Astute Gearbox options

[Jesse James 13]

Hi Astute people!!

ok so ive been doing a lot of reading on here, i can see we have a few options when it comes to upgrading the gearbox in the astute. When i say gearbox, obviously most concern surrounds the diff in the things, i need it tough and reliable and i need it to work reasonably well for racing

For my purposes, the TTC isnt an option as its produced after 1990, so its not a legal component for vintage racing

so my other options are run an avante gear diff in the gearbox or look at the lethal weapon belt tranny for it

With the avante gear diff, i understand theres a bit of fiddling required to get it in, my main area of concern is that the gear on the avante diff is one tooth less than the ball diff in the astute so i figure the mesh would be a bit loose maybe a potential for stripping teeth on the idler or the diff, ive read that people are doing it, if there are enough reports of it working without problems then its probably the way i'll go

the other option is the lethal weapon belt tranny which looks a nice bit of kit but fairly expensive, im wondering if anyone has tried that box with any success

Thanks

Jesse

[TamiyaDan 8]

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[Jesse James 13]

hi dan

thanks for that, though last time i checked, im 100% sure the avante uses a gear diff, hence the benefit from using it, as i know tamiya went to the gear diff for the TTC tranny in the super astute. The esc limiting stuff is a good thought, i'll keep that in mind, it will certainly take some strain out of the transmission

[Thommo 1241]

I can't help with alternatives but I have built and re-built a total of 4 x Astute diffs recently. Of these I have only had one of them slip but it was the most used of them all and an extra shim in each half and new balls fixed it straight up. ATM I'm running 25T GT Tuned, 20T pinion and 77T spur.

If you look after them, they will look after you. The internals are still readily available too.

Fit ceramic balls, make sure the flat surface of the thrust washers face the diff balls, use at least two shims in each half of the diff and it should be OK.

Over powered motors and dohnuts are the enemy of any ball diff, but I suspect this doesn't apply if you are racing in a vintage class.

[TamiyaDan 8]

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