Build tips for a new XV-01

[MontyMole 81]

Hi everyone,

I got myself a Lancia Integrale XV-01 kit. Before building it, I wanted to know what are the recommended hop-ups and if there are any build tips:

• I wanted to get hex screws for this build, either the titanium Yeah Racing set or the high tensile steel set from rc-schrauben. I guess both are fine, my question is: since both are made of machine screws, should I also get a thread forming tap? Or just a bit of grease will suffice?
• For what I gather, the recommended hop-ups are the slipper clutch and the aluminium pulleys. The slipper clutch will be a pain, because it seems to be unavailable on most places online, I guess I'll have to wait for it. For the pulleys, Yeah racing also offers them. Is the quality comparable?

Regarding build tips, I found that, according to a Youtube video (authoritative stuff I know), it's wise to shim the drive shaft between the pin and the NN4 spacer, to avoid ruining it. Anything more I should take care of.

Thanks.

[BuggyGuy 1140]

I didn't use a thread forming tap for mine just a bit of grease and it was fine.

Front CVDs are probably more important than the pulleys - definitely shim the gearbox.

Other upgrades will depend on where you intend running and what kind of power thats going through it

[FuzzyFlynn 75]

Using a thread forming tap is nice but it also works fine without from my experience. 

+1 for front CVDs being more important than upgraded pulleys. With the front CVDs, you can omit the limiter screws and get more steering angle.

Front CVDs and high-torque servo saver would be my priority upgrades. But starting out with a plain kit car and upgrading step by step, based on your needs is perfectly feasible if you ask me.

[Big Jon 686]

If you're going to use Ti screws, I'd get the thread forming tap AND grease the screws. Ti is softer than steel; so is stainless.

My list of "mandatory" upgrades:

-Front CVDs.

-High-torque servo saver.

-Aluminum suspension mounts all the way around.

-Replace the NN4 spacer with solid aluminum or steel, and shim as necessary.

-Steel pinion or convert to 48p.

-Reinforced belt if you're using a hot motor.

I've had mine since '13 or '14, and it's had multiple freshen-ups since then. It's got just about every available hop-up and a few home-brewed ones. While I feel that the slipper is beneficial, it's probably not necessary, so I'd grab one if you can and not worry about it otherwise.

A set of quality shocks and a lot of time tuning makes a big difference in keeping the car planted.

If you start having issues with ball cups, the grey low-friction ones last a long time and don't pop off.

Pay attention when installing the rear arms! They're reversible to get six lower shock mount positions, and easy to confuse.

Excessive ride height with ruin the handling.

After all these years, the XV-01 is still my all-time favorite chassis. I hope that you like it as much as I do.

 

 

 

[Nicadraus 6488]

7 hours ago, Big Jon said:

If you're going to use Ti screws, I'd get the thread forming tap AND grease the screws. Ti is softer than steel; so is stainless.

My list of "mandatory" upgrades:

-Front CVDs.

-High-torque servo saver.

-Aluminum suspension mounts all the way around.

-Replace the NN4 spacer with solid aluminum or steel, and shim as necessary.

-Steel pinion or convert to 48p.

-Reinforced belt if you're using a hot motor.

I've had mine since '13 or '14, and it's had multiple freshen-ups since then. It's got just about every available hop-up and a few home-brewed ones. While I feel that the slipper is beneficial, it's probably not necessary, so I'd grab one if you can and not worry about it otherwise.

A set of quality shocks and a lot of time tuning makes a big difference in keeping the car planted.

If you start having issues with ball cups, the grey low-friction ones last a long time and don't pop off.

Pay attention when installing the rear arms! They're reversible to get six lower shock mount positions, and easy to confuse.

Excessive ride height with ruin the handling.

After all these years, the XV-01 is still my all-time favorite chassis. I hope that you like it as much as I do.

 

 

 

This ^^^

Plus I'll add the aluminum spur gear adaptor (or carbon reinforced one if you can't find the aluminum), to reduce/avoid spur wobbling. If you can, replace plastic CVA shocks with a nice set of aluminum ones. Tamiya, Yeah Racing, 3-Racing, and other aftermarket brands have some nice aluminum dampers. The CVA will eventually leak and will need servicing more often. Aluminum pulleys would be nice too (stable and no wobbling) and aluminum differential cover (absolutely no diff oil leaks).

[MontyMole 81]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've set my eyes on the GPM Front CVDs, and of course a servo saver.

About the metal spacers in place of the NN4 ones, are there any specific brands for them? What are the sizes, aside the inner diameter which I guess is 4mm?

Finally, regarding diff oil, what viscosity you recommend for the front and rear?

[BuggyGuy 1140]

18 minutes ago, MontyMole said:

Thanks for the replies guys. I've set my eyes on the GPM Front CVDs, and of course a servo saver.

About the metal spacers in place of the NN4 ones, are there any specific brands for them? What are the sizes, aside the inner diameter which I guess is 4mm?

Finally, regarding diff oil, what viscosity you recommend for the front and rear?

I have the GPM ones on the rear of mine and they are ok quality wise, for diff oil I run 50K upfront and 3K in the rear

[Big Jon 686]

I used the Tamiya CVDs (superb quality and durability); now I'm using Tamiya double Cardans for the TC-01 up front.

120k front/1k rear seems about right for my driving style. I get excellent drive out of corners, and nice hard turn-in with the 12° caster blocks I'm using. A lot of guys are using 60k up front. I'd start with a completely stock setup and tune from there.

On the topic of diffs, metal gears are unnecessary. The stock plastic gears and cross shafts show no wear on mine, and have never been replaced.

[MontyMole 81]

One more question: I found an old thread about this chassis, mentioning that in order to tap the screw holes, it's better to use Tamiya's thread forming tap (I believe the code is TA-54232), instead of a regular tap forming tool, which I already have. Should I get one of those too?

[AJB123 107]

I'm just starting the build of mine. In the instructions, unlike every other Tamiya kit I've ever built, they don't seem to tell you to put any grease on the pinion and spur gears' teeth. Is there any good reason for that? Are they not reasonably shielded from incoming dirt even though they're outside of the main gearbox? Unless there's a reason to leave them dry, I'm planning to ignore the instructions and put a bit of grease on. (I've got a steel pinion for it, but I can't see that that would make any difference to whether or not to grease it).