Tamiya DT04 thread fighter NX Gen

[GToddC5 2954]

13 minutes ago, Rvl 2 said:

The diff is out of stock and the next race is 4/20. I saw a link here to a dt02 build that used TopForce Evo pressure plates. Does anyone know what parts are needed to build a diff for dt04 from scratch. I have the TF Evo manual but not sure what to order.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/53863/index.html

At this moment, Both 53791 and 53863 appear to be in stock on RCJaz

[matisse 1755]

23 hours ago, Rvl 2 said:

The diff is out of stock and the next race is 4/20. I saw a link here to a dt02 build that used TopForce Evo pressure plates. Does anyone know what parts are needed to build a diff for dt04 from scratch. I have the TF Evo manual but not sure what to order.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/53863/index.html

be aware that you will need the DT02/3 diff as the counter gear is larger than the one used in the TF/TA models as I learned to my expense a few years back.

iirc the part is Tamiya 0440128 Diff Spur Gear DT02 MS 49475

TF Evo plates are 9805420

 

[River19 355]

Well, in the continuing saga of racing the DT-04 in the Silver Can class........I think I may be "OK" for this week.  I grabbed another 22T pinion and while it has the same dimensions I noticed the 22T actually rubs the washers on the motor mount screws.  So.......I pulled the washers and that apparently allows the 22T to clear the screws better.  I bet that was a contributing factor to the pinion blowing off almost immediately,

Ran the car for 10 mins or so in the driveway and it stayed on so......fingers crossed I can manage 3 classes again this week.

[River19 355]

Race Report.......from today:

Raced 3 classes today which was brutal as we had a lighter turnout due to the large national race in TN as well as the 1/8th opener elsewhere.  So I ended up racing or marshaling in 24 of 28 heats which barely allowed for batteries to get charged and tires to be cleaned and prepped on 3 cars......I ran around a LOT.

DT-04.....while at a disadvantage on speed to an extent even with the 50/22 gearing combo, I was able to get into the groove a bit and got to a decent lap count and even turned a pretty decent fast lap for me with that car.  I found I can basically go full throttle the entire jump line and be "OK" but I need to swap to slightly heavier oil in the TRF shocks to accommodate the more aggressive landing from the big triple, which for the silver can class is a double (truth be told I always take it as a double even in 17.5 and 13.5 for now).

I still need more steering from the car as it pushes like a tractor and I have to blip the brake to get weight to transfer to the front wheels to really turn.

The pinion blowing off seems to be solved......

I find a fair amount of people/spectators familiar with RC coming over and cheering for the Tamiya as the underdog on the track and it LOOKs awesome going around the track.

Fun car.  I'm determined.

[ThunderDragonCy 9252]

@River19 Sounds fantastic, if a bit tiring. Looking forward to hearing your set up tips. I haven't been following your car setup that closely i am afraid, but do you have sway bars yet? The dt03 set fits apparently and a rear bar feels like the obvious solution to getting more front end.

[River19 355]

6 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

@River19 Sounds fantastic, if a bit tiring. Looking forward to hearing your set up tips. I haven't been following your car setup that closely i am afraid, but do you have sway bars yet? The dt03 set fits apparently and a rear bar feels like the obvious solution to getting more front end.

Racing is always a fun day, and Sunday off road tends to be a 9:30am to 5pm long day........good thing to do on a crap weather day.

Sway bars?  Negative, the last thing I need is more push and "too much front end grip" is the opposite of my steering challenges.  If I was running carpet and traction rolling I might entertain sway bars.  I don't run them on any of my 2wd cars on high bite clay.  I made some moderate progress adding some additional toe out for better turn in and negative camber, but I need to clean that up a bit as they were quick track changes.  The other challenge is the amount of slop in the front end, which isn't bad my Tamiya standards (less than a TT-02) but still a LOT more than a the TLR or Schumacher I run in other classes.

From a suspension standpoint, I need more pack to handle the landing from the larger jumps but can't overdo it as I handles the high speed off camber jump to turn combo really well without sliding out and I can get on the power quickly.  The challenge is finding reliable info on Tamiya shock oil as I have the "Green" in there now and everything I have seen says that is 500CST, which would be about 40wt in TLR oil and I can tell you it feels much closer to 25wt....very thin......so I need to do some experimenting, unless someone here really knows how the "Green" compares to some of the more common shock oils run commonly at tracks (AE, TLR, etc.)

EDIT: So after some inspection and comparison on the suspension, I am more in alignment that the "Green" oil is in fact 500CST(ish)......BUT, what I was thinking was the oil being too light is really that I am used to 12-13mm shocks and run 13mm on the other two cars on this track (17.5 TLR and 13.5 4wd Schumacher) and run those with 35/32.5 oil combos.  The TRF shocks are more like a 10mm internal diameter (piston is like a 9.9mm on the calipers) so in order to get the level of "pack" I need, I can swap oil to something thicker and/or swap to the 2 hole piston.  However since the "E" clips holding the pistons are a PITA compared to screws (TLR shocks etc.) I opted to go up to 42.5wt TLR oil and in side by side "squeeze" tests it feels incrementally stiffer.  After inspection of the chassis protection adhesive I have, the back of the car is the one bottoming out upon landing so I think I will leave the fronts alone right now (as I need the compliance for steering grip) and go with the heavier rear oil first.

 

 

[Daniel_Hamburg 68]

Hi there,

I’d like to introduce my versions of the DT-04. This year, it’s set to compete in 3–4 races in the Tamico Cup, so it’s equipped with the Torque Tuned accordance with the regulations.  I'm not a big fan of the ‘Gurney Bubble’ or the driver figure, so I modified both. The cockpit now owns Mr. Sand Scorcher, and I replaced the bubble with a 1mm polystyrene roof. The ESC is a Hobbywing 1080, positioned centrally on the chassis. I’m using Shorty LiPos, which fit perfectly so the ESC fits perfectly. To play around with paintwork, I got some spare bodies – and that’s how the junior version of the BBX came to life.

Best Daniel

 

[skom25 2850]

Last photo, right car: it is AWESOME!

[Tamiyastef 3217]

34 minutes ago, Daniel_Hamburg said:

Are those Tamiya wheels? Last year only Tamiya wheels and tires were allowed in Tamico Off Road cup. The DT-04 is a good looking buggy IMO but some liveries make it sublime. 

[Andreas W 3313]

21 minutes ago, Tamiyastef said:

Are those Tamiya wheels? Last year only Tamiya wheels and tires were allowed in Tamico Off Road cup. The DT-04 is a good looking buggy IMO but some liveries make it sublime. 

That looks like JC Racing Pepper Pots (which I of course love). I just had a read through the reglement and only Tamiya tyres is mentioned. Nothing about wheels. But maybe the version I just read was not the newest version. 

[Tamiyastef 3217]

57 minutes ago, Andreas W said:

not the newest version

The one I read was last year's so certainly not the newest version. If it's not mentioned specifically in this years "book of rules" it should be fine. 

[Kowalski86 5263]

16 hours ago, River19 said:

DT-04.....while at a disadvantage on speed to an extent even with the 50/22 gearing combo, I was able to get into the groove a bit and got to a decent lap count and even turned a pretty decent fast lap for me with that car. 

I'm curious if you've found a method for keeping the motor cooler, I'd like to run a basic silver can but any regular sealed motor cooks up for me on the stock gearing.

[Daniel_Hamburg 68]

2 hours ago, Andreas W said:

That looks like JC Racing Pepper Pots (which I of course love). I just had a read through the reglement and only Tamiya tyres is mentioned. Nothing about wheels. But maybe the version I just read was not the newest version. 

Both are correct: JC Pepper Pot and Tamiy tyres only. Wheels are not under regulations.

[Torhaantje 643]

3 hours ago, Daniel_Hamburg said:

The cockpit now owns Mr. Sand Scorcher,

Those two cars are  great versions of the DT-04!

Well done!

May I ask how you made the visor on the driver's helmet?

Regards, 

Rick  

[Daniel_Hamburg 68]

Thanks Rick! The helmet is a 3D print that a friend made for me.

Edit: the whole head with the helmet

Edited April 7 by Daniel_Hamburg

[River19 355]

1 hour ago, Kowalski86 said:

I'm curious if you've found a method for keeping the motor cooler, I'd like to run a basic silver can but any regular sealed motor cooks up for me on the stock gearing.

I did hastily mount a fan on the roll bar, you can see it in the pic below......not a great pic admittedly.

I need to reposition it a bit but things do get a little steamy back there.  I'm fine running it hot.....I have a handful of these Tourque Tuned motors waiting for when I melt this one.  At $17 each they are disposable.  But yeah, this runs hot and honestly, even with 50/22 gearing......it isn't "fast" for the class as even a 35 year. old RC10 has more gearing options.

 

[Torhaantje 643]

15 minutes ago, Daniel_Hamburg said:

Thanks Rick! The helmet is a 3D print that a friend made for me.

Edit: the whole head with the helmet

It looks great !

Rick 

[Andreas W 3313]

2 hours ago, Tamiyastef said:

The one I read was last year's so certainly not the newest version. If it's not mentioned specifically in this years "book of rules" it should be fine. 

Hehe. Brilliant. I knew I had read it sometime this year. 

 

BTW: Your TD4,  aehm baby BBX really looks the business!

[River19 355]

And upon inspection of my suspension I noticed I broke "M6" the front shock tower.........can't say I am surprised but.......

So now I am down for the count until I source another one, which appears impossible to find the M parts tree.

Which means my only alternative will be to buy another whole car kit........!!!  Seriously.....!!!! Weak.

[Daniel_Hamburg 68]

Oh no - did that happen during a race? Crash, or just the repeated jumps? I was worried that the front parts might be too weak or that the material isn't good enough for racing. I don't know where you live, but these parts have been available here for a few days. I had already ordered the M-Tree (TA-9115594) to be on the safe side. I know this won't solve your problem immediately, but maybe just wait a few more days before it becomes a full kit?

[River19 355]

3 hours ago, Daniel_Hamburg said:

Oh no - did that happen during a race? Crash, or just the repeated jumps? I was worried that the front parts might be too weak or that the material isn't good enough for racing. I don't know where you live, but these parts have been available here for a few days. I had already ordered the M-Tree (TA-9115594) to be on the safe side. I know this won't solve your problem immediately, but maybe just wait a few more days before it becomes a full kit?

I took a hit while in the air and landed poorly, it happens.

I cannot locate a M tree anywhere and Tamiya USA shows no results for the part number no matter how I enter it.  All I can find is Parts Bag B which is useless.

[Daniel_Hamburg 68]

Arrived today. The DT-04 was released here a few weeks earlier as well, so I think you'll need to be patient for a few more days. I ordered mine from here, and it seems to be the only shop that currently has the parts available. Unfortunately, they don’t offer international shipping.

https://www.modellbau-seidel.de/index.php?firma=Tamiya&best=9115594

 

[River19 355]

23 minutes ago, Daniel_Hamburg said:

Arrived today. The DT-04 was released here a few weeks earlier as well, so I think you'll need to be patient for a few more days. I ordered mine from here, and it seems to be the only shop that currently has the parts available. Unfortunately, they don’t offer international shipping.

https://www.modellbau-seidel.de/index.php?firma=Tamiya&best=9115594

 

Appreciate that. Thanks

I went with a "ghetto fix" to possibly get through another race or two.  CA glue set up relatively well last night then I just got done wrapping it tightly with electrical tape.  At least the black matches lol

Of course every jump needs support from that joint as the shocks push against it, of course the shocks also absorb the hit ideally so........

50/50 shot of it working as long as I don't land horribly.....

 

[vodka 82]

On 3/21/2025 at 2:38 PM, GToddC5 said:

The front white piece needs to be installed, but all else and the cage can be left off. I did as much of both as possible so that I can run in two different modes, relatively quickly.

So it's not just a cover? From the manual, I see only four screws going into the main chassis.

[GToddC5 2954]

1 hour ago, vodka said:

So it's not just a cover? From the manual, I see only four screws going into the main chassis.

Nope, it's an integral part of the front chassis' strength.