Tizer 604 Posted August 20, 2020 Here's a quick look at a few of my FF's. I have a couple more but no good pictures. FF01 with HPI tub, white arms and some other upgrades M03 with transparant clear chassis and lots of Tech Racing options M05 with blue plated chassis and plenty of Tamiya options Next to that I have two more FF01's (one stock and another with HPI carbon fibre decks), a M03 for racing, two M01's (one with green chassis, other with Tech Racing bulkheads) and a 3Racing Sakura D3 converted to FWD racer. 6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 20, 2020 29 minutes ago, Tizer said: Here's a quick look at a few of my FF's. I have a couple more but no good pictures. FF01 with HPI tub, white arms and some other upgrades Next to that I have two more FF01's (one stock and another with HPI carbon fibre decks) I'd like to see that FF-01 with HPI carbon chassis. I'm intrigued. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alexei 525 Posted August 23, 2020 On 8/19/2020 at 8:00 PM, Nicadraus said: As promised, here's a video I just edited with highlights of the FF-03RR running on both dirt and on-road track. In the rally, I was racing against XV-01 kits. At the on-road, there were XV-01, TA-05, TA-06 and TT-02 kits. thats a rather majestic 'move' the Lancia does at 1:38 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4595 Posted August 24, 2020 What diff oil are people running in these? I hope you say 1M as thats all I have, other than much much lower. I have everything together except a body now. Going to run an old Speed Passion 21.5T to start, a SkyRC TS160 (I have one which is for my sons D413, but have ordered TS120 as well) and an SPT servo. I may need the XV01 swaybars, and alloy suspension blocks yet, but will run it as per the kit first. Will hopefully start the build this week, as long as I can find time in the evenings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carmine A 2046 Posted August 24, 2020 50 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said: What diff oil are people running in these? I hope you say 1M as thats all I have, other than much much lower. I have everything together except a body now. Going to run an old Speed Passion 21.5T to start, a SkyRC TS160 (I have one which is for my sons D413, but have ordered TS120 as well) and an SPT servo. I may need the XV01 swaybars, and alloy suspension blocks yet, but will run it as per the kit first. Will hopefully start the build this week, as long as I can find time in the evenings ...... Still waiting my turn to get one, but typical TC Oil Diffs run 2500 - 6000 in the Rear, and 6000 - 10,000 in the Front. This combination usually keeps the Rear in check during high speed curves. I'm sure someone with FF Tuning experience will chime in. 😉 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 24, 2020 5 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said: What diff oil are people running in these? I hope you say 1M as thats all I have, other than much much lower. I have everything together except a body now. Going to run an old Speed Passion 21.5T to start, a SkyRC TS160 (I have one which is for my sons D413, but have ordered TS120 as well) and an SPT servo. I may need the XV01 swaybars, and alloy suspension blocks yet, but will run it as per the kit first. Will hopefully start the build this week, as long as I can find time in the evenings I'm using 30k oil in my diff for the Pro-R. But will eventually change it to a stiffer one. Will test 100k and 300k. Meanwhile in my RR, I'm using AWG for the ball diff and performs like 30k oil in a gear diff. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Carmine A said: ...... Still waiting my turn to get one, but typical TC Oil Diffs run 2500 - 6000 in the Rear, and 6000 - 10,000 in the Front. This combination usually keeps the Rear in check during high speed curves. I'm sure someone with FF Tuning experience will chime in. 😉 I have tried 10k oil but it's no good for track use. Although as I mentioned in my post above that I'm currently using 30k, it still needs to be stiffer for track use. But for bashing on a parking lot/street, it's ok. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7779 Posted August 24, 2020 7 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said: What diff oil are people running in these? I hope you say 1M as thats all I have, other than much much lower. I have everything together except a body now. Going to run an old Speed Passion 21.5T to start, a SkyRC TS160 (I have one which is for my sons D413, but have ordered TS120 as well) and an SPT servo. I may need the XV01 swaybars, and alloy suspension blocks yet, but will run it as per the kit first. Will hopefully start the build this week, as long as I can find time in the evenings I am running 300k in mine and it seems good, but i haven't tried anything else. I would try putting just a couple of dabs of 1mill oil in your diff rather than filling it completely. That should give it a fairly stiff diff action without locking it up completely. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4595 Posted August 24, 2020 Thanks for the responses, I think the kit comes with 100k so maybe a combination of that and 1m. I had a read through the RCTech thread and it seems 300k - 1m is the way to go for track use. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carmine A 2046 Posted August 25, 2020 .... Actually, those are numbers I'm more used to. I haven't used an Oil Filled Diff for Racing yet. On any level. I use them often in Comp Crawling - in a Stock, Scale Class. Now, 99% of Comp Crawlers have LOCKED Diffs, Front and Rear.... THIS Comp has very sharp, Technical Curves, some on Angles. Double Locked Diffs would just cause the Rig to skip and slide. The hardest part is finding OPEN Diffs for these Rigs!!! 😖 SCX10 II and III have such SMALL Diffs, there's NO room for a Geared Diff!! Element Sendero, MST, Vaterra, RC4WD.... and the Korean Knockoffs - all have similar small Pumpkin Diffs. There are really ONLY TWO Axles that can accomplish our needs. * First is TRAXXASS TRX-4, with REMOTE LOCKS!! VERY Expensive. Can be built with Portals or not. Prize Feature - Servo controlled, Remote locking/unlocking Differentials - from the REMOTE Transmitter!!! 😎👍👍 Only Disadvantage, that's your only option. Axles: $120-150 each. Servos: $40 per pair. Also requires a 4 Channel Radio to operate all functions. The other, Axial SCX10 One Axles. Cheap as Chips! Simple, with MANY upgrade Parts. When the AX10, followed by the SCX10 first came out - they had OPEN DIFFS. This still shocks People in the RC Crawler Community!! 😜 What's more, all Steel Gears. The rebuild Kits are STILL readily available, for LESS than $25.00!! The Outputs are sealed with O-Rings, and the Diff Gear Case itself is sealed to the Ring Gear with a Gasket. It may not be Shift on the Fly.... But it IS Cheap, STRONG and very easy to work on, and infinitely Tunable with a variety of Oils!! 😉 It is also ADAPTABLE to the other Trucks! With very little effort. Diff Oil selection is the opposite of On-Road Cars - and MUCH Thicker!! 🛢 On average, 500k to 1M in the Rear - 120K to 250K in Front. The Rear you want as close to Locked as possible. The Front, not as much... For tight Turns in a tall, heavy Rig, you WANT Both Front Wheels pulling about equally. However, one Front Wheel HAS to be permitted to spin a little faster than the other. That was the whole reason for the Invention of the Differential around 1817, in France. The Wheel on the outside of an Arc, will always spin FASTER than the inside Wheel, because it has considerably MORE distance to travel - in the exact same Time Frame. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
berman 5315 Posted August 25, 2020 Probably something I should search for, but what size balls does the TA03 diff use? 2.5mm or 3mm? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4595 Posted August 25, 2020 Finished bag A today of the FF04. Went with 1M oil as the first step is build the diff and thats all I had. Tried to half full it but that didn't work. The diff is really stiff but should be ok once it wears in a bit. The kit goes together like you would expect. May get to bag B tonight, that will take quite a while as its the front end including making DCJs which take me forever. Mostly its checking, double checking, triple checking then starting again trying to get the rotation right. Is the FF04 Evo a TRF kit, or not quite? To me it looks like its a TRF in all but name 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7779 Posted August 25, 2020 @Jonathon Gillham The EVO spec FFs are TRF spec really. Carbon chassis, aluminium bulkheads, TRF suspension, alloy damper, carbon towers. Skightly odd omission of alloy suspension blocks and sway bars leaves them just slightly short of the top drawer though. I suspect they called them EVO in the same way the shaft drive cars EVO chassis are effectively TRF - eg TB05 effective TRF version is TB EVO VII. Possibly because they use the tub chassis drivetrain rather than bespoke they don't get to be full TRF? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4595 Posted August 25, 2020 1 hour ago, ThunderDragonCy said: @Jonathon Gillham The EVO spec FFs are TRF spec really. Carbon chassis, aluminium bulkheads, TRF suspension, alloy damper, carbon towers. Skightly odd omission of alloy suspension blocks and sway bars leaves them just slightly short of the top drawer though. I suspect they called them EVO in the same way the shaft drive cars EVO chassis are effectively TRF - eg TB05 effective TRF version is TB EVO VII. Possibly because they use the tub chassis drivetrain rather than bespoke they don't get to be full TRF? Yeah true, the FF04 is a bit of an oddball with XV01 stuff in it. Reading further it sounds like there are a few compromises (eg the 418 arms aren't ideal) but most people rate them. The alloy suspension annoys me. The included plastic ones are much harder than the ones in the TA07, but it should have had alloy. It doesn't use the split ones either, I'm not sure if I should get split or just 4 like the kit ones. Have you tried the Yeah Racing ones? Any good? About USD10 vs USD40 for Tamiya. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carmine A 2046 Posted August 25, 2020 .... I hope it at least comes with proper Ball Bearings. 😁 I've never seen any part of the FF-04!! I hope I can soon. I've seen small pictures, and heard from others that it's quite different from the first 3... Sorry to BORE You Guys with the LONG Differential History Lesson and Technical discussion on its. MAYBE it could help someone, down the road. As far as Oil Tuning on Fast Road Cars - I'm still mostly a Novice! 😖😉 Crawlers are a LOT easier to Dial In the Suspension! These will definitely be more fun to Tune Up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderDragonCy 7779 Posted August 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Jonathon Gillham said: Yeah true, the FF04 is a bit of an oddball with XV01 stuff in it. Reading further it sounds like there are a few compromises (eg the 418 arms aren't ideal) but most people rate them. The alloy suspension annoys me. The included plastic ones are much harder than the ones in the TA07, but it should have had alloy. It doesn't use the split ones either, I'm not sure if I should get split or just 4 like the kit ones. Have you tried the Yeah Racing ones? Any good? About USD10 vs USD40 for Tamiya. I hve mostly the yeah racing ones for exactly that reason, and they are great. And using the solid ones throughout is usual on these. They have no drivetrain to avoid like the belt cars. That said i would be worth paying a bit more for 1 set of the new Tamiya adjustable blocks per end in my opinion. That way you can easily adjust toe (rear) and sweep (front) without buying loads of extra solid blocks. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 25, 2020 4 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said: Yeah true, the FF04 is a bit of an oddball with XV01 stuff in it. Reading further it sounds like there are a few compromises (eg the 418 arms aren't ideal) but most people rate them. The alloy suspension annoys me. The included plastic ones are much harder than the ones in the TA07, but it should have had alloy. It doesn't use the split ones either, I'm not sure if I should get split or just 4 like the kit ones. Have you tried the Yeah Racing ones? Any good? About USD10 vs USD40 for Tamiya. The YR suspension mounts are great. I'm using the Tamiya while I installed the YR on my friend's XV. I see no difference and performs just as equal for quarter of the price. I'd suggest getting the separate mounts for FR & RF. https://www.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-suspension-mounts-aluminum-bu-1d-1xd-separated-for-trf417-ta05-ta05ifs-ta05-ver2-ta06-trf417-019-1d-1xd-00034901 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woppini 51 Posted August 26, 2020 Looking forward to this build. Not a bad price either direct from tamiya with free shipping. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 26, 2020 10 hours ago, woppini said: Looking forward to this build. Not a bad price either direct from tamiya with free shipping. Congrats! Enjoy and don't hesitate to ask questions. We'd be glad to help//guide you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 26, 2020 @Jonathon Gillham any pics of the FF-04 build? I'm pretty excited to see it with build pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4595 Posted August 26, 2020 4 hours ago, Nicadraus said: @Jonathon Gillham any pics of the FF-04 build? I'm pretty excited to see it with build pics. Unfortunately I didn't take pics of the build, I started with some but then forgot as I carried on. Its now complete, just waiting on electronics. It went together really well as expected, with the glaring ommission of alloy suspension mounts and swaybars. Room is a bit tight at the front end, the spur cover touches the shock, the motor wires will be a tight fit under the shock tower on the other side. I also need to sort out how to mount the battery, I'm not so keen on using tape, I'll see if i can copy what the RS7 came with, that should work. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beefmuffin 1156 Posted August 26, 2020 I picked up an FF01 New Beetle a few years back but instead of restoring it as original I decided to run it and use a Nissan 350Z body... which I think is pretty sexy. The body I used is actually made by HPI but is a perfect fit for the chassis with some custom body mount holes drilled. Wheelbase is a good fit. Here is my showroom entry for it and have added some pics below. It's fast and a lot of fun! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6131 Posted August 27, 2020 Some updated info on universal shafts... The Sakura D3 universal steel shaft is a perfect fit in the FF-03. Stock upper, universal lower Fits perfectly without any adjustments That's a lot of savings because this set only costs $11. I ran the car today and no issues at all. Cornering is smooth and no binding. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carmine A 2046 Posted August 27, 2020 @Nicadraus THAT'S something I need to remember! Nice cost saving tip. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisRx718 4464 Posted August 27, 2020 8 hours ago, Nicadraus said: Some updated info on universal shafts... The Sakura D3 universal steel shaft is a perfect fit Could you have not advised that about 24 hours ago? Just checked out on some small parts from RCJaz and I could have thrown them in my basket!! They have just emailed me to let me know one of the items I ordered was out of stock, so would I like store credit... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites