Jump to content

Cuiken

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    174

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Cuiken

  2. Posted

    Quick update for anyone considering a TA02 build. My own TA02 is not 'in class' but it's still been an interesting car to run. It's a surprisingly decent chassis (given its age), the shocks are easily extended (I removed the V3 spacer and added a shock o-ring with the remaining V1 spacer) and the Calibra shell can be cut back (fairly dramatically) to work with a rally car. Leaves you with this:

    ssGKl3i.png

     

    Only issue I had with it was that the front bumper provides hee-haw protection, especially for the shell. Clearly nobody at Tamiya had embraced urethane bumpers back in the early '90s. So, I bodged in a urethane bumper as below and it fits great. Required a bit of dremmeling of the existing bumper but only took a few minutes.

    1eYPr31.png

     

    hiy6grk.png

     

    4MZZ480.png

     

    vcphK22.png

     

    Aaytpp2.png

     

    vVysq7c.png

     

    • Like 7

  3. Posted

    15 hours ago, wilysloth said:

    My entry into the build-off with parts from spares added in:

    • Tamiya TT-02R (47326) - £88 at today's exchange rate (£106 with VAT)
      • Full bearing set
      • Front/rear CVA oil dampers
      • Aluminium motor mount
      • Aluminium propeller joint (54502)
      • Aluminium propeller shaft (54501)
      • Aluminium uprights (3-degree toe-in)
      • High-speed gear set (54500)
    • Tamiya Subaru Impreza WRX STi Team Arai body (see XV-01 58528) - £35 (spares)
    • Silver can - £5 (spares)
    • TBLE-02S ESC - £10 (spares)
    • Wheels, foams and rally block tires - £15 (spares)
    • SPT 4412LV servo - £13
    • Kimbrough servo saver - £5 (spares)
    • Tamiya TT-02 chassis plate - £5
    • Tamiya PS-1 White - £5

    Receiver and battery swapped in/out from other models.

    Total: £199 (£129 after spares) and with any luck actually only £111 spent. Seems pretty good value for a lot of brand new kit and a resulting new car (and I am very pleased to be putting spare kit to a good use).

     

    Great effort! Part of the appeal to me was putting spares to good use.

    Post a pic when you're done!

  5. Posted

    On 9/23/2022 at 9:57 PM, Tamiyastef said:

    Did some work on the body of my TA03F, recutting the entire contour and cleaning up the cutlines with some fine sandpaper. Strengthening with duct tape and adding some self adhesive padding around the body post holes. Made some small shims to put the body posts (and so the body also) a bit more forward.

     20220923_205335.jpg20220923_205341.jpg

    Cut an opening and put some mesh in the front of the body right where the opening is in the bumper to get some cooling air to the motor.

    20220923_205402.jpg20220923_210146.jpg20220923_205241.jpg

     

    Discovered the pinion isn't the 14T standard (according to the Audi manual I downloaded) but an 18T (which isn't suited for a silver can according to the same manual)

    20220923_203844.jpg20220923_204026.jpg20220923_204040.jpg

    And also discovered something I've never seen before on a 540 silver can...

    20220923_225107.jpg The shaft is completely round, no flat area for the grub screw.

     

    This car looks great, weird about that round shaft. Rudimentary slipper clutch :)

    I couldn't quite make sense of the pinion table in the manual. Maybe I'm misunderstanding but it seemed to suggest 20T pinion is okay with a stock 540 provided you ball race the car. I ran mine with ball races and an 18T and the motor got very hot indeed. Currently running the stock 14T with a sport tuned and it runs pretty well. Nice balance of speed and torque (if still a bit hot).

  6. Posted

    56 minutes ago, OoALEJOoO said:

    Considering pulling the trigger with this list and get an entry into the build-off:

    Tamiya 58667 TT-02 Audi Quattro 114.90
    FlySky GR3E Receiver 6.62
    JX DC6015 Servo 10.49
    Tamiya 54249 3x32mm Turnbuckle 2.91
    Tamiya 54247 3x23mm Turnbuckle 2.91
    Tamiya 54247 3x18mm Turnbuckle 2.91
    Tamiya 50875 5mm Ball Connector 1.59
    3Racing Heatsink 3.33
    Tamiya 54491 Rally Cockpit 13.31
    Tamiya 22023 TT02 Chassis Cover Set 14.96
    Bearings 9.99
    HC Pinion 4.50
    Tamiya 53156 Hard Inner Sponge Touring 2.19
    3Racing High-Torque Servo Saver (3RAC-SHAMU) 2.59
    Clairon Audi Quattro Stickers 15.67
    Tamiya 54753 CVA Super Mini Shocks 21.88

    Total: 230.74 USD

    That would be just under 200 pounds (last week conversion rate) or 218.08 pounds by today's rate...

    ...I hope this doesn't mean I'm overbudget :(

    Jump on it fast and we can ignore the exchange rate issue :) .

    Just file a complaint with the chancellor.

    Yours,

    Bernie. 

  7. Posted

    Loving this build thread. I actually took my second hand TA02 out for it's first proper run yesterday. It's not 'silver can rally' class as it came with a 4000kv Max10 combo. I may switch it over to a sport tuned brushed but just wanted to give it a whirl.

    Have to say, what a great chassis! You can get loads of suspension travel out of it and(with thicker oil) it runs really nice and plush. Fairly neutral handling and slid around beautifully on a wet IKEA carpark. Hard to believe the chassis is from the early '90s!

    • Thanks 1

  8. Posted

    Here's the shell from my TA03 to give some idea. You'll notice I did double up the tape around the wheel arch but this was only because there was a large split in the shell at that location.

    IMxpxRq.png

     

    And back on the car:

    QvuFf7g.png

    Not my neatest work (you can see the tape sticking out around the wheel arch) but I was rushing a bit on this one.

     

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    1 minute ago, Superluminal said:

    Great stuff - have just ordered the roll tape you linked to. Do you use a paint brush to spread the glue around?

    Just my hands. The goo is very viscous. A brush wouldn't be able to spread it out. You really need to push it through the tape. A spatula would theoretically work but using your thumb is far easier.

    I should (and we should all) be using gloves but I must admit that I don't.

    • Thanks 1

  10. Posted

    1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

    Im quite glad to here that - i bought a tube of it and some mesh to have a go at it. Have you had any issues with the glue reacting with the paint? It smells nice and solventy

    The smell is wonderous.

    If you've not done it before, here are my tips:

    1. Use properly sticky tape. I bought a roll of this pink stuff on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283299901787?hash=item41f5fd715b:g:DxcAAOSwGpBeChJc&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4PenTZXAvOUMYrYGmEbp4u6dUE6KyEyvZ6mGowwzOeOxuzY9VfSaPBmPsINozV0yt0g0ksO%2BKDPtmnJla%2BtunoKktAJWt4M4K%2BxzYHdQYwLd51kdmD3k9tySf%2BahR3prqcvskDyEAUM2VChdLalhqG1BJyotxKRnZbgWfxdxERjnn2C2hXgWM9%2BZJrx%2F3YwwGRoDxFWPicDSloKGq4vLLR24qpka%2BMKBDjtZ8PZ8BgDx34LV4Ss9c7G%2F0sdSGlqZbUCm8Zsk9jFg3jHiYBj1PIQEeFHnnD2EeCDjbLIFwME6|tkp%3ABFBM1Mriou1g

    2. Use a fan heater or hair dryer! The stuff takes hours to set at room temp and seconds with a bit of applied heat. This is the key to not melting the paint and something I only figured out recently (after melting paint on my Lancia shell). If you get it to set quickly, it doesn't hurt the paint. Don't stick the shell right up against the heater though, maybe one/two feet away so you don't melt the plastic of the shell itself.

    My process is this:

    • Fully tape the shell. Don't be tempted to double up on layers. You don't need to and it makes the tape far more prone to lifting when you apply the goo. A small overlap between lines of tape is all you need.
    • Apply the goo directly from the tube onto a small area of the shell. and smear it out with one hand while holding the shell with your other. Sounds obvious but don't swap hands (otherwise you get goo on the outside of the shell). You need a clean and and a working hand. I tend to do one section about the area of one wing or one bumper at a time. I don't generaly bother with the roof.
    • Once you've done one section. hold it in front of the heater (at a sensible distance) for 30 seconds or so. The glue will nicely spread out as it warms and then go tacky. One tacky, you're golden, the tpe will no longer lift. Before I figure out the heat trick I'd be going back every 20 minutes for a couple of hours to push down any tape that had lifted.
    • Move on to next section and repeat.

    I've done three shells like this now and I'm able to do the whole job in about 30 minutes and have had great results with no damage to the paint. Takes about half a tube of goo per 1/10th rally shell.

    Hope that is useful.

     

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

  12. Posted

    11 hours ago, Superluminal said:

    All being well I should be able to start my build this weekend - the parts below are where Im at - Actual direct expenditure for build to date is;

    Base is a very well used TA02 donor chassis - recall was about £50 (carbon chassis plates, no dampers or lower arms, broken gearbox covers and cracked uprights, some internal ironmongery and did have turnbuckles, also about eight tons of some black automotive cv joint grease or similar caked into everything) No electronics.
    New wheels and rally tyres - 12.39
    New servo - 21.50
    New reciever - 30.99
    New Hi Torqe servo saver - 11.70
    New aluminium servo mounts - 11
    New TA02 A Parts tree - 14.99
    New bearings - 13.99
    New alloy prop shaft - 12.99
    New Fastrax (I think, its blue) alloy motor mount - 7.99
    New steel pinion - 4.99

    Total - £192.53

    Other bits left over in spares box I will be using which I think I get free based on Bernies rules (?)

    Uprights - narrow blue ones, left over from prior TA02W build

    Front and rear arms - left over from TA02SW build

    CVA dampers + touring car spring set - left over after upgrading TA02SW build to low friction dampers.

    Diff parts and gears - salvaged from old Top Force build when changing to Manta Ray internals and using EVO diffs on the Racing Special.

    Silver can - ive got probably about 20+ of these left over

    ESC - TBLE02s, again got about five or six of these unused from previous kits

    Screws and fixings - millions in spares box

    Body + decals - reclaimed from a TL01 build (previously painted, now stripped but very cracked and needs some repairs - ideal basher though)

    Misc; Paint, grease, lots of fairy liquid, shoe goo and some mesh, double sided tape etc.

    I think the new electronics cost is denting mine a bit! The Absima transmitter I have only seems to work with a specifc type of receiver signal so each runner I have I end up getting a new one (which was a reasonable chunk of the new costs)

    Bernie definitely approves :) 

    *******

    Silver can - ive got probably about 20+ of these left over

    ESC - TBLE02s, again got about five or six of these unused from previous kits

    ******

    I was basically counting on most people being in the above position.

    BTW, regards cracked bodies, I've had way better success than I expected with scrim tape and shoo goo on two of the shells I've been working with.

    • Thanks 1

  14. Posted

    21 hours ago, Busdriver said:

    With the way you guys are doing the accounts I don’t think this really counts. 🤨 Are any of you close enough to each other to actually race or is it going to be an honour system like postal racing🤥

    We're a few pages in so,  just for clarity:

    The original rules stipulated a total £200 or less with the following guidance:

    1. Money spent on the car or any parts for the car must be deducted from the budget
    2. Any components that come with a purchased car or kit that are not being used (a brushless motor/ESC or receiver/transmitter for example) can be sold on with revenue from sale added back onto available budget
    3. You can raid your own spares box. My thinking on this would be things like wheels/tyres, receiver, brushed motor and/or ESC, servo etc

    I think an area of ambiguity is the sale of things from your spares box to fund the car. This could get tricky as I probably have a couple of hundred quid's worth of stuff in my spares box that I could sell if I include wheels, motors etc.

    Probably what matters here is staying in the spirit of the rules.

    For my part I'm enjoying the budget constraint (says the chump who's bought three cars). If the car doesn't need to do 40mph, like Alvin says, it probably doesn't need all the hop ups. In that case, how much less fun does the car become? So far, not much :) 

    Planning another tarmac rally stage this weekend. I have high hopes for my lower geared XV01. Well, in as much as I hope the motor doesn't melt this time.

    There's a point, I'm down to my last silver can motor in the spares box. If I smoke this one I'm not sure what the rules will need to be regards repair costs :) 

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    17 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

    With the way you guys are doing the accounts I don’t think this really counts. 🤨 Are any of you close enough to each other to actually race or is it going to be an honour system like postal racing🤥

    Yeah, that is probably the single largest flaw in this otherwise brilliant idea. Actually being able to race each other.

    I guess the aim is to share details on builds and then report back on any racing done. I'm lucky enough to have a mate nearby who's been prepping a TA-04 and we had a first race last week. Actually I should probably report on that.

    Two, five lap races of our carpark course. I was using my XV-01, him with his TA-04. My mate won the first race but it was a proper photo finish. Then we swapped cars and he annihilated me :rolleyes:

    Might sound like a fairly minimal amount of racing but actual racing was delayed by pre-race tuning of the cars and then cut short by my motor burning out. Planning to try again this weekend.

  16. Posted

    34 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

    I brought it up before. The Neo is now £80 vs its lowest (Christmas last year?) £72.

    And again a few weeks ago. 

    Effectively, I am now on a spend to save mode, if that makes sense. 

    These are excellent points! The Neo Fighter Price Index will now become my go-to indicator of the economic health of the nation.

  18. Posted

    14 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

    Dear Bernie

    I assume what happen in Singapore stay in Singapore and do not count towards my budget? 😂

    Thank you.

    Alvin 

    Not that I consider myself to be an expert, but Ithink aa key aspect of successful fraud is not documenting the intention on an internet forum 😂

    Nonetheless I would say this:

    Naturally, individual teams must lean on whatever international resources they may be able to bring to bear on the problem. It is, of course, up to individual teams see that the highest moral standards are maintained within the class and we support a self-policing policy to that end.

    I am sure this clarifies things.

    Yours,

    Bernie.

     

    • Haha 2

  19. Posted

    20 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

    Hang on, you sold the radio and ESC that came with the car, then how do you make it move now? Push along? 

    Tow it along on a string.....

    It's all within the rules! You can raid your own parts box :). I just happen to have an ancient HW1060 and a few silver cans pulled out of previous builds.

    Granted, this particular rule favours people who have been into RC for a while and is totally unfair for new entrants into the class. In that regard I feel it accurately mirrors the advantage that exists in Bernie's side project (F1) for established teams :) It's what he would want.

    It's all very carefully worked out!

    • Haha 2

  20. Posted

    Just gave the TA02 a very quick test run. Mods since I bought it:

    1. Trimmed body way back (the calibra shell is very low).
    2. Removed the V3 internal spacer from the shocks and replaced with a silicone o=ring along with the V1 spacer. Loads of ride height now.
    3. Swapped 21T pinion for a 16T pinion (since it came with a 4000kv MAX10 combo and so is plenty fast enough).
    4. Added 800cst oil to the shocks for more damping.

    Results:

    1. It's still very fast.
    2. The body still rubs on the ground even with the front spoiler fully removed.
    3. Turn in is surprisingly good for a rear motor mounted chassis
    4. Not quite as refined as the TA03 but still great fun. Probably needs a bit more fettling to get it right.
    5. Need to figure out how to mount a urethane bumper in there somehow.

    Next steps.

    1. Might add bump stops to the front shocks to prevent the shell catching the ground.
    2. Try different shock oil to make it a bit less bouncy. I'm never sure on this. Is it 'skittering' around because the shocks are too 'slow' or bouncing because it's underdamped?
    3. I bought a one-way diff insert (53200) that I might add. Probably want to get used to the stock setup first though

     

  22. Posted

    32 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

    Looks like you’ve done some Bernie type maths!!! £70+£30+£25 = £80 . Wow please show me how to do this so I can she my wife my cheap purchases!!!

    I'm definitely no stranger to creative mathematics but I think I can back this particular claim up :) 

    Car = £70

    Sales of Radio and ESC that came with car = -£40

    Torque splitter = £25

    Ballraces = £15

    So, that makes.... Ohh wait, it's £70 :lol: Turns out my maths is even worse than I thought.

     

     

    • Haha 2

  23. Posted

    On 9/16/2022 at 7:16 PM, smirk-racing said:

    When I think of mild brushless I think of "finned 540" motors which I believe are 380-sized rotors in a 540 can.

    https://www.amazon.com/GoolRC-Surpass-4370KV-Brushless-Waterproof/dp/B07RMJDCYS/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2CSDBMV5QF6E8&keywords=brushless+finned+540+motor&qid=1663351773&sprefix=brushless+finned+540+motor%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-4

    I like these a lot - you get the benefit of relatively high RPMs (if you want them) without the massive current draw or power of a true 540. Most Castle motors (even the 1406, which i think is the smallest 540 sized) are way to powerful for my taste and I end up tuning them so far down that I may as well use a smaller motor entirely.

     

     

    That's a good tip. My mate runs a brushless 380 motor in his TA03RS and it's a great match for the car. The thing absolutely flies and doesn't have 'too much' torque.

  24. Posted

    As an aside, I was away at the weekend and found this spot just outside Aviemore. I hade no RC cars with me but it looked like the ideal spot to mark out a rally course:

    rUrtCFW.png

     

    Lastly, I got the TA03F all serviced and reassembled. I even managed to salvage the battered shell with some shoo goo and tape:

    QvuFf7g.png

     

    Total spend on this car remains very low. £70 purchase - sales of radio and ESC bring it in at ~£30! I've had to ball race the car and splashed out on a torque splitter (£25) but even then it's only £80 and drives superbly.

    • Like 3

  25. Posted

    On 9/16/2022 at 11:39 PM, TurnipJF said:

    I'll need to double check my build photos to be certain, but I seem to remember using just the V1 spacers inside the shocks. 

    Did a bit of messing around last night and found that using just the V1 spacers left the dog bones on my car looking perilously close to popping out at full droop.

    In the end I've opted for V1 spacer plus a silicone o-ring. The car actually sits pretty high now but the dog bones appear secure. It might actually be too high so I'll maybe revert to using the V3 spacer at some point. Not yet tried it out but I'll report back on how it handles.

×
×
  • Create New...