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TurboTimmy

Rising Fighter To Re-Enter R/C?

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I am getting back into R/C after some time away....I currently have a Grasshopper 1 with an Axial 27t motor, a Lunchbox with a Sport Tuned, an M05 NSU TT with a Torque Tuned, and a custom Frankenstein-style Hornet/Grasshopper with a Bolink Baja Bug body...it currently has a silver can 540-style with around 27 turns-it's pretty fast!!!

I am seriously considering a Racing Fighter DT-03 kit-I am just a parking lot basher......It will get bearings and probably a Dirt-Tuned motor or something....I'm not going brushless because all my stuff is set up for brushed motors. Any thoughts or comments? Thanks for reading this entry.

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No reason not to - it is a good performer, parts and hop-ups are plentiful, and with its double wishbone suspension it should be an interesting contrast to your other off-roaders.

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Put a bit of nose-weight, (I don't mean this kind)

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put a bit of clay in the diff, (I don't mean this kind)

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and you'll be golden (not literally). 

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I couldn't help myself... 

Okay, putting on a serious hat. 

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I wanted DT-03 for a long while.  I'm a fan of 2WD.  Some like 4WD for its control.  As you know, 2WD doesn't exactly go where you want it to go, when you want it to go.  It takes a bit of a planning in your head first.  I find that fun.  

Had I gone from my Grasshopper to DN01, I don't think I would have appreciated it.  There is nothing wrong with starting RC with DT03.  But your experience with rigid axles, might allow you to appreciate DT03 more.  It is a decent upgrade, but not light years ahead.  Think of it as a Grasshopper for the 21st century.  Though, Tamiya went with the "Frog for the 21st century."  

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I like Rising Fighter's angular design better.  

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It reminds me of a cockpit of a German fighter. (Maybe that's what they were going for)

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The nose is a bit on the light side.  It would feel like 80% of the weight is in the rear.  Which is why some weight on the nose is recommended.  I need to get stronger springs for the rear.  And I still haven't put differential clay in the diff.  For RWD like this, if you put a bit of differential clay in the diff, you'd notice that it will just go where no Grasshopper has gone before.  Diff unloading disappears and you can propel it with just one rear wheel.  

If you want to run on a paved surface, you might want to get a set of road tires (at least dual purpose tires).  I haven't found many dual purpose tires   But this tire is cheap and effective.  It's softer compound, but the wear is far less noticeable than the pins.  Those spiked tires are good on dirt and grass.  But they are horrible on road and meek on sand.  

 g0o32Xw.jpg

Anyway, DT03 is a decent buggy.  I'd say go for it.  

I like how this guy below does stuff one by one.  He tries stock first, then puts in bearings, and dampers.  

 

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DT03 is a great buggy. As mentioned above, weight in the front: l used self adhesive full size car wheel balance weights which are a few quid for strips of 60 grams off ebay. Buy some before you build and you can even stash some inside the front of the chassis tub before you close the two halves together. I have around 50 grams stashed around the front of mine, but abit more would be better. Stiffer rear springs and appropriate tyres and it will run really well. 

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Thanks for all the replies. I have also been considering a 4WD buggy because I do not have one of those. What do you guys recommend for an entry-level (inexpensive) 4WD kit?

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The two top choices these days are the TT-02B or DF-01. You can also sometimes still find a DF-02 for sale but they are getting rarer.

The TT-02B is the buggy version of the popular TT-02 touring chassis, and as such shares many of its parts. This is a good thing in that many hop-ups are available, but a bad thing in that the plastic diffs that are usually fine for touring use can take quite a beating if you jump it, usually shedding teeth after a few runs. There are of course metal upgrades available, and some people report improvements in longevity by carefully shimming the stock parts. The chassis is also quite low slung, not ideal for offroad use, but you can fix this quite easily with longer shocks and/or bigger wheels/tyres. Another thing to consider are the shock towers that are made of a very flexible rubbery plastic, great for surviving crashes but not so good for handling as they bend before the shocks compress, making setup changes rather hit-or-miss. Again, upgrades are available in either alloy, fibreglass or carbon. Apart from that, it is a rather nice kit, coming with oil shocks and a steel pinion as standard. Just add bearings and you should be good for many runs to come.

The DF-01 has been recently re-released in Manta Ray guise, and it is an "oldie but goodie" as they say. With more ground clearance than the TT-02B, it is a better offroader in stock form. The stock propshaft and motor mount are weak, but Tamiya recognise this and sell the upgraded versions as a set. The stock pinion is alloy so you'll want a steel one, and the gearset has an alloy idler so you'll want an all-plastic one. A bearing set is of course a good idea, but the stock shocks are oil-filled and work quite well. The rear gearbox "lid" is a weak point as it can allow the gears to lift under high loads, but you can improve matters a bit by bolting through the main gearbox moulding and putting a longer bolt with a nut on it through the left shock tower mount. You can also get alloy reinforcement pieces to spread the load over a wider area, keeping the "lid" from lifting. Another area to address is the steering, which can be rather sloppy thanks to the thin wire drag link. This is an area best addressed with a ballraced alloy steering rack, which improves matters immensely. I use the GPM one on mine, but there are several options.

The DF-02 is probably the best of the lot in terms of drivetrain, needing nothing more than bearings and an alloy propshaft to make it very solid indeed. The stock diff gears are metal, the stock pinion is steel, there are no soft alloy idler gears to worry about and no issues with gearbox lids lifting either. The diff outdrives and axles are part metal, part plastic, but they are chunky items that last for ages even with a lot of power going through them. You might want a metal motor mount if you are running really big power, but the plastic one survives most motors without issue. Like the TT-02B it has quite low ground clearance in stock form, but again this is easily fixed with longer shocks and/or bigger wheels/tyres.

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Yep, I think is DF02 an underappreciated.  It was designed as a basher, and it does that well.  DF03 is good too, but building it is more demanding.  DF01 is simple but very effective.  I'm baffled as to why Tamiya didn't release more DF01s.  Considering how Manta Ray isn't much to look at, I'd go with DF02 also.  But if you want almost-a-racer-at-a-basher-price, Manta Ray would be your pick.  

Of course, you can go farther back to the past and get something like Boomerang.  Or Bigwig, but I prefer the look of Boomerang.  Hotshot looks good, but the suspension is ineffective.  Bigwig's suspension blows Hotshot out of the water, but that's to be expected. Hotshot has 2 springs. Bigwig has 4.  I'd say Bigwig's suspension performance is comparable to DF02 (DF02 is slightly better).  

If you want the most recent 4x4, you can wait a month or two until CC02 is released.  CC are like rally cars.  They don't go as fast as buggies.  They are taller, since CC are trucks.  And due to smaller tires, the size of obstacles they can handle are smaller. (unless you use it as a crawler)   

Similar in size, MF01X is a real motored 4x4.  They are more for dirt track racing than bashing, due to smaller tire sizes.  Since VW bug has the engine in the back, MF01X suits well.  

How about 6x6?  Not 4x4, but why not?  Konghead and Dynahead are good bashers.  Due to portal gears, Dynahead runs at half the speed of Konghead.  So Dynahead is technically a crawler, but if you install a 13.5t motor, it might be comparable to Konghead with a silver can.  6x6 trucks have a lot of gears, so you'd really want to go full bearings.  

 

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I'm a big fan of the Hot Shot series myself (Super (Hot) Shot being personal favorite). They don't really have any glaring durability issues and were designed when "off road" really meant Off Road. I kinda wish Tamiya would bring back the Thundershot series. Aside from their "spaceship" bodies, they're a good mix of old school Tamiya with a dash of more modern touches.

8 hours ago, Juggular said:

DF01 is simple but very effective.  I'm baffled as to why Tamiya didn't release more DF01s.

Barring those classics, I'd agree with @Juggular. The DF01 works quite well. Tamiya actually did reuse the chassis a bit with the Dirt Thrasher, Blazing Star and Terra Conqueror (as well as the upscale Top Force and Top Force Evo) all of which had more "normal" bodies vs. the Manta Ray.  

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33 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

Tamiya actually did reuse the chassis a bit with the Dirt Thrasher, Blazing Star and Terra Conqueror (as well as the upscale Top Force and Top Force Evo) all of which had more "normal" bodies vs. the Manta Ray.  

I'd like to add that the Mad Cap and Saint Dragon bodies are direct fits as well. They just need to be cut slightly differently. The additional mounting points for the rear body mount on each side of the MSC mounting plate are actually for fitting the Mad Cap body using E6 and E7, as included in the DF-01 E-parts.

Whereas the Mad Cap can be considered looking rather "normal", that's not a word I would use for the Saint Dragon though! :P

And without the intention of being mean; the heading of the thread says "Rising Fighter" whereas the topic is rather the "Racing Fighter". Two very different models! 

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3 hours ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

And without the intention of being mean; the heading of the thread says "Rising Fighter" whereas the topic is rather the "Racing Fighter". Two very different models! 

Glad someone else noticed that ;). Tamiya and/or Japan must be a place of great aggression. There seems to be much "fighting" going on. Are we far off from seeing a "Fighting Fighter"? The flippant flying Fighting Fighter flew floppily over the the jump, flailing about upon touch down drawing frowns from the fanatical followers?

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Thanks for all the info!!! Sorry for the confusion in the thread title-I am looking at a RACING Fighter...….The TT02B kit looks to be the less expensive 4WD chassis, but the DT03 is still in the lead....I'll let y'all know....Take Care.

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I wouldn't touch a Rising fighter,

You would be better off with a Sonic fighter, at least it would handle! :lol:

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