samuelmczed69

Hi guys, I'm new to this thread
I just got my new TT-01 Subaru Impreza WRC (2003) and have played with it a little indoors, but it appears to be 'crabbing' a little. Is there any way of correcting this? By crabbing I mean that when I'm driving it, it looks like the rear wheels are not quite straight on; it could be due to toe-in or maybe the angle of the wheel but I don't really know what's adjustable and whats not. I really need to know ASAP, because if its down to something thats bent or broken then i need to send it back (I bought it off ebay btw)

Please help!!!

xxSLiMxx

If you can get some pictures to show us that would be great. Other then that the only thing i can think of you might have over tighten something. Is it the front or rear thats "crabbing"??

TIGER76

Yeh like slim mentioned sometimes the hex havent fitted in properly even if the bolt is tight driving on this will make the wheel seem warped and will damage the hexes too []
Best way to check is to spin the wheels free standing and check for wobbles if it doesnt then its the camber/toe in needs adjusting

samuelmczed69

xxSLiMxx: Hi mate, thanks for the reply, I will check it and photograph it later because I just took it out (there was a break in the rain :P) so its still kind of wet.

TIGER76: Thanks for the advice, as said to slim, i'll check in a few minutes when its a bit drier! Do you think that you could tell me how to adjust the camber/toe-in? If not, do you know any websites that would show me how to? (It didn't come with a manual). Since I recharged the car's battery (i was driving it with a very flat battery earlier) I've got to say that I'm very impressed with the speed! It's a great little car

xxSLiMxx

What kinda motor/esc are you useing? Is it the front or rear that your haing a problem with? If its the rear there is something on to tight or something is on wrong. If its the front you should be able to adjust the turn buckels and fix the problem.

TIGER76

Yeh there great little cars m8 and i hear ya on that rain lol been waiting allday to take out the vxl []
Also check your rims if there not newish i had a couple which were warped from curb riding hehe
Luckily parts are really cheap for the TT and theres plenty to hopup too my GF uses my TT now when i take the pede out it keeps up til i unleash the BL power
She wanted a new shell for it so i got her a scooby but she insists on pink for the color LOL women [:-]

samuelmczed69

Hi guys, as quoted from the ebay listing, it is an 'M TRONICKS RV 27 SPEED CONTROLLER F+B & R', and an 'RS SPORT 540 MOTOR'
if you want to check out the car the listing is here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=002

I think that the problem is coming from the back of the car but i'm not sure - i'm doing homework atm so will check in a few minutes
I don't know if pictures would be any help in working out whats wrong but I will post some if you think they would help!
Sam

chrisestt01

You said that it ran well (in the rain [>:])and were impressed with the speed. Does that mean that the crabbing is intermittent, like when you first ran it ?

If so, then it could be due to a partly discharged battery. To check this you need a discharger/charger. First fully discharge the battery, then charge it and see how much charge it takes. The number should be close to the rated power. What type of battery did you get?

If it is crabbing all the time, then it could be:
1. Binding in your drive train. Remove your motor and spin the wheels, one at a time then two at the time (front, then back). Everything should be spinning freely. There should be little resistance. In fact. if you place the car on a slope, it should roll down easily.
2. The speed controller. Check the setup.

samuelmczed69

I don't think that the crabbing is intermittent, it is just not particularly extreme, so it still drives quite well and the speed is good!
I've tried spinning the wheels and it looks like the front left and rear right wheels (if i remember correctly) are the offenders as they appear to wobble a little when I spin them. The batteries that I have are all 7.2v and it still occurs with the batteries when they are fully charged. I don't know how the set up of the ESC could affect it, could you explain that pleeeease ?

chrisestt01

I am confused. Crabbing sounds like the car is crawling, but your speed is good. Doesn't sound like a crab to me.
When you are running your car at full speed, does it occasionally glitch. Like the motor skips a beat?

SIRCC

IT NEEEEDS GREASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Rigger

If I'm reading this right, "crabbing" doesn't refer to the car's speed. I think the OP is saying the rear end of the car is somewhat out of line with the front end, so it's rolling just a shade sideways, e.g. "crab-walking." That would indicate there's something in either (or both) axles that's mis-aligned.

If the kit has the adjustable arms and/or turnbuckle tie rods, it'd be a simple matter to correct the problem. If not... Well... That sounds like a complete disassembly of both axles and *careful* reassembly.

It could also be how the steering servo is zeroed (or not, as the case may be) or how the steering arm is attached, although I am more apt to think there's a misalignment in the control arms and/or tie rods. Or I suppose it's possible that one side of the rear has a straight knuckle and the other has a cambered knuckle, which would throw the rear wheel alignment all kattywhumpus, but that seems hardly likely.

-Dave

The Rigger

You can download a manual from Tamiya USA. Or I can email you a PDF of it off-list. Do you know if it's the D-series or E-series chassis or the straight-up original TT-01?

If it's the original, there's no way to adjust the caster, camber, or toe-in without replacing the OEM steering parts with aftermarket or factory hop-up parts; the OEM TT-01 chassis has fixed-alignment hubs. Tamiya, among others, makes all sorts of suspension & steering upgrade parts; turnbuckle tie rods, adjustable front & rear upper arms, rear hub knuckles with preset toe-in angles, &c. All of these parts come with full instructions regarding installation and adjustment.

Dunno about the drifting "D-series" chassis, but ISTR that the TT-01E series comes with the adjustable bits; I'd have to look in my E-series manual to see if the alignment instructions are there. (I have an original TT-01 chassis in my FXX that I've been tweaking with aftermarket parts, so I have the E-series manual primarily as a curiosity; haven't really loooked at it yet.)

It's really just a matter of setting up a protractor or angle gauge of some sort and carefully dialing in some angles relative to the track surface and chassis centerline. Start with everything at zero and experiment from there. My car likes two degrees of negative camber and 1-2 degrees of toe-in on the front, zero camber and 2 degrees of negative toe-in on the rear, your results may(and probably will) be slightly different.

-Dave

The Rigger

P.S. Note also that changing tires will have an effect! I found that running with my treaded radials required some slight alignment changes, relative to running with the OEM slicks.

-Dave

samuelmczed69

you're right, I am referring to the fact that something is out of line, therefore it is 'crab walking' to an extent! It is the TT-01 Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 and it doesnt say anything about being a D or an E type on the box. What I need to know is how to adjust the toe-n and camber on the car so I can have a fiddle around with it! Thanks.

xxSLiMxx

Unless you have adjustble a-arms you cant, If there the solid ones your problem is somewhere else.

The Rigger

Yep... If it doesn't specifically say it's a TT-01D or TT-01E chassis it's the bone-stock chassis with non-adjustable suspension & steering gear, which has a fair amount of slop in it. I'd first download a manual from Tamiya and check your chassis against it to be sure it was assembled correctly and that everything is tight. If it's the front that steps out, check the servo calibration. If it's the rear, it sounds like one of the knuckles might be assembled slightly out of whack.

Sadly, as fun as these cars are, they aren't really manufactured to very tight tolerances, so you may find yourself spending some money on suspension upgrades if you want to eliminate all of the slop and make it completely tuneable.

-Dave

samuelmczed69

Thanks Dave,
When you talk about servo calibration do you mean trim? In terms of suspension upgrades etc. what parts would I have to buy in order to 'eliminate all of the slop and make it completely tuneable'? Alloy arms and shocks... anything else? Steering knuckles?

TIGER76

Tbh m8 even the redisigned E version still has some slop say compared to the TB series its just the way there designed i think.
Shocks are a great upgrade improves handling no end at speed,once you start adding hopups it doesnt stop lol so you might as well go all out There cheap enough through ebay even for us UKers

SIRCC

Does anybody know where to get chasis weights, finish my TT-01 with a velineon brushless system speed is great but steering is somewhat uncontrolable- went up to 46mph before losing control of steering

xxSLiMxx

Try going to any tire shop and ask them for stick on wheel weights. They come in 3oz sticks and are only like $2-$3 tops.

SIRCC

THANKS!

xxSLiMxx

No problem,....so when are we going to see some vid of the VXL TT01??

SIRCC

i dont have a digital video cam, i will ask if the other guys from the drift club has one.

dfiantii

chrisestt01,
Wanted to post some pics of my car as it is now. I was able to fit a Losi Type R bumper to it instead of the cheap Tamiya one. Right now I am running a 65/39, 48p gearing right now. Hope to get it out the track next week.