Grastens' Tamiya Super Striker

[Grastens 2795]

4 hours ago, Snappy1 said:

How did I miss this thread???

I am about to take my Sonic Fighter to the next level, the diff really interests me, 

I am sure I will be asking questions soon..........

Excellent! I am looking forward to seeing your "Supersonic Fighter!" 

And thank you for bringing this thread back; I had forgotten that this was the apex of my RC car engineering  Or, rather, just how hard I worked on it!

[Snappy1 966]

Supersonic Fighter, I love that..... I have been calling it Maverick, but if you don’t mind  that’s what I will call it lol

I am waiting on parts but it already has high caps and a Technituned, Fox rims, Super Astute front tyres, I’ll start a mod thread once the parts arrive..

The car I have was previously built by Taffer as a runner, so it was lovely before I got my hands on it.

[Grastens 2795]

I see that @Jason1145 returns - how are you and your Strikers/Sonic Fighters?

Meanwhile: in two weeks' time, there will be an opportunity to test the Super Striker on sand. I will be exploring differential tuning options, and may bring the stock Striker for comparison. The original promo video was shot at a beach, after all...

On the Internet, I saw another Striker with a DT-03-based drivetrain. This one was actually a Striker chassis, as opposed to the reworked DT-03 that appeared earlier in this thread:

Now THAT is a Super Striker!

The original creator did not give details on how it was built, but those of us in the Facebook group suspected it was achieved with a carbon plate running through the lower chassis.

[Jason1145 3986]

Hello Mr Grastens, good to see you are still at it with these beautiful Strikers and Sonic Fighters… it was primarily you who got me into these darned things!

I’ve still got 2 Strikers and 3 x Sonic Fighters in my collection along with a TT01, Lunchbox, Clod Buster, Team Associated RatRod Short Course thingy and a Traxxas 2WD Stampede.

Now I want a DT03 themed BIG Striker!

Off to read this thread of yours now.

 

[BuggyDad 4417]

I hadn't seen this one before. I'm getting right into the idea of improving basic old Tamiya designs from my own Super Falcon. This one is ace. I love the character and creativity of it. 

[Grastens 2795]

In preparation for the beach visit, I disassembled the Super Striker and gave it a light clean:

The differential in particular got attention:

Predictably, all the Anti-Wear and lithium grease I had packed into it had ejected itself into the gearbox interior. It was a nice experiment, anyway...

However, recognizing the need for some limited-slip/spool action on sand, I attempted the blue-tack method for differential locking:

It took several attempts to get the correct amount of blue-tack into the unit. In the end, I removed too much to have the proper locking effect. What I did create, however, was a nice limited-slip effect that should be an improvement over a plain greased diff for loose surfaces. So it CAN be tuned...

I revisited the outdrives, since they were not sitting right. I ended up cutting part of the outdrive pin to allow the diff cups to get closer to each other:

All of this accompanied an oil damper servicing, and the cleaning and lubrication of all pivot points. The wheels and tires were changed to a set that I hope is more suitable for sand:

It sort of looks more like an RC car, at least to me. The micro-pin tires are a better all-purpose tire, but I felt I could get more aggressive with the treads for its next session. The rear wheels could benefit from longer axles; in the interim, I added some thinner lock nuts to the rear axle stubs, and plan to will them to stay on 

And with that, the Super Striker is ready to return to action:

The choice of front ribbed tires and rear spikes was deliberate, if I recall, to evoke the Striker's standard tires.

Next: the beach!

[Grastens 2795]

A sad epilogue to that particular post (and an explanation for my long absence from TamiyaClub):

I was very suddenly kicked out of my house as my partner announced she was breaking off our relationship of 10+ years. The sketchy circumstances and the need for an immediate departure meant I left my RC models behind, including my Super Striker. The beach trip never happened as a result 

Fortunately, I am safe and have a place to go (my parents' isn't ideal, but it beats being transient), but with my departure from the town I lived in, I no longer have any good place to run my models, either...

... But this isn't a topic about that, so I returned to this thread with some ideas from wtcc5's brilliant modified NovaFox build:

- A front anti-roll bar should be feasible for this chassis. There are plenty of mounting points on the lower arms, what with all the holes I drilled or left unused from their intended fitment to the FX-10.

- With the release of the BBX, I have some machinations on both front and rear suspensions, and will be doing some reading/research on gearbox conversions. The DT-03 Striker from earlier in this thread is a wholesale upgrade, but what if I really tried to make it a competitive period chassis...? (inasmuch as the original chassis can be "competitive")

As I try to piece my life together again, I think that once I begin assembling the pieces, Tamiyas would be a great way to return to the things I love... And hopefully, living in a larger city these days means I can actually find a track! I might not be able to find a park or open space, but there might be a dedicated shop-run circuit somewhere...

Until then, a picture from a happier time - Round 29 of the Racing by Post series. I don't recall the Super Striker finishing particularly well, but that's besides the point 

As I face a challenging new stage of my life, I must remember that I've overcome challenges before - after all, I made a Tamiya Striker driveable 

[bavee 1032]

That's tough, to say the least. Hang in there man. Glad to have you back!

[Aerobert 2127]

That's sad to read. But nice to see you're tinkering on your great Striker again!

Good luck for your challenging times ahead!