mrfyrehawk
01-24-2001, 02:21 PM
--->Updated 2/27/01<---
Well, I've posted a few times around here and maybe you know that I'm the guy searching for anything to make my TL01 a faster and better handling machine. Well, I've started down the long road to making it so.
On that note I thought I'd keep you all updated on my progress. Maybe some of you don't care, becuz you don't own a TL01 but for those of us that do, I thought this would be a nice thread for TL01 owners to look through to make their own ride's better.
Day One: (Since the car is already built, this is a recollection of what happened) Got the TL01 Lexus IS200 kit and instantly ripped into it. The chassis was completely different from the TA02 chassis that I had before. It appeared much more compact and stronger which might translate into a lighter chassis. The drivetrain was up to Tamiya standards and I was pleased to see the inclusion of a solid drive shaft instead of the old "coat hanger" wire from the TA02. My only disappointment came from the shocks. No oil. Just a screw poking out the bottom of a wannabe shock body. Oh well, it's an entry level car and new shocks are available real easy. I purchased a bearing set along with the kit and supplemented bearings where bushings were called for.
A few days later: I decided that I needed new shocks. I just couldn't live with the wimpy shocks supplied by Tamiya. I searched around and figured I might as well get really good shocks if I was going to get any and settled on the TA03 Super Low Friction Damper set because it came as a set of four for one low price.
Around that time I also started looking for aluminum performance parts for the TL01 and wasn't having much luck, so I went to the Tamiya sight for a parts compatibility check. To my surprise the TG10 aluminum uprights for both front and rear would work for the TL01. To my dismay, though, Tower Hobbies wanted a total of about $75 for them.
Off to eBay I went and found the exact same parts for auction and bought both sets, saving $25!!!
1/22/01: Today I soldered in my Tekin G12c III ESC and Trinity Speed Gems Topaz 11T Triple wind motor. I cut out a pair of post inside the chassis located underneath the receiver shelf and mounted the ESC there for a nice low center of gravity(CG). With the ESC here it provides for very short wire leads which cuts down on the electrical resistance.
1/23/01: I received the aluminum parts from the seller on eBay and they are SWEET!!! They are very light and much stronger than the stock plastic parts, not to mention infinately cooler. Installing the rear set was a breeze and required no additional parts or labor, the front set was another story. First off, the bottoms of the front up rights wouldn't fit in the TL01 lower a-arms without modification. To make them fit, I used a nail file and ground down the plastic on one side of the arm where the upright fits in. Perfect. No binding or anything. The next problem arose when I attached the upper arm. Looks like Tamiya wasn't kidding when they said you needed the adjustable tie-rods and steering rods. Without these in place the car had major positive camber and toe-out problems. Looks like I'll be calling on Lunsford soon. Then the next problem. With the front uprights installed the font wheels wouldn't spin correctly with the wheels turned to the left or right. It appears that the uprights push the dogbone in closer to the diff outdrives and when the wheels are turned they push into the axle cups and bind up. To relieve this I removed the rubber o-rings from the diff outdrives and it solved the problem right away.
Tomorrow or Thursday I should receive the new shocks and a full set of HGI Le Mans aluminum wheels!!! Stay tuned!!!
1/24/01: Got the shocks!!! Very nice looking aluminum units that come standard with Tamiya's stiff blue springs. Putting them together is easy and installing them went just as well. The shock kit supplies you with 8 gold ball ends to attach the new shocks if you wish. If you installed the original shocks with the black screws be very careful not to over tighten the ball ends if/when you install them, especially in the lower a-arms. These shocks are really nice and a HUGE improvement over stock. They give a nice fluid ride to the car now instead of a bouncie inconsistent ride with the OE shocks. The HGI wheels were on back order for a day so they should arrive soon and I'll be one step closer to my killer ride.
2/1/01: Well, I'm finally back!! It seems Netzero limits me to 40hrs a month, hence the delay in updates. So, where am I?
I got my HG wheels and they are BEAUTIFUL!!! For those of you considering them, get a set. GET TWO SETS!!! They make a nice car look fabulous. The only downside to them is that compared to my stock plastic wheels, the HG rims weigh about 12grams heavier, so racing with them probably isn't a great idea as they add more rotating mass and slow the car down, but for killer looks, they blow the stockers away!!! One thing I noticed when I got the wheels, there was left over aluminum on the inside where the wheel mates with the axles hex hub. Use a hobby knife to bend it back and forth until it falls off. And becareful with those little pieces of aluminum flakes... they're sharp!!!
I also changed the position of the antenna mount this past week. With it in it's stock position the antenna sticks out at least 10 inches over the car... it's looks dumb. I looked the chassis over and decided that I could attach the mount to the chassis to a screw point just above and in front of the steering servo. Since the stock screw was too short, I cut down a longer screw that I had and used a washer to secure the antenna mount there. I mounted the anntenna so that it leaned back towards the back of the car and wouldn't you know it that it was perfect!!! In this position the antenna pokes out of the roof at an angle that makes it look like a Euro radio antenna like on the real cars!!! Since it looked funny clear, I painted the tube black and then used a clear sealer to keep the paint from chipping.
Now some of you may be wondering how this cars performance has changed as I've changed parts. I don't know. *lol* I don't have a radio for it. You: "WHAT!?!?! WHY!?!?" Me: I'm in Cleveland, OH. There's still alot of snow on the ground and it's still really wet outside so I don't really have anywhere to test this, so a radio is not a top priority until it warms up more. =)
2/8/01: Well, I got my lightweight kingpins and I must say that they're pretty nice. They weigh in at about 2.5grams... roughly half that of the stock kingpins. I found them on ebay and only paid $9!! I also found the lightweight chassis and carbon drive shaft online and paid $30 shipped to my door. They're on they're way and I'll let you know when I get them.
2/17/01: Good news!!! One I got some steering tie-rods so my wheels are running straight again and.... I got myself a digital camcorder and I've got pics!!!
Now, so I don't bog the board down with lots of big pics, I'll just give you the address for them. Here's the link to them...<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/gtpro/index.html">My Project TL01 Page</a>
2/27/01: Well, it's been awhile since an update and for a good reason. I haven't done much. But yesterday the packages started coming in and today I've been working like mad. Here's what's going on:
-I ordered the front and rear sets of MIP CVD's from Tower along with the adjustable camber kit. The CVD's were originally designed for the TA02, but since it and the TL01 are nearly identical, I figured it would go off without a hitch. I was wrong. The rear CVD's went in pretty good. I found that the o-ring in the drive hub made it bind a bit, so I took that out. Then I found that the CVD still tended to bind a little at full compression, so I took the extra o-ring and slid it onto the shock shaft to make the bump-stop higher. Cool. That end... solved.
The front CVD's were.... completely wrong!!! I forgot that the TA02 had two different size bearings in the original hub carrier, so the CVD kit that I got wouldn't fit!!! ARGH!!! Oh well, I put'em up for auction right away on ebay.
-Later I decided that I wanted to make sure the CVD's that fit in the rear would work up front, so I tore down the front and and tried to install them. No go. It seems that the TG10 aluminum uprights that I got are designed to be situated closer to the car, so when I tried to put the rear type CVD's in they wouldn't fit at all. Not one to be discouraged (too much), I dug out the old plastic uprights and re-installed them and gave the CVD fitting another try. Perfect!!!So now the TG10 Aluminum uprights are on ebay too!! As soon as the TA02 Front CVD's sell, I'm buying another set of TA02 REAR CVD's to complete all four corners. http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif
-The next things to arrive were the Lightweight chassis and Carbon Main Shaft. The chassis looks identical to the original save that it's grey in color and actually weighs about an ounce less than stock. Whoop-dee-doo. The drive shaft on the other hand was noticably lighter right away and the scales just proved it. The Carbon unit was 6 ounces lighter!!! Talk about less rotational mass!!!
Switching the chassis wasn't too bad. I just had to re-trim some plastic out of the inside of the new chassis to make way for my ESC. I also ground away some material above the motor. I've ordered an aluminum heatsink and I want it to stand nearly as straight up as possible and with the way the chassis is molded, this just isn't possible.
Be very careful if you try this!!! I used the flat side of a cutting wheel to slowly sand it down. Make sure you watch closely how much you grind away or yours will end up like mine... with a small hole. I sealed the hole with CA glue to keep dirt and dust out of the gears.
Lastly, I'd always left the rear bumper off of my TL and that left a small gap between the gear case halves. The Lightweight Chassis includes a nifty little piece of graphite that nicely ties that end together.
Part #'s used so far:
-------------------------------------
Duratrax TL01 Bearing kit ($35)
Tamiya:
-53163 Colored Spring Set
-53226 Aluminum Front Uprights ($34)
-53380 TG10 Aluminum Rear Uprights ($35)
-53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Dampers(4) ($52)
-53333 Touring Car Spring Set ($10)
-53300 TL01 Adjust. Tie-rods ($5)
-5---- TL01 Ajust. camber kit. ($5)
-53331 TL01 Lightweight Chassis ($12)
-53323 TL01 Carbon Drive Shaft ($12)
HGI Le Mans Aluminum Wheels
-5/8 inch screw and washer for antenna repositioning
-Lightweight kingpins
List of things to come:
----------------------------------------
Lunford
-Titanium tie-rods
-15mm and 20mm Titanium camber rods
Tamiya:
-Speed Tuned Gear Set
-Sway Bar Set
-Carbon Gear Shafts
-TA03 ball diffs
-For Mustang SVT Cobra body
MegaTech or GPM:
-aluminum front uprights
-aluminum a-arms(fr and rr)
-aluminum steering knuckles
MIP:
-TA02 CVD's (rr)
(yes, the TA02 Rear kit fits for both Fr and Rr on the TL01)
HG:
-aluminum hex adapters (maybe)
Trinity:
-Speed Gems Opal 10T Triple
[This message has been edited by mrfyrehawk (edited 02-27-2001).]
[This message has been edited by mrfyrehawk (edited 02-27-2001).]
Well, I've posted a few times around here and maybe you know that I'm the guy searching for anything to make my TL01 a faster and better handling machine. Well, I've started down the long road to making it so.
On that note I thought I'd keep you all updated on my progress. Maybe some of you don't care, becuz you don't own a TL01 but for those of us that do, I thought this would be a nice thread for TL01 owners to look through to make their own ride's better.
Day One: (Since the car is already built, this is a recollection of what happened) Got the TL01 Lexus IS200 kit and instantly ripped into it. The chassis was completely different from the TA02 chassis that I had before. It appeared much more compact and stronger which might translate into a lighter chassis. The drivetrain was up to Tamiya standards and I was pleased to see the inclusion of a solid drive shaft instead of the old "coat hanger" wire from the TA02. My only disappointment came from the shocks. No oil. Just a screw poking out the bottom of a wannabe shock body. Oh well, it's an entry level car and new shocks are available real easy. I purchased a bearing set along with the kit and supplemented bearings where bushings were called for.
A few days later: I decided that I needed new shocks. I just couldn't live with the wimpy shocks supplied by Tamiya. I searched around and figured I might as well get really good shocks if I was going to get any and settled on the TA03 Super Low Friction Damper set because it came as a set of four for one low price.
Around that time I also started looking for aluminum performance parts for the TL01 and wasn't having much luck, so I went to the Tamiya sight for a parts compatibility check. To my surprise the TG10 aluminum uprights for both front and rear would work for the TL01. To my dismay, though, Tower Hobbies wanted a total of about $75 for them.
Off to eBay I went and found the exact same parts for auction and bought both sets, saving $25!!!
1/22/01: Today I soldered in my Tekin G12c III ESC and Trinity Speed Gems Topaz 11T Triple wind motor. I cut out a pair of post inside the chassis located underneath the receiver shelf and mounted the ESC there for a nice low center of gravity(CG). With the ESC here it provides for very short wire leads which cuts down on the electrical resistance.
1/23/01: I received the aluminum parts from the seller on eBay and they are SWEET!!! They are very light and much stronger than the stock plastic parts, not to mention infinately cooler. Installing the rear set was a breeze and required no additional parts or labor, the front set was another story. First off, the bottoms of the front up rights wouldn't fit in the TL01 lower a-arms without modification. To make them fit, I used a nail file and ground down the plastic on one side of the arm where the upright fits in. Perfect. No binding or anything. The next problem arose when I attached the upper arm. Looks like Tamiya wasn't kidding when they said you needed the adjustable tie-rods and steering rods. Without these in place the car had major positive camber and toe-out problems. Looks like I'll be calling on Lunsford soon. Then the next problem. With the front uprights installed the font wheels wouldn't spin correctly with the wheels turned to the left or right. It appears that the uprights push the dogbone in closer to the diff outdrives and when the wheels are turned they push into the axle cups and bind up. To relieve this I removed the rubber o-rings from the diff outdrives and it solved the problem right away.
Tomorrow or Thursday I should receive the new shocks and a full set of HGI Le Mans aluminum wheels!!! Stay tuned!!!
1/24/01: Got the shocks!!! Very nice looking aluminum units that come standard with Tamiya's stiff blue springs. Putting them together is easy and installing them went just as well. The shock kit supplies you with 8 gold ball ends to attach the new shocks if you wish. If you installed the original shocks with the black screws be very careful not to over tighten the ball ends if/when you install them, especially in the lower a-arms. These shocks are really nice and a HUGE improvement over stock. They give a nice fluid ride to the car now instead of a bouncie inconsistent ride with the OE shocks. The HGI wheels were on back order for a day so they should arrive soon and I'll be one step closer to my killer ride.
2/1/01: Well, I'm finally back!! It seems Netzero limits me to 40hrs a month, hence the delay in updates. So, where am I?
I got my HG wheels and they are BEAUTIFUL!!! For those of you considering them, get a set. GET TWO SETS!!! They make a nice car look fabulous. The only downside to them is that compared to my stock plastic wheels, the HG rims weigh about 12grams heavier, so racing with them probably isn't a great idea as they add more rotating mass and slow the car down, but for killer looks, they blow the stockers away!!! One thing I noticed when I got the wheels, there was left over aluminum on the inside where the wheel mates with the axles hex hub. Use a hobby knife to bend it back and forth until it falls off. And becareful with those little pieces of aluminum flakes... they're sharp!!!
I also changed the position of the antenna mount this past week. With it in it's stock position the antenna sticks out at least 10 inches over the car... it's looks dumb. I looked the chassis over and decided that I could attach the mount to the chassis to a screw point just above and in front of the steering servo. Since the stock screw was too short, I cut down a longer screw that I had and used a washer to secure the antenna mount there. I mounted the anntenna so that it leaned back towards the back of the car and wouldn't you know it that it was perfect!!! In this position the antenna pokes out of the roof at an angle that makes it look like a Euro radio antenna like on the real cars!!! Since it looked funny clear, I painted the tube black and then used a clear sealer to keep the paint from chipping.
Now some of you may be wondering how this cars performance has changed as I've changed parts. I don't know. *lol* I don't have a radio for it. You: "WHAT!?!?! WHY!?!?" Me: I'm in Cleveland, OH. There's still alot of snow on the ground and it's still really wet outside so I don't really have anywhere to test this, so a radio is not a top priority until it warms up more. =)
2/8/01: Well, I got my lightweight kingpins and I must say that they're pretty nice. They weigh in at about 2.5grams... roughly half that of the stock kingpins. I found them on ebay and only paid $9!! I also found the lightweight chassis and carbon drive shaft online and paid $30 shipped to my door. They're on they're way and I'll let you know when I get them.
2/17/01: Good news!!! One I got some steering tie-rods so my wheels are running straight again and.... I got myself a digital camcorder and I've got pics!!!
Now, so I don't bog the board down with lots of big pics, I'll just give you the address for them. Here's the link to them...<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/gtpro/index.html">My Project TL01 Page</a>
2/27/01: Well, it's been awhile since an update and for a good reason. I haven't done much. But yesterday the packages started coming in and today I've been working like mad. Here's what's going on:
-I ordered the front and rear sets of MIP CVD's from Tower along with the adjustable camber kit. The CVD's were originally designed for the TA02, but since it and the TL01 are nearly identical, I figured it would go off without a hitch. I was wrong. The rear CVD's went in pretty good. I found that the o-ring in the drive hub made it bind a bit, so I took that out. Then I found that the CVD still tended to bind a little at full compression, so I took the extra o-ring and slid it onto the shock shaft to make the bump-stop higher. Cool. That end... solved.
The front CVD's were.... completely wrong!!! I forgot that the TA02 had two different size bearings in the original hub carrier, so the CVD kit that I got wouldn't fit!!! ARGH!!! Oh well, I put'em up for auction right away on ebay.
-Later I decided that I wanted to make sure the CVD's that fit in the rear would work up front, so I tore down the front and and tried to install them. No go. It seems that the TG10 aluminum uprights that I got are designed to be situated closer to the car, so when I tried to put the rear type CVD's in they wouldn't fit at all. Not one to be discouraged (too much), I dug out the old plastic uprights and re-installed them and gave the CVD fitting another try. Perfect!!!So now the TG10 Aluminum uprights are on ebay too!! As soon as the TA02 Front CVD's sell, I'm buying another set of TA02 REAR CVD's to complete all four corners. http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif
-The next things to arrive were the Lightweight chassis and Carbon Main Shaft. The chassis looks identical to the original save that it's grey in color and actually weighs about an ounce less than stock. Whoop-dee-doo. The drive shaft on the other hand was noticably lighter right away and the scales just proved it. The Carbon unit was 6 ounces lighter!!! Talk about less rotational mass!!!
Switching the chassis wasn't too bad. I just had to re-trim some plastic out of the inside of the new chassis to make way for my ESC. I also ground away some material above the motor. I've ordered an aluminum heatsink and I want it to stand nearly as straight up as possible and with the way the chassis is molded, this just isn't possible.
Be very careful if you try this!!! I used the flat side of a cutting wheel to slowly sand it down. Make sure you watch closely how much you grind away or yours will end up like mine... with a small hole. I sealed the hole with CA glue to keep dirt and dust out of the gears.
Lastly, I'd always left the rear bumper off of my TL and that left a small gap between the gear case halves. The Lightweight Chassis includes a nifty little piece of graphite that nicely ties that end together.
Part #'s used so far:
-------------------------------------
Duratrax TL01 Bearing kit ($35)
Tamiya:
-53163 Colored Spring Set
-53226 Aluminum Front Uprights ($34)
-53380 TG10 Aluminum Rear Uprights ($35)
-53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Dampers(4) ($52)
-53333 Touring Car Spring Set ($10)
-53300 TL01 Adjust. Tie-rods ($5)
-5---- TL01 Ajust. camber kit. ($5)
-53331 TL01 Lightweight Chassis ($12)
-53323 TL01 Carbon Drive Shaft ($12)
HGI Le Mans Aluminum Wheels
-5/8 inch screw and washer for antenna repositioning
-Lightweight kingpins
List of things to come:
----------------------------------------
Lunford
-Titanium tie-rods
-15mm and 20mm Titanium camber rods
Tamiya:
-Speed Tuned Gear Set
-Sway Bar Set
-Carbon Gear Shafts
-TA03 ball diffs
-For Mustang SVT Cobra body
MegaTech or GPM:
-aluminum front uprights
-aluminum a-arms(fr and rr)
-aluminum steering knuckles
MIP:
-TA02 CVD's (rr)
(yes, the TA02 Rear kit fits for both Fr and Rr on the TL01)
HG:
-aluminum hex adapters (maybe)
Trinity:
-Speed Gems Opal 10T Triple
[This message has been edited by mrfyrehawk (edited 02-27-2001).]
[This message has been edited by mrfyrehawk (edited 02-27-2001).]