TD4 Super Avante — My Version

[chris.alex 1340]

After the box with the TD4 Super Avante kit had been lying unopened in the corner for two years, I finally started assembling it. Recently I drove a friend's TD4 and I was very impressed by the driving characteristics. This motivated me to build it instead of selling it. 
I thought I'd make a kind of a build thread and share some of my thoughts about the kit. I like the TD4 logo. 🙂

I also bought the following hop-ups: aluminum diff nut, tungsten balls, reinforced diff parts. Planned electronics: YR low profile servo, XR10 stock spec G2 (it's small), TBLM-02S 10.5t.

The first thing I noticed was that the chassis is pretty full of holes and spots. No sign of elegance, but made of good PA-GF plastics.

What also made me very curious about the TD4 was the battery compartment problem and finding solutions to it. As you can see, I decided to install the servo on the right side. This hopefully makes the steering more direct and precise. @matisse and others provided the inspiration for this. 

[skom25 2179]

Looking forward for build! 

I think it is ugly and too complicated, but I love to check builds like that!

[chris.alex 1340]

I've already put the battery and controller into the chassis to test. It seems to fit well.

Assembling the rear gearbox parts was easy. I noticed that one of the many holes wasn't drilled exactly. But that might not be important.

Installing the diff, motor plate and motor went smoothly. I didn't find any additional shims necessary. Thankfully, Tamiya included a steel pinion. As well as some beautiful exhausts. I really like them! 😎

Step 8 was a bit of a challenge for me. Are you serious, Tamiya? How the heck am I supposed to cut the foam into this shape? Well, I did my best. 🧐

[Howards 641]

1 hour ago, chris.alex said:

? How the heck am I supposed to cut the foam into this shape?

You can stick a rectangle on then use a scalpel to trim it down in place. Accuracy is less important than making sure there’s no gaps. 

[chris.alex 1340]

I have installed the suspension, shock tower and body mounts. Everything fits together well and the lower arms appear to be made of solid plastic. 

When I closed the gearbox I had my first encounter with those cap screws. I'm still not sure if I like them. I'll come back to that later.

After I had finished the rear part, I moved on to the front. This time I installed a few extra shims. Good idea with the little spring in the drive cup. You have to glue it in. 

[Grumpy pants 5503]

Coming along very nicely 👏

[chris.alex 1340]

When I tried to screw the front gearbox cover on, I had a bit of a scare: When I pressed on one side, there was a 2mm gap on the other side. And when I pressed in the middle, there was a 1mm gap on both sides. 😯 Only the force of the 9 cap screws (7 from the top and 2 from the bottom) closed the cover completely. Apart from that, I had the impression that the cover was touching one of the bevel gears. The output drive could not rotate 100% evenly like at the back. 

Assembling the rocker arms and the steering linkage, however, was a pleasure; everything fits together perfectly. 

In my opinion the front lower suspension arms needed shimming. I chose black 1mm nylon shims. 

Finally, I installed the central cardan shaft. My TD4 is now starting to look like a car. I really like it! 😍

[Howards 641]

Gotta ditch those plastic bevels though. Fit the steel upgrade versions (and buy another pack for luck). 
 

maybe the kit plastic bevels survive if you shim them as tight as they can go before it binds? 
 

The front gearbox cover should be an easy fit. If it’s not just dropping on something is up. If you added extra shims on the diff take them out they aren’t needed and can cause weird issues. 

[chris.alex 1340]

15 hours ago, Howards said:

Gotta ditch those plastic bevels though. Fit the steel upgrade versions (and buy another pack for luck).

Thank you for the tip about the metal bevel gears.

Quote

maybe the kit plastic bevels survive if you shim them as tight as they can go before it binds?

I have already shimmed both of them. We will see how long they last.

Quote

The front gearbox cover should be an easy fit. If it’s not just dropping on something is up. If you added extra shims on the diff take them out they aren’t needed and can cause weird issues.

The diff, on the other hand, didn't get any additional shims. I have screwed the cover on and off several times, but have not found the reason why it doesn't fit properly. Perhaps the cover is slightly bent. I have reordered the L-parts for comparison.

[chris.alex 1340]

Alright folks, now we're moving on. I was particularly looking forward to the next step, the front inboard suspension. Its my first car with inboard suspension. 😎

I've had mostly good experiences with the Tamiya CVA dampers. To optimize them a bit and seal them, I use TRF pistons (2 holes + kit oil), X-rings and green slime. Springs are the blue ones of the CC02 set.

Since I mounted the servo on the right, I can do without the steering crank and part L7. Instead, I used two old Tamiya metal bearings to stabilize the hinge and keep it at the correct height. Works and looks good too. 🙂

[chris.alex 1340]

Alright, let's go on! 

How should the battery be put in and taken out? Should it be particularly easy, normal or complicated? 1) Should you not have to remove any screws or pins? 2) Just screws? 3) Or both, which would be the kit version?

After some consideration, I decided on option 2. This is because I don't want to do without the upper deck for reasons of stability. This means that I have to fold up the shock bridge to get the battery in. As with the XV01, two screws always have to be loosened when changing the battery. 

Open:

Closed: 

I also installed the front uprights, the fender mounts and the rear dampers. I chose old Gmade oil dampers because they are sturdy and fit well. I hope they will serve well when the car is in use. 🙂

And finally, ESC and RX (hidden under the upper deck) got their fixed positions, I sorted the cables and mounted temporary wheels. I love it! 😍😎 

[Grumpy pants 5503]

Looking good, really coming on at a decent build pace. 

[chris.alex 1340]

By the way, the L-parts that I reordered have arrived. Unfortunately, again the gear cover cannot be closed completely, and a gap remains. The 2mm gap is only closed by the force of the screws. Seems to be intended.

[chris.alex 1340]

In the meantime, I had the opportunity to paint the previously neon yellow rims silver. I also installed an Arrma rear wing. I have already installed the same one on the TT02B and have had good experiences with it. Black, sturdy and the right size.

[chris.alex 1340]

Before I turn to the bodywork, I would like to give a brief interim conclusion on my assembly of the TD4 chassis. All in all, it was a great pleasure putting it together. It is different to most of my other RC cars, the parts are of similar (good) quality to the XM01 Pro that I built six months ago and the instructions are, as usual, excellent. I like that oil dampers, ball bearings and a steel pinion are included in the kit. However, four things I didn't like:

1. Both front uprights developed small cracks when I screwed in the ball heads for the steering rods. If I remember correctly the weakness of the uprights was mentioned somewhere else. Next time I will warm up the ball heads before tightening, as recommended by others.

2. The cover of the front gear box doesn't fit properly as I showed you earlier in this thread.
3. During the first short test drive, I noticed the absurdly large turning circle. So I removed the larger of the two spacers that limit the steering angle. I know that these spacers are meant to prevent the dog bones from dropping out. I can do that by EPA of my TX. 

4. In addition to the usual pan head M3 screws there are also 2.6mm cap screws in the kit. I don't like them so much because they look less elegant and because I can't use my tap forming tool with them. 

[BuggyDad 5904]

Why they speced those M2.6 screws I don't know. Frustrated me for just the same reason. I haven't had your front gearbox fitment issue - is it a commonly known thing? 

[chris.alex 1340]

9 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

Why they speced those M2.6 screws I don't know. Frustrated me for just the same reason. I haven't had your front gearbox fitment issue - is it a commonly known thing? 

Good question. I don't know. Maybe others didn't notice it or didn't see it as a problem. Or maybe I was just unlucky with both the two year old kit parts and the recently reordered L-parts. Maybe it really isn't a problem at all and the car is just great to drive. 

It's not a big problem and it won't bother me any further. However, in my humble opinion it's somewhat less than perfect if the cover has to be bent permanently to fit properly.

[Grumpy pants 5503]

10 hours ago, chris.alex said:

Before I turn to the bodywork, I would like to give a brief interim conclusion on my assembly of the TD4 chassis. All in all, it was a great pleasure putting it together. It is different to most of my other RC cars, the parts are of similar (good) quality to the XM01 Pro that I built six months ago and the instructions are, as usual, excellent. I like that oil dampers, ball bearings and a steel pinion are included in the kit. However, four things I didn't like:

1. Both front uprights developed small cracks when I screwed in the ball heads for the steering rods. If I remember correctly the weakness of the uprights was mentioned somewhere else. Next time I will warm up the ball heads before tightening, as recommended by others.

2. The cover of the front gear box doesn't fit properly as I showed you earlier in this thread.
3. During the first short test drive, I noticed the absurdly large turning circle. So I removed the larger of the two spacers that limit the steering angle. I know that these spacers are meant to prevent the dog bones from dropping out. I can do that by EPA of my TX. 

4. In addition to the usual pan head M3 screws there are also 2.6mm cap screws in the kit. I don't like them so much because they look less elegant and because I can't use my tap forming tool with them. 

Great build feedback, 4 small grumbles seems positive to me.

It’ll be interesting to read your feedback on running it and maintaining it. 

[Howards 641]

13 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

Why they speced those M2.6 screws I don't know. Frustrated me for just the same reason. I haven't had your front gearbox fitment issue - is it a commonly known thing? 

When I built my TD2 I accidentally tapped all the rear gearbox threads at 3mm. 
 

So I just used 3mm screws instead.

no issues. 
 

I suspect you can’t do this on the TD4 front gearbox though. 

[skom25 2179]

14 hours ago, chris.alex said:

1. Both front uprights developed small cracks when I screwed in the ball heads for the steering rods. If I remember correctly the weakness of the uprights was mentioned somewhere else. Next time I will warm up the ball heads before tightening, as recommended by others.

Use Tap Tool and a lot of grease.

[Howards 641]

The front uprights are solid. 

it’s the rears that are a liability. 

you’ll end up with loads of spare front uprights when you start replacing the rears after smashing them to bits 😆 

[urban warrior 496]

Well, I've long thought about getting one of these, just for "technical curiosity" reasons. The crude procedure for changing batteries did prevent me from buying one. Even though it's up for sale here at a shop for 169€ w/o ESC. And what I see here doesn't make it any better. And please don't tell me "This is the Tamiya way!"!

[chris.alex 1340]

Since all my RC cars are runners, it ultimately comes down to how the TD4 drives, and when I think of a friend's TD4, I have reason to believe that it is a good buggy. 🙂

[Howards 641]

2 hours ago, urban warrior said:

Well, I've long thought about getting one of these, just for "technical curiosity" reasons. The crude procedure for changing batteries did prevent me from buying one. Even though it's up for sale here at a shop for 169€ w/o ESC. And what I see here doesn't make it any better. And please don't tell me "This is the Tamiya way!"!

Boring. It’s a good chassis. You are missing out.

[Saito2 7654]

3 hours ago, urban warrior said:

The crude procedure for changing batteries did prevent me from buying one. Even though it's up for sale here at a shop for 169€ w/o ESC. And what I see here doesn't make it any better. And please don't tell me "This is the Tamiya way!"!

Well, its the Tamiya way. J/K, sorry, I couldn't help myself, . Seriously though, the original Avante wasn't exactly fun when it came to changing the battery either. I needed something fresh and new to build as a palette cleanser and the TD4 certainly delivered. While the body might be polarizing and not quite the home run the original's styling was, the buggy overall is in the same spirit. Its different from other cookie-cutter designs in this segment, tacking the 4wd buggy concept with a certain uniqueness as only Tamiya can. The Super Aavnte is more connected to the original than the MK2 and Aero versions which were just re-bodied DF03s and DF02s.

6 hours ago, Howards said:

it’s the rears that are a liability. 

Where do the rears tend to fail at?