Tamiya FJ Beast Mode

[OSRC]

That's the Pajero RE-RE-RE-RE-RE-RE-RE-RE. It comes and goes.

Limped out the the backyard last night for a test run. Sometimes you hit the setup off the workbench and sometimes not. This was a swing and a miss! Gearing is still too tall, and the suspension needs a lot of work. Front is too hard and the rear is too soft and flexy - leads to some 3 wheel action when climbing.

The good is I don't remember the Moabs being so grippy - for how old these tires are, they seemed to grab pretty good! The trucks balance felt great overall...so not too bad a start, just need to work on it a bit.

[OSRC]

^^ must have been good meds, I don't even remember doing that!

The beast finally gets out in the wild! (Not for long though)

First impressions were pretty good. Balance was good, grip from the who knows how old Moabs was surprising, underdrive in the rear seemed to work really well when going vertical, and the suspension seemed well sorted overall, maybe a bit soft out back. .

However, it was geared a bit high and was lacking for torque, the steering was iffy (though I stripped the plastic servo horn in about 5 minutes which might have had something to do with it) and I had a touch of torque twist.

Broke the rear axle - used screws that were too short apparently. I have a spare to swap over though.

All in all, decent first run though it was a bit too short. Going to have to think about that gearing, a 4:1 might be in the works.

[OSRC]

Time for some changes...since I had the back end ripped apart, I decided to add in a swaybar. First one I've tried on a CC01 chassis. Came out pretty good IMHO.

First thing I did was drill across the chassis and added a steel sleeve. I epoxied it in, and it's a nice smooth pivot point for the swaybar.


Cut down an HR swaybar for the Wraith and modded it for the narrower chassis.


Mounted up to the (new) Ascender axle. Found some red spacers that worked out perfect.


Finished up rear end. Lots going on back there, but everything cycles very smoothly.


Swapped out the front springs while I was at it with some slightly softer Tamiya ones. Front was somewhat stiff while wheeling, thins should free it up.


It doesn't flex as much - might need to tune that swaybar a bit, but overall it feels great on the bench.

[alexleblanc]

So, how does it work now?

[OSRC]

Haven't had it out yet. Hopefully this weekend ... Still needs a gearing change, but ready to go otherwise..

[calcagno45]

Very cool build here. I like it.

[alexleblanc]

Does anyone make a gearing upgrade for these? I haven't found any yet but it would be awesome!

[kongluc]

Originally Posted by alexleblanc

Does anyone make a gearing upgrade for these? I haven't found any yet but it would be awesome!

Yes! This was not my post...


Hello everyone! I was reading through this thread and i had to make an account just to say this, (my apologies if this has already been mentioned but i missed it) but at least 'apparantly' loops model makes an upgraded cc-01 spur and a pinion for not that much money, and when you were discussing upgraded spur's you found none (at the time), so here it is:

Gears and Diff lockers | Modified Spur + Pinion for CC-01 / XC |

Thank you all.

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[OSRC]

Only a matter of time until the GPM steering gives up the ghost...figure if it didn't hold up under 1.9's, 2.2's are going to eat it for lunch.

The Hot Racing kit is the best one I've tried..however, the Integy kits were on clearance for $15, so I thought I'd try one. Red to match the beast of course!


It's not too bad on initial inspection. It has much deeper recesses for the shaft/arm - much closer to the HR setup than the GPM. Everything fit nice and tight, and no slop on install. Time will tell how it holds up - if there's a weakness, I'll find it pretty quick with this rig.


Beast is now rocking some siped Pitbull tires and dual stage foams as well. Pretty grippy set-up

[alexleblanc]

Please report back on how you like that steering kit, I'm in the market to buy a couple for future builds and my GPM has left me unimpressed.

[OSRC]

Will do!

Hot Racing is far and away the best I've used. Pricey, but a solid setup.

[OSRC]

Took the beast out for it's first trail run. Did GREAT! High approach angles, grippy tires, and a fairly low CG let it go pretty much wherever I pointed it. Very impressed with this little CC chassis.

The only problem (as always) was the steering. I needed about 1.2 acres to make a turn. The problem was not the steering rack (for once) it was the geometry of the steering. I has to use longer inline knuckles to clear the suspension arms, and it led to some wonky steering angles. The outside wheel turned a lot further than the inside, and while I thought it wouldn't make much differnce, it really did.

So time for some changes! I robbed the upgrade TL01B arms from my other 2.2 CC and swapped everything over. They are thinner and use the same geometry of the stock knuckles. Plus bearing C hubs...Compared to what I was running previously:


All mounted up. I also addressed some slop in the suspension that had developed. I drilled out the arm mounts and glued in some tube that had a perfect 3mm inside diameter. So now the arm mounts are steel tube sleeved - should be much stronger and on the bench it's now slop free.


Angles are much better = at least the tires are pointing in the same direction now. I can trim down the arms a bit for more steering - that's if the CVD's allow. Want to get a test run in first before I start hacking away. It for sure needs more angle...work in progress!

[OSRC]

It is what it is. I've made peace with it.....

[OSRC]

Hit the rocks this past weekend - a bit more challenging than its first maiden run. The Beast did GREAT!! Steering was much better, though could still use some improvement. I'm amazed at how stable this rig is, COG is pretty low and it just grips, sidehills, and decends with zero drama. Far more stable than my SCX based rigs. The underdrive rear axle really makes a difference - didn't notice it so much with the 'Zu, but it really stood out here. Going to be modding my other rig to match. Now that these old Losi tires are breaking in, grip was excellent.

The bad - motor started to go towards the end of the run - stuttering a bit and seemed seriously down on power, so it needs to be swapped out. Also have to drill out the trans case and bolt it down - started skipping a bit under heavy load. The Integy steering rack held up ok, but seems to have developed some play (surprise!) - just need to check it out. The play is not on the main shaft, seems to be the drag link, so got a fix in mind.

All in all - Love this truck!

[JatoTheRipper]

Very cool and capable truck. It looked like a blast to drive!

[Synister_Intent]

Amazing looking truck, very inspiring build. I built a cc01 (against the advice of friends) a while back and ended up selling it off for something else. Do you think your truck could compete in say a c2 or Recon G6 event and survive?

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[OSRC]

Don't know, never did one. It wheeled for 3 hours through some knarly terrain the day of these pics and did just fine.

[Synister_Intent]

I see you opted for a Vaterra Ascender rear axle, why didn't you go with an Ar60 axle instead?

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[OSRC]

Gearing would have been completely out of whack. Ascender and Sawback axles are in the ball park gearing-wise.

CC01 Underdrive mod.

[Synister_Intent]

That makes sense now. I'm thinking about picking up another cc01 and building it up now.

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