Honza

One positive thing I forgot to mention about MF-01X is its flexibility. The simple shaft and range of chassis inserts allows you to set up any wheelbase from 170mm to infinity and beyond 😃 and I'm not exaggerating (a photo I found on Facebook) Its compatibility with old stile Tamiyas adds range of compatible suspension widths from M-chassis to buggy, which makes it a great platform for non-standard bodies.

I didn't build it, I just found the blog. 😃 The slipper pads do have flats, they are just not as pronounced as on Tamiya parts.

All the red parts (except for stock uprights) were needed to make somehow decent chassis. Of course front CVDs and some modifications to improve turn radius, ball bearings and oil shocks are necessary upgrade. The issues I had and solved: - The rear was too heavy especially with short lipo. The new motor position is also considerably lower. - gearing taken from TL-01 didn't really fit M-chassis - the longest stock gear ratio is slower than slowest M-05. And the speed tuned gear set doesn't engage entire teeth. - it's nice that it supports square lipol without need for option parts, however, the holders don't work well and keep battery exposed. On a narrow rally chassis... It's worse with short packs, which cannot be even secured with stock holders. - I just couldn't find spring combination that would work well with stock front axle and had to use water-like oil to get soft dampong.. I had to redesign front arms, which helped, but I'm still not happy with it. - this is not exclusive to MF-01, but the front "bumper" is a joke. In the end, it cost$ about the same as XM-01. And although I have some criticisms towards XM, as a rally chassis it's the better option.

Looks awesome! Until now, I didn't even realize that XV-02 uses bodyposts in the bumper. Looks like the RS Pro shock towers are closer in geometry to the XM ones. Of course they are only sold in pairs, so you'd end up with two unused towers, if you wanted to use rear tower for front axle. These have been in use since TRF417 - in fact, XM-01 uses the same wheel axles (hint for DCJs 😁) I prefer them over grub-screws since there's no risk of the grub screw becoming loose. Never had problem with them, just make sure that the spring clips are oriented properly, with the loose end pointing opposite to the direction of rotation.

You can - there's a tube that goes through the bearing, which transmits force from the nut to the spring. It's quite limited range, but you could increase tension by adding inserts between the spring and tube.

Found out, that TT-02B can have a slipper as well. I wonder why there isn't an official Tamiya part, seems like XV-02 slipper would fit after couple of modifications to the spur shaft... Link to a Japanese blog that describes how it's build.

For that price, you can get TT-02BR, which comes with sealed diffs, CVDs, aluminium shocks and other hopups. At that point, I'd say it's better car than DF-03, plus it has better parts availability.

It is more track focused car, but the long arms allow for some extra ride height after some modifications, plus you can get uprights from XM-01 for extra ride height setting.

It was the same with DB-01. The limiters are there, because the base version ships with dogbones, which have quite limited steering anglem. Once you get CVDs, you can remove them. Or play with them as a setup feature.

I released some magic smoke today

Great, it'll be nice to see a full option variant 😁 I'd guess they'll be same as XV-02, as most of the other parts.. but it is weird that they're not listed as an option (and that it came stock with XV-02) It should fit, it fits to TT-02, but the short outdrives might become an issue. This is something I hate about Tamiya.. You lose a spacer, look up the manual and description says just "A15", because it comes from a plastic tree.

Just saw this in a Facebook group: And found some older photos from build: As expected, some cuts have to be done.. but they can be masked by the engine model.

From the series "why Tamiya haven't thought of that?", I finally tried whether I can run a single propshaft for multiple wheelbases, since my design allows for the propshaft to stick out of the bevel housing - this is an L propshaft on M wheelbase. In the same way, M-propshaft could be used for the shortest wheelbase.

I'm afraid that's still a bit too wide, if XM mounts are 32mm, you'll need around 24mm to fit between the arms (assuming the arm end is 8mm in diameter). XV-01 gearbox, which is designed around those mounts, is 20mm wide.

I cannot measure, but if this guide is still correct, for XV type blocks, the widths are as follows: XJ (all except the inner rear) - 34,75mm XM (inner rear) - 32,5mm XH (the adjustable option) - 36,25mm with center blocks, each position changes width by 0,75mm, narrowest setting being XJ equivalent.

Awesome, and it's a vector file, that'll be useful It looks nice, but does it have enough space above the wheel when it's compressed? It looks lower than the stock guard. Also, it might be good idea to keep it more open on the rear, to reduce build-up.

M-05 came with flat D type differentials and outdrives, using same plastic gears as M-03. The 54477 TT-02 outdrives should fit as well.

Not my favourite shop, but I ordered there once and they were quick and I had no issues. This looks like GLS goof. That being said, I looked through reviews on their FB page.. and the lack of communication is quite common theme. The e-shop is side hustle of large PSA/Toyota/Hyundai dealership's owner, so it probably doesn't have high priority in terms of man power and customer support.

Cool, thanks for the info! Now I wonder who's gonna make the first M-07/8Ra? 😁

We hit a big milestone today, with prototype of functional belt drivetrain on a full-scale XV-01 chassis. It wasn't build by me, but by a friend, who had parts lying around and was kind to send me these pictures for sharing. He has been interested in mid-motor conversion for some time, which actually gave me the idea for this whole project. I got some feedback on the model, luckily only minor tweaks were needed to get it working. I was happy to see that the stock motor plate fits perfectly. I just need to model a spur cover. Using stock tensioner assembly with 630 bearings, belt is quite close to the motor, but it doesn't rub even with loose belt. In the case where vibrations would cause contact with the motor, larger bearings can be fitted to keep the belt further away from the motor. Now I need to get TD-4 bevels and counter shaft for the shaft driven drivetrain

Thanks, I'll check them out. I've seen those, but I think they are more for dirty asphalt, than dirt track

Thanks! Did you compare them to standard or soft Tamiyas? There were rallyblock clones a few years back that were even softer and gripped extremely well, but they disappeared and I'm looking for a replacement since then... Tamiya soft blocks are pretty close, but something softer would be even better.

@Alex97 I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Tamiyas 60D tires less than adequate. 😁 I made similar tires out of old worn out rallyblocks, but they are still superior. What tires are those? They look like they have same thread as Tamiya, but different sidewall?

I'm not sure if TA-02 arms can be flipped around, I remember reading something about collision with motor. Tamiya did make a 251mm WB option, but that was TA-02 chassis with TA01 rear arms swept backwards.

Those aren't M-chassis arms, the shape looks similar to the standard TA01 arms, they just have more material on them, which makes them look shorter. The main difference here are uprights and very thick hexes. I guess wheel axles are quite long and will need replacement aswell.