Parts and Build Quality (TT02/Fazer)

[bareknuckle4]

Hi Guys, Girls -

 

After a near decade break from RC cars I’m considering a new purchase and was hoping to get your thoughts and any experience. 
 

After some random Googling and YouTube searches I am in the market for a TT02 or Fazer but need to consider build quality, spare parts and hop ups. 
 

I previously had a 1/8 Vorza but am keen to get into something road racing (I will miss the jumps and bashing) as I really like the shells available for 1/10 cars. 
 

I suppose my questions are:

 

what is the beater chassis

who has the best support (parts)

which one is easiest to build or work on and

can they both be converted to rally chassis at a later date?

 

And lastly, best battery for these type of cars?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated and if anyone has anything for sale be it lipo for these chassis or actual kits/cars feel free to let me know 👍🏼

 

[Kpowell911]

The TT02, especially in base form is extremely basic. Unless you go for a Type S or Type R variant, they have friction shocks and plastic bushings. That said theyre a cheap and reliable RC. They’re extremely easy to build and work on. Parts shouldn’t be an issue as theyre so popular and have been about for years. HOWEVER they have terrible ground clearance, and you’ll struggle to improve the ground clearance as theres so little movement in the A Arms, so not great for a Rally base

 

I dont know much about the Fazer to be honest

[bareknuckle4]

41 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

The TT02, especially in base form is extremely basic. Unless you go for a Type S or Type R variant, they have friction shocks and plastic bushings. That said theyre a cheap and reliable RC. They’re extremely easy to build and work on. Parts shouldn’t be an issue as theyre so popular and have been about for years. HOWEVER they have terrible ground clearance, and you’ll struggle to improve the ground clearance as theres so little movement in the A Arms, so not great for a Rally base

 

I dont know much about the Fazer to be honest

Hi mate, thanks for your response. I will bare those points in mind and keep an eye out for an S or R, il do some research now. 
 

I love the look of the Fazer, just worried parts may be an issue. 
 

it’s ironic that a city fan replied to me first. As an Arsenal fan I am dreading you lot Wednesday! 💀

[Kpowell911]

5 minutes ago, bareknuckle4 said:

 

it’s ironic that a city fan replied to me first. As an Arsenal fan I am dreading you lot Wednesday! 💀

haha, youve only yourselves to blame, shouldve been over by now!

[bareknuckle4]

10 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

haha, youve only yourselves to blame, shouldve been over by now!

Tell me about it! 

[JonnyUK]

On 23/04/2023 at 11:18, bareknuckle4 said:

Hi Guys, Girls -

 

After a near decade break from RC cars I’m considering a new purchase and was hoping to get your thoughts and any experience. 
 

After some random Googling and YouTube searches I am in the market for a TT02 or Fazer but need to consider build quality, spare parts and hop ups. 
 

I previously had a 1/8 Vorza but am keen to get into something road racing (I will miss the jumps and bashing) as I really like the shells available for 1/10 cars. 
 

I suppose my questions are:

 

what is the beater chassis

who has the best support (parts)

which one is easiest to build or work on and

can they both be converted to rally chassis at a later date?

 

And lastly, best battery for these type of cars?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated and if anyone has anything for sale be it lipo for these chassis or actual kits/cars feel free to let me know 👍🏼

 

 

To be honest, I wouldn't bother with Tamiyas. Over priced. 

Strange steering setups on most, which also fail to perform the task well.

VERY brittle, almost glass like, plastic and 70's designs which they keep churning out using the same moulds. Hence the newly released kits having dates of 1983 etc on the parts trees.

Not strong RC's unless you get the special versions with carbon/alloy chassis etc. But then they are so much more money than the already overpriced kits that you might as well buy a different higher end brand.

 

I had 3, sold one built, one unbuilt, and the other one my kids uses it sometimes.  Extra alloy strengthening added all over the chassis and bulkhead just to keep it in one piece.  We don't even do jumps etc. 

[Grogg]

I'll be the dissenter.  I really like almost everything about Tamiya, I have two, the Rock Socker - my first ever RC that I only need to paint the body to finish, and a TT-02 SRX, that I'll start building once I finish the body of my Rock Socker.

 

As long as you understand and accept that the base kits from Tamiya are rather bare bones, limited, and to an extent ''nerfed'', they are extremely adaptable, versatile, and upgrade-able, they can easily become amazing RCs if you are willing to put in not only the time, and effort, but also the money.  Turning a £150 - the average cost of a standard TT-02 kit, RC kit, into one that can easily hold it's own against the latest and greatest RC of the same class - on road 1/10 scale vs on road 1/10 scale, is easily achievable, YouTube is filled with videos of people who have done it and do it, if you have the wallet and the stomach for costs, time and effort of it.  The Yeah Racing conversion kit for the TT-02 for example is almost £300, and their ''complete conversation kit'' doesn't include their oil filled diffs, they're another £26 each - one for front and rear, then there is the diff oil which is not included in the Yeah Racing oil filled diffs, that's another £20......  That £150 kit, can easily end up costing £1000.00 if not a few more.

 

If you are willing to put in the time,effort and money, and enjoy spending as much time tinkering and researching as you do actually using your RC, in my very new to the hobby opinion Tamiyas are very very hard to beat, even for people liker me who never had an RC car in their youth never mind a Tamiya RC - so have no nostalgic attachment to the brand.  Sure some of the parts have been in use since the 80's, but that's the same for just about everything, especially real cars, and if using old proven designs puts you off, never look up medical or dental equipment, the vast majority of it has remained unchanged for over 100 years.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Grogg

[Kpowell911]

2 minutes ago, Grogg said:

 

 

Turning a £150 - the average cost of a standard TT-02 kit, RC kit, into one that can easily hold it's own against the latest and greatest RC of the same class - on road 1/10 scale vs on road 1/10 scale, is easily achievable, YouTube is filled with videos of people who have done it and do it, if you have the wallet and the stomach for costs of it, the Yeah Racing conversion kit for the TT-02 for example is almost £300, and their ''complete conversation kit'' doesn't include their oil filled diff, they're another £26 each - one for front and rear, then there is the diff oil which is not included in the Yeah Racing oil filled diffs, that's another £20.

 

I love Tamiya’s and generally agree with what you’re saying, but it doesnt matter how many hundreds or thousands you spend on a TT-02, it wont ‘hold its own’ against the latest and greatest Touring cars.  Im building/gathering parts for a TRF take on a TT02SRX. Its going to run into the late hundreds by the time its done, and it will be nowhere near as good as a ‘decent’ touring car. Yeah Racing aren’t exactly known for performance parts really so their conversion kit is largely pointless bling. 

[Grogg]

8 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

I love Tamiya’s and generally agree with what you’re saying, but it doesnt matter how many hundreds or thousands you spend on a TT-02, it wont ‘hold its own’ against the latest and greatest Touring cars.  Im building/gathering parts for a TRF take on a TT02SRX. Its going to run into the late hundreds by the time its done, and it will be nowhere near as good as a ‘decent’ touring car. Yeah Racing aren’t exactly known for performance parts really so their conversion kit is largely pointless bling. 

 

Yet their engine mount for the TT-02 is considered a ''must have upgrade'' no matter who you follow, or watch on YouTube, or RC forums you read, never mind their adjustable parts - can't remember what they are called off hand.

[Kpowell911]

11 hours ago, Grogg said:

 

Yet their engine mount for the TT-02 is considered a ''must have upgrade'' no matter who you follow, or watch on YouTube, or RC forums you read, never mind their adjustable parts - can't remember what they are called off hand.

Or just buy the Tamiya Alloy Motor Mount and the Type S has all the adjustable parts? 

Took me a while to realise in this hobby, if its blue alloy doesnt mean its better.

[Grogg]

3 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

Or just buy the Tamiya Alloy Motor Mount and the Type S has all the adjustable parts? 

Took me a while to realise in this hobby, if its blue alloy doesnt mean its better.

 

There's a huge difference between the two, so much so that nobody recommends the Tamiya hop-up motor mount, you're limited to using pinions no smaller than 16T and no larger than 20T, where as the Yeah Racing motor mount, which everybody recommends, has a completely different mounting system for the motor that allows you you use pinions from as small as 10T to ones over 55T.

 

Yes I agree not all blue alloy parts are performance upgrades, some of them are intended to change the characteristics of the RC, and some are just pure bling.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Grogg

[Kpowell911]

2 hours ago, Grogg said:

 

There's a huge difference between the two, so much so that nobody recommends the Tamiya hop-up motor mount, you're limited to using pinions no smaller than 16T and no larger than 20T, where as the Yeah Racing motor mount, which everybody recommends, has a completely different mounting system for the motor that allows you you use pinions from as small as 10T to ones over 55T.

 

Yes I agree not all blue alloy parts are performance upgrades, some of them are intended to change the characteristics of the RC, and some are just pure bling.

I understand the adjustable motor mount has its positives. And allows a more diverse gearing option (although not sure you can fit a 55T pinion, maybe you mean spur?) but the reason the stock mount only allows a certain few ratios is proof that the TT is a limited chassis. Of course you CAN spend a fortune, modify everything, and make it very fast, and more power to you if thats what your into (I do enjoy that, hence why Im building an SRX), but it doesnt mean its the sensible option. 
 

Regardless of that, the TT02 isnt a good choice for OP as even the Buggy variant has poor ground clearance for a rally car, so Id not recommend one. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Kpowell911

[Grogg]

12 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

I understand the adjustable motor mount has its positives. And allows a more diverse gearing option (although not sure you can fit a 55T pinion, maybe you mean spur?) but the reason the stock mount only allows a certain few ratios is proof that the TT is a limited chassis. Of course you CAN modify everything, and make it very fast, and more power to you if thats what your into (I do enjoy that, hence why Im building an SRX), but it doesnt mean its the sensible option. 
 

Regardless of that, the TT02 isnt a good choice for OP as even the Buggy variant has poor ground clearance for a rally car, so Id not recommend one. 

 

You can fit a 55T pinion and larger with the Yeah Racing motor mount it's the standard for people who do high speed 100+mph runs using a TT-02 chassis, you just need to either modify the pinion and spur gear cover by cutting a part of it away, or use a different aftermarket gear cover, like the one sold by Fibre Lyte for £4.00.  And the Yeah Racing adjustable parts that I can't remember the name of off hand, allows you to adjust ground clearance, and by quite a margin.  And they are not just available in blue, but also red, black, orange, green, purple to name a few of the colour options, red and blue just seem to be the most popular and available in the U.K.

 

More information can be found over on the RC Racer's TT-02 setup and upgrades guide, including the differences between the TT-02S, TT-02R, TT-02D, and the standard TT-02 - the TT-02S does not come with what you think it does namely a better motor mount than the standard TT-02 even the Tamiya blue Aluminum one that allows you to use 16T to 20T pinions

 

Edit:

 

In fact I believe the Australian with the YouTube channel, Mike something, actually runs a 55T pinion in combination with a 45 to 55T spur gear, and he gets over 120mph out of a TT-02, that hasn't really had that much modifications or aftermarket upgrades done to it.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Grogg

[Kpowell911]

15 minutes ago, Grogg said:

 

You can fit a 55T pinion and larger with the Yeah Racing motor mount it's the standard for people who do high speed 100+mph runs using a TT-02 chassis, you just need to either modify the pinion and spur gear cover by cutting a part of it away, or use a different aftermarket gear cover, like the one sold by Fibre Lyte for £4.00.  And the Yeah Racing adjustable parts that I can't remember the name of off hand, allows you to adjust ground clearance, and by quite a margin.  And they are not just available in blue, but also red, black, orange, green, purple to name a few of the colour options, red and blue just seem to be the most popular and available in the U.K.

 

Edit:

 

In fact I believe the Australian with the YouTube channel, Mike something, actually runs a 55T pinion in combination with a 45 to 55T spur gear, and he gets over 120mph out of a TT-02, that hasn't really had that much modifications or aftermarket upgrades done to it.

That astounds me that people do all that to a TT02 haha. But more power to them. 120mph out of a chassis that originally comes with Friction Dampers and bushings (in base form anyway) is crazy haha. 

Be interested id you could find the parts that allow more ground clearence, as I could be interested in them. My understanding is the arms foul on the chassis so you cant get enough droop to have any form of ground clearance, so you have to hack away at the arms, which weakens them?

 

I fancy an Evo shell thats on a TT02.....

Edited April 26, 2023 by Kpowell911

[Grogg]

1 hour ago, Kpowell911 said:

That astounds me that people do all that to a TT02 haha. But more power to them. 120mph out of a chassis that originally comes with Friction Dampers and bushings (in base form anyway) is crazy haha. 

Be interested id you could find the parts that allow more ground clearence, as I could be interested in them. My understanding is the arms foul on the chassis so you cant get enough droop to have any form of ground clearance, so you have to hack away at the arms, which weakens them?

 

I fancy an Evo shell thats on a TT02.....

 

 

People do it for the same reason as they turn a Banzai RC drift car, a cheap entry level one at that designed with drifting in mind not high speed, into a RC capable of doing over 100mph.

 

As far as fancying an EVO, I assume you mean a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo - I'm not a car person sold my last car close to 3 years ago don't miss it nor have any intention of buying another, Tamiya have been making them for years on the TT-02 chassis, and they're less than £130.00 delivered to your door, Tamiya Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V - TT-02, it's even listed in the ''off road'' section of electric RCs.  So no aftermarket, 3rd party, or Tamiya hop-up parts needed, unless you're wanting to change things to improve performance, stability, handling, or any of the hundreds of other characteristics of the chassis.

 

Buying a Tamiya kit, is really comparable to buying a blank sheet of paper to do with as you want - paint, draw, print on...... you're imagination, skill, time, and wallet is you're only limit.

[Kpowell911]

3 minutes ago, Grogg said:

 

 

People do it for the same reason as they turn a Banzai RC drift car, a cheap entry level one at that designed with drifting in mind not high speed, into a RC capable of doing over 100mph.

 

As far as fancying an EVO, I assume you mean a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo - I'm not a car person sold my last car close to 3 years ago don't miss it nor have any intention of buying another, Tamiya have been making them for years on the TT-02 chassis, and they're less than £130.00 delivered to your door, Tamiya Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V - TT-02, it's even listed in the ''off road'' section of electric RCs.  So no aftermarket, 3rd party, or Tamiya hop-up parts needed, unless you're wanting to change things to improve performance, stability, handling, or any of the hundreds of other characteristics of the chassis.

 

Buying a Tamiya kit, is really comparable to buying a blank sheet of paper to do with as you want - paint, draw, print on...... you're imagination, skill, time, and wallet is you're only limit.

Its listed in off road, but we know that doesnt mean its going to be capable enough stock but hey. Had at least 10x TT-01/02 so know the score, just want it for the shelf really. 
 

Hows your SRX coming along anyway?

Edited April 26, 2023 by Kpowell911

[Grogg]

3 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

Its listed in off road, but we know that doesnt mean its going to be capable enough stock but hey. Had at least 10x TT-01/02 so know the score, just want it for the shelf really. 
 

Hows your SRX coming along anyway?

 

Haven't started building it yet, still waiting for parts that where advertised as being in stock with a good quantity to be delivered that I ordered over a month ago - hopefully some more parts arrive tomorrow, and I want to properly finish off my Rock Socker first.  So I'm still in the research and planning phase of it.  The goal my mates and I have is to build a TT-02 that will go over 100mph - hence why I want to buy a rolling road/dyno for RC cars, I really don't think it's safe running a RC car be it 1/10 or 1/8 scale at those speeds in an uncontrolled environment - even at 3am in a deserted car park in the middle of nowhere.

 

I've played with a few TT-02s off road, and I honestly think they are very capable of off road rally sort of use and at decent speeds, like on a football pitch, in the park, golf courses, empty fields, basically on relatively flat grass or gravel, not for things like big jumps or what I would call extreme off roading

[Kpowell911]

Come one now! Dyno speeds dont count anyway? Haha

[Grogg]

1 minute ago, Kpowell911 said:

Come one now! Dyno speeds dont count anyway? Haha

 

Perhaps not, but they do have their uses, and provide a lot of useful information.  Besides with my mates and I idea of what taking our RC cars out for a run means, trust me it's a lot safer for the general public for me at least, to use a rolling road/dyno for our TT-02 challenge until we can get down to something like ROSSA, or convince a go-cart track to let us rent them out for the day for ourselves to use - the ones we've spoken to are not too keen on it even the ones that hold RC races on their go-cart tracks.

[Redback]

1 hour ago, Grogg said:

The goal my mates and I have is to build a TT-02 that will go over 100mph - hence why I want to buy a rolling road/dyno for RC cars, I really don't think it's safe running a RC car be it 1/10 or 1/8 scale at those speeds in an uncontrolled environment - even at 3am in a deserted car park in the middle of nowhere.

Sounds like your should try to attend a rossa or speed frenzy event, where fellow minded speed enthusiasts send there cars to 200mph on a runway in a very controlled and safe for people (not the cars) environment that just ooses passion, cant find a better group of people. Theres a group doing a tamiya 100mph challenge this year.
Worth the trip always worth it.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Redback

[Grogg]

2 minutes ago, Redback said:

Sounds like your should try to attend a rossa or speed frenzy event, where fellow minded speed enthusiasts send there cars to 200mph on a runway in a very controlled and safe for people (not the cars) environment that just ooses passion, cant find a better group of people. Theres a group doing a tamiya 100mph challenge.
Rolling roads provide no downforce so will probably explode tires and wont represent the true power as no air drag is involved.

 

That's the end goal, to build a TT-02 that is not only capable of doing 100mph, but is also recognisded as being able to hit 100mph - and they must have a FPV camera installed.  With a rolling road/dyno yes you don't get any downforce, but that can be simulated to a relatively accurate level and quite simply and cheaply too - once you have a rolling road/dyno and ignore the initial cost of one.

 

Right now I'm looking into getting a custom carbon fiber body shell made, a few more parts that I still need to order, as well as still trying to buy/source a RC rolling road/dyno that supports 4 wheel drive, 2 wheel drive, 1/10 scale, 1/8 scale, measures top speed, distance traveled and acceleration.  Not asking for much am I?

[bareknuckle4]

Wow, this thread went sideways 😅

 

I ordered a Fazer today, pretty excited now.