Turtle's Modified TB01
 

A rally version to be more precise.

Brand new with no box from the trusty ole Ebay. I did have to source a few parts such as, under body, body, tires, wheels, fluids and electronics.

The TB01 rally kit comes with metal differential and pinion gears with metal spider gears inside, the diffs are not sealed though so I had to track down some thick grease to play with a "limited slip" set up.
The center shaft is solid steel so it adds quite a bit of weight to the car, but this car was designed to be strong in off road conditions. The car also came with foam to seal the steering and motor from collecting rocks into the chassis. paired with the under body and the chassis is completely sealed from debris. The kit did come with a plastic motor mount, which I was afraid would flex with the fast brushless motor in the car, so I picked up a metal motor plate/mount (part number 53403). I also picked up a pair of hardened diff outputs to try out in the rear and see if they wallowed as fast as stock ones (part number 53218 ). And to top off the front end and protect the car and body I picked up a foam front bumper (part number 53683), though this one is better suited for the DF03RA, so I also have another one that is the TG10, which should be the right one for this car (part number 51124).

For electronics I used what I had sitting around, a CC Mamba Max Pro ESC, a JR servo (can't remember the name but its speed is .07), a CC 5700 brushless motor (all I had sitting around) and a Spektrum SR3100 receiver.
For batteries I am using Turnigy 2 cell 3800MAH hardcase packs, the battery compartment had to be modified for the square battery pack. Since I knew I would not be running NIMH cells I modified the chassis before assembling it by cutting out the bracing on the sides to allow the square cells.

I picked up another Tamiya 2004 Subaru Impreza STI and decided to stick with my same paint scheme this time around.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0023small.jpg
Tamiya Focus WRC wheels and Tamiya Rally Block tires.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0026small.jpg
Strange to me that the motor is open on the bottom, probably for cooling, but I will most likely fill the gap with some styrene.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0027small.jpg
After assembling the TB01 I noticed the steering had the possibility of getting rocks jammed in it, similar to what happens with the DF03RA. So I used some shrink wrap glued to the steering tie rod to act as a shield for the steering box, I still have more to do, but I think it is a good start, before I test drive it this weekend.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0028small.jpg
Because Tamiya seemed to know this car would have cooling issues with the underbody trapping all the heat, the kit came with a heat sink that slides over the motor.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0030small.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0006small.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...004-2small.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0010small.jpg
Next to its twin, while they may look the same, they are completely different platforms.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0051small.jpg

And the triplets together:ror: (In order from left to right TB01, DF03RA, DF01)
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0041small.jpg

TB01, DF01, DF03RA
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0034small.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._0036small.jpg

There is still more to do, but I am going to get some drive time on it first so I can do some comparison. But Sway bars, spring tuning pack, and Full rally drivers interior are in the mail.

Shock set up (for now):
Front: 70 Weight, stock springs
Rear: 45 Weight, stock springs

Thanks for looking,
Ty

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Nice ride, well rides. The chassis is set up alot like mine, but flipped left and right. The df01 look huge.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Awesome Ty! Can't wait to see it this weekend! Chassis has the same shape as my TC. Also looks like more room for electronics than the DF."thumbsup"

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

How does it handle compared to the DF-03RA?

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

It is the same scale, but has more then twice the chassis clearance as the rally cars. The TB01 is suppose to be the bees knees.:ror: Built from the ground up to be a rally car. I had to have one.

Lots of room for electronics, mainly because of the center shaft cover allows me to stack parts over it if need be. I am hoping that it is a solid platform with the spider gear metal diffs, worst case scenario I have plastic ball diffs for it already.:mrgreen: I think it will be better off with the spider gears though.



I am anticipating it to work really well, this car was made to be a car, it has better tuning option then the DF03Ra, the only thing that is in question to me is durability, but even that should be superb!

First run will be tomorrow on the track.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

I love my TB01

Ive had it for years, and am now looking to get it running on Lipo. A little afraid of breaking parts in it though, because I have no idea where to source more.

Yours looks cool. I too was always confused about the motor being open on the bottom. I was always gonna put some mesh in there but never got around to it. Seems to work fine without it I guess.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

I was worried about finding parts as well, but when you start digging around you notice that most of the parts on the TB01 are also on other cars that Tamiya makes. A lot of the parts from the TG10 are on the TB01, and there is tons of parts for those all over ebay. Also if there is an issue finding parts the TB evo parts can be used, but that means replacing the steel gears with plastic ones.

Asiatees.com also has a decent selection of aftermarket parts, be it delrin or aluminum.

I have found every part so far on ebay or the net for this car. Its not a question of no support, just where to look. I will say it takes more work then finding something for a current Traxxas vehicle, but not much more then most other Tamiya vehicles.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Man, this thing is a rocket and looked like it handled very well too!"thumbsup"

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Awesome car! Nice fleet of rally's too!

Verdict out on the TB-01 vs. the DF-03RA?

Looks like the TB-01's are hard to come by unless you want to spend $375 shipped from Hong Kong or get lucky and find one. I am wanting to pull the trigger on a rally purchase before too long.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Thanks Shon, I love it, the best driving rally car I have had yet."thumbsup"

The TB01 is an amazing driving car, far better then the DF03RA in my opinion.
The DF03RA is a solid vehicle, but I always felt the front end would get really light and it hardly had any steering whatsoever. The TB01 is solid! It runs quitter, runs smoother, is better balanced and has better steering then the DF03RA.

Why they discontinued the TB01 is beyond me, but I am a big fan.

The TB01 can be had pretty inexpensively. There are now four in Colorado in our little group, the most expensive one being 125.00 and the cheapest being 59.00 and three of them are brand new.

The internet is vast with hidden areas and great deals. And after I buy one or two more for spare parts I will let the secret out.:mrgreen:

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

+1 for the Colorado TB-01 ressurection8)

What grease did you use on that rear diff?? Was looking at my collection of grease tubs for the dirtbikes and I've got some red moly stuff that was good on gears for the tlt/clod and axial stuff, also have some Bel-ray waterproof stuff that I use on the suspension roller bearings on all the bikes.

Kit says it has full bearings, do you know if that includes bearings for the steering arms?


This is really just a self-serving bump to make it easier for me to locate the info I need as I get ready to build my rally car.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Inside the diffs on the spider gears I used a thick marine grease, packed it in to act as something of a limited slip, on the gears themselves I used a white lithium grease that I have had for years. And as I always do I lathered everything heavily in grease.

The steering linkage uses screws like TLTs had holding the knuckles on, course thread screws tap into the chassis and a smooth surface where the steering moves to keep things from binding.

I am sure at some point the plastic will begin to wollow in the steering, but I have another car.:mrgreen: They also offer a metal steering system for the TB01 that I might get if I see problems starting to develop.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Nice!"thumbsup" You pics are always top notch. Its nice to see rally kind of making a come back. I am working on my TT-01D to make it better and better and I really like it. I know its pretty easy to convert them to rally and the kits are pretty reasonable. That is something I would like to look into. Any thoughts on that?

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Thanks!

Im by no means an expert on the TT01, but I think you have to trim the bottom of the chassis to get the A arms to have room to move lower. Touring car shocks can be adjusted for more clearance by taking out internal limiters and using longer rod ends to get it up a little higher. But be careful, going too high with the A arms can cause unneeded stress on the drivetrain. 3/4" should be plenty for a rally car.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Ty

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Hey Ty...do you think the DF03ra's steering could be improved to the TB01's level with aftermarket parts, or is the design just not as good no matter what is thrown at it?

I know you made some upgrades to your DF...were these enough to bring it up to the TB's level?

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

The biggest difference between to two besides the metal spider gear diffs is the handling.

The TB01 is a more balanced platform, because of the shape of the chassis the TB01s electronics layout is better balanced. The motor is farther forward and the weight is distributed to the sides allowing for equal distribution rather then mounting everything in the back of the chassis like the DF03RA.

Adding lead weight could help the DF03RA become more balanced, other then that I am not sure how to get more out of it.

Durability wise there is nothing wrong with the DF03RA. Both vehicles are great little rally cars, I think more then anything it comes down to weight balance and personal preference.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Ty you should try to get your hands on a tl01 shaft drive and super droop. the ultimate "cheap" tamiya do everything rc.

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

Oh I see how you are, steer me in one direction while you go in the opposite..

:flipoff:

:ror:

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

I had a buddy who had a Baja Champ years ago with that chassis it did alright, but definitely felt cheap. After I get the other cars dialed in I will look into it, definitely some cool body options.

The thread is here I figured you looked around before you bit the bullet. Besides you didn't ask about anything but the DF03RA.:mrgreen:

Re: Turtle's Modified TB01
 

I was just along for the ride.. :ror:

Should have just pulled the limiters out of the TC3, threw on some rally tires and called it a day..

:lmao: