TT01....I know, I’m sorry!

[Paynec81 45]

So like a lot of people starting out I have got myself a TT01E kit. I had a frog back when I was a kid but that was built and maintained largely by my Dad! I tried to get my son into the hobby a a few years back but was lazy and got a re re rtr hornet....he wasn’t overly bothered and it went back in the cupboard after a few months. Now he is really into it and we have tinkered and upgraded the hornet. So I finally decided to actually buy a kit and build it so we can go out together. Enter the TT01.

I know threads like this go back as far as time itself it seems and I have read most of them and fallen into the trap of most and spent a LOT on hop ups! I know it’s a waste and I could of spent the money on a better chassis etc etc but I figure a lot of the money expensive parts I can relocate to my next build. But I wanted my TT01 to be the best it could be! Also want to stick with brushed for this one. So the parts I have got are:

Bearings, Tamiya TRF shocks, Tamiya universal shaft (front only), Tamiya shaft/diff cups, Alu prop shaft, alu steering set, hobbywing 1060 esc, savox hv digital servo, tamiya super stock rz, alu motor mount, alu bumper stopper, alu wheel adaptor, noble nb4 transmitter, lots of tyres and various other odds and sods, you know just to spend money in lockdown!

I think that’s about it! Other than spending far to much, I just wanted people’s opinion on if there is anything else I should consider? Also should I change the pinion from stock? I got a set with a 17 & 18t but not sure if it’s needed for better performance?

sorry that was a long post and I know the subject is well trodden but happy to be part of the community! 😊

 

 

[MICHAELs TopForce17 586]

Get a steel pinion from Robinson racing the tamiya pinion are mostly aluminum which you dont want. I dont have a tt01e but the chassis looks great!

[wtcc5 4885]

Of course it makes often no sense to buy HopUp parts for plastic tub chassis. But it is your money, your choice and a lot of fun.

So no need to say sorry. Have your fun and share it here with us if you want. I for myself am looking forward to your build as I just recently bought my first TT-01 and don’t know the details to look at at the build.

[Busdriver 6209]

Pictures we need pictures!!! And yes steel pinion as a basic must have. What body are you going to put on it?

[Paynec81 45]

The kit comes with the Mercedes 190E Debis body. I will make sure I record the build with pictures etc as I go if people are interested to see. Annoyingly I have EVERYTHING ready to go except the chassis kit itself as it seems there is an issue at present with the supply chain due to the current lockdown situation. Stock is expected 19th Jan so fingers crossed. This is a pic of all the bits and the awesome double tray carry bag I got for mine and boys cars...actually just got in from wizzing the hornet around the local car park

[Paynec81 45]

[Paynec81 45]

[Pri5tt01e 2]

Hi, I just “finished” my build of a TT01e Mercedes CLK-GTR (not started the shell yet)

im running the following with steel bearings fitted:

540 Torque Tuned Motor

TBLE-02 S ESC

Core RC 4012 Servo (4Kg)

Hop ups I’m fitting this week:

aluminum prop shaft

Spur/ pinion 55/25

one issue I have and is heavily reported is getting the car to go straight!!!

iv bashes it hard a few times so I have reset the servo to nutrual and aligned the wheels but still no luck, adjusting the trim does nothing! Thinking about changing their servo? Or hop up to aluminum front arms? Would any of this help?  
 

so much fun building my first kit. 
I need lots of practice driving it and I’m scared to put on the shell.. I have been looking at cheap prepainted alternatives while I improve my driving. I have also see dust protectors shells which seem like a good/cheap option. 

[Paynec81 45]

Don’t be scared of the shell, just take your time and have fun with it....I think that’s all one colour right (silver)? You will be fine. That said That’s the part I least enjoy. With regards to the steering I’m very inexperienced compared to the wealth on here so sure someone will have some advice! I assume nothing is bent/snapped? I have got an aluminium steering set not sure if this will help or if there are known issues with steering on the TT01...

[Pri5tt01e 2]

1 hour ago, Paynec81 said:

Don’t be scared of the shell, just take your time and have fun with it....I think that’s all one colour right (silver)? You will be fine. That said That’s the part I least enjoy. With regards to the steering I’m very inexperienced compared to the wealth on here so sure someone will have some advice! I assume nothing is bent/snapped? I have got an aluminium steering set not sure if this will help or if there are known issues with steering on the TT01...

I’m not worried about paining or or decals more the fact I will crash it on the first run and crack it lol. I want to keep the original shell in mint condition. I just ordered this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-TT01-Rally-Cross-Car-Dust-Cover-Carbon-Effect-Plastic-Kamtec-TT01-11-99-/313315076454?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

with all the reading I have done with the tt01 I beleive the steering is a know and well confirmed issue. I don’t think there is ONE answer but a upgraded servo and aluminum arms do help... apparently..that’s my next project I think. 
 

I also want to understand how you would go about doing a lipo conversion... want some more speed 

[Paynec81 45]

Yep I got a mechanical servo and I have the TT01E chassis with an alu steering kit as I say so hopefully no steering issues! Well you are running a torque tuned motor so have a lot more options for more speed before going to lipo? Or is brushless/lipo setup the end game? Trying to keep mine fairly old school. Going to save brushless/lipo until I get me a trf chassis.....but I’m getting ahead of myself haha

[Paynec81 45]

Yep I got a mechanical servo and I have the TT01E chassis with an alu steering kit as I say so hopefully no steering issues! Well you are running a torque tuned motor so have a lot more options for more speed before going to lipo? Or is brushless/lipo setup the end game? Trying to keep mine fairly old school. Going to save brushless/lipo until I get me a trf chassis.....but I’m getting ahead of myself haha 

[Pri5tt01e 2]

1 hour ago, Paynec81 said:

Yep I got a mechanical servo and I have the TT01E chassis with an alu steering kit as I say so hopefully no steering issues! Well you are running a torque tuned motor so have a lot more options for more speed before going to lipo? Or is brushless/lipo setup the end game? Trying to keep mine fairly old school. Going to save brushless/lipo until I get me a trf chassis.....but I’m getting ahead of myself haha 

What are my other speed options before lipo / brushless? 
 

I thought the above hopups are it really for speed and smoothness 

[Paynec81 45]

If you are using the ESC that came with it; it will be the TBLE02 which can handle a 23T motor. The torque tuned is a 25T motor that is only faster than the 540 silver can. So you you can keep that esc and get the tamiya sport tuned that would be faster or get a cheap esc that can handle a faster motor. I got a hobbywing 1060 esc that I am going to run the 23t super stock RZ but you can go down to a 19t motor on that esc all of these motor options will be much faster than the torque tuned

[Paynec81 45]

Still a complete novice on forums and not sure how to reply directly to your posts haha the hobbywing esc was £15

[Paynec81 45]

Could also upgrade the diffs and shafts which will make it smoother and potentially a bit quicker 

[Paynec81 45]

Ok that was pretty horrendous! Haha. Just finished my first build of the TT01 and lots went wrong. Also learnt a lot....the main thing being next time don’t rush to finish in one evening. Do a bit at a time and enjoy it! Still need to tidy up the wiring but having a servo issue. When I turn it on it just pulls all the way over to the right? Set it to digital on the transmitter (nb4) can’t see where else to configure this or if I’ve done something stupid??

[Paynec81 45]

[Pri5tt01e 2]

yes I read somewhere about taking your time. Doing in 2-3 stages. It was a lot more fun and that way I took my time. 

Haha I did warn you about the streetlights isssues!!! Iv taken the front apart 3 time still can’t get it right, have you tried:

1. Making sure all the trims on the TR are set accordingly. One thing i did was when I reset the servo to nutral (point 2) I made sure the TR trims were all set to centre. 

2. check servo horn and reset to nutral 

3. you have a turn control on the TR (forgot the technical name for it) but again make sure that set correctly.

have you tried seeing what happens to the servo and servo horn when u turn the power on when it’s not plugged into the car. Does the horn still move in the wrong direction? 
 

I might be way off, these were my 3-4 basic steps...

[Paynec81 45]

Ok so steering is slightly different in the TT01E so it doesn’t suffer from the steering slop. I basically took out the servo and took off the servo horn. Turned on the TX and RX, put everything back to default and put the horn back on in the center. Rookie mistake should of centered/trimmed the servo install. Gonna go back to the steering today and see if I can get these yeah racing turnbuckles to actually screw together today!!

[Paynec81 45]

Went back this morning and fixed the steering issues (thanks everyone e) tidied up the wiring and had another go at fitting the yeah racing steering set which went on ok today...I am pretty happy with it

[Pri5tt01e 2]

Nice!! I think I need to upgrade my servo. Let us know how u get on with it. 

[TurnipJF 9192]

Great to see the TT-01 still getting so much appreciation. I think they are great chassis to drive and tinker with, since nothing really costs a great deal (well, the stock parts don't) so you don't need to be too precious with them. I have three, all 13.5t brushless powered, one set up for track use, one for rally and one for drift. This is my track one:

 

It wears the Petronas Mercedes shell when on the shelf:

 

But for the track it prefers an expendable race blob:

 

Hop-ups are pretty much as seen - the only ones not visible are the alloy motor mount, steel pinion, 55t spur, bearings (obviously) and alloy wheel hexes. Visible but perhaps not so noticeable are the fibre reinforced toe in rear hubs which significantly improve straight line stability. 

[Carmine A 2046]

@TurnipJF is a Man who's built MANY Tamiya Kits!! I'd say quite a bit more than me, but have never counted... 

The TT-01 and TT-02 are often dismissed as being "starter Cars"... But they're still quite viable, used in several classes of Racing, and both have an absolute plethora of Hopup parts available!! 👍👍 

That said - the bog standard Steering on BOTH of them is JUNK! You'll never have any level of satisfying control, until you replace the whole thing!! 

Aluminum Ball Raced Steering Bellcrank Kit (some call that section a "Bridge"🌉). Turnbuckles with tight Ball Ends. Aluminum Low Friction Ball Joints.  And even Aluminum Upper and Lower Arms with good, low Friction Bushings (if budget allows) 

Adding 2-3 degrees of Toe-In on the Rear Wheels dramatically improves stability and Cornering!! You can usually get that just by getting Aluminum Rear Hubs. 

Genuine Tamiya parts - good, but expensive. 

Yeah Racing and 3Racing - 98% of the time, JUST as good, considerably less money! 😉 

STAY AWAY from Jazrider and other cheap Chinese Knockoffs! You WON'T save any money in the long run, and can potentially make it WORSE!  I'm fairly certain that I'm not the only one who learned that the hard way! 😖

OH, and if you're still running the stock PLASTIC Bushings - none of the above suggestions will show much of any improvement. 

AND, don't forget to add OIL SHOCKS!! 😊  Noticeable difference in Handling. Again, Yeah Racing or 3Racing Aluminum Shocks are more than up to the task. If you want the best possible - Tamiya TRF Shocks... But prepare to spend almost $100.00 for a set!!  The other two are between $20 and $30.

Fortunately, on here, there's plenty of Experience that you two can draw from. Most of us enjoy helping!! 😉

[Paynec81 45]

@Carmine A got the yeah racing alu steering with turnbuckles....they were a basta*d to get on but pleased with the results! TRF fluorine coated shocks and a LOT of other hop ups (see original post for list). Painted the shell today and looking for the next project! My son has outgrown his hornet and initially wanted to go for a hotshot for him next...but after some reading I think it might be better to put a bit extra ££ in and get the super hotshot...or is there a better 4wd buggy in the £200-£250 range (sorry bit of a change of topic) 😆 After that I am looking at the egress rere for myself...