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Looking for Opinions: Tamiya FF chassis - what's it like?

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Hi All,

I've been experimenting with various on-road chassis (after many many years of only driving buggies and monster trucks). I currently have both the XV-01 and XV-02, and I think they're both excellent. On the other hand, I've tried a few different M-series (M-05 in particular) and I've not been too thrilled. I am not looking for flat out speed (could just buy a race kit) but rather a blend of great looks, fun handling, and decent speed.

So with all that as background, what is it like to drive the FF series? I see some FF-03s on eBay which are pricey but if the feedback here is good, maybe I'll give that chassis a try. It looks a lot like an XV-01 without the rear gearbox...

I don't intend to drive on a track, so this would just be for street and parking lot bashing.

 

Thanks!

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I find the FF03s a pleasure to drive, they drive like a touring car but with more direct steering (though less stability and acceleration due to lack of 4wd) - on power steering can be a bit hit and miss depending on grip, and the smoothness of the surface you run on.

Prices are not great though at the moment, and some hopups that are quite useful have become quite rare.

The M07 is worth considering - night and day difference to the M05, great out of the box, and all the bits you might want are still easily sourced. The kit will cost you less than a NIB FF03 at the moment - but does not include a body.

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upgrade parts for the FF-03 has become much harder to find over the last few years, so that could be something to take into account too.  the spur gear mount in aluminium is rarer than a rainbow unicorn.

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You can just remove rear gears from the XV01 and give it a try - That's basically what Tamiya has done with FF04.

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8 hours ago, Alexei said:

the spur gear mount in aluminium is rarer than a rainbow unicorn.

I've bought three of those over the last 12 months or so and sold two on, so they are out there

The Aluminium Bumper Support however? Haven't so much as seen one of them, rarer than the Tooth Fairy riding a Unicorn while chasing the Easter Bunny over a rainbow 

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14 hours ago, Alexei said:

the spur gear mount in aluminium is rarer than a rainbow unicorn.

:lol::lol::lol:

Fortunately I was able to get three of that. :D

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6 hours ago, Honza said:

You can just remove rear gears from the XV01 and give it a try - That's basically what Tamiya has done with FF04.

Different CG from the FF04. XV01 weighs more in the rear. Removing the XV-01 back gears doesn't make it perform like the FF-04 automatically.

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6 hours ago, Juhunio said:

I've bought three of those over the last 12 months or so and sold two on, so they are out there

The Aluminium Bumper Support however? Haven't so much as seen one of them, rarer than the Tooth Fairy riding a Unicorn while chasing the Easter Bunny over a rainbow 

Luckily I was also able to get two of thisP1140774.JPG

NN8SjNah.jpg

Which by the way help a lot in dissipating heat quicker as it serves an extension to the motor plate and heat sink at the same time. 

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@smirk-racing The FF-03 is a fun car to drive and build. Lots of settings can also be done depending on what set up you want. But as mentioned above, some parts are scarce although many parts from other models such as TRF415/416/417/418, TB-03/04/05, TA-05/06, XV-01, & FF-04 are interchangeable with the FF-03. Lot's of aftermarket upgrades too. I have three FF-03s. One as full touring car (track car only), one converted into a rally car which I use for both rallying and street basher while the other one is full box stock but currently disassembled and will serve as parts donor car. I have also bought a lot of spares (stock and carbon reinforced) and extra chassis which can actually build two more cars.

I've stocked up these parts for the future of in case they run out. I also did the same with my XV-01. You can never get enough spares you know.  :D

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1 hour ago, Nicadraus said:

Different CG from the FF04. XV01 weighs more in the rear. Removing the XV-01 back gears doesn't make it perform like the FF-04 automatically.

How big is the difference? Electronics placement is almost identical, so weight distribution should be close enough to get an idea how a pure FWD feels. Problem could be XV's weight.

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On 9/22/2022 at 10:41 AM, Juhunio said:

I've bought three of those over the last 12 months or so and sold two on, so they are out there

The Aluminium Bumper Support however? Haven't so much as seen one of them, rarer than the Tooth Fairy riding a Unicorn while chasing the Easter Bunny over a rainbow 

i searched the internet thin for many hours, the few places i found wouldnt post out of their country, or end up getting super expensive if i got somebody else to buy it, end send it.  i ended up with a spur mount from Eagle Racing.

on the other hand, i found the Aluminium Bumper Support, and quite easy and inexpensive at that too.

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26 minutes ago, Alexei said:

found the Aluminium Bumper Support, and quite easy and inexpensive at that too.

Nice! But, where????

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4 hours ago, Juhunio said:

Nice! But, where????

a shop in Denmark had them, also found one in Sweden. but that was about a year ago, both are sold out now.

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If you just want to have fun off the racetrack, don’t worry too much about Hop-Ups.

The FF03 is very good balanced and fun to drive. I would only recommend TRF shocks, double joint cardans, steel pinion and you can think about upgrading to the oil filled gear diff with aluminum outdrives and blades. Then I recommend the Ride 24025 tires and you will have a lot of fun.

If you want it to become more beautiful, then you can go for blue turnbuckles, blue ballstuds and the carbon bits, like damper stay, servo plate and rear chassis connectors.

You can see all these parts in my FF03 build thread.

 

One more thing: Cheap, precise and better to work on and use, are the 54869 adjusters.

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On 9/24/2022 at 12:09 AM, wtcc5 said:

One more thing: Cheap, precise and better to work on and use, are the 54869 adjusters.

I have converted one of my cars to these and I found that they have virtually no friction (good) but also a little bit of play (really annoying to me). Which ball nut or ball stud are you using them with?

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@smirk-racingI  had a Tamiya Idemitsu Motion Civic back in the day..not sure which FF chassis that was, but it was fun to drive around the driveway and stuff.  If the driving surface is quite flat and smooth, FWD M-chassis is also not a bad choice if any of those bodies spark interest. GL with whatever you go with! 

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On 9/24/2022 at 3:09 PM, wtcc5 said:

If you just want to have fun off the racetrack, don’t worry too much about Hop-Ups.

The FF03 is very good balanced and fun to drive. I would only recommend TRF shocks, double joint cardans, steel pinion and you can think about upgrading to the oil filled gear diff with aluminum outdrives and blades. Then I recommend the Ride 24025 tires and you will have a lot of fun.

If you want it to become more beautiful, then you can go for blue turnbuckles, blue ballstuds and the carbon bits, like damper stay, servo plate and rear chassis connectors.

You can see all these parts in my FF03 build thread.

 

One more thing: Cheap, precise and better to work on and use, are the 54869 adjusters.

So you're saying the FF03 Pro is a good buy then?

Oddly can't find many for sale. Was it not popular back in the day?

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7 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

I have converted one of my cars to these and I found that they have virtually no friction (good) but also a little bit of play (really annoying to me). Which ball nut or ball stud are you using them with?

I am using Tamiyas blue aluminum ballstuds for allen key. The „play“ topic is often a very personal one. My opinion is that these have exactly the right amount (just tiny bit) and they stay like that for a very long time..

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4 hours ago, Smirrors said:

So you're saying the FF03 Pro is a good buy then?

Oddly can't find many for sale. Was it not popular back in the day?

That depends on the price in the end. The pro just has a lot of blue aluminum parts. If you don’t get one, you can easily hop up a standard one.

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1 hour ago, wtcc5 said:

That depends on the price in the end. The pro just has a lot of blue aluminum parts. If you don’t get one, you can easily hop up a standard one.

Just thought it'd be cheaper to get one hopped up from factory rather than buying a standard one these days as parts don't seem as readily available. How much is a FF03 Pro these days. None I can see on ebay.

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