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Saito2

Thundershot series hinge pins/turn buckles/durabiltiy

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I have a Thunder Dragon on preorder that is destined to be a runner. Lacking the stockpile of spares that I have for my Hotshot series buggies, durability and longevity are priorities for this future build. Aside from the A5 upgrades/fixes, I'm focused on preserving the suspension arm mounts (and to a lesser degree, the knuckles/hub carriers. Should I replace the screw pins with hinge pins? From the looks of it, only the lower screw pins look easily substituted with e-clip hinge pins. At the rear, only the right rear upper could be replaced as the left rear upper goes into a blind hole. The front uppers replacement might be possible (left front upper=blind hole, right front upper=through hole) as they a trapped at the front by another part. Should I concern myself with replacing as many of the screw pins as possible for maximum longevity? Are there any hinge pin sets from Tamiya that might include useful sizes? My old Thundershot has splits in the mounts from the screw pins. Admittedly, this was not assembled with the "hot screw method" I use now, so that might alleviate the problem.(?)

Furthermore, would turnbuckles also be in order to relieve stress from the upper mounts in a collision? On one hand, the turnbuckles could pivot back in a wreck, saving the upper mounts. On the other hand, using the rigid upper links would spread the impact forces over both the upper and lower mounts, potentially aiding the lower mount's lifespan. Of course, this may act inversely toward the lifespan of the knuckles/hub carriers. At least the blue nylon arms are a bit more impact resistant compare to rock-hard ABS ones.

Durability and long term use (decades, if my other buggies are an indication, lol) are the goals, not performance. Any help from the T-shot experts appreciated. 

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Judging by how my Thundershot has survived Robin Hood Raceway meets and numerous postal races with no breakages, I would say that you are fine with the standard screw pins as long as they are inserted using the hot screw method, and the fixed length upper arms certainly don't do durability any harm either.

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https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=133367&id=2692

They can all be replaced, see my showroom thread, the most important ones to change are the upper mounts......

My original tshot restoration runner still has the screw pins, all sections are split but still going after 100+ hours

I like the solid upper arms because they are blue, even my terra rere I put the solid arms on!

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From my experience of thundershot running, the weak points on the front end are the hub carriers (Mine split where the drive shaft passes through), and the front hubs. That's using the solid top links, not turnbuckles.

 

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Where is Mud4fun?  He has like 10 of these cars.  I have only had one thundershot for like 30 years so what do I know.  But def A5 part and I inquired at shapeways the guy know as "thundershot pit stop" and he told me the metal A5 part and the metal front shock tower (from RCMart)and you are all set.  I would like to get a rear skid plate for this car since I do recall backing that little plastic cage into plenty of things BITD.  Surprisingly I had an extra on e in my stock pile, but how long will it last?

Here is my Metal mods from RCmart along with my new bumper 

lYNEAji.jpg

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Are there specific ar4as that need the hot screw method? I don't currently have a soldering iron but I do have an electric heat gun that can do the trick to heat up the screws. I got aluminum b8 and a aluminum a5 block, both having pins as mounting parts. i know the aluminum a5 could transfer some unneeded shock to the mounting points behind it in bigger impacts

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5 hours ago, nel33 said:

Are there specific ar4as that need the hot screw method?

I personally use it in a lot of areas. The main ones are holes that don't have a lot of material them and/or are subjected to impact stress frequently. The suspension arm screw pins on a Fox for example. Anything that initial screw insertion might start tiny fractures that over time, aided by impacts in use, would spread the cracks and lead to part failure. The Thundershot screw pin mounts always seem vulnerable in my personal experience too. I've seen them split over time with very little use. On the other hand, something like the gearbox case screws on a Hornet/Lunch Box never seem to crack as there is adequate material around the hole for the impacts it is subjected to. The multiple screws holding the gearbox together, the way the gearbox halves mate/interlock together and the type of impacts it sees must be below the threshold.

 

Thanks guys. I wondered about the hub carriers too. The entire suspension seem more spindly (though less wear prone) than the Hotshot series I'm familiar with but, as a whole, I don't hear a ton of durability complaints about the T-shot platform (aside from the A5). Perhaps those more resilient arms help. 

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6 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I personally use it in a lot of areas. The main ones are holes that don't have a lot of material them and/or are subjected to impact stress frequently. The suspension arm screw pins on a Fox for example. Anything that initial screw insertion might start tiny fractures that over time, aided by impacts in use, would spread the cracks and lead to part failure. The Thundershot screw pin mounts always seem vulnerable in my personal experience too. I've seen them split over time with very little use. On the other hand, something like the gearbox case screws on a Hornet/Lunch Box never seem to crack as there is adequate material around the hole for the impacts it is subjected to. The multiple screws holding the gearbox together, the way the gearbox halves mate/interlock together and the type of impacts it sees must be below the threshold.

 

Thanks guys. I wondered about the hub carriers too. The entire suspension seem more spindly (though less wear prone) than the Hotshot series I'm familiar with but, as a whole, I don't hear a ton of durability complaints about the T-shot platform (aside from the A5). Perhaps those more resilient arms help. 

Thank you for the reply, so suspension parts where the mounting holes are more vulnerable are a good example for that method, what about the bath tub mounts?

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7 hours ago, nel33 said:

what about the bath tub mounts?

lol, I'm probably the wrong person to ask as I hot screw probably far more than needed. Are you referring to the areas where the gearboxes screw to the tub? I'm not familiar enough with the Thundershot series over the long haul to make a judgement. I have seen the mounts split on the earlier Hotshot series, but typically only after many many years of (often vigorous) use.

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3 hours ago, Saito2 said:

lol, I'm probably the wrong person to ask as I hot screw probably far more than needed. Are you referring to the areas where the gearboxes screw to the tub? I'm not familiar enough with the Thundershot series over the long haul to make a judgement. I have seen the mounts split on the earlier Hotshot series, but typically only after many many years of (often vigorous) use.

ah you are erring onto the safe side, i can understand that. i think thats the area gearbox to tub,  atleast it takes a bit of abuse to get those to crack.

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