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Kowalski86

TL01 Parts Availability

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Im looking at a used TL01 chassis for $90 with a Ferrari 360 body on it, and I'd like to know how parts are for these and how sturdy they are for just drifting around in dirt and parking lots.

How do the gears hold up? I dont see myself running anything hotter than a 540 Tamiya tuned motor.

Currently I have a TT01 with a Subaru body on it (from a TT02 release weirdly), I'd likely drop it onto the TL01.

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A sturdy chassis except for the top damper mounting, easily split and the rear suspension arm mounting can snap off in a impact.

Apart from that a good chassis that responds well to some tuning. I raced one but the motor limit I found was a 10.5 brushless, it started to crab sideways under hard acceleration.

 

 

 

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After looking into it Ive decided to use my funds on upgrading my MF-01x instead, I mostly just need some non-friction shocks. I can only hope parts are easier to come by thr MF-01 being a newer chassis.

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No issues with TL01 parts I’ve found. I have I 6.5t brushless in mine and seem to replace bits every time I use/crash it! 

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2 hours ago, IoMTom said:

No issues with TL01 parts I’ve found. I have I 6.5t brushless in mine and seem to replace bits every time I use/crash it! 

Hmm, you're tempting me! Ideally I'd like to throw my Subaru Imprezza body on it and sell my TT-01 chassis if those have any demand.

I like how my TT-01 handles but TL-01s look more robust and easier to give a rally setup. 

Hows the steering on a bone stock TL-01? My TT-01s a bit sloppy at times.

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The TL-01 has very little steering slop as the servo is connected directly to the track rods with no rack or extra pivots to go sloppy.

Parts are easier to come by for the TL-01 than they are for the MF-01X in my experience, as the MF-01X hasn't been released with anywhere near as many bodies, or in as many versions, as the TL-01, plus many TL-01 parts are shared with other models still in production.

The TL-01 has more suspension travel available than the TT-01 without any cutting or grinding, and is also less prone to collecting gravel, making it a good choice for rally setups.

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3 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

Hmm, you're tempting me! Ideally I'd like to throw my Subaru Imprezza body on it and sell my TT-01 chassis if those have any demand.

I like how my TT-01 handles but TL-01s look more robust and easier to give a rally setup. 

Hows the steering on a bone stock TL-01? My TT-01s a bit sloppy at times.

Mine was originally a Subaru too, worked well as a rally car.

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2 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

Parts are easier to come by for the TL-01 than they are for the MF-01X in my experience, as the MF-01X hasn't been released with anywhere near as many bodies, or in as many versions, as the TL-01, plus many TL-01 parts are shared with other models still in production.

You have a point, when I looked up parts for my MF-01X rally bug there werent as many as I expected for it being a somewhat more recent chassis. A bit of a shame too, I like the rally bug body.

At this point my biggest concern is the previousily mentioned chassis-shock mount, after researching it a bit Ive seen a number of TL01 drivers break that part. And the plastics aren't getting any younger.

The parts are out there but it looks quite involving to replace half of the chassis. My TT-01 shocks mount to a seperate part that comes out with a few screws afaik.

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3 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

At this point my biggest concern is the previousily mentioned chassis-shock mount

It can break, but it needs quite a whack for this to happen, and it is quite easy to reinforce this area with a brace.

Between the three TL-01s in my fleet and the three belonging to my brother-in-law, that we have been running for over a decade, only once has this happened, and that was on a TL-01B buggy due to a severe crash onto concrete after an ill-advised jump at a skate park. On our touring and rally TL-01s where the shock mounts get some protection from the bodyshells, we haven't broken one yet, not even with my nephews playing demolition derby with them.

Part of the reason is that we run TL-01B front bumpers and U-shaped lower arm mounting pins which add significant protection and bracing to the front of the chassis which is absent from the standard touring version. It also helps the car to ride up and over obstacles rather than ploughing into them, which is especially handy for rallying. 

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2 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

It can break, but it needs quite a whack for this to happen, and it is quite easy to reinforce this area with a brace.

Between the three TL-01s in my fleet and the three belonging to my brother-in-law, that we have been running for over a decade, only once has this happened, and that was on a TL-01B buggy due to a severe crash onto concrete after an ill-advised jump at a skate park. On our touring and rally TL-01s where the shock mounts get some protection from the bodyshells, we haven't broken one yet, not even with my nephews playing demolition derby with them.

Part of the reason is that we run TL-01B front bumpers and U-shaped lower arm mounting pins which add significant protection and bracing to the front of the chassis which is absent from the standard touring version. It also helps the car to ride up and over obstacles rather than ploughing into them, which is especially handy for rallying. 

Sounds like they're pretty tough then!

My current dillema is based around the car itself more than anything else. Its $90, the bodys a bit battered, and the seller has no clue if it has bearings or bushings installed. The chassis looks fine enough, I'd drop in my own electronics so that doesn't concern me.

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8 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

The TL-01 has very little steering slop as the servo is connected directly to the track rods with no rack or extra pivots to go sloppy.

Parts are easier to come by for the TL-01 than they are for the MF-01X in my experience, as the MF-01X hasn't been released with anywhere near as many bodies, or in as many versions, as the TL-01, plus many TL-01 parts are shared with other models still in production.

The TL-01 has more suspension travel available than the TT-01 without any cutting or grinding, and is also less prone to collecting gravel, making it a good choice for rally setups.

What parts have you been looking for? The MF-01 uses parts from so many chassis that only a very few “bespoke “ parts exist, so other than a few really choice hop ups, I haven’t had to search for parts for mine. The chassis trees are always available, gears are easy to get and sturdy if you can keep the motor from shifting, arms are tough M-05 parts, and so on. 
 

Other than the actual chassis, though, they’re both easy to get plenty of parts for. Wouldn’t it be cool if Tamiya rereleased the TL-01 chassis parts and suspension hop-ups? I’d really like to try one.

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1 hour ago, Big Jon said:

Other than the actual chassis, though, they’re both easy to get plenty of parts for. Wouldn’t it be cool if Tamiya rereleased the TL-01 chassis parts and suspension hop-ups? I’d really like to try one.

I can find a few other TL01 chassis on the bay but they're a bit pricey, more so than the Ferrari that I'm looking at.

That being said, does anyone have any experience with the M03? Theres one of those listed too, similar shape. I know that they're FWD and share bits with the TT01.

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18 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

I can find a few other TL01 chassis on the bay but they're a bit pricey, more so than the Ferrari that I'm looking at.

That being said, does anyone have any experience with the M03? Theres one of those listed too, similar shape. I know that they're FWD and share bits with the TT01.

The M-03 is another fun little chassis, however it has nothing in common with the TT-01 apart from generic items such as pinions, bearings, wheel hexes, etc. It does however share a few suspension parts with the TL-01, and can be fitted with TL-01 (or even TL-01B) suspension arms and dogbones to make it wider like so:

2020-10-24_01-05-56 2020-10-24_01-04-57

 

A fun feature of the M-03 is that it is very easy to convert to 4-wheel steering, as the mount that used to take a MSC servo back in the day is ideally positioned to take a second steering servo.

2021-06-04_12-00-03

 

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TL01 is a very solid basis for a fun car, the chassis still appears to be a current part and readily available.
 

The only thing I can say if your ever looking at a second hand one MAKE SURE “it has its prop shaft” as the prop shaft does not exist as a separate part these days. The reason they tend to not be included is because people bought the hopup carbon drive shaft, then ditched the steel shaft. Then after a short period the carbon shaft cracks up the middle at the pin ends causing it to bind and twist preventing the car from running. Then because they ditched the steel shaft and can’t get a replacement, it’s a good trick for people to sell online to a unsuspecting buyer.
 

Sadly none of the MF01x prop shafts are compatible, all the aftermarket units are long gone. And the regular steel shaft never comes up for sale. 
 

long and short, TL01 is a great chassis. But without the stock steel prop shaft its rear drive only. The TL01LA is a really good car, makes a great rally car too. 

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22 minutes ago, Juls1 said:

long and short, TL01 is a great chassis. But without the stock steel prop shaft its rear drive only. The TL01LA is a really good car, makes a great rally car too. 

Good call, most of the ones that I have seen look stock. My experience with RC sellers on ebay has been that ignorance is a bigger problem than outright trickery.

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28 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

Good call, most of the ones that I have seen look stock. My experience with RC sellers on ebay has been that ignorance is a bigger problem than outright trickery.

I’ve seen 3 separate tl01’s advertised with pictures of everything but the driveshaft side. They don’t respond when asked if it has the prop shaft. 
 

I think it’s a good idea to check the car isn’t worth anything without it. Although you might be able to make your own out of readily available carbon shaft, just be prepared to replace it when it fractures. 

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1 hour ago, Juls1 said:

I’ve seen 3 separate tl01’s advertised with pictures of everything but the driveshaft side. They don’t respond when asked if it has the prop shaft.  

The ones that Im looking at show the driveshaft side thankfully, the sellers just dont mention anything about bushings or ball bearings. Heck Im lucky if they make an effort to test their RCs!

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