Jump to content
Grumpy pants

Honda City Turbo Tips Please.

Recommended Posts

Bought as a shelf Queen 12 months or so ago, I like the chassis and I like the wide, short body. 

It is time to either use it or move it a long now.  

The car is heavy and one of the front wheels catches the leading edge of the wheel arch when turning. 

Q. 1 Are they prone to tipping over due to the uneven weight distribution? 

Q.2 Can the body be made to sit lower on the chassis?

Q.3 Any top tips for running it? 

It has a Carson servo, bearings, Tamiya ESC and a torque tuned motor currently.

I have NIP white CVA shock set, a steel pinion and some nice motors in my spares.

I don’t want to spend a fortune as much as  I end up losing hand over fist when it is time to move them along.

All the best

Simon 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You can easily shave a little bit off the wheel arch with a sharp knife if needed, to give yourself the extra bit of clearance needed.

Yes, it rolls over easily! Both due to high centre of gravity and soft suspension. Fun to drive though. :)

The one thing that bugs me driving mine (other than rolling it and scratching the paint and stickers!) is that it tends to bottom out coming out of a wheelie and smash the bottom of the front bumper into the ground with a horrible bang. Basically, if it's up on a wheelie you need to train yourself not to just lift off the throttle. If you do, then it drops down too fast and hits the ground. If you keep accelerating a bit and lift off gently then it's fine. I suspect that oil shocks might help with that (as the resistance will be higher when they're compressing fast), but I haven't quite been able to justify getting them for mine.

I can't remember what the manual says about body height - I think I might have put mine a tiny bit lower than stock, but not much if at all. I don't think it'd make a huge difference to the centre of gravity as the main issue is that the heavy battery (assuming NimH) is deliberately high so that it can wheelie.

By the way, are you sure you trimmed the battery door posts back enough? If not, then they push on the body shell, and that pulls the body backwards, potentially making wheel rubbing more of an issue. Mine barely touched, but I did shave the wheel arch back a tiny bit to make sure it couldn't touch at all.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Simon, sorry I missed this earlier.

Not claiming to be any sort of expert but a couple of things that might help. Unscrew the front body post and sandwich an o-ring between the post and its mount. It moves the body forward 1 or 2mm and is usually enough to allow the tyres to clear the arches (though it's important to note what AJB said about the battery lid posts.)

The body can be made to sit pretty low. The main obstruction is the wheelie bar. Removing it or fitting longer spacers and screws allow the body to go lower. 

AJB also mentioned its nasty habit of smacking the front of the body into the ground when coming down from a wheelie. Oil shocks help to a point but it's worth considering running with the body a bit higher to protect it. Most of the body's weight is relatively low down so this doesn't have a huge effect on the handling, such as it is!

These are fun to run, you just have to remember it's not a touring car! Obviously full chat into a tight turn is going to put it on its roof. But turn the wick down a bit, remember to ease off into turns and just drive it within its limits and it may pleasantly surprise you. 

And they're an absolute blast on damp tarmac! :D 

Hope this helps, at least a bit.

cheers,

Rob

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I seem to find myself wanting one of these. I have a GF01 chassis that needs a body.... does anybody know if this can fit on?

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You don't have to change the arches, loosen the rear alloy bodymounts and tilt them forward then tighten. This should be enough to make the tires clear the arches.

I also shimmed the lower arms and the front and rear knuckles to keep them in the right spot.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I put the ‘o’ ring in the front body post and the wheel didn’t catch the arch anymore, but since the car was off the shelf getting some attention I loosened the rear body posts and tilted them forward and then I trimmed the battery doors posts anyway 😊

image.jpg

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A tube cutter and a T tool set eh ?  - this looks serious , me thinks you gonna keep dis lil' fella ;)

 I don't blame you . I've got a vintage WW and I love it

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If I may, I'll offer a little more advice or maybe even a word of caution.

Be careful, these things are potentially addictive! ;) 

 

DSCF2577.JPG

  • Like 9
  • Haha 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, IBIFTKH said:

If I may, I'll offer a little more advice or maybe even a word of caution.

Be careful, these things are potentially addictive! ;) 

 

DSCF2577.JPG

Yes indeed 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, IBIFTKH said:

If I may, I'll offer a little more advice or maybe even a word of caution.

Be careful, these things are potentially addictive! ;) 

 

DSCF2577.JPG

yeah i have the same with the hotwheels ones

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So it’s back in the shelf for now as I want to get just tick off some other small Tamiya jobs before making a move on this. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
20 hours ago, IBIFTKH said:

If I may, I'll offer a little more advice or maybe even a word of caution.

Be careful, these things are potentially addictive! ;) 

 

DSCF2577.JPG

Superb Rob, I thought you had a number of these but never 10!

They all look fabulous as well, I particularly like the Pennzoil and my wife is very taken with the Jaegermeister 👍

Are there any hop ups you would recommend for a runner? 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So cleaned this one up today and I’m going to keep it, make a light project out of it and then run it. 

My wife isn’t mad keen on it as she prefers my Wild One and Konghead, but she has helped me decide on what parts to detail and colours to use which will make it less toy like and a bit more racey 👍

For now it has to go back on shelf duty, but it will be the next Tamiya I own to get some long over due attention 💥

image.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Interested to see how this one goes. I like the look of these wee things :) 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 6/2/2020 at 1:45 PM, Krustybus said:

Interested to see how this one goes. I like the look of these wee things :) 

It is the next project after I've listed the spare SRB parts and Falcon parts I have to move along.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The HCT has been waiting in the wings patiently but I’m now ready to pick this one up.

The paint and masking tape arrived last week so I will try my hand at detailing and fitting something suitable to fill the bonnet scoop and air intakes voids. 

After that paint the wheels and tyre lettering to make it a bit more visually interesting and hopefully racey.

Then I’ll strip the chassis down to see if it has bearings and I’ll add some basic Hop ups.

I have a steel pinion and white CVA’s already, but I’ll probably add alloy servo posts and a better looking wheelie bar.

I’m not sure apart from lights or an Ampro order there is much more to do, please add any recommendations or tips 👍

* Maybe some weights to the chassis to reduce the amount it tips over when turning and possibly a slightly faster motor *

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Made a start on dismantling the body shell ready to mask up another evening.

Fast ‘n’ Loud and Tamiya, quality Monday evening 💥

image.jpg

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah ha. Here if the thread I’ve been looking for!!  My New addition!!

6dbIHjZ.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/24/2020 at 3:31 PM, njmlondon said:

I seem to find myself wanting one of these. I have a GF01 chassis that needs a body.... does anybody know if this can fit on?

I’ll let you know. I now own both. Still building the gf01 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

Great looking model, just shouts out  ‘fun’ to me 👍

KZ6hJuM.png
It sure does. It’s fun running it on wet pavement. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/14/2020 at 3:42 AM, Grumpy pants said:

Bought as a shelf Queen 12 months or so ago, I like the chassis and I like the wide, short body. 

It is time to either use it or move it a long now.  

The car is heavy and one of the front wheels catches the leading edge of the wheel arch when turning. 

Q. 1 Are they prone to tipping over due to the uneven weight distribution? 

Q.2 Can the body be made to sit lower on the chassis?

Q.3 Any top tips for running it? 

It has a Carson servo, bearings, Tamiya ESC and a torque tuned motor currently.

I have NIP white CVA shock set, a steel pinion and some nice motors in my spares.

I don’t want to spend a fortune as much as  I end up losing hand over fist when it is time to move them along.

All the best

Simon 

 

I can’t keep my hood vents from popping out when the front bumper slams the pavement. I’ve now glued therm 2 times each. ykJoqhq.jpg

before the second one popped out today. 
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...