First RC Build Terra Scorcher

[mud4fun 1696]

And yes, in theory you could cheat but honestly it is not worth doing that as you don't learn anything. Better to just do your best and see where you come in relation to other cars of the same type (it is open to all) and then just keep practising and learning how different setups suit different tracks. You'll gain enjoyment and skills from it.

I got beaten in the first round by my 16yr old daughter, I beat them both in the second round but my 14yr old is just one lap behind me so far in round 3 and she has most of this week to try and better me. We are all running thundershot/terra scorchers and our driving skills have improved dramatically after just three rounds. ON the first round I had a complete inability to go around a turn without crashing.... LOL

[Nicadraus 6196]

Nice build and congrats!

If you want a cheap set of aluminum dampers but perform really well, look for ZD Racing shocks. I have a couple of them and they are really good. A true bang for the buck. Each pair only costs $8-10 only. They also come in different sizes (90-110mm) and different colors too (grey, blue, red, orange, gold). Very smooth and rebound is surprisingly very well.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33051322052.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.703e447ewdlgS1&algo_pvid=8822fee7-aca7-4d70-814c-3af5de729d49&algo_expid=8822fee7-aca7-4d70-814c-3af5de729d49-4&btsid=0bb0620316032071499543834e1862&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

[mud4fun 1696]

1 hour ago, Nicadraus said:

If you want a cheap set of aluminum dampers but perform really well, look for ZD Racing shocks. I have a couple of them and they are really good. A true bang for the buck. Each pair only costs $8-10 only. They also come in different sizes (90-110mm) and different colors too (grey, blue, red, orange, gold). Very smooth and rebound is surprisingly very well.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33051322052.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.703e447ewdlgS1&algo_pvid=8822fee7-aca7-4d70-814c-3af5de729d49&algo_expid=8822fee7-aca7-4d70-814c-3af5de729d49-4&btsid=0bb0620316032071499543834e1862&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

The alloy shocks always look good 

I have bought quite a few alloy shock sets over the years but to be honest I'm finding that over time the plastic CVA's end up being the better shock. The cheaper alloy shocks tend to wear fast and lose their anodised coating after a couple of years use (especially where the springs chafes the body) and they often don't come with a range of valves so you can't easily adjust the shock to different terrain, the threaded bodies get grit in the thread and cause locking issues on the adjustments etc.

I have actually started replacing all my alloy shocks with plastic CVA's again although I'm using new black CVA bodies to replace the original yellows. The CVA's are great shocks, can be tuned to cover a wide range of uses (You can get 5 or 6 different valves for them and 5 different rod lengths) and are rugged and reliable. They just look a bit pants compared with alloys.

BUT for £10-20 you can't go wrong with those alloy shocks, a bit different if you were paying £80 a set! 

[Nicadraus 6196]

12 minutes ago, mud4fun said:

The alloy shocks always look good 

I have bought quite a few alloy shock sets over the years but to be honest I'm finding that over time the plastic CVA's end up being the better shock. The cheaper alloy shocks tend to wear fast and lose their anodised coating after a couple of years use (especially where the springs chafes the body) and they often don't come with a range of valves so you can't easily adjust the shock to different terrain, the threaded bodies get grit in the thread and cause locking issues on the adjustments etc.

I have actually started replacing all my alloy shocks with plastic CVA's again although I'm using new black CVA bodies to replace the original yellows. The CVA's are great shocks, can be tuned to cover a wide range of uses (You can get 5 or 6 different valves for them and 5 different rod lengths) and are rugged and reliable. They just look a bit pants compared with alloys.

BUT for £10-20 you can't go wrong with those alloy shocks, a bit different if you were paying £80 a set! 

I'm using the same shocks I posted in my CC-01 since last year. It's one of the best long damper shocks I have used and would even compare it to YR in terms of build and rebound. Honestly, ZD Racing makes good aftermarket parts for such cheap prices.

By the way, those shocks are 3x better than CVA (had so many CVA before). I never had any leak or slop issues with mine. As I mentioned, the rebound is also very nice. My friend also uses the same for his rally car (spec to long damper) and his crawler. Also, the threads on dampers are supposed to be cleaned or brush the dirt first before rotating the adjuster collars.

 

[mud4fun 1696]

40 minutes ago, Nicadraus said:

I'm using the same shocks I posted in my CC-01 since last year. It's one of the best long damper shocks I have used and would even compare it to YR in terms of build and rebound. Honestly, ZD Racing makes good aftermarket parts for such cheap prices.

By the way, those shocks are 3x better than CVA (had so many CVA before). I never had any leak or slop issues with mine. As I mentioned, the rebound is also very nice. My friend also uses the same for his rally car (spec to long damper) and his crawler. Also, the threads on dampers are supposed to be cleaned or brush the dirt first before rotating the adjuster collars.

 

Thanks, I'll just stick with the CVA's, quite happy with them, only leaking issues I've had are just aged related as the o rings go brittle after 20-30 years. New o rings and a clean and the shocks are good as new  

Those do look good though.

I do wish Tamiya would do some proper hop up spring sets for the CVA's, that is the only issue with them, the limited range of springs. Considering the sheer number of different models they've fitted CVA's to over the years and the fact they are still in production and yet they still don't sell a good range of spring rates for the buggy sized shocks is infuriating. Why not just sell a packet of 6 springs, 2 soft, 2 medium and 2 hard) for each CVA shock length? Is it really that difficult? aarrggghhh

 

EDIT: If I only had one or two cars then I think I may be tempted to go for those shocks but I have a fleet of 12 cars in constant use and needing constant maintenance so for me I'd rather spend the E20 towards a new LiPo or ESC as I'm desperately trying to migrate our fleet off NiCd's and NiMh's 

[EvilSpike 294]

On 10/20/2020 at 12:27 PM, mud4fun said:

I'm not sure if you have entered the postal racing series yet?

I haven't but I will do, @TurnipJF you Sir are a genius!

The car is currently in 2WD mode and on the original wheels, but should I run it like that, or put the driveshaft back in and put it back on the tarmac tyres? I'll certainly get more laps in if it's not trying to swap ends every time I hit the power. Hmmm...

Yesterday when it was dry I decided to put the original tyres on it because every time I went over the grass half of where I run it would often spin, the tarmac tyres obviously being a bit useless on damp, longish grass. Whilst putting the original wheels and tyres on was much fun, and I was getting reasonably competent at holding it straight when oversteering, the twenty minutes I got out of the battery was enough to crucify the spikes on the rear tyre. Fun though

@NicadrausI had a few beers last night and bought those shocks. I'm not sure why to be honest as they're too long for the car, although my CVA's do leek oil a wee bit and if the new ones sit in the middle of their travel when at rest it's not the end of the world. I could always cut down the centre shaft and put another thread on if needs be. If they don't work is either a waste of £14 or I'll have to find something to put them on.

[mud4fun 1696]

2 hours ago, EvilSpike said:

The car is currently in 2WD mode and on the original wheels, but should I run it like that, or put the driveshaft back in and put it back on the tarmac tyres? I'll certainly get more laps in if it's not trying to swap ends every time I hit the power. Hmmm...

You have time to try both!

Would be a giggle to see how many laps you can do in 2WD vs 4WD  

[EvilSpike 294]

On 10/21/2020 at 5:27 PM, mud4fun said:

You have time to try both!

I'm not sure I do, it's been raining virtually non stop from Wednesday and is forecast to keep going until the middle of next week :/

It's back on road tyres and the batteries are charged up, if I get a chance I'll take it but between the weather and looking after MiniEvilSpike it's not looking hopeful...

[mud4fun 1696]

Just now, EvilSpike said:

I'm not sure I do, it's been raining virtually non stop from Wednesday and is forecast to keep going until the middle of next week :/

Yeah, same here, very wet outside 

[EvilSpike 294]

Well I've just managed to get two attempts at it. Both went badly, and I've got a whole raft of excuses as to why...

[mud4fun 1696]

20 minutes ago, EvilSpike said:

and I've got a whole raft of excuses as to why...

LOL

Never mind, always next round! 

A couple of my buggies have broken or DNF'd their attempts too, I'm hoping they will redeem themselves next round..... 

[EvilSpike 294]

I managed to have a go at round 3 of Postal racing, organised by TurnipJF and posted on the General thread. It was a lot of fun, if somewhat frustrating!

I thought the carpark at the end of the road was smooth asphalt, and that running a 4wd car without the propshaft in 2wd mode with road tyres would be ok. Unfortunately it was actually broken asphalt and concrete with lots of gravel and clumps of grass cuttings. Oh, and it was damp too, so every time I used more than half throttle the car swapped ends in a heartbeat. I could have moved the cones (well, blocks of wood) around a bit to make sure that they weren't right next to patches of gravel, two of the five were and I found it difficult to change how I made the turn on different surfaces.

What I should have done was pop the pinspikes back on, and reinstall the centre propshaft to go back to 4wd mode. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to do it and then compare the two runs. Either way I managed just 19 laps in the five minutes which is pretty poor. My guess is with suitable tyres and the propshaft installed probably get another 5-10 more laps in. I've got plenty of time before the next race results are due so I'll have time to give it a few attempts and work out what's best. I might even try somewhere else and see if I can find a less variable surface.

 

[mud4fun 1696]

3 hours ago, EvilSpike said:

I managed to have a go at round 3 of Postal racing, organised by TurnipJF and posted on the General thread. It was a lot of fun, if somewhat frustrating!

I thought the carpark at the end of the road was smooth asphalt, and that running a 4wd car without the propshaft in 2wd mode with road tyres would be ok. Unfortunately it was actually broken asphalt and concrete with lots of gravel and clumps of grass cuttings. Oh, and it was damp too, so every time I used more than half throttle the car swapped ends in a heartbeat. I could have moved the cones (well, blocks of wood) around a bit to make sure that they weren't right next to patches of gravel, two of the five were and I found it difficult to change how I made the turn on different surfaces.

What I should have done was pop the pinspikes back on, and reinstall the centre propshaft to go back to 4wd mode. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to do it and then compare the two runs. Either way I managed just 19 laps in the five minutes which is pretty poor. My guess is with suitable tyres and the propshaft installed probably get another 5-10 more laps in. I've got plenty of time before the next race results are due so I'll have time to give it a few attempts and work out what's best. I might even try somewhere else and see if I can find a less variable surface.

 

Great to see you on the results table!  Well done for taking part and looking forward to seeing you in the next round.

I had same problems with the cones, in the end I weighed them down or just used flat heavy rubber discs so they stayed in place.

You did a few good smooth laps in that video so you have great potential and as you can see from the results table, the Thundershot based buggies took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place when looking only at buggies - one of the best 4WD chassis Tamiya made in the 1980's.

Hope to see you back in 4WD for the next round - I guess you now know why 4WD is better 

EDIT: Yeah OK I accept that on dry tarmac a 2WD would in theory have better speed BUT that has not been proven in actual racing yet, 4WD buggies have beaten 2WD's in every round so far AFAIK regardless of surface or conditions.

[EvilSpike 294]

So, for round four of Postal Racing i needed to do something to stop the car from just spinning and oversteering everywhere. The two things I need are decent tyres and to put it back into 4WD. I'll stick the propshaft back in after an attempt in 2WD, but I've changed the wheels and tyres. These should make life a lot easier, and I think they look mint on the car.

 

[foz75 93]

those look very nice, what are they?

[EvilSpike 294]

1 hour ago, foz75 said:

those look very nice, what are they?

Reproduction Kyosho Optima pepper-pot wheels, by JC Racing.

You can get them here in many different colours.

[mud4fun 1696]

@EvilSpikeThey look fab! 

One thing to watch for with non Tamiya wheels is they can be thicker which means the threads don't go through the nyloc part of the wheel nut, resulting in nut working loose while driving. Easy fixes, either get thinner pin hexes or put a tiny dab of thread lock on nut to be safe.

Good luck for round 4!

I think we may need to enter a boat if this rain continues......

[EvilSpike 294]

Yup, I could do with slightly narrower hex adaptors, I think the 7mm on there could do with being a couple of mm narrower, but the nylon still bites and it'll be fine for now. Getting the tyres on hurt like badword my fractured shoulder, I probably should have waited for it to heal a bit more before wrestling with them.

Took it to the old astroturf pitch for a wizz around with the new tyres on. They are rather grippy on that surface indeed. There was two little lads there asking me a few questions about the car, and asked me politely if I could have a go. I said no, then felt like I was being a heartless swine and remembered what i felt like at that age so let them both have a few minutes tearing around with it. Made two kids happy, and told them it was because they were so polite.

I think it might need a clean now...

[taffer 948]

On 5/4/2020 at 3:45 PM, taffer said:

Lacks 3 to replace the plastic and metal E1 parts, should be thrust bearings but ball bearings are just fine

Regarding the lack of 3x 1150 ball bearings in every online kit and even kits Tamiya supplies with ball bearings for this chassis, I actually found the tshot 1987 hopup parts sheet, see pic

[mud4fun 1696]

On 11/20/2020 at 5:39 PM, taffer said:

Regarding the lack of 3x 1150 ball bearings in every online kit and even kits Tamiya supplies with ball bearings for this chassis, I actually found the tshot 1987 hopup parts sheet, see pic

Thanks Taffer, I have given up trying to argue this case for decades. Many of my thundershots and terra scorchers are still running fine (after hundreds of hours use) with standard 1150 bearings in lieu of the thrust washers but what do I know? there seems to be plenty of 'racers' that know better.... 

[EvilSpike 294]

It's just two of these bearings that are missing from the 2020 TS kit isn't it?

[taffer 948]

Three (step five and 6 in terra scorcher rere manual)

Two on prop shafts to replace thrust washers (step 5) and one in rear gearbox small outer cover (step 6)

[Muddfoot 3]

I really like the carbon/fiberglass chassis I’ve seen here…would love to add one to mine