Jump to content
Toad16v

Toad16v's XV01 build

Recommended Posts

After realising I actually really like driving road cars, and that they suit what I actually do with the cars, I wanted another on road chassis. I thought about a few options, and asked on here and it became apparent that the XV01 would best suit me right now, so I bought one. The Lancia is a classic car, bit the idea of all the stickering put me off, so I bought the Subaru shell version.

I should have started off taking more photos, but my neighbour has Covid and they spend a lot of time in their garden, I work on the car in the conservatory and I worry that the NHS app will ping me if my phone is with me. I'll take more photos from now on.

I bought some of the reccomended hop ups prior to getting the kits, aluminium suspension mounts, low friction balls and the thread forming tap.

Started with the diffs as per the manual, I bought some 30000cst oil for the front after doing some reading, and the standard kit oil for the rear. Probably put a bit too much in each diff, but I imagine the levels will drop in time. I bought a little tub of green slime to lubricate the o-rings and output shafts and hopefully provide a better sealing effect and reduce wear between the shaft and diff housing. Arguably the green slime could attract dust and grit, but I believe the diff oil leaching out along the shafts would have the same effect eventually.

Fitted the shafts to the front gearbox and screwed it together. Not overly happy about how the two halves fitted together. They didn't seem as perfectly square as I had hoped. But by the time the motor mount screws were in it all seemed tight, and everything spins freely.

The front diff is tighter than I expected before I saw how thick the oil was, but it'll hopefully work well on tarmac.

Will build this one slowly and enjoy fiddling with it as I go.

Fitting an smd 21t brushed motor, I've got a couple of others and I'm quite happy with them.

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a little surprised by the float in the shafts for the spur gear and the belt pulley given all the spacers, but I presume this is normal.

Also, not overtly happy with part JJ11. I don't think the screws engage far enough into it, and they don't feel quite right. If that makes sense. Are there upgrades for it?

 

Screenshot_20210724-113819_Drive.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Part JJ11: The "do not overtighten" warning in the manual is there for a reason in this step. You have to be really careful with the screws going into this part. Just a little bit too much force and there is not much thread material left. I learned this the hard way myself. :(

Upgrade options: The aluminum part for FF-03 (54234) fits but is out of stock everywhere. The part I am using since ruining the stock part (actually I ruined just one of the four threads and even there the screw still held the spur gear but I could not live with the thought of having a less than 100% perfect thread in my car ;)) is from the carbon-reinforced JJ parts (54445). The material of this version is harder so you can get away with being less careful.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

Part JJ11: The "do not overtighten" warning in the manual is there for a reason in this step. You have to be really careful with the screws going into this part. Just a little bit too much force and there is not much thread material left. I learned this the hard way myself. :(

Upgrade options: The aluminum part for FF-03 (54234) fits but is out of stock everywhere. The part I am using since ruining the stock part (actually I ruined just one of the four threads and even there the screw still held the spur gear but I could not live with the thought of having a less than 100% perfect thread in my car ;)) is from the carbon-reinforced JJ parts (54445). The material of this version is harder so you can get away with being less careful.

Thank you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Rear gearbox is done short of fitting the belt tensioner to it. 

Spent more time on this one pre-tapping holes immediately after cutting the parts out, which I think helped a lot.

Ordered a carbon reinforced J/JJ parts tree, plus front universal shafts and some more springs. Cos I needed to make the most of the shipping...

20210724_153940

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, FuzzyFlynn said:

Part JJ11: The "do not overtighten" warning in the manual is there for a reason in this step. You have to be really careful with the screws going into this part. Just a little bit too much force and there is not much thread material left. I learned this the hard way myself. :(

Upgrade options: The aluminum part for FF-03 (54234) fits but is out of stock everywhere. The part I am using since ruining the stock part (actually I ruined just one of the four threads and even there the screw still held the spur gear but I could not live with the thought of having a less than 100% perfect thread in my car ;)) is from the carbon-reinforced JJ parts (54445). The material of this version is harder so you can get away with being less careful.

Another alternative upgrade option would be to add the slipper clutch set for XV01 (54378)

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

+1 on the slipper. If you can't find the Tamiya set, you can fit an associated or Losi slipper. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the high-speed gearset for the tt-02 is the same spur mount as the FF-03 and XV-01? 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This brings back good memories of my XV-01T build, it was very satisfying. I went a bit hop-up mad on mine, slipper clutch included.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've continued with a few bits today, slowly working through a few stages at a sitting, enjoying the different elements and slightly more complex build than with other cars. I'm currently at the stage where the front gearbox can be dropped in and properly attached. 

I've learned a few more lessons during this. I was sceptical about tapping holes, but I'm enjoying it more and am feeling it is worthwhile. I need to slow down and look at the instructions a bit more. These plastics generally feel nicer than many of the other kits. Using a combination of tools, the turnbuckles can be fairly simple to put together.

Firstly I took the t bar out of my tap to make it a bit easier tapping holesas there really isn't any torque involved.

20210725_173151

I finished the rear gearbox with the belt tensioner, noticed that when I nipped the plain nut up to start with one of the bearings wouldn't spin, so cracked it off and did the nylock up tight and everything seemed happy.

20210725_121804

Then set about the steering posts and rear front suspension mounts. I've bought the aluminium mounts for this, sadly at the time I couldn't get the rear front mounts from tamiya so settled for Yeah Racing ones. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I generally thing the Yeah Racing stuff is pretty poor from what I've bought in the past. Probably explains the price difference.

20210725_122432

I put a bit of loctite in the steering posts to keep them in place as an insurance measure being careful not to get any on the plastic.

I then set about the turnbuckles. A little while back I bought a ball joint removal tool from ebay after annoying myself mashing balls up with pliers. They're semi successful and I'm pleased with the purchase overall. The centre allows you to tighten turnbuckles etc and I found it really handy for holding one ball connector,using a spanner to hold the other and then turning the turnbuckle to do both ends up at once. After the usual fiddling I got both to 24.48mm. Which is thought would do. I used the grey low friction connectors rather than the black kits ones, just because I could.

20210725_124039 20210725_124047

Next was tapping and building the steering linkage setup. Really impressed with how well this fits together and how smooth it is. Really started getting into my stride with the tap at this point.

20210725_172506

Tapped all the holes on the chassis tub at this stage while it didn't have too many parts fitted to make it fiddly.

20210725_173323

Then fitted the steering to the tub.

20210725_173143

Then moved onto the hubs and front arms. This is where my tapping frenzy went a bit wrong. As usual I collected all the parts from the trees, cut them out, cleaned them with the scalpel, tidied up my cutting mat and then got the hardware out. I worked around the arms and hubs and tapped all the holes that needed tapping, or what I thought were all the holes that needed tapping. When I came to construct the hubs, I realised I'd tapped the hole at the bottom of the hub, which should actually be untapped and act as a pivot around a plain shaft. Now because the hole is a bit deformed the hubs are a bit tight in pivoting. I'm hoping this will settle. But it is really annoying. Must be more careful in future, especially after going to the trouble of fitting low friction ball connectors...

20210725_181220 20210725_181225

Finally for today I dug out the spacers, the low friction suspension balls and the front suspension mount and fitted the suspension arms to the chassis. The suspension balls, spacers etc were fiddly and I did have to spend some time looking on the floor for a ball at one point, but everything is lovely and tight now it is all together. I'm really impressed with the fit, and the obvious adjustability of the various parts.

20210725_181853

 

Looking forward to mounting the gearbox and the following steps over the next few days.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Continued with a few more steps today. Have hit a slight bottleneck now in that I've run out of low friction ball connectors until some new ones arrive, and I've realised that I need some more wire and connectors to do a decent job of the motor wiring. I had planned to unsolder the longer wires on the stock motor and use them on mine, but they're way too thin for my liking.

Fitted the front gearbox, front bumper mount and then moved onto the rear suspension. Tamiya alloy mounts and low friction balls were used on the rear. Carefully checked the correct holes and tapped everything that actually needed it.

20210726_132335 20210726_132707 20210726_132711

 

Made up the rear hubs as per the instructions. In hindsight I should have put the ball joint in the top part before screwing it onto the hub. Was difficult tightening the ball nut with it in one piece.

20210726_134157

 

Next mounted the rear gearbox and fitted the belt.

20210726_134711

 

I installed the rear hubs and for the first time in this build found a bit more about than I really liked so added shims to the spacers on the rear hub pins. 0.3mm one side, 0.2mm the other. Probably could have put a 0.1mm spacer on the shaft with the balls on the inner pivot if I was really fussy.

20210726_140114

It was at this point that I had to stop due to a lack of low friction connectors, until I dropped a part and found 2 more, but essentially I moved into stuff out of strict sequence at this stage. Fitted the belt covers, then set about building the shocks.

As usual I tried to cut out all of the parts, trim and clean up the castings castings then build. I used the green slime I'd picked up to lubricate the shafts, and the o rings, and gripped the piston end of the shaft while tightening the eyelets onto the shafts. 

20210726_154336

 

A quick check of the lengths showed they were within less than 0.05mm of each other, so I was happy.

20210726_155035

Filled with the stock oil, let settle and constructed the shocks. I am not great at getting consistent rebound, but they were behaving pretty similarly.

I fitted the shocks to the front, added the spacer, outer bearing and fitted a random set of wheels to the front to see what it looked like. Didn't take any more photos of the shock build annoyingly.

The suspension feels fairly soft, which I guess is understandable for rallying.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still waiting on some parts to arrive, so did a lot of stuff out of sequence and temporarily put some bits together for the time being.

It's sat on 4 wheels with the steering a bit closer to being correctly aligned about 1.5 degrees of camber at the front and about 3 degrees at the back. Not too sure if I should fiddle with that, but will probably wait till it is running and I can see how it corners. 

20210728_183533

 

Waiting on wire for the motor, low friction ball joints - I used the standard ones for one corner and the steering linkage. Once I can wire things up properly I'll properly place the electronics into the box. It does feel a bit tight for both the electronics box and coiling the battery wire up to close the battery box. I'd hoped that this would be an easier step with this one. 

Filed out the holes a little on the Corrado shell and sat that on the chassis at the moment. I've cut the Subaru shell out, cooking up one sill in the process but haven't had the required enthusiasm to mask up and paint it yet.

20210729_184558

 

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ordered aluminium pulleys for the belt today too, almost certainly unnecessary given my usage but I just fancied having them.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Would you mind sharing some details about this tapping tool you've been using? It looks like a handle with an M3 screw on the business end of it, is there more to it?

Thx

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

Would you mind sharing some details about this tapping tool you've been using? It looks like a handle with an M3 screw on the business end of it, is there more to it?

Thx

No worries. It's the tamiya 54232 m3x0.5 thread forming tool which is supposed to be used with a tamiya handle, but I'm tight and used the small tap handle from my actual tap and die kit. The t bar is removable so I took it out to make it easier.

20210730_075601.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And I thought I didn't need anymore tool :lol: Thanks for the info and part number, so far I have been using a long M3 screw and a larger-than-RC screwdriver handle to give me more "humpf", but this thing looks cool. And it's a Tamiya!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Slipper clutch isn't necessary unless you're running below 17/17.5t.

Also, I hope you didn't miss shimming and adding spacer on the sides the BG1 gear, Replaced the NN4 plastic spacers with metal and add shims (if necessary) to eliminate the slop. Otherwise the pin will eat up the BG1 and drive train will slip and won't send it to the back. This is a flaw with the XV-01's manual. They should have corrected this long time ago. Running silver can or torque tuned motors won't be hurtful but a 23t motor and lower turns will destroy that gear.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Nicadraus said:

Slipper clutch isn't necessary unless you're running below 17/17.5t.

Also, I hope you didn't miss shimming and adding spacer on the sides the BG1 gear, Replaced the NN4 plastic spacers with metal and add shims (if necessary) to eliminate the slop. Otherwise the pin will eat up the BG1 and drive train will slip and won't send it to the back. This is a flaw with the XV-01's manual. They should have corrected this long time ago. Running silver can or torque tuned motors won't be hurtful but a 23t motor and lower turns will destroy that gear.

I didn't get a better nn4 spacer, or do any further shimming. I think that is something to pick up further down the line. I imagine it'll be a bit like my other cars in that it won't be long till I've stripped it down and start on the holdup cycle. Good to have the importance of this reinforced, thanks.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Kind of finished the car today. We've not had post for a few days so a number of parts were delayed, and some still haven't arrived, I was a bit frustrated by this and decided to crack on and get it built so I could have a go with it, this wasn't the best choice.

The parts that did arrive were the low friction ball connectors and some recievers for my flysky transmitter. I was going to use the 6 channel receiver that came with the transmitter, but it was a bit tight so I got some more fs 3a recievers. I had set it all up using the 6 channel radio before this change. 

I fitted the low friction ball connectors, checked the camber and then moved onto the electronics. The wire and bullet connectors I ordered haven't arrived, so I popped to the farm grabbed some wire from the scrap pile, a soldering iron and some solder, I cut the bullet connectors off some cables I won't use and set them to one side. My plan was to it the wires to the motor terminals at 90 degrees, feed the cables through then cut to length and fit the bullet connectors, and that is what I did. Except, after tinning and fitting one wire I inexplicably picked the soldering iron up and then grabbed the hot part with my left hand leaving a large crispy bit on both finger and thumb. After 15 minutes of cold running water I went back to the car and finished the wiring. This will only be temporary, it isn't tidy enough and I don't like the recycled fittings. 

20210731_163320 20210731_163330

The smaller receiver and better wiring meant that the electronics box fitted a lot nicer. Except I hadn't bound the radio. So it came apart again. I charged and fitted a battery, and then tested the end points and checked it ran back and forth properly then adjusted the end points a bit more to stop the rattle from the driveshafts at full lock.

I've not really done anything on the kit shell yet, so fitted the corrado shell I have. The corrado shell is something I put a lot of time and effort into, it is far from perfect, but I like to think of it as being kept for best. I figured that this was only really a test run, so it would be fine to run with that shell. 

Everything seemed OK, so turned the transmitter and car on, sat it in the street and pulled away, it set off like a scalded cat, the tracking was a bit out so I tried to correct the steering. It turned sharply, straight into the kerb at full acceleration. The steering was reversed. The corrado shell now has a significant graze on the front corner and more annoyingly the steering was stuck on full lock. It seemed that the steering arms were jammed with the right hub stuck firm.

After taking a significant amount of the car apart I realised that the dog bone had popped out of the drive cup and was jammed in the hub. I didn't need to strip it all after all. Finally got it all back into one piece and was fitting the last body clip when the rain started...

The rain eventually stopped and I could get out and run the car a little. Adjusted the tracking, lost a body clip and then got a few runs in. Really pleased with it. It's quick, quiet and fun on a wet road. Looking forward to seeing what it is like on dry asphalt.

20210731_163157

 

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Toad16v said:

The parts that did arrive were the low friction ball connectors and some recievers for my flysky transmitter. I was going to use the 6 channel receiver that came with the transmitter, but it was a bit tight so I got some more fs 3a recievers. I had set it all up using the 6 channel radio before this change. 

So you're using a stick transmitter, great! Do you just leave the sticks free to move in both directions then? Sorry this is almost off topic on your XV build but I had to ask :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

So you're using a stick transmitter, great! Do you just leave the sticks free to move in both directions then? Sorry this is almost off topic on your XV build but I had to ask :)

Yeah, got the left stick self centring but haven't blocked off the left/right or up/down on either stick. Works fine for me. It feels a little lightweight sometimes, but it is just what I needed. Nice having all the settings and memories for all the cars.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's a nice, dry sunny morning here despite the forecast for rain so I took the opportunity for another go with the car in the street. Bought a 4400mah battery with the kit,charged it last night so dropped that in. After the Corrado calamity, I filed out the holes in the tt01 Impreza shell slightly to fit and used that. Last night I noticed the servo saver screw was loose, have tightened it and will keep an eye on it.

Good news - the car is awesome and quiet and lovely on dry tarmac. Lots more grip, more predictable and seems a touch more refined than the tt01 despite being on the rally tyres. I've ordered some cheap smoother tyres for running on the road. May experiment with the tt01 and swapping tyres around. I can see this being a lot of fun on the postal racing courses. Looking forward to the improved steering angle the universal joints will allow too. I even managed to find the lost R clip on the nice fry footway.

Bad news - when adjusting the tracking I managed to lose an R clip again. Doh.

2021-08-01_10-37-12

 

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Set about the shell over the last few days. I've not got the patience, skill or dexterity to do a decent box art job on it, so I didn't. I used some ps23 gunmetal in the past and loved the colour, so went with that. Most of my other cars are blue or shades of so I thought it would be a good change.

The supplied window masks were handy, and I used the light cluster masks while I was at it, incase I get really bored and want to fit lights. Dashing in and out between showers, using the heater fan and a can and a bit of paint got the shell done, I didn't back this one with any other colours as I didn't think it was necessary. I had some of the correct black ts paint for the roof vent and mirrors in my box of paint cans, so they had a few coats too.

Not wanting to use all of the stickers, and wishing to retain the will to live, I went through the manual, marked the stickers I did want to apply and numbered them sequentially. I made a few little mistakes such as fitting a headlight sticker incorrectly and out of sequence, but I'm sure after it's been rammed into a few inanimate objects I won't notice. 

After probably 3 hours in total of stickering, I finally achieved my desired result. Basically a road going car.

Once complete I took it out for a good blat around the street. Still super pleased with it, really pleasurable drive and also quite easy. The tt01 is a great, fun, probably quicker with its current gearing car, but this is awesome, predictable and just lovely.

20210803_183317

 

20210803_183322

 

20210803_190904

 

20210803_190913

 

 

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...