frameskip

@jonboy1 — exactly what I was looking for. Really appreciate you taking the time to send it over!

What are these for and who makes them? Don't mind the look of them!

Does anyone happen to have a scan/copy of the instructions that came with 84391? This is the optional one-piece pulley for the DB01. I can't see to find a copy online anywhere. Thanks!

Agreed with this. Silver cans on 3S LiPo is the cheap, easy way to get a faster Clod.

For what it's worth, in my experience this is one of the more rare JG hop-ups. I bought one in a JG parts lot about 5 years ago, and the differences from yours are superficial: The packaging is the same, but not marked as "prototype" The pack contains a small "JG" sticker I will eventually get around to fitting it, so maybe at that point yours will be the only remaining NIP!

Perfect -- exactly what I was looking for. Thank you kindly!

Thanks for the detailed response -- really helpful. I'm actually having a bit of a facepalm moment, as I had completely overlooked the unsprung weight issue (even worse as there's a stock Clod across the room looking right at me ): With your overall advice in mind, I'll probably just opt to run the stock plastics on on 2.2 tires on 2s with a sensorless HW 3652 (3300kV) I already have. I don't think it'll be flexing that motor very much, as it will probably have a relatively sedate life trundling around the garden with the kids (small/scale jumps at most). Thanks for the tip on the ring/pinion gears -- somehow I had assumed it was the bevel gears that would fail. I have a hardened stock ratio set in my metal axles (although cheaper Boom Racing parts if I remember correctly), so I might just swap them into the SMT10 housings. If they go bad I'll just pick up the Axial/Vanquish parts on the next go around. Another question if you don't mind -- regarding locking the transmission, are you running a slipper eliminator, or just cranking down the existing slipper very tightly?

I have an SMT10 incoming, as the most recent sale in the US brought them down to just $110 (and approximately £120 with shipping to the UK!)... Well, hopefully incoming, provided I don't have the same export/import dramas as @Mad Ax's LMT given I also ordered from Amain! I have been thinking about adding "beef tubes" into the axles to help with reliability, but I also have some full metal axle housings from a stalled crawler project that I could use. Given some of the drivetrain weaknesses with the SMT10, is this a bad idea to add a bunch of extra weight in the form of metal housings? Anyone have thoughts/experience on this (maybe @87lc2)? Really appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks for the tip -- will see if anyone is running this diff in that thread.

Agreed it would be the easy approach, but the challenge is that the diff isn't too accessible once the M-06 is put together. The other problem is that 3racing doesn't seem to offer replacement gaskets for this diff (a general problem with using non-Tamiya parts), so it's a bit of a build-once and hope for the best situation! Maybe it doesn't much matter as I won't race it, but based on running my M-05 I know a slightly tighter diff will be advantageous. I don't know much about diff tuning, so what I'm curious to understand, for example, is if 30k would be too stiff and I'll be constantly losing the rear end? Or if 3k is actually significantly stiffer than an open gear diff with liberal AW grease?

I'm hoping someone can help with a recommendation on diff oil weight for my M-06. I have the oil-filled 3racing gear differential (part # M06-06), which I thought would be interesting to install. (Normally I would just add some AW Grease to the kit gear differential). I will mostly be running in parking lots (so tarmac/asphalt) and will likely never race it. 3racing includes 2000 cSt oil (I believe), and I also have 900, 3000, 10k, and 30k cSt at hand. I have found recommendations for the M-05, but nothing for the M-06 (other than the RWD model will likely want a looser diff than the FWD). Any thoughts or experience appreciated, as I'm hoping to "set it and forget it"!

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like the gear diff conversion I never got around to doing on my XM may no longer need to be done! Looking forward to hearing what you find once you have parts in hand.

I don’t believe the XM manual mentions it, but the alloy gearbox is compatible with the TA06 gear diff (parts 51462, etc.). Take a look at the TRF201 XMW manual available from the Tamiya site.

I've restored several vintage Hotshots and don't see much difference from the re-re as far as the black polycarbonate (PC) plastic that makes up most of the kit. The compound of the re-re parts is equal if not more forgiving than NOS plastics. (Although maybe 35 years ago those NOS parts were better, but hard to say now! ). As for the GF-01 Land Cruiser body, I think the problem is with design more than material. I have the same pre-painted body (red), which developed serious cracking between the bed and cab almost immediately. It seems to me that the overall shape of the body does not lend well to the end-over-end tumbles my GF-01 naturally likes to take. I've not had that issue with any of my other Tamiya bodies.

@svenb -- who makes that rocker brace you have on the TB03? Haven't seen one of those before.