Building a TT01 to RACE!

[XV Pilot]

Building a TT01 racer

Edited October 17, 2008 by XV Pilot

[tt-01 mamba]

Yet another nice guide.

:)

[nitrorhys]

Good guide mate

[XV Pilot]

Thanks. Hope it proves useful to someone!

- XVakaMH

[djfourmoney]

Thanks. Hope it proves useful to someone!

- XVakaMH

I joined just to tell you how useful I found this information!

I plan on racing for the first time this season at TCS and I find your low-cost ideals very interesting.

I'm trying to familiarize myself with the Tamiya Championship Series here in Southern California as 4 races this year will be ran at their US HQ located near my home.

I have a few questions however on some of your modifications to the front suspension and shocks.

Under the current rules for 2009, I found these points of contention -

9. It is strictly forbidden to cut, mill or lighten the chassis in any class. It is strictly forbidden to re-engineer or modify the car in any way other than with Tamiya Hop-Ups.

You mention filing down outdrive flanges , could filing be seen as milling? Is this something that is easily seen during tech inspection?

20. The use of O-Rings on shock ball ends and camber/steering links is allowed.

Your way of producing a lower ride height is great for the budget racer, but how is this compared to the plastic or even alum shock kits?

I don't want an easy to spot modification to start more probing for additional modifications that might be deemed illegal.

To this end, I think I might opt for the front suspension upgrades available from Tamiya as they are legal for the class I'll be running (Spec Novice). But I want the car to be effective when I step up to GT3 as that allows the use of the Speed Tuned gear set to get the stock Silver Can into its "sweet spot" and more straight away speed.

We have to use the stock 19t pinion gear in Spec Novice, lightness is the only way I can get the cars speed up. I can run it very low as the Tamiya factory track is very smooth and as it hardly rains in Southern California its still in very good condition.

Here are the rules for 2009 - http://www.tamiyausa.com/tcs/rules.php#gen

Have you tried your TT-01 out?

Right now I'm deciding which car to get as well. There 3 versions availble. The latest Type E has an improved front suspension and new steering arangement -

Compared to the old setup -

Correcting all the slop is super important and that's first up.

I will share what I have done soon...

[XV Pilot]

Hi!

I'm glad you have found this information useful However I had better warn you that this tutorial was written with general club racing on a budget in mind, and some of the modifications may well be illegal under TCS rules.

For example, you may be able to argue that the outdrives are part of the drivetrain and not the chassis, and therefore can be milled. However if you have the budget, it would probably be better to ditch the plastic outdrives and dogbones, and get the metal Tamiya hop-ups instead. The filed outdrives are easily visible during scrutineering.

Likewise, if you have the cash, the alu TRF shocks are a very good upgrade to fit. My tutorial was aimed at the budget racer, and if you are on a budget, the plastic oil shocks can do a more than adequate job. However if you can afford Tamiya's up-market ones, go for it!

Finally, a note on the use of TT01E "upgrades". The TT01E parts seem to have been designed to make the car stronger and more suitable for use by beginners for bashing. As such, the TT01E is tougher but heavier than the good old TT01. Possibly the lightest, best-performing TT01 is one made up of an original TT01 with selected hop-ups and TT01E components fitted. Good parts to take from the TT01E are the front hubs, which are significantly stronger but not much heavier than the originals. However as for the rest, you might be better off sticking with the original components and hop-ups. For example, the original hop-up carbon upper deck is superior to the plastic one that comes with the TT01E. Likewise, while the TT01E steering is better than the stock TT01 setup, the TT01 aluminium steering hop-up is better still.

-XVakaMH

P.S. Yes I have tried out my TT01 - I race it pretty much every week, and it runs extremely well.

[djfourmoney]

Hi!

I'm glad you have found this information useful However I had better warn you that this tutorial was written with general club racing on a budget in mind, and some of the modifications may well be illegal under TCS rules.

For example, you may be able to argue that the outdrives are part of the drivetrain and not the chassis, and therefore can be milled. However if you have the budget, it would probably be better to ditch the plastic outdrives and dogbones, and get the metal Tamiya hop-ups instead. The filed outdrives are easily visible during scrutineering.

Likewise, if you have the cash, the alu TRF shocks are a very good upgrade to fit. My tutorial was aimed at the budget racer, and if you are on a budget, the plastic oil shocks can do a more than adequate job. However if you can afford Tamiya's up-market ones, go for it!

Finally, a note on the use of TT01E "upgrades". The TT01E parts seem to have been designed to make the car stronger and more suitable for use by beginners for bashing. As such, the TT01E is tougher but heavier than the good old TT01. Possibly the lightest, best-performing TT01 is one made up of an original TT01 with selected hop-ups and TT01E components fitted. Good parts to take from the TT01E are the front hubs, which are significantly stronger but not much heavier than the originals. However as for the rest, you might be better off sticking with the original components and hop-ups. For example, the original hop-up carbon upper deck is superior to the plastic one that comes with the TT01E. Likewise, while the TT01E steering is better than the stock TT01 setup, the TT01 aluminium steering hop-up is better still.

-XVakaMH

P.S. Yes I have tried out my TT01 - I race it pretty much every week, and it runs extremely well.

Great!

Yeah I wish there was a bit more Club Racing near me. From work I can drive another 15-20 miles to local club that races about twice a month or so.

The good news is that the Tamiya USA HQ track is open to the public for free on every Saturday but Federal Holidays. All you have to do is run a Tamiya car that's it. Further good news is this is where they will hold 3 TCS or Cup events this season. The bad news that all the events are spaced far out, but many of the SoCal TCS regulars run on the off-weekends so I'll likely know who I'll run against at this year's events, but the National Final which races from all around the country and Canada will be there.

Low cost mods are surely the best. On another forum, a seemingly good driver took a nearly stock TT-01 and ran mid pack in the B-Main vs a host of TA-05's. His car was a $80US TT-01 Enzo from Tower Hobbies.

He added 55 spur gear, 28T pinion, prepared ball bearings and Tamiya B3 slick tires. The car was underweight for GT-3 (1500g) so he added some lead in ideal places. He noticed more chassis squat with the added weight and feels oil shocks would help not only that, but also lower the ride height.

So between your thread and the other information I have gathered I hope to have a solid car...

Thanks again for sharing!

[mad-wolfie]

the point on diffs is a good one, however WD40 is probably too risky, it will just end up working it's way out of the diffs through centrifugal force & eventually it will be bone dry in there.. i'd opt for vaseline or some form of light grease such as copaslip as this will cling to the planet gears & pack it really tight as it will thin out with use a little. Also applying vaseline to the diff covers is a good idea as well.

If you want a tight diff, regular axle grease will do the job or of course you could go mad & use motorcycle chain lube if you want it to be super sticky.

Personally speaking though i'd say you want slack front diffs on a TT-01 & a slightly tighter diff on the back as the sterring on the TT-01 is a bit sloppy, the best way round it of course is to use the alloy steering rack but the trick with the diff helps prevent the car oversteering & helps keep it true on the straights.

Also it may be an idea to do what i said in the other thread about toughening up the drivetrain using DF-02 bevel gears & ring gears (they are metal) & using the TB-01 / TGS diff cases as they are a bit stronger plastic.

Edited December 18, 2008 by mad-wolfie

[Dives_Under_Breaking]

Hi all, can someone please help. Has the file / link to the info been removed? I can see the original poster..but nothing to actually click on to open and view? Have just started racing and after a disastrous star, would like to get the help from others to improve my car. got a new chassis coming as a stone got in and lunched the old one where the spur enters the transmission.  Just got some adjustable oil shocks.  So any help on set up will be appreciated. Limited to 25/55 gearing running Tamiya Torque Tuned motor.

[J.K]

On 05/08/2020 at 16:07, Dives_Under_Breaking said:

Hi all, can someone please help. Has the file / link to the info been removed? I can see the original poster..but nothing to actually click on to open and view? Have just started racing and after a disastrous star, would like to get the help from others to improve my car. got a new chassis coming as a stone got in and lunched the old one where the spur enters the transmission.  Just got some adjustable oil shocks.  So any help on set up will be appreciated. Limited to 25/55 gearing running Tamiya Torque Tuned motor.

 

The original thread was 12years old. There was a major upgrade of the forum a couple of years back and I believe some data including certain threads were lost. This is probably one of them.

 

Why was your first race so disastrous? What exactly would you like to improve? Its been ages since I ran a tamiya but if i'm not mistaken the TT01 probably runs bushes rather than full bull bearings? If that's the case that's the first place i'd start.

 

Are you running at a club? It's rare that a touring class runs brushed motors nowadays (maybe drifters still do?)  - you'd almost certainly benefit from an upgrade to brushless motor and ESC and LiPo batteries if you're running NiMh!

[Dives_Under_Breaking]

On 18/08/2020 at 21:35, J.K said:

 

The original thread was 12years old. There was a major upgrade of the forum a couple of years back and I believe some data including certain threads were lost. This is probably one of them.

 

Why was your first race so disastrous? What exactly would you like to improve? Its been ages since I ran a tamiya but if i'm not mistaken the TT01 probably runs bushes rather than full bull bearings? If that's the case that's the first place i'd start.

 

Are you running at a club? It's rare that a touring class runs brushed motors nowadays (maybe drifters still do?)  - you'd almost certainly benefit from an upgrade to brushless motor and ESC and LiPo batteries if you're running NiMh!

Sorry for the delay in responding...I had a long response ready but then lost battery power and what I thought I had uploaded, never did.

 

So firstly, thanks for the explanation about the old posts....now you mention it, it does make sense. Sadly, it just means I don’t get to see a document that clearly many seem to think gives sound advice....that said over 12 years, I’m sure many others have produced similar equally good guidance sheets, and of course the hobby has changed hugely from a tech perspective.

 

As for my first race ....dear Lord, where do I start hahahaha

 

Ok so my TT01 is second hand and though the chassis was decent, it had all original parts (shocks, arms etc)....but was not ready /set-up for on-road club racing. So in went Hobbywing 1060 esc, brushed Torque Tuned motor adjustable shocks, and adjustable turnbuckles. All was fine apart from the turnbuckles that were such a pain to install I sheared one of the ball-joints. Later someone told me the chassis hole was un-threaded hence why I found it so tight. Anyway once done, because of the force used, the two sides were wonky and had very different toe angles. 

 

Installing the steering I didn’t screw down the parts too tight....meaning when on track, not only did it not straight, it also wobbled more than jelly at a 3yr olds birthday party!!

 

Tried my best to get the steering straight as best as I could...but on the first practise I drove wide and at the end of the second bend, straight into a bolt on the armco ripping the tyre backwards and popping the dog bone out. Luckily, it was an easy fix. Headed out again....then car ground to a halt. Sounded like a lose pinion. At the time I didn’t know why but when I got home and did a full tear down, it turns out a small stone got into the ‘spur/pinion’ gear case causing the spur gear to lunch the chassis and..which in turn made the hole the shaft goes through to the rear diff, bigger meaning the shaft was bouncing around too. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂

 

Anyway back to the pits for fix. At one point 8 people were working on my car trying to work out what was wrong.....luckily got out back on track. Missed both practise and qually sessions. Got out for race one...and numbnuts takes a wider line and straight into a bolt at the exact same spot as before...so ripped out steering 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️😂😂😂 end of race, time for a rebuild. Luckily, easy fix and out in time for the last race of the day....managed to finish the race without any damage or coming to a stop...though I came last.

 

Have since attend a second race day (2 rounds per day)....issues not as bad after I replaced the chassis - went for another TT01 (others have suggested go for a TT01E as it has better steering set-up but for now just want to stick with my 01). Anyway car handled much better than before. Also using 2s lipo so get more power and runtime. 

 

Sadly though still had issues....my TT01 was , even with adjustable shocks, running like it was in the Dakar Rally...when the guys used their ride height gauge, it slid ride under the chassis with at least a ‘cm’ to spare 😂😂😂 

 

I knew the car didn’t handle like others, but just thought it was my setup...I was taking longer, slower and wider entries into corners as  of the body roll....turns out I was using wrong springs, needed to bring down my ride height and all sorts of other things. Luckily one of the guys came and helped me out a few days ago...full set-up, so weight balancing, ride height, shock rebuild with better stiffer springs etc.

 

I’ve also got a Pagani Zonda shell which is obviously much better than my Lancia Delta Intergrale shell which is akin to a brick. I’ve had to retire that anyway as it’s literally held together by a few strands of drywall tape the last owner put in it. I’m sure he never raced it. I’ll probably repair it but retire it....looks great with all the scrapes on it now though, very authentic.

 

Attached are some pics of how it looks now...added some wider hex’s to fill out the shell and hopefully improve some handling too 🤞🤞🤞

[c0sie]

On 21/08/2020 at 12:49, Dives_Under_Breaking said:

Sorry for the delay in responding...I had a long response ready but then lost battery power and what I thought I had uploaded, never did.

 

So firstly, thanks for the explanation about the old posts....now you mention it, it does make sense. Sadly, it just means I don’t get to see a document that clearly many seem to think gives sound advice....that said over 12 years, I’m sure many others have produced similar equally good guidance sheets, and of course the hobby has changed hugely from a tech perspective.

 

As for my first race ....dear Lord, where do I start hahahaha

 

Ok so my TT01 is second hand and though the chassis was decent, it had all original parts (shocks, arms etc)....but was not ready /set-up for on-road club racing. So in went Hobbywing 1060 esc, brushed Torque Tuned motor adjustable shocks, and adjustable turnbuckles. All was fine apart from the turnbuckles that were such a pain to install I sheared one of the ball-joints. Later someone told me the chassis hole was un-threaded hence why I found it so tight. Anyway once done, because of the force used, the two sides were wonky and had very different toe angles. 

 

Installing the steering I didn’t screw down the parts too tight....meaning when on track, not only did it not straight, it also wobbled more than jelly at a 3yr olds birthday party!!

 

Tried my best to get the steering straight as best as I could...but on the first practise I drove wide and at the end of the second bend, straight into a bolt on the armco ripping the tyre backwards and popping the dog bone out. Luckily, it was an easy fix. Headed out again....then car ground to a halt. Sounded like a lose pinion. At the time I didn’t know why but when I got home and did a full tear down, it turns out a small stone got into the ‘spur/pinion’ gear case causing the spur gear to lunch the chassis and..which in turn made the hole the shaft goes through to the rear diff, bigger meaning the shaft was bouncing around too. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂

 

Anyway back to the pits for fix. At one point 8 people were working on my car trying to work out what was wrong.....luckily got out back on track. Missed both practise and qually sessions. Got out for race one...and numbnuts takes a wider line and straight into a bolt at the exact same spot as before...so ripped out steering 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️😂😂😂 end of race, time for a rebuild. Luckily, easy fix and out in time for the last race of the day....managed to finish the race without any damage or coming to a stop...though I came last.

 

Have since attend a second race day (2 rounds per day)....issues not as bad after I replaced the chassis - went for another TT01 (others have suggested go for a TT01E as it has better steering set-up but for now just want to stick with my 01). Anyway car handled much better than before. Also using 2s lipo so get more power and runtime. 

 

Sadly though still had issues....my TT01 was , even with adjustable shocks, running like it was in the Dakar Rally...when the guys used their ride height gauge, it slid ride under the chassis with at least a ‘cm’ to spare 😂😂😂 

 

I knew the car didn’t handle like others, but just thought it was my setup...I was taking longer, slower and wider entries into corners as  of the body roll....turns out I was using wrong springs, needed to bring down my ride height and all sorts of other things. Luckily one of the guys came and helped me out a few days ago...full set-up, so weight balancing, ride height, shock rebuild with better stiffer springs etc.

 

I’ve also got a Pagani Zonda shell which is obviously much better than my Lancia Delta Intergrale shell which is akin to a brick. I’ve had to retire that anyway as it’s literally held together by a few strands of drywall tape the last owner put in it. I’m sure he never raced it. I’ll probably repair it but retire it....looks great with all the scrapes on it now though, very authentic.

 

Attached are some pics of how it looks now...added some wider hex’s to fill out the shell and hopefully improve some handling too 🤞🤞🤞

 

 

Seemingly then the car is actually not that bad, you were just suffering as a result of not having a racing set-up on the car.

 

The first thing I would do, without doubt, it raise to the club that twice hit the same bolt in the armco. If you have hit it twice and broken your car then others could do the same. Hopefully there is something the club can do to fix the issue.

 

Hopefully by now one of your fellow club mates has sorted your cars geometry. You need front and rear camber to be roughly -1' to -2', standard rear toe in (should be around -2.5'ish) and then ideally 0' front toe to maybe 0.5' toe -out depending on how the car behaves on corner entry.

 

I'm guessing you are racing outdoors, maybe somewhere like Crystal Palace? You might want to speak to your fellow racers about tightening up your diffs too. The Tamiya stock diffs, I think, are just plain old geared diffs. They arent particularly sealed, but putting some diff oil in them will make a positive difference to handling. A thicker front diff will allow you to drive out of the corners better, and be more stable on braking (although with a 25 turn motor I doubt this is an issue), and a slightly thinner rear diff setup will stop the car (reduce) from diffing out on power mid corner.

 

The electrics you are running seem perfect for your ability - ignore any calls to put in a brushless motor/esc at the moment. All you will be doing is spending north of £80 to make yourself crash faster.

The Tamiya Torque Tuned motor you are running is a 25 turn brushed motor. I have one of these in a cheap TC I run and they do the job well enough. If you feel like you could do with a touch more speed then look on Modelsport for the Core RC 21 turn motor, or the Core RC 15 turn motor. The turns of these sealed silver can motors are not a direct comparison to the turn rating you'll find on brushless systems - sealed silver cans are slower, but a 20 turn brushed motor might be a perfect upgrade for you. You'd also be wise to look at buying some pinions to play with your gearing. Tamiya spur gears require "0.6 mod" pinions.

 

Make sure you run a bodyshell with a rear wing - the rear wing makes a HUGE difference to handling.

 

Hope that helps?

 

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by c0sie