TB-01 Chassis - what to do with it ?

[Percymon]

So over the weekend evilbay got the better of me again , and a TB01 based Raybrig is on its way to the percymon man shed

As far as i know its in reasonable runner condition, complete with NSX shell, i assume from the info i have that its from kit 58262.

Question is do i leave it as a GT on road car, or is there anything else i can do with it.

I fancy a rally car for a change from the buggies (i also have a 911GT1 so no need for another on road race car) ...

- so how difficult is it to turn what i have into a rally car ?

- can you revise the set-up for more ground clearance ?

- what bodies are likely to fit with too much aggravation ?

Thanks

[TWINSET]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the racing TB-01 and the rally version were the same except that the racers had spacers inside the shocks to shorten 'em - remove the spacers and you've got rally shocks (you'll need longer springs though)

The racers also usually had an alu centre driveshaft as opposed to the rallying steel version, but can't remember if the spur gear was any different.

Tamiya still list a few TB-01 bits; http://www.tamiyausa.com/search.php?q=tb-0...0&image.y=0

Rally manual PDF here; http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58286

Exploded view of racer here; http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58262

[TWINSET]

More;

The Raybrig doesn't seem to use the front shock 'tower' according to the exploded view, so you might need that too.

Shocks are spaced internally - rally version uses a B12 in each, Raybrig uses B12 x 2 in front, F4 at rear - nothing special though, if you can't find spacers nitro fuel tube always works cut to the right length

Both use different body posts, although if you get a shell without post holes it won't matter.

One thing worth checking though - I think the racers came with a nylon diff gear whereas the rally one mighta been alu

The little diff gear on the driveshaft was splined on the rally version, the racer one has a D milled onto the shaft instead (and drives a plastic gear)

[Percymon]

Thanks Andy - excellent info.

Diffs and prop shaft look to be same from what i can tell. Rally 58286 uses two foam dust covers, one on the steering end of the prop shaft (6295041) and one around the motor (6295042). Theres a difference in gearing too - Rally is 61T spur with 16/17T pinion, Racer 58T spur with 18/19T pinion.

Food for thought - better confirm what i have before buying parts.

[TWINSET]

Diffs and prop shaft look to be same from what i can tell.

You could well be right - Might just be the Enzo where they went 'plastic'

There's also a large foam seal around the steering assembly (page 11 step 20) but they're there to keep dust and dirt out of the chassis tub rather than out of the diffs so unless you can get hold of a rally dust cover though (page 16 step 31) , they won't do a lot

Here's the steering seal;

[tonysmini]

You're right, it's only the Spur gear, pinion and diff gears that are different. The rally ones have steel diff and prop gears, very noisy but very tough. The plastic gears and alloy prop don't last very long if you throw anything quicker through them (4300kv Novak brushless ate the plastic gear in about 7 minutes)

The dust covers are a must on anything slightly off road, although heat build up can be an issue. I have one as a general basher with a sport tuned motor that just gets lobbed everywhere, and so far it's only broken a wheel, oh and wrecked the shell.

I'd invest in the alloy motor mount first, then the steering set up, apart from that, they are pretty much ready for anything.

I have added a shot of the ground clearance you can achieve with one of these.

Tony

[Percymon]

Great photo Tony - was that increase achieved just be taking out the spacer within the shock body and a change of springs ?

[tonysmini]

Mine came with the chrome springs anyway, I just removed the spacers and viola, instant lift. You won't get much more as the front swivels touch the lower arms. You can get the illusive Long Arm kit which improves the suspension, better mounting points and swivel positions for the shocks.

I am in the process of testing a LA kit made up from the TL01 LA bits, seems to work other than the front hub arms are at the wrong angle, and it's worked out cheaper than the bona fide TB01 set up.

I will stick up pics once this is done too.

[Origineelreclamebord]

Funny that you started this thread, I was just working on mine the other day and thinking what to do with it - rally setup or road setup.

For the TB-01 chassis, I'd certainly get the uprated suspension kit if you're looking for performance, the setup options and geometry are a nice benefit. However, it is more time consuming to work on and will get clogged more easily by debry and large bits gravel (especially between the wheels and the suspension arms) than the original suspension setup.

I find the dust foams and chassis cover very helpful to keep the car a bit cleaner inside, but they will not stop everything from coming in. The space for the battery can prove a little cramped if you're using LiPo: My stickpack-shaped Yeah Racing 3200mAh 20C battery fits in, but only just, and only when you place it upside down The other half for the electronics is also pretty tight on space, but if everything is in place it of course works just fine

Anyway, to more accurately answer your questions:

1. Technically, you'd only need rally block tires to get it going (for grip obviously). However, the dust foams and chassis cover are very useful, so I suggest you source these for your car. If you have a big power plant in mind for the car, consider the metal gears and the steel propshaft of the rally version. Keep in mind that the metal gears only work with the steel propshaft because the metal gear which mounts to the propshaft uses splines on the metal gear and steel propshaft, whereas the plastic gear and aluminium propshaft use a half circle. The hopup carbon propshaft does not have splines and will only work with the plastic gears unfortunately.

2. Ground clearance can be adjusted with the standard CVA dampers by choosing a long or a short damper mount on the bottom of the damper piston, by o-rings or spacers inside the damper, a short spring and using spacers to adjust the ground clearance, or an adjustable ring on a threaded damper body. Having several sets of dampers with different setups will work as well of course if you want to switch ground clearance quickly.

3. As for bodies, I'd keep in mind that it will be wrecked in the end - especially the bottom edge of the front takes a beating, but with collisions the damage can become far worse - so take a body that's still affordable/widely available. Ways to reduce damage to the body but also the (front) suspension is to use the TG10 front bumper, which is almost as wide as the car itself and extends further forward than the standard bumper. It doesn't look as cool as a small bumper (though one will not see it when driving), but in the end it can/will save the day on a big impact. You can even add a foam bumper in addition to this if you want to reduce potential damage even further. One more thing about bodies: The bodyposts are quite flexible - I haven't broken or seriously bent mine yet, but they do tend to bend a bit after a hard crash.

[tonysmini]

I'll second the bodyshell bit, the fronts get wrecked very easily once you hit a bit of gravel or some longish grass.

The Tamiya foam bumper is only supposed to fit the TG10 wide bumper, but make a couple of extra holes and it fits the TB01 small front bumper just fine.

Here's what mine looks like whizzing around the garden and also in the snow at christmas.