Tamiya DT04 thread fighter NX Gen

[Kowalski86 5026]

10 hours ago, River19 said:

Was thinking about the same thing as it is basically a giant heat tunnel.  I get that for outdoor bashing and general recreational use the shroud is a touch better at dust and debris protection but for actual track use that is less of a concern than heat.  I was literally worried about the plastic getting warped from the heat lol

It's not a common problem, but some people have had their DT-chassis crack around the screw holes since the plastic in that area is thin and it gets very hot.

[Nicadraus 6799]

On 3/17/2025 at 8:04 AM, River19 said:

 

• I respectfully disagree with @NeonScorcher in that the car is pretty darn slow in stock form.  My 17.5 is literally 2x as fast.

 

I second emotion on this.

I don't know what kind of 17.5t BL motors others are using, comparing them to silvercan or Sport Tuned/Torque Tuned. But my 21.5 beats all three, and way, way faster. Surpass Rocket V3 21.5t in my XV-01 and 17.5t in one of my FF-03.

[SlideWRX 1082]

There is a youtuber that compared several brushed & brushless motors in the same TT-02, with the same gearing & battery.  The stock 540 & 17.5t were very similar in performance.  Perhaps with taller gearing they would show a difference.

 

[Howards 911]

18 minutes ago, SlideWRX said:

with the same gearing & battery

This just shows the rpm under a similar load is similar. In reality in controlled 17.5 stock touring and buggy classes you’ll run an FDR that would melt a brushed motor but the brushless will keep on trucking despite…well because of the increased load. 

[River19 284]

Yeah, comparing brushed vs. brushless without providing optimal gearing for both is like comparing apples and dump trucks......

Anyone who has run a modern buggy with 17.5 on 2S geared for modern racing knows there just is no way possible that a similar buggy running a 540 sealed can of any flavor will hang close and hold up over a race heat.

Tamiya makes a decent motor for the typical hobby and recreational user and I love running their stuff with a Tourque Tuned or similar in a spec class for fun, but objectively even back int he late 80s their "Technigolds" etc. were out classed by the typical Trinity, Losi, Reedy etc. offerings of the time.

I'm not crapping on Tamiya motors, just saying they do well when they stay in their lane.

[GToddC5 2918]

It's about time for a Fighter Bear Hawk update! I managed to get most of the cage and cowls installed, so it's easier to swap different modes. I have another plan for this one, so I wanted to see how much can be left in place when running the SV body. It's not the prettiest thing, but someone had to fall on the sword. I'll keep at it and it will likely get better after paint and stickers.

 

 

 

[Tamiyastef 3086]

3 hours ago, GToddC5 said:

Fighter Bear Hawk

i guess you're not the lucky owner of a Mad Bull, Mad fighter, Bear hawk body?

[GToddC5 2918]

4 hours ago, Tamiyastef said:

i guess you're not the lucky owner of a Mad Bull, Mad fighter, Bear hawk body?

I have a Mad Bull NIB and a Mad Fighter built.

I trimmed the SV body with hints of Bear Hawk, but wanted a newer look to go with the next gen, so to speak. I didn't want to drop an old body on a new kit, otherwise I'd have just sprung for a legit Bear Hawk (which I was avoiding).

[Tamiyastef 3086]

@GToddC5 I can't really think of a body where the roof would be more level with the rear cage. I'd like that though because the "dent" in the roofline you get with the SV body bothers me.

 

Edit: maybe the Dirt Master from Kyosho? 

[GToddC5 2918]

6 minutes ago, Tamiyastef said:

@GToddC5 I can't really think of a body where the roof would be more level with the rear cage. I'd like that though because the "dent" in the roofline you get with the SV body bothers me.

 

Edit: maybe the Dirt Master from Kyosho? 

I'm planning to paint the lowest dip of the mounting tab portion black, to make it somewhat disappear.

[qatmix 954]

17 hours ago, SlideWRX said:

There is a youtuber that compared several brushed & brushless motors in the same TT-02, with the same gearing & battery.  The stock 540 & 17.5t were very similar in performance.  Perhaps with taller gearing they would show a difference.

 

This was a great video, although it has dated a fair bit.

A modern 17.5t motor will easily achieve 3000kv, These motors in the test were old tech even back when this was made. A good 17,5 is much faster when racing than the modified 19t brushed motors we used to run. Also it has been mentioned that they also have loads of torque and are much easier to gear lower etc.  The short distance and  the fixed FDR will skew the results a little. 

[Nicadraus 6799]

On 3/19/2025 at 11:48 AM, GToddC5 said:

It's about time for a Fighter Bear Hawk update! I managed to get most of the cage and cowls installed, so it's easier to swap different modes. I have another plan for this one, so I wanted to see how much can be left in place when running the SV body. It's not the prettiest thing, but someone had to fall on the sword. I'll keep at it and it will likely get better after paint and stickers.

 

 

 

Very nice! 

[GToddC5 2918]

6 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Very nice! 

Thank you sir! I can't believe no one has blasted me yet, for cutting the front upper brace 

[Rvl 2 31]

On 3/17/2025 at 2:16 AM, NeonScorcher said:

So, first track test went quite well. Man, it's been ages since I last drove a silvercan, or brushed in general. Totally different feeling. That took some getting used to.

The chassis is not as rotate-happy as I'd have liked, even in short wheelbase and with the quite extreme front tires, which I reversed to get even more steering. The track has lots of tight corners. The rears should be somewhat more worn down I guess. Maybe I'll "age" them a little with sandpaper or a cutter. Has anyone done that and would share how?

Otherwise I'm quite happy with the performance, it jumps well and the top speed is quite good, probably close to a 17.5 brushless.

People kept asking which model it was, so the design works, too.

 

I took out my dt03 and have ordered the parts to upgrade it to dt04 c-hub

There is still a lot of snow , so have been setting it up at my monthly indoor club. 
To improve my cornering on tight corners , was a combination of spring , chassis height , reducing slop , shock position and throttle work. I tried the df03 , dt02 and Trf501??? Springs. Tried different tires and wheels. Lowered and then slowly raised chassis height. Tried to reduce slop by shimming.

I finished up and got it setup to what I liked. Settled on Trf springs yellow  f+r , 20mm chassis height front. Added 30gms front weight. Ordered new front tires and wheels . 

[No Slack 622]

Is it also possible to upgrade a DT02 to DT04 c-hub? What parts do I need for this upgrade?

Yesterday the shop owner of my LHS let me have a look in the box of the DT04, it looks very nice.

[skom25 2677]

Arms are exactly the same, so no reason to not use upgraded parts on previous DTs. At least I think so.

[Thommo 1501]

3 hours ago, No Slack said:

Is it also possible to upgrade a DT02 to DT04 c-hub? What parts do I need for this upgrade?

Yesterday the shop owner of my LHS let me have a look in the box of the DT04, it looks very nice.

M06 free wheeling axles / M05 king pins / 4 x 1050 bearings / 2 x B parts trees.  Boom !

[Rvl 2 31]

4 hours ago, No Slack said:

Is it also possible to upgrade a DT02 to DT04 c-hub? What parts do I need for this upgrade?

Yesterday the shop owner of my LHS let me have a look in the box of the DT04, it looks very nice.

I ordered 2 dt04 c-hubs kits to update a dt03 and dt02. I wanted to run 2 machines long chassis and a short chassis for 2 different races

[vodka 70]

Has anyone tested compatibility with the bb01 gear box, and is it possible to remove the roll cage and white plastic when using the lexan body?

[GToddC5 2918]

13 minutes ago, vodka said:

Has anyone tested compatibility with the bb01 gear box, and is it possible to remove the roll cage and white plastic when using the lexan body?

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.

[Rvl 2 31]

I think I need these parts to update the dt02/03 front and rear. My plan is this will give me the stronger 1050 bearings , aluminum hubs ,more rear toe(hoping for 3 degrees) and less wheel and steering slop
https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/51755/index.html

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/54183/index.html

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/54237/index.html

[No Slack 622]

1 hour ago, Rvl 2 said:

I think I need these parts to update the dt02/03 front and rear. My plan is this will give me the stronger 1050 bearings , aluminum hubs ,more rear toe(hoping for 3 degrees) and less wheel and steering slop
https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/51755/index.html

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/54183/index.html

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/54237/index.html

Thanks. I shall have close look at my DT02 to see if anything else is needed.

[SlideWRX 1082]

On 3/20/2025 at 9:16 AM, GToddC5 said:

Thank you sir! I can't believe no one has blasted me yet, for cutting the front upper brace 

I did the same thing on my DT-03

[GToddC5 2918]

55 minutes ago, SlideWRX said:

I did the same thing on my DT-03

And it looks so much better! I found the force needed to pinch them together was much more than the spring tension, so meh. I'm not racing these things.

Edit to add: And like I mentioned before, one could throw on a turnbuckle in no time, if the need arose.

[GToddC5 2918]

This wraps up the Fighter Bear Hawk for now, until someone comes out with some red hubs: