nitroade

Looks good for 2 reasons, #1, I really never drive this thing. I think I tried it once for about 30 seconds but I really do love it too much to drive it. #2, this was the most time I ever spent on a body, the mechanical build was 3 1/2 hours and the body took almost 7 hours. It just takes time to do the body and proper prep. Be sure the body is cleaned thoroughly, use the best quality paint you can find, and take your time with every step from cleaning to masking to painting and decalling. The paint needs to be layered on very slowly, I think I did about 20 coats to get a really deep consistent finish on this car. Tamiya does not sell pre-painted bodies from what I know.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

emphasis on leaving time between coats to avoid any chance of having runs! Metal flake paints take a lot longer to dry and those pearl pre-coats... man takes eons to be scratch resistant!

Nice rides though guys. Pete I see you've got top shelf stuff in there! Got a slipper on that monster?


I just mounted a gyro on my 'RA. Why? For science! Well not really... People have been praising gyros to teach new drifters the rudiments of drifting, others have been discrediting their users and generally dumping on anyone even inquiring about getting one; those people probably never tried one themselves and their opinion matters little to us doesn't it? That being said, I am not a pro or anything but I know what i'm doing enough to drift the crap out of this RA with ease without a gyro and have little to prove to anyone but myself.

Why am I considering this then? Well, I went to this local shop called [link=http://www.stratagememiniature.com]"stratagème miniature" [/link] which is where I bought this car. He has a small track in there for 1/24 and smaller (and sometimes a couple of 1:18th) and I tried a couple of cars on it including a dnano with a gyro and I really liked what it did to the stability. You can adjust the gain however you want, what i'd like to accomplish with this is make the car even more stable and predictable, possibly to the point of being able to drift at high speed with rubber tires on tarmac this summer.

I am using a dual rate heli gyro with a futaba 9650; this thing is digital, lightning fast, has a coreless motor, ball bearings and is so small and light that it BARELY fits the mounts once you flex them together a bit... (a lot really, but works flawlessly) Anyway, my point in mentioning this is that for a gyro to be effective it has to have a servo that responds fast, and I think I got just the thing.

I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Ok I'm back from the gyro test

It's a telebee dual rate heading lock gyro I bought from hobbyking for under 25 bucks, they have a drift car version for about 10 more but I figure they can't be all that different. To adjust it, I set the gain to max at home then tried to drive it straight down my hallway; it would hunt for center steering back and forth due to some slop in the linkages so I turned it down a bit; less hunting, bit more; no hunting. That's it. I presume that when I finally upgrade my steering linkages with bearings and aluminum linkages I will be able to turn the gain up even higher. Contrary to the manual's writings, it seems to deal with the vibrations very well indeed; that packed snow I drive on is far from smooth and my wheels are way out of balance, plus some of my tires need to be re-glued in some spots. This didn't stop me from doing WILD full throttle passes with 3 cells and a 9T ezrun which I assure you is more than I can handle. 2S is good enough speed to have a lot of fun with, 3 is abuse

I ran it on my usual wintertime packed snow and sheer ice (skating rink) On both these surfaces the gyro performed flawlessly; when I gun it from a stop I can see the car start to yaw and the gyro bring it back straight without having to touch the steering; Great! When I get it in a long sweeping drift and hit a bump which sends the car in the air momentarily I don't have to worry about countersteer when the wheels hit the ground again the gyro already has the front wheels pointed where they need to be which prevents spinning out, but if I DO steer the wheels myself pre-emptively it's like the gyro isn't even there, in other words it won't stop me from doing the driving, it'll only take the wheel if I "forget" to do so myself.

I LOVE it... I even let some 5-9 and 16yr old's have a go at the controls.

playerpete

i ran the car once again in my front yard and this thing is amazing. i had numerous rc cars most were in the top race categories but this thing has the most fun. I came up w/ a simple fix to fix the slop on the steering link. I had one of those dubro servo arms and attached the ball stup directly. Got rid of teh slop tremendously, and noticed the steering is a lot sharper. I dont have a pic of since its late night but I will take apic of it tomorrow during NFL.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Yeah I got rid of the stock servo saver in favor of a better quality unit and there's hardly any slop in there either but the actual "bearing" assembly in front is really sloppy. So are my caster blocks come to think of it. Still as you say, this is the most fun car ever! A bit of slop couldn't rain on it's parade.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

I took it out today, this time with tires that were studded using a slightly different technique and yield better grip; this time I found the gyro to be a little overwhelming in it's attempts to straighten out yaw; looks like I need to turn the gain down a tad. Here's some footage of today's bashing session;


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tClE_0wgSk8[/youtube]

nbla

So I just ordered my DF-03Ra, I'm totally addicted to RC cars. Bought a TT01E and upgraded it with CF chassis and alu parts + EZrun 5,5T brushless setup, and have never had time to drive it yet, due to snowy weather :P Anyway, wanted to have a DF-03Ra as a gravel basher.

What motor do you guys recommend for that? I'm guessing 5,5T might be a little overkill, and it looks like aflipz 9T is doing good. Do I have to think about anything special?

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Hi NBLA, you're gonna love this car in the snow! With a few precautions you can do it quite safely. Instead of buying a tamiya dark impact buggy body to make an inner shell, I cut a pop bottle (2 liter) and stuck it on the chassis with velcro, some shaping with a hot air gun helped define the shape.

This alone stops most of the snow and ice crystals from entering the electronics, but just in case I open all my electronics and coat their circuit boards with corrosion block (same as corrosionx) I ran a speed controller under water after treating it with this; I could not get the esc to glitch without adding tons of salt to the test water.

SO... You can definitely enjoy driving this car in the winter months provided you at least get or make a body shell. You should however stay away from salt covered roads. (do they use road salt in Sweden?) and from deep snow (or very thin ice lol) but other than that you're well on your way.

I would recommend a slipper clutch and some lipos! I have my slipper adjusted quite tight and still, sometimes running on 3S I'll be wide open, all 4 wheels are spinning at top speed and suddenly they grab huge traction and I hear the slipper screech; It make me feel good knowing that it's there to protect my gears, I'd hate to retire this car for weeks as I wait for parts.

nbla

Hello Aflipz,

Thank you for the information so far, I know I will have more questions once I got the car and built it

I was boring and got the old Lancer Evo (supplied with inner body), figured I could get another outer body later if I felt the need for it, so that part is covered. Will maybe take a look at the corrosion block and see if I can find any. Salt... yes, there are loads in Sweden, almost too much. Guess I'll drive on school yards etc on winters, but mostly got it for gravel bashing as said in previous post

As said earlier, I got Brushless in my TT01E, but no LiPo's, is it really necessary? I've heard reports on people running brushless with good ol' packs with no problems. I guess I will have to try and find out how it works for me Have you driven the car on gravel? Does the 9T work good?

Thanks for now,

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

You are welcome!

I got the car after it started snowing here so the only surfaces I've driven on are those you see in the video. I assume it won't be a whole lot different from driving on the rough packed snow surface you see in parts of the video only probably more grip. Looking forward to trying this car on a multitude of surfaces with a multitude of different tires.

You are right; you can get away with standard nicad or nimh packs and get a good bit of speed with brushless setups. It keeps the cost down and gets the job done, the same 9T motor I am using will probably be a bit slower than when I run 2s lipos because of the lower voltage and greater weight, but not enough to be boring, in fact geared and setup right I'm sure if we raced together it'd be close enough to be more about the driver than the power.

My 9T is doing great, considering the fact that I am using the small spur gear and large pinion (supplied in the kit) and that I alternate between 3 cells and 2 cells and that it survives pack after pack of abuse I'm confident that it won't be problematic on your nimh 6 cell packs no matter how hard you abuse it. Should be a very balanced setup. If you were intending on using only 3S packs I'd say 12 turns is probably smarter.

I am using the 35A esc on mine; my friend blew out 2 esc's last week; both 25A's. I made a deal with him; he buys my 35A esc for his smaller car and I buy myself a 60A. I decided to do this because it can get really hot here in the summer, and i'll probably still want to use the shell to keep dirt and rocks out of the "tub". The higher the amp rating of the esc the better as it will produce less heat accomplishing the same task. This of course has not been an issue in the winter even on 3S but i'm not so sure about those days where the sun is shining and it's 30C or more in the shade.

Casper06

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJJC2&P=7

The only one Tamiya sells that I know of in rally form pre-painted. And yes Tamiya does sell pre-painted bodies. [&:]

alexchen86

Anyone know where I can find a spare 07 WRC Monte Carlo Subaru body? The one that came with my kit?

The current one I have is all LED lit up and not exactly waterproof...I would like to have a spare.

Getting kinda lazy might just order the finished older Subaru WRC body for $50-60 bucks not a bad deal especially if I buy an unpainted body for about that price as well not to mention paint.

alexchen86

Also the older 98 HPI Subaru Impreza body looks pretty cool. But the wheel base is 10" not sure on the wheelbase right now on the stock Tamiya 07 Monte Carlo WRC body...I'm not about to go changing back and forth to the short wheel base arms...

Anyone with experience?

nbla

Aflipz, do you know if there's a big difference in performance from the EZRun 8.5T and 9T? It looks like you can get the 8.5T with a 60A esc combo, but the 9T only with 35A...

I'm also thinking about getting a radio soon now, using an old AM setup, but had my eye on a Spektrum (for use in my TT01E and my incoming DF-03Ra) for quite some time. Will my old servos work if I get a new Spektrum radio system, or do I have to get new ones?

thanks.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Yes there is a huge difference for sure on paper, how that translates in actual performance I don't know for sure but I expect a close relationship with a local hobby shop with good parts stock is in order... I am getting the 60 for safety and efficiency but will stick to my 9T motor. It may be durable but I certainly don't think the drivetrain is indestructible; at some point, something's got to give. From what I understand, the whole number turn ezruns are 380 class brushless motors in a 540 can with big heatsink fins to make up the diameter (already way more speed and power than your average 540 but with tons of torque, more efficiency and smooth maintenance free operation) while the "half" turns (i.e. 8.5T) are 540 class. To put this into perspective, if you geared a 25A esc and 180 can brushless motor way way down (not possible without custom work due to spur and pinion limitations) and setup your RA on the lighter side of things (smallest lipo that can give you 25A continuous) it would be a lot faster than the stock 540 motor on it's recommended setup. Don't believe me? Check this out; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_6L2H_41Ig

So, comparing that 180 to my 380's performance (in low grip or medium grip+high drag conditions) the 540's must be madness!


Some of the clips in the video I posted earlier is 2s some of it is 3S. I'm not exactly running low on power with 2s... I maybe go wide open less often on the 3S but that's about it. I can't imagine being able to put down 40% (or more) extra power without burning slipper clutches or worse; ball diffs! I could be wrong, and maybe on the tarmac this summer I'll wish I had more torque but for now it's plenty. Also; I set my timing to 2.5 degrees so if I do run out of speed I can time more aggressively and or use larger pinion gears so unless I am having motor heat issues I don't see myself going bigger.


For fun, I re-edited the video. Calling it "director's cut" because I spent more time eliminating boring stuff and used some clips I left out of the first vid out of editing laziness.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G5UkWUHbMA[/youtube]

Willystylz

that a sweet vid of your DF-03 Ra...........makes me wanna go and buy one

DarlSupra

Finally made an account here
I own a DF03RA since last week, traded it with someone with some stuff i had that wasn't selling.
Already had some DF03 hopups laying around.

So here is my DF03RA:

How it arrived:



After i was done with it:



Don't mind the wiring and tape, it's temporary!

Will be using it for rallying and drifting outside (Don't want to use one of my HPI Pro4's for that).
For rallying i will be using a '01 Impreza body and ofcourse a Dark Impact body

Somebody using a 3racing chassis with a undertray from another chassis (For example B44)?
Made one myself but doesn't look as nice.


Will fit fine
HPI 1/10 body's doesn't have such strange wheelbases as some Tamiya body's have.

Much better vid!

alexchen86

I think I will avoid HPI's 98 Impreza's body in favor of Tamiya's 04 WRC body....

All the websites still with this discontinued body say this:



HPI Subaru IMPREZA WRC "98" (190mm) Body is constructed oflightweight clear polycarbonate. Molded into body: lines for detail andcutting. Molded polycarbonate wing (must be cut out).</p>

INCLUDES: One Clear Subaru IMPREZA 200mm Body
One Clear Wing
One Decal Sheet (HPI, Subaru, Hella, Pirelli, &amp; Grill      detailing)
One Window masking sheet</p>

<br type="_moz"/></p>

The "Includes" section just throws me off...I know it's available in both 190mm and 200mm but I don't want to risk it. I wish I had an extra 07 Subaru Monte Carlo WRC body damn it!
</p>

Don't feel like wrecking my all LED'd up one...but can't find any available!<br type="_moz"/></p>

bmx833

Hi

Goy my Df03ra for christmas, has been awsome!
Will get some pics up, is not running atm though, somehow the nut holder in the rear diff has gone, so will be running again on saturday

heres a vid of it inside, excuse the master smacker, its my mates...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHK16NkGgRY

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5N7R9Wbe_E[/youtube]


So were all clear on what needs to be done now right? (replicate/beat the record in 1:10th scale)

alexchen86

Pastrana is sick....him and Ken Block...represent USA rallying at its finest!! Btw my dumb ass is actually thinking about going to a rally school in Florida. Ummm so don't quit you're day job right?

Lol

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Well don't have to quit your day job but definitely go for it... there's no such thing as excessive driver training. It might just save your life one day.

Casper06

Does anyone have a link to CVD's for this chassis?

nbla

I'll do that in sweden tbh... fly 82 meters is piece of cake... uhm... right

FLY A CAR?!?

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Yes... (casper) they are apparently the same used in the TT-01 and TA04 according to Tamiya's website so these will do;

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-5...04-p-4932.html