Grastens

For a moment there I was about to guess the e-clip tool that was packaged in the earliest Tamtech kits, though that one is slightly different (and probably 'slightly' smaller!). Are those two both used for maintaining Technigold motors? I heard a bit about the specialized tool but never got to see one unpackaged...

I do have a re-release Buggy Champ runner I have been looking to sell for some time, but unfortunately I would be unable to send it until late February as I am soon headed back to university. So if you are still looking in about a month's time, I will be happy to negotiate! Spares and batteries would be included.

I too would love to see this upcoming thread! How much lighter is the chassis with all those nylon pieces?

Another two battery packs were spent on the backyard track: And my main objective over the holiday break, my Striker driver's head, is complete. It has been a while since I last painted a helmet, and certainly not my best work, but on a runner this will suffice:

Those are the screws needed; I had forgotten what was exactly included in the long upper deck kit. A good idea to combine the CF plate with the FRP lower plate, too, something I should try with my F103. Admittedly I was a bit nervous to put on a CF lower plate for my runner as it would be akin to putting it against a power sander, but the combination should enhance stiffness while keeping the stock FRP plate for the rougher asphalt.

I plan to get my Striker up and running and seriously look into selling one or two of my cars, after which I may already be thinking of another project...

The long upper deck will work with the stock FRP lower deck, but the servo stay will need to be changed to a two-piece assembly with mounting holes to fit the upper deck. Earlier F103 kits featured a single piece of plastic for the servo saver which does not have the mounting holes for the upper deck. I am unsure if the necessary hardware is included with the carbon-fibre upper deck, but a set of 3 x 32 mm (or a similar length) screws and two corresponding nuts are required as well if installing the deck on a kit that does not already have it.

My F103 runs with the aluminum diff joints but a stock steel axle and plastic differential pieces. The carbon-fibre chassis is worth considering as it is quite an increase in stiffness, and paired with the long carbon upper deck there is almost zero flex. I currently have a stock FRP chassis, but that is because I am not racing. The 0.4 module gears are great for competition but for a bash the stock gears may hold up. An absolutely-essential upgrade package is the high-torque servo saver and turnbuckle tie-rods; if they are not in your car yet, get them now! Steering will become much tighter and more precise; with carbon chassis plates the car will respond like it never could box-stock. Granted, the car still will turn with authority over one with the kit-issued links and plastic servo saver. The turnbuckles, of course, also make toe adjustments easier and are stronger than the metal links. The TRF damper is excellent, but I still think my car handled well with a stock friction damper. However, for tuning purposes this is a good addition. As for the carbon-reinforced plastic pieces: they do provide greater stiffness, but I noticed little difference in performance between carbon-reinforced front suspension uprights and suspension arms. The benefit is in durability, though, so they are worth a look. The great thing about the F103 is the incredible parts support from aftermarket firms and even OEM parts are in great supply. It depends on if the Tamiya brand is important; I for one run all-Tamiya parts on my car but at increased cost. I believe everything on the F103 has a hop-up for it except for the plastic motor mount, which has a hop-up heat-sink plate but the entire assembly cannot be replaced for an aluminum equivalent unless going to aftermarket parts. I look forward to seeing your F103; I am sure it will be quite a machine!

That is an epic-looking driver! Nice work! With a shovel and a few seconds, I created a small track in the backyard of my parents' house. My Buggy Champ was the first to test it: When the snow melted somewhat and I could no longer drift freely on the surface, I re-enacted the Toyota GT-One's winter tests at Spa-Francorchamps - with lots of fun had, but little in the way of skilled driving. The snow buildup on the front of the car is a testament to the latter! I probably ploughed enough snow to double the width of the track by the end of it... In my defence, I think the actual car in the tests had tires with treads!

My Avante has held up very well over a short ownership period that included plenty of hard driving. If equipped with ball diffs, the gears do require periodic maintenance, and while I have had issues with slop as components wear down, they are not pronounced. The car is sweet on the corners, with consistent behaviour in flat turns. I have yet to drive it on a proper track or even proper jumps, but the ones it did take were handled well. My maintenance notes indicate that parts were only lost or broken on heavy impacts at near-top speed. Granted, track running is very different from bashing, but so far it has proven to be an excellent bashing car.

'Need' both? Probably not. But if you can get both, then certainly there will be a number of jealous TC members, myself included! haha It is true that the High-Lift series and the Bruiser are distinctly-different, so you can be justified in buying both. The duo is not quite similar to a pairing of, for example, an Avante and an Avante 2001, but some people own them both anyways. Go for it!

Ah; hence 'wheel covers.' Unfortunately I cannot see any of those...

Alloy wheel covers? I assume those are different from alloy wheels? I see at least two such listings on eBay for metal wheels in the original 5-spoke design...

I have not had experience with them, but I do know that the same store also sells certain brand-name ESCs at relatively-low prices too (I picked up a Dynamite ECX1070 from there). But of course not as cheaply as I imagine their "in-house" product to be... I am waiting on a similar ESC and will let you know how my car runs with it once I receive it.

As from the original thread, I am keeping my promise to keep my first-ever car, the GT-One. It did take more thought this time, however, seeing as my collection has doubled since then. A more-cynical reason is that it is the one that seems to be worth the least in my collection!

That would explain so much. I have an original Sport-Tuned motor mounted in my GT-One (issued with the kit), but fitted my Avante with the newer one. It led to the pinion-mounting problem; I did manage to get it to mesh somehow but noticed gear wear despite keeping the gearboxes very well-greased.

My car is currently in pieces but I can make a sketch. Or did you mean of the Vanquish chassis and servo/motor locations?

I did run a Sport-Tuned motor on my Avante Black Special in place of the kit motor early on. I pitched it; the wires shredded themselves and I found the can too large to comfortably move it in and out of its spot on the chassis regularly, as I did (since I ran in very dusty conditions). The motor cables were under a lot of stress as the mounting position meant one was stretched to reach the ESC while the other had plenty of slack. On the kit motor with its asymmetrically-mounted cables the placement was ideal. I actually ended up flipping the pinion (after wrecking a 22T pinion while being oblivious to the short motor shaft length) and it was able to mesh suitably, but then again maybe I accepted that 90% was 'suitable.' And yes, the motor is in proximity to the servo, or at least the servo mount post. The motor and the rearward servo mount post are hardly further than 6 mm apart on the Avante, and the Egress does not seem much different...

They do trim bodies, but only in the 'finished-body' RC kits (and of course the XB line where applicable!). I always figured the uncut bodies, with their flange surrounding the entire bodyshell, were stronger than those already cut and so were preferred. Also, not every car has the body alone in polycarbonate. If you are discussing cutting every other polycarbonate part down, it would also mean cutting rear wings on cars like the Super Hotshot and cutting out separate rear-view mirror inserts on others like the Wolf WR1, specialized tasks which would elevate costs beyond efficiency. Tamiya's diverse product line probably does not allow for every kit to be cut to exact size prior to packaging. I know little about companies that pre-cut their bodyshells, but I would have also imagined that additional quality-control groups would be needed to ensure that the edges and corners are in fact cut and smoothed properly, which would be mostly-avoided with just packaging kits with uncut bodies. Tamiya body sets in kits typically have pre-drilled holes, but there is less to go wrong with a body post hole than entire cut sections. Those are my hypotheses on the subject, in addition to the notion that Tamiya's kit-building enthusiasts have usually been the type to cut their own bodyshells. Not everybody, of course, but a significant-enough number. P.S.: As for the profile pic, I cannot say I can help; mine right now is actually a 1 kB file!

I would really hate to see it in my rear-view mirror, but love seeing it here on Tamiyaclub! The finishing quality and creativity are both top-notch!

... 'Griculture? Maybe we will see this chassis again as a Super G-type upgrade spec for the WR-02? Those are honestly the only two things coming to mind right now, though I sure hope more possible meanings come up later!

I helped bring it back when I had this same sort of phase by stripping down one of my cars; I am doing it right now for my Avante. As I am also interested in the build phase, reassembling it has helped me rekindle my enthusiasm for the hobby, and it does not require too much space - just time! Maybe a combination of switching to something else and a rebuild could do it. Your situation sounded a lot like mine when I got started not too long ago, with the lack of local interest...

Blue hex adapters came in the post today; now waiting on one of those Chinese-made ESCs and a silver can motor.

I did my first hobby-related work in a while, taking apart my Avante to inspect the gearboxes, rebuild the shocks, CV joints and clean whatever I could: It fought off the urge to build something... for now!

Are you sure those cars in the videos were being run in salt water? In addition to causing problems for metal bearings and all metal parts, the motor is likely to suffer as well. Yes, the motor is sealed, but not completely from the elements. If you must run in salt water, the safest thing to do is to completely strip it down, clean, and rebuild it after every run; otherwise finding a lake just means the car needs to be dried well and/or sprayed down with a corrosion inhibitor (i.e.: WD-40). Plastic bearings are great, and as long as the car is cleaned promptly and carefully after each run the car should be able to handle it.