Building a Rally Car

[CarKing]

I am trying to build a rally type car to basically play around with and since it is just for fun, I am trying to to spend a whole lot of money on it. What i was wondering is what kind of chassis would be good for it? Right now I am just looking at getting an old TA02 roller and getting new springs, tires, and already have a clio body I am going to use. I figured with the beating it could potentially take at the Tamiya track in Aliso Viejo, CA that a sturdy TA02 would be ideal since they seemed about bullet proof in terms of overall chassis strength and drive train strength. What are some other cost efficient options? A TT-01, TL-01, etc? Thanks for any help.

[DJTheo]

Imho a TB01 or TB02 would make a better rally racer in terms of perfomance and spare part availabilty, so in the end also even more cost effective.

[nickc]

I suggest the TB-01, because you can get special rally parts for it to keep out the dirt. Tamiya have a rally kit out using the TB-01 with a subaru body.

[Guest Carsnboats]

I noticed Evoman is selling a TB01, think it was a rally one as well £85.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/trades_model.asp?cid=11764

Clive[]

[fury_dice(2)]

I'd second the TB01 suggestion for all the reasons mentioned. If you can find the 'rally' version it has a neato lexan dust cover for the chassis, a steel centre shaft and the foam dust protectors. Hopups are (relatively) cheap and plentiful from Tamiya and third parties like Eagle and GPM. I've got a similar project on the go at the moment.

However I'd check the wheelbase on the Clio shell (if it's the Tamiya Williams one) as I think it was intended for a shortened FF01 (240mm) rather than that standard 'touring' 257mm of the TB01.

HTH. David

[CarKing]

Well seems a TB01 is prefered. Like I said, I am not looking to spend a lot of money, so may I ask why not a TT-01? I am not sure what the major difference is in the two chassis since they seem to be pretty similar. I was looking at the Subaru WRC TT-01 today and it doesn't cost much, and gets me the rally stuff as well. But I am not 100% sure on that since I can't tell from the Tamiya site or any rides here. Some have the rally tires, others don't, but it is not a big price concern.

Yes I did see the orange Subaru WRX that you guys were talking about, but being in the U.S. it would cost me about $150 plus shipping charges, which puts it a little too high for something I am just going to screw around with on weekends and not be a serious racer with it.

Again, cost is a big issue here since this would be just for fun and not competition. I am working on competition cars, and there is no way I will pay that much lol.

[Revival]

I am not too sure here but I think the TB-01 or TB-02 may not be such a good idea for a rally car due to the ball diff....Its great for track but I dont think they will survive long on an off road terrain.....I am more in favor of a chassis using gear diff like the TL-01

[CarKing]

Well I did some pricing today and it turns out with the work I would have to do to each one, the pricing would be about the same:

1) TA02: find a chassis, get a rally body(personal deal), rally tires, new wheels, and offroad springs: est. $125

2) TT-01: chassis($70), shipping($30), rally tires, new drive shaft: est. $135

3) TB-01: chassis($100-130), shipping($20): est. $135

With the price gap that small I might as well get the TB-01 and save a lot of hassle when looking for replacement parts and stuff over a TA02, and a better chassis than a TT-01.

[DJTheo]

Good choice as I saw a used TT01 in a LHS and don't know how long the el-cheapo plastic it uses will last, also screws were rusted, in general the quality is far below normal Tamiya standards.

Cheers

[SJoerD]

quote:

Originally posted by Revival

I am not too sure here but I think the TB-01 or TB-02 may not be such a good idea for a rally car due to the ball diff....Its great for track but I dont think they will survive long on an off road terrain.....I am more in favor of a chassis using gear diff like the TL-01

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The TB-01 hs a gear diff, but the TB-02 indeed has 2 baal diffs in front and rear. I don't think that should be a problem on off-road cars, these days many buggies have ball diffs as well... But what would hold the TB-02 back from rallying is that it has no dust cover and may have too few ground clearance. The TB-02 is more designsed as a tourer.

I think the TB-01 is the only modern Tamiya chassis that is ment to be a rally car... MAny others are more designed to be a touring car. You could also try the rally TA-02, and the TL-01 - but I would still prefer the TB-01. Also, most modern TB-01's are fitted with full ball bearings! [8D]

quote:

Originally posted by CarKing

I am trying to build a rally type car to basically play around with and since it is just for fun, I am trying to to spend a whole lot of money on it.

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I think that is likely to happen anyway, there is no need to try hard to get rid of your money... []

[Lucodeath2]

My TB01 caught fire last night after racing it hard.

The car is fine but the electrics are fried!

[mud4fun]

It depends on your interpretation of 'off-road', I wouldn't call the TB01 an off roader at all.

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I had a TB01 (Mitsubishi EVO) for 18months and it was well used. It is a very good, robust chassis - far superior to TL01. The dust cover is good too. Tough suspension and strong gearboxes. However, I found it lacked enough ground clearance to use properly off road. A gravel/dirt track was really its limit. Try and drive over a beach, dunes, mud banks, ruts or bumpy tall grass and it is just doesn't work. The saving grace is the wide smooth bathtub chassis and superb gearbox mounting design which provides a continuous skid tray the whole length of the car. The short suspension arms leave nothing exposed to get damaged either which is also a bonus. With a decent shell that wraps around the wheels you'll be hard pushed to damage it. Only thing that wears is the front complicated steering arrangement, I replaced mine a few times, got about 10hrs use on gravel track before steering got so much play steering became inprecise.

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Overall though I'd thoroughly recommend it over any other modern Tamiya touring chassis for mild off road use.

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Anything more serious and you'd be best with a buggy or do like me and fit a touring/rally car shell onto a 4WD buggy chassis to give you best of both worlds!

[_Jimbobulon_]

hi all

im gald that i'm not the only one making a rally offroader - Converting a TA03fs to a TA03F with a 2003 impreza shell. Ive made some alu battery and gearbox guards, when ive learned to add pictures i will.

just waiting for the bathtub for the 20mm longer chassis and 4 hub bearings, modlesport sent me ones that were too small for the shaft yet too big for the housing!.

james

[CarKing]

quote:

Originally posted by CarKing

I am trying to build a rally type car to basically play around with and since it is just for fun, I am trying to to spend a whole lot of money on it.

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quote:I think that is likely to happen anyway, there is no need to try hard to get rid of your money... [

]

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DOH! That was a typo, I meant I am NOT trying to spend a lot of money on it. however, like you said, I probably will anyways. I need to keep some money around for my TA04 to get race ready.

I don't plan on doing serious off roading, but the Tamiya facility in Aliso Viejo, CA does have a gravel type track that is perfect for rally cars. So while I wait for batteries to charge, it wil;l give me something fun to do. I figure with a TB-01 it would also give me a good chance to see how I like the newer Tamiya shaft driven cars since the last one i drove was a TA02. If i like it enough, I may have to sell the 04 for a TB-02. If I had the money, I think I would just get one of everything so I wouldn't have to think about it this much[]

[DJTheo]

quote:Anything more serious and you'd be best with a buggy or do like me and fit a touring/rally car shell onto a 4WD buggy chassis to give you best of both worlds!

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Why wouldnt he rather leave the buggy body then as the thing with touring/rally bodies is realism but when you put them on a long arm exceeding buggy chassis that is gone [?]

[mud4fun]

Hi DJTheo, I can't speak for anybody else but I find most of the buggy bodies awful looking. I prefer the touring car shells even if the wheels stick out a little bit. Generally it isn't too bad anyway as all my thundershots run with 200mm Subaru shells and the tyres only protrude about 15-20mm each side. As the shell has to be fitted quite high up the mounts to allow for suspension travel it doesn't look that silly, or at least I don't think so. It is just personal preference but my point was that if you did want a rally car shell but needed a decent off road chassis then it is the best solution.

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I took a couple of my subaru bodied thundershots to Clumber at the weekend so maybe a couple of the other guys who were there could tell you what they looked like in the flesh?

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I'm just building a new M03 mini at the moment and that too has a wider track than normal, I'm using TL01 suspension parts which means the tyres stick out 7mm either side of the arches. Looks a little silly but gives far superior handling than a stock M03 chassis, cornering speeds are greater and the thing doesn't keep rolling over.

[mud4fun]

BTW I'm always up for a challenge. If anybody would like to put a TB01 based rally car up against my thundershot based ones I'll be delighted to try it. I would be happy to compare performance both on and off road. Maybe next time we meet at Clumber somebody could bring along a TB01?

[DJTheo]

quote:Hi DJTheo, I can't speak for anybody else but I find most of the buggy bodies awful looking. I prefer the touring car shells even if the wheels stick out a little bit.

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quote:I'm just building a new M03 mini at the moment and that too has a wider track than normal, I'm using TL01 suspension parts which means the tyres stick out 7mm either side of the arches. Looks a little silly but gives far superior handling than a stock M03 chassis, cornering speeds are greater and the thing doesn't keep rolling over.

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Of course each to his own, tastes are subjective, its just my personal perception that I preffer buggy bodies more then realistic bodies with protruding wheels, I want either fictive cars or realistic ones. I would also try to find another way to improve handling on a M-chassis, as I find their bodies too beautifull to cut and don't see the sense of a M-chassis if you make it as wide as a tourer, then rather get a tourer directly... I like the challenge more to improve it without making it wider. Many members here have already posted enough experiences and advice how to hop up a M-chassis to improve handling, but since you enjoy trying your own creations, why not? [8D]

Cheers

[mud4fun]

Sorry if this is off topic - Actually DJTheo the reason I used the TL01 bits was twofold, 1)I got a stack of TL01 parts trees from ebay very cheap and also an M03 chassis. Thought I'd try and get them to fit together as I already had the parts. 2) TL01 parts 'seem' to be more common, cheaper and readily available even from my LHS. I found it more difficult to track down M03 parts cheap, certainly off ebay they aren't that common.