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Tl-01 Rally Mods?

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Right, ive recently resurected a TL-01 from the graveyard and want it to be capable offroad, but still goodish on tarmac so far ive got

new bearings allround,

ansmann racing suspension for longer travel, (seams far too hard springs in it though so going to try and source some softer ones)

an old koyosho 17t stock motor

its got a bowler wildcat body and pajero wheels and tyres are on the way

what would you suggest to waterproof and seal off? and how would you go about it?

and how would you go about makeing the diffs stiffer but not fully locked?

thinking of putting mudguards into the bowler shell, much like a real cars wheel arches

Any input or critism is greatly appriciated

Thanks very much. Will

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The motor will be rather vunerable, at the very least you should check (if it's got a fan) that it's sucking in from the top side vent & blowing out the bottom. Unless you're planning on running through puddles I wouldn't go any further than that.

If you are (running through puddles, that is), balloons are the way to go - one over the reciever, on for the ESC, & one over the motor - although this has obvious overheating issues.

The only other area I can think of that's a problem is the battery - because of where it fits, the underside can get bashed about, and clag can get between the battery & the tunnel, making it difficult to remove - some sort of guard might be in order.

As for the diffs ... use a really thick grease? Traction isn't going be a problem is you ask me - my jacked-up, big-wheeled TL01 has coped fine so far on grass, dirt, and sand/flint chunks, using grass spikes. My biggest problem is lack of suspension travel - even with hard springs, it doesn't take much of a bump to bottom out the shocks & launch it ... though the softer/taller Pajero tyres will help.

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Well I dont intend to run it intentionally through puddles, it may happen, ive been running it in very rough conditions to be fair on it, much more than it was probably designed for.

1: Gravel hockey pitch, very very wet, locked steering a few times, but a quick clean sorted that, stones got into the rear gearbox and shredded it to pieces, sourced a cover for it and sealed it all up properly after fitting a complete set of new gears.

2: Tarmac car park, damp, but went fine, no problems atall

3: All weather pitch, again soaking wet, sand everywhere, seriously needed cleaned but fine.

Them 3 conditions along with some heavy forest mud and water, are what i think it will mostly run in after all, so what all would you suggest, i really wanted to seal off the chassis internal from the outside elements, sealing off the servos and reciever, and think ill make up a motor protection plate as suggested

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I had a TL01 as a first car, ran it for nearly 4 years and I own a TB01 and a TA02 with rally blocks now, both are a better choice for offroading than the TL01, but the TL01 sure is possible.

The TL01 is reliable enough in strength of the chassis and suspension, but be sure you protect your gears from all the dust. Seal off the gearboxes with silicone RTV. Also use this on the motor and cardboard dust plate that you usually get with tamiya kits. Then use Silicone RTV when putting the motor in. After that fill up the holes for other pinions. Especially the last ones about the motor and motor mountings are important. It was always the rear diff that was ruined on my TL01, never the front. The sand just flies right in... ;)

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I too have ruined the gears in my TL-01 from dust and rubbish getting into the gears. It comes in through the motor or behind the cardboard gasket and fouls the gears. Like Origineelcamebord says, its always the rear gearset that goes on mine too.

Another source of aggro with this chassis and rally driving is that the battery can be a bit ticklish to remove when sand gets wedged in the battery slot and binds the stick pack. Its not that much fun to work it loose.

Not saying you can't do it, because the TL-01 is a very good chassis and plenty of them go offroad without any problems, but those two issues have given me some heartburn in the past.

Let us know what you do with yours.

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Yep - they're both 12mm hex drive :)

But ... you might want to remove the link - there's a rule about no eBay links apart from your own auctions ... which I've fallen foul of myself :D

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Oh c**p, im sorry didnt know about the no ebay links rule, duely noted for the future though, thanks very much mate

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Right first offroadish experiance, the cars got plenty of revs in the motor but little torque, ie it wouldnt pull itself upp a slight incline from stopped, should i get it rebuilt or get a new motor? how are modelsport uk at rebuilding motors?

Its a 17t Koyosho stock motor from about 2001 vintage, never been touched, used for a year then car was shelved for past 6 years.

Thanks

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