Ferrari 458 Challenge - TT02 #58560

[Quandry 378]

Hey guys, I am mostly an air guy, otherwise I am a buggy guy, although I always wanted an on road RC racer also.... so I picked up a Ferrari 458 TT02 on a nice bundle from Tamico.de and will post some general info in this thread and also some build pics to follow whats happening with my kit

Key new features:

Brake disc-shaped, wheel hubs which add to the chassis' highly realistic appearance.

The 4-wheel independent double wishbone suspension features friction dampers and uses identical L/R suspension arms and uprights for ease of assembly and maintenance.

Both the motor and the battery are longitudinally-placed in the ABS resin chassis for excellent balance.

Upright assembly can be changed to give the chassis an extra 4mm of travel for Rally racing

[Quandry 378]

This is the kit I ordered. I know this is an entry level kit but I think Tamico has hit a very attractive price point here, particularly as it includes a bearing set and lights!

http://www.tamico.de/Tamiya-Ferrari-458-Challenge-TT-02-Bausatz-inkl-LICHT

Tamico shipped pretty quick but I still had a week to wait on postage. I found the box to be a good bit smaller than the Wild One kit, I figured maybe the kit is kinda small seeing as it was an 'economical 4wd'.....

The box is very attractive with plenty of livery to get you excited about what could be inside

Looks like there are a few hop up options to consider if I get bored in the future..

[Quandry 378]

So lets check out what is in the box

Started unloading and WOW, Tamiya have been very economical with space here there's a ton of stuff in this box....

My kit seems to have come with a bonus set of metal plate wheels & the original kit wheels!

[Quandry 378]

Well I thought the box was exciting but now after taking out all of the parts I am really looking forward to digging in to this build. but.... the important next step is to read up on the instruction manual to save any mistakes being made due to incorrect assembly. So I am off to do some reading now and will update tomorrow with some build progress.

[mtbkym01 4008]

Nice, keen to see it built

[Quandry 378]

OK, I got a couple of hours set aside late last night to make some progress on the TT02. Here's a little pictorial of my progress:

The Ferrari challenge kit comes with two instructions set, the body finishing set and also the car set

Inside the manual has the conventional Tamiya cartoon drawings and warnings. I loved these as a kid, studying every detail. My kids today find these cartoons absolutely hilarious. I think they're great!

As I noted earlier the box is completely stuffed with parts so it took a minute or two to rustle through, get rid of all of the plastic bags, identify the tree letters etc etc..... and then the build begins with assembling the prop shaft / main gear assembly:

[Quandry 378]

This is then secured in the bathtub with a couple of screws

and then it's on to the front diff build:

Which is then covered with a front gearbox cover which doubles as a structural member for the suspension uprights...

[Quandry 378]

Upper arms parts and assembly

[Quandry 378]

All screwed in to place

And then we're ready to spin the model around and work on the back diff. It's actually exactly the same as the front

Down to the gearbox cover which is identical

The next part of the instructions is mounting the motor, which I took a cursory look at:

Although at that time I found that it was 1am so I did a quick clean up and hit the sack. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little more time on the build today if I can (and if I'm lucky) so I might have some more updates tomorrow.

Overall my impressions at this point are mixed but optimistic. I am a little unsure of the plastic this kit is made from. It seems very hard and glossy which would seem an advantage although I wonder is it more prone to cracking? The whole prop shaft assembly had quite a bit of slop when I was building it and I was not impressed, this did improve though when I bolted it down in to the frame, also maybe it needs to have minor tollerances there for lateral flex of the chassis?? anyway it did run reasonably smooth when I had it all bolted in and greased. I'm not very impressed with the diff gears, they seem to be made of just normal plastic, no kind of nylon or hard wearing gear. While I was building it I really had the feeling of just going and ordering a hop up set straight away, although I figured I would give it a go as this is just going to be a bit of a cheap basher racer for me I don't want to spend a fortune on it. To that point I was happy that my kit came with the optional bearing set included. It gives just a little lift to the quality feel. Overall the castings are very intricate, detailed, and well thought out. I can not fault Tamiya on their design here it is more like artwork than engineering. I am still dubious to a degree but I trust Tamiya - they are very intelligent designers so maybe my concerns over materials and tolerances are unfounded.

As they say, We will see when the "rubber hits the road!"

[StuartUK 4]

To me, this post is a GREAT HELP !!!! I'll be having my TT02 on Xmas day, and as said in other posts, got zero skills with building a car, so thank you!!!!!

[qatmix 794]

http://www.thercracer.com/2013/05/tamiya-tt02-build-and-review.html?m=1

Also has some tips and a guide here

[Quandry 378]

Cheers Stuart - you will enjoy it no doubt!

Well I managed to grab a few more hours on Sunday afternoon to tackle the TT02 Ferrari project. The next step in the instructions covered installing the motor in to the motor mount, attaching the pinion, and then installation in to the chassis.






After making a nice job of it and taking meticulous care to tighten the screws just tight enough, I then noticed a descrepancy in the instructions.... Foolishly I had installed the can 180 degrees out and the motor vents were wedged against the chassis..

So I removed the screws, spun the can around the other way, re-installed it and all was good in the world once again...

[Quandry 378]

The next phase of the build is attaching the rear lower suspension arms, which is fairly uneventful, some plastic pieces, a couple of screws and it's good to go.


Then the rear bumper plate


It fits so precisely that it happilly sits in place without even being screwed down... that impressed me. The screw you can see in this photo is underneath the bumper plate and not actually holding it down.


Four screws later and it's super secure. One thing I did find curious though was that two of the lateral screws (dark black heads in this photo) seem to leave some exposed threads. It's kind of hard to explain in writing, but it seemed strange that you screw them in to place and then there's a gap above them. I double checked the manual but I could not see anything wrong. Maybe I will have to come back to this part later if there's an issue..


The rear is then complete

[Quandry 378]

nd it's time to move on to the front


The only real difference between the rear and the front is that the front has captive balls in the arms to facilitate the turn buckles but the assembly process is the same and after putting the rear together it's only a couple of minutes to land up with this:


Afterwards, it's time to work on the drive shafts and steering hubs


Around about this time I started to get a bit worried as the Tamiya grease that came with my pack was starting to look a little low on reserves... I might have gone a little overboard with greasing the diffs and main pinion. Just something to keep in mind for anyone just starting out on their build. Being 4wd, the TT02 has a few other parts that need a good greasing over also.


Stub axles in, dogbones installed, and we're starting to look like a car and not a space ship now..

[Quandry 378]

Once again, I'm glad I got a kit with the bearing upgrade as it makes everything that bit more Pro and smooth. If you are getting a kit, opt for the optional bearings, you won't regret it at the price.


There's a few fiddly moments in screwing that section all together, some small plastic bits that when they get grease on them just want to do anything but sit in place, however with some patience and determination it's all in good shape. One thing I will say though is that I found a bit of slop in the fitment of some of these pieces. I may yet see if I can find some small shims in some of my heli parts to see if I can get it just a little tighter. I guess we're not talking aerospace here but there was just a little bit of play on one side that I wasn't able to adjust out by tightening the fittings.


The rear section is then mostly the same as the front except easier. Because there's no turn buckles to deal with it's a very fast and easy install.


I did find these screw pins ingenious though, when you fit them, you will see what I mean


Yes it's definately a car!

[Quandry 378]

So with four corners nearly ready for wheels, it was time to tackle the shocks/springs..


In my kit, the shocks and springs are identical from front to back, including their mounting holes. That was lucky because with all of the work at the front, work at the back, work at the front, work at the back routine of the previous pages, I had gotten mixed up and thought I was building and fitting the front shocks when actually in the manual I was looking at the illustration for the rear shocks. Or maybe it was the other way around???? you get the idea.

The shock assembly is very easy to build. I was a little dissapointed (at first) in the quality of the unit in that it felt clunky, had no oil dampening, and more the type of quality you would see on a Smyths car than Tamiya...


HOWEVER, when you install the friction units on to the chassis the actual feeling of the car is very realistic. I closed my eyes and moved them up and down and I really had difficulty in believing I was not actuating an oil filled damper. I wonder have Tamiya used variable rate springs?? as the action and overall feeling of the suspension was quite acceptable. Overall I would prefer metal bodied oil dampers but these do feel quite OK. I explained this to my son and said "I guess the lesson here is Always Trust Tamiya".

[Quandry 378]

The shocks do have very little movement as can be seen in these pictures




If you look in isolation at each part it is possible to criticise, however when you install the parts in to the chassis and see them working in harmony, you realise what great skill the folks at Tamiya posses in their design and engineering department.


So next on my list is to tackle the steering assembly which from a quick look through the manual looks to be just as well engineered as everything else on the car. Stay tuned for the next update!

[Quandry 378]

I only got a small chance last night at some more TT02 assembly.... Fitted the motor cover (with air scoop!) and esc switch holder. Again, very nice fitment and engineering, it's almost like clicking together Lego then adding a screw or two to make sure it's permanent.

The steering assembly is quite interesting to put together with a couple of mirrored pivot points, ball joined arms, and a few screws thrown in to the mix. I can't help thinking though that it would be nice to have the arms going out to the turn buckles as adjustable rod ends. As it sits I can't see any steering adjustment at all. Options are to make up something from heli parts or maybe look for a metal hop up kit. From a quick eyeball it looks like there is 0 toe in (or toe out), I can check this when the wheels go on.

Steering at neutral

Turning left

Turning right

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but does the outer front knuckle turn in more for each steering direction? That would be opposite the desired Ackermann effect.

[Quandry 378]

Thanks for the comment. I had not come across Ackerman before and you comment prompted me to go off and read up on the concept. I found a few good articles online, this one was certainly an interesting read:

http://automotivethinker.com/suspension/easy-on-the-reverse-ackerman/

Maybe Tamiya configured with reverse Ackerman on purpose? Interestingly, if you were to split the steering rack and run two mini servos (one for each side), it may be possible to have adjustable Ackerman on the fly using a computer radio. Could make for interesting experimentation.

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

It just looks a little weird to me. Normally on a touring car you toe out the front wheels very slightly to increase Ackermann, and normally the inside knuckle turns more than the outside knuckle because the inside tires are tracking along a shorter radius, and the rear of the car is trailing behind/inside the front. If you have two link holes on the knuckles, it might be interesting to move the screws to the holes closer to the axles and check toe and Ackerman again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry

[Quandry 378]

Yeah it's a funny one...

The instructions definately show the screw going in to the rear hole:

I double checked all of the steering arms etc to make sure they are the right way up. It's a fairly complicated linkage system but everything is smooth and sits at 90degrees at neutral.

I hear reverse Ackerman is better for drifting, maybe Tamiya were pitching this chassis to drifters? anyway I will run it as the manual shows and then try changing it later and see what effect it has on the handling.

[Zac_F83 117]

If you didn't fix the slop in the center shaft you can slip a bit of greaase in the spur side cup, and put a shock "o" ring in between the cup and shaft to take up the slack.. I do this with my TT01's

and IF you plan to do that may as well get a alloy prop shaft..

[Quandry 378]

Well I got a bit more done on the TT02 this weekend. Assembly of the steering servo. I'm using a Hitec Digital servo that was left over from a failed air project. The Sanwa/KO horn seems to have the closest fit for the Hitec servos. The Futaba horn is a definate no go.


Assembly is handy enough, although I did land up having to loose the rubber mounts as they were fouling against the prop shaft in the model - it's flipping tight in there!

[Quandry 378]

A mate of mine dropped around to the house and saw the car nearly ready to drive, so then the pressure was on to make it move under it's own power. I dropped in a hard case lipo and dug out the wheels and tires. The 458 kit comes with two types of wheels, one in metallic silver that looks nice but the rims are not dished. I am a sucker for dished rims and even though the grey wheels are not heavilly dished I decided to run them.




The brake discs are just calling out to be painted silver, that's on the to do list when I get around to decorating the shell.