Big Jon

Every single one of us in our rally club who's using the MF-01X, even with the stock Torque Tuned and a steel pinion, is suffering repeat spur gear failures. My MF, with a Yeah 23T and TL-01 high speed gear set, is currently down with a roached spur. There must be a way to make these things survive, especially as beefy as these gears are. I'm going to try using short screws inside the gearcase to hold the motor directly to the motor plate (aluminum) when I install the next gearset. Are we the only people with this issue? Has anyone found a solution?

I hope that it has a future. I'd really like to see a MS version, or at least a Pro 2. The chassis and hop ups are in high demand around here, and in short supply. Obviously, it's the top pick in our rally club. I recently built a TT02 as a rally car, with the goal being to get the best rally performance possible for the cost of an XV kit. It's not even close. Dollar for dollar, the XV is a better value. The TT just has too many compromises in its basic design to be able to cost effectively compete with an XV-01. The only changes the XV needs are minor. More steering angle, of course, and a vertically mounted servo to avoid stone jams, and I'd like more rigid rear body mounts, more like the M07 style. Maybe get the motor a little lower, and the bumper higher. Pill type suspension mounts, front belt tensioner, and larger suspension balls and cups would be icing on the cake. It doesn't need a full redesign at all. If they do a full redesign, messing with the suspension too much would be a mistake.

Mild gearing is very safe. To be truly fast, that motor wants the suggested gear ratio; your ratio will give you decent speed and cool, reliable operation. I use a much hotter 10.5 on my G6-01 and it's been perfect.

They're just right for occasional runners, too. A $15 17t is zesty in a lot of stuff; a Torque or Sport Tuned is the perfect match for comicals on Lipo, and so on. My higher performance stuff gets good brushless systems. I've run my trail truck near constantly for more than eight hours, something that I wouldn't try with a brushed system without a few spares. The easy availability of good, inexpensive brushed systems is making a whole spectrum of RC more fun.

550 motors will pull more gear than a 540. That 15t 550 motor, properly geared, will be faster than a sealed can 23t 540. The Titan 12t 550 can be pretty fast when geared for a five minute run, although the lifespan will be fairly brief. There's quite a bit of production variance in sealed can commodity motors, so some are faster than others. Tamiya "Tuned" sealed cans are very nice quality and don't seem to have as much production variance. Sealed can motors really benefit from a water break in, probably because it helps to wear in the bushings without any load. There's still plenty of room in our hobby for brushed motors. They're economical, fun to mess with, and provide good, controllable performance in lighter vehicles. Tamiya connectors, however, are next to worthless for any kind of performance or longevity.

I'm a huge fan of Hobbywing Justock systems. They're pretty cheap, about $100, perform very well, are dead reliable, and the ESC is nice and small. I've used them in everything from crawlers to buggies to fun runners to touring cars, and anything else that I have around. They're sensored systems and are not waterproof. You'll need the optional program card if you want reverse. For a TT02, I'd use a 13.5 or 10.5 with mild gearing if you're not racing, so you'll have good speed without heat issues and long run times. I think that I have ten or a dozen of these systems in various cars around here; they're my go-to for most 1/10 applications. If you want bigger horsepower, try the SkyRC Toro TS120 ESC with a race-type motor from Sky, Hobbywing, SMC or any of the less expensive big brands. The Hobbywing "Bandit" line of outlaw motors is very fast (if a bit heavy) and a real bargain. Stay away from four pole motors for on-road - the extra torque makes the cars harder to drive fast.

I've only had one brushed ESC fail that wasn't a total meltdown, and it was a brake FET on a Tekin 600 BITD. Blew a little hole in the side of it. Forward worked normally; no brakes. I was able to get a few more races in while I scratched up enough money for a new ESC, although 1/12 is tough with no brakes! It seems like capacitors fail with some regularity in modern stuff, and I'm guessing that the total meltdowns are failed FETs. Capacitors do have a limited lifespan, though, and if you're confident replacing FETs, you might want to consider replacing the caps, too.

I'm trying to find rally springs for these shocks, too.

No, Horizon. The AVC is an adjustable gyro built into the receiver.

Replacing the self-tapping screws with machine screws will reduce the maintenance required, makes maintenance easier, and will make your plastics last longer. They don't loosen like the self tapping ones.

Call Horizon Hobby. It sounds like there's an issue with the gyro.

I'd buy one right now if they were available.

There's no more TRF off-road, which is sad to me. Racing doesn't pay the bills, though, nor does it have any real effect on sales anymore. Nobody is buying a Lasernut because the SCTE it's based on wins National Championships, for example. TRF on-road definitely has a halo effect on TA and TB cars, and on road guys really like the racing pedigree, even for parking lot cruisers. While I'd really like to see more off-road development from Tamiya, the market wouldn't support a racing program now.

I'm trying to get more steering angle out of a TT-02 rally project. I've already removed all of the steering stops, installed CV axles, installed a ball-bearing bellcrank set and good servo saver, positioned the servo 3mm further forward, and reduced the Ackerman angle. I've also ground down the bearing boss on the chassis for a few more degrees of angle, but I need a few more degrees. I don't want to use a full-on drift setup, because I'll need all of the suspension travel available. Any ideas?

They're a ton of fun in a small parking lot or driveway, and they're very easy to drive with a decent servo. Mine is stock with bearings and a Pro-Tek PTK-100T servo, and a 2S Lipo. Not "high performance" at all, definitely not a toy, cute as a button, and super cheap. Fits in nicely with the comical lineup.