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ThunderDragonCy

Thunders FF01 Bandwagon Jumping

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35 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Thanks. We aren't allowed to run foams and everyone else is running fine on rubber. I think the issue is well used 32 and 34 compound tyres. I have managed to find some 28s, but no one has any sorex 20 or sweep 24 which is what I am going to need if i do any more. 

I'm going to have to look into those... Not that I'm Racing, but I like the best performance I can get.  Hopefully there's a U.S. seller...

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For those of you interested, the mounting kits for the carbon towers and top deck are on my Shapeways store, along with repro front arms. These are all a little different to listed above, incorporating all the improvements.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/cotic-rc?section=Tamiya+FF01&s=0

You can order the carbon parts from Fibre Lyte. I've sent them the updated CAD files this evening. I'm afraid the rear tower only works with the top deck. 

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On 10/19/2020 at 8:48 PM, Carmine A said:

I'm going to have to look into those... Not that I'm Racing, but I like the best performance I can get.  Hopefully there's a U.S. seller...

If you're thinking softer compounds = better performance, I'd be very careful. Soft racing tyres are very sensitive to temperature and can easily overheat after a couple of minutes of running and degrade performance, and useful lifetime. 

You're in Arizona? With air temperatures there currently in the high 20s/30s and full sunshine, you're going to want the hardest compounds (higher numbers). Last summer (or was it 2018...) was a scorcher here in England (that means air temperatures in the 30s) and I was using 36s and 40s at the track. 

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8 hours ago, rich_f said:

If you're thinking softer compounds = better performance, I'd be very careful. Soft racing tyres are very sensitive to temperature and can easily overheat after a couple of minutes of running and degrade performance, and useful lifetime. 

You're in Arizona? With air temperatures there currently in the high 20s/30s and full sunshine, you're going to want the hardest compounds (higher numbers). Last summer (or was it 2018...) was a scorcher here in England (that means air temperatures in the 30s) and I was using 36s and 40s at the track. 

Thanks Mate! I do keep a couple of sets for the Temps, which vary wildly here. 😲  Several times in Summer, we reached the low FIFTIES!! 🔥🔥🔥 

But our Summer is like everyone else's Winter. We DON'T go outside. However, our Winter, when we do go outside, get quite chilly (15 to 15 BELOW C!), so soft Compound Tyres become more beneficial.

You're right though. In late "Spring", I've destroyed a set of Soft Compound Tyres, and actually need Harder than I have for that time of year. 😉

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Ran my FF01 for the first time in ages today. Very cold, but dryish tarmac, and using the old Schumacher SST Rally tyres I ran initially. The car actually stuck to the floor, and a aside from needing to tighten the diff it was great. I put some thin carpet additive on the Ride pre-cut slicks and gave them a go and they seemed to work too, so it looks like I have a couple of tyre options that mean I can run the car and do a bit of driving again. I noticed the wheelbase is still a few mm out on the rear arches on my 306 shell. I'm also aware of how old, fragile and rare some of the parts are, so I have designed some replacement arms with 3mm extra wheelbase adjustment in them. Sent them off to Shapeways to be printed today.

FF01 Rear Arm Wheelbase Adjust V1.JPG

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NICE!!! 👍👍  I really can't wait to finally get a 3D Printer. So many possibilities!

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Cool stuff! Literally!

Quincy and I met today for some FF-01 exchange deals and it was -10°C. My face nearly fell off :D

How warm is it at your place?

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3 hours ago, wtcc5 said:

Cool stuff! Literally!

Quincy and I met today for some FF-01 exchange deals and it was -10°C. My face nearly fell off :D

How warm is it at your place?

It was - 1°C when i was out with the car this morning, but finally dry and free of ice on the road. 

Went out on my mountain bike this afternoon and it was amazing fun in tje snow and frozen dirt, but the wind chill did nearly freeze my face off too! 

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My adjustable wheelbase rear arms arrived! 

Tamiya FF01

As you can see when compared to the original, they're more of an homage than a direct copy.

Tamiya FF01

I always put more structure into 3D printed arms as its not quite as strong as ABS, but the feonts i did have run trouble free, and despite these new ones being heavier and a little bulkier than the originals i am optimistic of similar good durability here. Here's the original setup. It works great, so resisting my usual tinkering tendencies, the geometry will remain unchanged. 

Tamiya FF01

If you recall the main reason to get these - apart from saving rare, hard to get parts from breaking - is to add some length to the wheelbase because the stance on my 306 Maxi wasn't quite right. I extended the outer slot for the knuckle by 3mm rearwards. I settled on 3mm as it should be about right for my shell, but mainly the spare TL01 37mm suspension shafts i have would be able to replace the 34mm parts already on the car

Tamiya FF01

As with all new parts there was some fettling to get it to fit. The inner hibge side needed quite a bit of filibg to get it to fit and move freely under its own weight, and the intended 3mm spacer was too tight on the outside. In the end i got a 2.5mm spacer and 0.3mm shim running perfectly. Feels like i have set the tolerances on this a little tight so i am going to open out the slots by 0.5mm on the model and re-upload to shapeways. All the other bits were spot on though. Pivot holes just needed my 3mm remaining and i tapped 3mm of threads into the ball stuf hole for the shock and it went in lovely. 

For the top arms i had to go for camber links because of the wheelbase adjustment. Near as i can measure the solid arms are 28mm centre to centre. I used the fantastic 54868 medium reinforced adjusters. These are 11.5mm from eye to end, so 23mm in total. I got the 54247 18mm aluminium turnbuckle as it's the shortest i could get because i only needed 5mm distance between the adjuster ends. They still needed completely bottoming out on their threads to work, but they got there 

Tamiya FF01

As a side note, i am a big fan of these adjusters. They are stiff and qear well and the tolerances are perfect. Free running from new but super tight slop free fit. Here's one side fully fitted

Tamiya FF01

And both

Tamiya FF01

I needed to space the tower ball nut out 3mm to get the link running nicely. 

Tamiya FF01

 

And with body back on, the rear wheel sits nicely

Tamiya FF01

Needed to get setup as it seems to be sitting a little high, and just a small difference in shock hole position on the arms (neasured vs reality) can make a difference, but i am pleased with them. 

If you are interested they are on my shapeways store here: http://shpws.me/SyIz

 

 

 

 

 

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Great work!

My experience with Shapeways is, that hinge pin holes with the exact dimensions arrive with 0.1-0.2mm smaller (80%) or 0.1-0.2mm larger diameter (20%). So I prefer to make the stl file with a smaller diameter than needed and then widen the hole with a drill...

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2 minutes ago, wtcc5 said:

Great work!

My experience with Shapeways is, that hinge pin holes with the exact dimensions arrive with 0.1-0.2mm smaller (80%) or 0.1-0.2mm larger diameter (20%). So I prefer to make the stl file with a smaller diameter than needed and then widen the hole with a drill...

Thanks. The holes were fine. It was the gap between the lugs that was too tight, so it was binding on the other bits of chassis they were attached to. I opened them out 0.5mm on the model and updated my shapeways this morning. 

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Little update. Ran it today, and after a little issue with a sticky ball stud, it was just wonderful. I had to open out the turnbuckles to 6mm gap to get the camber right, and went down to the thinnest preload spacer. I guess my pivots aren't exactly same as kit parts. However, they're close enough, and it's still brilliant to drive. 

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Bought a little present for my 306

image_c9cd8d03-7e7e-403c-8ac3-b15fb99177

Screenshot_20200522-181356_Messenger_486

I have never really done lights before. What do people suggest for running the wires on the shell? My receiver is right at the back near the rear tower. Also, why do you think it has two plugs? Some kind of switch? I have switches for channel 5 and 6 on my Tx, but only use a 3 channel Rx. 

Finally, there are 6 lights and 4 in the pod. Are there any cheap generic light buckets i could get to just put the spare ones behind the headlight stickers. 

Thanks! 

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I tinkered around with lights three years ago and used cloth tape to attach it to a pillars and roof.

One plug should be for electricity (red one) and one for electricity from your rx. If it is on all the time, than you maybe have a choice to plug it in your rx or use an external battery.

I had a control box that was connected with y-cables to the steering and throttle plugs for my Subaru WRC that had a full light kit. If you use that y-cable on your third channel it could work.

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Thought i would record the install on this as it comes with no instructions so you have to kinda make it up. Also nerve wracking if it was a mint shell because its hard to get the holes right. I am not too bothered due to the condition of the shell, but it's still annoyed me! 

Tamiya 306 Maxi L and L Models light pod installation

First mistake: using the ubder bonnet vracket as a guide doesn't work. It's not as shaped as the pod, so you can slide it further forward that it needs and put the holes too far forward. When i loose fitted it this morning the pod overhubg the grill by about 4mm. So, i opened out and sort slotted the holes using my body reamer as best i could. Luckily the pod cover up a big area so none if this will be seen, but if you get one use the pod and the bracket to mark hole locations. 

On the plus side, the redundant forward body post holes from when i used this body on my FF03 are perfect size and location to feed the lights through, so that's a relief. The bonnet us a bit too perforated already! 

The pod itself is good, but after one quicj coat of paint the surface textures and imperfections became too obvious, even for me! 

Tamiya 306 Maxi L and L Models light pod installation

I have rubbed it back with 1200 grit sandpaper. Its not perfectly smooth, but it should be ok. 

Finally, check LED fit before more painting. I assumed because they were sold together the LEDs would fit the pod, but they don't. The holes in the pod are 4.5mm. The LEDs in this kit are 5mm. Quick drill with the 5.1mm drill and they are perfect, but i would have wanted to do that after painting. 

I have an idea for the finishing though. Glue some kitchin foil in the light buckets to form reflectors. Maybe it will work? 

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Cy.... Nothing a couple of coats of Filling Primer and some more sanding couldn't sort.  I'm GLAD the holes will be covered - but I'm sure not as glad as YOU are!!  It should look really good when done. Proper Rally look.

I fit Lights on EVERYTHING. 😉  Like Kevin said, any spare Channel or a Y-connector (as long as it's NOT Ch. 1 or 2!!) will work. 

For the Wires... Duct Tape or Aluminium Tape, thin strip, will hold the Wires fast against the Body.  .... If you use Tape on BOTH sides of the Body (since it's slightly translucent), will make it look more even.

As a bonus, it'll give you more side impact protection!! 😉

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Well, this was a bit of a mission! The foil kinda worked

20210311_151858

Glued in. Found some superglue gel which was way easier to handle than regular stuff, so that was a win

20210311_170147

Took ages to trim the holes and get it centred. Had to trim the bracket to let the wires out, and the holes are for m3 screws but need massive (unsupplied) washers to retain the bracket. Spare cva pistons to the rescue! 

20210311_174231

Looks ok on though

20210311_174242

Rats nest first attempt at wiring! Electrical tape to wrap in places and gorilla tape to hold it in place. 

20210311_185726

Taped the two spares next to the rear lights. If anyone has some has some spare or surplus generic or rear light buckets i'll happily take them off your hands. 

Lit! 

20210311_185637 20210311_185606

Looking forward to some night time driving if it ever stops raining! 

 

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I stumbled upon your FF01 parts on Shapeways when I was browsing the marketplace again in some spare minutes at work. I finally pulled the trigger and got some :) Now to see which FF01 I will fit them too. It really makes me want to build a FF01 runner after seeing everyone's FF01 addictions being posted lately. I recently got one with a HPI carbon chassis, so that might be a fun runner?

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@Tizer Do it please! We addicts have to support ourselves (with pictures and builds) ;):D

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11 hours ago, Tizer said:

I stumbled upon your FF01 parts on Shapeways when I was browsing the marketplace again in some spare minutes at work. I finally pulled the trigger and got some :) Now to see which FF01 I will fit them too. It really makes me want to build a FF01 runner after seeing everyone's FF01 addictions being posted lately. I recently got one with a HPI carbon chassis, so that might be a fun runner?

Thanks for buying. Let me know if you need any help ordering from Fibre Lyte

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13 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Thanks for buying. Let me know if you need any help ordering from Fibre Lyte

All good with Fibrelyte :) Will give the printed parts some love in the Shapeways polisher too to see what finish I can get. Perks of working there I guess :D 

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Well, i broke another esc but i began to wonder if it was the BEC getting fried because i had used a spare servo which had voltage up to 6.8v. The 1060 only has a 6v BEC. I fitted a new Trackstar D99X low profile servo same as my race car, and one final roll of the dice with a 1060. Soldered it up today. 

Also fitted slightly refined version of my front arms with better clearance to the steering. They work great and I uploaded them to my Shapeways store. 

Also gave my new shell a run. Simple white and the decals do the work. Now i have the lightpod on the 306 i wanted something i could race if the mood took me. And it looks rad. 

20210412_191041

 

 

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