malcolm(2)

Count me in, if only to give the Wild Willy 2 a run and give Disco a run for his money!

The people who think a DVD player is better value than an RC car are seeing that car as just another piece of merchandise. To us it's just a small piece of a collection, there is a huge difference. I buy a postage stamp to send a letter, some pay thousands for stamps to add to their collection, not as a means to post a letter.

quote:Originally posted by tony grayAnd out of interest we've run back to back tests on cars with over 200gm weight difference. The heavier one was quicker due to the one thing that really slows down a Mini - wheelspin! The light car didnt grip as well. id="quote">id="quote">But I suspect you knew where to put that extra 200 gms! Next time, don't put it low down near the front, put it high up in the bodyshell at the rear and see where that gets you! LOL

Same applies. The RW pinions are steel, fit the Thudershot and last seemingly forever. I suppose they wear the spur gear as they are harder than the Tamiya originals, but it's not a major problem. I'm not sure if the Thundershot was 32dp or 0.6 metric pitch. The old Falcon was 32 dp, but the TA01/2 (and therefore the MantaRay) was 0.6 metric. LHS should be able to advise.

I used to run my TA03 and TA02's with the gearboxes dry. The only gears that wear significantly are those horrible aluminium intermediates. Replace themn with the lightweight plastic one's if they exist and all is well. Must get some for my F201. The Tamiya ceramic grease is as good as any and used to be widely available. Just don't use very much. Losi used to do a very viscous silicone grease for the 'Hydradrive' on the XX buggy. That is an excellent coating for the gears, is really makes them run quiet. Associated recommend the use of ball diff. grease for the same job. Of course it induces a bit of drag so for best run time let 'em rattle!

RW Racing, they make a full range of pinions in metric and imperial pitch, but I don't think they deal direct with the public. Models in Motion in Stevenage usually have a pretty full range of pinions for sale, and as they sell a lot of Tamiya's they usually have the 32dp ones in stock. 01438 740404. They have a web site as well, check the magazine adds.

Wonder why they did another belt drive car, after the EVO3 was so successfull?[?]

I'm so impressed with the work you have put in on the site recently Chris that I'm almost embarrassed [:I] to appear so picky, but if you look at the page that lists member's rides, eg, http://www.tamiyaclub.com/userrides.asp?id=xx you will see 'their' is spelt wrong. Not trying to be picky, just helpfull!

Questionaire filled in and preferences clearly stated. I'm not a big user of Tamiya Club but already find it invaluable and would be more than willing to subscribe. quote:Originally posted by ShenUKI have answered the questions too. Showroom Pictures as for high res pictures how about the member host the high res pic's and a link be put in for it in there showroom? as there are a lot of free hosts out there if you can be botherd to look[] id="quote">id="quote">I believe this helps with the hosting costs, but doubles the bandwidth required, since the remote images have to be uploaded and downloaded to be included on a Tamiya Club page, so no real help there I'm afraid. The best answer in my opinion is for the users to pay for the site and then we can have the high res. graphics we all seem to want.

And another thing, why is there no reference to that car on the English Language pages?

quote: Originally posted by simensays ok, I've searched the forums for this, but couldn't really find the answer I'm looking for. I have a few of the old humpback batteries, but they're not really holding the charge that long any more and I wanna run my Willy 1 for more than 5 minutes! Does anyone have any experience with rebuilding a modern 7,2V battery pack (or maybe it's better to start from scrach) to the shape of the humpback? id="quote">id="quote"> The problem with your old packs may be the way you are charging them. As they get old, Ni-Cads, if they still work, go high voltage during the charge, so on a simple resistor clockwork charger the charge current goes very low and in the usual 15 to 20 minutes on a clockwork you get very little charge in. What charger do you use? the old "how warm do they get" test is usually a good start, if the cells never get warm during the charge they aren't getting any charge in.

With regard to the TA03, I used to run one in the Euro-cup for a couple of years. I was no A final specialist, but enjoyed running the car and racing it. I finally bought a TC3 to run at local clubs and got fed up with the cost of running the Tamiya motors so gave up on the Euro-Cup, plus I couldn't make the B when the TA04 came along. I mostly ran the TA-03R. It's major problem was understeer. The handling is just a little too safe! That means softest front springs (RED) and hard rears (BLUE) and the same for anti-roll bars. Keep the front ride height as low as you can get it and you are getting there. Shock oil was about 30wt front and 60wt rear, with the alloy bodied shocks. Run about 1 degree of toe out on the front if you can live with it, it makes it a bit wandery down the straight but a bit sharper on turn in. The short wheel base car (TA03-RS) is better, but the bodies are no-where near as stable as the good old Mugen NSX so they are a bit more of a challenge. It was fun racing in a heat of Porsche GT1's though! Concentrate on that TA04, it's a much better car than it is given credit for.

The one that is missing of course is the original kit motor. There were originally Mabuchi 540 motors, but Tamiya then started to use the Johnson motors, just a different maker, the spec is the same. I believe they are 35 turns. So the black 'sport-tuned' motor (27 turns it says on that page) has a little less torque but more revs, so is faster than the kit motor. Both have the same dis-advantage that they are sealed so are not really service-able, apart from a quick lube of the bushes now and then and a quick blast with motor spray to clear out most of the dirt.

quote:Originally posted by TwmasterHi Folks, I am in need of a few goodies to add to my BigWig project. If you have any of the following please let me know. Body shell (I have a servicable shell but would still like new) Decals (the ones I ordered from Canada got 'lost' somewhere) gear sets (I have the bevel gears. Need the diffs, spurs etc) Manual Thanks in advance. Prefer to pay via PayPal. Cheers, id="quote">id="quote">e-mail me as I know where you can buy the Big Wig decal sheet.

I have used an MRT speedo in my TA03 on road car. Track soaked with water, it just keeps working. They really are totally waterproof. Not in the budget category certainly, but you can still get the 'lower priced' one for under £100. All you then have to do is keep the water out of the receiver!