New Dyna Storm Parts

[Singapore_959 18]

Thanks all - prices are coming. The test car is coooooooooooooooooooooool! :lol:

We are gettigna bit carried away now..... full and part carbon.

[RichieRich 685]

Well, this should be interesting once we see the car. I like the idea of a rear brace for the hinge pins. Those carbon fiber threads look pretty neat in the plastic.

[pUs 311]

This is already done

I can't give away all my surprises until the car is unveiled!

It's been made in 0.8mm CF, so weighs nothing and looks beautiful. Same with the existing one infront of the gbox.

Note : due to playing with the wheel base I have made it more [ shaped (rotate that 90deg to the right) so that it can be placed fore or aft the arm/cooper bushes.

A show of hands would be good for people interested in the lightweight gear cover....

*hands here* I'd definately want to buy the lightweight gearbox cover and the undercowl if possible. A set of D parts as well.. ah, what the heck, I'll buy everything you will produce for this car

[Singapore_959 18]

UPDATE!!!

After weeks of intense testing - ie. driving like a hooligan - I have have successfully found the outerlimits of all the parts the designers and I have made .....and we have gone into FULL EVO mode!! lol, it's like having my own mini f1/rally design team & facility. I LOVE IT!

The D part and arm mounts testing reulted in us going thru several evolutions of material mixes. There is a graded scale of plastics and we started with towards the harder end but that proved insufficient, so went to hardest but that was too brittle. So then we started playing with carbon mixed in the plastic. Both granules and direct weave. It's so much fun seeing these parts mixed in plastic beakers, heated, stired, tested, then mixing of the secret 3 parts together, then the mould prepared with the inserts for the holes and pin holes and the vacum turned on and temp controlled, and the Singapore_955 secret mix being vacumed into the mold!

So below are some pictures of the parts and teasers of the process

(Making of the rear arm mounts)

Different material versions of the front part

And a sneak shot of a top secret part! can anyone guess what it is?

More details very shortly. We have some parts ready for sale! I am just weighing them carefully before posting up their picts and prices..... !

[Singapore_959 18]

The first parts are for sale! - the clear lexan parts.

Important points to note:

1. I am offering a discount to all buyers from TC, after any TC sales have dried up the parts will be sold on a webshop at a higher price.
   
2. The parts have been measured by hand and then via lazer faro arm, so they are and fit perfect.
   
3. The material is REAL LEXAN (a GE patented product), not the cheap plastic copy material that is becoming the norm with many aftermarket suppliers.
   
4. It is 0.85mm thick; and all the parts come with a clear protective adhesive overspray cover.
   
5. The company used to produce the items makes jet aricraft windows and helicopter canopies, and is using the same vacuum machines to manufacture these parts.
   

Full Undercowl.

Finally something to save your chassis from damage - the rear is especially prone to this.

Prevents dirt clogging up the underside screw heads.

Allows you to remove the heavy plastic side rails from the chassis and still mount the body. Removing the rails without adding such a cover upsets the flying stability of the buggy, as the body grabs all the air like a giant spoon and lifts up the body. The undercowl maintains the wing-like flat plane of the the cars underside.

Full Undercowl : 29.9g : GBP 8

Gearbox cover

Just like the TRF211 race car.

The one part Tamiya REALLY should have included in the kit at the time. One third of the weight of the original!

This is an exceptionally complicated part to mold and manufacture. It took several versions to get it exactly correct.

Leave it clear or paint it.

Gearbox cover Orig: 14.5g : This: 4.5g : GBP 12

with the overspray cover still on:

*Pls note the overspray plastic has been removed for this photo.

Racing wing

The standard wing is way too soft and shallow. And the current TRF ones are, imo, a joke - a vertical rear wall anyone? Aerodynamic?

This wing design has been used with great success on my race car for the last season, and is made specially for the Dyna.

Racing wing : 11.4g : GBP 4

Motor cover

This item has been made in response to a TC forum thread. Fits any Tamiya model and all 540size motors. While I wanted a simple can cover, like Kyosho used to produce, my design engineer got WAY over enthusiastic and this is the end result. Allows better thermal management, looks better and fits perfectly.

Motor cover : 6.9g for the prototype piece in the photos, I forgot to weigh the final lexan. circa 4g only! : GBP 5

Example fitting on my DS

*None of the items have had holes made in them for screws - this is so YOU can choose the mounting points you like. I suggest the rear bumper mount holes for the undercowl, and the top two gearbox cover holes (the bottom is tight enough with this, saving you the weight of 1 screw).

If you are interested in all the items:

Normal total GBP 29

TC Discount GBP 25

Postage would be at cost, so please advise your address if you are ordering. Paypal preferred.

More Faaaaaanastic DS upgrades to come!

[Lemming 48]

Wow, wow... WOW!

Absolutely superb work! I will be getting some parts, but I'm going to hold off ordering for a minute until the plastic parts are ready (to keep postage costs as low as possible) but these are simply awesome!

Will continue watching and will definitely be making a purchase when the plastic parts are ready as well. Would love to finally repair the wife's Dyna Storm since I broke it over a year ago!!! Been running it using thick cable ties to keep the rear together...

Steve

[Blacque Jacque 4]

Will the undercowl fit the Top Force / TA01 (frp or carbon chassis) series ?

If so I'm in the market for several.

[Singapore_959 18]

Will the undercowl fit the Top Force / TA01 (frp or carbon chassis) series ?

If so I'm in the market for several.

.....GET OFF MY DS THREAD!!

lol, I don't know or think so, but if you wish to stump up a prepayment I can get you some made. The min is 30 however..... PM me!

Now, buy a DS part!!

[Singapore_959 18]

I will borrow a TA01 and TF on Friday and try it for you and advise.

[Blacque Jacque 4]

Now, buy a DS part!!

Great idea !!!

Er........slight problem with that.......................I don't have a DS

I will borrow a TA01 and TF on Friday and try it for you and advise.

Thank you.

[Singapore_959 18]

Great idea !!!

Er........slight problem with that.......................I don't have a DS

Thank you.

But the parts are so nice! Just to hold, to look at!

[94eg! 834]

So how do you mount the undertray when you've got to screw it in with counter-sunk screws? Do the screw heads just push the lexan up into the c-sunk holes in the chassis plate? I would think that would look rather unsightly once installed. You should install one on your DS for reference. I'm thinking double-sided tape might be a better alternative...

BTW: Congrats on all these great parts. Your doing more research and product design than big companies like 3-racing. And it's all for a great VINTAGE buggy!!! I commend you. The wing is a fantastic idea considering it's the first part to get ruined on the DS. Now if only they made nice replica wing decals to go with it.......anyone....anyone.....

[Singapore_959 18]

So how do you mount the undertray when you've got to screw it in with counter-sunk screws? Do the screw heads just push the lexan up into the c-sunk holes in the chassis plate? I would think that would look rather unsightly once installed. You should install one on your DS for reference. I'm thinking double-sided tape might be a better alternative...

I will post up pictures of it on the test car tomorrow. The fit is absolutely flush and looks fantastic.

Various approaches were considered and tested. Personally I don't recommend double sided tape for this. Tape is unsightly, a pain to remove and reapply, and doing so places a slight gap between it and the chassis, the cowl is most effective when flush against the chassis as designed. If you do double side it, then I would only do the rear and screw the front in. Check out the photo's I'll post tomorrow and see how good it looks

My new front bumper part has been specially designed with an under slot exactly the right size to slot the undercowl into, so no screws or double sided tape is required at the font, and so that no dirt can get in from nose diving under breaking or on landing.

The slot is behind/under the L-R rib you can see in the screen shots below:

Note the new shaped bumper lip for access to the suspension tower screws :)

As mentioned previously, the two verticle ribs are to reduce the amount of friction/drag when the car nose lands of jumps during races.

BTW: Congrats on all these great parts. Your doing more research and product design than big companies like 3-racing. And it's all for a great VINTAGE buggy!!! I commend you. The wing is a fantastic idea considering it's the first part to get ruined on the DS. Now if only they made nice replica wing decals to go with it.......anyone....anyone.....

Thanks! Feedback is MUCH appreciated and helps motivate me. It's really enjoyable and much much more is involved than I first anticipated. Finding these prototype engineers has been pure r/c bliss! :)

I am sure someone else can help out with the decals, I do not use them on my car so thats out of my scope here.

[monster_beetle 2]

Nice, I think I now need a dyna storm runner

I have been thinking about making a titanium wing for it. Can you maybe tell me where these parts are produced, as I can maybe use them for some custom designed parts from me (solidworks drawings are ready)

[HunterZero 76]

Niiiice! Love the undercowl, and the gearbox cover. The undercowl is a must-have.

I too wait eagerly for the whole package with the reinforced D part front suspension block and revised bumper/guard.

- James

[94eg! 834]

And a sneak shot of a top secret part! can anyone guess what it is?

So any hints on the secret part? The only thing I can think of is some sort of new rear bumper...

BTW: PM me on a postage price for 3 undertrays to Las Vegas, NV 89129 USA.

[Singapore_959 18]

94eg!

Photos of the new undercowl mounted on my test DS and also with my new designed chassis. I was going to hide the chassis for a while but.... !

FYI for the chassis, we got the makers of the original TRF chassis to make one and this is an evolution of that. Using a newer type of carbon (from the company that supplies Airbus for the A380 super jumbo) we have managed to get the weight to considerably less than even the TRF chassis, and it is also stiffer and is a new design with some very special features which I will tell you about later!

Only screwed in the rear, and is totally flush, and you can see how the LEXAN adapts to the shape of the screw holes perfectly.

In the photo above you can also see new rear suspension arm mounts of clear material with carbon weave inside, and the new gearbox cover and a few other things for the sharp eyed!

How it slides into the new front bumper piece, ignore the ratty tape on the test car! (You do not need the new bumper, it works fine with the std also)

On top of an early version of the new Singapore_959 chassis...

So, pls PM me if you would like one!

[Singapore_959 18]

So any hints on the secret part? The only thing I can think of is some sort of new rear bumper...

BTW: PM me on a postage price for 3 undertrays to Las Vegas, NV 89129 USA.

No. Try again please!

Thank you. I will test pack, weigh and cost it for you on Friday/tomorrow

[monster_beetle 2]

Wow, that chassis looks amazing.

[94eg! 834]

Wow, that chassis looks amazing.

How come there are only 5 cell slots?

[Singapore_959 18]

You are Eagle eyes! And I claim my 10GBP! (UK car forum joke)

Well spotted!

I was unhappy with the sixth slot due to how thin it made the contact area between the middle and the rear. So it was deleted and the chassis is much stronger and what little flex there was (already almost zero due to the carbon material) was eliminated. Just one of the secret tuning tips of our new chassis.

[94eg! 834]

Won't that cause the battery get bent? Or do the new slots sit between the cells acting as cooling holes only? Or is this simply made for stick packs? Or is it the plastic battery box's job to hold the cells up (I can't remember any more)? LOL! So many questions when I'm stuck at work unable to look at my model...

BTW: When you say TRF chassis, are you refering to the carbon version sold in the original DS manual or TRF211X chassis (Shown here)?

[Singapore_959 18]

Won't that cause the battery get bent? Or do the new slots sit between the cells acting as cooling holes only? Or is this simply made for stick packs? Or is it the plastic battery box's job to hold the cells up (I can't remember any more)? LOL! So many questions when I'm stuck at work unable to look at my model...

BTW: When you say TRF chassis, are you refering to the carbon version sold in the original DS manual or TRF211X chassis (Shown here)?

The last cell sits 2/3mm higher but it is not a problem. Stick packs ofcourse still also fit. The battery box is loooooong gone!

The TRF chassis in your photo was the one of which 60 (so I have been informed) were made and given to certain dealers and national level racers. This was actually when TRF was just beginning and was not formal as it is today. Anyway from this the factory and drivers hand made several hand made modifications and one similar to what mine looks like was the most popular design mod back in '93. I started my trials using this as the basis.

The 'option' carbon DS chassis that is listed on the back of the DS manual was simply a copy of the std chassis but in carbon.

The slots are there to lower the CoG and any cooling is a benefit but not the primary objective. That is the same for any chassis' with these types of slots, eg. all the modern touring cars etc. Getting the right size of slots and positioning was all new to me and was not as straight forward as I imagined, but like everything with the project so far, has been good fun and interesting to learn and trial and test. :)

But it's a contagious thing - over the last six months I have not only done the designing and trialing but I also have found myself looking at the car for hours on end thinking what else can be improved before coming up with new things to produce with the designers, and then bash and race test. Now the whole prototype design company does much the same thing with the DS! It's such a popular project they bought 2 std cars themselves, even though they could make the whole thing from scratch! The stuff that typically breaks is easy to mod, but working on the weight, aero, cooling, roll and suspension all takes alot of ideas and trialing.

The race testing last season did produce alot of laughs, especially when I struggled for 2 meets as a result of 2 ideas that totally destroyed any steering capability! Lol, how much time was spent changing bits before realising what was causing the problem! Change one thing at a time dummy!

Suffice to say it steers better than ever now

Lighter, stronger, faster, BETTER!

[94eg! 834]

Quick question: Are the production plastic parts going to be colored black, or are you sticking with the gray color shown in the photos?

...or are the various gray colors just for testing the different plastic compounds on your race-car (and easily telling them apart)?

[Singapore_959 18]

Quick question: Are the production plastic parts going to be colored black, or are you sticking with the gray color shown in the photos?

...or are the various gray colors just for testing the different plastic compounds on your race-car (and easily telling them apart)?

Not sure yet is the answer. We have coloured some parts for fun (arms. shhh! ) but the suspension parts in the photos are the colour of the materials.

Obviously colour adds a small cost, but not a huge amount.

I will try to start a poll and ask people. Good question!

PS. I have pm'd you regarding your parts postage inquiry.