Pinions and Spurs

Test 1 – Basic

Test 2 – Anti-vibration camera setup

My first real FPV video I did a while back, miss the old tc5r chassis

Absolutely cannot wait to get this kit, Tamiya just released the photographs of the body.

This new kit is based on the F104 chassis. It’s designated the F104X1 chassis and it’s a limited edition release. It was created to further improve traction and cornering performance. It features newly designed parts that include a roll damper as seen in many 1/10 and 1/12 scale pan cars and a new X-shaped upper deck. This limited edition kit also sports special-colored aluminum parts.

• X-Shaped FRP upper deck (new part)
• Aluminum damper mount (Titanium color) (new part)
• Rear axle shaft counter weight fitted with ball bearings (black color)
• F104 carbon reinforced gear case (new part)
• Aluminum Roll damper (Black color) (new part)
• Item 54129 TB-03D Aluminum Motor Mount (new color)
• Item 54158 F104 Aluminum Diff Housing Set (new color)
• Item 54159 Aluminum Horn for Hi-Torque Servo Saver (F104) (new color)
• Item 54202 F104 Aluminum Upper Suspension Mount (new color)
• Left Rear Wheel Hub (new color)

The new Tamiya 417 soon to be released

More information can be found by clicking here.

So finally got some time to get out to the track and most importantly take some photo’s and take the time to post the latest setup etc. Also as you may see, I have been busy adding a lot of hop-ups from Tamiya that makes the car probably look at lot better than the out of the box setup and features.

The car is running really well, I am really enjoying it. Please note I am using LRP’s SXX StockSpec MKI I beleive, so turbo is definitely engaged, and not using a rear wing. The car is very fast, needs to be driven in a way where there is less overall downforce because of no rear wing, however widening the rear has taken care of the problem.

My latest setup can be found going to Setup Sheets.

So finally I am rewarding my 1 year old Tamiya TA05 with some much awaited but not required hop-ups/upgrades/bling. The car out of the box is pretty strong, however some key upgrades can provide significant performance enhancements if you have started racing regularly like my self.

I have talked about basic upgrades for making the car competitive in earlier posts, also recently I have also provided an updated setup sheet that includes details on how I setup my car for racing in the RCGT class at my local track. The car has been running flawlessly and I have been learning a great deal about the car, ways of improving my driving skills and most importantly how to have fun in this hobby.

Today I received majority of the hop-up parts I am still waiting for a bunch more, so I ‘ll do my best to document the upgrades and also shared my observations on how much the car has improved in terms of performance.

Folks I have been really busy in general, with work, racing on weekends and so on. I will start writing more regularly now that I have some more time. I will begin by completing the analysis that I had begun with the Tamiya Ta05 chassis, I have purchased several cars since the Ta05 so will eventually get to all of them.

Last setup and testing I did with the TA05 consisted of the basic setup I shared but which is primarily the same, however the major changes have occured in the world of electronics.  I started with the LRP SXX TC speed control, later learned that it was designed primarly for modified motors but did ok with stock class motors, so ended up switching to the LRP SPX product which today has now been surpassed in stock performance by the Tekin V203 speed control ( that is another story).

The car as you can see has the SPX speed control along with the 13.5 speed passion motor. I have found the 17.5 class to be a great starting point and learnt a lot from it while racing. However with the advent of Tekin 203, stock performance has become similar to the old brushed modified motors. Besides as it works out for me, I will run at least 13.5 so there is never a question of power when it comes to dealing with speed controls, in my observation the 203 increases the performance of all stock motors however the biggest advantage it provides is on the 17.5 class motors. 13.5 and below are already pretty fast and below that point driving skills take over and in my opinion things are more balanced in general.

I have used yellow and red springs as you can see on the car, this is because I have been running on a dusty parking lot (conceret) surface which has very low traction. The software springs allow for more weight transfer to each end of the car, which makes the car roll more however results in creating more traction on the tires.

Overall I am very happy with the Ta05 chassis, it makes a great beginner car. It is very reliable, does not break easily and runs consistently even on not so good setup.

Hopefully next up I will talk about the other cars that include the new xray  t3, tamiya 416x, tamiya f104

I am currently working on fine tuning the Tamiya TA05 chassis to prepare for racing in the 17.5 class at the www.rctrack.com The Track in Gaithersburg MD.

Currently the following are the specs for the car

1. LRP SXX TC Speed Control, Power Profile 8
2. Speed Passion 17.5 Brushless Motor
3. 48p 78/38 Spur and Pinion
4. Optional Tamiya drive belts
5. Integy drive shafts
6. HPI tires (Pro Compound)
7. Ferrari F430 Body
8. Spektrum RX/TX
9. Trakpower 4900 mah 25C lipo
10. TRF shocks and TC5 17lbs springs

The car so far handles really well on asphalt track in gaithursburg md, my fastest laptime on the track is 16.5 seconds. The average for most drivers seems to be around 17-20 seconds, I intend to further tune the car and post results if I am able to further reduce lap times