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ChrisRx718

Tamiya 53280 TA03 Low Friction Damper - Mini Project

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Not a build as such, but didn't know where else to post this!

I have a TA03R-S Porsche and was just about to hit Buy-it-Now on two pairs of Tamiya 53155 - Aluminium Low Friction Damper, the pink variation. 

But by chance I saw a FaceBook Marketplace advert for some 'unknown tamiya damper cylinders' which looked like the gold-coloured versions in Tamiya 53280 - TA03 Low Friction Damper. I promptly did a deal for 2 sets of cylinders and 8 sets of V-parts.

I wanted a second set of 4 dampers for my TA02SW project. So this little project cost me:

Cylinders & V-Parts: £30
Springs (53440): £11.98 (£5.99 x2)
TRF Damper Seal (53576): £1.78 (£0.89 x2)
TRF Damper Piston Rod (53575) £4.74 (£2.37 x2)
Damper O-Ring (Red, 10pcs) (50597) £1.78 (£0.89 x2)

Total: £50.28, or £25.14 per set. Not bad! Usually a complete set is £40 used, or £60 NIP.

I already had the damper oil. This afternoon I built them up:

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First thing was to get rid of the paint markings;

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Cylinders dismantled:

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Most had 2x red O-rings present, none had the piston rod guide however - thankfully that's on the V-parts I had also received. Weirdly one has a piston rod guide from a set of later TRF dampers, it doesn't even fit.

I'm building all cylinders with a 2-hole setup:

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2mm E-clip tool is priceless in these situations. No more chasing the clip across the room as it inevitably slips the grasp of your pliers!

Replacing the lower O-rings, which had gunk on them. The inner ones seemed fine and had a coat of oil, so they hadn't gone brittle.

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Oil time. I used blue Medium oil in the dampers for the TA03, but orange Soft oil in the ones for the TA02. I don't know why but I did, OK?! :lol:

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Blue (Hard) springs for the TA03, red (Soft) springs for the TA02. Again, for no rhyme or :lol:

49997939383_0e93fdb3d9_b.jpg

Lovely :wub:

I can't show you the others fitted to the TA02 because I haven't built it yet...

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Tamiya's high end dampers are a pleasure to build.  If you get the chance, fit these with the low friction pistons and rod guides.  These are included in the TA03 super low friction damper kit and you don't use the pistons from the V parts sprue.  You can feel the difference.

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There is something far more interesting to rebuilding something than just buying new.

I'm always perplexed as to why dampers are so expensive, some mini cvas are £20+ a pair. The official hop up for an M06 chassis are £75, which is insane given the kit itself is only £130.

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Fine work @ChrisRx718 

If you follow @Fruitfly01 advice you’ll have a great value 53280 gold set - which I’ve found to be pretty rare ... and often hoovered up TA03F old school racers 👍

I think the blue and pink sets were more popular for  the TA02s / SWs - @svenb @Tamiyabigstuff will know for sure - but there’s something cool about a more unique gold version regardless !

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Might find you need the shorter lower connectors for the ta02. 

Look nice with the red and blue springs. 

Blue/silver, pink/silver, blue, pink look good on any chassis especially the 02/03.

The gold dampers on the ta03 r trf almost look orange compared to the 53280.

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2 hours ago, svenb said:

Might find you need the shorter lower connectors for the ta02. 

Look nice with the red and blue springs. 

Thanks mate.

Followed the instructions for 53155 and it said to build this way for "FWD and Rally cars" which I figured was TA02? Just measured them at 60mm eyelet to eyelet. Do you know what length the TA02 needs? I think I asked before but I've forgotten!

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28 minutes ago, ChrisRx718 said:

Thanks mate.

Followed the instructions for 53155 and it said to build this way for "FWD and Rally cars" which I figured was TA02? Just measured them at 60mm eyelet to eyelet. Do you know what length the TA02 needs? I think I asked before but I've forgotten!

55mm I think, double check in the morning. 

Slightly hazed by Holston Pils

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