little man

has any one used the 3racing graphite chasis kit for a tao5,if so how well did it work and what were the pros and cons of this kit.

AreCee

iTrader: (1)

Good for carpet, too stiff for asphalt but can be made to work there with considerable effort.

Con: Not TCS legal.

kufman

iTrader: (6)

For me it works fine on blacktop. It is a little bit tricky to get larger pinions on, but I modified the top deck and it is no longer a problem. The chassis allows for larger electronics that the stock chassis. Takes a while to change spur gears, but my top deck mod fixed that as well. The one annoying part about the stock chassis is you have to cut off one of the mounting ears on the servo. That is the ear that you need for the 3-racing chassis, so you may need to buy a new servo case.

redbones

You talking about the version1 or version2?

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31719

I'd like to know what the graphite thickness is on version2. Anyone?

kufman

iTrader: (6)

I have the first version.

Lees52

iTrader: (1)

I have the ver2 graphite chassis and its good!
http://www.3racing.hk/products.php?products_key=2851
Its thinner than the first version (1.8mm i think)so its only slighter stiffer than the tub which is what i was looking for.
You can drop some top deck screws out to make it more flex if you want.
The quality is pretty good. Not as good as tamiya but not far off and for $80 who cares.
Some bad points are are its tricky to get the spur gear off (top deck out) for a quick change. The battery mounts are slots and the ver1 strap doesnt fit and neither does the mounts from the TA05MS. I made up my own from some TT01 alu posts and a Tamiya TA05 graphite battery brace.
Also the whole battery is moved rearward about 1cm compared to the tub so the car feels a little stuck in the rear. You have to fiqure out your own aerial mount, just nick it from the tub and find or drill a hole.
Second time out I broke our local track record by 2 seconds and it felt very locked in. Racing big indoor met in about a month so ill see how it goes.

redbones

Thanks for the info Lees52.

Ah, if it is thinner than the old one, I think I want it. I know the spur is hard to get to (my old kawada one isn't any better). Seems as though, 3racing made their own TA05/MS hybrid with the floating center shaft. I also like the fact that the batt is moved more towards the center of the car. I tape my batt so the whole batt brace thing is not an issue.

Guess the last question would be,

How much lighter is the car after the conversion? Thanks

tc3team

I have the version 1 graphite (silver look) chassis. As said, it makes a very good indoor car as the chassis is very thick (I've not measured it, but i'd say 3mm+ thick) Car is good with foams too, but you will need a 1 or 2mm hex spacer on the wheel mount to clear the front wheels that catch on the upper balljoint.

I got my car to 1580gr with IB4200, futaba 9550 and a brushed motor setup, but with a smaller ESC and reciever you could get it closer to 1500gr, I was also using rather thick battery bars and alloy shocks

Here's a picture of the chassis, it comes pre assembled but you will need to fit the drivetrain etc to it from the ta05.

AreCee

iTrader: (1)

That's the one I have and it works well on carpet but I didn't like it on concrete and asphalt. It is 3mm thick and very stiff. It is a nice looking chassis and would do the shelf proud.

I switched to the Tamiya special chassis and the car is so hooked up now that I can use it on carpet, concrete and asphalt with only a few spring changes. Much better handling and more predictable than the 3racing v.1 chassis.

tc3team

Ive added some countersunk washers to the top deck screws, this should give the chassis even less flex with the bigger load area that the screws clamp down onto the pillars, making it even better for foams and carpet

Agreed, its a good looking bit of kit and is very capable of winning a club championship in the right hands, it handles well with rubber or foam tyres tbh.

I too cannot get the chassis to work outdoors, personally I havnt tried it, but even removing some of the upper deck screws I doubt there simply isnt enough chassis flex to get the car working well, (I have had the car for a year and used it with all the screws in the top deck on various compounds of tyre, if you try to get the grip with softer tyres they will help a little but are probably going off quicker).

I think the 3racing V2 chassis should help on lower grip tracks though as it should have more chassis flex and the cells are mounted further back.

redbones

The two things I need from this V.2 chassis is:

1. justified weight savings
2. enough chassis flex.

1.8mm (2mm?) seems like it will have good flex. I just want to know these facts before the car just turns to another shelf queen

tc3team

I would say with titanium screws, hingepins and toe rods, with a small esc, reasonable sized reciever and neat wiring, you will hit 1500gr with the v2 chassis.

All I can find listed for it is this:

http://www.3racing.hk/products.php?products_key=2851

Looks like it comes with a centre layshaft too, something the V1 chassis never did, value for $...

They do have a forum though if you want to sign up and ask some questions there...

my 415msxx has a 2.5mm chassis and certainly feels like it has enough chassis flex to work comfortably on asphalt/tarmac so I cant see why the V2 chassis shouldnt work. Its the V1 (that I have) which struggles, and im convinced thats why v2 came out, along with allowing the cells to sit further back, this im sure will give a better weight balance, ala 415 layout.

Lees52

iTrader: (1)

Ok mine weighs 1520.
Thats a original TA05.
SHO4200, GT7, Futaba Fasst Receiver and S9550 servo.
Stockstar motor.
I have blue lightweight driveshafts but not the light weight suspension(I dont like it bearings too small).
Original screws and the ones that come with the V2 conversion kit.
Thats with a Mazda 6 and a set of Sorex rubbers.
I think it was 1580 with the plastic tub so you getting about a 60gram saving.
You could easily get another 10-20 grams (our limit is 1500) with screws or just remove the motor cooler which weighs 20 grams.
And I have a battery brace that probably weighs 30 so if you use tape youll be way under.
Hope that helps.
Cool chassis

Lees52

iTrader: (1)

Also I heard the chassis(V2) was 1.8mm But when i measure it I get 2mm exactly for main chassis and top decks.

redbones

Thanks for the information.

Seems like 3racing designed this new version for asphalt racing.