RCRLMichael

I've just figured out the issue. I indeed had installed the shorter eyelets instead of the longer eyelets as suggested earlier. Poor instruction reading on my part. Rookie error! I've swapped to the longer eyelets and all is good now (although I will admit, I liked the way the buggy looked with the low front-end). Thanks for the help everyone!

According to the instructions, the front dampers are supposed to use the short eyelet, not the long eyelet (the long eyelet is used on the rear dampers). I've measured the front dampers on my Racing Fighter and I get an overall length of 70mm. Centre of eyelet to center of eyelet is 63mm. As for adding collars, I've tried that and it doesn't seem to increase the front ride height at all.

Hello all, I've recently completed the build of my Racing Fighter (for those who want to check it out, I'll leave a link to the video below). The car turned out great and I'm very pleased with the results, however the front end sits a bit low. I need to adjust the length of the CVA dampers that came with my kit, however I can't find anywhere in the instructions what the damper length should be. Does anyone know the correct damper lengths, particularly the front dampers? I've checked Tamiyabase.com and they don't have the information. Thanks very much in advance. Cheers!

I've been looking at the DF-03 Alloy Damper Set the last few days. Expensive. But I do believe it's probably the best option for this buggie. Just trying to convince myself that it's ok to spend that money on an entry-level car. Never considered the GMade offerings. I'll have to check them out. Cheers!

Hi all, I'm looking for damper suggestions for my DT-03 Racing Fighter build. The Racing Fighter kit I have came with the CVA dampers and I also have the Tamiya Spring Set Hop-Up option #53832. However, I'd like to upgrade the plastic CVAs with alloy dampers instead. I tend to prefer using genuine Tamiya hop-up options (or TRF if budget allows) however I haven't found any direct replacements for the CVAs that came with this kit. As such, I've been looking at either going with a set of GPM dampers or a set from Yeah Racing. But before I pull the trigger on either of those, I wanted to ask here if anyone here has any suggestions for dampers. Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers!

That's exactly what I was afraid of. Crap. I guess I'll have to order the correct Tamiya Hop Up item. The good news is I didn't have to wait for the GPM part to arrive to find this out. Thanks for letting me know and thanks for confirming. I appreciate it. Cheers!

Just so I'm clear, you're saying the GPM Steel CVD kit #DT3264SC will NOT work with the DT-02 ball differential drive cups? I did recently notice the ball diff instructions mention to use Tamiya Hop-Up DF-02 Universal Shaft Assembly #53791. I'm just hoping the GPM steel CVD kit is a direct replacement/equivalent for the Tamiya DF-02 Hop-Up kit.

Fantastic! Thanks for replying and for verifying. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive.

Hi all, I've recently started my DT-03 Racing Fighter build, and I'm incorporating a number a Tamiya and after-market Hop-Up options (as one does). One such upgrade is the Tamiya DT-02 Ball Differential Set (#53863); despite being designated for a DT-02, this is listed as a upgrade for the DT-03 chassis. After assembling the diff itself and installing it into the gearbox assembly, I noticed the drive cups that came with the ball diff set were considerably smaller than the kit supplied drive cups. I've attached a photo below to illustrate this. The trouble is, this make it impossible to use the kit supplied dog bones (they simply won't fit in the small drive cups), and I can't swap the larger kit supplied drive cups as the interface to the differential itself is completely different. Now, I do have on order a set if steel alloy CVD drive shafts from GPM (part number DT3264SC), which I purchased prior to starting this build. The reason is because I will be running a 10.5T brushless motor with a 2S LiPo in this car and it's my understanding the stock plastic drive cups and dog bones become a weak point when power goes up. However, in light of this recent discovery, my question is will the GPM CVD drive shaft set work with the smaller drive cups of this ball differential? If not, what CVDs do I need to source that will fit these smaller drive cups? Should I be looking to replace the small drive cups with something larger instead? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Michael

Thank you again for the info. The search now begins for a correct heat sink, and carb. Cheers!

Thanks so much for the link! Very valuable information there. Cheers!

Thank you very much good sir! At least this gives me something to go on in order to hunt down a carb and appropriate heatsink. Cheers! BTW - any ideas what engine the heatsink is from? It certainly looks like a Tamiya unit and not some aftermarket one.

Since this is the case, do you think you can you help me identify this Tamiya nitro engine? I bought it off eBay not too long ago, and it arrived today. It was cheap so I figured what's the harm? The seller had it listed as a vx .16 engine, which I believe is a mistake. Obviously it's missing a carb, and there's no glow plug and the pull-starter isn't a genuine Tamiya unit (like hens teeth those things). But it spins freely when I pull the pull-start cord so I won't have to deal with the pain of getting it spinning. But I'd really like to know what engine this is. That way I can spend MORE money to find a car to put it in. You know, the a$$-backwards way?

Hi All, Just curious if any of you here have ditched the 4 "AA" 6V battery holders used to power the servos and receiver on Nitro cars in favor of running a small, comparably sized LiPo pack? If so, what brand/spec/size/etc... do you use? I'm partial to Venom Power batteries, but not married to them if there are better/less expensive options that are a direct fit. And do you also use a LiPo alarm to avoid dropping below 3.5V or is that not much of an issue given the small power draw? Michael

And I'm completely fine with this potential problem...LOL!!

That's very good to know. I honestly know very little about the M-chassis cars from Tamiya, other than they're very popular as a race category. This particular one was a great deal - $50 shipped, so honestly I can't complain one way or the other. I don't know if the vehicle has bearings, or any other hidden treats the previous owner may have included (it does have red anodized wheel nuts, so that's nice), but the price it can't be beat.

Hello all, Well, the postal delivery folks brought me another eBay purchase today. I picked up what was advertised as a Tamiya M-05 chassis. It's a brand new roller chassis that's never been run, but completely assembled save for a steering servo, ESC, receiver, and tires. Not sure what I plan to do with this vehicle yet, but it was cheap so I snapped it up. However, after doing a bit of searching online (as you do) I've discovered that the wheels on the model itself look to be from the Tamiya 2006 Mini Cooper S (kit #58400), which used an M-03L chassis. Now, it's very likely the seller may have simply installed a spare set of wheels they had left from a different build, but it's now raised the question: how can I identify whether the chassis I've purchased is an M-03L or an M-05? Thanks in advance. Cheers! Michael

Hi all, I'm just curious - is there a Tamiya nitro engines identification guide out there that someone knows about? There seems to have been so many different variants that all looks extremely similar to the untrained eye - FS12SS, FS12LT, FS12FT, etc... that it would be nice to have a definitive guide to help identify an engine at first glance.

Understood. Thank you for the heads up. Gloves and goggles it is!

Tons of great information here - thank you so much for all this! It's all going to prove very useful. I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly what I have with respect to this car (with all my other R/C projects, I get to this one when I can). But I agree with your sentiment - I believe someone probably ran this car once for a minute or two, left it on a shelf (it looks like a shelf queen...not a scratch on it anywhere) with fuel in it. The nitro fuel evaporated leaving a green goo behind; no after-run oil or anything of the sort. Someone then tried to start it much later only to find the engine didn't turn over and ended up breaking the pull-start rope, which is how it sits today. I've ordered a replacement pull-start assembly to replace the broken one. I've also found a small part is missing, along with a couple of fasteners that I don't think were ever installed. Nothing critical, but I've ordered replacements nonetheless. I've also printed a copy of the assembly manual as well (which is proving incredibly invaluable). My next step is to remove the tank and clean out all the green goo in it that's been left behind. Not a big issue and I'm sure it'll go relatively smoothly. The bigger issue, however, is the engine won't turn over. At least not by hand. I'm reluctant to remove the engine from the car - as I said, I've got a couple of other projects on the go right now, and I don't really want to dive head-long into this one just yet - but trying to turn the engine over at the flywheel is proving nye on impossible as it sits; I should mention, the throttle is also stuck and refuses to move as well. I'm going to guess that green goo has done a real number on what looks like a brand new engine and has gummed things up rather solid. I've removed the glow plug and air filter, and peering down either I can't see any sort of dirt or corrosion. I have been spraying tiny amounts of PB Blaster penetrating oil over the last couple of days down both the carb and the cylinder in the hopes of loosening things up, but still no luck. I'll continue to do this for a little while longer and see how that goes before pulling the engine out of the vehicle. It's also been suggested that nitro fuel itself can also be used as an effective cleaning agent which I will definitely try once I get my hands on some. I won't lie though, despite this minor setback, I am genuinely chuffed to bits just looking at this car.

Good call on not using pure alcohol to help clean out the engine. I didn't think of the alcohol washing away much needed lubrication to prevent oxidation. Also very good to know that I need to get the nitro methane out of the engine once it's done running. I didn't realize that was the case. I can tell you, its extremely difficult to turn the engine over as it is right now, so I have a feeling it's either extremely gummed up inside OR there's a lot of corrosion in it. Any value in pulling the glow plug out and spraying some PB Blaster into the cylinder and letting it sit a few days? Do you think that'll do anything or be more harmful than good? The whole nitro percentage thing is a big mystery to me, so I'm going to be at the mercy of what's suggested by those of you who have come before me.

Thanks so much for these great suggestions. I agree, needle settings is something I DEFINITELY need to wrap my head around! I often see folks adjust their needle valves while the engine is running. I'm sure they're listening for something, but I'm not quite sure what that is. I guess that's where experience really does become super-important. As for the nitro fuel percent, that's another area I am absolutely clueless about. I didn't even realize there was a difference - I figured nitro was nitro...everyone runs the same (sort of like in your garden tools). So the higher the nitro percentage, the less wear-and-tear on the engine...? I've already ordered a new pull-start assembly, but when I pull the old one off I'll definitely try to rebuild/repair it if I can. In my experience with vintage RC stuff, the more spare parts you have, the better.

I do have some denatured alcohol... will that work to help clean things up a bit? If not, I don't have any Nitro so I'm going to have to visit a local hobby shop to see if I can get some. I have ordered a Nitro RC "starter set" which includes a glow starter, some T-wrenches, some screw drivers, and fuel fill bottle as well. Probably a good idea for me to wait for that before I get too far in trying to start this thing huh?

You're probably right about that. I'm really glad I posted about this before trying anything really stupid like trying to run it without a thorough inspection. I have noticed the engine won't turn over when I try to turn on the anodized blue flywheel. Most likely the engine is gummed up as you've suggested. Thanks for the tips - I'll definitely make sure the motor spins free before trying to start it.

It's a strange green goo. I honestly have no idea what it is. I'm assuming it's old fuel that just broken down from years of sitting...? Unless I'm told otherwise, my plan is to take the tank off and clean it out with some denatured alcohol soon.