My Rally Beetle

[Ernoman]

Hello,

I recently joined the forum as I hope to gain from all your experiences on RC cars.
Only a couple of weeks ago I decided to build an RC car. Having flown RC planes many moons ago, I decided it was time to give up that dream and move to cars.
The club I used to fly at, had to close down years ago. Having come to accept nothing near me would ever open again, I sold the lot except for my transmitter and receivers.

They work fine in a car! So, with renewed enthusiasm for RC I build a Rally Beetle. And here is the MF01X chassis I built:

The usual stuff changed. Like bearings and shocks. I also have other wheels here fitted. These are filled with foam. It runs using a 21 tooth motor pinion.

I went for a yellowish orange paint scheme (PS-19). Printed custom decals on water transfer paper. I painted over that with Tamiya clear paint to make sure they stayed on.

Fitted some lights as I did not like the stock sticker look.

Pretty happy with how it drives. I had to use stiffer springs on the rear and the stock springs on the front to make it handle better.

 

Not all things are good though. I ran into some issues you guys might have suggestions on. I have to split it into a separate post. The forum thinks I uploaded over 4MB while these files are just about 650k.

[Ernoman]

After a bit of driving the beetle came to a sudden halt and stuff was flying from it.

 

The front suspension has two heights. The beetle used the high setting. This causes one of the mounting holes to stick out under the front axel.

And that bumped into a brick sticking a bit out from the pavement. 

Another thing I noticed is wheel damage.

And tire wear especially on the inside of the rear (after only a couple of runs)

So my questions on this:
1. Would a metal suspension kit be more suitable? (or should I just keep fixing the plastic suspension)
2. Should I use aluminum wheels?
3. Is this tire wear normal or do I need to change camber settings?

Btw, I managed to fix the plastic suspension by pressing a nylon ring into the part that came off.
 

[chris.alex]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations to your beautiful Rally Beetle! I like the colour very much. 🙂

1. In my humble opinion a metal suspension kit isn't more suitable. I think you were just unlucky, I never broke a thing with my MF01X. I once lost a rear dogbone, that's all. Now I'm running universals. 

2. I think aluminum wheels are for the gallery or maybe for drifters. 

3. Yes, I'm afraid it's normal. 

 

[Rinskie]

That's a killer looking Beetle man. I don't have any experience with a MF01 so I can't address your specific issues but dude, what on Earth did you hit with that rear wheel, a wood chipper? I have never managed to put a hicky like that on any wheel. What's your secret? Oh and from someone that gave up flying years ago, welcome to the wonderful world of cars where there is always something to tinker with, replace, break, upgrade, and obsess over but on it's worst day, you will never have to walk out to your crash site to recover your electronics alone. 

[Ernoman]

Thanks for all the kind words. It does attract quite the attention when driving it around.
We have a little square near our home. It is paved with bricks. There are trees around it and some bricks are lifted up by the roots of the trees. That is the 'root cause' and my driving skills I suppose.

There is a narrow passage behind some benches where I drive the beetle to improve my control skills.
Sometimes I hit one of those bricks that are lifted somewhat. The beetle just jumps a bit and because of the improved suspension, remains controllable.  

However, sometimes when you hit them wrong, the brick hits the red mounting hole of the front suspension. That sticks out below the front axel. Then the rear part of the lower front suspension (is it called wishbone?) takes the blow.
The red part wants to move backwards because it is hit by the brick. Then the single screw keeping those parts together just strips through that hole.
I just made another run with nylon bushings pressed and glued in there using a longer screw at the same time. This time it held up. I am improving in dodging those bricks all the same or hitting them outright.
The danger lurks when one wheel misses the brick by a millimeter. Then it hits the red part.

I could opt to grind away the unused mounting hole. But I could never lower again lower the beetle in the future.

The rear wheel must have gotten chipped from bumping into one of those bricks sideways.
It is a car for driving. I suppose the dents and scratches add to the atmosphere and style.

[Kowalski86]

4 hours ago, Ernoman said:

Another thing I noticed is wheel damage.

And tire wear especially on the inside of the rear (after only a couple of runs)

So my questions on this:
1. Would a metal suspension kit be more suitable? (or should I just keep fixing the plastic suspension)
2. Should I use aluminum wheels?
3. Is this tire wear normal or do I need to change camber settings?

Btw, I managed to fix the plastic suspension by pressing a nylon ring into the part that came off.

Wheel damage in rollovers or accidents is normal, as long as they're still in one piece they're still good. Many of my wheels have scuffs at the edges. Aluminum wheels are more of a "bling" thing.

Aluminum shocks are nice, aluminum suspension arms and what not are a trap for newcomers. The stock MF-01X arms give a little and save the ridged plastic chassis, rigid metal parts either stay bent, or crack the chassis. They also ruin your handling.

M Chassis have small tires, not much grip, and a lot of toe front and back, they like to eat tires. It may be useful to keep a set of slicks or worn down on-road tires for times when you want to slide around.

[2qwik]

Awesome looking Beetle mate! Congrats on christening it's pristine goodness with some war wounds, now it looks more realistic😁 Driven not Hidden!!👍👍

[Big Jon]

Lovely little Beetle! The MF-01X is a barrel of monkeys.

Just a couple tips…. A carbon front shock mount stands up the front shocks and lets the front suspension work. CV axles don’t fall out or bind like dogbones. You can fiddle around with spacers and ball nuts to get the rear suspension working properly with equal droop, and a little less negative camber in the rear will improve tire wear. M-chassis cars, especially in rally trim, drive so much better on regular touring car wheels and tires, and Rally Blocks are dirt cheap. 

[CMshooter]

How many hours of run time to wear that tire?  

[Ernoman]

4 hours ago, CMshooter said:

How many hours of run time to wear that tire?  

About an hour or two at most. 

[Smokescreen38]

As a fellow RC pilot who moved over to cars, it looks like you're off to better start than I had!  The Beetle looks excellent.  Very nice choice on the color and the lights.  The choice of the Mini Lite wheels is also impossible to argue with.   Now that you have one that's dinged up, go get another set for when the car is sitting on the shelf and keep running the pre-damaged set!   

The only suggestion I have to offer is to perhaps pick a kinder driving surface.  Even though this is a "rally" car, the suspension travel and ground clearance are closer to scale than the typical RC basher.  Tamiya kits are generally designs from a different era.  They tend to be fragile and brittle compared to something from Arma or Traxxas.  They're also a lot more interesting and fun in my opinion.  

Which kit is next? 

You can't go wrong with the always hilarious and fun Lunchbox  https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/112-lunch-box-2wd-monster-truck-kit/TAM58347.html

The crazy Super Clodbuster (with two motors and four wheel steering) is on sale for 25% off at Tower Hobbies (in the USA at least...) https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/110-super-clod-buster-4wd-kit-limited-edition-black/TAM47432.html

The MINI Cooper (front wheel drive) is coming back soon on a newer chassis https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/110-mini-cooper-racing-mb-01/TAM58747.html

I'm personally a fan of the semi-crawler and surprisingly capable Dynahead 6x6 though it's an acquired taste https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/118-dynahead-g6-01tr-6wd-brushed-semi-tractor-kit/TAM58660.html

 

Good luck! 

[Re-Bugged]

Very cool bug mate 😎👌🏻 The lights you’ve installed set it off a treat.

 

 

[Ernoman]

No shortage of wear an tear. I brought it camping and we raced it around a makeshift track. Lots of scratches, broken mirror and the bumper is in shambles. The latter I just glued together. It was buckets of fun. And well worth it. I got the best time around the track at 13.5 second. The second time was 15 seconds. 

Here is the aftermath

We've also driven it on gravel. It now looks properly dusty. Here is the video while my friend Robin drives it.

Youtube link

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, Ernoman said:

No shortage of wear an tear. I brought it camping and we raced it around a makeshift track. Lots of scratches, broken mirror and the bumper is in shambles. The latter I just glued together. It was buckets of fun. And well worth it. I got the best time around the track at 13.5 second. The second time was 15 seconds. 

Here is the aftermath

We've also driven it on gravel. It now looks properly dusty. Here is the video while my friend Robin drives it.

Youtube link

That thing does doughnuts for fun. Cool video. 

[Ernoman]

Friend of mine had a GoPro. So naturally we put it on the roof of the beetle. It became a bit top heavy. Youtube link

[Ernoman]

This is the brick that has cause met all those issues. When you look carefully, you can see the chip the car took out of it. After a couple of more practice runs I stopped riding this area. Too much repairing to do on the car.
The car is fine btw. It just misses its left mirror, wheels are a bit cracked around the edges and the front bumper is all glued up. I'm going to fix up the wheels and the mirror at some point. But the bumper will remain as is.
I like the rough look tbh.

[Ernoman]

My first version of the seventies style bumpers. 

They are made from multiplex wood cladded with aluminum. The posts are made from plastic and the rubber strip is a cassette player belt. 

The problem is that the posts are sitting too low. I had to go through great length to get them on an acceptable height. The rear came out too wide and the arc is not correct. It's should also be a bit closer to the car. 

But, for a first attempt I'm actually quite enthusiastic about the result.

I'll leave it for now and will first drive it to see what more problems the bumpers will exhibit. 

I really like the seventies style bumpers as the headlights are upright. In Europe beetles never had these rack style bumpers in combination with upright headlights.

[jonboy1]

Welcome to the forum @Ernoman!!! Great looking Beetle - always had a soft spot for these

Going back to your question about tyre wear, the camber of the rear wheels is controlled by the threaded adjusters:

If you make these a little longer the rear wheels should sit more upright, which will make the tyres sit more square to the road.

Also, as these have 2 height settings, it might be that mis-matching the upper and lower positions will increase the camber, so might be worth just checking these.

I love what you did with the bumpers  I built one of these for a friend who wanted a Salzburg replica, so I designed and 3D printed some square bumpers - they made such a difference to the look!

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=139908&id=33463

[JimBear]

Yes, @Ernoman - gotta love a bit of scratch building! - the new bumpers look great. I can hear the sound of the engine in my head ...

Keep us posted with the latest developments - it's always nice to see cars with a bit of "history" to them, the ongoing work. 

[Juggular]

I don't know if camber issue was resolved or not.  I wanted to expand what @jonboy1 said already.  

Tamiya says 6mm gap on the upper arms.  But I wouldn't trust what Tamiya says on the instruction.  6mm is more like a good suggestion.  If wheels have too much negative camber, it should be lengthened.  (Camber looks at the top parts of the tires. If the distance between the tops of the tires shrinks, it's "negative.") 

You can put a ruler or anything square.  If the bottom part isn't parallel with the table, upper link should be adjusted.  

PS. Cassette player belt?  That is awesome.  Aluminum looks good too. I wouldn't have thought that was made out of wood!  

 

[Ernoman]

@Juggular yes I set the camber to almost straight. Also removed the toe in by swapping left and right uprights.

This is with the tires you recommended. They are quite big. 

But they do give me the clearance I need.

I am hesitant to take them for a spin as the feel very soft. I'm afraid the pavement I ride on will wear them down quickly. I rather save them for when I go on grass again. How is their longevity?

Edit: I need to make the body sit higher. They rub the rear fenders :-(

[blue72beetle]

On 6/10/2025 at 6:08 AM, jonboy1 said:

 

I love what you did with the bumpers  I built one of these for a friend who wanted a Salzburg replica, so I designed and 3D printed some square bumpers - they made such a difference to the look!

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=139908&id=33463

Would you happen to be willing to share the stl of those bumpers? I've got an extra Beetle body I want to make like my old 72 Beetle.

[blue72beetle]

On 6/13/2025 at 11:41 AM, Ernoman said:

@Juggular yes I set the camber to almost straight. Also removed the toe in by swapping left and right uprights.

This is with the tires you recommended. They are quite big. 

But they do give me the clearance I need.

I am hesitant to take them for a spin as the feel very soft. I'm afraid the pavement I ride on will wear them down quickly. I rather save them for when I go on grass again. How is their longevity?

Edit: I need to make the body sit higher. They rub the rear fenders :-(

Those wheels look great on the rally chassis