General Part Tolerences

[pikachoo-75]

Ive been tinkering with Tamiya models for ages and i always come across parts that require washers and spacers to get them to go together with minimum slop.

even brand new parts and kits...stuff like top links and ball joints,wheel axles and drive line parts such as non uj dogbones and diff out puts.

steering components in general seem to be an offender in the highest order! even brand new from the box, the open ended 5mm ball connectors allow a little slop EACH..adds up to ALOT of slop by the time its all assembled!

ive recently tried the newer style 5mm grey cup type ball connectors and there abit better.

i have most experience with some of the older designs TA01/02 ORV etc but i may have rose tinted recall about my Optima Mid Custom Special and Procat being very precise?

so whats the most "tight" Tamiya kit youve come across? as a whole.suspenion...steering..driveline etc.are the "newer" designs better?Tamiya love to carry over parts from the past on new stuff so does this "in built slop" carry on too?

[Dazza1]

I know what you mean. The older touring car chassis like the ta02 up to the ta04 have quite a bit of slop then on them especially the steering and suspension parts, but things did get better with the ta05.

The model I have built with the least amount of slop is the the new ff03 which in a way was a nighmare and a dream all rolled in to one.

It was a nighmare because you have to tap your own holes in the plastics for the screws to go in and the ball cups are very tight. But it all pays off in the end when you see how little slop the finnished chassis has.

[BeetleLover]

When assembling my Dynastorm I found it to be insanely accurate in terms of parts tolerances and lack of slop, it is absolutely gorgeous and the suspension movement is amazingly smooth and lush... I've assembled newer models since but nothing I've ever assembled surpasses it...

James

[sosidge]

The current TRF level models are built to some of the highest standards on the market. Very precise parts fit and very smooth movement.

The aforementioned FF03 uses a number of suspension parts developed for the TRF cars, and it uses Tamiya's fibre-reinforced plastics, which contributes to a precise build.

The lower range models using ABS for the chassis parts and a lot of self tappers do not have the same precision. But they are intended to be easy to build, not super precise on the track.

All the major Japanese manufacturers build racing cars of superb precision. Oh, and a little free play doesn't hurt - it generally makes the cars run better. A slop-free, ultra-stiff car is nervous.

[pikachoo-75]

All good responses! so TRF models and their variations are good.makes sense.

i suppose the proper race orientated stuff is fairly new in the grand scheme of things so the accuracy has "seeped in" since TRF ,touring etc.

i always fancied some kind of TRF type model but they aint cheap but i was keen to see if you get what you pay for in them.

[30cms]

When assembling my Dynastorm I found it to be insanely accurate in terms of parts tolerances and lack of slop, it is absolutely gorgeous and the suspension movement is amazingly smooth and lush... I've assembled newer models since but nothing I've ever assembled surpasses it...

James

i was gonna say Dyna Storm too. it is a very special car!

[pikachoo-75]

High praise for the Dynastorm.

it is a kinda one off..the nitro tr15? and Dynablaster dont share all that much parts wise.so i guess it was all designed to go together well.

i think some of the earlier chassis types were possibly designed to cater for as many variations as poss and as such had comprimises built in.

im also guessing that building a Dynastorm from parts wont be cheap or easy to obtain?

[Origineelreclamebord]

The Dyna Storm is indeed great on parts tolerances, it's free of play everywhere really, and still everything runs extremely smooth. The funny thing is even that the suspension in my TRF201 has more play than the Dyna Storm (albeit that the play on the TRF201 is very small).

High praise for the Dynastorm.

it is a kinda one off..the nitro tr15? and Dynablaster dont share all that much parts wise.so i guess it was all designed to go together well.

i think some of the earlier chassis types were possibly designed to cater for as many variations as poss and as such had comprimises built in.

im also guessing that building a Dynastorm from parts wont be cheap or easy to obtain?

The Dyna Storm, Dyna Blaster and TR-15T only really share the suspension blocks, part of the suspension geometry and the gearbox with each other. And even in that they do differ, as the TR-15T used reinforced plastics. They do share enough with each other though to convert one to another.

This brings me to building a Dyna (and truck brothers) from parts... It is very, very difficult, and very expensive. The reason why it's so expensive is that there are some parts that are wanted, or slightly rarer, like the suspension blocks for example. The reason why it's so difficult is that I haven't ever actually seen the Dyna Storm mainshaft for sale seperately As I'm looking for one or two of them as spare, I can tell you that they are quite a pain to obtain seperately

[pikachoo-75]

Origineelreclamebord,i figured it wouldnt be easy! the main shaft part you mention didnt register a prob when i looked at the manual,but now you mention it ,it looks very specific to the car.

I guess when you look at Ebay,sometimes it easy to think you can peice at least a chassis together.

But there are ALWAYS key parts that provide elusive!

I got into my Top Force/Ta01/02 in exactly that way....hey,theres lots of bits avail!...buy buy buy....wait i cant find an alloy motor mount or Ta02 UJ's..oh there they are! $$$£££$$$! yikes!

i have considered a DynaStorm before now but its always the same...some parts become avail and you think..maybe this time!but the "missing few" stop me!

suppose thats why the Avante is so sought after...there are ALOT of rare/expensive parts required!

[Odd-N]

Worst one: M02 Renault Alpine (the original one) Horrible steering (even with the hop up) However, the nice thing about it is that I hardly ran it back then, so it is just as shiny today

Best: That's easy, my TRF 414 WCR...