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Top force evo!!! Thunder dragon !!! 2021

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A superstock with a 13t pinion is what I have been using for years, tamiya motor has better torque than cheaper brands, get up to 50 hours before maintenance......

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21 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

LOL!  Maybe things are different in the UK, but here in the US, going from Tamiya to Kyosho is like going over the wall INTO East Berlin...

Terry

 

Never been a brand loyalist lol. Always had a mixture.

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9 hours ago, taffer said:

A superstock with a 13t pinion is what I have been using for years, tamiya motor has better torque than cheaper brands, get up to 50 hours before maintenance......

What speed can you get with super stock 13T? So far my fastest one is 2wd slash with stock gears ie 30 KMH. 15T motor is my first to get a bit more speed from a kit as I don't want to try crazy top speeds ie +60MPH or that sort. Anything from 40-50KMH is sufficient.

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I haven't got a GPS but I would guess 18mph unless anyone can be more specific?

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14 hours ago, nel33 said:

from what i understand the TD prefers slower speeds to be more controllable.

I think it can be quite subjective and depend where and how you drive etc.

It helps to start off gentle and get a feel for how a particular chassis handles a particular power level etc too. 

Not saying I'm an expert driver by any means but when I first got back into RC in 2016, I could barely handle a stock silver can and trying brushless out was pretty terrifying but over the years, I've learned to have a little more finesse, when to ease off and when to floor it etc. I find looser surfaces tend to help a great deal as well.

I think something like the TD will run happily enough on a circa 3000KV brushless if you're just a little careful. My Hotshot handles a similar motor just fine unless I try to throw it into corners on rough concrete or similar and then the wheels will catch in ruts and it will flip. On dirt and sand and fine gravel etc though, it's pretty manageable and lot's of fun.

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12 hours ago, nowinaminute said:

I think it can be quite subjective and depend where and how you drive etc.

It helps to start off gentle and get a feel for how a particular chassis handles a particular power level etc too. 

Not saying I'm an expert driver by any means but when I first got back into RC in 2016, I could barely handle a stock silver can and trying brushless out was pretty terrifying but over the years, I've learned to have a little more finesse, when to ease off and when to floor it etc. I find looser surfaces tend to help a great deal as well.

I think something like the TD will run happily enough on a circa 3000KV brushless if you're just a little careful. My Hotshot handles a similar motor just fine unless I try to throw it into corners on rough concrete or similar and then the wheels will catch in ruts and it will flip. On dirt and sand and fine gravel etc though, it's pretty manageable and lot's of fun.

i agree skill does play a big factor. the 2wd Slash was a learning curve after my stock TT02D which isnt that fast. its fast enough to be controllable  the 2 i have so far my not be speed demons but the balance of speed and handling are good.  getting used to driving the slash took a few lessons to handle it as i can now and learn its quirks. im sure the Tamiya buggies are going to be a learning curve to me also. i think it might be similar to the slash but the size difference will make it different.

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Just thought I would do a comparison with the evo and the evolution and the first thing that stood out was the size of the carbon weave it's a lot smaller on the evolution?

20210619_153606.jpg

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That looks like a non standard build evolution? No Ti screws and a few differences in mountings etc like in the steering mounting.

The plates though are better in the new one as you’d expect being newer carbon layup.

 

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2 hours ago, moffman said:

Just thought I would do a comparison with the evo and the evolution and the first thing that stood out was the size of the carbon weave it's a lot smaller on the evolution?

20210619_153606.jpg

I thought the original Evolution had an FRP chassis and shock towers rather than carbon fibre?

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Just now, legooolas said:

I thought the original Evolution had an FRP chassis and shock towers rather than carbon fibre?

Top Force = FRP

Top Force Evolution = Carbon Fibre chassis, FRP towers.

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8 hours ago, moffman said:

Just thought I would do a comparison with the evo and the evolution and the first thing that stood out was the size of the carbon weave it's a lot smaller on the evolution?

20210619_153606.jpg

Hmm, I hate to say it, and I hope I'm wrong, but that Evolution (original) actually looks like an FRP top plate, more black than grey and with white(ish) edges. That doesn't reconcile with the "Evolution" inscription though (although easy to print). The Evo at the top on the other hand looks original.

I've attached a close-up from one of my original TFE's, note the colour and the dark edges.

Edit: also the location of the inscriptions on yours is different to my original, yours are marginally longer and the font is taller... not a good sign.

Carbon Weave.jpg

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1 hour ago, djmcnz said:

Hmm, I hate to say it, and I hope I'm wrong, but that Evolution (original) actually looks like an FRP top plate, more black than grey and with white(ish) edges. That doesn't reconcile with the "Evolution" inscription though (although easy to print). The Evo at the top on the other hand looks original.

I've attached a close-up from one of my original TFE's, note the colour and the dark edges.

Edit: also the location of the inscriptions on yours is different to my original, yours are marginally longer and the font is taller... not a good sign.

Carbon Weave.jpg

The evolution on the bottom was bought about 10+ years ago as a box of bits and the top plate wasn't amongst the bits in the box also just had front hi-caps rear shocks were some other after market the top plate I bought I think off Ebay as a evolution top plate (took it with a pinch of salt if it was genuine after fitting it and I was different to the shock towers but as I only paid a few pounds for it I wasn't overly concerned! ) the whole thing as it was in the box it came in was a very well used top force that as far as I could tell was a evolution? diffs, ball connectors, orange rims, shock towers body which was in brilliant condition then you ask the question why is the chassis so rough but the body is so good but I rebuilt it as an evolution with the top plate the big question in my mind so its good to see someone has the same doubts and I don't really know what frp looks like? I'm thinking its what's on the original normal topforce chassis?

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20 minutes ago, moffman said:

...the top plate I bought I think off Ebay as a evolution top plate ... but as I only paid a few pounds for it I wasn't overly concerned! ...the big question in my mind so its good to see someone has the same doubts and I don't really know what frp looks like? I'm thinking its what's on the original normal topforce chassis?

Okay, that makes me feel better, I was concerned you might have been ripped off at full TFE prices... nobody ever sold that original top plate for cheap because it was simply unobtainium unless you had an original kit.

Yes, you're correct, standard Top Force had a FRP chassis (top and bottom) and no inscription.

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28 minutes ago, djmcnz said:

Okay, that makes me feel better, I was concerned you might have been ripped off at full TFE prices... nobody ever sold that original top plate for cheap because it was simply unobtainium unless you had an original kit.

Yes, you're correct, standard Top Force had a FRP chassis (top and bottom) and no inscription.

I have still spent an absolute fortune on it more than it will ever be worth but that was down to me and I don't regret a penny of it!😍  my idea when the evo was announced was to change all the dodgy stuff on my evolution for the re-release parts but thats gone by the wayside because of how scarce the evo kits are? Crazy prices at the moment for rc related parts🤯 I was looking at a old model car monthly magazine dating from 1986 on Ebay which I remember buying because It was building a boomerang and i was thinking of buying one back in the day so i put it on the watch list £17 it went for it's crazy!

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1 hour ago, moffman said:

I have still spent an absolute fortune on it more than it will ever be worth but that was down to me...

I did that with an Egress back in the day, sold it to a member here for pennies on the pound.

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Dammit, someone has done what I was going to try! Just to add insult to injury with the TD! 



1683427361_IGOTTHEUGLIESTBUGGYEVER_ITROCKS3-2screenshot.thumb.png.bf1b1cfb48e019ba96d790282ed02518.png



On the bright side. The Mad van is in my possession and it's a peach! I will post more about it soon.

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Just now, nowinaminute said:

Dammit, someone has done what I was going to try! Just to add insult to injury with the TD! 



1683427361_IGOTTHEUGLIESTBUGGYEVER_ITROCKS3-2screenshot.thumb.png.bf1b1cfb48e019ba96d790282ed02518.png



On the bright side. The Mad van is in my possession and it's a peach! I will post more about it soon.

That mad van looks absolutely brilliant👍I am so tempted but it's just not my thing but i can definitely see why that's going to be a popular truck my local hobby shop had a few in and sold them almost instantly!

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11 hours ago, djmcnz said:

I did that with an Egress back in the day, sold it to a member here for pennies on the pound.

You did it with an egress that's gut wrenching! I did it with an rc10 gold chassis built it with all the good stuff in it and literally got peanuts for it on Ebay (I think just over £100) my evolution I don't intend selling it so it doesn't concern me to much although I'm not spending any thing on it anymore!

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1 hour ago, nowinaminute said:

Dammit, someone has done what I was going to try! Just to add insult to injury with the TD! 



1683427361_IGOTTHEUGLIESTBUGGYEVER_ITROCKS3-2screenshot.thumb.png.bf1b1cfb48e019ba96d790282ed02518.png



On the bright side. The Mad van is in my possession and it's a peach! I will post more about it soon.

i dont know if thats amazing or gut wrenching... its a cool mod but sending it down a set of stairs is asking for trouble... im not the biggest fan of the yellow lunchbox rims but i got no wheel to roll on either. my TD Sprinter buggy tires are going to be mounted on florescent yellow rims. the supplied cactus spike tires will still be used but they arent good for pavement.

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On 6/12/2021 at 6:56 PM, nel33 said:

good vid, i dont usually think much of unboxing vids in general but its very useful to see what parts are in the RC kits. funny enough, i had a song by Dragonforce playing when i was watching the vid.  how do the plastic gears look like on the TD? i know the fire dragon and scorcher had some work needed to get rid of mould defects. the teeth werent perfectly clear cut and had small bumps causing a clicking noise. did these issues continue with the TD?

So that's why mine was clicking, I just finished it and ran it today. I probably should have taken a closer look at the gears! 

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20 minutes ago, Glowingtomato said:

So that's why mine was clicking, I just finished it and ran it today. I probably should have taken a closer look at the gears! 

glad that helped you out, other members here did that already and im getting ready to do the same when my TD comes in 1-2 weeks.

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On 6/21/2021 at 12:13 AM, moffman said:

Just thought I would do a comparison with the evo and the evolution and the first thing that stood out was the size of the carbon weave it's a lot smaller on the evolution?

20210619_153606.jpg

Looks ace, as per usual @moffman!

As you've got them all built (I think): is there a huge differences in ground clearance between the TFE, Egress, Vanquish, Terra Scorcher, Cat XLS? I'm trying to decide which to build next and due to the state of my homemade track I'm thinking the more ground clearance the better. 

 

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Well the van turned up!

I'm pleased on first impressions. The drive train on this brushless version has been beefed up a lot. All metal gears and the optional metal drive shaft is now standard. Build quality seems nice, hex hardware everywhere even for the tapping screws. Bearings throughout of course and foams in the tyres. Transmission is pretty noisy but you tend to get that with metal gears. The tube style driveshaft adds some noise too just like in something like a Slash 4x4.

The body is beautiful. Just imagine some of those nicer Tamiya shells that utilise moulded hard plastic parts for detailed areas like the grille like the Defender and you'll be in the right ballpark. Only downside is it has a chunk cut out at the back for the wheelie bar but it really needs it so a necessary evil.

It's not recommended for 3s which sounds like a bit of a downer at first if you're a speed demon but the motor is 4000KV whereas a lot of 3s 1/10 vehicles are closer to 3000KV so it rips much better than you'd expect on 2s. The throttle is very sensitive and feels a little all or nothing, will try and tweak the esc a little. The diffs aren't sealed and are pretty loose which can cause issues on loose dirt, it can be tough to keep it in a straight line sometimes. It's not very expensive to upgrade to the 4 gear diffs that can hold oil if you get the parts for Plaza though so I think I might do that when I have some spare cash.

Luckily, I managed to get a brushed edition shell for cheap so I have been using that for now. I have a dilemma though because it doesn't have the cut out at the back for the wheelie bar. I took the bar off for now but I know I will need it for anywhere other than on loose ground so I might have to cut a chunk out of the back of that shell too! The stock shell is so pretty, I think I might keep it for mostly shelf queen duties with the occasional beach run unless/until I can get a spare for a good price. The spares seem to be about the same RRP as the brushed version at just under £50 which makes it better value than the older body but still pretty pricey. I managed to get my spare shell when the seller was included in one of ebays 25% off deals and added in a nectar voucher and it came to about £20. Hopefully I can get the new version shell for a similar price at some point.
 

 

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3 hours ago, Robert5000 said:

Looks ace, as per usual @moffman!

As you've got them all built (I think): is there a huge differences in ground clearance between the TFE, Egress, Vanquish, Terra Scorcher, Cat XLS? I'm trying to decide which to build next and due to the state of my homemade track I'm thinking the more ground clearance the better. 

 

Oh you got me there I'm not sure about ground clearance? But just on pure looks alone (not scientific) I would say the cat xls has the biggest ground clearance? Its definitely got the best shock/suspension travel! Then I would say the topforce evo but that has a lot stiffer springs straight from the kit, I've said this before the topforce evo instructions tell you to use the spacers for different shock rates which is a pretty crude way of suspension settings in my opinion but it has the adjustable collars in the kit but not the screws that fit into the collars so I use my own screws i had and they are much better in my opinion?.....strange why they don't use the collars or even mention them🤔

20210622_095038.jpg

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Thanks! @moffman Guess this is an extra incentive to finish the Cat XLS. I've bought the Hotshot ball connectors that you suggested, so hopefully it'll be a scaleable mountain from here on out :)  

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