Df02 V Df03

[DooBeDooBeDo]

I just joined, so I thought I'd say hi and ask for some advice at the same time.

I bought my son a Rising Fighter for Xmas having had a Cheetah and Sand Scorcher myself when I was his age(ish). I'd forgotten how much fun they were .

So now I'm thinking about getting myself either a DF02 or DF03 based kit. It'll mainly be run down the lane past my house which is a nice mixture of mud, gravel and tarmac with a few pot holes up to about 8 inches deep in a couple of places.

So what are the pros/cons of the DF02 versus the DF03 chassis? I plan to stick with standard parts (except I'll definitely get ball races), unless they break, in which case I'd rather have stronger upgraded parts as replacements.

[skywhelp]

Welcome to the club,

Sorry I can't help you out though. I'm sure someone will soon.

Cheers

[HunterZero]

DF-02 Gravel Hound

DF-03 Dark Impact

DF02 is basically an entry off-road 4WD. The DF03 is a totally different chassis. It's still shaft drive, but it's a much better handling intermediate grade off-road car with better suspension and steering. Comes with a few hop-ups as standard in the kit such as full bearings and limited slip ball differentials, and there are a multitude of upgrades available for it if you do decide to go this route.

DF-02 kits typically come with an entry level TEU-101BK ESC. The DF-03 does not come with an ESC, you'll have to buy one separately.

Tamiya lists the DF-03 as discontinued, so kits might become tricky to find, although spare parts should continue to be available for some time. The DB01 is still available however as a mid-rage 4WD off-roader:

DB01 Durga

The DB01 is a superb car, even better than the DF03 for handling, but DF03 kits can be found cheaper. It's belt drive, but don't let that put you off, it's dust proof, and almost bullet proof.

- James

[Percymon]

I too bought a rising storm for my boy for Xmas. It's quite a good low cost 4wd but has it's limitations, the main one being ground clearance. It's also not the best design for keeping dirt out, I spent half as long cleaning it after a run on a damp football field as I did building it, debris gets in under the shell and through the base of the chassis.

With 8" potholes in the lane youre going to have to be very careful with any buggy, hit those at speed and something is likely to break, go through or probably more likely IN one full of water a few times and you endanger the electrics.

You can still buy the Dark Impact Buggy on the DF03 chassis, £130 + ESC at Wonderland, or the Keen Hawk (£144 +ESC) but to be honest if you are keeping it standard then other than a metal propshaft, and ball diffs, there isn't that much difference to the Rising Storm, and the slightly wider track of the DF03 just loads up the wishbones etc more on impacts. Perhaps a few bags of gravel would be a cheaper investment than a load of Tamiya spares !

I don't know how they compare in action but a truggy design, such as the 2WD Stadium Blitzer http://www.fusionhobbies.com/Tamiya-Stadiu...r-p/ta58482.htm , where the body shell looks more encapsulating and the wheels are well clear of the body may fair better in terms of dirt ingress, but any hit on a pothole edge will break,bend or snap wishbones, steering arms. The dual Hunter (4wd, twin motor) truggy style could also be worth a look, bigger tyres, more ground clearance http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/t...110-dualhunter/ . Perhaps not quite as darty in the handling responses as a buggy but on a country lane should be quite capable.

Good luck.

[DooBeDooBeDo]

Thanks for your responses. The DB01 looks very interesting, I hadn't seen it before. It's also interesting to know that a ball-diff is limited slip as that's one thing these cars would benefit most from.

The potholes aren't hard-edged (mostly in the mud/gravel areas) so the water in the bottom is more of a concern than the holes themselves.

[TA-Mark]

It's also interesting to know that a ball-diff is limited slip as that's one thing these cars would benefit most from.

Ball differentials are not limited slip! A limited slip diff will slip for a set amount and then lock, a ball diff will not do this. Modern ball diff can be adjusted to run 'tight' so there is a lot of friction between the balls and drive plate (which does shorten their life) and this will get the power out through two wheels more effectively than it will with a bevel gear differential.

[DooBeDooBeDo]

Ball differentials are not limited slip! A limited slip diff will slip for a set amount and then lock, a ball diff will not do this. Modern ball diff can be adjusted to run 'tight' so there is a lot of friction between the balls and drive plate (which does shorten their life) and this will get the power out through two wheels more effectively than it will with a bevel gear differential.

Thanks for clarifying that. can you get true LSDs for these?

[TA-Mark]

Thanks for clarifying that. can you get true LSDs for these?

I've never seen a scale LSD diff centre.

[HunterZero]

Ball differentials are not limited slip! A limited slip diff will slip for a set amount and then lock, a ball diff will not do this. Modern ball diff can be adjusted to run 'tight' so there is a lot of friction between the balls and drive plate (which does shorten their life) and this will get the power out through two wheels more effectively than it will with a bevel gear differential.

Ok, yes, so it's technically not a locking limited slip differential - what I meant was there is some adjustable resistance in a ball differential. The resistance in the diff is higher than a typical open gear diff. It's like if you use a gear diff with stiff grease, which helps traction in a similar way to a true LSD.

- James

[DooBeDooBeDo]

Well I've taken the plunge and ordered a DB01 Baldre. So thanks for all your advice

[HunterZero]

Well I've taken the plunge and ordered a DB01 Baldre. So thanks for all your advice

Sweet! You will enjoy it, it's a fantastic car.

One note about construction, though - the kit includes philips head machine screws, and the chassis plastics are very hard material. As a result it can be difficult to put these screws straight in without tapping the hole first. Especially difficult is screwing the plastic suspension blocks onto the chassis.

See here: http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/reviewtamiyadurga/page02.html (a great review of the car, by the way)

Easiest way is to get a hex head screw of the same size as the kit screws, and use that with a hex driver and a dot of grease to pre-tap all the holes before putting the kit screw in, as shown in that review.

Another option is to get a full stainless steel hex head screw set for the DB01. I bought the RCSscrewz set for my Durga and they were fine, but I've heard that sometimes the screwsets from them are wrong (countersunk screws instead of round head screws).

RCScrewz DB01 Screw Kit Issues Thread

Tony's Screws is probably the way to go.

DB01 Screw Set

NB, Don't get the Tamiya titanium screw set, they're lightweight but very fragile.

- James

[DooBeDooBeDo]

I saw that review and the related discussions, very thorough. I've bought a set of stainless allen screws for it off Ebay as that was the only place I could find for them in the UK.

Are there any bushes in the kit (plasic/brass) which could use replacing with proper bearings? I saw the ones in the steering assembly, but unfortunately the review doesn't give the size or number, although I can see 4 in the pics. I remember the crappy brass bushes from the Cheetah and Sand Scorcher (I won't even mention the plastic ones that came as standard on the Rising Fighter ) and would rather start out with proper bearings all round.

[HunterZero]

I saw that review and the related discussions, very thorough. I've bought a set of stainless allen screws for it off Ebay as that was the only place I could find for them in the UK.

I know that RCScrewz sell screw kits on eBay. Let us know how you get on.

Are there any bushes in the kit (plasic/brass) which could use replacing with proper bearings? I saw the ones in the steering assembly, but unfortunately the review doesn't give the size or number, although I can see 4 in the pics. I remember the crappy brass bushes from the Cheetah and Sand Scorcher (I won't even mention the plastic ones that came as standard on the Rising Fighter ) and would rather start out with proper bearings all round.

The kit includes full ball bearings for the drivetrain. The only bushings in the kit are the steering rack ones, they can be replaced with 4x 850 size ball bearings (this size is mentioned in the instructions, it refers to the outer diameter of 8mm and inner diameter of 5mm).

- J

[DooBeDooBeDo]

Well the kit arrived yesterday. I bought the additional ball races from Time tunnel models. At 50p each well worth it. When they and the screws arrive I'll start putting it together. Can't wait .

[HunterZero]

Well the kit arrived yesterday. I bought the additional ball races from Time tunnel models. At 50p each well worth it. When they and the screws arrive I'll start putting it together. Can't wait .

You'll love it, they are an awesome car. With brushless motor and a slipper clutch, they are properly quick.

- James

[DooBeDooBeDo]

The Baldre is built

I bought it from www.anticsonline.co.uk. There was a 1050 ballrace missing from the kit, after a quick phone call they sent me two which arrived the following day. So excellent service from them.

I dyed the foul white wheels black and they look so much better, I did my son's Rising Fighter wheels at the same time and it makes a huge improvement to the look of that too. I just need to paint the body now, it won't be box art just a simple metallic graphite with clear windows. Then I'm ready to have some fun.