Tamiya 511 - Covers

[Alex H]

Originally Posted by bombman

After using the diff cover in the last weekend, i would like to recommend it to all of you trf501 or trf511 guys.
It must be one of the first purchases of any trf5x1 owner, it protects the diff and belt perfectly.

if you don't want to clean the diff after every few runs, use it.

Guy R.

I totally agree! Super fit and very easy to install. Amazing how well it works. Took mine to a gravel football field and bashed the living daylights out of it. There was dust and pebbles all over the place but none inside of the car and the diff was totally clean. The front of the car was completely free from dirt so there's no reason to make one for the front pulley as well.

Very impressed with it. Think Tamiya ought to thank Fremi in some way

[Fredrik Emilsson]

Thanks Alex and Guy.

I´m very happy for all the feedback I have received. Quite a few have purchased the cover for both 501X and 511.

Here is some feedback:

"I'm glad to report that the parts have arrived, very nice thank you! Look well made, can't wait to get them on the beast."
David McClintock, Netherland
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I´ve just tested the diff cover and it´s working GREAT! I´m so happy that I could drive for 1 1/2 hour without any problems on a track with small stones. Earlier I had to replace pulleys and belts 2 times in 20 minutes when driving on my local track. I also like that you can flip the damper tower and still use the same cover. I´m VERY satisfied!"

Mattias Petersson, Sweden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
He makes ingenious devices which fit PERFECTLY in tamiya TRF511 car.

The diff. cover is excellent - totally a professional design. I was worried before I recieved it that there might be issues with installation because of the complex nature of the trf511 rear end (shock tower, upper deck and diff housing) - but there was not a single issue ! The quality is also great.

I ordered the diff. cover because I ruined the rear belt and pulley with a single rock that also chipped the carbon fiber. I have had no issues whatsoever after running the car with the belt cover. I have yet to check the state of the diff after using the cover, but I am sure it will keep out alot more dirt than before I had it. I think that the cover is ESSENTIAL for this car !
Peter Lee, Canada
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Really nice piece! Fast Shipping! A must have for all TRF5XX owners! A+
Art Antiporda, U.S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cover is great. The best thing for me is that I don’t have to worry about the cabling of the saddle pack!
When I’m switching to the TRF511 I will be your customer again;-)
Christopher Schmidtmann Germany (501X diff cover)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[N7ELA]

Not sure if i am missing something here but dont those black sticky back plastic stickers stop the dirt getting into the diff...??? I owned a 501 for over a year and the thrust race used to get full of dirt before the diff itself.

I used to pack the out drives with those red spongey spacers and this helped alot but still, the thrust race would always get dirty befor the diff...

Not sure these covers are needed to be honest.

[Fredrik Emilsson]

If you read previous posts you will find the answer.

So, the biggest problem with the open drivetrain is not dust.
The biggest problem are small stones etc that damage the drive belt and pulleys.
One thing that can happen is that the stone gets stuck and locks the drivetrain. The result will be a damaged belt and the pulley will look like this:


The second thing than can happen is that the stone gets stuck between the belt/pulley and the rear suspension mount. This will wear out the belt very quickly and it snaps off.

One of these things will happen sooner or later if you run on a track/surface with small stones.

I made this diff/pulley protection for my own needs. It solved my problem and has now also solved a lot of other 511/501X drivers problem.

I haven´t had a single problem with the drive train this summer. In fact, I´ve used the same belt and pulleys all season, racing on tracks with small stones.

But whether you think you need the cover or not is up to you to decide.

[Alex H]

Originally Posted by N7ELA

Not sure these covers are needed to be honest.

Know a lot of people that would disagree with you mate. Every TRF5XX driver who have this masterpiece installed in their cars.

[N7ELA]

Originally Posted by Alex H

Know a lot of people that would disagree with you mate. Every TRF5XX driver who have this masterpiece installed in their cars.

Guess myself and the other 2 501 drivers at my club must just have been lucky then as we've never had any problems like that. I stripped 2 centre pulleys but that was due to an over tight slipper and juicey thumbs...

[chrispattinson]

Neil...

I run the covers on both my 501 and 511 at our club.... suprised you hadnt seen them. the one time I ran without the plastic covers, a stone went in and wrecked the diff pulley.

[Alex H]

Originally Posted by N7ELA

Guess myself and the other 2 501 drivers at my club must just have been lucky then as we've never had any problems like that. I stripped 2 centre pulleys but that was due to an over tight slipper and juicey thumbs...

By the looks of things it seems you run your cars on grass....
Not many small stones there.
You would not last one lap on one of our tracks without it.

[djmcnz]

It's taken a while but I've just undertaken a strip down clean of my car after running it with the diff covers.

As a baseline I ran the car from new, without the covers, in the following conditions:

10 packs - fake grass, 30% soaking wet
20 packs - dirt track, dust and fine gravel in parts

After which I cleaned the car and diffs and installed the covers. I was using the protective seals on the diffs and after the use above everything was still free from any large objects (and damage) but there was a lot of fine dust everywhere. There was a small build-up of fine dust on the gears outside of the belts - over time (without maintenance) this could cause damage or cause the belts to slip off.

Now, I run through about 30 more packs, mainly on the dirt track but also recently in mud and snow - all with the covers on. I've stripped it down and can report there is almost no dirt, dust or debris in or near the diff - I conclude these covers are great!

In my experience, it's not that debris was a big problem before but now it's not a problem or apparently even a risk. And that's good enough for me.

I want to run it some more (will now wait until spring) before I give a thumbs up to the durability of the covers but for now they have a thumbs up for usefulness.

[Fredrik Emilsson]

Thank you for that report.

I will only sell a few more of these covers for TRF511/501X.
It takes too much time and they are too expensive to make.

I sent the idea to a TRF-member at Tamiya, but I think that it is to late. The next 4WD is probably on it´s way...

Thank you for all feedback.

[B44&501xRacerEX]

Originally Posted by Fredrik Emilsson

. The next 4WD is probably on it´s way...

you have a pm

Rumor has it, it's a shaft driven 4wd buggy. And it will probably be a cross between the B44 and the Lazer ZX5 FS kit. It's supposed to be pretty sweet! But I really like belt drive alot better.

[Twister]

Originally Posted by B44&501xRacerEX

you have a pm

Rumor has it, it's a shaft driven 4wd buggy. And it will probably be a cross between the B44 and the Lazer ZX5 FS kit. It's supposed to be pretty sweet! But I really like belt drive alot better.

I´ve heard i'ts B-max clone.. ha ha that's their usual way isnt it?

[muratti]

Is it supposed to be the next 4WD TRF buggy after the TRF511? When will it be released? Is there any more information available?

[Welshy40]

Doesnt the 501x gearbox mold covers fit the 511x? I had one fo the very first batch for the 501 and kept all the dirt out so if they fit then great as they looked superb.

[Migs]

hey welshy, do u have a pic of the covers you're talking about, ive been checking the 501x manual and cant find anything like it, thanks

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by Migs

hey welshy, do u have a pic of the covers you're talking about, ive been checking the 501x manual and cant find anything like it, thanks

Sorry, i should have said what Cedric designed and sold (and hope he still sells). They are basically designed to close off the gearbox front and rear using as little as possible and looks superb. I will update with a piccy when I find one.

[Fredrik Emilsson]

http://www.team-azarashi.com/page_thumb486.html

http://www.team-azarashi.com/op001fit_tipsfor511.html

[Welshy40]

Yes thats them. I regret selling my 501 and with those gearboxes which were superb.

[F-1]

And where I can order theese azarashi covers??

[Fredrik Emilsson]

Not sure if you can order from Azarashi. Otherwise from Optimized (Cedric).

They can, as shown above, be modified to fit the 511.

It is a great option part. It only costed 19 euros + shipping. Another positive thing is that it is small. I tried it on my 501X.

The downside is that you have to remove both pieces of the diff cover and top deck in order to remove the diff. Thats another 6 screws for the top deck + 2 screws that secures the diff cover, total of 12 screws. If you have stabilizers on the car it´s another 2 screws.

The reason why you have to remove the upper deck is that the front piece of the diff cover is held in place by the top deck.
You can´t remove the diff without removing the front piece of the diff cover.

Normally on the 511 you do not need to remove the top deck, just the shock tower = 4 screws + 1 nut (for the damper).
This is one BIG difference between the 501X and 511.

On the 501 it did´nt really matter. You had to remove the top deck in order to access the diff. 8 screws for the top deck/shock tower and 2 screws for the diff cover. Then you could remove the diff cover pieces and then the diff. puh...
You did´nt exactly laugh when you realised that you had forgotten the front piece of the diff cover and had to remove the top deck again.

Also a small detail, you can´t use a reversed damper tower setting with the optimized diff cover. You can probably modify the cover, but it will leave holes on the top of the cover.

Maybe you understand why I made my own diff cover for the 511.