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dimblum

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About dimblum

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  • Birthday 08/02/1972

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  • Location
    Corona, CA
  • Interests
    Restoring/Building Vintage Tamiya shelf queens using old school Hop-Ups. I'm always on the lookout for parts from Team CRP, Parma, Dirt Burners, Warp Tune, You-G, Pro-Track, etc.<br /><br />I do have a few runners, but am always planning my next shelf queen project. Several TC members have played key roles in helping me acquire parts and/or fabricating custom Hop-Ups: Crash Cramer, CrunchyDog, J-Man, Cul-Tech, Rad22Rad, Mike00Top, Tamiya King, Tamiyluvr, Ant88, Rammer and ToyMkr73 (hopefully I didn't miss anyone).

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  1. I have not tried the anerobic gel threadlock Tamiya makes, but I have used the blue liquid threadlock in the past and I think it is terrible for RC applications.. When you remove a screw from a liquid threadlock bond it will leave a hard crusty/gritty film on your screw threads that you need to scrape away if you plan to reuse the screw. Its a real pain and very unpractical. I cannot figure out why all the hobby shops stock liquid threadlock as "pretty much" their only choice... I use this threadlock product instead. It is my all time favorite for RC: http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-QuickStix-Th...e/dp/B000132VH6 It has a wax/paste type consistency, is much easier to work with than liquid and your screws come out clean if you need to remove them. ---- This is just my opinion after using several brands of threadlock. No offense to anyone who prefers liquid threadlock or had a better experience with it than I had. Hope this helps.
  2. I don't remember Tamiya being very clear on what oil to use for the gearbox (via the oil cap you can loosen with a screwdriver). I would imagine a very light spray of WD-40 would be fine.. It seems that they simply made the oil cap for convenience, so you would not have to disassemble the gearbox very often to re-grease it. In the long run, it would be better to partially disassemble the car and re-grease everything per the original build instructions. If the car still has plastic bushings where bearings should be (in the gearbox and front wheels), then you are better off installing a decent set of bearings as well to eliminate long term wear and to reduce overall friction to the moving parts. Hope this helps.
  3. I can help. I'm located in California - same state as the RC4WD company. Send me a private message and I'll give you my shipping information.
  4. Parma used to make a lightweight axel kit for the GrassHopper and Hornet. It used hollow versions of the driveshafts as opposed to their solid Tamiya counterparts. I installed them on my runner and they made the car "way" more nimble than with the solid shafts. The GrassHopper could accelerate much faster with the same 17T motor I used while the solid shafts were previously installed. That's the good part... The bad part was that the shafts were substantially weaker than the solid shafts and a few small jumps/landings was all it took to bend one of them out of shape.. Sadly these Parma kits are nearly impossible to come by and I have never been able to replace the parts.. Lighter driveshafts are awesome for the GH and Hornet.. If you can make custom shafts that balance lightweight with enough strength to withstand jumps, then you will have a winning part. I would buy a set if you made them Hope this helps.
  5. Thanks for the update. Parma referenced their own universal body mount kit that ironically looks to be made specifically for the GrassHopper chassis Here is a link: http://www.shopatron.com/products/productd...10450/137.0.1.1 Click the small image on the page to see the GrassHopper mounting instructions.
  6. There are some Tamiyaclub members that have successfully re-chromed Fox wheels back to their original mirror gold. I'm trying to remember one member in particular who found a great chromer in the UK, top guy, unfortunately I forget his TC name and I think he has been inactive for a while.. Besides finding a high quality chromer (which would be a little expensive).. The best alternative I can think of is to use SpazStix Gold Chrome spray.. The spray is intended for polycarbonate bodies, but it can be used on plastics.. The results will look very close to mirror gold depending on the smoothness of the external surface.. You need to lay down a layer of black (preferably waterbased paint) before spraying the SpazStiz Gold Chrome.. The black undercoat makes the chrome effect very pronounced, without the black undercoat, the mirror effect is less pronounced.. Here is a link: http://www.spazstix.com/whatsnew.php I noticed some of the links are broken on their website, but the gold chrome spray is still available through on-line resellers..
  7. I believe Parma intends you to use the posts from a Hornet kit, or they assumed that you would only use their lexan GH body with a Hornet chassis.. I have one of their GH shells at home and can double check the instructions to make sure.. You will need the "D" parts from a Hornet kit to get the mounts. Specifically D4 & D5 for the rear mounts and D10 for the front mounts. Their installation is covered in steps 4 and 14 of the Hornet manual. There is a good chance that you might have to install the Hornet rear shock setup as well, so that everything fits correctly when the rear body shell mounts are installed.. I have never tried to mount the stock GH shocks to the Hornet rear mounts, so I am not sure if it will work.. Hope this helps.
  8. I'm with you buddy.. I always felt that the RTR kits are a little insulting to the hobby. I mean, it's not really a hobby if everything is already done for you?? Is it?? Building and detailing your own cars are supposed to be part of the fun - and its the best way to learn how to repair and maintain your car as parts wear down / break.. The most upsetting event for me was the RTR Short Course Truck invasion. All of the local club tracks I raced at changed overnight to hordes of RTR bashers.. To me, this was the --opposite-- of RC racing. Recklessly bashing around a track 'is not' racing.. It made practice a nightmare!! (I race 4WD MOD - and I built my buggy from the ground up). I know some people don't share my view, but I have always felt that someone who builds their own car simply cares more about it and is more proud of it... I think this is an important factor of our hobby that should never be lost..
  9. It can work, but its not the best idea.. The PS sprays will dry with a matte/dull finish, the surface will look rough or wavy and the paint tends to be thicker.. It also cannot really be sanded since the paint is flexible. I have never tried using the PS sprays on a hardbody, but I do know someone who tried and it didn't look very good. I don't know anyone who tried to clearcoat PS spray with a TS spray.. It's possible they could have a bad chemical reaction... It's always best to stick with the lacquer TS sprays for hardbodies to get the right finish..
  10. I like the LiFe packs and think the technology is great.. It's true that they can charge at higher amperage rates than most LiPo's, but some high end LiPo's have already bridged this gap. I recently invested in some Thunder Power LiPo's that are rated to charge at 12C (seems like a joke, but its true) when you use their chargers.. I bought their TP820CD charger that maxes out at 20amps per port (charger has 2 ports and can push 40amps total with a capable power supply at 12V-24C DC). I charged one of their new 5000Mah LiPo packs at the full 20amps and got the same full charge in 15min time.. 20amps is only a 4C charge for the battery, but its the best charger they have designed so far and very few power supplies are available to even complement that power load.. The battery technology for both LiFe and some LiPo's far exceed the capabilities of even the best chargers.. That's kinda cool..
  11. Absolutely change your gearing. The temps you are describing will damage your motor over time.. Most motor heatsinks are not very robust, so they will only help a little
  12. Great to hear you made the switch. Lipo's are the best all around FYI - Your charger is capable of an 8amp charge rate if you connect it to a DC power supply. That will reduce your 60min 5amp charge time to about 40min at 8amp Have fun with your new gear. Dan
  13. What brand battery and charger did you buy? I have never seen a Lipo charger that requires any timer settings? I have used several and they all cut off the charge at peak detection (with or without a balancer). The settings needed for all lipo chargers I have used are: battery type - set to "lipo". Most lipo chargers can also charge standard NiMH, so make sure it is set to "LIPO" battery capacity - in your case 5000mah series setting - all 7.4v lipos are 2S amperage setting - in your case 5amps = 1C, 10amps = 2C etc balancer setting - set this to "on" when your balancing plug is connected to the charger There is no 'trickle' charge setting for lipos. Lipo's do not have 'memory' issues like NiMH and NiCAD, so your runtimes will not decrease as you charge the battery more and more.. There is also no need to fully discharge the battery or let it cool between charges. It can go right on the charger the second it comes out of your car. Fully discharging a lipo can kill the battery.. Your ESC will have a "Lipo Cut-Off" setting that will prevent the battery from loosing too much voltage. Don't worry if your car runs dead, the battery will still have plenty of voltage to keep it in good shape because the ESC will protect it. -Do not- attempt to use a Lipo without a lipo certified ESC that has a "Lipo Cut-Off" setting. That should be about it.. Have fun To answer your other question about the 6C charge rate: Higher end lipo batteries are capable of higher charge rates (hence the 6C listing on your battery) - although this sometimes requires using a charger certified by the lipo manufacturer [make sure to check on this if you want to try charging at a higher rate then 1C]. The only downside is that you need to buy an expensive top-tier charger than is capable of 15amps or more and a power supply that can handle that amperage. The only two charger brands I know of that can exceed 15amps are made by Hyperion and Thunder Power. Most recently I went a little crazy and bought a Thunder Power G6 5300Mah 65C lipo and got their TP-820CD dual port charger that can max out at 20amps per port. The new G6 Thunder Power lipos are certified for a 12C charge rating, so I set the charger to the full 20amps. To my relief the battery charged like a champ and didn't even get warm I've been using this charger at my local club track and have charged the battery at least 30times by now at a 20amp rate every time.. The battery continues to have incredible run time and doesn't show any signs of degrading.. If you willing to spend top dollar for lipo electrics and a high end power supply, then you can have some awesome batteries that will charge faster than you ever thought possible.
  14. You can always keep the motor connected to the ESC It is a good idea to remove the battery when the car is not use though..
  15. I'm not sure how many other TC member live in our local area.. I'm guessing its not too many.. The next closest member I know is Toymkr73 who is the make of the Wild Wendy figures for the Wild Willy I & II - he lives in Temecula.. It would be great to meet up at the track some time. Club racing used to be a daily weekend event for me until my daughter was born last year. Now I only get to the track every other weekend and most of the time cannot stay for the full race event (racing can run for several hours since there can be 10 or more different race classes). I still love it though and go as often as I can.. I should be able to attend the race events a little more as my daughter gets older and is a little easier to take care of You're girlfriend is right about SoCal and RC. It's a huge RC hotspot for tracks and RC related companies. Novak, Losi, Team Associated, TamiyaUSA and more are all located in SoCal.. We also have the lions share of club tracks in the USA.. It's a great place to be for racing. In the meantime, let me know how racing goes at OC/RC.. I'll be glad to help and have spent several years racing a DB-01 at the club tracks.. Talk to you soon. P.S. Make sure to order a few common spare parts for your car. Namely front and rear arms and some shock caps and lower spring retainers.. The DB-01 is a super tough car on the track, but even the best of them will break an arm or two after a bad collision.. The local club tracks 'do not' stock parts for Tamiya off-road cars (DB-01, 501X, 511X, 201X), so its best to be prepared since a missing spare part can end your race day early.. Using a slower motor (like a brushless 17.5 to a 13.5) will help prevent breakage and its best to start slow when you are getting used to control. Hope this helps. Dan
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