My 2nd build: DB01 Durga

[PapaJulietRomeo 3]

On advise from your good selves I bought a DB01 (no R/RR/RRRs available). Unfortunately, I didn't follow the advise about just the essential hop ups and got carried away with shiney, ££, blue bits.

 

Any mistakes or advise on the build would be appreciated. Observations so far:

 

You don't seem to need hex screws or tapping tools (not done the turn buckles yet). A good JIS screwdriver is sufficient.

 

If you've bought a load of hop ups, acquaint yourself with the R-RRR manuals as I've had to jump around the instructions a bit and go back a couple of times. 

 

Diff build

 

No clue if I've got this right but here are a couple of tips that I hope are useful (I've gone for a 501 outdrive on the rear):

 

"Use 10 ceramic balls, 2 steel balls, one at 12 o'clock and the other at 6 o clock (this cleans the track and helps keep the diff smooth). Use only a minute amount of tamiya ball diff grease in the diff or the ceramic balls will slip causing heat build up. Use Tamiya anti-wear grease in thrust race. Then cover sides of diff with a sticker or die cut covers.... PS this technique came from a TRF works driver direct to me with no chinese wispers!!!"

 

Use Unibond Repair Extreme glue due to its high temperature tolerance.

 

"Some people offer the advice of tightening the diffs -all the way- and then backing the screw off a couple turns. All I can say is "PLEASE Don't Do It!!". The diff spring will become crushed an ineffective before too long and your thrust bearing and K4 parts will most likely get damaged as well. A damaged thrust bearing alone will cause problems with the diff loosening itself continually.. Replace any parts that may have already become damaged before proceeding with the steps below..

 

"The best way to set the diff is via the instructions on page 5 of the manual.. Unfortunately Tamiya does not explain these steps very well and the diagram they show is kind of confusing. 

 

"What they are trying to show is that it is best to tighten your diff 'just enough' so that the pulley cannot turn freely when both of the diff joints are held in place.. Basically you should tighten the screw a few turns, stick a couple allen keys between the joints, hold them in place and try to rotate the plastic pulley by hand.. If you can turn it easily, then it is too loose. Give the diff screw another turn or two and test it again until the pulley will not turn freely while the diff joints are held in place.. This is pretty much the perfect setting."

 

Electronics

 

Since I've already broken my budget and having read good things, I was gonna go for Trackstar electronics. I'll mainly be bashing but would like the option to race. I was gonna go for the TrackStar 8.5T Sensored Brushless Motor V2 3807KV (ROAR approved) but noticed the spec says maximum 50A. Is a 60A ESC a no go?

 

It also says 1-2S Lipo. Does that mean it won't take a 3S? I was thinking of going 2S anyway as I'm new to rc and don't want to smash the thing up (it fits the chasis better too)?

 

Trackstar TS-920 servo seems an easy choice.

[Hobbimaster 190]

Good build! I recently built a Tamiya Baldre, and like you added a bunch of hop-ups. Luckily, I found most of my blue bits from 3racing that are 1/2 price of the Tamiya bits. I left the ball diffs stock and will change them to gear diffs once they fail. As for electronics I'm running a Tamiya TBLE-03s 120amp esc with a Tamiya sensored 15.5T motor. Its power output is between a 17.5 and 13.5. But if I had to do it over again I would move up to 10.5T. The 8.5T motor you mentioned will need something more than a 60amp ESC, I'd say atleast 80amp or higher to be safe. Put it this way a Tamiya TBLE-02s esc is supposed to be 60amp, and says it can handle up to a 10.5T motor, but I tried this and just ended up thermalling it after a few minutes. But it does work well on a 13.5T. For a battery I use a Team Peak Powermax 4200 2s lipo that has the rounded sides to sit in the battery tray.

[PapaJulietRomeo 3]

Cheers Hobbimaster. Made a bit more progress today but am waiting for shock oil, the 501 overdrives, and paint so things will slow down over Xmas. I also found some of the 3rd party hop ups were a lot cheaper, but found you could often get Tamiya stuff for sensible prices if you shopped about (definitely not the shocks though!) Interesting what you say about electronics: I think I'm set on the 8.5T and was wondering about the suitability of the 60A ESC, especially as it says on the spec that it good down to 11.5T buggy motors. However, I emailed HobbyKing tech support and they've still recommended their 60A. I've just emailed them again to double check... Thanks, will def have a look at the Team Peak batteries. The high traction chassis has a rounded battery tray, whereas the stock tray would have taken a rectangular battery.

[Rb4276 803]

3 hours ago, PapaJulietRomeo said:

Cheers Hobbimaster. Made a bit more progress today but am waiting for shock oil, the 501 overdrives, and paint so things will slow down over Xmas. I also found some of the 3rd party hop ups were a lot cheaper, but found you could often get Tamiya stuff for sensible prices if you shopped about (definitely not the shocks though

Are you sticking with the stock shocks? I am curious because my dn-01 uses the same ones.  i  would like a better set but dont want to spend $60-$70 for the tamiya ones. Any recommendations?

[Nobbi1977 1793]

6 hours ago, Rb4276 said:

Are you sticking with the stock shocks? I am curious because my dn-01 uses the same ones.  i  would like a better set but dont want to spend $60-$70 for the tamiya ones. Any recommendations?

Unless you are a good level racer I am not sure there is much improvement over stock cvas. They are quite adjustable and durable but not as blingy as alloy ones

[PapaJulietRomeo 3]

I found the general consensus is as Nobbi says. So of course I went and bought the shiney ones... I justified it to myself as I'll be bashing it around a skate park... As Hobbimaster says though, you can get third party ones way cheaper. I wasn't able to find out much about them though. 

The Peak Power Max looks a good option. Is it a good fit in the battery bay?

[PapaJulietRomeo 3]

I’ve now pretty much finished the build and need to paint and install the electronics (I mentioned in another thread how it looks like I bought the wrong ESC - Hobbyking have yet to reply to my email).

 

I went for 501 outdrives on the rear diff as I hope it’ll be less problematic.

 

Everything went smoothly except for the wheel installation. The front hexes are a very tight fit and the first time I did it, I lost both hex shafts as they weren’t on properly. I found it easiest to put the buggy on it’s side and hold the drive shaft still with one hand while rotating the wheel till I could feel the hexes line up into place. I did this on the rears too. However, the gap between the front of the rear wheels and side the chassis is quite different on each side. I carefully measured the length of the arms so I would have thought they'd be about the same. Is there any reason for this?

 

As suggested, I used two O rings on the rear TRF dampers, though I still wonder if the ride height is going to be a bit high. I was dubious about whether getting another brand of shock oil would be worthwhile so used Tamiya soft 300 cs oil and figured I could mix in some higher weight if needed later. On recommendation, I used Associated Green Slime.

 

Here’s my full list of hop ups (I know I got a bit carried away!):

 

54204 High traction chassis

54040 Motor heat sink

51286 TRF501X differential joint

54390 Large differential plate x2

53124 Tungsten carbide diff balls x2

42143 Aluminium serrated wheels nuts

54039 Aluminium suspension block x2

54037 Aluminium front suspension mount

54038 Aluminium rear suspension mount

50994 Metal suspension balls

54140 Reinforced drive belt x2

54028 TRF buggy aeration damper set

54035 Reinforced L parts (pointless really as diff cover not used, just the steering parts)

54036 Reinforced M parts (damper stay)

54018 Slipper clutch

 

I wanted to get a TA05 carbon fibre battery strap but despite ordering it from three different stores, no one seems to have it in stock.

 

Rather than using scissors for the lexan, I scored the cut line and bent the cut like I’d seen on YouTube. I found this way easier!