Can anyone tell me which chassis this is?

[foz75 93]

is it even tamiya?

[sosidge 624]

It's a TL01. There were clones, not sure if this one or not but I would assume Tamiya. Not a Tamiya speed controller though.

[lupogtiboy 454]

The speed controller looks like a Bymco one they did on the magazine years ago. 

 

 

[foz75 93]

thanks! so, are they any good? what is spares availability like? Are there any parts that are impossible or expensive to get hold of? worth it as a project for 30 quid or should I not bother? Is that a crack in the chassis under the motor (have found pics of others with the same crack, not sure if it's by design or a common failure point)?

[TurnipJF 9181]

6 hours ago, foz75 said:

thanks! so, are they any good? what is spares availability like? Are there any parts that are impossible or expensive to get hold of? worth it as a project for 30 quid or should I not bother? Is that a crack in the chassis under the motor (have found pics of others with the same crack, not sure if it's by design or a common failure point)?

Yes they are pretty good. Entry-level, but better than a box stock TT-01 for example.

Spares are still very easy to come by as most of them are used in models that are still in production.

At £30 I would snap it up straight away!

The crack is part of the design. That side of the chassis is moulded in two pieces, front and rear, and the crack is where they join. The crack is v-shaped so that it is easier to remove just the front or just the back chassis piece

[foz75 93]

OK! I'm too late and it's gone anyway, not that I needed it, just looked like an interesting project. At least now I know what I'm looking at next time   thanks!

[svenb 3759]

Speedo looks very much like a Kyosho mechanical speed controller to me🤔

[RichieRich 685]

1 minute ago, svenb said:

Speedo looks very Kyosho mechanical speed controller to me🤔

Yeah, I thought the same.

[Kowalski86 3024]

10 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

Yes they are pretty good. Entry-level, but better than a box stock TT-01 for example.

I'm curious, how would you rank a TL-01 against the more recent TT-02? 

I've never owned a TL01 myself, just a few of its M-chassis siblings.

[WillyChang 1814]

16 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

I'm curious, how would you rank a TL-01 against the more recent TT-02? 

I've never owned a TL01 myself, just a few of its M-chassis siblings.

TT02 is far superior design  

TL01 philosophy lives on in the MF01X (& GF01 to an Extent) but it’s biggest liability is like the M03/FF02... a hard whack to the front end can rip an entire corner with arm off. Then you have to rebuild entire car with new chassis set. 

[TurnipJF 9181]

On 2/25/2023 at 4:19 AM, Kowalski86 said:

I'm curious, how would you rank a TL-01 against the more recent TT-02? 

I've never owned a TL01 myself, just a few of its M-chassis siblings.

In terms of reliability, the TT-02 Is superior, but in terms of performance, the roles are reversed. If both are built box stock that is.

With its wider range of hop-ups, a TT-02 can be modded further than a TL-01, especially in terms of gearing - it is far easier to gear a TT-02 for brushless for example, as you have the option of fitting a slotted motor mount and alloy spur gear mount. This gives a far wider range of pinion and spur options than the TL-01, which has only 2 spur options and 3 motor mounting positions. 

The weak front end of the TL-01 can be addressed to a large extent by fitting the front bumper and U-shaped hinge pin from the TL-01B, which provides greater protection and ties the two chassis halves together. Further reinforcement can be achieved with a brace between the two shock towers, although having raced and crashed my TL-01s on numerous occasions with no chassis damage, I find the TL-01B bumper and hinge pin to provide adequate protection.

So I'd say in a class where only limited hop-ups are permitted, the TL-01 can still be competitive, and can be made tough enough to survive with minimal effort and expenditure. But the TT-02 can be hopped up to beat it everywhere else. 

[Kowalski86 3024]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

In terms of reliability, the TT-02 Is superior, but in terms of performance, the roles are reversed. If both are built box stock that is.

Thats interesting, I would've figured a TT-02 would perform better due to its more effecient drivetrain.

My biggest worry with a TL-01 isn't even breaking it, its popping off a wheel finding a bushing, then knowing that I have 24 more bushings to replace!

[TurnipJF 9181]

1 hour ago, Kowalski86 said:

Thats interesting, I would've figured a TT-02 would perform better due to its more effecient drivetrain.

The performance difference comes down to how they handle rather than the relative efficiencies of their drivetrains. The stock geometry of the TL-01 gives a more neutral handling car with a nice balance between turn-in and straight line stability. The TT-02 is heavily biased towards stability, as one would expect from a car aimed at the raw beginner, and thus sacrifices nimbleness through the corners.

Another factor is that the stock TL-01 shocks, while not great, actually provide a measure of damping, unlike the pogo sticks fitted to the TT-02. 

I suppose the TT would perform better in a drag race though... 😁

[Kowalski86 3024]

7 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Another factor is that the stock TL-01 shocks, while not great, actually provide a measure of damping, unlike the pogo sticks fitted to the TT-02. 

I suppose the TT would perform better in a drag race though... 😁

Good point on the shocks, I have a set on my M03 and they're fine for just parking lot bashing. I'd argue that the TL-01s narrow chassis makes it a better rally car, but I have no first hand experience.

Now let me ask, how would you compare a stock TA-02 vs a stock TT-02?

[TurnipJF 9181]

5 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

Good point on the shocks, I have a set on my M03 and they're fine for just parking lot bashing. I'd argue that the TL-01s narrow chassis makes it a better rally car, but I have no first hand experience.

Now let me ask, how would you compare a stock TA-02 vs a stock TT-02?

The TL-01 does indeed work well as a rally car, especially when fitted with the revised chassis plastics that feature an opening under the steering servo. Older models were prone to having small stones jam the steering, and the opening allows them to escape without causing issues. 

As for stock TA-02 vs. stock TT-02, that is an interesting one. On paper, the TA-02 ought to have a clear advantage, coming stock with metal dogbones, axles and outdrives, metal propshaft, CVA oil shocks, etc. However in practice, the metal coat hanger propshaft is less sturdy than the fibre reinforced plastic one supplied with the TT-02, and the better shocks are offset by a lack of symmetry in the suspension mounting points on the chassis, giving it some odd asymmetrical handling quirks. These tend not to be noticeable when bashing on unprepared surfaces, but are hard to avoid noticing when trying to guide the car around a proper track.

You can also fit a more powerful motor to a TT-02 without the gearbox cover lifting and/or the screw points breaking away from the motor mount, and the plastic steering assembly has less slop than the metal-and-plastic one that comes with the TA-02, with its thin wire bridge attached with sloppy Z-bends.

I am not speaking from a position of great experience here, as my TA-02 was built with upgrades from the get-go, and my only experience with a stock TT-02 was when I built one to donate to charity (my own TT-02 is a hopped-up Type S), but I think the TT-02 is the superior platform in box stock form. It is a close call though, and others might see it differently. 

[Kowalski86 3024]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

The TL-01 does indeed work well as a rally car, especially when fitted with the revised chassis plastics that feature an opening under the steering servo. Older models were prone to having small stones jam the steering, and the opening allows them to escape without causing issues. 

As for stock TA-02 vs. stock TT-02, that is an interesting one. On paper, the TA-02 ought to have a clear advantage, coming stock with metal dogbones, axles and outdrives, metal propshaft, CVA oil shocks, etc. However in practice, the metal coat hanger propshaft is less sturdy than the fibre reinforced plastic one supplied with the TT-02, and the better shocks are offset by a lack of symmetry in the suspension mounting points on the chassis, giving it some odd asymmetrical handling quirks. These tend not to be noticeable when bashing on unprepared surfaces, but are hard to avoid noticing when trying to guide the car around a proper track.

You can also fit a more powerful motor to a TT-02 without the gearbox cover lifting and/or the screw points breaking away from the motor mount, and the plastic steering assembly has less slop than the metal-and-plastic one that comes with the TA-02, with its thin wire bridge attached with sloppy Z-bends.

I am not speaking from a position of great experience here, as my TA-02 was built with upgrades from the get-go, and my only experience with a stock TT-02 was when I built one to donate to charity (my own TT-02 is a hopped-up Type S), but I think the TT-02 is the superior platform in box stock form. It is a close call though, and others might see it differently. 

I think a big factor would be parts support too, you can still get parts for TA02 but not always as easy as a TT-02. I am surprised to hear that a TA-02 would have more steering slop though!

[alvinlwh 5888]

2 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

I am surprised to hear that a TA-02 would have more steering slop though!

There appears to be more play due to this "paperclip" link compared to my TT-01 (which have a similar setup to TT-02?).

 

 

[TurnipJF 9181]

8 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

I think a big factor would be parts support too, you can still get parts for TA02 but not always as easy as a TT-02.

Good point - that would tip the scales in the TT-02's favour.