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

[simoncrabb]

Yes, the new spring on the 511 is rather fat, much better.

[Migs]

just a bit of an update, after a couple of weeks of rain, we had some good weather on the weekend, so i was able to get the db01r back out on track, ive put ceramic balls in the diff, they are definately smooth. the car ran very well all weekend, i raced at two tracks, at one, myself and another db01 were the two fastest 4wd in stock, at the other, myself and a bmax were the two fastest cars, plastic chassis all the way!! at this stage, i just cannot imagine that any car could go better than this thing, like i couldnt believe that a 501x could be any better, or even if it were a tenth quicker per lap, i'd rather do it with the db01r, plus i think the plastic chassis suits our tracks which tend to be bumpy with medium to good traction

[Carno]

Originally Posted by Migs

just a bit of an update...
-/-
...traction

Did you add any weights to the car for better balance?


Btw here's the latest pics with Atomic Carbon shock towers installed.

[Fredrik Emilsson]

Originally Posted by simoncrabb

Yes, the new spring on the 511 is rather fat, much better.

Same spring on the double slipper.

[Migs]

Originally Posted by Carno

Did you add any weights to the car for better balance?


Btw here's the latest pics with Atomic Carbon shock towers installed.

hey Carno, i havnt added weight to it to balance it up, its something i could do, but honestly havnt found the need to, it jumps flat and i cant feel that it turns more one way compared to the other, on the electrics side, im using a tekin RS which is pretty light, and am probably going to get a low profile servo like a futaba, which will be lighter than my current jr one and on the battery side, im using a 5000mah venom lipo, and will get the 5600 mah lipo from intellect soon which should add a bit more weight to that side. The atomic carbon towers look ace and look robust, please let me know if there are any dramas you have with them, they are something i plan to get in the next few weeks before our racing series begins in late march

Thanks

Migs

PS how are you finding the alloy wing mounts? im thinking about getting them, there are mixed feelings about them, my other option i suppose is to get the atomic carbo towers drilled to fit the losi wing mounts which are stronger but arent likely to break a shock tower in an accident

[Carno]

Originally Posted by Migs

hey Carno, i havnt added weight to it to balance it up, its something i could do, but honestly havnt found the need to, it jumps flat and i cant feel that it turns more one way compared to the other, on the electrics side, im using a tekin RS which is pretty light, and am probably going to get a low profile servo like a futaba, which will be lighter than my current jr one and on the battery side, im using a 5000mah venom lipo, and will get the 5600 mah lipo from intellect soon which should add a bit more weight to that side.

Ok thats good to hear. I'll have to check how mine goes since i changed about half the car since last season

Originally Posted by Migs

The atomic carbon towers look ace and look robust, please let me know if there are any dramas you have with them, they are something i plan to get in the next few weeks before our racing series begins in late march

Well since i haven't had the chance to test them the only issue i've had so far is installing.
I didn't have the right parts when i received the towers so it's quite usefull to order those before or at the same time when you order the towers.

Parts i used.
9804381 = Hex head ball connector 5x9mm I used these but heard some negative experiences with them so might be better to go for the ones below.
53969 = Hex head ball connectors 5x8mm
53539 = Aluminum spacer set. to get the right angle mostly for the rear springs. Both blue and regular aluminum ones.
54155 = 3mm lock nuts blue anodised. Used these for the shocks and the ball connectors. On the mold for the damper parts there should be the plastic nut that is used on the 511 and db-01R to hold the springs so if you're not that into blue everywhere you could use that for the shock tops.
Also i bought some hard 20mm hex screws for the top of the shocks. DB-01R already has longer screws the db-01 kit though.

Originally Posted by Migs

PS how are you finding the alloy wing mounts? im thinking about getting them, there are mixed feelings about them, my other option i suppose is to get the atomic carbo towers drilled to fit the losi wing mounts which are stronger but arent likely to break a shock tower in an accident

That's a tough one. I actually got it to stop the spoiler resting on the rear shock tower with the original plastic tower.
I don't know if it's still needed with the Carbon towers. Also the reduced flex on impacts does worry me.
Didn't have any breakages while it was on and i landed upside down a fair few times.

I didn't install the wing properly though. You should drill 5mm holes into the wing that fall over extrusions in the mount. Then on top of that comes the blue cap which slides over the extrusion and onto the spoiler.

I just left the 3mm holes put the wing directly onto the extrusion. Turned over the blue cap so the screw falls into it and screwed it on like that.
The wing itself might be absorbing more of the force this way.

[T4miy4 Guy]

Originally Posted by Carno

I don't know if it's still needed with the Carbon towers. Also the reduced flex on impacts does worry me.
Didn't have any breakages while it was on and i landed upside down a fair few times.

I have never had a problem as the wing will absorb all the impacts

Andy

[Carno]

Originally Posted by T4miy4 Guy

I have never had a problem as the wing will absorb all the impacts

Andy

Did you install it 'properly' or bodged it on like me?

[Migs]

thanks for all the tips carno, very informative, after reading urs an tamiya guys thoughts, i'd say i'll just get the alloy wing mounts and the atomic towers

[DCM]

if you buy the alloy wing wounds, you transfer any of the crash impacts to the shock towers and gearbox tops, I would never recomend using them to be honest. I have had the DB01 since they been released and not broke one.

[Piman]

During my early days getting back into racing I had the 3 Racing alloy wing mount on my 501x. With the number of crashes I was having it did not take long to break the rear shock tower.

I think the answer is that if you are likely to crash a lot then don't fit an alloy mount. Stick with the palstic. It absorbs that much more compared to just the wing. In fact there is no performance advantage, only bling, so why risk a potential failure in a race.

James

[crusader]

This page lists part number 53995 with the following description:
Reinforced Upper Arm Mount - TRF501X. Off-road tracks often have big ramps for long distance jumps. This new Option Part features a thicker shock-absorbing section and reinforcement rib to handle the impacts from hard landings and is only 0.7g heavier than the standard part.
http://www.tamiya.ca/DB-01/db01_hopup_listing.htm

What is that? Has anyone seen or used it?

[Carno]

in defense of the alloy wingmount; But its blue!!

Originally Posted by crusader

This page lists part number 53995 with the following description:
Reinforced Upper Arm Mount - TRF501X. Off-road tracks often have big ramps for long distance jumps. This new Option Part features a thicker shock-absorbing section and reinforcement rib to handle the impacts from hard landings and is only 0.7g heavier than the standard part.
http://www.tamiya.ca/DB-01/db01_hopup_listing.htm

What is that? Has anyone seen or used it?

Think that part is 501x only. 'Upper arm' mounts are on the shock towers with the DB-01.

[T4miy4 Guy]

Originally Posted by Carno

Did you install it 'properly' or bodged it on like me?

My Db-01 has a Atomic rear tower (front Atomic tower broke,yes i shattered it,tbh the stock front tower is more flexible imo) and a 3Racing alloy wing mount ,never had any problems with rear tower or any gear box problems!

My 501 has a Tamiya alloy wing mount and so far no problems,

I personally think it looks so much better with the alloy wing mount and have never seen or heard any other fellow racer say different to me(at the track), but it would defineatley be more flexible with the plastic wing mount.

Andy

[dimblum]

I have been using both the front and rear Atomic Carbon towers for some time now and I did try using the 3Racing aluminum wing mount as well. I went back to using the stock plastic wing mounts for these reasons:

* The tower and wing mount combined are so rigid that my rear wings would get torn apart "very" quickly (since the wing had to absorb all the impact).

* I noticed the screws holding the rear tower in place would start to 'back out' and needed to be retightened once and a while (again because the tower and mount were so rigid). I was able to remedy this by using longer screws to mount the rear tower, but my wings would still get torn apart -way too fast-


I agree with everyone on the bling factor of the aluminum wing mount. I would rather use it if I could.. If there was only a way for it to absorb more shock and not tear the wings apart at the mounts.

[Migs]

ok after posting in the atomic carbon thread, Peetbee came back to me and said its easy to drill a second hole in the tower to allow the use of the losi wing mounts, the losi ones are a good balance between flex and strength, the tamiya ones are about as useful as cheese, i had one bad landing off a jump and they bent all out of whack

Also last night i installed some tc5 ballstuds, losi super duty white ballcups, and a set of lunsford titanium turnbuckles which i raided off my xx4, the setup looks like it was born to work on the car and the white turnbuckles look trick.

[Fat Corgi]

Just skipping back a few post to the discussion about the slipper springs. Which AE spring fits the DB01, the B4 (9605) or the B44 (9739)?

...and now back to your regularly scheduled program

[Fat Corgi]

I think I need to reduce the ratio on my DB-01, and am concerned about find a ratio that works. Currently running a Associated 87T with a 18T pinion powered by a MM 6900 on 2s, and the motor's getting hot at the end of the run. The tyres (Pro-Line Dirt Hawgs) are ballooning severely leaving me with very little traction and control once the car gets up to top speed. The stock 91T spur I have is slightly off-centre and wobbles. Should I just by another one and hope that it is centred?
In the stock motor mount the smallest pinion I can mount before the gear-meshing is off is about 17T with the 87T spur in place. With the 91T spur I might be able to get a 14 or 15T in there.
Any help would be appreciated, especially if you've been in this position before.
Thanks in advance.
FC

[DCM]

yes, your over geared, you need to put the bigger spur and a smaller pinion on, that should reduce your temps.

[94eg!]

Even the larger spur alone will help. No big deal if it has a little wobble. 48p gears have a lot of wiggle room. As long as mesh doesn't get "tight" anywhere around the spur it will be fine.