LeftyAl

Nice job, going to steel your roof idea for my FAV. It has a bit of gravel rash from when it had a "too fast" BL motor. Now it has a Tamiya Super Stock. I'm running the same battery and ESC as you, its a good combo.

A while ago I bought a DF03ra in a bulk lot on ebay. Didn't do much with it except use it as a spares car for introducing new people to the hobby. It took a few hits and after taking a look it needed a new chassis. I patched it up enough to keep going for a while and eventually got around to ordering a chassis. After I placed the order I though I should check the front gear case where the chassis bolts on, yep it is cracked too. So back onto ebay and order up the "A" parts tree. Not too bad a deal as you also get the rear gear case so I'd put that on too. On Monday the A parts turned up. After getting the car apart I find that B1 is cracked (is the lower bracket to secure gear case to chassis.) Check ebay,,, no B parts... start getting nervous as I have a car in pieces and no parts. Did a quick google search and found a local guy had the B parts so grabbed them and they should be here by end of week. Assuming no more damage the only parts that will be original are the drive train gears/diffs/shafts, suspension/ a arms and steering. The B parts come with shock towers so may as well put them on to match the shiny chassis and gear cases. Anyone else had a similar experience?

silicone sealant is another option or you can use acetone to remove the tyres from the wheels if they have been superglued on.

Prep is as important as the glue/sealant. Give the tyres and wheels a wipe over with a solvent/alcohol to remove the mold release used when they were formed.

With diffs especially I have stopped trying to make a diff do more than it was designed for. I've tried packing gear diffs with grease to reduce the amount the diff unloads. All I ended up with was greasy diffs that were a nightmare to work on. So if I want a diff with limited slip I look for ball diff option or diffs that are tunable with diff fluid and go from there. My 4 speedway cars all have standard gear diffs in them and since I got rid of the packed grease and used a light grease or oil, I have found they perform just as well (for my purposes at least) with less maintenance and mess. I've stopped buying the RC grade gear and just use a light machine oil for bearings, Inox MX6 grease for plastic gears and a marine type grease for the bigger cars with metal gears. And like the common theme here, less is more when it comes to grease.

Silicone sealant from the plumbing section at the hardware store would be an option. Super easy to remove if needed too,.

Ordered up a new chassis for my DF03ra. After checkout I went to check how bad the crack in the chassis was and found I needed to also get a new front gear case. Thankfully they come with front and rear gear case on the A parts tree, so the car will look pretty new once I install them.

A Hobbywing 1060 ESC would be a good option. I use them on my F103/201 cars where space is scarce, so should be OK in the Thunder Shot. The re-re manual shows an ESC install on page 2

Only thing I can think of stronger than Problemchild's suggestion is to use some flat aluminium bolted to the body with 3mm bolts. Not as clean looking. I've used that approach to repair/strengthen chassis, but that is hidden by the body. At least the epoxy/matting will flex a bit. I've had good success with expoxy and gorilla glue. Also, a wheelie bar will help.

Same got a couple of Vector K7s. Thanks for the heads up.

Checked out the ad.. It has pictures of the King Blackfoot and Blackfoot III which I think don't have the "frog" style gearbox. I can appreciate the seller not having a pic of the washer, but having the wrong cars seems weird. Xeostar's one looks to be on the money.

Gear ratio comes down to a few things (running surface, tyre size/weight, driving style) . Ultimately as you have mentioned you don't want to overheat the motor. If you have the 71T spur try that with the 24T, or get a 21 or 22T pinion and use that. The Torque tuned is the slower of the 2 motors so start with that one. Run it for a few mins and keep an eye on the temps. Use either a heat gun or the old finger test. If you can keep you finger on the can for 3 secs it is OK.

Good pick up!! The Volvo 850 and Vectra manuals have it the opposite to the Castrol. Wonder if there are any others?

I don't mind driving aids. I tried the ABS setting on a FlySky transmitter, got bored with it and learnt to drive without it. Was an absolute pain to calibrate some ESCs with it on and you needed to remember to disable first. I've used the gyro setting before for a bit, then dialed it right down to nothing as I got better. Programmable ESCs have been around for ages. I have an old school GM Racing Pro (must be 18-20 yrs old now) that has a turbo function which is really just a delay in applying full power. Helps to get the car going then unleashes the power with less chance of losing traction. Some of the programming modern ESCs can do is awesome like punch, braking strength, power curves and variable timing. So if it helps you improve your skills then I am all for it. I am moving my gear towards less is more these days. Simple ESCs with little features and the same with transmitters. If they are treated as training aids, it may help to bring more people to the hobby, just like RTR did.

As Toolmaker mentions there are lots of variables in brushed motors. Bushings vs bearing Hard vs soft brushes Hard vs soft springs. OG style rebuildable motors could cater for tuned springs for the -ve and +ve sides (different tensions) Timing setup Magnet strength Brush contact with the Comm. Balance of the armature. Can design and how heat is managed. Include tolerances in manufacturing/assembly, just like the amp tubes example, and the motors have a range of performance. I have found 23T Tamiya motors tend to punch above their weight compared to similar "specced" motors. Not sure if it in the manufacturing/assembly side of things, or slick marketing from the competition....maybe both. Another thing to consider in the lunch box versus hornet example is rotating mass. The weight of the wheels has a massive impact on performance. I swapped from rubber slicks to foam tyres on my TA03/04 cars and the acceleration difference is very noticeable. Try the 20T in your Hornet and see how it goes. Maybe with using a GPS or phone to confirm the speed.

Agree with Turnip, open at the back will be less likely to step out under throttle too. As a suggestion though, try assembling the diffs as per the manual and see how it goes and then tune as needed. I've come full circle with how I set up Tamiya gear diffs. Tried various greases and ways of limiting diff slippage. In then end I've gone back to the minimalist approach. Just enough grease for the gears and off I go.

Best put a house bring over the front wheels. I put a 4000Kv in a King Blackfoot and it was uncontrollable. No steering and rear wheel braking at crazy speed make for a few pucker moments. I found it was most enjoyable with a 19X1. My prediction is it will be the first thing to the scene of the crash. Take a camera to preserve the moment, got a GPS ?

Just took a look at the manual. LVC for nimh is 4.5V for a 2 second duration (assuming the ESC is working properly) Do you have a multi meter or battery checker to confirm the voltage of your batteries?

I've jumpered across to NIMH mode when troubleshooting an issue. Used a LV alarm on the battery whilst doing so. Haven't tried it with a jumper though.

hmmm its been a while since I used brushed motors. I can't find out how many winds that motor is. I suspect a 17X1 or 17X2 would be ok to start with the 17T pinion. At the end of the day it comes down to a combination of: Running surface. Smoother = less strain on the motor Duration of run. Heat in the ESC Heat in the motor If the ESC and motor temps are reasonable, up it to the 19T pinion. I currently run a 3300Kv in a DT03 and have run a 4000Kv for a while. Either are a handle and a lot of fun. Weight in the front is recommended :). I even had to mod up a lunch box wheelie bar to try and stop it from becoming a turtle. Give it a goes and let us know.

I vividly remember taking over the lounge room floor when I came home with my first Super Hornet. I spend about 4 hrs building the car and very much enjoyed the process. I cant seem to recall building any of my other 15+ kits with the same clarity or enthusiasm. However I do recall the feeling of the getting to the steps for damper build and masking/painting of those other builds. If I am doing the painting I almost always tend to go one colour and minimal decals. If I can find a decent painted body at the LHS it's a no brainer. Same with dampers. To me dampers and paint are a chore. I much prefer the driving and repairing/trouble shooting/upgrading side of it. None of my cars are shelf queens they all have evidence of being well used and each of those marks is a memory of having fun. As Mad Ax points out, the world has changed as have expectations and the instant gratification most kids now experience. When I bought my Taisan TA02, I spend months looking at my copy of the Tamiya Guide Book before my decision. I had no real idea what I was getting till I got it home. Nowadays I check the manual out, see what parts/upgrades are available and what forums/youtube content in available.

Its a tough call, what might be over priced today may be even more over priced in the future and less obtainable. If it makes you happy then it doesn't matter so much if you knowingly overpay. I spent >12 months chasing a propeller shaft for a F201. Eventually I found one and sure I over paid, but now I can use my F201.

Nice job, Can I ask what those tyres are ? They look cool.

Nice Van Halen reference there.

Not sure mate, it has been a long time since I used nimh. Maybe someone with a bit more experience will be able to chime in.