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Nicadraus

Tamiya FF Club

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Seeing more and more Tamiya FF kits being built in this forum, I thought of creating a thread where we can all share (and encourage) our kit builds, tips, parts links, DIYs.

I know there are several threads of FF builds but it'll be nice to see one thread showing all the FF builds (finished or not) here.

Please feel free to share of pics and topics but strictly related to FF kits only.

 

 

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Wow where are all the FF guys here? Where you at? So I'll start anyway.

This is my FF-03 Pro-R.

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I called it Pro-R because it had become my own version of mixed parts and custom made ones. It was a slow build. Took about 18 months because hunting, finding and ordering parts wasn't easy. It is fully modified inside and out including aluminum spur adapter, light weight counter gear and shaft, steel bevel gears for the differential, DCJ, aluminum suspension mounts (FF, FR, RF, RR), IFS rocker arms,  aluminum differential unit cover, aluminum front upper arm mount, aluminum bulkhead stiffener, aluminum bumper mount, aluminum spring retainers, aluminum knuckles, aluminum c-hubs and rear uprights. All plastic parts were replaced with carbon reinforced plastic, from the main chassis, suspension arms, gearbox, etc. I have also replaced the upper suspension (front and rear) and steering ball caps with TRF420 open face adjusters. Powered by 17.5 brushless, Toro TS160 competition ESC and Power HD L12HV servo. 

This is my FF-03RR which stands for road and rally.

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I started working on this when I was able to gather more hop up parts for it. Some parts are from the Pro-R while some were ordered/bought as well. I modified the main chassis to allow more ride height. It uses TRF 55mm dampers and rear extended to 60mm using Yeah Racing springs for 60mm. I've driven this and raced on a rally track a couple of times. I'm very happy on how it performs as an on-road car and rally car. I have fabricated some mud guards from lexan/polycarbonate sheets and placed them on the areas where mud/dirt builds up during on-road/rally. Powered by 21t brushed motor, 1060 ESC and SPT 4412LV servo.

Both cars have custom ESC and servo trays from carbon fiber 2mm board. There are also bits of cf on both cars that were custom made.

My original FF. The FF-01.

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Bought this in 1996 when I came back to RCing after a 6 years absence. Didn't have any plans of racing but simply road/street bashing only. It originally came with a Renault Clio body. When I saw the FRP chassis upgrade (for TA-02/FF-01) was available at a local hobby shop, I bought it right away and installed it. I also bought a Corolla WRC body when it was available. It was a perfect fit because the chassis is set to a shorter wheelbase (245mm). I'm slowly rebuilding this one and finding parts that I want for it. I've ordered aluminum knuckles and c-hubs already. Next will be the original Tamiya aluminum dampers (pink). I used to have a set of those dampers pink (front) and gold (back) but transferred them in my TA-04R when I gave it to my eldest son. Although the TRF damper is a fantastic one, I decided to remove them from this kit and install a "period correct" set. Will also replace ESC with 1060.

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Worked some more on the chassis and currently, this is her now...

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So please share yours. :)

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@Nicadraus Nice idea. Ok, here goes. My first FF03 started out as a TL01! I have been in love with the Peugeot 306 Maxi shell ever since i saw the rally car, so when L and L models did a repro i snapped one up and looked for a chassis. Initially that was a TL01, but that got sold when a lovely, hopped up FF03 Pro came up in the classifieds. This is the first iteration, pretty much as it arrived to me. 

Tamiya FF03 with Peugeot 306 Maxi shell

 

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After trying to sort the handling i realised i was suffering from Rubbish Tamiya Tyre Syndrome. Initially it got Schumacher SST tyres, but eventually the Ride ETS touring car wheels and tyres, and then the Sweep 34 BRCA wheels/tyres, all of which are highly recommended. 

I picked up the sway bar kit, and reinforced plastics, and alloy suspension blocks. A big step forward was fitting the TA07 Medium arms. These are the same shape as the TRF419 arms, but not quite as stiff. By flipping them at the front I could reduce the motor overhang, and still drive the IFS pushrods and hook up the sway bar. You do lose the ability to use droop screws, but this made a big improvement to the handling. 

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It's such a nice car to drive, but then i read the Kentech blogs about his 4 gear transmission conversion for his FF04 and then TRFF2017. As i already offer transmission conversions for TRF buggies using same internals, than became the project and the FF03 Pro became

Tamiya FF03 4GR 4 Gear Transmission Project by CTE RC

Its a gearcase, motor plate and trans brace to my design that lowers the CG and reverses the motor rotation. Its so fun to drive!

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After the conversion, my club announced they would allows fronties to run with the touring cars under the same rules, so i fitted a 17.5 brushless system, hobbywing xr10 60a zero timing esc, and am currently running 39/62 gearing. I also got a Bittydesign HCF shell which is great. 

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Although it does still occasionally get run in the street with the 306

Tamiya FF03RR 4 Gear Transmission Project by CTE RC

Its got a long link bearing steering wiper i got 3d printed, and a custom low profile servo tray from fibrelyte

Tamiya FF03RR 4 Gear Transmission Project by CTE RC. 3D printed bearing centred steering set and M6 part to suit transmission Tamiya FF03RR 4 Gear Transmission Project by CTE RC

Most recent additions are my new bearing sway bar kit and the Tamiya carbon rear tower. 

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There's lots more on my build thread, and i have an FF01 on the way now! 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have an FF03 on my WTB list.

I find them really interesting, I like the  FWD and front mounted motor, but also the battery being situated in the middle of the chassis really appeals to me.

 

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My FF03, Couldn't quite stretch to a FF04 sorry.. lol These are all shelf queens. 

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I can join in!

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My FF02. Pretty much stock but with ball bearings and some aftermarket upper & lower arms and alloy dampers. No electronics to speak of as it's not actually been used...

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Looks sweet though. One day I might finish painting the Rally cockpit set I bought about 8 years ago for it! I may even restore it with some period-correct dampers, but it's not a priority right now.

More recently acquired / built this beasty, have yet to finish the bodyshell or install electronics:

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I went for a different blue from box art and I think it looks pretty cool. Too hot to apply stickers in the UK at the moment though, couldn't imagine turning on a hair dryer!!

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Nice to see each with different stories and how they've transformed into build goals. The FF chassis is a fun kit to drive and set up as well, and each build ends up being unique. I rarely see an FF ending up like a Tamiya manual or catalog build. There's always something different.

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3 hours ago, Juls1 said:

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Well here is my FF01

What aluminum steering set did you use for this one? Mine needs replacement and I plan on going for aluminum too.

Beautiful FF-01 there just like the rest of your other FFs.

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1 hour ago, Nicadraus said:

What aluminum steering set did you use for this one? Mine needs replacement and I plan on going for aluminum too.

Beautiful FF-01 there just like the rest of your other FFs.

This is the unit 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-STEERING-ASSEMBLY-B-TAMIYA-TA01-TA02-TA-01-02-FRP-CHASSIS-ALLOY/401982716163

It's made by GPM. 

Sadly it's only available in Blue these days. I have a few of them in my parts trays but all blue. 

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1 hour ago, Juls1 said:

This is the unit 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-STEERING-ASSEMBLY-B-TAMIYA-TA01-TA02-TA-01-02-FRP-CHASSIS-ALLOY/401982716163

It's made by GPM. 

Sadly it's only available in Blue these days. I have a few of them in my parts trays but all blue. 

Thank you! I just actually saw a set in RCMart. Made by Yeah Racing. I think I'll go with that.

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3 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Nice to see each with different stories and how they've transformed into build goals. The FF chassis is a fun kit to drive and set up as well, and each build ends up being unique. I rarely see an FF ending up like a Tamiya manual or catalog build. There's always something different.

I hope @wtcc5 shares his one of a kind FF build here as well as his FF-01s.  

I will soon. Give me some time 😅

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9 minutes ago, wtcc5 said:

I will soon. Give me some time 😅

:D :D :D

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Ok, then its time to introduce myself. Hello, my name is Kevin and I am addicted to FF-01 cars... 🥃

Part 1: It started a while ago with the the purchase of an FF-03. It got some Hop Ups and was raced hard in different forms:

 

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At that time the Tamiya virus wasn‘t that strong. Pure performance was more important for me. So I did some changes to the car and chassis and suspension and gearbox and steering... ... and step by step the car changed to a different beast:

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This beast reincarnated this year and is one of my best projects:

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For the full story please visit RCtech:

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-road/1001551-wtccs-ff-project.html

 

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Part 2: Then somehow two months ago I wanted an FF-01 chassis. At first I couldn’t find one good car and now I have four with a fifth in the pipe (thank you Quincy 😍, he is my inofficial FF-01 dealer 😁). I just wanted one runner... well the runner looks like this now:

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It is still a runner, but a very nice one.

 

Well and then there are my shelfqueens:

A nearly full Hop Upped Castrol Nissan Primera. Born from an old chassis and a nearly destroyed body.

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And my new favourite, a Calsonic Nissan Primera „Upgraded Special“, also self build from the ground up with luck (getting the wheels) and the help of Quincy to get the rare blue heat sink (best friends forever 😘).

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Oh, well and four more body sets (one is not in the picture, surprise 😉):

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The addiction is strong, so there is more to come 😅

 

 

 

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Here are my FFs:

FF-01, bearings and a steel pinion, otherwise stock:

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FF-02, oil shocks, bearings, steel pinion and turnbuckle track rods, otherwise stock:

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FF-03, chassis and most plastics replaced with carbon reinforced versions, alloy spur adapter, ballraced and shimmed steering and IFS rockers, threaded alloy shocks in muted gunmetal to keep the" sleeper" effect, otherwise stock:

2020-01-27_03-50-30

 

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6 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Thank you! I just actually saw a set in RCMart. Made by Yeah Racing. I think I'll go with that.

Make sure it is for frp chassis if you have frp chassis. The yeah racing one I saw was for the plastic tub. 
 

gpm make a separate set for plastic tub. It’s quite different. 

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2 hours ago, Juls1 said:

Make sure it is for frp chassis if you have frp chassis. The yeah racing one I saw was for the plastic tub. 
 

gpm make a separate set for plastic tub. It’s quite different. 

Oh I see. Thank you for that tip. I'm using FRP so I guess GPM it is. I hope it's not like the GPM aluminum steering set for CC-01 which was a waste of money. It was a total crap.

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6 hours ago, wtcc5 said:

Ok, then its time to introduce myself. Hello, my name is Kevin and I am addicted to FF-01 cars... 🥃

Part 1: It started a while ago with the the purchase of an FF-03. It got some Hop Ups and was raced hard in different forms:

 

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This beast reincarnated this year and is one of my best projects:

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If there's a TRF-FF, this is it.

I followed (and still do) the story of this beast which actually made me decide to get an FF-03 as my comeback kit to this hobby. A true inspiration. If I were one of the bosses in Tamiya, I'd definitely hire you as the chief design engineer and head of R&D. 

Fantastic work as always Kevin!

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27 minutes ago, Nicadraus said:

Oh I see. Thank you for that tip. I'm using FRP so I guess GPM it is. I hope it's not like the GPM aluminum steering set for CC-01 which was a waste of money. It was a total crap.

Yes gpm is very mediocre, some stuff is downright junk where other parts are “ok”. 
 

this steering set seems to be ok. Works fine. I cannot promise all the holes to be ok in the one you buy, but the ones I have are good. 
 

I know exactly what you mean about the cc01 steering set, it was junk, I had multiples of them, 1 out of 3 actually worked somewhat ok. And yes the yeah racing version of that is great. 

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Great thread @Nicadraus

No FF kit for me (yet, but no idea how I can swing one...) but that doesn't stop the research. It seems the FF04 Evo is the one to get though? Costs a lot more upfront but it will work out a lot cheaper right? Its a shame there are no FF03 Pro kits available, that would probably be the best compromise...until it ends up completely rebuilt with new parts except the shocks

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7 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Great thread @Nicadraus

No FF kit for me (yet, but no idea how I can swing one...) but that doesn't stop the research. It seems the FF04 Evo is the one to get though? Costs a lot more upfront but it will work out a lot cheaper right? Its a shame there are no FF03 Pro kits available, that would probably be the best compromise...until it ends up completely rebuilt with new parts except the shocks

Most ff03 hopups are still available, so it’s not a deal breaker to build one up. I can see what you looking at from a economic sense though. Not sure on ff04 parts but. 

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3 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Great thread @Nicadraus

No FF kit for me (yet, but no idea how I can swing one...) but that doesn't stop the research. It seems the FF04 Evo is the one to get though? Costs a lot more upfront but it will work out a lot cheaper right? Its a shame there are no FF03 Pro kits available, that would probably be the best compromise...until it ends up completely rebuilt with new parts except the shocks

There is a Pro. There's also FF-03R, which to me is the most essential if you don't like to go full carbon. Because the R has carbon reinforced plastic parts like the main chassis, suspension arms, gearbox and almost everything. Then it also comes CVD, gear diff, aluminum suspension blocks, aluminum spur gear adapter, and many other parts not found in the Pro version. My first two FF-03 kits were the Pro and stock. Then I was able to get another R with missing dampers and then I combined both, the reason mine became a "Pro-R" plus the other  carbon fiber and aluminum parts I have also installed. As much as I wanted a full carbon fiber kit like the EVO or the R upgrade, I decided not to because it's limited to a track-only car. I wanted these kits to be track capable and a street/parking lot basher at the same time so I can enjoy them on and off track.

But Kevin's FF-03 still haunts me. :lol:

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@Jonathon Gillham I think the FF-04 Evo would be great. Get the blue one because it comes with aluminum suspension mounts while the black edition don't and only uses plastic which is really weird. 

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