barnettgs' experience on new CC-02 build

[barnettgs]

I had posted it on RC Crawler's forum but thought I would also post it here as well with a few  added info.

 

I have bought a CC-02 kit recently and I have only just finished building it yesterday . I haven't started on body yet as the paint has not arrived in post yet (Mainland UK can not post spray paints to Northern Ireland, the same goes for batteries etc so had to get my friend who lives over there to post them to me, NI shops do not have Tamiya Gun Grey paint in stock).

Comparing to CC-01. CC-02 was a very different Tamiya build but not without Tamiya's quirks, that's for sure. I only got our first CC-01 in late 2018 and this time, it's CC-02. The reason I got CC-02 is because of CC-01 I have and also this old chassis has been around for well over 25 years, which is quite rare in RC world.

On building it, I noticed that it can be very easy to get things wrong or lost so I had to double, triple check some things before moving on to next task. Also because I was a bit worried about body mounts not lining up having read OS's building thread but I just checked the mount points with uncut body and they lined up fine.

On gluing part, I didn't use any glue at all because when I started the build, I didn't realise the box doesn't come with Tamiya's glue and also that I didn't have any. However, during the building parts with nuts that requires gluing, I soon realised that glue was used merely just to hold nuts in place, to stop them becoming loose or falling off when bolting them in. So it was quite fiddly to hold/keep nuts in place whilst bolting them in without the glue so it all went ok, apart from one nut that rotates a bit on when I tightened bolt in!  I could hold the nut in place with one end of plier while I tightened it in but it was tight enough and the chassis seemed quite rigid already.

Chassis rails were complicated but interesting and using bolts & nuts to hold them to the chassis, I understand that screws would not able to hold chassis/chassis rails tightly in such a force that bolts/nuts do and also that bolts/nuts were used, probably because the chassis rails are plastic. Had it been steel, there would be probably no need for bolts/nuts but it seems Tamiya has taken a completely different direction. Loads of steps needed to do just to assemble rail chassis, maybe Tamiya have other plans for this chassis in the near future, who knows.

On servo, I have Futuba standard sized servo, it turned out that it can not fit go in standard servo mount so I had to change it to upright at the end. Thankfully, only needed to unscrew top of front shocks and then unscrew a couple of bolts (one on each side of the rails) & rotate the servo mount.

Regarding steering with front shock units, I had just tested 3rd party 96cm tyre/wheel that was fitted to CC-01 Defender and it does touch the shock unit. That is strange but I think something as simple as a wider wheel hex (or hub) would sort it this out.

Overall, in term of realistic scale, CC-01 is quite a tough one to beat because it has IFS and bath-tub style chassis which is what got me interested in it in the first place. Great for realistic scale driving and similar to real life 4x4 chassis.

While CC-02 is better in crawling & trailing than CC-01, I'm not so sure about where it stands because without IFS, it basically pits itself against bigger & better rivals for similar money apart from bodies. However, I went for CC-02 because of Tamiya's support & longevity. Would be interesting to see what they plan to come up with CC-02 next.

Few good things I can say about CC-02 is that it has superior chassis articulation, better centre of gravity despite being higher, due to the location of battery and motor/centre gearbox, longer shocks, extra steering angle. But when you see CC-02 in flesh, CC-01 is looking quite old!

I hope to post some pictures soon when I get the body finished. Also without the body as well.

[PraetoR]

Nice write-up. I much prefer the CC-01, because of the amount of character and charm that little truck has. I'm not saying the CC-02 doesn't have the same, but it does place itself in the firing-line of other companies, whereas the CC-01 is kind of left-field.

 

I hope Tamiys continue to produce and support both chassis' and it looks like they are.

[barnettgs]

Yes, it would be more interesting if Tamiya comes up with IFS version of CC-02. 

 

As I was curious to know if Mercedes 500 G class actually has front axle just like CC-02 and yes it does, although 2nd generation now use IFS from 2018 onwards.

[barnettgs]

All right, just had a few quick runs with it on flat ground today, without the body (still awaiting paint), to see what is it like .  I was not convinced about CC-02 steering after I had built it (My first kit with front axle) but my concerns were unfounded only a short time after running it for the first time.

 

Got to say that CC-02 feels much leaner, sharper and quieter than CC-01 and kept straight lines much better than CC-01 in both forwards and reverse (seems very little if no slop at all), having it running beside CC-01 with its stock wheels/tires back on.  Made CC-01 sounds very noisy...

 

Also it feels very solid, however, it's hard to pinpoint something but I have to say it surprised me and I was impressed.  Just a quick climbing, it was more assured with plenty of clearance but of course, stock tyres let it down.  🙂

 

I have to say it is a very good chassis, just that it doesn't look like it when I was building it....just need to change to gripper tyres but got to find extra wide wheel hex clamps...to avoid touching the front shock tower when turning.

 

Turning radius is similar to CC-01 (with its hub pins clipped off) with both on stock wheels/tires. However, when I put grippy 3rd party wheels/tyres back to CC-01, its turning radius was enlarged a bit by 5cm-ish! Thought it was meant to be shorter...

 

Here are a few pictures of CC-01 and CC-02, you can see what they are like next to each other.

 

 

[barnettgs]

Finally, only just managed to finish the body earlier this week! As usual, loads of work with masking, spraying and stickering Tamiya body, my least favourite part!

 

Here is a finished product:

 

 

 

Having it run beside Tamiya Defender 90 yesterday, this CC-02 chassis is faster than CC-01 with 55T motor and is way more capable with much better suspension, it is very smooth.

 

CC-02 gearing ratio was set to lowest using stock Tamiya motor and by my calculation, it should run a tad slower than CC-01's stock ratio coupled with 55T motor but it wasn't to be.

 

I calculated using Tamiya stock motor max RPM of 14,500 but the only thing I could think of its motor RPM could be much higher. Also the rolling resistance seems to be much lower with CC-02, very good drive train. Now I think about what could be done to improve CC-01 drive train - maybe to shim both gearboxes?

 

Surprised that there is lack of love for this chassis, I wasn't expecting much but now I think it's brilliant.

 

Only one thing bothering me right now is that I could not use any 3rd party wheels/tyres as front would rub the shock towers.  Just use Tamiya's softer tyres if there is one? I thought about wider wheel hex but I could not find any that is wider than 6mm but I doubt it might help. Any suggestion would be great.

Edited June 13, 2020 by barnettgs

[Andy-Roo]

Nice looking Gee you have there 👌

[barnettgs]

1 hour ago, Andy-Roo said:

Nice looking Gee you have there 👌

 

Thanks, Defender 90 is for my son and this Merc is for my daughter so they could play together.

 

Now, I will start building Tamiya Suzuki Jimny JB23 (MF-01X) for myself with a colour of my own choice, rather than blue that goes wih Suzuki Jimny.  Read that it can be a good mini-ish crawler/trailing with crawler tyres/wheels bolted on although I will probably leave stock ratio with stock motor for much faster mixed terrain  runs.

[Angel]

Good job! 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-10-scale-rc-car-12mm-wheel-hex-hub-pin-drive-adapter-set-4pcs-7mm/153962290226?hash=item23d8de1c32:g:7CYAAOSwqOBe27DW

Don't go wider than that,becouse  you'll ruin  the  scale look. It's  a scale truck not a  monster or crawler. Just  try  to find  similar  size  tires  with  a  better grip. And if you manage to instal some intirior,it will be close to perfect.

 

[barnettgs]

On 14/06/2020 at 22:10, Angel said:

Good job! 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-10-scale-rc-car-12mm-wheel-hex-hub-pin-drive-adapter-set-4pcs-7mm/153962290226?hash=item23d8de1c32:g:7CYAAOSwqOBe27DW

Don't go wider than that,becouse  you'll ruin  the  scale look. It's  a scale truck not a  monster or crawler. Just  try  to find  similar  size  tires  with  a  better grip. And if you manage to instal some intirior,it will be close to perfect.

 

 

Thanks @Angel, didn't see this post until now. 

 

True, I had thought of that and I think it's not how I would want to do. 

 

By the way, 20mm offset hex adapter just came out for CC-02 as well as for any other crawlers.  Wheels/tyres can go just under the body arches at full articulation so a few mm wider, it would rub the edge of the arches.

 

In keeping with scale look, I think I have made up my mind to go for Tamiya CC-01 Rock Block Tire Soft which I hope to be soft enough to have some grips.  Just read that it has 94mm diameter, 4mm higher than stock tyres. 

 

Thanks for the link, I have just purchased them just in case I might need them!

Edited June 18, 2020 by barnettgs

[Angel]

That's  your  tires.Soft,gripy and scale looking.I have a full set,unopened.If you  are interested I'll make a tread in sale section.

[barnettgs]

8 hours ago, Angel said:

That's  your  tires.Soft,gripy and scale looking.I have a full set,unopened.If you  are interested I'll make a tread in sale section.

 

Is that Tamiya 54598? Please do @Angel