wtcc5 4688 Posted January 4, 2022 As some of you know, I am quite fond of the TT-02 chassis (onroad versions), especially regarding its Hop-Up and tuning options. For many years I wondered why Tamiya still produces TT-01 chassis after its successor was full in the market. And Tamiya doesn't seem to stop its production, even brings new kits. Compared to the TT-02 it is even inexpensive and seems to offer the same. Performance wise many say, that it drives better than the TT-02. It even got life cycle impulse with the TypeE version. In august 2021 I bought two TypeE chassis to use them as "body stand" for my BMW M3 E30 and the Alfa 155 DTM. I made a video: The kits costed 45€ at that time, which is ok. That was my first contact with the TT-01 and some design/material quality is superior to the TT-02 in my opinion. What I really don't like, is the bumpermount-holding-the-diffcase-closed principle. I would have preferred to attach the lower outer diffhousing half to be tightened separately. What I really like, is that it is possible to remove the whole outer section (diffhousing, shocktower, arm-mounts, bumpermount) in one move and so having full access to arms, diff, drive shafts, center drive shaft. I needed to do this several times now and really enjoy it compared to the TT-02 were it is a real pain if you have to remove the differential. Since then I see the TT-01 chassis with different eyes. When @Quincy and I want to bring back TT stock racing with some members of the club, Quincy chose a TT-01 chassis, because he had it "laying" around. I was bit disappointed then, because I thought having the same material would make sense, especially with the difference in gearing between TT-01 & TT-02. After letting his decision sink in a bit, I came to the conclusion, that I am in a similar position. I have only one TT-02S and three more max-tuned-TT-02. One NIB TT-02 is reserved for a small future project (Mampe Capri)... So I decided to join Quincy with a TT-01 for the stock class. And this will be the first topic here. I love the M3 DTM body very much and will use it for our stock racing (with Quincy joining with a Mercedes-Benz 190 DTM and Mario bringing a Audi V8 DTM). I ordered a TBLE-04 esc, ball bearings and a 19t steel pinion and prepared the chassis: Bitten by the bug, I did some fun research to learn about this chassis. One thing very obvious are the part changes between the first TT-01 and the TypeE version. This somehow bothered me. The BMW body was rered with the original TT-01. With the optical changes so drastic, I want the car looking like the real thing and ordered A-parts: Tamiya had a reason to design the TypeE the way it is, so I had to look out not to change too much. The topdeck is ugly in my eyes, so I will not use it. The bumper brace of the TypeE is much better, passing on the impact energy to the chassis instead of bending the bumper mount, but for the look it had to leave (I am also not chrashing often): The outer diff halves of the old version integrate a smaller damper stay and shine more : A nice change for the front: The steering assembly will be a combination. The TypeE lower steering arms come with bearings and proper posts already. The bridge is also stronger, but again for the look I changed the latter and used shims to remove the play it has: The motor mount/cover is a similar case. The older version has play, allowing the motor to move around. With the TypeE this was solved. I combined the old motor cover with the new mount which makes the motor sit even tighter: For the rear I made the same changes I did in front: Together with the battery brace, the look changed a lot (to the better I think): Now I am excited how it drives! 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7777 Posted January 4, 2022 Nice build. When we ran stock TT01E class at the club last winter we all ran torque tuned motors with the ally motor mount and high speed gearset. The gearing was 25/58. It works so nicely with that motor. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 4, 2022 @ThunderDragonCy: Good to know! If it feels to slow tomorrow, I will suggest a faster gearing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 5, 2022 @Quincy and I had a fun day with our Stock class TT-01. The balance was a bit difficult, as it changed a lot during the run. At first a lot of grip and steering response, then a quite good balance for about ten laps, before the rear lost grip step by step asking for a calm steering input and brake pedal. The speed was satisfying. OK on the straight and fast in the infield. We had a lot of fun. The balance topic had a strong influence on our racing. While the 190 had problems in the first part of a stint (grip roll), I could push with the M3 from the second lap on and then after maybe 20 laps had to adapt. In this period Quincy had the upper hand, before we matched later. I had an advantage, because my new Torque Tuned was faster at the end of the straight compared to Quincys new Torque Tuned... Next saturday the hunt will start again 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 6, 2022 Time to fulfill what the threadname says: Addiction. That means Hop-Up parts galore and at least one crazy tuning build. This time it is @Quincy fault for bringing the TT-01 in my view. I started gathering information about this chassis and the more I found, the more I fell in love with it. What I find really impressing, is, that every Hop-Up is a serious performance option. Also the TT-01R version brings a lot to the table. It was inevitable that I had to get all I could: This is my haul. What I couldn't get was the topdeck and front anti-roll-bars. As I am also a big E30 M3 fanboy my search for such a body ended where? Of course, Quincy offered one: Undriven body on a TT-01 chassis with a topdeck! Perfect! A little downside is, that the previous owner was a smoker and a nicotine-smoke-layer is everywhere on the car and the stickers and wing are yellowed. Also, the front left hub is broken. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7777 Posted January 6, 2022 Flip the top front arms for more Caster angle. Makes steering nicer. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnipJF 9113 Posted January 7, 2022 16 hours ago, wtcc5 said: Also, the front left hub is broken. An opportunity to upgrade to the tougher TT-01E hubs perhaps? Or are you considering alloy? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 7, 2022 @ThunderDragonCy: Thanks for the advise! I will give it a try. @TurnipJF: From the conversion of the TypeE to the "old look" TT-01, I have the old version hub as spare left over. So I will use these for now (I also don't know if I will drive it hard enough, or ever ). Alloy wasn't planned as it is not available as Hop-Up from Tamiya (as far as I know). The YeahRacing/third party versions are not allowed on this car. The exception are the rear hubs, as these are an impudent 1:1 copy of Tamiyas Hop-Up 53800. With all that nicotine overall on the car, the first step was to clean every parts and evaluate the condition. To my surprise the old TT-01 had all white diffs: Overall the car was in a near perfect condition. I found a 55T spur and 28T pinion under the gearcover. The previous owner loved speed it seems. I found no signs of wear anywhere, so the broken hub is a little mystery. Maybe the car fell off the shelf once... or the owner did a test drive without body in his apartment, hit something and then was too lazy to buy spares? I don't know... After the cleaning, I sorted all not needed parts for this build out. This is what I will use: For my build I used a TT-01R manual, but the start with the drivetrain is always the same. And here the Hop-Up-orgy starts: Another proper motor went in (the black Sport Tuned will go in my box). To my surprise, the metal motor mount is very heavy: Better hide it : 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 8, 2022 The next steps are what convinced me to do this build. The suspension of the TT-01 has its elegance while being kind of cheap... With the Hop-Ups and development by Tamiya it gets its unique charm: I replaced the silver turnbuckles with blue ones: The build order gets a little confusing now, but will make sense in the end First the rear differential. One of the expensive Hop-ups here: The part quality is excellent and it comes with thrust bearing. Time to install/attach the upper rear suspension mount and inner bevel gear: Diff placed: It went on with the lower chassis end. The parts of the D-version include small metal plates for the droop screw: Outter diff housing, arms and lower plate installed: 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 10, 2022 Another favorite chapter of this build is coming up: These blue bits make the rear an eye catcher. Especially the rear hubs are a real improvement to the bulky plastic hubs. This was the rear, the next steps focus on completing the front: Blue turnbuckles were "mandatory" here, too. The other very expensive, but hidden Hop-Up: Like the rear ball diff, the front one way is also beautifully engineered. Front arms, one-way, diffcover and lower bumper plate installed: 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 11, 2022 The daily update (even though, judging from the view numbers, not many seem to care about the TT-01 anymore ). Those who still do, I hope you enjoy the posts The front suspension misses its hubs. Here they come with aluminium screws and universals: Another highlight for me: The aluminium steering It was a lot of fun to install these beautiful (and expensive) parts in this chassis. TRF damper time! Overall the TT-01 has a lot of clearance with the standard length dampers and the SSBB type dampers would maybe fit much better lengthwise regarding the ride height. To cope with the length, I chose the 1mm-down-retainer Hop-Up (and because it is blue aluminium ): This time I was too lazy, to accurately arrange all the little parts. For the proper picture please visit my TB-03 thread After having these build, I recognized, that it makes no sense to attach them now, because the stabilizers have to come first... The electronic components come next. Starting with the servo and its related tuning parts: 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
svenb 3735 Posted January 11, 2022 Lovely sir👍 I'm still interested 😉 Are you going for carbon damper stays? Only reason I ask is that they suit short dampers. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 12, 2022 @svenb: Glad you like it This is a Tamiya catalogue replica build, so no carbon damper stays for this car. The manual the suggested to install the esc. As the car already came with the TEU-104BK, I decided to use it. It kind of attacked me me its tentacles: I had to tame "the beast" before installing it! The battery plug was yellowed badly, so I replaced it with a new one. This is the result after shortening the cables to a healthy length: Back to the axles for hexes and blue screws: Mjam! I like it Bumper installation: I cut the bumper on the chassis side to make space for the anti-roll-bar-mount. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
svenb 3735 Posted January 12, 2022 11 minutes ago, wtcc5 said: @svenb: Glad you like it This is a Tamiya catalogue replica build, so no carbon damper stays for this car. Apologies forgot it was a none E chassis 🙄 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 13, 2022 @svenb: All good! No need to apologize. I didn't even know these damper stays exist. At the end of last year, I fell in love with this catalogue page: So that became the reason of this build and I am ignoring everything that happened later in the industry We are nearing the final steps of the chassis build. After the bumper, it was time to install the batterymount: Then the now hard to get topdeck and the motor heat sink: These two changed the look by a lot. Also hard to come by is the front anti-roll-bar-set. In fact I couldn't get one. In that case I made them myself copying the real geometry: Here now the chassis in all its glory (finally I could install the dampers): With the BMW E30 DTM wheels: My two TT-01. On the left the full Hop-Up car and the Stock-Class-Runner on the right: The work will continue with restoring the body, so stay tuned 15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nwc100 462 Posted January 13, 2022 I’ve really enjoyed reading this, thanks! ive got a hopped up TT02 and actually prefer driving my totally standard TT01, it seems to handle way better and I wonder if all my hopping up actually made it worse, I must admit I wish I hadn’t spent so long on the TT01 truck body so I would drive it a bit more. This has given me a bit of motivation to grab another TT01 and give it a little hop up, alloy centre shaft, bearings and oil shocks and make a runner truck! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7777 Posted January 14, 2022 11 hours ago, Nwc100 said: I’ve really enjoyed reading this, thanks! ive got a hopped up TT02 and actually prefer driving my totally standard TT01, it seems to handle way better and I wonder if all my hopping up actually made it worse, I must admit I wish I hadn’t spent so long on the TT01 truck body so I would drive it a bit more. This has given me a bit of motivation to grab another TT01 and give it a little hop up, alloy centre shaft, bearings and oil shocks and make a runner truck! That's all they need. I had a TT01E stock class race car earlier this year and only mods allowed were alloy motor mount, prop shaft and proper shocks. I put thick grease in the front diff, very stiff front springs, soft rear, 500 wt oil front, 400 rear and it was quite nice to handle. Adding the toe in rear uprights really helps calm the back end down if you have no racing rules to meet. After that just enjoy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superluminal 3729 Posted January 14, 2022 12 hours ago, wtcc5 said: Also hard to come by is the front anti-roll-bar-set. In fact I couldn't get one. In that case I made them myself copying the real geometry: I like the idea of those plastic blocks for bumper mounting the roll bar - where did you find those? I bought the front and rear stabilizer sets a couple of years ago but couldnt fit them as the blue aluminium clamping blocks that come with the pack only fit on the carbon top deck which i coulldnt find at the time as it seems really rare and hard to find for sale (surprised Fybrelyte dont make one) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 14, 2022 10 hours ago, Superluminal said: I like the idea of those plastic blocks for bumper mounting the roll bar - where did you find those? I bought the front and rear stabilizer sets a couple of years ago but couldnt fit them as the blue aluminium clamping blocks that come with the pack only fit on the carbon top deck which i coulldnt find at the time as it seems really rare and hard to find for sale (surprised Fybrelyte dont make one) That is part number 51217. One of the coolest parts set for the TT-01. It contains everything to use downstop and anti-roll-bars. You just need ballstuds, the stabilizers, the stabilizer ends and 3x10mm grub screws. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 14, 2022 The BMW body for my Hop-Up TT-01 is undriven and in a very good condition. Unfortunately, the smoker household where it came from, has left the stickers and wing in a yellowish state. The yellowing of the stickers is a little disturbing, but for now I decided to live with it. What I cannot live with, is yellow rear wing. It somehow aged much more than the rest of the body. As lucky as I am, @Quincy had some leftovers of the BMW sticker set and sponsored this project with them. I was very happy to see, that the stickers for the wing were still there: I removed the wing and its stickers: Then soaked it in Metoxypropanol for some hours. The color peeled off itself: And left a white wing: I am very happy with that outcome! I also removed the helmet and belt stickers the previous owner put on the car This week, two more parts arrived for the chassis. The right bumper for the lower plate and suspension shafts for the lower rear arms. They replace the 33mm screws (I couldn't see them on the catalogue picture before). If you are going to Hop-Up your car with these, buy the 33.4mm version. Mine are a tad to short for this lower arm. It works fine, but it was not easy to clip in the e-ring. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
svenb 3735 Posted January 14, 2022 If I were you I'd paint the spoiler to stop any further yellowing, UV is a big cause of yellowing. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2093 Posted January 14, 2022 Looking good. When you say "soaking in Metoxypropanol", how much of it do you put in the bag? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 14, 2022 @svenb: That is the plan @Aerobert: Not so much. I put it in the little bag (one of these airbags for packaging) and generously sprayed (yes, it is a spray) the Metoxypropanol on the part. Then I closed the bag airtight and let it rest for about three hours. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted January 16, 2022 I finally found the time to finish the rear wing. I roughened up the surface a bit before it got two layers of Tamiya fine surface primer. Then three coats of TS white color: The sticker work and installation was fast done: Did I already mention, that I absolutely love this body 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wtcc5 4688 Posted August 24, 2022 A new TT-01 build is going to happen Some days ago I was going through my boxes and saw, that I have a lot of TT-01 parts left from that previous build. I checked with the manual and indeed I just needed G-parts, A-parts and a tub. I added a ball bearing set to the order. Regarding the body... I took the Audi A4 body for a FF-01 (you maybe remember the Top Ware STW project). And yes I have a second kit of the TT-01e Audi A4, but this body is reserved for an (spoiler!) upcoming TA-03f project... I got both TT-01e kits for little money months ago and out of curiosity looked if they are still available... they are not. Checked on Ebay: outrageous prices. Even the body without sticker sheet and body parts is crazy expensive: between 34€ (Tamico.de) and 47€ (Tamiya.de). Lets do something else, not less exciting (in my opinion) and era correct: This will become a first edition TT-01 (no Type-e) with white differentials and oil filled plastic dampers. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites