TL01 Hopups - Advice for an RC noob please

[Vincent Vega]

I recently bought a Tamiya Impreza'01 with finished body on a TL01 chassis (Item #58277) second hand off ebay. I've had a few problems with the motor and the ESC but with the help and suggestions of some good people on here have now managed to get the car up and running.

You've also provided me with tips for painting body shells and apart from one disaster that is going pretty well, so the next thing I want to do is Hopup (is that the right term[:I]) the chassis.

At the moment as far as I'm aware everything is bog standard, so I wondered if you could offer advice as to the order that it would be best to modify the chassis to make it lighter and run more smoothly.

Please forgive my constant questions. I'm just still new to this and really have no idea where to start as the car I bought came without a box or instructions.

Thanks for any help.[]

[Gruntfuggly]

First job, without a shadow of a doubt, is to fit bearings, if it hasn't already got them. It's a bit of a pain, cos you have to practically dismantle the whole chassis, but it is definitely worth it.

Other hopups you might want:

* Quick release battery holder - easy upgrade and makes it much easier to change packs

* Oil dampers - if you still have the friction dampers fitted, it'll make a big difference

* Turnbuckles - make the steering goemetry easier to adjust

* Quicker motor...

Then you get into the realms of things like carbon prop shafts, alloy front hubs, etc.

[Ridgeback Racing Team]

I agree with gruntfuggly that ballbearings are ideally the first hopup option you should add. Apart from the options he mentioned, here are some other suggestions.

There is a lightweight tl-01 chassis available with tamiya, don't know if it's much of a difference though...

Also a good thing to install can be a ball differential which makes sure you always have enough traction.

I believe you can also buy a 'speed tuned gear set' for your tl-01, which will effectively heighten the top speed. make sure you use a motor of more than about 17 turns with this, as you don't want to overheat your motor...

if you have any more questions, please mail me

good luck...

Koen

Ridgeback Racing Team

[mr_pushrod]

The order I would do things are;

Bearings

Motor + heatsink + maybe a pinion depending on where you are running it

Tyres

Oil shocks

Ball diffs

Turnbuckles

Adjustable upper arms

Carbon prop

Carbon gear shafts

Don't bother with alloy suspension parts as it just means something else will break usually. For instance, if the wishbone doesn't break you may break the chassis which is far more hassle to replace. Lightweight chassis removes a few grammes but is weaker so not that great for bashing. At the end of the day though, you could spend £100+ on hop ups or simply use the money to buy a better car like a TB-02. I'm not saying don't hop up at all, just don't go mad.

[theshopkeeper]

Never actually weighed the thing but I know the TL01 Lightweight chassis costs us the same to post as a regular one. Given post is in 50 gram divisions, can't see that it's really that lightweight!

[rclapcar]

This article should give you a good idea what to do.

http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=11

[wantboost]

The order I would do things are;

Bearings

Motor + heatsink + maybe a pinion depending on where you are running it

Tyres

Oil shocks

Ball diffs

Turnbuckles

Adjustable upper arms

Carbon prop

Carbon gear shafts

Don't bother with alloy suspension parts as it just means something else will break usually. For instance, if the wishbone doesn't break you may break the chassis which is far more hassle to replace. Lightweight chassis removes a few grammes but is weaker so not that great for bashing. At the end of the day though, you could spend £100+ on hop ups or simply use the money to buy a better car like a TB-02. I'm not saying don't hop up at all, just don't go mad.

are the carbon prop and gear shops really worth putting on? also im changing my bearings should i add a bit of lube before i install them?

[Henk4Focus]

As most suggested just stick to the basics. Bearings and shocks are the easiest and safest way to make it run smoother. Adjustable steering arms is the next must as this helps when you add shocks that gives a higher ground clearence. Make some adjustable upper arms for that mod otherwise you end up with terrible camber on the front wheels.

This links to my very crude solution for my sons Stadium Raider that I had longer CVA's fitted too.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...42&id=22744

I will in future try a different approach to get a better result and maybe a liitle bit more articulation.

I dont think you will have to go to this extreme for a rallye car though and a lightweight chassis sounds like a terrible waste of money. I added lead weights to my sons truck to make it less bouncy. I'm still working on the rear shock mounts so it still runs frictions at the rear and might also add to the hoping around but this thing is so light I can't see the need for a lighter setup.

You can do the high speed gearset but I enjoy my Baja King with only Sport Tuned motor for it's turn of speed. It surprises most people when they see it run.

Hope my input helps.

Cheers

Henk

[dannos85]

Never actually weighed the thing but I know the TL01 Lightweight chassis costs us the same to post as a regular one. Given post is in 50 gram divisions, can't see that it's really that lightweight!

Ive done the TL-01s up many a time, Its not lightwieght (well i was never convinced) its just lighter in colour.

Metal suspension arms are nice peeps but i had a crash and completely split open my front end.

If you dont want to wreck the chassis keep with the standard bumpers... I had carbon fiber plates on mine and they broke in the crash.

[irenL]

whatever it is u do to a TL01, just don't expect it to be grunty... the gearing is just sad (too low, then again, it's only built for a sport tuned)... that aside, it has near exact weight balance to a TA03R (mid motor), without the weight.

Avoid alloy arms.

You can fit on long span suspension arm kit on it, but beware the arms rather brittle. Long span arms buys you more cornering stability, and smoother drive on bumpy surface.

[wantboost]

are the carbon prop and gear shafts really worth putting on?

[Henk4Focus]

are the carbon prop and gear shafts really worth putting on?

Ok flog me after saying this, but NO. I've only once seen the carbon prop on a car at a drift meet and the guy said in his honest opinion it does absolutely nothing to the performance of the car. He only fiited and kept cause he already spent the money on it. I could never pick up that the metal shaft wobbles on my cars. Unlike the TT01 where I can hear and see the shaft distorting the metal ones on the TL stay true.

Cheers

Henk

[wantboost]

thanks

[PaPeRo]

If you wanted to save every little bit of weight then it's worth it. On my M04 I discovered the hollow carbon gear shaft is 10 times lighter than the solid metal one when I weighed it on a digital scale. The carbon gear shaft set is only about $6 for the M04 so cost was not a concern.

I would guess the same would apply for the metal prop vs carbon one but you'd also get the benefit from less rotational mass which would mean faster throttle response...might not be detectable though.