rich_f
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Posts posted by rich_f
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6 hours ago, Carmine A said:
QUESTION Guys....
I was doing some "dream Shopping", and found something that intrigued me.....
#58143 Tamiya Ford Mondeo - on a "FF" Chassis. $265.00usd
JUST FF. No number! Is that FF-01??? 😲
It was called the FF originally as that was the only front wheel drive chassis tamiya made (apart from the m01, which also proudly displayed 'FF' on the front of its box) and perhaps they didn't think it would catch on so didn't bother with a number.
In fact, this may have happened with other chassis too - was the TA01 only named after the TA02 came out? Some old hop up parts' labels that I couldn't bring myself to throw away 25 years ago refer to TA02 by name, but refer to the FF01 and TA01 as 'FWD' and 'Touring and rally car' respectively.
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1 hour ago, ChrisRx718 said:
Here you are bud. I personally don't like this practice of cutting down ball connectors, because it's really not easy to do accurately, using a blade, dremel or a miniature saw blade (probably best option, not a tool many rc builders will have!)
Especially so when short ball connectors are readily available- why not just use those, Mr Tamiya?!!
It's not the size of the ball connector that is important - it is the overall length of the rod measured from the centres of the ball ends - so not being that accurate on the cut in the instructions is not a big deal. It just means that you will lose a bit of the adjustment potential - the amount you lose is the size of the error in the cut, and there is probably plenty of spare thread to allow for a little inaccuracy in the trimming procedure.
As for why short connectors are not included, I can only imagine that it is because the parts tree containing this part is used on other models and making an entirely new mold just to change one part was not cost effective. Tamiya in the past may have just included both lengths on the tree but maybe they are trying to save the planet with less plastic use - one pair of ball connectors at a time.
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On 9/11/2020 at 9:22 AM, Kewlicks said:
When I built this originally, I had to adjust the camber on the front right quite a bit to get the wheel to actually point in the right direction!
When you say 'right direction' I assume you mean the toe angle? You shouldn't be changing the camber to adjust the toe - this is what the steering linkages are for, and as berman says, your steering linkages are different lengths left and right, so at the very least, these are not set up correctly.
And I agree with Svenb that your camber looks wrong on the front wheels - i.e., the top arms are adjusted too long. Shortening them will bring the tops of the wheels inwards and help to clear the wheelarches - and improve handling, too (you don't usually want the top of the wheel farther out than the bottom).
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On 9/3/2020 at 7:26 PM, Howards said:
Interesting paint - I don’t really understand how it can remain transparent on application but survive a backing coat of black without going dark and muddy - black is just so...black.
My guess is that this 'anodised' paint is laying down a very thin layer of mirror-like particles, like the alclad model paints Juggular alluded to earlier, albeit with some coloured tint.
Then you can use the analogy of a 2-way mirror to explain why black makes the transparent mirror layer opaque without muddying it: a 2-way mirror is transparent when there is light behind it, but when the other side of the mirror is totally dark, it becomes a near-perfect mirror.
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On 8/26/2020 at 11:49 PM, Carmine A said:
I have one in SPITE of high prices!!! .... Just don't get to drive her very often. 😞
You have to remember that 'high' prices in the USA are still half what it costs here in Europe. We haven't had fuel as *cheap* as you have in America right now for over 30 years!
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On 8/15/2020 at 7:23 AM, Danmurphy1978 said:
Thanks for all the info. I have a replacement diff coming for the rear so will try gluing the outdrives in. Are you applying glue to the hole that the pairing outdrives sits in, or straight onto the teeth?
Considering that the two outdrives move independently of one another, gluing them together via the hole in the centre would be a bad idea. It would essentially create a locked diff (if the glue held up).
The glue should be applied to the splined hole, as the outdrive and outer diff plate should behave as a single component during correct operation of a differential.
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That diff surely looks like a tt01 ball diff to me...
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2 hours ago, Carmine A said:
@rich_f. TEN INCH!!? 😲 My only experience with Minis has been with U.S. spec Cars, with 1.3L Engines and 12" Tires...
(I'm guessing - more displacement to offset gut clogging Emission Controls - and the Wheels because 155/12 is the smallest Tire sold in America)
The mini originally came with 10 inch wheels and either and 850, 998 or 1275cc A-series engine. Over the years the standard wheel size got bigger and I think the later ones only came with the 1275 (1.3 litre) with injection. So the American one is no different to what was available in the uk in terms of wheel size and engine displacement.
My mini is from the early 80's and originally came with a 998cc engine and 12 inch wheels. Now it has a 1293cc turbocharged A-series (with about 200 horsepower) and 10 inch wheels!
2 hours ago, Carmine A said:The "60D" (which is only 36mm or 1.42" diameter), has been used to represent small Wheels on a variety of their Cars - and INCORRECT on most! I'm SURE the Accounting Dept had a say in that!!
Going "true scale" would result in a 51D sized Wheel, which would NEVER fit around the C-Hubs. If they came out with a stronger 55D Wheel, that could be a more realistic compromise...
The 60d (and 55d) refers to the overall outer diameter of the wheel and tyre together - not the wheel itself. The wheel is the same standardised size in both cases, it's just the tyre wall height that is different.
On the subject of wheels, m-chassis sized cars have a huge following in the rest of the world (from what you've been saying, it sounds like they are not very popular in the USA) and there are many wheels and tyres in 55 and 60mm outer diameter available from other manufacturers.
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Tracks look like tiger 1 tracks. Not sure if tamiya or not.
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White gears are tt01. Are they not white anymore? I've got 2 and they both have white gears.
The black random diff looks like the hop up ball diff for tt01. Missing a piece though.
Agree with Sven about the ta02 frp damper mount, f103 top deck and ta03 diff bag.
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I love the ff bodyshells. The jaccs colour scheme is one of my favourites. I've got a castrol civic body set and I'm planning on doing the jaccs scheme on that - with just paint.
I've picked up all the colours - just waiting for the right time. Was going to get the accord body set too but I missed the boat on the recent release unfortunately and any left are a bit too expensive now.
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On 8/11/2020 at 4:44 PM, Carmine A said:
Seriously.... This is Master Class work!! 👌👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 There are so many possibilities for skinny Tyre Cars to have unprecedented accuracy.
Any chance you're going to take a chance on the 12" Mini Wheels?
12"? Why so big! My 1:1 mini has 10" wheels!
I'm not sure how real scale wheels will look on the tamiya mini body - the early one (with the separate grille piece) has smaller wheel arches I think so that would probably be the best choice. I'm thinking that the arches on the later one-piece body will look too big for scale 10" wheels.
For most of the cars tamiya makes, the standard 'one-size' wheels and tyres don't look too bad as they are generally modern racing cars, but as you say, there are several classic cars for which the modern wheel and tyre proportions look silly (not limited to being too wide as you suggest, but also taller sidewall profile). The 40th anniversary Porsche 934 model (and the black version) use the wheels from the 90's 993 GT2, for example; their width is fine, but their sidewall profile is far too low for that car.
What's even worse, at least in my opinion, than reusing similar-looking wheels that aren't quite right, is making a totally new set of wheels specifically for a new model and still getting the proportions totally wrong - I'm thinking of the 30th anniversary Porsche 934 here, with those ridiculous huge wheels and rubber-band tyres. Looks like something out of 'pimp my ride'.
@donut_v2 - what you're doing is really cool - I can't wait to see the finished model, and even more so what you will do next!
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The standard diff parts are made from 'pot metal' or some sort of zinc alloy, rather than aluminium as you state.
Interesting idea to reduce their weight though, and they look so much better having been machined compared to the dull, cast finish of the originals. Almost a shame they will be hidden away!
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38 minutes ago, berman said:
You're forgetting centrifugal mass. When a tyre spins, the weakest part of the tyre, the centre, expands. Pull the throttle on an rc car, and the centre will expand making the contact patch smaller, and in the case of a fwd m chassis, when it diffs out (hold one drive wheel) the tyre with no load will expand and spin the centre contact patch of the tyre until it gains traction.
Spinning the wheels at full throttle while off the ground and holding one wheel still (thereby doubling the rotational speed of the other wheel) is one thing, but expecting this to happen when the car is on the ground is quite another, especially considering that m-chassis cars (at least in my racing experience) are usually powered by not the most powerful of motors.
Racing tyres are often belted so that the centre section is even less likely to expand.
Also, when a tyre expands like this, it tends to pull the edges of the tyre inward. With the harder foam inserts, this movement is more restricted, making centre tyre wear less likely due to this effect, not more.
As you say, there are a lot of variables and if you start cranking up the power, for instance, you are going to start to see ballooning. By this point you have lost grip and performance in terms of lap times, so it's not really something you'd want in practice anyway.
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On 8/9/2020 at 9:30 AM, Carmine A said:
Too firm or too large of Foams, and they will act like the Tires on your real Car, inflated to about 50psi!!! 😲 The center of the Tread will prematurely wear out, and you'll lose a considerable amount of Traction.
Do you think this is actually the case or are you just making an assumption based on what happens to actual pneumatic tyres?
Let's think about this for a second - in a real pneumatic car tyre, over-inflation causes the the physical size and shape of the tyre to change. It bloats out the centre, making the contact patch rounded instead of flat, meaning the centre of the tread wears more quickly.
With a hard RC foam insert, it is the same physical size as any other firmness of foam insert. The contact patch is therefore the same as with any other insert.
It is easy to see how the edges might wear down faster if the insert is too soft or non-existent, because there is nothing to support the centre of the tyre. But if the foam is too hard, I'm finding it hard to see how the centre would wear out more quickly.
I've always used inserts (of varying hardness) and have raced on carpet and tarmac and I can't recall ever having the centre wear out before the edges of a tyre. The failure point is always at the edge.
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I started mostly as a reader. I have only very recently started posting, and not that often.
Yes, tyre deformation sounds like it is quite important for crawling, hence the weight placed on good foam insert choice.
For m chassis racing a never found it that important. I sometimes even made my own inserts out of old washing-up sponges.
The biggest problem you'll have in my opinion is the same compound front and rear. Front wheel drive cars do better with softer rears, so if you are stuck with the tyres you've got, then put softer foams in the rear and harder in the front to try to rebalance the handling.
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36 minutes ago, Carmine A said:
@rich_f First, welcome to the Forum!! I think you'll find this a great source of inspiration, information and friendship!
Thanks! I've been a member of this forum for 15 years - does it normally take this long to be welcomed to the group? 😃
When I used to race an m03 I would run the same inserts front and back (standard kit foams) but have slightly softer compound at the back. The tyre choice far outweighs the foam choice in my opinion/experience.
So for me on carpet would be kit rubber at the front and s-grip at the back. This was before the m chassis craze got to what it is now and now you've got way more tyre options besides tamiya, but still, softer rubber compound at the rear (of an M03 anyway)
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When you buy an m chassis kit, it comes with foams. I think this is enough evidence that they are recommended.
I used to race m chassis regularly and always used foam inserts. I always just used the standard kit foams though.
If you don't use any inserts, I can't help but think you'll wear out the edges of the tires before the main tread is fully utilised.
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4 minutes ago, Avante2001R said:
Still safe for use on polycarbonate as per the notice on the top of the can.
Ah good. Reading on my phone and didn't zoom in so didn't notice the notice.
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I wonder why it totally disappeared from uk shops for several months. Is it possible that they recalled it due to a ban on one of its ingredients and the formula is now different?
Can someone with a new can compare the label to an old can to see if anything has changed?
It would be a shame if everyone goes out to stock up on a lifetime supply only to find that they changed the formula and it is no longer safe to use on polycarbonate...
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For those interested - it has a diff. I guess it is a strange hybrid.
Thanks all for your insights!
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Forgot to say - looks really good! I have lost count of how many ta01/02 chassis I have. The ta02 was my first tamiya, so this maybe explains why I'm so fond of them.
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7 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:
gears not greased for the pictures but don't panic - they were greased after!
Omitting grease from your gears in an RC car is not something to panic about - I never grease my gears and used to race a ta02 and top force regularly (and other cars but I'm specifically referencing the ones with the same gearbox as yours). Never had a problem with noise or wear. As a matter of fact, greasing gears can add extra drag and can turn into grinding paste and make the gears wear down faster.
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Hello all. I got the car in the photo as part of a job lot. It came with a frog body but looking at the frog manual, the servo saver should be on the servo on the frog. Here it is on the cross-piece, and I had a look at the brat manual and it has it like this, but the body mount is the frog body mount, not the brat one.
Is this some early frog with the brat servo saver, or is it some mix of parts?
(it looks like it uploaded upside-down. I do apologise!)
Tamiya FF Club
in General discussions
Posted
The Mondeo was sold in the U.S., although under a different name - the ford contour or mercury mystique.
The US versions don't look quite as nice as the European ones, in my opinion. You Americans have a knack of reducing the visual appeal of cars sold there but designed elsewhere 😆