Honza

Germans also had 4x4 with beetle body - KdF 87.

TRF416 have symmetrical design, in TRF418 uprights moved a bit. They're interchangeable on cars with TRF style suspension mounts, but TT02 have different geometry, so different arms would probably alter wheelbase. Edit: I was wrong, even TRF420 arms fit TT02 https://www.thercracer.com/2020/03/ultimate-tamiyacup-tamiya-tt02-type-s.html?m=0

TT02S uses TRF416 reversible arms

I tried translation with google, it says TB05 diffs and M-07 suspension mounts. Which answers this: Geometry (camber/caster) will be adjusted by shims under lower suspension mounts.

Fiber reinforced plastic usually have this sort of finish. Pictures also show dog-bone drive shafts and black coated pivot balls - so this thing should be similar in terms of cost and performance to non-pro TA/TB series

I think this is neat idea. 4WD is easier to drive, independent suspension car drive on rougher surface and semi-closed FE body protects chassis better than F1 body, so it'll be more suitable to drive around just for fun.

Only thing I see missing on TB05 is DCJ. But otherwise TB05 is superior - alum center shaft, better materials, more recent suspension with standard suspension blocks, TRF shocks.. TT-02 SR is limited production, which is probably reason for high price.

It's interesting that they didn't go for Fxx name. Does it mean that chassis won't be exclusively for formula type bodies?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2909394 Whole M-03, knuckles should be same as TL-01. But I cannot confirm it's 1:1 copy, I never tried to print it

I guess I know why propshaft was not installed. I had these clones before and I found out that chinese made a mistake around propshaft bevel. Once you try to fit 1140 bearing in place of bushing, propshaft won't run smoothly, because original bushings are 3-3.5mm thick. And even with bushings I could not fully tighten covers.

Agreed, now tamiya makes two variants so you can choose - classic hard compound (50476), they don't work very well off road, but they last longer if you want to bash on tarmac. And soft compound(54861), which are better suited for gravel.

Shaft drive, starts with T.. TRF502? Or TB-evo 5?

Wouldn't this solve your problem? http://www.yeahracing.com/catalog/tamc022bu-aluminum-rear-camber-link-mount-tamcs07-p-3931.html

Actually, all designs I mentioned were based around moving weight forward. XV01 is only exception, because it already have too much weight in front in basic configuration. My TB03 goes sideways pretty well, when I allow it

I think that good example of onroad converted to rally is Nicadraus FF03 - downstops need to be shaved to allow more droop. Then some filling of front arms, which allows C-hubs to drop deeper into arms - now I'm not sure if newer TRF419 style suspension has enough material, but older 416 arms didn't have problem with rigidity even after substantial amout of material was removed. With raised suspension, softer springs are needed too. Longer shocks are better, but not necessary. Sport tuned or RS540SH are pretty capable. @Falcon#5 no need to google https://worlusho.rajce.idnes.cz/XB_rally_2018/

@smirk-racing so far, my favorite design was TB-03 with custom chassis I made 5 yrs ago - mid motor and shorty lipo. I have only one picture from early stage of build. Little problem of this design is, that main drive shaft gets into way of steering. I had to redesign it 3 times, before I got satisfying geometry. But that's for competitive rally, where 45° steering lock is good start This design is reason why I think that TB05 or TA07 in front motor configuration would make capable rally chassis with only minor mods. Other designs (not mine) include TA02 with longitudinal battery and fromt servo, Xrays with various mods often with motor moved forward, some XB4 conversions, even some TRFs.. XVs are used too, usually with custom chassis which moves CG towards to rear axle.

Not arguing with that. I'm just saying, that there are cars in tamiya line with bigger potential. But that's just my opinion after 10 years of building cars for rally

I meant, that difference between XV01 and non-rally is not that big, except for sealed electronics there's nothing what makes it much better rally car than any other onroad with lifted suspension. It even gets jammed steering by rocks, just like my "non-rally" TB03. But I agree with @smirk-racing, front motor makes it a bit different. Best rally car is one with long arms ( and drive shafts), long dampers an front biased, but centered weight. Sealed drivetrain and electronics is a plus. XV01 is close, but not quite there.

XV01 is maybe best rally car out of box, but it's not that better than non-rally cars. For example, long onroad arms can achieve better articulation, i needed pretty extensive mods to achieve same level with XV01 arms.. It depends, what you enjoy - driving stock car or building and modding? For me, it's second choice.

I think that TB05 could make interesting rally chassis. All gears are covered and it can be built with front and rear weight bias. I'm just not sure how much ride height could be achieved with TRF419 suspension. Old reversible arms on my TB03 could reach 25mm with some filing around C-hubs and removal of downstops.

"alphabet soup" makes lot of sense with touring cars, whera body became consumable item. It makes looking for part easier, however, it becomes ridiculous when one chassis gets several variants - like XV-01 TC PRO, DN-01RRR, TRF415MSXX

More precisely, it's (N+2)*m = D, where N is number of teeth, m is module, D is diameter. 64p roughly equals to 0.4 metric, 48p to 0.53 (so 48p is not compatible with 0.5, although it's close), 0.6 gears can be sometimes found listed as 42p (traxxas, for example)

Look closely on rear axle in picture I posted - rear damper is mounted directly to hinge pin. It is hinge pin with ball end, optional part for M06. I'm not sure what exactly it does, but it has some function, my guess is, that it makes damper action more linear with short M06 arms. M06 suspension is derived from TL01, so that ball-ended hinge pin should fit to TL01. Bolt could work, but you need one with long shack, otherwise it could damage hub.

Is this what you mean? It's part 51436 or 54296. It should work with TL01, too.

Take some spare/worn belt, cut it to length and then measure length or count teeth. RC belts are standard size, module S3M if I recall corectly, so it is possible to source almost any length. Anyway, great project. Custom parts look perfect