release date for te new tamiya 4wd buggy called the neo-shot?
07-01-2003, 07:20 AM
#16
Tech Rookie
Hi Crono. It really depends on what you're trying to climb, and how well-tensionned your belt is to begin with.
From experience, a drive belt is usually good for about 2 full racing seasons, if you maintain it properly, but all it takes is one good bash to make it slip. If indeed you DO feel that the belt has/is slipping while in use, stop IMMEDIATELY! The problem is that if the belt slips continuously for more than just a second while in use, it will wear-away the edges of your belt teeth, and thus make it that much more prone to slip again, since the belt teeth no longer mesh as well with the gear/diff teeth.
Back in the day ( the day being about 15 years ago
) I had 3 buggies to evaluate:
-Hirobo Alien Mid 4 (belt drive, 2 diffs)
-Tamiya Avante (shaft drive, 3 ball diffs)
-Kyosho Lazer ZX ( Belt drive, 3 diffs)
Believe it or not, the Hirobo Alien, with its plastic chassis pan, was actually a hair faster than the Lazer. The Alien's belt may have slipped ONCE, but I allocate that to flex in the chassis from abuse on my part.
As for the Lazer, I don't think that the belt ever slipped on me, but then, I never tried it make it do anything crazy, just regular dirt racing... The motor on my ZX seemed to get quite hot for some reason though!
Surprisingly though, the Avante was my favorite car of all. Aside from one broken lower wishbone once, this car was quite bullet-proof and superbly-easy to maintain. The car was a little overweight, but was still quite fast. It always suffered on really high jumps and rough terrain, but on the smooth stuff, the car really came alive... Definitely a match for a Yokomo or Lazer if it was a little lighter & had better front suspension.
From experience, a drive belt is usually good for about 2 full racing seasons, if you maintain it properly, but all it takes is one good bash to make it slip. If indeed you DO feel that the belt has/is slipping while in use, stop IMMEDIATELY! The problem is that if the belt slips continuously for more than just a second while in use, it will wear-away the edges of your belt teeth, and thus make it that much more prone to slip again, since the belt teeth no longer mesh as well with the gear/diff teeth.
Back in the day ( the day being about 15 years ago
) I had 3 buggies to evaluate:-Hirobo Alien Mid 4 (belt drive, 2 diffs)
-Tamiya Avante (shaft drive, 3 ball diffs)
-Kyosho Lazer ZX ( Belt drive, 3 diffs)
Believe it or not, the Hirobo Alien, with its plastic chassis pan, was actually a hair faster than the Lazer. The Alien's belt may have slipped ONCE, but I allocate that to flex in the chassis from abuse on my part.
As for the Lazer, I don't think that the belt ever slipped on me, but then, I never tried it make it do anything crazy, just regular dirt racing... The motor on my ZX seemed to get quite hot for some reason though!
Surprisingly though, the Avante was my favorite car of all. Aside from one broken lower wishbone once, this car was quite bullet-proof and superbly-easy to maintain. The car was a little overweight, but was still quite fast. It always suffered on really high jumps and rough terrain, but on the smooth stuff, the car really came alive... Definitely a match for a Yokomo or Lazer if it was a little lighter & had better front suspension.
07-01-2003, 07:26 AM
#17
when are these buggies going to be released to the public?
07-01-2003, 12:37 PM
#18
i do prefer shaft drive but the only ones that look decent are tamiya cars like the baja king,the problem is their suspension is really bad and botoms out on the smallest jumps!
so a person is only left with belt cars and they dont offer alot of choices!
i still find weird that tamiya doesnt make a buggy with theirs evo tb3 chassis setup!
so a person is only left with belt cars and they dont offer alot of choices!
i still find weird that tamiya doesnt make a buggy with theirs evo tb3 chassis setup!
07-01-2003, 06:50 PM
#20
Originally posted by Randman
You arent left with only belt drive cars, there is always the Durango
You arent left with only belt drive cars, there is always the Durango
07-01-2003, 09:26 PM
#21
Tech Adept
I know this is a tamiya thread but there always the TC3 "O" by www.rcproductdesigns.com. This conversion doesn't appear to bad. All u have to do is pick up a used tc3 for less than 100.00 and the while conversion will cost like $400.00......
I'm more of a tamiya guy so right now I'm working on a conversion of a TB EVO I using old 'school' red hot trick aluminum parts from my older bro's javelin. I'm just waiting to get longer dog bones and mill a longer center shaft.
I'm more of a tamiya guy so right now I'm working on a conversion of a TB EVO I using old 'school' red hot trick aluminum parts from my older bro's javelin. I'm just waiting to get longer dog bones and mill a longer center shaft.
07-01-2003, 10:24 PM
#22
Tech Rookie
The TC-3 update actually looks quite impressive!
I'm somewhat surprised that parts like the shock towers, chassis braces and drive shaft are made in metal though; the completed car must way a ton! If anything, the parts mentioned above could easily have been made in graphite at a substantial weight savings.
It would be nice if Associated actually offered a full TC-3 "o" ( OC-3?) as a stand-alone kit. Unfortunately, the 4WD offroad category probably needs to grow a lot more in popularity first.
I'm somewhat surprised that parts like the shock towers, chassis braces and drive shaft are made in metal though; the completed car must way a ton! If anything, the parts mentioned above could easily have been made in graphite at a substantial weight savings.
It would be nice if Associated actually offered a full TC-3 "o" ( OC-3?) as a stand-alone kit. Unfortunately, the 4WD offroad category probably needs to grow a lot more in popularity first.
07-02-2003, 05:30 AM
#23
hey guys do you ever notice that 4wd cars tend to bottom out easier then a 2wd buggies,even the top cars like xxx4 cant seem to take jumps as high as a 2wd buggy without slamming down on the ground..am i totally wrong here!?
07-02-2003, 07:12 AM
#24
Tech Rookie
Hi Crono.
4WD cars are somewhat heavier than their 2WD counterparts, so yes, they may tend to bottom-out more easily. More often than not, that's an issue of suspension set-up, and a need to go to a slightly higher viscosity oil, a heavier spring... Maybe even dialing-in a little extra pre-load, but you have to take the type of track you're running on into account too; everything is a compromise.
4WD cars are somewhat heavier than their 2WD counterparts, so yes, they may tend to bottom-out more easily. More often than not, that's an issue of suspension set-up, and a need to go to a slightly higher viscosity oil, a heavier spring... Maybe even dialing-in a little extra pre-load, but you have to take the type of track you're running on into account too; everything is a compromise.
07-02-2003, 01:23 PM
#25
Tech Rookie
Just a thought here...
I've been reading up on the Tamiya Surikarn TB EVO III in the on-road section, and this thing seems to have built itself quite a reputation as a formidable touring-car contender; seemingly better than the TC3 and even Tamiya's 414M.
I'm just wondering how well an on-road car would fair against the punishment of off-road abuse, but I figure that if the TC3 could take it, so can the Tamiya chassis most likely.
Has anyone contemplated this frankenstein experiment, or is it just too over-the-top pricewise?
I've been reading up on the Tamiya Surikarn TB EVO III in the on-road section, and this thing seems to have built itself quite a reputation as a formidable touring-car contender; seemingly better than the TC3 and even Tamiya's 414M.
I'm just wondering how well an on-road car would fair against the punishment of off-road abuse, but I figure that if the TC3 could take it, so can the Tamiya chassis most likely.
Has anyone contemplated this frankenstein experiment, or is it just too over-the-top pricewise?
07-03-2003, 12:30 PM
#26
Tech Adept
If I had the money for a Evo III then I would make the conversion but all I could afford is a used Evo I. The Evo III is pretty slick. I actually did a XXX-S conversion to off road about a one year before the XXX-4 came out though it did have a short length. It was fast and handled great. If you look at any current 4wd off roader they are all base off tourer... XXX4=XXXs, Schumacher Axis=Cat 3000, Yokomo MR4TC=MR4BC, TC3=TC3"O" and Durango.
The Evo III conversion to off road would be that have just mill a longer center shaft and graft on some xxx4 or schumacher cat arms/suspension components.
The Evo III conversion to off road would be that have just mill a longer center shaft and graft on some xxx4 or schumacher cat arms/suspension components.
07-03-2003, 02:27 PM
#27
Tech Rookie
Hi AzDan.
I don't think you'd necessarily need to machine a longer shaft for the EVO 3 to get the longer wheelbase. Rather, you leave the tranny as-is, and simply machine longer suspension arms (to get it out to the full 250mm width) and angle them outward slightly. This way, you increase the wheelbase (from 259mm on the standard kit to maybe 286mm) with minimal parts change, AND keep the weight inboard of the axles for optimal handling.
The only question I have is does Tamiya make long driveshafts that would accomodate the increased track, and if not, will another manufacturer's shafts fit?
Also, the pinion and spur gears are completely exposed on the EVo 3: would this be a problem for off-roading at all? I'd hate to get dust, dirt & debris in the drivetrain and essentially grind them out.
You'll have to forgive me about the d.shafts, I've only recently gotten back into R/C after well over a decade of hiatus... I'm still fighting the urge to call them "dog bones" and "UJ shafts" hehe
I don't think you'd necessarily need to machine a longer shaft for the EVO 3 to get the longer wheelbase. Rather, you leave the tranny as-is, and simply machine longer suspension arms (to get it out to the full 250mm width) and angle them outward slightly. This way, you increase the wheelbase (from 259mm on the standard kit to maybe 286mm) with minimal parts change, AND keep the weight inboard of the axles for optimal handling.
The only question I have is does Tamiya make long driveshafts that would accomodate the increased track, and if not, will another manufacturer's shafts fit?
Also, the pinion and spur gears are completely exposed on the EVo 3: would this be a problem for off-roading at all? I'd hate to get dust, dirt & debris in the drivetrain and essentially grind them out.
You'll have to forgive me about the d.shafts, I've only recently gotten back into R/C after well over a decade of hiatus... I'm still fighting the urge to call them "dog bones" and "UJ shafts" hehe
07-03-2003, 06:06 PM
#28
its not a evo3...but its an evo.....
Salutations Earthlings!
check this out! i wish i had an extra evo to mutilate .... but this is just too cool. someone passed this pic to me... from some jap .
i was thinking of waiting for the neo shot to comer around and simply using the arms on my evo3, then i'll mold a body shell for it...
but shock towers and good shocks are hard to come by.
anyways.... enjoy!
check this out! i wish i had an extra evo to mutilate .... but this is just too cool. someone passed this pic to me... from some jap .
i was thinking of waiting for the neo shot to comer around and simply using the arms on my evo3, then i'll mold a body shell for it...
but shock towers and good shocks are hard to come by.
anyways.... enjoy!
07-03-2003, 07:29 PM
#29
Tech Rookie
Hi Foam, thanks for the pic! 
I think this guy took a step in the right direction with his conversion; it's nice to see that Tamiya may finally have a legitimate shot at the 4WD off-road crown, especially since the EVO III is already a good step foreward.
On a slightly different note: somebody please shoot the guy who approved that bodyshell for the CAT 3000; that has GOT to be the absolute, most hideous bodyshell design I've ever seen on a buggy, I don't care how "efficient" it may be... Brings back memories of the HOMER 1000
Yup, it's finally starting to gel for me: after having scrutinized cars by Schumacher, Losi, Kyosho, Yokomo and Associated, I think that the the best off-road buggy might indeed be a conversion of the TB EVO III. It seems to be mopping the floor with the competition in touring cars, and I don't see why it wouldn't do just as well in the dirt
I think this guy took a step in the right direction with his conversion; it's nice to see that Tamiya may finally have a legitimate shot at the 4WD off-road crown, especially since the EVO III is already a good step foreward.
On a slightly different note: somebody please shoot the guy who approved that bodyshell for the CAT 3000; that has GOT to be the absolute, most hideous bodyshell design I've ever seen on a buggy, I don't care how "efficient" it may be... Brings back memories of the HOMER 1000
Yup, it's finally starting to gel for me: after having scrutinized cars by Schumacher, Losi, Kyosho, Yokomo and Associated, I think that the the best off-road buggy might indeed be a conversion of the TB EVO III. It seems to be mopping the floor with the competition in touring cars, and I don't see why it wouldn't do just as well in the dirt
07-04-2003, 10:06 AM
#30
Hi captain_america
do you have info on the availability of that kyosho shaft driven car called the zaboon here in north america?
i searched everywhere and i think its only available in europe
do you have info on the availability of that kyosho shaft driven car called the zaboon here in north america?
i searched everywhere and i think its only available in europe