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Deebo

Advice on updating a vintage Thunder Shot

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Hi All, I've just got back into RC and finally got hold of a refurbished Thunder Shot from eBay. I'm UK based. The TS still has it's original MSC, though it came with a Thunder Tiger 17T motor. Ideally, I'd like to update it with an ESC and a brushless motor. Can anyone recommend a good ESC/Motor pair that would enable me to go LiPo at a later date? I'm not looking for ultimate speed, just something that will be a bit quicker than standard with good battery life.

Also, I'm interested in fitting some tarmac friendly tires, is my only option to change to some 2.2" wheels, or are there some road tyres available for the standard wheels?

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Hi Deebo

The Thunder Shot is my favourite tamiya 4WD buggy

Although you could install a fast brushless system, you will increase wear in other areas, really if you want to go fast get a DB-01

However my current setup with which I have been driving on a weekly basis since 2006 is the following

Full ball bearings and steel pinion

Tamiya 23T super stock RZ, TZ or BZ brushed motor

3300 to 3800 nimh battery

Electronic speed control

A5 metal brace from model build on auction site

With this setup on the original wheels and tyres, I get the best balance of run time and wear

Out of the box setup with the above has provided the most enjoyable running, the original tyres will go bald, yes but even with slicks the 4WD provides a great drive and easier skids and slides, I would approximate that running this setup the tyres go bald within 5 hours running and then I drive until they split and fall off the wheel.

I drive my Tshot approx twice a week for about an hour in total and the tyres easily last a year

I did briefly try df03 wheels and tyres but the grip was so much that it wouldnt slide and could even flip in high speed turns so wasnt as fun to drive, so I sold them on and went back to my bald ones

Spare brushes for the tamiya motors are still fairly cheap and dont take long to swap over after they wear down on 40+ hours of running

I run modelsport's own trident xt-12 electronic speed control so have dabbled with hpi 15T firebolt motors which are approx £10 compared to £25 of the Tamiya ones but they dont have as much torque for 4WD and dont last as long as tamiya's own motors

Whatever you decide...........have fun!

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Thanks Taffer for the in depth response. I'll look into your suggestions when I get chance this PM.

Is it worth upgrading the front to 2 shocks?

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No, not in my experience (I have owned fire dragons and terra scorchers as well), for normal 'bashing' the mono shock does its job well

If you are running a similar setup to me with a brushed motor and decide to run lipo's I'd suggest dropping pinion size from 15 to 13

The longer run times would impact more on a brushed motor, my setup is at its limits for a brushed motor

If i ever wanted to run consecutive batteries I would drop pinion sizes to 13, but I normally drive 3-4 buggies in one session so plenty of time to cool down!

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I used a 4000KV eZrun brushless combo in my thundershot for a while. They're very well made systems, easy to set up, and a 4000Kv system will be plenty quick enough.

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I've taken the cheap option for now:

These should keep me happy for a while, plus the 1060 gives me the option to go LiPo at some stage.

Does anyone know the part numbers for a full set of Ballraces?

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they are good options

I didn't mention them for the following reasons

the sport tuned motor is only slightly cheaper than a Tamiya super stock if bought from Hong Kong but gives much better performance

it is a great esc but I prefer the xt-12 because it has a larger switch that fits nicely in place in the chassis

ALL ball bearing sets fail to give you enough (when I last looked)

the thrust bearings can be replaced with ball bearings (on non terra scorcher models these are shown as e1 plastic ring and washer), so you need 20x 1150 and 4x 850 ball bearings

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yes, see! Even rc bearings don't give you enough (I do use them all the time though)

It's not imperative you use the extra 3 ball bearings but they are cheap enough so why not???

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they are good options

I didn't mention them for the following reasons

the sport tuned motor is only slightly cheaper than a Tamiya super stock if bought from Hong Kong but gives much better performance

it is a great esc but I prefer the xt-12 because it has a larger switch that fits nicely in place in the chassis

ALL ball bearing sets fail to give you enough (when I last looked)

the thrust bearings can be replaced with ball bearings (on non terra scorcher models these are shown as e1 plastic ring and washer), so you need 20x 1150 and 4x 850 ball bearings

I could probably still cancel my order if it's worth swapping to the Super Stock. Which version is best for the TS? I can see the following:

  • Super Stock Type S - 49247
  • Super Stock Type T - 53477
  • Super Stock Type R - 53476
  • Super Stock Type RR - 49260
  • Super Stock Type RZ - 53697
  • Super Stock Type BZ - 53930
  • Super Stock Type TZ - 53696

Sorry for all the questions.

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I like BZ (its for off roaders) but they all give similar performance

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I own and run a TZ, RZ and BZ, somehow the BZ always feels that bit stronger.

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I like BZ (its for off roaders) but they all give similar performance

I cancelled the sport tuned and ordered the Super Stock Type BZ - 53930. Only £19.62 on Amazon, cheaper than all of the far east eBay sellers.

Thanks for the help.

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Everybody speaking about motors but everybody forgot the most important problem, the A5.

Max

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my first post (post 2) I mention it!

but your right it needs mentioning again...

modelbuild does a nice black one that has notches in the right places

Essential item!

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Everybody speaking about motors but everybody forgot the most important problem, the A5.

Max

my first post (post 2) I mention it!

but your right it needs mentioning again...

modelbuild does a nice black one that has notches in the right places

Essential item!

Thanks both, it's on my to-do list.

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Got to give a big thumbs-up to Pargustore.com. I ordered the A5 steel support (this one: http://www.pargustore.com/tamiya-thunder-shot-fire-dragon-aparts-5-steel-suports.html) from them around 4 weeks ago for the total of £7.42. Looks like they had stock issues as I've just received the full alloy A5 replacement in the post (http://www.pargustore.com/tamiya-terra-scorcher-fire-dragon-thunder-dragon-alloy-a5-parts.html)

I now have the following to fit when I get chance:

  • A5 Alloy replacement part;
  • Super Stock BZ Motor;
  • QuicRun 1060 ESC;
  • Full set of rubber-sealed ball bearings.

Can anyone recommend a suitable set of universal drive-shafts for the front of my ThunderShot?

Thanks for the help and advice so far.

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yes I can recommend a set of original thundershot universal shafts, I sell them for £10 each inc uk shipping! In my traderoom, if you can keep spending then it would be a good idea to mate them with hardened diff joints

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Thanks Taffer, I'll look into that when funds allow. Is it correct that the DF-02/03 universal drive-shafts also fit?

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Nice one Deebo, I ordered the A5 brace from pargu at about the same time, and received the full alloy A5 piece also, funny, normally I would be very happy, but I am not going to fit the full alloy section to a new built vintage car.....

I would suggest the genuine Tamiya driveshafts, I picked up two pair from taffer and am very happy

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One quick question ,in going to building shot shortly ,ive got some uni shafts already but what cups are used , do the hardened ones from the ta01/02 cars work or is there a specific cup

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part no 53218, they should be the same as long as they are for gear diff type

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I also fitted a one way roller kit (53200) in the front of my thundershot to give better traction from a standing start. The kit can be fitted very easily with minimal modifications to the diff housing. Here's how I did it (Apologies for the appalling photos )

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=64910&hl=

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