TRF502X ALi steering bridge, drag link

[Jamie.T]

Ive been working on an Ali version of this part for a while as the standard plastic version was sloppy and weak.

The ballstud's also sit approx 5-6mm further forward to gain more initial steering, and are spaced apart 5mm more which means you dont need to dremel your gearbox for clearance.

The part can however be fitted the normal way round as per the kit item.

I currently have 2 machined up, but they take approx 3.5 hours to make meaning they would be expensive at around £30.

I have a few engineering shops who are currently looking over the drawings and hopefully we can get a small batch made up and retail out for around £20.

Just wondering how much interest there would be if we had a few made up?

This picture shows Mk.1 with ballstud's the normal way round with 1mm washers, but the link can be flipped with the ballstud's reversed to gain more steering.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/DSCF2368_2.jpg

[nobby]

looks great let me know when you have final price and availablity:thumbsup:

[Shifta]

looks great let me know when you have final price and availablity:thumbsup:

+1

You could go 1 step forther and make a complete steering set up.. That would be ace :D

[Chris]

Does it come in blue?

[Jamie.T]

Im currently trying to get a quote on having a few anodised in a matching blue, but no company can guarantee it will be the same blue as the Tamiya stuff is top notch.

Anyone interested in having one made from brass? This would be much easier to machine and come in a nice finish too.

[nobby]

any idea what weight it would be in brass? and what would the cost be?

cheers

[Jamie.T]

Id have no real idea on weight, but i can confirm that tomorrow as ive almost finished making a brass one today.

Once i work out how long it takes to make, i can give a more accurate price, but at this stage id hazard a guess at £25 ish.

[sime46]

I'll take one please Jamie. Let me know as soon as you have one. I'll paypal straight away mate. This is better than hitting it with the dremel. Mine steers reasonably well in standard trim.

[Jamie.T]

I'll take one please Jamie. Let me know as soon as you have one. I'll paypal straight away mate. This is better than hitting it with the dremel. Mine steers reasonably well in standard trim.

In brass or aluminum Sime46?

I should be able to make the brass ones in-house, but the Alu ones take waaaaay to long so im looking to out-source those, so they're going to take a bit longer before their in stock.

[Jamie.T]

Some images of the part fitted in reverse to gain more lock on outside wheel. Notice the angle of the steering linkages at neutral position.

The ballstuds and ballcups come to within 0.1mm of the gearbox which means no dremeling necessary :thumbsup:

The part can also be fitted the correct way round if you wanted to.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/2a1cbc72.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/e6476dd5.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/dae17cd7.jpg

[sime46]

Brass would be fine dude. Let me know. :D

[Crazy L]

I should be able to make the brass ones in-house, but the Alu ones take waaaaay too long

Funny question, how does ali take longer to machine than brass? Plus brass makes the coolant go all manky. Both are fairly soft. shouldn't be much in it tbh. Random question I know :)

[Jamie.T]

Funny question, how does ali take longer to machine than brass? Plus brass makes the coolant go all manky. Both are fairly soft. shouldn't be much in it tbh. Random question I know :)

Our milling machine doesn't have a coolant function, only the bigger machines have that, and big machines are no good for making small parts.

The reason it takes longer is that aluminum is so much softer than brass and tends to clog the milling bit up whereas brass tends to cut and throw its cuttings away instead of wrapping around the bit. Cleaning the bit off every few minutes adds a lot of time on to the machining process.

If we did have a coolant function it would keep the aluminum much cooler so that it wouldn't melt around the bit. But to add a coolant function to our machine would be very expensive and probably incur a 20-30% rise in our parts.

We have now got a good deal with an engineering company and they will be making the first batch of the steering bridges for us. We should see delivery in approx 2 weeks.

Hope this helps.

[Crazy L]

Our milling machine doesn't have a coolant function

That 1st sentence was all the explanation I needed. Ta :thumbsup:

And yes, brass has a chip form, whereas hot ali just melts, regardless of whether HSS or carbide.

You can pick up Interacts quite cheap now though I think, they have coolant:thumbsup:. lol.

Nice machining though, how many ops? 3? Longhand or cad?

too many questions.

[Jamie.T]

Yes, just 3 ops. Maybe next year we can invest in further tooling or possibly convert our machine to CAD controlled. But its a big expense and not sure if it would justify the use as time is our biggest limiting factor at the moment with running the TRF shop.

[DaveG28]

Guys,

Ran one of Jamie's prototype links on my 502 today at Maritime. I used in the "forward" position as per Jamie's pics above. Goes on easily, reduces the slop compared to the standard part and as Jamie says is just the right shape to mean on full lock you just clear the gearbox case!

This definitely helps the lock on the outer wheel, plenty of hairpins and tight corners at Maritime today and for the first time since I've run the 502 I had plenty of steering on those tighter turns, helps me recover the line when my turn in isn't so precise as well!

Overall, it's well made even as the proto, and I'll definitely be buying one of the production ones as soon as they are available, it's a valuable tuning aid as far as I'm concerned!

Cheers for lending me the part Jamie :thumbsup:

[Jamie.T]

Thanks Dave for testing the part out for us yesterday, just a shame i couldn't have been there myself. I did however manage to get myself to our local club and tested it in the forward position also. Just like Dave, i found a BIG difference through the tighter sections and the car recovered better out of corners too.

We should see these in stock in approx 2-3 weeks and will be on the website as soon as they arrive.

Thanks again to Dave for testing, and also to Griff for being the courier boy.lol

[Jamie.T]

Ok guys, we now have our first batch of aluminum steering links in stock. I ran one today of the new batch just to test and it worked perfectly.

Available to order through our website at just £21.99. http://www.jtmodels.co.uk/prestashop/product.php?id_product=103

http://www.oople.com/forums/[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/502x_drag_link2.jpghttp://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x43/fgsuperstore/502x_drag_link2.jpg

[msxmre]

Jamie this is maybe a stupid question but can your bridge be flipped to run Lees revised steering set up m8??? I don't think it can but thought i'd ask you.
Scotty....

[Jamie.T]

Hi Scotty, the part can be run in both directions to give normal steering as well as the extra amount.

Only a few left now from the first batch of 15.

[DaveG28]

Jamie this is maybe a stupid question but can your bridge be flipped to run Lees revised steering set up m8??? I don't think it can but thought i'd ask you.
Scotty....

Hi Scotty, I've been runnin the proto in Lee's configuration (I assume you mean with the bridge flipped to push the ballstud forward?), it fits perfectly this way round!:thumbsup:

I'd definitely recommend it, as though I haven't seen a kit one fail there yet I think there's a risk of the standard part snapping around the ballstud once you dremel away bits of it, this part is precut to the right size and metal!

[rc10fan]

so do you still need to modify the the front diff box like in lees set-up? or can you just flip this alloy link around the other way?

[Jamie.T]

Our part has been designed to work in both positions without the need for any dremeling. We moved the ballstuds out just a couple of mm's so that it clears the gearbox casings with no fouling.

Just to clarify it can be used in both positions (Ballstud normal and forward) for normal or increased steering.

[rc10fan]

top man cheers jamie. so my next question why the hell was it not blue LOL:p

[Jamie.T]

Anodizing is something we looked into, but it was very costly especially for a small batch. It would have seen the price go from £21.99 to approx £26.99 which i didnt really think was worth it.

You could always spray paint them MG trophy blue, its close.lol

[rc10fan]

im stupid and money burns holes in my pockets lol i would have paid it lol no i see where your coming from. i just like the blue lol makes no difference to the driving ability but looks sooo nice.:drool:

[msxmre]

Thanx Dave, looks like i'll be ordering 1 then.
Scotty....

[Shifta]

im stupid and money burns holes in my pockets lol i would have paid it lol no i see where your coming from. i just like the blue lol makes no difference to the driving ability but looks sooo nice.:drool:

I'd have paid the extra fiver for blue too :lol:

My silver one just arrived today.. Looks like a quality product!

Thanks J.T.

[rc10fan]

fitted mine today and what an amazing improvement. no cutting or need for the dremel.

Good finish, nice clean CNC work. Also address's the play in the tophats (the lower metal tubes) no play, nice and smooth. great work. NEXT TIME BLUE ones please LOL