing) and outsourced their warehousing to another company. Tamiya relocated to a leased office building rather than their own building as they had been in before.

Nothing is able to stay the same forever, and markets will always fluctuate. Tamiya is no different than anyone else and is making sure they are in the best position to stay around for a long time.

[Vin]

...A2, A4 and A5 parts for .....

Tamiya sells those parts as spares, but then Aluminium ones for their TRF cars.

I believe the A2 parts equal partnumber 50994 (http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=50994)

I couldn't find a partnumber for the spacers A4 and A5 because I don't know the thickness by hand. But if you measure them I'm sure you'll find them.

As I'm not 100% sure, Could anybody confirm this?

[Spoolio]

Thanks Vin, I've ordered a skipful of 50994's and the alloy spacers as well #53539, and just to be sure I threw in some #53709's too. I notice front hinge pins are a bit thin on the ground. I am hoping I don't pop a front arm as I have no spare 0.2 shims for the front pins and I doubt I'd be able to find them out on the track.

[25pie]

The market for R/C is changing rapidly over the last couple years and Tamiya is having to change the way they do business in order to keep up with the changing market. Tamiya will not be going out of business and that should be evident at the Nuremburg Toy Fair this weekend.

They recently sold their U.S. facility (with track and warehouse....and the track was amazing) and outsourced their warehousing to another company. Tamiya relocated to a leased office building rather than their own building as they had been in before.

Nothing is able to stay the same forever, and markets will always fluctuate. Tamiya is no different than anyone else and is making sure they are in the best position to stay around for a long time.

That maybe so but 30% loss in sales is still a hell of a lot money...and i really do not think that other companies (eg hpi) are not suffering that much

[drinternat]

It would be great to have a Durga Handbook with the review on the first few pages then all the hop up parts with numbers and tips you guys have posted like shims and things. I think if anybody had the time and skills to put it together it would sell like hot cakes. Maybe Jimmy (or vicky) could go into the publishing business. From little acorns and all that!!!!!!

[Toonz]

fit in the front and rear universal and i realise that the rear part of the bone is coming close to the edge of the diff joint when the buggy is lifted up even when i put in 6mm spacer into the rear shock . front is ok.

is this normal?

when i compare the rear UJ and the stock dogbone, the dogbone is about 3mm longer.

does that mean there is some measurement fault on the rear UJ?

or should i just remove it and retain the front UJ instead?

[jimmy]

What shocks are you using?

[Toonz]

im using DF03 shocks...

6mm internal spacer in the rear shocks and total shock length
is 10cm

[jimmy]

the rear DF03 hop up shocks are just too long for this car - I assume your only real option is to add even more spacers?

Make sure the shocks aren't too long that the chassis won't touch the floor though.

[Toonz]

the chassis is able to touch the floor, both front and rear.

in that case i think more spacers is the way to go...

what is your shock length jimmy? the rear.

[A.J. Gee]

Wow, did any of you see the new body set for the DB-01? I just went on the tamiya USA web site and saw it. Its called the Baldre. It looks pretty phony and kiddish IMO. If you guys havent seen it, go check it out and let me know what you think.

[Toonz]

what is the meaning of baldre?????????????????

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=51338:eh?::eh?:

[jimmy]

Granted it looks a bit toy like there - but with a proper paint job and stickers it might look nice?? :eh?:

[Vin]

Well to be honest I really didn't like the Durga at first sight and I was hoping Tamiya would release a new body soon..

Now with the Baldre I'm not sure if it's an improvent. It looks kinda Nikko'sh indeed. Maybe with clear windows and a 'Jimmy' paintjob it would look nice though. But on box art is it even worse than the Durga.

[dflament]

we need a Team Azarashi body for the durga :)

[budgio]

what is the meaning of baldre?????????????????

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=51338:eh?::eh?:


Baldre is a city in Albania :woot:

[A.J. Gee]

The window area of the Baldre reminds me of the Dark Impact body shell.

[bender]

Looks a bit like a HB D4 body to me :confused:

[skydive130]

Hi Guys! Have recently bought a Durga through Ebay and got it and all the "bling" I have added mostly from Hong Kong and saved a packet in the process!

Hop-Up's so far include graphite front/rear towers, Alu oil Shocks, Front one way, slipper clutch, belt tensioner, alu stearing linkage and my fave Futaba 3Gr FAAST 2.4ghz radio!

Anyway, my one concern is the rear diff? I swear blind I have assembled it correctly, but I get little or no traction in reverse and the diff seems to slip before it gets traction in forward. Do I need to tighten the hex screw as tight as possible or is this how its meant to be? Basically, I can put the car on the stand, hold the wheels and the motor and belts will still turn? Hope I have explained my issue? any responce will be of great help. The front one-way seems fine, just the problem with the kit supplied rear diff? is there a better choice of diff out there? will the 501x fit?

ps. lots more "bling" on route from HK, just wish there were more up-grades to add i.e carbon chassis, maybe in the future!

[Mutant]

Hi,
I believe the 501x outdrives will fit but they are not necessary. I super glued the plastic ring holders to the outdrives and the diff ring to the plastic ring holders. I did not sand the rings like some people do, just degreased them. i tend to replace steel diff balls with ceramic ones, i feel they grip better. I would not tighten it too much, just make sure that the slipper does the slipping and not the rear diff, if left to slip with loads of power it will soon melt.

Cheers

[sim]

I like the Baldre body, actually. It's the same as Durga but with a retro cockpit.
Not sure about those dust collector pockets on the sides though.

[A.J. Gee]

How do you figure the Baldre is the same as the durga shell except for the cockpit?

[wayneski]

just out of interest, is anyone going to take theirs to Kiddy this weekend?
Be interesting to see how someone elses (who can actually drive) performs.

[Zipper]

My son has a oldish futaba 27mhz receiver and there is no room to mount it in the Durga, either infront or behind the motor.

Can anyone recommend a cheap 27mhz reciever that's small enough to fit behind the servo in the Durga? (Or if any one has one kicking around at home they wish to sell me?)

[jimmy]

There's quite a lot of space at the back, that must be a big receiver! I guess there's no room in front of the battery for it is there?

[Zipper]

There's quite a lot of space at the back, that must be a big receiver! I guess there's no room in front of the battery for it is there?

I actually have two 27mhz receivers both old skool and both the of similar size.... both not fitting front, back or infront of the batteries... :eh?:

I don't fancy butchering the chassis to get it in.

[Toonz]

scroll down for the official tamiya DB01 video :thumbsup:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/nurnberg/index.htm

[Toonz]

good news:thumbsup:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/rcpss.php?command=hopups&chassis_id=B01&sort=&direction=&offset=31

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=54027

[Spoolio]

I actually have two 27mhz receivers both old skool and both the of similar size.... both not fitting front, back or infront of the batteries... :eh?:

I don't fancy butchering the chassis to get it in.

I know what you mean fella, I have loads of Acoms AP227MKII receivers which were what you used to get with Beatties superdeals back in the mid-eighties (pre-Techniplus!!) and I assume yours is the same size. Best suggestion, look on the evilbay for a secondhand 40mhz setup - you'll get a decent quality tranny then too. The durga is well worth investing in a good radio. I sold a Sanwa Gemini a while back for £35 with a micro receiver so they are definately out there for small(ish) money.

[Metla]

good news:thumbsup:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/rcpss.php?command=hopups&chassis_id=B01&sort=&direction=&offset=31

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=54027

Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn.

I just spent over $100 buying every replacement plastic part I could source for the Durga.

Talk about crap timing.:thumbsup:

[Spoolio]

good news:thumbsup:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/rcpss.php?command=hopups&chassis_id=B01&sort=&direction=&offset=31

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=54027

Yes yes very nice BUT when are the 54028 shocks being released? I really want some but at the same time I can't face the thought of chasing up all the individual parts to build a set of 501X shocks (plus I am confuffled from reading all the posts earlier in this thread about whether they actually fit "properly").

Having said that, if the Durga set are anything like the DF03 ones, perhaps I should start looking for 501X bits now...I really hope Tamiya listen to the public and make the dampers decent, hell if they do I'll even pay top (HK of course) dollar for them:woot:.

[Mutant]

This appears to be a comon problem....

as long as you have a paypal account, cut and paste the following into a email to: champ_international@yahoo.co.jp

Could you let me know the cost, including shipping to the UK and paypal fees for the following.

1x TRF501X Damper Parts Bag #9404701
1x TRF501X V Parts (Damper Cap) #51280
1x TRF501X W Parts (Damper Piston) #51281
1x TRF501X X Parts (Damper Retainer) #51282

All the bits will be there to make 4 complete 501x shocks. Detailed assembly instructions are available on the tamiya USA website in the online 501x manual.

[Mutant]

i forgot to mention they fit fine. the only issue is the rear springs are a touch too long.

Cheers

Ollie

[Spoolio]

This appears to be a comon problem....

as long as you have a paypal account, cut and paste the following into a email to: champ_international@yahoo.co.jp

Could you let me know the cost, including shipping to the UK and paypal fees for the following.

1x TRF501X Damper Parts Bag #9404701
1x TRF501X V Parts (Damper Cap) #51280
1x TRF501X W Parts (Damper Piston) #51281
1x TRF501X X Parts (Damper Retainer) #51282

All the bits will be there to make 4 complete 501x shocks. Detailed assembly instructions are available on the tamiya USA website in the online 501x manual.

Thanks. This may be a dumb questions but I have to ask - do the 501X rod-ends fit better on the 501X shock shafts than the stock CVA ones for the Durga? I ask as the Durga ones seem way soft and keep stripping off the rods.

[Mutant]

the 501x shock rod ends are made of a stronger less flexible plastic (included on the X parts), i have not had one pull off. The CVA plastic is a little soft, i think its designed that way for 'bashing' so that it will bend rather than break.

[scotoap]

It would be great to have a Durga Handbook with the review on the first few pages then all the hop up parts with numbers and tips you guys have posted like shims and things. I think if anybody had the time and skills to put it together it would sell like hot cakes. Maybe Jimmy (or vicky) could go into the publishing business. From little acorns and all that!!!!!!

I agree, what about it then Jimmy?:thumbsup:;)

[Sensory Overload]

it's got all the hop ups! lol - let us know how it goes. I've never considered the anti roll bars, are they from the 501X ?

Well many thanks to you Jimmy and DCM. The DF03 shocks worked well using the touring car pistons and 40/35 oil. I managed TQ in my class and placed 2nd overall in both 19t and Tamiya black can. Car ran great for it's first time out. I did however manage to break the rear shock tower. With no spares on hand I milled an old 501x CF tower to act us a brace - heres some pics. May leave it in place once I swap the broken tower.

[sosidge]

Congrats on a good result.

That is the exact same spot myself and others have broken the rear tower. Did you move your wing back or were you running it over the tower on the kit setting?

[DCM]

I honestly think it is more the manufacturing of the tower than the wing causing breakage in that point, as the wing will deform, the only thing I can think of, the the wing leavers down the wing mount if the leading edge is sitting on the tower.

[Carlos69]

My fitted 501 tower ...for peace of mind

[Spoolio]

Does anybody know when the #54028 shock set is due to be released to the hungry public?

[DCM]

I just made a new top part for the 3Racing rear shock, raised it by 5mm and works a treat for ride height and the driveshaft

[Sensory Overload]

I honestly think it is more the manufacturing of the tower than the wing causing breakage in that point, as the wing will deform, the only thing I can think of, the the wing leavers down the wing mount if the leading edge is sitting on the tower.

I agree it's the tower.

[DCM]

I still got plenty of droop, I can now use the spring collars to adjust ride height and my driveshafts aren't going to pop out lol

[bender]

Well I finally got to give mine a couple of runs on the weekend at my local track and I have to say I was super impressed :thumbsup:

As I ran a 501x in 4wd last year I was able to directly compare them on the same track. I used my 501x shocks too so the cars set-up was as close as possible to my 501.

The car was far easier to drive than my 501x and seemed to have a little more on-power steering, but a little less turn-in (this was with the diff up front). It also jumped a lot better than the 501, both landing flatter and being more consistant.

For its first runs it was awesome :)

Next step is to try it with the over-drive front diff like the 501x and see how that goes.

[DCM]

I used mine this weekend in anger. 3Racing front and rear tower, with a home made top part to raise the top of the shocks to reduce droop and also allow ride height adjustment. The track was a carpet track, big table top and two jumps which could be doubled.

After stopping worrying about snapping the chassis, the car did the double every time faultlessly (except for the occaisional interference of the numpty at the sticks) and cleared the table top every time. And this car took some serious tumbles and abuse. But it just came back for more each time!

Handling wise, I found no need at all to go for a one-way or even think it might need it, the car was turning in sharp and hard and keeping tight on the exit. What an awesome car!

[millzy]

I used mine this weekend in anger. 3Racing front and rear tower, with a home made top part to raise the top of the shocks to reduce droop and also allow ride height adjustment. The track was a carpet track, big table top and two jumps which could be doubled.

After stopping worrying about snapping the chassis, the car did the double every time faultlessly (except for the occaisional interference of the numpty at the sticks) and cleared the table top every time. And this car took some serious tumbles and abuse. But it just came back for more each time!

Handling wise, I found no need at all to go for a one-way or even think it might need it, the car was turning in sharp and hard and keeping tight on the exit. What an awesome car!

hang on hang on what was your 4wd steve? not the durga?

[DCM]

yeap, durga dude.... the dirk diggle, 70's porn star rc car.... you could buy that car if you stopped redbull for one week Chris!! heehee

[millzy]

yeap, durga dude.... the dirk diggle, 70's porn star rc car.... you could buy that car if you stopped redbull for one week Chris!! heehee

holy crap magga respect to the car, i thought it was the all blue blinged up Huppo Euro car that Beslten had.

Well cool car, if any one is thinking about getting one i would pc DCM about the shocks and twoers he has on there and go get one. no need for a one way honest it had lots of on power roatation with out it.

Wow steve i still cant belive it

[DCM]

thought you would be impressed dude!

[millzy]

you know i just spend my luch break looking on ebay for one lol

but i realy dont want to get bk into racing

only doing the mirco x things coz the stuff is sat at Hs

[DCM]

you seen the air time mine was getting dude, cheap enough to sit round and not be used for weeks on end..... heehee

[Spoolio]

According to this link the forthcoming #54028 dampers are also compatible with the DF-03 chassis. Does this mean that they are just the same dampers with a different part number? Why can't Tamiya just release stuff instead of tempting us with just enough info to be useless!:mad:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=54028

[Kiwi Kruisa]

According to this link the forthcoming #54028 dampers are also compatible with the DF-03 chassis. Does this mean that they are just the same dampers with a different part number? Why can't Tamiya just release stuff instead of tempting us with just enough info to be useless!:mad:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=54028

Maybe you should wait for them to release the shocks rather than spectulate . I think they will be similar to the 501X shocks, not the DF03 option shocks you are thinking about. If you have a look at the setup sheet that comes with the DB-01 Durga there is a illustration of aftermarket shocks with caps similar to the 501X.

Patience is a virtue.

[DCM]

I gave up on patience and built the 501X shocks from spares instead lol

[Spoolio]

Patience is a virtue.

But, I don't wanna wait, I need them nowwwww. And they say it's just the kids of today who want everything straightaway, don't you believe it mate,LOL.

[DCM]

just been watching a vid of one of my races from the weekend, and all the cars were slapping chassis's after the jumps and mine was no different, looked as good as the B44's out there.

[jimmy]

That's cos it IS as good as anything out there - at least in terms of sheer performance with a couple of upgrades.

I think I've done 6 meetings with the durga now - at batley on sunday I didn't change anything from the previous outing at Worksop where I'd done a few things to get the car to turn on the weird surface - mainly limiting the rear shocks.
The car was pants at batley - the rear was really really loose and I was struggling. it got better as the day went on, mainly from adjusting my driving style but also laying down the rear shocks to their inner most on the tower. I think a bit more droop would have helped at Batley as Mike West pointed out - but I was too lazy to redo the rear shocks and remove some limiters ;)

By the end the car was awesome of course - I got the fastest laps in my last qualifier and got some of the fastest laps in my final, but made a few too many mistakes on the challenging track.

I had a problem with the rear diff at this meeting. I couldn't clear the double jump even though I had the power and the slipper was fairly tight. The rear diff felt GOOD but I gave the car some power with the car in my lap and the rear diff spun like it was totally loose (which it wasn't).
I took it apart - which is a bugger of a job if I'm honest since I still had the kit screws in the car (now replaced) and noticed one of the diff plates had come unglued from the plastic holder. No ammount of tightening would stop the diff spinning - so if you have any problems at all with the differentials it's worth checking the plates are securely attached otherwise they'll just spin.

I replaced the diff with a 501X diff and it was loads better (will rebuild the kit diff later).

The rear belt looked to have very slightly rounded teeth - whilst the front looked perfect still. I also noticed a little collection of rubber around the centre bulkhead - so I assume the rear belt might be rubbing slightly tho I've not had time to check it out yet.

Another thing I noticed was an increase in 'slop' particularly around the inner hinge pins front and rear. I'm assuming the plastic balls have worn slightly and I could probably do with adding some shims in there.
Peter Moss brought his brand spanker Durga to Batley and was using some touring car flourine coated balls for the hinge pins - which sound ideal for the plastic mounts, better than putting harsher steel ones in from the 501X maybe?

Anyway I've rattled on a bit - the bottom line is the car was ace. It might be getting retired soon when my 501X gets rebuilt, but I've really enjoyed racing it and won't be selling it.

[Toonz]

i notice that the diameter of the 501xWE front rim is 1mm bigger than the durga front rim.

why is that so? any difference in performance?

[SiR_Dave]

i notice that the diameter of the 501xWE front rim is 1mm bigger than the durga front rim.

why is that so? any difference in performance?

Were are you measuring this from.??? the outer edge or in the inner portion next to the ribs:eh?:

[Toonz]

outer edge.

the diameter or should i say circumference, when you put
the 2 rims together

[SiR_Dave]

outer edge.

the diameter or should i say circumference, when you put
the 2 rims together


Hmmm I`ll have to get my calipers out and check this out..;)

[jimmy]

i notice that the diameter of the 501xWE front rim is 1mm bigger than the durga front rim.

why is that so? any difference in performance?

I don't know about the 501Xwe but I thought the new rims were all the same (smaller) size. The reason the rims were made slightly smaller (not quite 1 mm!) is because they were oversized and illegal at IFMAR races.
If your 501X WE came with larger front wheels then I'm surprised by that - the new wheels are much better - they have a much tighter hex to prevent stripping out

[sim]

There are new rims and old rims? What are the part numbers?

[DCM]

just order the rims for the DB-01

[sosidge]

The rear belt looked to have very slightly rounded teeth - whilst the front looked perfect still. I also noticed a little collection of rubber around the centre bulkhead - so I assume the rear belt might be rubbing slightly tho I've not had time to check it out yet.

I think there are a couple of things going on here.

One is that I think the rear belt will rub a fair bit on the slipper plates if it is a bit slack (I have tightened my rear belt by one notch since the build and it is a lot better now). You can probably see the big black lines all over it.

Two is that I don't totally trust the small bits of screw that stick through the centre bulkhead and into the general area of the belts. I filed my screws down for this very reason.

I also share your general distrust of the kit diff halves. Seem fine on the bench but can then show signs of slipping during the race, will probably have to add some 501X diff halves to my next parts order.

[Toonz]

I don't know about the 501Xwe but I thought the new rims were all the same (smaller) size. The reason the rims were made slightly smaller (not quite 1 mm!) is because they were oversized and illegal at IFMAR races.
If your 501X WE came with larger front wheels then I'm surprised by that - the new wheels are much better - they have a much tighter hex to prevent stripping out

i don't have a 501 but i was comparing it at the shop. both the white and yellow 501 front rims are slightly bigger than the black and white durga front rims. the rear rims are the same. strange to me too.....:eh?:

[Doomanic]

Has anyone got a gear ratio for a Checkpoint Money Motor, outdoors?

[sosidge]

If it is any help I was running a Blue Atlas 19T on a 19 pinion , medium sized indoor tracks. 20 pinion felt overgeared to me.

[Doomanic]

Thanks, it's a starting point.
I stuffed a 20T in there earlier (after waiting at least 30 seconds for a reply:woot:) so I'll see how it goes on Sunday.

[sim]

Toonz,
Did you take part in the TAC qualifier Singapore pre-tune up race? How did you guys get around the 17T pinion problem?

[Toonz]

yes i took part in the pre tune up and there were 4 durga and 3 darkimpact.

2 durga were running at 17t BUT the other 2 were not (you can PM me if you want to know more regarding this point). the DI were geared accordingly to their preference and were fast on the straight! :D

the durgas that were running at 17t were of cos slower than the DI but it has the acceleration at all corners. 17t isn't that bad on a sport tuned in terms of stock class. easy to handle and less likely to crash. oh this bug jumps well!:thumbsup:

[Carlos69]

17th Feb my 1st run was a real d'oh-fest!
Fitted Yeah-racing 501 cvd's, 501 shocks,3-racing towers, modified 501 steering brace, Ti screw set, belt 'tensioners', slipper set, one-way, D4 serrated wheel nuts...

heat one; massive oversteer; lost a rear cv shaft....
---replaced with stock dogbones, stiffened front susp/softened rear susp, replaced oneway with stock diff.

heat two; oversteer less of an issue; rear tie rod screw undid itself (same side).

heat three; finished 3 laps down....slipper felt loose but was tightened almost all the way.

A final: travelled 50m and had no drive to the wheels
Went home.

Found out looking at the slipper exploded diagram that I'd installed the slipper plates back-to-front...."D'oh!" the run had melted a small part of the centre of the spur...I had to rub back the face of one of the slipper plates to get rid of some scoring that occured on fine sandpaper ...I think it'll be ok. Gawd !

[Spoolio]

Today at Worksop my Durga performed very poorly. My 2WD times came down and down and down and down and the Gods were smiling as I won my final. Admittedly it was the bottom one but hey, a win's a win in any language.

My times in 4WD started good and got worse and worse and worse and worse until I gave up on the 2nd lap of the bottom 4WD final. Car was literally undriveable, the rear was constantly trying to swap ends with the front under any power whatsoever which made the corners a bloody nightmare, and the straight bits in between weren't much better. As the track itself was fairly technical I just chucked it in as I couldn't see the point carrying on and dropping further and further behind - I dumped half a lap by the end of lap 1!

Got home and found out the following:

1. Rear diff rings unglued from plastic outdrives.
2. Rear diff overtightened (following earlier failure to diagnose point 1).
3. Rear camber at 0 degrees and 1 degree positive.
4. Front camber at 2 degrees and 3 degrees.
5. Using RPM ball joints as temporary front shock lower mounts is dumb.

I plan over the next week to strip and adjust the diffs now everything is bedding in but right at this very moment, I am loving my RC10 and have shoved the Durga in a corner :(:cry:.

[jimmy]

come over with the car next time mate and I'll sort it out for you. I didn't like the feel of the shocks at all on your car but I'm sure it'll go really well once sorted.
Shame about the rear diff, I had the same thing last week at Batley - ended up putting a 501X diff in the rear (as I told you) but I'll sort the kit one out when I get chance. the rings just broke free of the glue and spun freely on the plastic holder so the diff always slips once that happens.

but yeah, bring it over next time mate and I'll sort er' out! :)

[DCM]

I think I have a little problem with the rear diff and may try and get some 501X rear diff outdrives to cure it.

Otherwise, if the car is built to kit, it should go really well, the only real difference on mine is the shocks.

[Spoolio]

Cheers Jimmy, I'll take you up on the offer at the next round. I'll chip away at it over the next few days anyway to see if I can get it something like at should be - at least then I'll have a decent base setting to work from.

[Blakeyx]

Hi guys

Some of you may have already seen it but I have my Durga up for sale (its in the for sale section) I am selling it for £150 but if anyone from here wants it I will do it for £135, just quote your username.

Not bad, only £5 over the UK price and it is all setup ready for indoor running for the extras that have been put on it see the other thread.

[A.J. Gee]

Do any of you guys know if the 3racing aluminum wing mount for the 501x, will be suitable for the Durga?

[SiR_Dave]

Do any of you guys know if the 3racing aluminum wing mount for the 501x, will be suitable for the Durga?

Yes it fits.. but you have to do a little moding of the rear shock tower:wtf::rolleyes:
Here are the areas you have to mod;) both sides just need a little triming..

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/DOHC_SiR/3racingalloywingmountmodstoDB01towe.jpg

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks for your help Dave, but i guess i failed to mention that i have the 3racing graphite shock towers. So i guess it will fit properly without any modifications to the tower since the area on the tower is flat, unlike the plastic towers.

[DCM]

if you got the 3Racing rear tower, yes.

[A.J. Gee]

Alright, thanks for your help.

[pattux]

I'm thinkinf of buying a Durga together with MambaMax ESC, 5700KV Mamba motor and a 3s Lipo. Yes it will be fast, realy fast. My DX7 TX will do much of the limiting using a mixer. Switching the mixer on or off will enable/disable the limiter during runtime. Nice for the straights ;)

I'm looking at the following Lipo's:
Hyperion CX - 3S 5350mAh, 85.6A Continuous (16-25C)
Weight: 350gr, Size: 29 x 44 x 138 mm

Hyperion CX - 3S 4250mAh, 76.5A Continuous (18-27C)
Weight: 293gr, Size: 22.9 x 44 x 148 mm

I'm unsure if they will fitt inside the Durga. Can anyone measure that up for me?

Thanks for the help.

Pattux

[Carlos69]

Race got scratched today due to some early morning rain (cleared up nice-could have had a good race day:mad: ) Got some practice tho...buggy runs great now...very pleased. I just need to dial in the slipper. Front belt feels tight to touch (without centre cover on)
running 23/91 13.5 B/L
One note:
I would hesitate recommending the Yeah-racing 501x cvd sets...the SS pins don't stay put at all !...I'll try to make the most of them by locktitening them in place and sliding a section of heatshrink over 'em to be sure.
How are the genuine Durga cvd sets holding up ?

[sosidge]

Race got scratched today due to some early morning rain (cleared up nice-could have had a good race day:mad: ) Got some practice tho...buggy runs great now...very pleased. I just need to dial in the slipper. Front belt feels tight to touch (without centre cover on)
running 23/91 13.5 B/L
One note:
I would hesitate recommending the Yeah-racing 501x cvd sets...the SS pins don't stay put at all !...I'll try to make the most of them by locktitening them in place and sliding a section of heatshrink over 'em to be sure.
How are the genuine Durga cvd sets holding up ?

Genuine Durga UJs running mint here. They are exactly the same as the 501X part so you know it is quality.

[DCM]

Race got scratched today due to some early morning rain (cleared up nice-could have had a good race day:mad: ) Got some practice tho...buggy runs great now...very pleased. I just need to dial in the slipper. Front belt feels tight to touch (without centre cover on)
running 23/91 13.5 B/L
One note:
I would hesitate recommending the Yeah-racing 501x cvd sets...the SS pins don't stay put at all !...I'll try to make the most of them by locktitening them in place and sliding a section of heatshrink over 'em to be sure.
How are the genuine Durga cvd sets holding up ?

When you got them, did you strip, clean and build them from out of the packet or just slapped them in the car?

[Spoolio]

Race got scratched today due to some early morning rain (cleared up nice-could have had a good race day:mad: ) Got some practice tho...buggy runs great now...very pleased. I just need to dial in the slipper. Front belt feels tight to touch (without centre cover on)
running 23/91 13.5 B/L
One note:
I would hesitate recommending the Yeah-racing 501x cvd sets...the SS pins don't stay put at all !...I'll try to make the most of them by locktitening them in place and sliding a section of heatshrink over 'em to be sure.
How are the genuine Durga cvd sets holding up ?

I lubed my genuine Hop-Up CVD's with Tamiya Anti-Wear grease and so far they are fine, no discernible wear at all. Highly recommended for what they cost from HK.

[Vin]

The TRF Buggy damper set is available on eBay! Don't no if I'll buy them, the DF03 damper set seems to be okay for now.

[Carlos69]

When you got them, did you strip, clean and build them from out of the packet or just slapped them in the car?

Yes, I put them straight in - after wiping some of the oil off.

[DCM]

When I got mine, I never trust the 'pre-assembled' driveshafts, I stripped, degreased everything, re-assembled with loctite on the grub screw and applied some Tamiya AW grease, no problems so far.

[budgio]

The TRF Buggy damper set is available on eBay! Don't no if I'll buy them, the DF03 damper set seems to be okay for now.


Got a link to these? or ebay item number?

[Vin]

Got a link to these? or ebay item number?

Yeah sure:

http://cgi.ebay.com/OP1029-Tamiya-Buggy-Aeration-Oil-Filled-Damper-Set_W0QQitemZ270215907939QQihZ017QQcategoryZ34063Q QcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

[budgio]

;) Thanks Vin

[Carlos69]

When I got mine, I never trust the 'pre-assembled' driveshafts, I stripped, degreased everything, re-assembled with loctite on the grub screw and applied some Tamiya AW grease, no problems so far.
Sounds like I need to take a leaf out of your book there DCM....

[A.J. Gee]

Im not sure if i can bring myself to buy a $70.00 + pack of dampers. Although they do look pretty sweet, thats still a lot of money. what do some of you guys think?

[budgio]

Im not sure if i can bring myself to buy a $70.00 + pack of dampers. Although they do look pretty sweet, thats still a lot of money. what do some of you guys think?

I think the price will come down when availabilty increases...its the same with anything in demand.

[DCM]

Sounds like I need to take a leaf out of your book there DCM....

lol, never trust anything pre-built not to stay together

[A.J. Gee]

I think the price will come down when availabilty increases...its the same with anything in demand.

I sure hope the price comes down because at this point i really want a set of dampers, but have limited choices. I really dont want to go with the 3racing set. I have some on my keen hawk and it looks like the set that they have for the Durga are the same exact, except maybe for length. I guess i will just have to be patient and wait for the Tamiya ones to drop in price or for another manufacturer to make a quality set. :p

[Spoolio]

I am not holding my breath for the price to come down to be honest, although I am sure the supply will free up pretty quickly. Tamiya stuff tends to remain at the same price seemingly forever - certainly where the kits are concerned. My Durga cost me £73 the week they came out and they are still at that price now, its just the exchange rate that changes to affect the final UK£ price.

Anyhoo, $70 isn't too bad if they are as good as we hope they are (and I guess we won't get a verdict on their effectiveness until someone takes the plunge and reports back). Bear in mind Team Associated charge $80 for their RC10 dampers ($40 each for front and rear pairs) and they don't have springs either.

[biggusditchus]

So far in general Im fairly impressed a major improvement on the latest batch of Tamiya budget buggies.

It seems to handle fairly well although the shocks just dont seem right, cant put my finger on it yet, even thought the springs seem soft no matter what I try with oil it still feels under damped. The geartrain seems to handle the Novak 5800 Super sport Brushless really well but then we come to the diffs, why oh why didnt Tamiya have the diff plates so they key to the outdrives instead of having to glue them.. I have just had to dissassemble it to reglue them, not the best of jobs is it (although have changed the M3 Machine screws on covers with Tamiya Self Tappers should make it easier for next time)

But I have to say the worst part of the buggy has to be the stupidly flexible rear wishbone pin mount/brace, I am fed up of having to scour the track for the little balls and spacers everytime i clip a corner with rear wheel. Roll on 3racing releasing the aluminium versions.

That said I do really like the buggy, and looking forward to thrashing it around Wrexhams indoor track.:thumbsup:

[Carlos69]

How about a petition to 3racing to release the front/rear aluminium suspension mounts ?.....(I can only take so much temptation)

[biggusditchus]

They have them ready for release, picture on their site, just has said coming soon for so long. Emailed them 3 times with no reply!

http://www.3racing.com.hk/x_descriptions.jsp?x_products_key=9481

They also have front mounts listed as "coming"

Desperately needed to now, after the fun evening racing at Wrexham I ripped a front mount apart too.

[A.J. Gee]

Are graphite shock towers, such as the 3racing front tower that i have on my Durga supposed to be made of a soft flimsy material in the middle?

[budgio]

I got a reply from 3 RACING about the front/rear mounts
.....................
Dear Budgio
We are sorry that we haven't the estimated available day at this moment.

Thank you!

Best Regards,
Ethel
.......................

[Spoolio]

Ethel :confused:

What sort of traditional Oriental name is that?

[Carlos69]

C'mon Ethel ! put down the cup of Earl Grey, lay off the scones'n jam ....and give a yell to the lads downstairs to crank out those susp mounts !!

[biggusditchus]

Ethel replied to me this morning and said within 2 days :thumbsup:

[Spoolio]

Ethel replied to me this morning and said within 2 days :thumbsup:


Woo-hoo :thumbsup: gonna get me some.

[andy_n]

hiya does any one know where you can get the little ball bits from that go on the end of the hinge pins on the arms ?
cheers
ANdy

[budgio]

these?
http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=TAMIYA+50994+5MM+SUSPENSION+BALLS+&um=1&ie=UTF-8

[Spoolio]

hiya does any one know where you can get the little ball bits from that go on the end of the hinge pins on the arms ?
cheers
ANdy

Hi, see page 36, post #719 for all the info on part numbers. I got a skipful of these from HK. As the standard ones saved less than a dollar a pack, I treated myself to the flourine coated ones instead - not that I've noticed any improvement. But then again I'm still running the plastic shocks. Its worth getting the alloy spacer pack to replace the plastic collars, and a few packs of shims too in case you ever pop off a front arm.

[Carlos69]

C'mon Ethel ! put down the cup of Earl Grey, lay off the scones'n jam ....and give a yell to the lads downstairs to crank out those susp mounts !!

Ethel replied to me this morning and said within 2 days :thumbsup:

Nice to know she reads this forum :lol:

[A.J. Gee]

Are graphite shock towers, such as the 3racing front tower that i have on my Durga supposed to be made of a soft flimsy material in the middle?




Bump Bump

[Carlos69]

Bump Bump
No. There are 2 peices of machined carbon fibre laminate- both rigid with little or no give.

This just in; (on the 3racing site)
Front and rear aluminium suspension mounts ...yay !

[budgio]

DB-01 front and rear alloy mounts now available at stella :thumbsup:

[jasonrcb]

mine were waiting for me when i got home from work today :lol:

[biggusditchus]

£15.67 including postage from HK to UK for both front and rear cant complain at that. They are heading my way :thumbsup:

[Spoolio]

Mine too :thumbsup:. Notice Stella only had 3 left before I bought mine.

Wonder if we'll now be busting wishbones, hinge pins and chassis instead now, gulp! Good job I've bought a spares car for emergencies :D.

[budgio]

mine were waiting for me when i got home from work today :lol:

Nice one Jason....Now thats fast postage :D

[Vin]

I agree the stock suspension mounts are crappy and tend to break to easily. However when crashing the energy has to go somewhere... When you crash now the (cheap) suspension mounts break. However with all those nice alu 3racing hop ups won't that result in breakage of the (more expensive en rarer) chassis?:confused::confused:

[DCM]

I don't think the chassis will go, I think the wishbone or hug will go or the suspension pin bends.

[gordy]

Stella haven't got any left now - I just bought the last two sets of each!
At the end of the day if the stock mounts are as bad a people say - you've got to do something about it.
I do agree the load is going to go somewhere else - time will tell where!

Is a spare chassis that hard to come by?

[DCM]

I am surprised KMRC or 3Racing hasn't started to look at a chassis.

The stock mounts aren't that bad, up for the dask of gentle running but no more hard racing really.

[Spoolio]

Spare chassis are freely available at $14 each which is a bargain - you'll pay that much for a B44 front shock tower. That translates to a UK price of about a tenner from Stella, compared to a UK price of £13 for a B44 shock tower.

I agree that it is unlikely the shock will go through the A2 part. Its far more likely that the arm will split which may bend the hinge pin, or the hub will let go. Either way we are now on a level playing field and are no worse off than the rest of the racing fraternity with "proper" (their words) cars.

[Toonz]

just had my TAC round 1 last weekend racing my durga and i only manage to race 3 rounds instead of all 6 rounds simply because of the weak suspension mounts!

came out twice at the rear and once in front and that caused me to step out of the track 3 times! i must say that this is really really frustrating!

i hope that tamiya will make alu version to replace the plastic ones as we must use all tamiya parts in the TAC.:mad:

[DCM]

Tamiya will do one, eventually, just wish they would pick up the pace!

[Spoolio]

Have got some Hop-Up dampers on the way from Champ so I'll soon see if they are any good - I'm not holding my breath by the way but they've got to be better than the kit ones surely.

[biggusditchus]

I am picking up some Ansmann dampers tonight for £7.99 a pair, come in a couple of different lengths.. cant be any worse than the cva's on Durga (CVA's on any other Tamiya feel fine, whats with the Durga ones?)

[jimmy]

Have got some Hop-Up dampers on the way from Champ so I'll soon see if they are any good - I'm not holding my breath by the way but they've got to be better than the kit ones surely.


Are you talking about the 501X dampers they just released for the Durga? If so why are you unsure about their performance? They're the best you can possibly get.

The kit dampers have crap pistons - and with such a good handling chassis it's bound to show up the weak shocks. I found the gorgeous DF03 alloy shocks to be no better than these plastic shocks purely because of the poor pistons included with them. I since changed the shafts and pistons to 501X items and they perform well now.

[DCM]

I think it all depends one whether they come with the 501X pistons or if they come with the pistons from the DF03 hopup shocks Jim.

[jimmy]

that would of course be lunacy! :lol: I've been told they are pure 501X shocks so I assume they're ace.

[Northy]

But would be better with white o-rings :thumbsup:

G

[DCM]

if they are 501X shocks and pistons, with Nortech o-rings, they will indeed be sweeter than honey!!

[jimmy]

I wasn't sure about the whities when I was installing them, and putting the shaft thru (lol) for the first time there was very little resistance - I thought they were so smooth that oil would be leaking like a crazy mamma.
but no!
I did all 12 of my 501X shocks (12, yep) with the whities, and they're ace :) complete bargain as well

[DCM]

oooh, do I get a bonus for plugging Nortech roflol

[Chris Ward]

Well my TRF 'Aeration' shocks turned up from the land of the Rising sun yesterday and they look good. Instructions that came with them seem to be the same as the ones in the TRF501X manual, but as I don't have a TRF I can't be 100% on them being the same components. I'll try to take some pics and put them up tonight, won't be putting them together until the weekend though as i'm still waiting for more parts. They do have some snazzy looking gold shock shafts though!

Chris

FYI - My shocks came with 'red' springs and soft oil, and the instructions do state these can be used on the DT02 aswell, so I'm guessing the kit suggested settings might be a bit of middle ground so they work on all the different chassis.

[jimmy]

The red springs are the soft ones, the 501X comes with yellow 'medium' springs. Even the blue 'hard' springs aren't that hard, I think AE blue fronts are a little harder. The reds will be a bit soft I think over here. I normally use ae silver on the rear and blue on the front

[Vin]

According to TamiyaUSA the buggy damper set features titanium-coated piston rods, these aren't on the stock TRF501X are they?

[jimmy]

no, the worlds edition car they are though.

[Spoolio]

Aww, now you lot have gone and got me all excited and I am really looking forward to them coming now. Sorry to sound so pessimistic earlier but I've learnt not to get excited by "unknown" parts - and I'm desperately trying to be a "glass half full" person. At the moment, i'm more of a "which b*****d knicked my half-empty glass" person :lol:.

[A.J. Gee]

I just ordered the front and rear aluminum suspension mounts, 501x aluminum wing mount, aluminum servo mount, a fresh set of front and rear white wheels, and a spare 91T spur gear. Im very happy with my purchase from Stella models that came to only $66.00 with shipping. You cant beat their prices. If i had made the same purchase from some hobby shop here in the states, it would have come to around $100.00 for sure. The reason i was able to make this purchase was because i just sold my Tamiya Manta Ray re-release for $55.00 to some guy off of Rcuniverse.:thumbsup:

[Spoolio]

Are you talking about the 501X dampers they just released for the Durga? If so why are you unsure about their performance? They're the best you can possibly get.

Oops, didn't realise this - I just ordered them 'blind' from Champ purely because they actually had some in stock. Can't wait now, am hoping they turn up before the weekend.

[A.J. Gee]

How in the world do you guys ever order anything from Rcchamp? Everything is in Japanese. I cant ever find any of their products.

[Spoolio]

How in the world do you guys ever order anything from Rcchamp? Everything is in Japanese. I cant ever find any of their products.

Easy-peezy, we are all fluent in Japanese. Only joking :D, although I once watched every episode of "Shogun" back in the 80's!

I think everybody just sends a simple email to them listing the part number, item description and quantity required and it just flows from there. However, I have to agree that their website is a bit intimidating - I've never actually found anything on it, so I just go onto RC Model HK or similar to get the part numbers etc. It's cheating but it works.

Having said that, I've just tracked my parcel and although it got to the UK on the 11th (sent from Japan on the 10th) which is bloody good, it is now at "Heathrow Awaiting Customs Charges". Bugger! Thats the first time I've been pulled up, so I s'pose I shouldn't really complain, but it is a pain especially since everything I've ever bought from Stella has never been stopped. I bet I won't get my stuff until after the next Worksop meet now :mad:.

[TRF_AK]

that would of course be lunacy! :lol: I've been told they are pure 501X shocks so I assume they're ace.
The new Buggy Dampers are the same on as are found in the 501x Worlds kit simply packaged together so people can get the best dampers Tamiya has without having to buy them one piece at a time.

[Spoolio]

Now I'm even more pee'd off that my stuff is stuck in Customs. Its not the money I'm bothered about. I'm quite happy to be duffed up by the government for more tax - after all if I have some money spare it's only fair that I give it all to them (!). It's the inevitable and (if posts on this and other forums are to be believed) unpredictable delay that's got me steamed.

[DCM]

I have found RC Champ to be slower these days than rcmart, and always pay EMS, it dodges customs some how...

[Spoolio]

Hmmm. Not sure about that to be honest, I paid EMS and have to say that as I placed the order on the 9th and the package arrived in the UK on the 11th I think that is absolutely fantastic, so a big :thumbsup: to Champ for their service. I don't really see how it could be done quicker. I posted a first class letter from Worksop to Sheffield by Royal Fail (16 miles and same district main sorting office) on Monday and it still hadn't got there by this morning so to get half way round the world in the same time is pretty amazing really. I guess I am just unlucky that I've been pulled for a Customs check this time. Still, life goes on, ho-hum and all that.

[DCM]

I think the difference between the likes of RC Champ and RCMart, is the value on the box, I was most dissapointed the last time I used Champ and unless I am really desperate I won't use em again.

[Spoolio]

I'll just have to wait and see what VATable value they've put on it when I get the letter from Parcelfarce. Thats one of the things that pees me off. They never bring the parcel out with them, they just send you a letter, you pay them and they arrange delivery for 48hrs later but - and this is the killer - they won't deliver to a re-routed address. For example I had a parcel delivered for a mate to my address from the states. It attracted a charge which we expected as Towerhobbies always state the true value on the label and this was $200. The letter came to say he owed £29 incl the ridiculous £8 charge. It was paid over the phone. We asked could it be re-delivered to his house seeing as it was now coming when we were on going to be on holiday. No they say, so I either had to drive a 32 mile round trip to fetch it OR we wait 2 weeks for a redelivery. WTF??

[gargadud]

Here is our Durga fitted with the "famous" TRF501 shocks (with low friction piston), that work quite well and help the car copping with the power delivered by the Nosram Storm 5.5 (selection based on the fantastic review done by Jimmy :thumbsup:).

Now we will have to work on the springs, the one fitted being slightly too soft.

No breakdown so far, but ...

[jimmy]

Where are ya racing it? The tamiya blue front and yellow rear 501X springs might be a good start. I tend to use AE springs usually since they're easier to find.

[gargadud]

in Switzerland near Geneva.

Thanks for the advice reg the springs. We have a quite good Tamiya shop with almost all the pieces available, will try there.

and thanks as well for this great web site, tremendously helpful :thumbsup:

[Spoolio]

Just rung Parcelfarts, I've been charged £19.02 VAT + £8 fee which means Champ put a value on a Durga and Hop-Up shocks equivalent to £108.68. Can't really complain about the prices which I've guestimated at £73 for the kit and £35.68 for the dampers (they were $65 plus P+P on Jasons Store's ebay site), I just wished they'd done what everybody else seems to do and put "Toy Car Part $25" on the label!!!! In theory it should arrive at the Nottingham Farce depot tomorrow and thankfully they are open until 7pm so I'll have a nice 60 mile round trip to collect it tomorrow night. Deep joy :thumbdown:.

[budgio]

Received mine today from jr-rc & worked out at £36.86 delivered in 10 days from Japan.
:thumbsup:
Hopefully be testing sunday at Coventry.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t98/budgio/P2230063.jpg

[Spoolio]

Do the new shocks still use the pop-on knuckle joint system or are M3 machine screws included for a "proper" fitting?

[Doomanic]

When I ran 501 shocks on Shorty's Durga there was too much rear droop and the driveshafts popped out a couple of times. This damages the outdrives and gets progressively worse.:thumbdown:
I compared the droop to my X-5 and there was about 5mm more so I put two 0.060" spacers (Losi wheelbase spacers) in each shock. Much better.:thumbsup:

Budgio, for Cov try Associated 40wt front and 30wt rear.

[jimmy]

I think you can change the ball cup at the bottom of the shock for a durga kit one (either off the old shocks or on the sprue I can't remember) which will limit the shocks enough - apparently. Peter Moss has an excellent Durga with loads of love put into it - and I don't think he has much or any limiters in the shocks.
I raced the car without limiters in no problems at all - but I do have limiters in there now mainly for setup rather than to stop the drive shafts popping out. Are you using the kit driveshafts Dom?

[Doomanic]

Are you using the kit driveshafts Dom?

Now you mention it, no, I think they are 501 CVD's. You'd need to ask Shorty's sponsor (Team Cobblers) of the exact spec of the car.

[DCM]

the CVD's are slightly shorter, I noticed the same issue's as you Dom, when I put the CVD's and 501X shocks, I had the 3Racing rear tower, som made a new upper peice and raised it 5mm and it cured it, handled fab too!!

[budgio]

Do the new shocks still use the pop-on knuckle joint system or are M3 machine screws included for a "proper" fitting?
m3 screws are supplied in the kit,

Just waiting on my F&R alloy braces from stella then i,m all set.

[A.J. Gee]

Hey guys. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice for the best way to clean gears. (plastic) Its actually for my DF-03 that i am doing some maintenance on at the moment. It seems that i have a buildup of lithium grease gunked a bit in the rear Diff. Thanks guys.:D

[jimmy]

lighter fluid or motor spray and a tooth brush? that or good ole soapy water :D

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks a lot Jimmy.

[DCM]

Hey guys. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice for the best way to clean gears. (plastic) Its actually for my DF-03 that i am doing some maintenance on at the moment. It seems that i have a buildup of lithium grease gunked a bit in the rear Diff. Thanks guys.:D

you can remove the bearings and soak em in hot water and washing up liquid to loosen it up, then motorspray after to remove residue.

Greasing up, it only needs a light amount of diff grease on each gear, to much and it gets impacted in the bottom of the teeth and flung around the gear case.

[A.J. Gee]

I appreciate the advice. When you say "washing up liquid" , do you mean like a liquid detergent that you would use to wash dishes?

[DCM]

yeah, thats the stuff, the stuff you put in the water to wash dishes!

[A.J. Gee]

Yeah thats what i soaked the gears in with extremely hot water. For the bearings i used some good old motor spray. Both worked very well. It felt good doing an entire strip down of my keen hawk last night, making sure everything was still in working order and then de greasing and re gearsing all the gears. I must say though, after owning a belt drive (Durga), i dont think i can ever go back to running shaft drive. Belt drive is smooth like butter and me likey a lot. Do you guys know for sure if the new schumacher buggy is gonna be belt driven?

[mes]

The CAT SX will feature three belts afaik.

[A.J. Gee]

And if i recall, the losi xx4 is the only other competition buggy that features 3 belts?

[A.J. Gee]

Have any of you guys used ceramic balls for the Durgas Diff? And if so, does it make a difference?

[budgio]

the CVD's are slightly shorter, I noticed the same issue's as you Dom, when I put the CVD's and 501X shocks, I had the 3Racing rear tower, som made a new upper peice and raised it 5mm and it cured it, handled fab too!!
The Tamiya hop up cvd,s are giving me the same problem (when using the 3 racing rear tower)gone back to the dogbones for now.When you said you made a new upper piece what did you do ? Thanks in advance :D

[sosidge]

The Tamiya hop up cvd,s are giving me the same problem (when using the 3 racing rear tower)gone back to the dogbones for now.When you said you made a new upper piece what did you do ? Thanks in advance :D

I had some carbon towers custom made with the shock mountings 4mm higher up, I can sell them for £30 the pair, PM me if anyone is interested, they have never been used, I just don't think I am going to need them, quite happy with the kit parts at the end of the day.

[Spoolio]

Yippee, all my shiny new bits are now safely in the garage, 3racing front and rear hinge pin mounts, #54028 Hop-Up dampers as well as some spare belts and slipper pads. Oh yeah, and a complete spare car just to be safe.

This may sound extravagant but I've still got loads of change from what I would have spent on one B44.

Now then, any recommendations to what weight oil to put in my lovely new dampers? I think I will run the blue and silver Team Associated springs as I've got some spare ones in the pit box.

Really looking forward to Worksop next weekend now.

[DCM]

carpet, I run 40wt front and 35wt in the rear, go down 5wt all round for outdoors.

[A.J. Gee]

Have any of you guys used ceramic balls for the Durgas Diff? And if so, does it make a difference?



Bump ity bump

[jimmy]

I've been running the kit balls and though ceramic balls are a nice upgrade, I don't think its as important as it was on the original 501X - these larger diameter diffs with more balls don't put as much strain on each ball. (!) also the sealed drivetrain helps.

[Spoolio]

carpet, I run 40wt front and 35wt in the rear, go down 5wt all round for outdoors.

Thanks, which pistons for indoor racing? There is a choice of No3 (1.3mm) or No4 (1.4mm) in the damper kit.

[DCM]

try the 1.3mm in the front and 1.4mm in the rear, if it feels a little stiff and uncomplying, try the 1.4mm in the front, thats what I use, but it does like to pivot on the front then, which I like.q

[A.J. Gee]

Does anybody know where i can get the TRF DB-01 buggy dampers 54028?

[Spoolio]

Does anybody know where i can get the TRF DB-01 buggy dampers 54028?

Got mine from RC Champ as per their email to me below:

"54028 Tamiya TRF Aeration Buggy Dampers Quantity 1 Discount price 5733Yen"

Ordered on 9th, got to UK by 11th. Only prob was that as I'd ordered another Durga kit too, I got stiffed for customs charges, but I would guess that a set of dampers on their own would not be valuable enough to warrant any charge.

[A.J. Gee]

Got mine from RC Champ as per their email to me below:

"54028 Tamiya TRF Aeration Buggy Dampers Quantity 1 Discount price 5733Yen"

Ordered on 9th, got to UK by 11th. Only prob was that as I'd ordered another Durga kit too, I got stiffed for customs charges, but I would guess that a set of dampers on their own would not be valuable enough to warrant any charge.

Thanks you for you response. Are you happy overall with the quality and performance of the new dampers? I would like to know before i order mine. Oh yeah, i also sent RC champ an emails yesterday, but still have not gotten a response.

[Spoolio]

Yes, they took a little over 24 hours to respond to my email too, but after that they were very quick. If I had been bothered to refer back to an earlier post or the TamiyaUSA site for part numbers I would have asked them if they had any of the new carbon reinforced parts in stock too. Maybe next time.

I don't know how good the dampers are in action as unfortunately I've not had time to build them up yet, but the quality of the bits seems very good. I think they were worth the asking price anyway (bear in mind a set of 4 Associated shocks will cost $80 from the States).

I will know how well they perform after I race it this coming Sunday. If they are as good as the plastic CVA's are bad I will be very happy.

[Spoolio]

Quick question to anyone who has knocked up the Hop-Up dampers, do I need to put o-rings under the pistons to limit droop? I am running standard kit shock mounts. I know that droop is an issue when these shocks are used in conjunction on the 3racing towers but are standard ones OK?:confused:

[DCM]

you would need to dry assemble, my rears were to long with the 3Racing towers, but if these are DB-01 specific, they may be ok.

[Spoolio]

you would need to dry assemble, my rears were to long with the 3Racing towers, but if these are DB-01 specific, they may be ok.

For anybody else who has a set of 54028 Hop-Up Aeration Dampers, I can confirm that when used with a standard shock tower and kit shock positions (3rd hold in on the top, middle hole bottom) and - crucially - Tamiya CVD's, the driveshaft only stays in the gearbox outdrive by a tiny amounts. Nowhere near enough to be safe anyway. I have therefore put 2 x 1mm o-rings under the pistons to limit droop and this is much better.

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks for the advice MR. Spoolio. Hey, do you think we could get a pic of your buggy with the new dampers on?

[Spoolio]

Thanks for the advice MR. Spoolio. Hey, do you think we could get a pic of your buggy with the new dampers on?

Sure, here they are in no particular order, front end with fixings, rear end and close-up on the outdrive at maximum droop (with 2 x 1mm O-rings to limit travel). Final shot is showing ride height with threaded spring collars right at the top of the shock bodies ie, no preload at all. I like my car with a fair bit of understeer to make it more stable and ran it today with Associated blue front springs (hardest) and Associated black rears which are the softest I had. However, as you can see, running a Core-RC 3250mah lipo pack which only weighs 200g, even on the softest springs I cannot get the CVD bones level. All the plastic fittings in the damper kit appears to be a reinforced composite material similar to my RC10 and the rod ends in particular are infinately superior to the soft plastic kit offerings and for this alone I'd invest in the damper set.

How did I do today with these bling new bits? Terrible, but that is 100% a reflection on my driving (non)skills than the car which was a night and day improvement on last time with plastic CVA dampers. It felt every bit as good as my RC10 B4, and just glided over the bumps. Whereas last time it was bucking all over - to the extent I had to back off and coast over the ripples - this time I kept my thumb in and it just went over with no fuss. Much more predictable in fast corners too. Running bald minipins for the final is perhaps not such a good idea though.

My verdict is that these dampers are excellent and other than the slipper are the best hop-ups I've put on the car.

For those of you considering these dampers I would recommend you source four 3x12 (lower fitting) and four 3x18 (upper fitting) cap headed machine screws to replace the crossheads supplied in the damper kit. The rear lower screw is a total bitch to remove -to change the springs - as the chassis gets in the way of the screwdriver handle. Today I started on Associated silver springs, changed to Tamiya white and reds, then Associated greens and finally blacks so as you can imagine I was pretty fed up with taking that particular screw on and off. The head now looks a little er, used to say the least so I will be getting some proper hex screws before the next meeting.

[DCM]

I found the rear ride height to high and limiting the shocks just compressed the springs too thats why I went for a taller shock tower...

[Spoolio]

I think I can live with it as it is though, at least getting a spare kit tower is easy and cheap if I leave it standard.

Just a note to anyone buying these dampers - check the packaging before you throw it away. I spent 10 minutes panicking that Tamiya had left out the 10 4mm x 0.1mm shims for the seal assembly, then found them taped to the back of the main cardboard liner that holds the shock bodies and springs. Everything else was in loose bags though. Weird.

[Carlos69]

3racing Blue alloy motor mounts are now up on Stella....it looks purdy !:wub

[bender]

What is the quality like of 3-racing parts nowadays?

I just bought the alloy suspension mounts and shock towers, hope they are ok.

[DCM]

their own design stuff is good, but if you buy stuff like steering, they machine in the same slop as the plastic parts grrrr

[Spoolio]

What is the quality like of 3-racing parts nowadays?

I just bought the alloy suspension mounts and shock towers, hope they are ok.

Picture this. A main straight with a 180 degree hairpin to bring you back down the track. As you exit the hairpin you go 3 metres or so then there is a small ramp. Got it. OK, now imagine barrelling up the straight at full speed then snagging your right front wheel under that ramp. Thats what I did yesterday. I know this would have popped the arms out before I put the alloy hingepin mounts on 'cos I've done it twice before. This time it was no problem at all. Having said that I really must try to stop crashing like that :lol:

[DCM]

heehee, I found the car quite robust, just the plastic on the hanger parts just a little springy (like on the TA05 hanger parts) once replaced with alloy, no problems what so ever.

[TRF_AK]

For those of you who have installed the TRF Buggy Dampers (item 54028), what did you do to lower the ride height of the chassis? I built the dampers as per the instructions and the rear ride height is insane! The thing looks like a monster truck and not a buggy.

Also, what shock oil are people putting in the dampers for a typical outdoors offroad track(if there is such a thing)? I really dont have a base to go off of. Are you setting the dampers up similar to the 501x or something different?

[Spoolio]

Quick fix to lower the car is to put O-rings under the pistons to restrict the down-travel on the dampers, but this then has the side effect of reducing the amount of travel available on the suspension. The proper solution would be to manufacture some shock towers that position the dampers a few mm higher. I am at a loss to understand why Tamiya didn't think of this themselves, unless they are going to release a Hop-Up part to correct it = more money for them.

As recommended by other users, I run 40wt front / 35wt rear racing indoors. Outdoors, drop 5wt off each of these. However, I am using Associated springs rather than the white (with red dot) Tamiya ones that come with the damper kit as I found the Tamiya ones to be a little too stiff on the rear and not stiff enough on the front for my liking.

[A.J. Gee]

Hey thanks for the pics spoolio. They do look sweet. I am sad to say, and i dont really like saying this, but i think i am gonna have to go with the 3racing dampers. Since i dont race because i dont have a track near me(Go figure living in the state with the 3rd most dense population there is not a track near me.) So since i just bash for now i am gonna go with the cheaper alternative as far as the dampers are concerned. I was looking at set and it does not look like i would be able to mount the dampers on the 3racing shock towers.

[Chris Ward]

Tamiya Slave, I've got the TRF shocks on the 3racing towers and I didn't have any problems mounting them. I do agree with what someone said earlier in this thread, that they are alot longer than the stock dampers, and I also notice from comparing the instructions with the TRF501X that the pistons are 4mm or 5mm longer all round.

I'll charge my camera up and take some pics.

Chris

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks a lot chris. I would really be interested in seeing the pics.

[Chris Ward]

Ok, hopefully this should work, took a few pics, you can see them in here:

http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g168/Wardylock/Durga/

Chris

[A.J. Gee]

Looking good in the pics you posted. Does Tamiya supply hardware to mount the dampers to the 3racing shock towers. And please tell me your going to swap out that wimpy stock motor, for something with some balls.

[sim]

Tamiya Slave,
I've run 3Racing dampers on my DF-03 before and I sold them off. The shocks themselves worked well but were of a bigger diameter than most 1/10 scale shocks so I couldn't find springs for them. The 3Racing springs (black) were too stiff for racing use. Only thing I found that fit were Losi springs but they would need cutting down, and even then, they weren't a perfect fit (Losi springs are even bigger diameter, slightly).

I can't say I've seen the 3Racing DB-01 shocks, but my guess is they are the same diameter as their DF-03 ones.

My DF-03 is running the stock plastic shocks (same as the ones on the DB-01) but with the 2-hole pistons instead of the 3-hole recommended in the manual, plus gold springs from the Tamiya spring kit (for DF-03). Not spectacular, but not too shabby neither. Oh, tamiya #400 yellow oil in them at the moment.

[Chris Ward]

Hi Tamiya Slave,
All the parts I used to mount the dampers came in the box with the damper kit (X parts tree IIRC), there are no 3Racing parts, aside from the tower itself.
Yes don't worry about the motor, it's only in there to check I've got everything built up right and for me to have a gentle run in, not raced for 8 or 9 years, so would prefer to play myself back in with something nice and slow. I already have a Peak Vantage 12 x 2 sitting in a box next to the car though...;)

Chris

[bod405]

apart from champ does anyone know were i can get the trf/db01 damper kit from i had a look and still no joy

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks again Chris. Hey Bod, im not really sure right now if there are any other places that you can get the dampers. I have looked myself and only found them at the same places that you mentioned.

[A.J. Gee]

Well today i finally took the plunge and went Lipo. I ordered myself the Orion 3600 carbon edition for $90.00 which i guess is about 45 pounds. I am pretty happy that i found such a quality lipo for that price, since i am working on a tight budget as usual. If anyone else is interested in checking out these packs on the site i ordered, it is stormerhobbies.com I guarantee you that you will not find these packs as cheap as they sell them. My next step is to get a Lipo capable charger. I was wondering if any of you guys had a recomendation on a quality charger for the best price. Thanks guys. A.J.

[Metla]

I got this one,

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=52_53&products_id=12897&pname=APEX%20-%20(LI)%20DC/AC%206.5A,%20Fan%20Li-Ion,%20Li-Poly%20Batt.%20Charger (http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=52_53&products_id=12897&pname=APEX%20-%20%28LI%29%20DC/AC%206.5A,%20Fan%20Li-Ion,%20Li-Poly%20Batt.%20Charger)


Due to it having its own switching power supply, Meaning it was compatible with NZ outlets, as well as running off a car battery.

My next choice would have been at least 3 to 4 times the price when coupled with a power-supply.

I have always been impressed with Apex chargers, My nicd,nimh charger has been doing its job for about 5 years,still going strong.

Bear in mind I don't know what's currently good value on the UK market.

[A.J. Gee]

How long have you owned that charger for Melta, and have you had any problems with it yet? I was looking into maybe getting the hyperion EOS 5i. Do you or anybody have experience with this brand of chargers?