Must have upgrades?

[shoz]

Hey I just bought a new Tamiya FJ cruiser. Its the CC01 chassis and before I put it together i would like to know what are some of the best upgrades to do to it? I am looking to do a little crawling, any input would be great thanl you

[canadianbacon]

A full bearing kit (I recommend Fast Eddy's kit) and a GPM steering kit. Also, trimming/shaving the A-arms and axle C's will greatly free up suspension travel.

[OkinawaCrawler]

The only "needed" upgrade during building imo is the bearings (fast eddy). It would be a pain to take it back apart to install the bearings.

Everything is personal preference really

[fla_cracker]

If your planning on crawling, a gear reduction unit is a needed upgrade. I personally have the HPI unit. 7:1 reduction. With a 17 turn brushed motor, I get walking speed but tons of torque and amazing control. RC4WD also has one in different ratios and there are others as well.

I would also highly recommend CVD's. I've bent my front dog bones 4 times now crawling.


Good luck. Take pics. Share....

[deviatewhistle]

Just fare warning, the gpm steering kits are hit and miss. I've tried it before and had a negative outcome, but thats just my experience. You can make a great solid drag link setup with some 4-40 rod and 3mm ball connectors. I've done this mod to all my cc's and its worked great. I'd highly recommend some better tires too. And if your just trailing maybe a 65 or 85 turn motor from rc4wd. And i have to agree with fla_cracker on the cvds. Tamiya's releasing some cvds that ought to be way higher quality than the gpm or yeah racing. Or at least should have more precise machining.

[HappyCrawler]

Originally Posted by deviatewhistle

Just fare warning, the gpm steering kits are hit and miss. I've tried it before and had a negative outcome, but thats just my experience. You can make a great solid drag link setup with some 4-40 rod and 3mm ball connectors. I've done this mod to all my cc's and its worked great. I'd highly recommend some better tires too. And if your just trailing maybe a 65 or 85 turn motor from rc4wd. And i have to agree with fla_cracker on the cvds. Tamiya's releasing some cvds that ought to be way higher quality than the gpm or yeah racing. Or at least should have more precise machining.

Are these the CVDs you're talking about?

Tamiya America Item #54608 | RC Assembly Universal Shaft - CC-01 (2pcs)

They look nice enough.

[redneckracerx]

Yup! Those are it. They are easily worth the extra $. You get more steering angle out of them, and we all know any little bit helps. As far as needed upgrades. Bearings, tires, locked diff(s) at least the rear. Front is personal preference. I lock both.

[HappyCrawler]

How about the Junfac hardened steel drive shaft? About $21 shipped. Worth it?

[redneckracerx]

I run a brushed 85t and a 3s lipo. The stock driveshaft didnt last too long. I did the junfac shaft. It's definitely strong but the joints seemed to bind. I had to fully disassemble the shaft, sand all the balls cups and shafts then reassemble. Kind of a PITA, but, its a strong piece.