Kowalski

I sometimes get a problem seating the FRONT gearbox into chassis as it is held in place laterally by a hole and peg arrangement at each screw. All it needs is a little wiggle and it will snap down. You may have this problem with the rear. Elliott.

Off the top of my head and referenced from the main Dark Impact thread, I occasionally like to ramble in, you should get a Dremel and do the mod to increase steering on the front, also cut away the plastic fins by the motor to give the motor more space to get a greater range of gears. Details of these modes are in the other thread. Also the DCM gearbox cover grease trick is an essential mod as well. If you grease the gaps between the gearbox and the gearbox covers it will stop most of dust ingression. An essential part is the slipper clutch to take the load of the drive train. The DF03 shocks are kind of important as they are much stronger than the black plastic ones. The metal shocks are beautiful and very smooth. I'd recommend the titanium hex drive screw kit from 3 Racing, I've just fitted them and they look really good and will last longer than the Philips head screws. The Dark Impact is a mental chassis, it is the best thing I've ever driven (DISCLAIMER: I've never driven anything top of the line beyond the Associated B2). It's fun and easy to drive and jumps well. The shell is an acquired taste, but it is growing on me. As most people will say it will make a competant club racer. Elliott.

I found out yesterday, the Georgia coffee brand is owned by Coca Cola. They have a new canned coffee (vending machines are big in Japan) called Depresso. Elliott.

The 'Keen Hawk'. http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58380 As mentioned in the Porsche 934 threads. No pictures, just a listing. Curiouser and curiouser. Elliott.

More importantly (possibly) a new shell for the DF-03 Dark Impact Chassis (possibly). :-) Elliott.

okey doke. Have you heard about the new astro off road track in Headley near Newbury. Details are on the Doughty website's forums. It looks like a pro track for pro drivers with pro cars, rather than another place to bash. They are running a winter series, I MAY give it a try. Elliott.

With standard yellow CVAs, ballraces and some random 19 turn motor, I've got my Madcap running really well at the minute. It cuts the grass like a dream. It's as fast as my Associated buggy with a 15t double. The only problems with it are the lack of droop (I don't want to jump it) and the insane oversteering. If you take two coils out the hard front CVA springs it will sit lower. The hard springs may be the problem actually. I like your Madcap Max. Elliott.

I'm hoping the next body will be sleaker and more swept back. But the two side pods are essential and they need to be that shape to fit the non 'micro' sized speedos and the upright servo and its associated horn. So the boxiness might have to stay. Elliott.

I dunno. I've always found the Madcap chassis to be stiff enough. HA HA HA. :-) I ran it for a while without the plate over the batteries. It makes a difference. Isn't the standard for graphite shock towers about 5mm? Elliott.

I'd certainly take a pair. Elliott.

I'd go for the DF-02 parts. They are apparently superior to the OEMs. They are a direct replacement inspite of the description. Elliott.

Are the front lower shock mounts from the damper bag BF8 and BF9 hard to come by?

Hi, I notice the Egress diff internals are similar to Macap/Astute diff internals. I have a spare Madcap diff. Can I just drop it into my Egress family member (Vanquish). I'm trying to upgrade the Vanquish, slowly, to Egress spec. I thought it would be a cheap way of doing it. Maybe not... Elliott.

WHAT IS THAT THING?? :-)

Clever stuff. I've got green wheels. Suspiciously they came in a bag without a Tamiya card on the top, just a plain one. However I can't tell any difference in quality AT ALL. Elliott.

I couldn't see a set on eBay at the minute. They are available through 'Dinball' in HK. Elliott.

Howdo, I'm just keeping this thread near the top. If anyone who is new to TC is living in the area (Reading, Berkshire, UK) and fancies a run out with their cars with a few like minded individuals, keep an eye on this thread, we may have a meeting soon. I've been down to the site regularly all summer. The jump at the bottom of the bowl, by the 3 speeder area is absolutely knackered. It is currently v. dusty and dry in the leafy glade. N.B. warning for the locals: the area is getting rougher. How do I know? A policeman told me. When did a policeman tell me? He came over after I got punched in the face on my road in Caversham. The important point I'd like to make is that, I think we should put someone on 'sentry duty' when we split off and leave our precious things by the bench (now two stumps in the ground as the top has been torn off) in case some young scamp comes by and nicks our stuff. Ready when y'all are. Elliott.

Miss DI and I are very much in love. The newly fitted hitec gem receiver doesn't have the range of my Acoms 201. Can't get to the far side of the leafy glade without her getting the jitters. The new shockers are VERY smooth, but a little bit softer than the kit shocks. The bottoming out is worse on the table top jump. But I can give her more ride height, so that is fine. I'm loving the rooster tails that come off the tyres and sweep up the back of the car and off the wing. Very cool. The grease in the gearbox joints trick is working better. There is very little dirt ingression into the delicate cogs and gears. After a couple of months of dirt and table top jumps and cartwheels and landing on her roof everything is still a-OK. The diffs are still supersmooth, the suspension isn't binding, everything that should be tight is tight, the tyres still have a lot of tread and the cars is still very fast. I'd still strongly recommend this car. Elliott. P.S. the poor air circulation and heat dissipation hasn't affected the (V2) motor, the comm is still in good shape after 10 runs or so.

The dogbones rattle and move enough with a 19 spec motor. I'd upgrade to the DF02 CVDs. When moving forward a one way allows the front wheels to rotate independant of the back wheels off power, on power all four wheels will be driven by the motor. Under braking, as the front wheels can still move only the back wheels will brake. The best anology is the freewheel of a bike. Elliott.

No but I've got a link to these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tamiya-Dark-Impact-W...3QQcmdZViewItem Green? Cool! Try this DCM: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/53931-Tamiya-DF03-Ce...1QQcmdZViewItem

Aforementioned oneway now available on t'Bay. Needs the kit supplied random spare bevel gear. It looks likes like some of these options were conceived and executed before the kit was finished. Just saying. Elliott.

I'd use ones to fully discharge NiCds and to PARTIALLY discharge NiMh. Mine is simply a pair of car headlight bulbs in parallel made by my dad 12 years ago. It used to be three bulbs, but one fell off. I think it works better with two bulbs, it's less of a drain on the batteries. Elliott.

It's cutting edge technology. Alright, I'll stop being a tightwad. :-) Elliott.

This post was going to be about how perfect a fit the old and obscure Hitec Gem/Shredder micro receiver was in the servo side of the Dark Impact. It was going to be about how a badly titled auction meant I could pick up one of these dinky receivers for £2.50 with P&P. This post was also about how well the new uprated threaded shockers work on the DI. It was going to be about beautifully designed they are, how smooth they are and how incredibly beautiful they look, such that the DI itself, now looks a bit sub standard and 'ick'. But alas, I turn a wheel out the front of the house to check the range of said micro receiver (it doesn't have the greatest noise filtering system or range) and I eject a dogbone onto the grass (not actually caused by the additional droop on the longer new shockers). By the time I find the dogbone, my good partner turns up and I have to put my toys away. 'Annoyingly' I'm down the pub tonight, so I won't be able to play tonight either. Elliott.

I see. If I want the cool air, I'm going to need thicker shock oil.