Turtle's Modified TB01

[Trixxx]

TURTLE... Im not new to RC but just starting to get into Rally. Ive read all your threads (DF, TB, XV etc) i wanted to go with the new XV but decided since i could grab a TB kit on ebay for $70 i would start there for now. After viewing and reading many threads and info about tuning and important mods/upgrades i did purchase a few bits to get me started. Now to my real question, which is damper related. I currently have stock shocks, and as i am very new to Tamiya in general there shocks seem week.. What do you suggest for my setup? 1. Oil front and rear, 2. Springs front and rear, 3. Stick with the stock ones or purchase something else. Thanks in advance, your Threads have been fantastic and complimented with great photography.

[TURTLE]

Thank you.

1.) Its going to be based on the type of terrain and the length of the shock.
For a stock TB01 something like 50 weight front and 30 rear worked well for me.

2.) For the stock shocks Tamiya offers a spring pack for rally cars, it works very well with a nice variety of springs. However if you go to a longer shock there are a couple options.

3.) I ran the stock shocks on the TB01, they work ok, but if you want more suspension/performance out of the car I would suggest going to a longer shock and mounting it higher on the chassis. Something similar to what I did with the XV01.

If you plan to keep the stock length of shock with the TB01 I never had any issues with the stock ones. I drove the car for a year with the stock shocks rebuilding them every few months.

[Trixxx]

Thanks TURTLE! So 50/30. Im going to look for the spring pack. What do you suggest in general scale rally for springs frt and rear to start off? PS: did you make the OZ decals for the wheels or did you buy like that? If so where?

[TURTLE]

I ran a softer spring in the front and the medium spring from the Tamiya pack in the rear.

The OZ decals for the wheels came with the Tamiya 2004 STi WRC Impreza body. Sadly the body is long since discontinued.

[slegh]

if you want differnet shock option look at the gmade xd shocks. i have a set of 62mm of my tb-01. tamiya springs are to narrow for the gmade shock bodies. but it looks like tc3 spring will do the trick.

[Trixxx]

Nice shocks those gmade, but to much $$$. I am still waiting for my tb01 to arrive, what is the stock shock length? (eye 2 eye) and are they the same front and rear? Also what spur pinion are you using? I have a castle 4 pole 3800kv laying around that im hoping will be a good match for it so i dont need to buy another motor.

[slegh]

i am running 88 spur.4 and a 39 pinion.4 for and FDR of 6.5. 25.99 for a set of two is not that bad. i do not know the stock shock length but i can tell you arm eye to tower eye is 65mm.

[TURTLE]

I have not messed with the TB01 is a little while, but last I remember I was running the stock spur gear and a 16 tooth pinion on a 5700kv motor. It was pretty quick too. I imagine with your 3800kv that somewhere between 18-20 teeth for the pinion should be good and still provide some good punch. Just don't forget these are Tamiya pitch pinions and I highly recommend a steel pinion.

[Trixxx]

Slegh: thanks man... Are the shocks the same length front and rear? I read in the TB01 rally manual you could use option part 53280 which are the hop up shocks for TA03, but those are 2 different lengths. Well actually the shock bodies are the same length but it is showing to use the longer V6 rod end on the rear (for the hop up shocks) but the manual for the TB01 shows assembly of the stock ones as x4 the same. So without having the car in front of me i cant be 100% sure.

TURTLE: thanks for the tips on gearing. I picked up 72t and 88t tamiya spurs, along with the stock 62t... I also have 18, 19, 20, 21 tooth steel pinions. I will mess around from there. Sorry to bother you with 100 questions but im in the Navy overseas and if i dont cover everything in my orders now and i have to re order anything once i start building ill be waiting a month plus for new orders to arrive. I am hoping to get a good idea from you experienced rally guys ( not that im a novice, ive been running 1/8 buggy and onroad for years) i can hopefully order everything for a good start at the beginning. I also have been a forum guy for years on other RC forums, so ill follow the rules and get a nice build thread up when my stuff arrives. But man.... I need some of your body painting skills.. I love every body you've done... Very nice.

THANKS a million guys, dont fear ill probably have more questions soon

[slegh]

i measured the front there 57mm from eye to eye. well damn i guess i paying for that since all my shocks are 62mm. i have also tryed installing the tb-02 spur gear adapter on my tb-01. the adapter is to long pushing the diff case out. maybe with some milling on the adapter to shorten it. i can stop using tamiya gears.

[Trixxx]

Thanks Slegh. TURTLE, im going to use Black grease for the diffs. Im a bit of a novice with the gear diff, how much should i put in there? Load it up or just enough to grease the gears?

[TURTLE]

Originally Posted by Trixxx

Thanks Slegh. TURTLE, im going to use Black grease for the diffs. Im a bit of a novice with the gear diff, how much should i put in there? Load it up or just enough to grease the gears?

I pack the diffs full(on the inside). I use a tacky red grease for real cars in my rally cars now, it holds up to the speed and lasts quite a while inside the diffs. Before I used this I would go through marine grease and other greases pretty quickly, the stock grease in the TB01 works well, but I recommend opening the diffs up every month or so if you are driving it a lot to check wear and if the grease is holding up.

[Trixxx]

Any experience with the Team Associated black grease? That is what i intended to use. The only other thing i have is bearing grease used for 1:1 cars.

[TURTLE]

Originally Posted by Trixxx

Any experience with the Team Associated black grease? That is what i intended to use. The only other thing i have is bearing grease used for 1:1 cars.

Yeah, that stuff works good, its thinner then what I normally use, but I have never had an issue with it. I went to full size auto grease because of the price, I can get a massive amount of it for 6.00, whereas the associated stuff is 3-4.00 for a small amount, but if you have it use it up.

Might want to try the bearing grease inside the diffs though, works more as a limited slip the thicker you go.

[Trixxx]

Do you put the same front and rear? I was thinking to put some heavier stuff like the bearing grease up front and the thinner black grease in the rear.

[TURTLE]

Originally Posted by Trixxx

Do you put the same front and rear? I was thinking to put some heavier stuff like the bearing grease up front and the thinner black grease in the rear.

Generally I like the front diff to be thicker then the rear, but with the TB01 I used to use the same thick grease in both diffs, just to keep them consistent. I would play with it a little though. Those diffs don't hold the thinner stuff very well, because they are pretty open. But give it a shot.

[markntrevor]

Got a new problem with our TB-01. Trevor drove it off the curb and broke the top shock mount. Cant seem to find the part anywhere. Any ideas? Get out the drill press and the dremel and make a new one?

[STEW<CO>]

Bump this bitch!

[Trixxx]

Order a sample piece of carbon fiber from dragonplate .com , its only a few bucks and should be enough to cut out a nice tower. From there find some hardware. Dubro hex screws and spacers of any variety.