Jump to content

Barnoid

Members
  • Content Count

    82
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Barnoid

  1. Except, of course, that compared to a Sand Scorcher, your Hornet weighs next to nothing. No diff means it's not as stable at high speeds, either, and it's a lot more top heavy. They're really not built to go fast, just to look **** cool. If you want a performance compromise, then the Ultima is a truly fantastic car, and in terms of driving experience and potential, it's leagues ahead of the SS. You could stick a Kyosho Beetle (or a Kamtec) shell on it with some minor fiddling...
  2. It's a really tough time, but given the amount of bike industry sales over lockdown we remain ever hopeful that some of the mags at least will survive. The demographic is changing, though. Younger people getting into the hobby aren't looking to mags; they just get their fix online. Even mags like Singletrack has the website - although now they've reconfigured it (bi monthly; not on news stands etc), the mag does at least pay for itself I believe. It seems to me that it's people who grew up with the sport and used to buy mags who still do, but they don't need the short-attention-span wham and pow of the old mags; they're looking more to long form stuff (full disclosure - I write for a few of them: Singletrack, Cranked, MBR etc), hence the thick-papered quarterlies. I think it might be the same for RC.
  3. Haha! Thanks, spellchecker. I can't remember the exact word I was going for (or why the computer would substitute 'satisfy' for it) but I meant 'twisty' or 'tight' or 'wiggly' perhaps? These sort of tracks are all very satisfy 🤣😂
  4. I run my Avante occasionally on track days, and I love it - I'd not *dream* of selling it - but there's no question it requires a bit more 'babying' than the Egress, or the Mid. Just things like checking bolts etc. I don't think the rere is *especially* fragile, but there are definitely other buggies I'd choose for thrashing.
  5. I think it was 1989 or thereabouts. This is a highly subjective N=1, BTW - the Egress is a pretty much standard rere, whereas the Mid has carbon up the wazoo, an associated slipper and and modern shocks. It's a scratch built; I made it from spares and what have you a couple of years ago. So they're really not all that comparable. I'd not say there's much in it, and to be honest I've probably spent more time tuning the Mid, and I'm probably more used to its handling. I do think that it's more sturdy than the Egress, though. That's definitely something that Kyosho seem to generally have in their favour over Tamiya. AS far as improving the Egress handling is concerned, my next task is trying to sort out the weight distribution - I think it's a bit lop sided if you run lipo. Non-adjustable rear toe in is also annoying... but of course that was also the case with the vintage Mid (although the optima rere arms are a straight fit, and give you toe-in options). I love (and race) both of them, BTW.
  6. Own the Avante, Egress, Avante 2001,an ordinary Mid, Turbo Mid and a LWB Mid. But all of this is highly subjective, and I'm a terrible driver! The Avante is heavy, it's true but this is less of an issue now with lipo etc. The front suspension as stock is terrible, but this was sorted by putting original RC10 dampers on, for more droop and upswing. Made a HUGE difference. It's not as planted as the Turbo Mid, but it's not far off. Twitchier in the corners, and it'd perhaps have the advantage on extremely satisfy tracks, but to;s not as stable in the air, and adjusting is is way more fiddly. It's also a lot more fragile, even in the rere guise. Kyosho use much better plastics. The Egress (and the 2001, for that matter) is definitely a step up, and can stand toe to toe much more easily with the Turbo optima, although turn in isn't as good, it's more stable on the straights. Longer wheel base etc. It's still beaten in handling by the LWB Mid though - but that's pretty modified, so I'm not sure it really counts. I've put a slipper on it etc etc.
  7. The first option would be to see if you can get away without a fan (although I suspect not). Secondly, check that you can fit the motor in there without hacking away at the chassis upper plate - space is *very* tight. It'd work if you either got rid of, or carved away at the driver, but I appreciate that's far from ideal!
  8. Beware that the rere knuckles have a different thread to the originals, and the kingpins are different, with a different diameter surface, so require rere c-hubs or boring out the originals a little. Suspension arms are similar, and will fit, but don't use the same anti-roll bar attachment - this will need bodging. Personally I think the anti-roll bars were made of cheese anyway, and were more for looks than function! Can't help with the steering setup except to say that yes, it looks upside down, and I agree re the delrin spur diagnosis. :-) Pics when it's finished!
  9. Find the Kyosho Vintage RC group and look for Rama Chandra - I got mine from him; it now runs an AE slipper :-)
  10. Glad it worked out! I'm not sure if there are any direct new replacements for those bits, but spur parts do crop up on ebay from time to time. Another alternative would be to machine a longer shaft to install a modern slipper clutch - there are a few folks on Facebook who might be able to sell you one - but that's as much of a hassle (and an expense) as you'd imagine! My 'race' mid has an Associated slipper only so I can run brushless without fear of drivetrain death, but I think it'd be overkill if you're not planning on racing with brushless.
  11. What sort of Mid is it? LWB? SWB? Gear or ball diffs? Does the spur seem to move OK? Any melting plastic-y smells? Initial thoughts are that the spur 'slipper' (it's not really a slipper; it's too primitive) is loose, and needs tightening. Anything else will get time consuming, as it'll involve a near total strip down.
  12. To answer your questions - assuming the dampers are the same as the Porsche, the lower seals are non-replaceable, as fas as I can tell. It seems that there's a brass bushing with a groove machined into the inside of it, into which an o-ring is adhered. This whole assembly is then slotted into an aluminium sleeve, which is bent around to seal the bushing assembly in, and make the damper body. Unhelpful. If you're lucky it might still be sealed, though - but you need to be careful; those old oranges can have quite a bit of initial stiction, and overcoming this can break the (extremely fragile and impossible to replace) suspension arms. Oil-wise you'll need probably something like 20w - I've been using 30w and it feels a little over damped. Wheels and tyres - new tyres in that size are basically unobtainable. The wheels are unique. Of course! Thanks Tamiya. 👍 To get around this, you can buy Mad Bull/Vanquish 12mm hexes which will slot straight on, which will allow a much, much wider range of wheels and tyres to fit. 4 hexes will run you to around a tenner on ebay, and I got some cheap wheels and tyres for about the same price. Time will tell how well they last, but they're much, much better than the 30yo originals!
  13. I couldn't tell you, except to suggest that it might be to do with the damper throw for the Avante (and the rere) on the front, which is spectacularly short (around 7mm). The original springs were way too soft - a problem they addressed in the rere by making them extremely stiff - as stock there's no sag at all. Perhaps the shock shocks with softer springs just don't work at all properly? As an aside, I run my rere with RC10 front shocks, with the stock (rere) springs. There's more droop, more upswing and a similar overall stance. Handling is much improved. But that doesn't answer your question! (sorry)
  14. I *think* they're symmetrical. I'd appreciate you looking, thanks!!
  15. Hullo all! I'm trying to revive a friend of mine's Porsche 959 as a favour. It's in surprisingly good nick, all things considered - a little body shell touching up and repair, and some new wheels and tyres (the old tyres are dead, dead, dead) and I think it'll be a fairly straightforward fix. However, one of the ball joints on a steering upright is worn, and replacements are rather hard to get hold of. There is a C parts moulding on eBay at the moment for £150. (Hahahahaha no). Short of taking a punt on some 3d printed parts, are there any other options? Does anyone have a part worn (bot not totally ruined) one knocking about they might be willing to sell? Unlikely, I know, but if you don't ask... ;-) Thanks for reading this far! Barney
  16. Hi all I've got an RC4WD hilux back end I'm trying to make as scale as I can. This and the bruiser etc have a gap in between the bed hatch and the side panels that needs filling. Not ordinarily a problem, but this one is slightly out of alignment. Is there any way of lightly bending the plastic so it sits better? I was thinking boiling water might do the trick, but though I'd run it past the hive mind first. Thoughts anyone? Thanks in advance :-)
  17. 🤣 Literally anything anodised - especially if it's purple :-)
  18. I think to an extent it's a little bit like stereos. When you're a kid (in the eighties) and you're quite happy listening to Hair Metal on a tinny crock ghettoblaster, all is well with the world. This, I put it to you, is the Grasshopper. But then you get a little older, and maybe buy a cheap separates system, and realise that the difference is out of this world. You could never listen to the tinny ghettoblaster in the same way. This is the Inevitable Massive Upgrade. The Madcap, perhaps? The Super Astute? The (whisper it) Kyosho Ultima? It's incremental gains for ever increasing cash from then on, but that first paradigm jump is always the same. And there's a bit of you thinking - wouldn't it be coo alto have all the panache of the Grasshopper, but the handling of the Astute? badword yeah. I haven't decided what the RC equivalent of Hair Metal is though. Acoms? ;-)
  19. Love that. That rearward motor makes it look like it's got testicles like a male hamster, mind you :-)
  20. I acquired this thing this morning - a Lazer ZX ripe for a resto. Not going full box art though - mostly as I hate the shell. She'll get a modified LWB Mid one instead, once I've rebuilt it and jiggled everything around. The motor and ESC were *very* tired - I opened up the ESC (Tekin TSC411p, Tekin fans) to find loads of sawdust (!), cleaned it up and replaced the positive leads. Next was the motor. Stripped it down, admired the glorious purpleness, asked some of the good folk on Facebook about it, determined it's a Trinity Epic reverse wind, probably a 19t. Gave it a clean, reassembled it (for now - I'll sort brushes later). Powered it up and everything works. Pow. Next comes the car. Needs some new shock mounts, and reconverting back into a buggy from a touring/rally car (it came with a Kyosho Escort shell). Onward!
  21. I *loved* Lee's Jamie Booth hotshot. And he was super rapid with that Top Force too! I was somewhat disappointed to break a hub on my ancient Avante 2001, but I had a rere spare - hooray! Which then broke in the same place within 30 seconds. Gah! So, alloy one ordered. I also snapped a steering pivot on the Egress, but that's an easy fix from Tony's Tamiya Parts. And the reconditioned Trinity Ruby 16t motor in my SWB Mid overheated. Again. So that needs looking into. But apart from those niggles, I had a fantastic time. LWB Optima PinkMid is epically good fun, both indoors and on the carpet (which only needed indoor tyres by the end of the day), and the DB01r was a revelation outside. Super poised, stable and planted. I was actually considering selling it, but it's now sticking around - I'm planning on racing this year, and it might be a suitable candidate. :-)
  22. Haha! They go for around 30 to over £100 depending on condition! They're lovely little motors, but the brushes are REALLY hard to find, so light/occasional running only! Technipower brushes will fit, and occasionally come up on eBay, but you pay as much for postage as you do for the brushes...
  23. Technigold came with a few cars - the Avante (Japan only IIRC), Porsche 959, Bigwig (maybe?) - I'm sure there are others. I'm pretty sure the Thunder Dragon came with a stock silver can...
  24. Made a start on Optima Mid no 4. This one's to sell, though. No, honest ;-)
  25. Today, I killed a Hobbywing 1060 with ignorance by trying to engage reverse on a 14x2 Reedy Ti motor with a Schottky diode. My Avante 2001 goes forwards at a colossally rapid rate, but won't brake. This produced a slightly bruised ankle. Pfft. Literally, it seems. :-/
×
×
  • Create New...