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Top Force Racer

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Everything posted by Top Force Racer

  1. Sorry to hijack the thread, but before I bolt the rear end back together, I have the option to stick with the normal Egress rear shock tower or use the rere Avante shock tower. I know they attach at different places, but I like the idea of the CF shock tower attaching to aluminum standoffs. The standard Egress attaches to a plastic piece and seems to be an area of weakness. TIA.
  2. I'm rebuilding my Egress 2013 runner with a mix of new and vintage parts and this thread has been so inspirational! Thank you for posting everything thus far, but I would love to see more of that front end in detail!
  3. One of my favorite models! In fact, I'm running a stock Vanquish front end (bigger bumper, front gear diff, and G8 part) in my Egress runner.
  4. A true labor of love! I really enjoyed your post!
  5. Top notch work! Quick question, for a runner, are the metal rear arm mounts (part BB30) required? Can I get away with running the car with just the carbon fiber reinforcing plates and a screw/nut securing the rear training arm?
  6. OMG, I dribbled a little bit, but I will wait to lose my bladder and bowels until more information is released!
  7. I think maybe your logic on plastic shocks vs. aluminum shocks is a little off. One shock doesn't perform better than the other because it's lighter in weight. A good performing shock unit will have tight tolerances as to resist leakage, a stiff cylinder (shock body) and end cap to resist expansion so oil will go through the piston and not around it, and durable coatings to reduce internal friction and prevent premature wear. Many good quality metal shock units have these qualities, in addition to fine and quick spring tuning capabilities (ie. threaded shock bodies), as well as coated shafts. Tamiya's CVA shocks don't have most of these features, although if you're just backyard bashing (even club racing), they will perform quite well. If you're looking to do some serious racing, then an upgrade to quality metal units is advised.
  8. As Tenzor posted, the Avante was the first 4wd car to be used by the TRF team. They had high hopes of winning international races with this car, but as we know now, the Avante was not capable of effectively competing with the offerings from Kyosho, Yokomo, Schummacher, AYK, etc. Tamiya desperately wanted to dominate the 1988 IFMAR World Championship and had high hopes for the Avante, which was an obvious and radical departure from the Hotshot design. Unfortunately, what they cooked up was an overweight, over-engineered, and overly fragile hunk of soft aluminum and FRP. The 1988 team of TRF drivers were a skilled bunch and to take 7th place at the 1988 IFMAR with this car is a feat into itself! Commercially, the car failed as well. All those exotic materials and the Technigold motor bumped the price of this car up -- way up from previous Tamiya 4wd car offerings. Because of it's price, the gaining popularity of high performance 4wd cars during this time, and solid options from other manufacturers, it also marked one of the first times when large numbers of Tamiya devotees cross-shopped with other manufacturers for competitive 4wd vehicles. Despite its shortcomings, the Avante did usher in some new designs, primarily it's drivetrain and rear suspension. Most people would say that the Avante design had flaws, but in reality, the Avante was designed for a different era. The biggest flaws were in the choice of materials used. Back in the day, tracks were rougher than most race tracks today. If they introduced the Egress first and TRF raced that in 1988, I'm sure they would have had better results. Ironically, the Avante is more popular today than it was when it was introduced; and it's more expensive to secure one today! Folks hoping for a re-re should remember how fragile those aluminum parts were and an Avante re-re would re-open old wounds and probably add bad press/PR for Tamiya. If they were to re-re this design, it would make more sense to re-re one of its variants instead (Vanquish, Egress, 2001).
  9. TRF Tamtechs...now there's an idea! Seriously though, I can totally appreciate what Tamiya did (and have done) for touring cars and scale realism. I also appreciated how Tamiya once lit a fire under other company's butts. Sure, an Optima could beat a Hotshot, but it was the Hotshot that made Kyosho realize that they had to do something! I also realize that some of their most ingenious designs (Avante, 959) were poor sellers at their time of introduction, and my rant runs deeper than Tamiya. Don't you guys remember when R/C was a true hobby? When you went to the hobby shop to talk and pick up sheet metal, metal rods, and airplane ball links to fabricate your own stabilizer bars?! Everyone who wants a re-re Monster Beetle or Fox or whatever should understand that all Tamiya really should do is re-re the bodysets and let the hobbyist buy a re-re Hotshot or Frog and make their own Monster Beetle and Fox. This should please both collectors and bashers. My point is that somewhere along the way, we lost a bit of ingenuity in our hobby. Sometimes it seems that the only thing that truly distinguishes a vehicle from another are their paint jobs. And think about it...how sad is it when we're more excited about what Tamiya is going to re-re, rather than what 'new' product are they going to introduce? Make no mistake, I'll be the first to buy a re-re Avante, 959, Bruiser, etc...but I have to ask, "where are our future classics?!" Please tell me it's not based on a DT-02 ><
  10. Personally, I hope Tamiya starts migrating away from the re-releases and focuses more on producing new and innovative models like they once did. They've tried hard to compete with 2wd and 4wd offerings from Associated, BJ Concepts, Yokomo, Team Durango, and the like, but what did the TRF really create? Variations on a theme. The 201, 501, and 502 were all late to the dinner party and they all copies from previous designs. They have no competitive micro-series (1/16, 1/18th scale) like the LRP Shark, or micro offerings from Associated and Losi. Where are the short course stadium trucks, and how could they let HPI just dominate the back yard truck basher scene? I can appreciate the scale looks and performance of the Tamiya rock crawlers, but why not introduce something to compete against the likes of Axial Racing? Of course Tamiya have the 3 speeds, semi trucks, and tanks, but they really are niche products. But what happened to Tamiya innovation on their mainstream products? Aside from re-re's, what is Tamiya doing to gain new audiences? What does Tamiya have in the pipeline to entice us after they (hypothetically speaking) release the Wild One, Avante, Fox, 959, and Bruiser, etc?
  11. Actually, the wheels really are from an RB5. I have a set of Optima Mid wheels, but I wanted the fronts to be narrower than the rears. I'll definitely take your advice about the steering and give your rear suspension mod a try thanks!
  12. I'm hooked on nostalgia-series racing and I've been running a Top Force in the 19T spec modified class. It's now time to race a 'new' car and after searching through boxes of old Tamiya parts, I found the front and rear gear boxes and suspension arms from a Vanquish I once owned. I'm not sure what happened to the chassis, but I figured this would be a good foundation for an Avante-class racer. Here's the semi-finished chassis. I purchased the Avante 2001 FRP top and bottom decks from fellow TC member Tamiyoman (Vintage-tamiyaparts on eBay) and went to work. To save money, I modified the car using parts I already had. Vehicular modifications are allowed as long as the parts were designed prior to 1991 (off-the-shelf items only, no custom makes). Some things to note on the chassis: 1) Shocks are from a Kyosho RB5. I'll have to change those in the near future. 2) Rear shock tower and wing mount from a Vanquish was used as Avante 2001/Egress N parts are expensive! 3) I removed the rear sway bar for 2 reasons: 1) the Vanquish-specific rear stabilizer holders will not fit the upper deck properly and the Avante 2001 parts are (you guessed it!) expensive, and 2) the rear sway bar is so thin that I doubt it does anything at all! 4) The rear idler gear is not installed because I'm waiting for some 830 bearings to completely ball-race the car. 5) I'm missing the reinforcing plates and associated (original) mounting hardware for the rear trailing arm so I devised a new mounting system. I'm still thinking about how to reinforce the chassis as the reinforcing plates cost nearly $50 US on eBay! 6) The front plastic shock tower from the Vanquish developed multiple stress fractures. An original FRP replacement was too expensive to buy, so I modified and installed an old aluminum rear shock tower from a Kyosho Optima Mid SE that I had. 7) Dish wheels are from a Kyosho RB5 and the tires are from Team Losi (pink compound).
  13. Heck, the TC3 drivetrain copied the Avante!
  14. The body shell might look better with some side window netting, but I agree that this is pretty ugly. And what's up with the name? Isn't Zahhak an evil figure in Persian mythology?
  15. I've been trying to get my hands on a Dynastorm runner for a long time now and they are not necessarily rare, but I find that people who have them don't want to let them go. As you know, these are great cars eve by today's standards. This car was based off the fabled TRF 211X, which itself heavily poached the Super Astute. I believe that only the relative lack of replacement parts, compared to say an Associated, Losi, or Kyosho, prevent this car from being widely raced at the club level. Enjoy your Dynastorm!
  16. Bearings are worth the upgrade over plastic bushings. You were used to the what a car drives and handles with plastic bushes, so your experience with a ball-raced vehicle is understandable. Also, I have to ask, how does a plastic bush wear out a metal shaft? More likely, the plastic bush wears out (high rpm/softer material than the metal shaft), causing play in the gears, which then cause premature wear.
  17. I was ordering from them recently and I got this message from them on Oct 1: "HI, im sorry we are on holiday until 6th October due to a family event, we will be happy to answer your query on our return." I'm sure they will return your message tomorrow or the day after.
  18. I would get the Hotshot first because it's a more fun build, but honestly, I would get both. The Frog is great for what it is. Sure, it's got drive train issues (solved by aftermarket parts), but ask yourself this: in a few years, will you regret not spending an extra 150 dollars for a Frog? Most likely yes.
  19. Could be either an RX-540SD Technipower or the RX-540VZ Technigold. they both looked the same without the label. Part of the problem is that the Technigold came in a variety of shades of gold. Only way to know for sure would be to dyno the motor and compare it against the numbers of a Technigold. The Technigold will spin about 1000 rpm slower and pull 100+ g/cm more torque. I guess if you really wanted to know for sure would be to destroy the motor and check how many winds are wrapped around the comm. The Technipower is a 23-turn motor; the Technigold is a 21-turn motor.
  20. "...the suspension is left to absorb all the shock from an impact..." I think this is the basic idea for suspension systems. Well, that and it's supposed to contribute positively to the road handling of the vehicle. If the bottom of the chassis slaps the ground after jumps, then you're blowing through the suspension travel. In the case of the HP suspension, I found that the chassis hit the ground before the shocks bottomed out. Forget about adjusting the shocks by tinkering with different pistons, oil viscosity, and spring rates; this is a fundamental suspension design limitation of the car. In any event, I don't think it's acceptable to have chassis slap as part of your suspension system. Ideally, you will have your suspension tuned so that it is supple enough to tackle the smaller bumps and robust enough to handle the big jumps. However, tuning suspensions is really a lesson in finding the right compromise. While I agree that some scrapping of the bottom of the chassis is inevitable, it's should be the exception and not the rule.
  21. Nice resto thread! I know it'll add to the cost, but what about some ball links and adjustable turnbuckles?
  22. I run a Hotshot at a local park. It's mostly flat with a couple of medium-sized tabletop jumps and a couple wide sweeper turns and a few tight ones as well. I have run this car in original form (dual monoshocks), with Supershot suspension (courtesy of the HP suspension kit), and in Hotshot II suspension (monoshock front, dual rears) and I have to say that for me, the best of the bunch was in Hotshot II form. Toss the original shocks. They may look cool, but they are poor dampers. That said, the biggest issue for me was bump steer and its wide turning circle. I was really hoping for more performance with the HP front suspension, but in reality the monoshock setup works better for me. I think the HP front suspension limits the front end, and the chassis is surely going to scrape the ground before the suspension bottoms out. You could always install limiters in the shock, but when you're done, you will notice that you have LESS suspension travel than the monoshock setup. However, the rear dual shock setup is better than the original monoshock design performance-wise. While the rear FRP shock tower from the HP suspension kit/Supershot looks better, I think it would be cheaper to buy a Boomerang chassis with the rear suspension arms and hub carriers and attach either the Boomerang or Super Sabre rear shock tower. Whoever said that you would be better off getting a Boomerang for bashing is spot on. I have basically turned my car into a hybrid Hotshot/Boomerang/Super Sabre basher from spare parts I had lying around. Here's what I used: 1) Boomerang chassis with steering rack, rear suspension arms, and battery door 2) Re-re Hotshot drivetrain and front roll bar with the FRP stabilizer bar holders, front suspension arms 2) Various Super Sabre red bits (rear hub carriers, rear shock tower, battery holder) 3) JG monoshock arm extenders for the Hotshot with front and rear black CVA shocks all around (lifted from a Top Force) 4) CRP front brace support for Hotshot Of course you could take the easy road and buy a Boomerang, but it's so much more fun when you build your own franken-car and it works out well! I'm keeping pace with the Thundershot-based cars in the 19T nostalgia category, and that's really all I hoped for If you're looking for a shelf queen, the original Hotshot is a fantastic kit to build. If you're itchin' for a classic backyard basher or a nostalgia-series racer, you really are better off with a re-re Boomerang. It's inexpensive, handles reasonably well, and parts availability shouldn't be a problem.
  23. I would also add that you should make sure your current charger can charge LiPos. If not, you'll have to add a new LiPo-friendly charger to your budget.
  24. I think you'll need something with smaller springs. Try the shocks from a TLT-1 or maybe the rear Frog shocks.
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