Best Tamiya RC for running on (unkept) grass?

[spankrjs 77]

Clodbuster/Bullhead would eat that grass up 

[Badcrumble 4204]

6 hours ago, Pearcy said:

Ok, thanks for all of the comments and suggestions - really appreciate it. Whilst I have been doing what feels like lots of learning on forums and YouTube last month or so it's certainly a steep learning curve!

Whilst I keep chopping and changing, where I 'think' my head is currently at is to buy a used WT01 to play around with / upgrade as necessary depending on what I find it needs to run best on the field opposite AND a new Blitzer Beetle or DT03 Fighter / Aqroshot (and fit Biltzer wheels/tyres, mild brushless motor etc.) as I would like something to build from scratch + that's then something I can chuck in a rucksack and take to the local park etc.

And then if I have 'caught the addiction bug' potentially a new Brat rere next Christmas, just because they look so cool, even if they do drive a bit pants!!

That is basically what I did with my Dual Hunters. The one in the photo from earlier was re-furbed over the summer as a project with my son. The only upgrade is Tamiya oil filled CVA dampers and it was downgraded with 55T motors to turn it into a loaner. A used car us an adventure in itself.

I have another to rebuild with the longer dampers and shock tower hop-ups noted above and maybe enough parts to build a proper WT-01 to go with it.

As an aside, I once saw a fantastic X-Maxx tear up the field I was on. I looked it up when I got home and it was £1k!!! I'll stick to my used Tamiya ..but man, did that X-Maxx get some air and shrug off the landings!

Happy hunting!

[TurnipJF 9192]

11 hours ago, Pearcy said:

Ok, thanks for all of the comments and suggestions - really appreciate it. Whilst I have been doing what feels like lots of learning on forums and YouTube last month or so it's certainly a steep learning curve!

Whilst I keep chopping and changing, where I 'think' my head is currently at is to buy a used WT01 to play around with / upgrade as necessary depending on what I find it needs to run best on the field opposite AND a new Blitzer Beetle or DT03 Fighter / Aqroshot (and fit Biltzer wheels/tyres, mild brushless motor etc.) as I would like something to build from scratch + that's then something I can chuck in a rucksack and take to the local park etc.

And then if I have 'caught the addiction bug' potentially a new Brat rere next Christmas, just because they look so cool, even if they do drive a bit pants!!

Sounds like you are on the right path. None of the options you have on the table are bad ones. 👍

[Grumpy pants 4485]

Great choice the WT01 along with the others as well, particularly the GF01 and Lunchbox. 
 

Well worth buying the ORV chassis at some stage to as it is a piece of Tamiya history and the Brat body is a beaut 👍

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

On 1/10/2022 at 11:58 PM, Pearcy said:

And then if I have 'caught the addiction bug' potentially a new Brat rere next Christmas, just because they look so cool, even if they do drive a bit pants!!

Thats a huge 'if', and 'next christmas' means easter! Welcome to tamiyaclub

[BuggyDad 4477]

Quite a similar story for me. Bought my son a DT-03 for his birthday a few months ago, then another for myself. Then a couple of weeks ago a second hand car. All are being tinkered with in a variety of ways. 

DT-03 is an excellent budget platform I think. We have one with truck wheels and tyres (Blitzer/Aqroshot wheels, Schumacher truck tyres) and although I think it would hang up straight away on the rougher grass pictured it might be good on some of that terrain and is great in many places. Versatile and fun. 

We started running the cars on the terrain we have, but moved more to chucking them in the car and running them where we found interesting terrain, like woods and beach etc, so it might be you find value in a car that isn't so obviously suited to the ground you have right out the door. 

[Pearcy 7]

Just thought I would post an update! After watching many more running vids on YouTube and trying to get the 'feel' for what I wanted out of a (Tamiya) RC I ended up falling for the silliness / 'fun' of the Lunchbox and the agility / toughness of the DT-02. Hence, I now have both!

Inspired by the Pete Wyle RC vid of his ''indestructible' DT-02 based Blitzer Beetle I bought a DT-02 Titan which happened to be already built (but not run outside) - has metal bearings, CVA shocks, TBLE-04s etc. I have bought a load of upgrades for it already such as DS3225mg servo, hi-torque servo saver, Blitzer wheels / tyres, Longer GPM front axles, GPM rear wheel hexes, Sport-tuned motor, Holiday buggy rear body posts etc. I also have some alloy sheet to make a front shock tower brace. I plan to run it like that for a while and then over time get a Lexan Beetle shell to paint up and fit. Eventually I may take it brushless.

As for the Lunchie, I bought an X-SA version and a bunch of upgrades, really just because I had a £200 Amazon voucher to use + I knew I would be really fussy about painting the body 'perfectly' and it would have taken me ages, lol. So upgrades I have so far are... full set of RC bearings (rubber for the external) and metal for the gearbox internals, alloy body mounts, Savox SC-0254MG, hi-torque servo saver, alloy rear axle hexes, Sport-tuned motor, 3d printed axle brace etc. I have some alloy sheet to make a front strut brace for it plus I also have some Fastrax 75mm and 85mm oil shocks with the additional soft/medium/hard springs coming too, so will fit them at some point.

So has been a busy (expensive...) couple of weeks! 

[Busdriver 6209]

24 minutes ago, Pearcy said:

Just thought I would post an update! After watching many more running vids on YouTube and trying to get the 'feel' for what I wanted out of a (Tamiya) RC I ended up falling for the silliness / 'fun' of the Lunchbox and the agility / toughness of the DT-02. Hence, I now have both!

Inspired by the Pete Wyle RC vid of his ''indestructible' DT-02 based Blitzer Beetle I bought a DT-02 Titan which happened to be already built (but not run outside) - has metal bearings, CVA shocks, TBLE-042 etc. I have bought a load of upgrades for it already such as DS3225mg servo, hi-torque servo saver, Blitzer wheels / tyres, Longer GPM front axles, GPM rear wheel hexes, Sport-tuned motor, Holiday buggy rear body posts etc. I also have some alloy sheet to make a front shock tower brace. I plan to run it like that for a while and then over time get a Lexan Beetle shell to paint up and fit. Eventually I may take it brushless.

As for the Lunchie, I bought an X-SA version and a bunch of upgrades, really just because I had a £200 Amazon voucher to use + I knew I would be really fussy about painting the body 'perfectly' and it would have taken me ages, lol. So upgrades I have so far are... full set of RC bearings (rubber for the external) and metal for the gearbox internals, alloy body mounts, Savox SC-0254MG, hi-torque servo saver, alloy rear axle hexes, Sport-tuned motor, 3d printed axle brace etc. I have some alloy sheet to make a front strut brace for it plus I also have some Fastrax 75mm and 85mm oil shocks with the additional soft/medium/hard springs coming too, so will fit them at some point.

So has been a busy (expensive...) couple of weeks! 

Wow you seem to have embraced all the advisable some. Two good choices, I’ve never had a lunchie but the Titan is a fun little truck

[alvinlwh 5895]

5 hours ago, Pearcy said:

TBLE-042 etc. I have bought a load of upgrades for it already such as DS3225mg servo

I think you may find the servo a problem with the TBLE-04S. I had a "run away on neutral" problem and it turns out to be brownouts caused by the servo drawing too much power from the ESC’s BEC. The TBLE-04S only supply's 1.5A and your servo will probably draw in the region of 3 - 5A (in tests, my 9kg draws 3A and from another forum, it was said every 3 - 4kg draws 1A). Most of the problem went away when I dropped an El-cheapo servo in, but it still shows itself occasionally. Today, when bench testing the car, I noticed that the steering "twitch" on its own, explaining what I puzzled me for months, my cars sometimes seem to have a mind of their own and wonder off while other times, they run straight as an arrow. 

[Pearcy 7]

10 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

I think you may find the servo a problem with the TBLE-04S. I had a "run away on neutral" problem and it turns out to be brownouts caused by the servo drawing too much power from the ESC’s BEC. The TBLE-04S only supply's 1.5A and your servo will probably draw in the region of 3 - 5A (in tests, my 9kg draws 3A and from another forum, it was said every 3 - 4kg draws 1A). Most of the problem went away when I dropped an El-cheapo servo in, but it still shows itself occasionally. Today, when bench testing the car, I noticed that the steering "twitch" on its own, explaining what I puzzled me for months, my cars sometimes seem to have a mind of their own and wonder off while other times, they run straight as an arrow. 

Ah, thanks for that - will keep an eye on that. I'm only using that ESC for now as it came with the Titan. If it's ok I'll keep it in there but if it causes problems I'll swap it out for another that also supports brushed and brushless, Hobbywing or something

[alvinlwh 5895]

1 minute ago, Pearcy said:

I'll swap it out for another that also supports brushed and brushless, Hobbywing or something

Far as I am aware of, only Tamiya makes ESCs that support both brushed and brushless, and they didn't do a very good job of it. If the problem shows up for you, and since you mentioned you plan to go BL, just change the whole system out with a new motor instead of trying to get the Tamiya ESC to work with that servo. You will end up having to spend more to get things working right. 

Having said that.. I bought a UBEC to try and make the system work, for my own educational purposes. If you want to know about it, keep an eye out for one of my future post. If you do not want speed any extra money and time on an inadequate system that is. Of course if you are into experimentation, go ahead and buy the extra gear and mess around with it. 

Either way have fun, your own way. 

[Nikko85 3454]

Sounds like a great couple of trucks. If a lunchbox can handle the grass, I would also suggest a GF01 too, same size wheels but in a 4wd package.

[BuggyDad 4477]

Sounds fun. Truck wheels on a DT-02/3 make a fun thing. We've gone a similar way and the buggy wheels are only good for a minority of the surfaces we run on. 

[Pearcy 7]

Looks like my Lunchbox has been supplied with a TEU-105BK

[alvinlwh 5895]

3 hours ago, Pearcy said:

Looks like my Lunchbox has been supplied with a TEU-105BK

That ESC may not work with the Savox SC-0254MG you got for your LB as its BEC is only 1A. If your LB behaves in a strange manner, either swap back the original servo or change the ESC.