Help Getting My Cars Back On The Road...

[wilsonian]

Hello,

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I have several questions and rather than span it over several areas I thought I could hopefully get a group reply here.

1, I have a Impreza TT01 which I got off eBay. It's been sitting on my shelf for years collecting dust and was thinking about getting it up and running. It's just the basic Tamiya kit out of the box and built so do people have any recommendations as to what electrics I'd need - ideally I'd like an electric speed control (rather than a servo driven one like my M-02 has).

2, Shells. I have an old M-02 chassis which did have an aftermarket viper shell on it. Only time hasn't been kind to it (and my painting skills weren't great either). Besides the beatle and a hand ful of sporty 2 seats can any other shells fit on this chassis?

3, Upgrades. are there any kits worth buying to upgrade either of these two cars? I wont be racing them but just more to add fun.

I know theres a few questions ranging in topics on here but I appreciate any reply. Many thanks.

[PaPeRo]

You're in luck because the TT-01 has a bunch aftermarket upgrade parts and lots of bodies that fit since it's a standard touring car size chassis. Tamiya just released the new TT-01E so you'll have even more bodies to choose from. How much money do you have to spend on the electronics? You're gonna need a radio, battery, charger, motor and speed control.

As far as upgrades I would at least get ball bearings to start, but you'll have to partially disassemble the car to install them. BTW which Impreza model do you have the standard one or the drift spec? If you have the drift spect they should already come with BBs.

[taliesin]

For the TT-01: aluminum prop shaft, ball bearings, oil shocks, teu-101 ESC, sport tuned motor. Any radio gear you fancy depending on your budget.

For the M-02: bearings. Doesn't need much else.

I think it has the 239mm wheelbase doesn't it?

If so, many of the shells for M-03 [new Mini, HPI Civic, etc.] and some M-04 shells would fit [bWM, Beetle]. I think several of the "L" shells will fit.

Ironically, I watched a R/C racing club this weekend that alternated b/w classes: stock TT-01 and then M-chassis [driver's choice on which to run so there were M-02, 03, 04, 05 models all running together]. Bone stock other than bearings, sport tuned motors and oil shocks. No upgrades or hop-ups allowed. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was great to watch.

So you have two very fun cars to run - enjoy!

[Origineelreclamebord]

For the M-02: bearings. Doesn't need much else.

Eh... I would also put oil shocks on the list for the M02, they are an important hopup for the car. I wrote this a while ago in another topic about someone restoring his M02:

Replace the friction shocks. The oil shocks will have a much smoother movement and better damping. But more importantly, oil shocks will not bind. I had friction shocks on both my M02's, and because of the design of the monoshock setup the forces on the shock are not straight. Therefor, the hole through which the shock's piston rod goes will not wear out straight. After it has had some use, the piston rod can move into the shock on an angle because of the wear and can easily bind during this because of higher friction. This is a big problem when cornering: Because of binding friction shocks, I had my M02M rolling over when cornering several times on a slightly bumpy road at higher speeds. I replaced the friction shocks for oil shocks on my M02 before the problem would occur on that car, too.

Besides these hopups, I can recommend getting a Stabilizer set. This will greatly increase the steering response and reduce the body roll massively

Be warned when you keep using those friction shocks, they will ruin your wheels and body with such accidents...

[wilsonian]

Many thanks for the replies.

The TT-01 scooby is the 2003 std 4X4 model. As for the motors wheres best to buy these from (eBay seems to have alot but unsure what kind to go for)

As for electroics I haven't a clue of the budget. TBH just a reasonable controler with a fast charger and a few batteries.

Is there a perticular store people recommend? Also when you say 239mm wheel base where are you measuring from?

Cheers.

[PaPeRo]

I buy most of my stuff online and overseas some on ebay and some directly from the vendor's online website. Are you from England?

Anyway for the radio I would recommend the Futaba 2PL AM system, it's very cheap but good quality and has a digital display and digital adjustments. I got mine online for about $80. Mine came with one servo and one receiver. You can buy it from many places online and locally just try not to overpay because it shouldn't cost much more than what I paid.

http://www.hobbywarehouse.com/Products/Fut...=FUTFUTK01**-GP

For the battery I'd recommend the Trinity NiMH packs. They're affordable with good performance. I'd recommend getting a pack between 2500mah to 3600mah. Lower capacity packs are cheaper but less run time, the higher capacity ones are more expensive but more run time. The lower capacity packs gets fully charged faster than the higher capacity packs but on the higher capacity packs you don't need to charge them fully to get the same run time as the lower capacity packs so keep that in mind when choosing which packs to get. You could find the 2500 pack for around $15 and 3600 packs for aorund $25.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI00...&P=6&S=

For the ESC you could get the Tamiya TEU-101BK shipped for $25 on ebay.

For the motor I'd get something that's 19T or higher, has BBs and replaceable brushes...something like the Venon Fireball series 19x2 or 21x2.

http://www.venom-group.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=VEN%2D1314

http://www.venom-group.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=VEN%2D1315

I would not recommend the Tamiya Sport Tuned motor since you cannot replace the brushes so they don't last very long before you have to throw them away.

[wilsonian]

Many thanks for the reply. I am based in the UK. I can't seem to find a UK based company selling that controller. I have found a few bundle deals and wondered if this would be the better option:

http://www.goldstarstockists.com/tamiyaparts/tpx/radios.htm

Was thinking about the DL02 kit but after checking the car I've noticed the previous owner has removed the stock speed controller so I'll have to buy one of those too.

Also what do people think about this upgrade kit? Can you get better value for your money?

http://www.goldstarstockists.com/tamiyapar.../tt01tuneup.htm

[Jonny555]

Also when you say 239mm wheel base where are you measuring from?

Cheers.

Wheelbase is measured between the wheel centre's, front to back.

[PaPeRo]

I'd get the DL03 package and get the free subsitute Carson pistol wheel controller. The 30 minute fast charger will give your battery pack more punch because it will be charged at a higher amperage, also you don't have to wait as long to get running after the battery runs out.

The tuneup pack is overpriced imo, you can do better by going on ebay or buying from Hong Kong. You could get aluminum shocks instead of those plastic ones for about $25 shipped. The spur set on ebay for around $10 shipped. The two pinions for about $10 shipped on ebay. BBs for about $20 shipped.

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-damper-3r...14-p-22991.html

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tt01-tami...665-p-8553.html

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tamiya-ye...l?cPath=108_764

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-motor-gea...ar-p-28180.html

You might want to check out our sponsors and see if they have these same parts for a similar price.

[taliesin]

I agree, buy the hop-ups separately for a better price. Other than bearings, you don't have to buy them all at once. You can easily add them one at a time.

The sponsors here are great folks and highly recommended if you need to order online!

Oh, buy a decent peak charger - don't get a fast charger. Possibly the best investment you can make for R/C, seriously.

[wilsonian]

Many thanks for all the replies. I think I'm best getting the TT-01 moving under it's own steam before going for hopups.