Touring Car Lower Arm / Rim Compatibility

[Juhunio 6830]

Apologies if this has been covered already... in fact, the first question needs to be; does anyone know if there is a definitive guide to which Tamiya touring car lower arms are compatible with Tamiya 26mm rims?

If not, here's the context...

My basic understanding is that there came a point when Tamiya started to use TRF-derived suspension in (almost) all of their touring cars, meaning the lower arms are only really compatible with Tamiya 24mm med-narrow rims; Tamiya 26mm rims tend to have a reinforcing rib (or screw heads in the two-piece variants) that foul on the end of TRF / lightweight / reversible lower arms 

As far as I know, this means that Tamiya's 26mm rims (one piece and two piece) are only really compatible with:

TA01 / TA02 / TA03 / TA04 / TA05 (basic version only)

TL01 / TB01 / TB02 / TB02-D / Evo I / Evo II / Evo III

TT01 / TT01-Type E / TT02 / TT02-D / TT02-R / TT02-RR

FF01 / FF02

XV01 / XV02

Everything released later than these, along with the higher-end versions of the kits listed above (eg TT02-Type S, TB02-R, TA05-R, FF03-R etc) use arms that are only compatible with Tamiya 24mm rims

The basic FF03....Tamiyabase has those kits all listed with 26mm tyres, but the lower arms (51353) seem to feature across a lot of kits that come with 24mm rims. What's the story with those arms?

I know nothing about the TRF chassis variants but assume these are all 24mm only?

As I say, that's just my basic understanding and I would find a definitive list really useful...there are so many beautiful 'vintage' body shell and 26mm rim combinations, but seemingly a much more limited choice of chassis that they are really suited for. 

I know there will be caveats...like, if it's only going on the shelf, who cares if the rims rub on the arms? Well, while that is true of most of what I make I still like them to be essentially functional and fit for core purpose, so I like things to actually work. Also, other manufacturers' 26mm rims (eg MST) work fine on the TRF-derived arms as they are built differently to Tamiya's. True, but the purpose of this request (or thread, if that's what it turns into) is to seek clarity on which Tamiya touring car chassis (and therefore lower arms) are compatible with Tamiya 26mm rims.

So...if this has already been done, can anyone point me in the right direction? If not, and you have either...

Examples of Tamiya touring car chassis (other than those listed above) where Tamiya 26mm rims work just fine, or....

Examples of where earlier arm designs can be made to fit later or higher end chassis so that they take a 26mm Tamiya rim....

...let's hear 'em 

 

[FuzzyFlynn 75]

You can add XV-01(except for XV-01TC) and XV-02 to the 26mm list. I think the plain TA-05 should work too as I think it uses the same suspension as the TA-04, but I am not sure. The TA-05ver.II definitely does not work anymore with 26mm rims.

What I would be particularly interested in is the TA-08 chassis. Based on pictures, I see a chance that 26mm rims might work but I could not find any definitive info. As the TC-01 uses a similar suspension, there might be chance for that chassis as well. See also my other thread that did not get any answers so far: 

 

[Juhunio 6830]

26 minutes ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

XV-01(except for XV-01TC) and XV-02

Good shout, I've updated the opening post 👍

26 minutes ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

I think the plain TA-05 should work too as I think it uses the same suspension as the TA-04, but I am not sure

Yup, just checked the manuals and the entry level TA05 uses TA04 arms, so have added that to the list above. The R and MS use Evo IV arms and the ver.II uses TB03 arms so I can assume that they're all out...

26 minutes ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

As the TC-01 uses a similar suspension, there might be chance for that chassis as well. 

Don't know about the TA08 or TC01...I hadn't considered the TC01 as a 'standard' touring car chassis, thinking of it as more of a formula / race car platform. But I've just checked the manual and it's 257mm wheelbase, 188mm wide (close enough to 190 to work with) with hex hubs front and rear and optional body mount positions for touring car shells. However, the manual shows what are clearly 24mm rims and tyres...do you know for a fact that 26mm rims fit it?

[FuzzyFlynn 75]

17 minutes ago, Juhunio said:

Don't know about the TA08 or TC01...I hadn't considered the TC01 as a 'standard' touring car chassis, thinking of it as more of a formula / race car platform. But I've just checked the manual and it's 257mm wheelbase, 188mm wide (close enough to 190 to work with) with hex hubs front and rear and optional body mount positions for touring car shells. However, the manual shows what are clearly 24mm rims and tyres...do you know for a fact that 26mm rims fit it?

I do not know. Quite the opposite, I am looking for an answer. :-)

For the chassis where the 26mm do not fit, it is because they rub on the outer edges of the lower front arms. More caster makes it worse. Based on pictures, TA-08 and TC-01 do not have these protruding edges on the lower arms due to the ball-mounted design. But 26mm rims could still rub somewhere else.

If there are any TA-08 or TC-01 owners willing to check, that would be great!

[Raman36 1656]

It’s not so much the arms that cause the issue. It’s the uprights! TA05 V1 and prior cars had the bearing housing protruding. The later cars, the housing on the upright became flush, and as a result those ribs on 26mm wheels starting to rub on the arms.  
 

The newer 26mm wheels should not have this issue. I have the Ford GT kit at home, will check those rims to see if they clear.

[FuzzyFlynn 75]

After having a closer look at the TA-08 manual, I suspect my initial guess was wrong. I would expect the classic 26mm rims to rub at the marked location:

 

[FuzzyFlynn 75]

Based on the product photos, it looks like the TC-01 with CLK GTR body (58731) uses 26 mm rims. They look like 445575 (zero offset) at the front and 335153 (+2 offset) at the rear.