TOPIC:

boonie wrote:

Yeah, got most of the parts I have been waiting for just the Skyline gear set to come. Construction is as yet not started as I need to get some new grease and shock oil (what density should I be looking for?) also been working abroad on and off for the last month so free time is limited.

Cool that most of the parts came in. Hope you have some time to work on the car.
I always like to start a build after I'm almost certain I have everything that's needed so there's no unwanted interruptions.
Which often happens anyway...

A tip I received from Lars - older shocks tend to leak at some point.
Getting thicker (harder) oil should work better on them. I used #600 (medium) but also replaced the housings.
Depending a bit on the state of your shocks, I'd go for the mid range (#500-700, they often come in a pack of three) and take the hardest sample (#700) from that. The other bottles will probably come to good general use.

Tamiya 53444 damper oil on eBay

The "hard" set would be #53445...
You could also replace the 3mm rubber O rings. They're item number 84195 :


All the cars I built have modern lubricant in the gearboxes.
I prefer Tamiya Cera-grease but the silicone based Robbe Fett is a good alternative.

Hope to see some pics!

Well, another flood, redecoration, house sale and move into rented accommodation and I am ready to crack on with my project. The cera grease I had ordered disappeared at some stage so I have ordered some more, once here I shall start the rebuild. Sorry for the delay all! Stay tuned I shall chuck some pre build clean parts pics up soon.

Good to see the sequel! I'll definitely be following it...

Right I need some assistance. I have a couple of Hop-Up parts but dont really know what they do or where in the build sequence they should be fitted, could someone please advise.

Parts I have.
53072 Manta Ray Differential Ball & Plate Set
53127 Skyline Speed-Tuned Gear Set
53070 Manta Ray Ball Differential Set
Full Bearing set (I think I can figure this one out)

Anything else I should consider?

well 53072 are the spareparts for 53070
53070 is a nice to have but not necessary, geardiff need less maintainance.
Depending on how you use the df01, for example slower offroad driving lock the geardiff and put it in the rear and place the balldiff up front, or more buggy style balldiff in the rear and geardiff up front.
If you are planing a brushless set then geardiff is also more advisable.

53127 not much use for offroad you will have more topspeed but it will be harder on the motor and you will be losing torque. and you can only use 21 to 25T pinions with the 69Tspur and 25/25T with the 66Tspur

usefull hopups, as you already mentioned ball bearings, aluminium motormount, alu wheel hexes.

have a look at Edou's thread for the rest its only 36 pages but has a nice index

I've had some new insights since the last time I responded...
The all plastic gears from 53127 are very useful but like waterbok said, mostly for higher speed.
Tamiya 50529 (TA02 gear set) also eliminates the aluminium gears but is more suitable for off road.
And a steel Robinson pinion (found on eBay) would be a good addition for a runner too.

I think I can respond a bit more...

The ball diff makes the car much more stable I think but indeed needs maintenance.
A gear diff is virtually free of that but the car becomes a bit too twisty for my taste.
The setup that'll be best to use, depends a lot on where and how you want to drive the car though.
Like waterbok also said.

I think this is the order of importance for a DF-01 runner :

- Ball bearings and Tamiya cera grease lubrication
- Aluminium motor mount (GPM is easiest to find)
- TA02 gears (or even just the one piece Skyline spur)
- Steel pinion - 0.6 mod Robinson (RRP1121 for 21T)
- Alu main drive shaft and wheel hexes
- Hardened drive shafts (Thunder Shot / Top Force - #9805551)
- Ball diff (great item but less necessary to generally run the car)

Ok So:


- Ball bearings and Tamiya cera grease lubrication - Check
- Aluminium motor mount (GPM is easiest to find) - Check
- TA02 gears (or even just the one piece Skyline spur) - I Have the Skyline set
- Steel pinion - 0.6 mod Robinson (RRP1121 for 21T) - Any UK Sellers?
- Alu main drive shaft and wheel hexes - Have Drve shaft, will get hexes
- Hardened drive shafts (Thunder Shot / Top Force - #9805551) - Ordered (Just need 2?)
- Ball diff (great item but less necessary to generally run the car) - Check

We will be running the car on grass and tarmac so I was considering a second set of wheels and tyres, have found a set of Top Force star dish wheels I just dont know what tyres to go for (Tarmac) any suggestions?

The Skyline spur should be fine on tarmac - don't forget to check the correct hole for the motor mount.
Grass is actually a tough surface for your motor so you might wanna check it doesn't get too hot if you install that spur...
The TA02 gears are an item I discovered at a later stage. That would be a really good spare part.
Strangely enough I received a set from the UK (eddrick) today!

You'll need four drive shafts for a complete setup but if you only get two, it's best to use them where the ball diff is.
The diff cups from that are also hardened...
My FRP chassis has universal shafts in front (expensive but totally awesome) and hardened dogbones on the rear.
And two ball diffs btw...

I'll have a look around for a UK seller carrying the Robinson pinions.
And also for some matching tyres...

I wrote:

I'll have a look around for a UK seller carrying the Robinson pinions.
And also for some matching tyres...

I think you'll have to rely on a shipment from the New World for that pinion...
But maybe another member is more familiar with UK shops.
Doesn't need to be a Robinson but they are easiest to find in the correct module.

Non-existant user wrote:

58100 Top Force
Front 86 (OD tyre) / 30 (W tyre) / 60 (OD rim) / 29 (W rim) (tyre 53092, rim 53089)
Rear 86 (OD tyre) / 39 (W tyre) / 60 (OD rim) / 35 (W rim) (tyre 53093, rim 53086)
53088 replaces 53092, 53084 replaces 53093, wheels have 12mm hexagonal adapters

All dimensions are in mm
OD = outer diameter
W = width

This seems to be quite specific. All the cars I've seen so far are using similar spiked tyres.
Although for "unofficial" (non-Tamiya) tyres there seem to be a few options :

Seidel wrote:

Front rims are a match with :

- Gravel Hound, Rising Storm, Plasma Edge (DF-02)
- Baja King, Baja Champ (TL-01B)
- Mad Spirit
- Mighty Ballista (TNS-B15)

Rear rims are a match with :

- Gravel Hound, Rising Storm, Plasma Edge (DF-02)
- Baja King, Baja Champ (TL-01B)
- Mad Spirit
- Mighty Ballista (TNS-B15)
- Dyna Storm
- Sand Rover (DT-02)

So the chassis that are named should have the same tyre sizes...
When I see that DT-02, I'm thinking the tyres from the Street Rover may fit.
And they are awesome, if I may add.


But please don't take this as an undeniable fact.
The hardest thing there is, is guessing by remote if tyres will match rims exactly.
I haven't seen them being sold seperately either.
Tbh, I'd recommend to get some complete on road wheels (preglued) 'cause that'll the best guess...

Btw - another advantage of the TA02 gears is that the aluminium idler will be replaced.
And that you have a spare diff housing in case it ever melts down.
Which we hope will not happen of course! It can be prevented by readjustment, especially if the diff is new.