Cuiken
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Posts posted by Cuiken
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Sorry, been offline for a bit. Yes, still have the car. Still loving it.
What have I learned?
1. Power. The Castle motor I used has probably got too much power. I've had to upgrade the belt and pulleys as it was always skipping. The crashes are also spectacular at full speed. Miraculously no chassis damage but the shell has talken a beating. no cracks as yet but the imapcts have blown the paint clean off the inside on most corners
2. Handling. In the absensce of any proper sway bars I bought some bars from another chassis and modded them in. Soft on the back and a bit harder on the front. This really helped the oversteer. I also rebuilt the front diff with much heavier oil (50k maybe?) to help it pull out of corners better. The handling is now really well balanced. Massive improvement.
3. Durability. Aside from the new belt and pulleys, it's all held up really well. I think the undertray helped with the bigger crashes and cartwheels. In the end I modded that so it is installed with bolts through the front bumper and low profile velcro everywhere else. Works a treat. Despite a lot of crashing, the tray is still the original one I made a year ago.
Rallying generally? I have to say that it's probably the category of RC that leaves the biggest smile on my face. We don't have too many great multisurface spots around here so mainly drive on run down car parks so you get a bit of loose gravel on the surface. To that end I decided to build up an LC Racing PTG-2. It's also a great car. Buggy derived chassis so very different to drive. In some ways easier as it's handling is less scale and more forgiving. Perhaps less magical than the XV01 with it's uncanny turn in but, on the other hand, who doesn't love endless power slides
As an indicator as to how much I love this type of RC I just posted a thread about a silver can budget rally build idea for the winter:
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Me and a mate have decided on a winter project to pull together a budget (or relatively budget) rally build-off. Few rules:
1. As far below £200 total build as possible.
2. Has to run a silver can brushed motor (as Tamiya intended). ~5000kv brushless are great fun an all but this is an attempt to keep things a bit more scale. Also, racing is more fun when the cars aren't close to hitting the 'scale speed of sound barrier'. Best racing I ever had was when me an a bunch of colleagues raced those old Nikko 1/14th scale rally cars int he work car park after hours. You actually have to be able to drive.
3. No Gyro.
4. Proper 1/10th scale so Tamiya sort of size (not Traxxas Rally).
5. Brand new build or second hand bargain, whatever works.
6. Probably a bit unfair but you can raid your own parts bin. That's certianly where I'm planning to find my motor and ESC.
Feel free to join in with this or throw in your thoughts. My initial thinking is:
1. Second hand XV01 if I can find one. Not particularly original but it's such a great chassis. Might be tricky to come in on budget is all.
2. One of the higher spec TT02 chassis (Type S or even Type SR). Looking at the SR, it's so hopped up it's half way to being an XV02. Just needs a ferw mods for ride height.
3. Which touring chassis could be most succesfully rallied? TA02 (or any other TA for that matter)?
4. Do any buggies fit under a 1/10th rally shell?
These will be raced and crashed so something for which parts are still available is pretty key.
Keen to hear thoughts.
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Been a wee while but a few more updates.
Swapped the screw mounting of my undertray for velcro. Basically, the screw locations I'd chosen went through the chassis into the aluminium suspension mounts. So two things:
1. The required threadlock melted the lexan tray.
2. I could not tighten the screws enough without damaging the lexan
Top tip, use the low profile stuff you can buy on eBay/amazon etc. Otherwise the tray sits quite far below the chassis. I also added two screws through the front bumper to prevent the tray being pulled down/off when it caught rocks etc while running.
In my hunt for sway bars I was given a good tip that the TA06 bars might fit. Thanks again @ThunderDragonCy More details here:
With these installed (and limitations on outdoor gatherings slightly relaxed) me and a friend set up a rally in a dissused gravel car park to try the XV01 against his hopped up TT02. How'd I do? Terrible! I learned a few things:
1. I need to practice driving this ting on loose surfaces
2. The XV01 is oversteer happy
3. The non rally block tyres I was using are not great on loose gravel
4. Despite the tray, a load of debris finds its way into the car
5. The suspension on the XV01 is incredible. The thing just floats across rough terrain.
In order to address point 2, I swapped the medium sway bar on the back for the soft one and swapped over to the rally block tyres. This seems to have helped but I also plan to increase the weight of the oil in the front diff. I'll see how I do in the next 'rally'. I'll settle for not being lapped in a 5 lap race frankly.
To further improve the chassis/body protection, I added some dead simple gaffa tape extensions to the mudguards:
They look a bit daft but they really do help reduce the aount of gravel and water that spray round the inside of the car.
All told, despite my abismal race performance, I'm loving the car. If I can tame the oversteer a bit more and get in some practice, I think this car will be incredible
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Thanks. That makes sense now.
Meanwhile I swapped the medium bar on the rear of the car for the soft one and swapped over to the rally block tyres. Classic bit of bad science since I changed two variables at the same time but one/other/both seem to have made a difference. I'll put the 'pirelli' tyres back on at some point and see if it reverts to oversterring.
I've also ordered a spare steel geared diff so will stick some 300k oil in it and install at some point when I have a bit more time. I'm guessing that will get the car roughly where I want it.
It has to be said, the XV01 chassis is really quite special. The thing just glides over rough surfaces and, as I'm learning, you make make big changes ot the handling characteristics with minor tweaks.
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Interesting. So, keep the front bar on the stiffest setting but then remove or relax the bar on the rear? It's a fair point. Real cars I've owned have always had front bars but not allways rear bars.
As to the mods on the front, I'm not 100% on the terminology but I think you're basically saying to move the angle of the upper suspension link so it 'diverges' from the lower wishone as it heads out to the hub (rather than running paralell). I'm guessing this would increase tendency to understeer?
Great tips, thanks.
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On the oversteer, I'm thinking of going heavy on the oil in the front diff (I have some 300k sat here).
Anyone tried that and did it help at all?
My mate let me try out his incredibly hopped up TT02 and I have to say it was less prone to spinning out on the loose corners.
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Turns out I can confirm that the TA06 Stabilizers are totally compatible with the XV01. So, big thanks to @ThunderDragonCy
I ended up using only the 'front' bars from the TA06 kit installing the firm one up front and the medium at the back. I test fitted the soft bar and it really did next to hee-haw.
I guess this is all moot since, for now at least, there are no TA06 bars available either (I did seem to manage to bags the last set in the UK) but maybe it'll be useful info for someone in the future.
As to the effect on the car, I'd say I'm chuffed. Becuase I fitted the rally interior and used the long rod ends on the shocks, my car is a bit top heavier than standard sp the stabilizers (sway bars of arbs in normal parlance) really help level the car out.
I just need to sort out the vicious oversteer now.....
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Really useful, thanks.
My TA06 stabilizer set turned up today. Measure for comparison and I'd say the front bars are identical in dimensions and angles to those measured above for the XV01.
The rear bars are a little different. The angles are a little shallower, maybe bang on 45 degrees. The ends are 60mm and the middle is about 38mm. The ends could be cut down easily and possibly the middle is close enough.
The fitting kit looks identical to that in the XV01 bars (from pictures on the web).
In summary, if you can find them, it looks like they should fit. This is especially true if you want to use soft/medium at the back with medium/firm at the front. That way you could get away with only using the front bars from the TA06 kit (which appear to be identical to the XV)1 bars.
Proof is in the pudding though so I'll report back once I've had a chance to install.
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2 hours ago, Wheel_Nut said:I can understand people of previous generations who don't have tolerance for adult men who play with toys. It comes from a different set of values to what is prevalent today. The idea was that adult men are supposed to use all their time to earn money, care for their family, do maintenance around the house and garage. The idea of relaxation would be church on Sunday and a roast lunch with their relatives.
I don't like to say one point of view is right or wrong. I feel like I don't have the right to tell others how to live their lives, what medicines to take, or which political party to support, or anything at all.
I accept that everyone in the world has different ideas and opinions. Even when I don't agree, I think I will keep my opinion to myself.
If I want to stand in the middle of a public place and play with a toy car, I can still do it. I'm prepared to disregard other peoples view, when it suits suit me to do so. It doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong.
Nicely wriitten and good points made.
For me I guess some of this hinges around what 'caring for family' can mean. If you're out having time with your kids then I'd say you're caring for them.
Additioanlly, we live in a time of relative 'plenty' which would contrast hugely with that which was available 50 years ago. I imagine that is also part of it.
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2 hours ago, Cuiken said:Somewhat mixing my complaints here but I find it even more annoying when I'm out playing with one of our RC cars with our daughter. She'll be happily driving the crawler along a path and someone will offer a helpful comment like 'ohhh, looks like she's indulging her dad'. Somehow the idea that she might be enjoying playing with the car herself is incomprehensible, presumably, because she's a girl. Problem is that, like all kids, she absorbs this stuff and starts to assume that ther IS something odd about us going out to play with RC vcars together. It's hard enough fighting all the unhelpful stereotypes that she gets exposed to without memebers of the public randmly joining in.
Don't get me wrong, we also play with barbie's, lego, drawing etc and she will ultimately decide for herself whether her dad's RC hobby is for her or not. But, in the meantime, when you see a parent having a really good bit of quality time with their kid why on earth would you decide it's okay to chime in with yout outdated and critical asesment of the situation? Why not say something encouraging like, 'nice driving' or 'I like your toy car'?
On the flip side, we were out at Xmas driving the crawler round a local bit of countryside when two older girls walked past. They both gave her a big thumbs up and one said 'that's so cool'. My daughter just about exploded with pride. So, it's not everyone.
Anyway, that's me all riled up. I'm off to buy her a Racing Fighter buggy (whether she wants one or not).
I really have gone and bought her a Racing Fighter too. Genuinly a reaction to this thread.....
Or maybe I was just lookig for any excuse
Cheers.
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7 minutes ago, VileQuenouille said:Reading some comments here I feel very lucky for my childhood. See my dad was exactly how some people are with their kids here nowadays, he was always busy with his RC cars and other toys and hobbies and he would always bring my sisters and I along with him, sometimes he ended up unemployed and we weren't very rich overall but he would use all that free time to go out with us and do stuff, play with kites, RC cars, RC boats, biking, going to scale model contests and car shows. I don't remember a single time when it was frowned upon but maybe that's because I was just a kid and completely oblivious to other people.
I'm in my 30s now and while we don't have kids (yet) I fully intend to live my life like my dad did and spend as much time as possible enjoying my hobbies and sharing them. I know too many people who only live to fulfill their responsibility, and the high time of their week is 2 hours sitting on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon, no thanks.
However I haven't met people who made fun of my GF and I or criticized us when we go out to play with our RC cars on an empty parking lot, most interactions were pretty positive, one time a guy told me good for you for doing something fun without bothering anyone, and last week someone stopped with his car to watch us for a few minutes and gave us a thumb up when he left. We're in Belgium though, RC and scale models in general are still quite popular here, usually there are dozens of scale model conventions and contests around the country every year.
Think I might move to Belgium
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What do I need rod stoppers for? I mean, obviously, stopping my rods but what does that mean?
Do these simply fit in between the mounting points tp prevent the bar sliding from side to side?
I've seen some people using them, others not.
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Somewhat mixing my complaints here but I find it even more annoying when I'm out playing with one of our RC cars with our daughter. She'll be happily driving the crawler along a path and someone will offer a helpful comment like 'ohhh, looks like she's indulging her dad'. Somehow the idea that she might be enjoying playing with the car herself is incomprehensible, presumably, because she's a girl. Problem is that, like all kids, she absorbs this stuff and starts to assume that ther IS something odd about us going out to play with RC vcars together. It's hard enough fighting all the unhelpful stereotypes that she gets exposed to without memebers of the public randmly joining in.
Don't get me wrong, we also play with barbie's, lego, drawing etc and she will ultimately decide for herself whether her dad's RC hobby is for her or not. But, in the meantime, when you see a parent having a really good bit of quality time with their kid why on earth would you decide it's okay to chime in with yout outdated and critical asesment of the situation? Why not say something encouraging like, 'nice driving' or 'I like your toy car'?
On the flip side, we were out at Xmas driving the crawler round a local bit of countryside when two older girls walked past. They both gave her a big thumbs up and one said 'that's so cool'. My daughter just about exploded with pride. So, it's not everyone.
Anyway, that's me all riled up. I'm off to buy her a Racing Fighter buggy (whether she wants one or not).
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I've bought a set of TA-06 stabilizers. A ton of searching through google images suggests they might just about fit but I'll need to cut down the rear bars.
I'll report back but be aware they are almosty sold out in the UK. That's part of the reason I just decided to buy a set.
Otherwise, apparently, its a 10 week wait until the next batch (TA06 and XV01) arrive on the boat.
Cheers.
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Thanks. They do look quite different to the XV01. The XV01 seem to have the same sized bar front and back while the TA06 ones are quite different.
That said, maybe the front or rear bar from the TA06 would fit both the front and rear of the XV01. I could just use differnt stiffness front and rear.
Just seems bit of a gamble to have to order a set to find out.
I don't suppose anyone owns both and could do a quick compare?
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I'd love a set of these for my XV-01 but they are out of stock everywhere.
Does anyone know if any other Tamiya sway bar sets can be substituded for the actual XV01 set? I'd be happy to do a little light modding if needed.
Ta.
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13 minutes ago, Aerobert said:Nice idea, nicely done. I like the look with the body attached. How do you remove the battery?
You don't
. At least not in this version.
I've stuck in a 4000mah battery and routed power out through the top (see previous posts). Should be good for ~40 mins of play and easily connected/disconnected/charged by taking the body off. I figured that would be enough for me.
As I mentioned though, I'm not sold on the screw-thru attachement method and might move over to velcro. In that case it could be fairly easily removed to swap batteries if 40 mins were not enough.The downside would be that the velcro would effectively increase the thickness of the tray and so reduce ground clearance a little. Since I'm using the 5mm longer rode ends on the shocks though, I think I might get away with that.
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This easy!
Like I say, I'd maybe opt for 1.5mm next time.
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Next job was to add an undertray. I've seen a ocuple of examples of these online and figured I'd try it out:
Initially I figured this would be a simple 'outline of the body', cut out the wheel wells and job done! But it seems that the Lancia body is a bit trickier to work with. While the Subaru body hangs quite low at the sides, the Lancia sits higher. Additionally, the front and rear bumpers on the Lancia are angled up slightly so a flat undertray doesn't hug their lower profile.
Not to be defeated though I started working on a 3D template:
Next job was simply to cut it out in my sheet of 1mm Lexan and add the profiles required to meet the body work. FYI, If I did it again I might use 1.5mm Lexan instead. I later backed this tray with tape but I htink 1.5mm would possibly be a better starting point.
The bending was tricky until I figured it out. Sorry, failed to take pics but the process was like this:
I clamp the sheet of lexan between two long bits of wood in my vice along the line where I want the bend. I then use a set of 'jumbo clothes pegs' to clamp another two bits of wood just above the bend. Apply heat carefully with a heat gun and wait until it goes soft. apply the bend, remove the heat and hey presto. Quite a neat job, I messed up on one corner where you can see a bit of bubling (overheated the plastic), but otherwise I'me happy with it.
The front and rear are bent to sit beneath the bumpers while I folded the sides to sit inside the bodywork:
Coat of paint because, 'why not?'. Painted on 'inside'.
Missed taking pics again but I then backed the hole thing in black duck tape which I think really increased the robustness.
Fitted with screws through to the aluminium suspension mounts. I also used some sticky backed velcro to get a good attachment to the bottom of the front bumper. Now, be careful here. I used threadlock on the screws since they screw into threaded aluminium. Turns out the threadlock reacts witht he Lexan and has caused some deformation and cracking. Worst case this will get split the tray around the screws and I'll probably just attach the whole thing with velcro (which may be a better idea generally).
Wheels down:
I really like it, give a 'solidity' to the chassis. Bit of extrta weight down low too.
And, lastly with the body mounted. I hadn't anticipated how good it might look. Looks like a set of splitters front and rear. I'm really pleased with it. The full tray also means you can't see 'through' the wheel arch any more which, I think, adds realism.
I can't yet comment on durability but I'll be giving it a proper test run next weekend and will report back then.
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38 minutes ago, Nicadraus said:Remember that the front diff has more differential movement/action than the rear. The slipper won't help the diff in any case. They are totally different sections of movement. I have my XV-01 with steel gears in front and stock plastic for the rear. 30k oil in front and 10k oil at the back. No slipper clutch. I run 21t currently and go 17t once in a while. So slipper has no use for my set up.
Sure, but the diff failures I've been reading about related to smashed rather than worn gears. These seemed to be happening more often in the rear than the front but also related to cars that were a bit opverpowered and probably heavily bashed. If you're running 21T I bet that is not an issue at all.
I was just a bit mindful that I've used a powerful 4 pole brushless motor and so have a lot of torque. I guessed that, under acceleratioon, most of the load is going to th rear.
I'll report back on how I actually get on.
30k/10k sounds like a good mix for the diffs BTW. I've read some people running the stock 900cst all round and others swearing by 1million cst in the front with stock in the rear diff so there's no apparent concensus. I though t my 20k in the front might be too heavy but it's really not bad at all and my rear diff with the stock 900cst feels completely undamped.
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40 minutes ago, davidwj95 said:Thanks for the reply, I'll see how I get on when its built. I've come to a halt at the moment, the servo I was going to use is too big so I'm waiting for a low profile servo to be delivered.
Yeah, I think I mentioned (maybe not) that I had the same issue. I'd intended using a standard servo that I have spare but it didn't fit. I don't think the XV01 needs a low profile per se but it does seem to at least need a smallish standard sized one (if that makes sense).
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19 minutes ago, Nicadraus said:FYI: It is more important to use the steel gears up front rather in the back diff. Also I don't understand why you didn't use the gasket that came with the diff and used silicon gasket sealant instead of the supplied stock gasket. If properly built, the stock gasket should work with it well and won't leak out. Diff oil leaks from the o-rings when not properly sealed with grease and not from the gasket.
I refer you to point 4
4. Add the standard paper gasket.
If the front diff fails I'll upgrade to steel. I simply scoured the web for comments on the diffs and most seemed to relate to rear diff failure. Possibly not representative but seemed like a reasonable data point at the time.
Why do you say the front diff is the most important for steel gears? I guess it has direct motor drive (rather than belt) but then I do have the slipper clutch.
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Just cause I'm dead pleased with it:
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17 minutes ago, davidwj95 said:I'm in the process of building mine now and was wondering about adjusting the slipper clutch. Can you grip the slipper nut with a small spanner and push the car forwards or backwards to tighten/loosen the clutch?
I guess so, but it didn't work out when I tried it. The gearing doesn't help you out, you have to push the car quite hard so it gets a bit inaccurate. You don't know how many 'turns' you have tightenend or loosened it.
In theory it would work, you'd probably have to take a few iterations to get it right though.
By using a spanner on one side and a screw driver on the other (through the wee hole I drilled) I can preciesely add/remove 1/2 turn of adjustment at a time. The sweet spot seems to be very narrow (between tons of slip and none) so the precision really helped me tune it where I wanted it to be.
Your mielage may vary but this is a simple mod and allows for easier accurate adjustment if you find that useful. Irritatingly you do still need to pop the shock off to get access to the screw hole but you can't have everything....
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Silver can budget rally build off
in General discussions
Posted
Thanks for these suggestions.
I actually have the LC Racing PTG-2 rally car (built it up from the kit). It is absolutely epic but definitely not a budget. build
. An extended buggy is an interestig idea but I suspect that'll be pushing towards the top end of the budget. Might try shopping for a used one.
Any thoughts on repurposed Tamiya TC chassis (TA or eve TB)?
Cheers.