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Grubscrew

My Ta05-ifs

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Hi all,

I've been lurking for a couple of months and have found some time at last to post. Seeing as it's my first post I thought it'd be rude not to post some pictures :)

This is my first build since my Astute donkey years ago. I went with the box art as I've never done a proper paint job before and really wanted to test my patience/skill (lack of). Overall I'm quite happy with how it all turned out. I was so excited after completion, I took it out for a spin and scuffed it a few times and lost a few tyre stickers! ;) I really should have taken pictures before taking it out!

I had relatively few issues,

A. I couldn't mount the ESC on/off switch like it showed in the manual. I kinda hoped it was like the TT01-E (Nissan GT-R) my father-in-law built at the same time with a hole in the bathtub for it.

B. I found it difficult/tricky trimming off a servo ear as the remaining part became really fragile. Even now I don't think it's flush with the bottom of the bathtub. I don't know if this was because I was using Acoms AS16/17 servos and they were too small? Seems to operate okay though.

C. I was missing a Metal Parts Bag for the body set so I was quite a few O-rings and snap pins missing. I managed to borrow some snap pins left over from the TT01-E build and made my own O-rings from a servo parts bag that came with the radio gear.

D. When it came to putting the stickers on, I didn't realise you had to put them on in numerical order. I started doing it in the order they show the steps on the instructions before I realised that the bonnet badge was going to be underneath a huge one.

E. The body shell didn't come with holes pre-drilled. In hindsight instead of using a drill bit, maybe a reamer would have been better and created cleaner holes (in exactly the right places)

All in all I'm really happy with it and enjoyed the build a lot. I didn't think I'd like painting and putting the stickers on but once I got the hang of it, it was quite fun too. At the moment it's completely stock and wondering what to upgrade first. I thought the standard motor was a bit pedestrian so when my mate comes back from holiday I should be in possession of a super stock rz motor. After that, hopefully I will have learnt how to drive (and which way is left or right when the car is coming towards me), upgraded the car a bit more so I would be looking to go with a brushless set up.

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The car only gets an outing once in a while on the road but I'm thinking that the local multi storey car park would be quite good as it has that clean rubbery squeaky surface (obviously not great for drifting).

Quite happy for you guys to comment on which bits to upgrade first (whether it's a performance boost or the standard part is prone to failing etc.) Tamiya part numbers would be very helpful!

Thanks for reading!

Grubby

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I have one of these myself and I think they are one of the best Touring car chassis tamiya has produced. They really are goog just out of the box but as you said as soon as your driving skills improve get a faster motor and then an alloy motor mount to keep everything cool and it looks good also.

take a look at my TA05-ifs http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...=12012009152118

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Very nice :)

I've got a ta-05 (not the ifs) and i think its a great chassis, it holds up well to a lot of the higher end cars for a fraction of the price.

2 suggestions, spare hub carriers, i've broke 2 already hitting into things wheel first. However, i think overall this car is very solid and can hold up to a lot of punishment.

Next, (sorry if you already know this but ill say anyway), deans plugs (or similar). Especially if you're going to get a lower turn motor or go brushless, these will help a lot. They've got hardly any resistance compared to Tamiya plugs, making the car slightly faster, the battery last slightly longer and stops the plugs from overheating with excessive use.

Also, i little trick, this is on my B4 but anyway,

DSC00604.jpg

I've put a bit of insulation tape around the ends of the deans plugs, i haven't seen anyone else do this but it seems to work for me:) It makes them less likely to short and gives better grip when your pulling them apart. ;)

Errrrm thats about it/

Have fun. :D

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I have one of these myself and I think they are one of the best Touring car chassis tamiya has produced. They really are goog just out of the box but as you said as soon as your driving skills improve get a faster motor and then an alloy motor mount to keep everything cool and it looks good also.

take a look at my TA05-ifs http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...=12012009152118

Very nice Dazza. Lots of shiny blue bits and the shocks look great! Hope I don't ever have an encounter with a lamp post though! What radio gear do you have installed? I couldn't get my receiver to fit in between the motor and steering servo :rolleyes:

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Looks pretty cool

Nice shell, and love the front suspension!

Thanks. I thought about just painting the shell white and putting some of the stickers on but decided to attempt the box art. Thinking of getting the R35 GT-R shell for display and just use the NSX out on the road now.

Yeah the suspension is pretty cool, took me a while to figure out how it works though. Spent ages just prodding the front of the car to see how the movement is transferred to the rocker arms... :rolleyes:

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Very nice :rolleyes:

I've got a ta-05 (not the ifs) and i think its a great chassis, it holds up well to a lot of the higher end cars for a fraction of the price.

2 suggestions, spare hub carriers, i've broke 2 already hitting into things wheel first. However, i think overall this car is very solid and can hold up to a lot of punishment.

Next, (sorry if you already know this but ill say anyway), deans plugs (or similar). Especially if you're going to get a lower turn motor or go brushless, these will help a lot. They've got hardly any resistance compared to Tamiya plugs, making the car slightly faster, the battery last slightly longer and stops the plugs from overheating with excessive use.

Also, i little trick, this is on my B4 but anyway,

DSC00604.jpg

I've put a bit of insulation tape around the ends of the deans plugs, i haven't seen anyone else do this but it seems to work for me:) It makes them less likely to short and gives better grip when your pulling them apart. :o

Errrrm thats about it/

Have fun. :D

Thanks for the suggestions, are the deans plugs easy to fit on? I guess I would need to cut off the existing plugs on my battery and the charger. I'm not that great with a soldering iron but don't mind trying I guess. Certainly will think about it when I go brushless.

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Very nice Dazza. Lots of shiny blue bits and the shocks look great! Hope I don't ever have an encounter with a lamp post though! What radio gear do you have installed? I couldn't get my receiver to fit in between the motor and steering servo :blink:

Thanks. I used a 40mhz sanwa receiver from my gemini 2 set. Its a great radio set it has all the gadgets including 10 model memory. you can get them pretty cheap now also.

Hitec do some small 27mhz receivers. Check the bay.

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Thanks for the suggestions, are the deans plugs easy to fit on? I guess I would need to cut off the existing plugs on my battery and the charger. I'm not that great with a soldering iron but don't mind trying I guess. Certainly will think about it when I go brushless.

Yeah the deans plugs are easy to put on provided you have the right tools. Ideally you want a 30W soldering iron although i used a 25W. Some flux, makes it a heap easier. Something to grip the deans plug, i used a small stand with a crocodile clip on it, its easier to work on when it's being held still. Some solder (duhh) and a steady hand. Theres loadsa guides on how to wire up a dean connector on youtube so they will show you how to in detail.

Also, there are different versions of deans plugs by different companies. I use Much-More Deans style connectors, there quite a bit cheaper than offical deans plugs but as far as i can tell perform almost same :blink:

So yeah, if you have no need to put on deans plugs just yet then it can wait but once/if you go brushless and/or get better batteries then useing deans is a big advantage.

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Deans are not the only high power connector. Anderson Powerpoles are popular, especially useful is that they can be crimped on for someone with no soldering experience and are easier to use than Deans. There's also connectors from Traxxas and Losi that are just as efficient.

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Deans are not the only high power connector. Anderson Powerpoles are popular, especially useful is that they can be crimped on for someone with no soldering experience and are easier to use than Deans. There's also connectors from Traxxas and Losi that are just as efficient.

True, i've only had experience of Deans though so i can't compare them to any other connectors :blink:

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The tape in the picture above is a little silly. Especially considering Deans plugs come with pre-cut heat shrink tubing to cover your solder joints.

I've even run these plugs with no heat-shrink whatsoever and had no problems with them shorting out. Of course these setups have no metal parts around to short out on. 7.2v has no chance of jumping a gap that big (even submerged in water)...

BTW: Go with a 45watt soldering iron. I perfer a cheap soldering station like the Weller one that includes the 40watt iron. I think my wife paid $40(us) for it. This will be great for ANY type of soldering other than building battery packs. For that you want something around 80watts...

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