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Veteran TAMIYA TA03 fans!

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Veteran TAMIYA TA03 fans!

Old 11-25-2002, 09:17 AM
  #721  
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Fit

The track that we have been running at is super slick normally and almost all the turns are off camber, so the kit tires aren't much of a disadvantage. They actually work pretty well on that surface.

Evil_S10

If you're going to go and buy a set of shocks for the car, I'd get the Yokomo short shock set. It already has short shafts which are good for the 03. Otherwise, I'd just rebuild the ones you have. The Associated shocks are very smooth when they don't leak. If you set the droop on the car by using spacers and o-rings on the shock shafts before assembling the shocks, you shouldn't need the swaybars. I don't find that my 03FS needs them and I don't run them on my 03DJE either even though it came with them.
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Old 12-17-2002, 07:33 PM
  #722  
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Old 12-18-2002, 11:42 AM
  #723  
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Originally posted by ShadowAu
... I've got My TA03 going faster around My local track than My Associated TC3

Really. What set up are you using on the 03?

I have a general question for those who can help.
I put my TA03R Tub Chassis back together with all the parts from my David Jun. I noticed that on the DJ the Pulley gears are 16T but on my 03R it came with the 15T. I heard that it's best to use a smaller pulley gear up front with the larger one in the rear, is this true?

My current set up is as follows:
Front:
Ball diff
one way
15T Pulley up front
Gray Front sway bar
40W oil
Blue Springs
o toe
1 degree caster
TA02 hub carriers, 2nd hole

Rear
gear diff
16T pulley
yellow sway bar
1 degree caster

This is basically a kit for my son but I may run this in the GT3 class. Right now I'm running the Silver 540 motor with a 25T pinion.
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Old 12-18-2002, 01:11 PM
  #724  
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You can use the bigger pulley in the rear if you are using the front one way. I would just use the two 15 tooth pulleys as it will let belt be a little freer and 03 are just not as efficient as the 04's are. You will find that the 03 will not do as well in the GT3 class as it would in GT2 (stock or even GT1 (mod). I run mine in the TCS races in GT2 and was actually leading and could have one if I wasn't taken out but that is another story.

Our track actually runs a GT3 class every week and the 04's and the occasional EVO1 or EVO2 are fast. The 03 just don't have a chance with the silver 540 in their and take it from me I love the 03 cars and wouldn't run a 04 so unless it is stock or mod your poor son might take a few lumps against the 04's. Good luck if you do run GT3 as I would like to know how you fair against the 04's as they are also a ton lighter.
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Old 12-18-2002, 02:00 PM
  #725  
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Originally posted by wyd
Good luck if you do run GT3 as I would like to know how you fair against the 04's as they are also a ton lighter.
Cool, thanks for the information.

My plans are to run an 04R in the TCS race that we are having here in Memphis on the 13th of July. I haven't gotten it yet but that's my plan
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Old 12-18-2002, 02:33 PM
  #726  
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Default TA03 setup

hey there Mike F

the setup I was using on My TA03 was pretty simple... first I converted a TA03R-TRF to an TA03F-TRF... for My liking its a better balanced car and reacts more predicatbly to changes... I also like a car with a fair bit of initial steering and the F with the right setup does it more controlably than an R

ok... here is all the nuts and bolts info
* TRF shocks with 2 hole teflon pistons
* 80w oil front and rear... if running foam tires or if the rear hops
under power try 40w-50w in the rear
* fluro yellow springs front and fluro blue springs rear from the
onroad spring set
* front one way pully
* front one way diff
* battery mounted as far rear as possible with the servo
mounted to the chassis
* 1deg camber rear
* 2deg camber front
* TA02 front hub carriers
* 0deg toe (sometimes depending on conditions about 1deg
toeout)
* Robinson 48P spur conversion (VERY useful)

Rebuild the shocks the same way as the new 04-R shocks are built with the the little urethane spacer under the cap inside the the little bubble thing... I use a little piece of fuel hose cut to size and it makes the shocks even better (hard to beleive but its true)

Also make sure the rear diff action is "perfect"... Tamiya diffs are the one area I think they've never had the same quality as the rest of their kits and they need constant maintance... I was replacing the diff balls about every 10 runs and the diff rings about every 20... not because I wanted to but because its the only way to keeping the diff action really smooth which I think is VERY important... mind you I didn't have access to carbide balls as My local HS never wanted to order anything for Me without a fight... they most likely will improve the reliability of the diff a fair amount but will still need periodic replacement

Ride hight I also found to be a very good tool for fine tuning an 03... by the time I was done I was running about 4.5-5mm on the front and 6-6.5 mm on the rear... bumpier tracks may need to run higher... if I needed a little more on-power steering I would lower the rear hight or raise the front... its only a small amount of change but its still useful

If you find that the twin one way setup gives to much steering try replacing the diff one way with a standard ball diff or even the TA03 gear diff that came standard in the kits... its amazing how well those gear diffs work and they give less steering than the one way diff but more than the ball diff

things like putting spacers inside the shocks to limit up-travel etc can be useful but they are far to difficult to play with on race day and I never found them to do anything signicant to the handling on the tracks I visted, but then again I am not at a pro-driver level... in fact the only time I've found things like up-stops and down-stops useful was when I was driving 1/10 Circuit cars/235mm Nitro cars... but then they had double the weight, 10 times the horsepower and were 2WD

one last thing.... NO SWAY BARS EVER ... they are a total waste of time unless you are on a VERY high grip surface... the 03 is a good car but its mechanical grip level is marginal compared to most new cars and even cars of the same era and taking grip away using the bars just slows it down... yes they will keep the car flatter during turns but whats the point if you are going through the turns slower... its not possible to use the sway bars with the TA02 front hub carriers anyway so makes the choice easy

if you have any questions feel free to grill Me about them
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Old 12-18-2002, 02:48 PM
  #727  
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Originally posted by wyd

Our track actually runs a GT3 class every week and the 04's and the occasional EVO1 or EVO2 are fast. The 03 just don't have a chance with the silver 540 in their and take it from me I love the 03 cars and wouldn't run a 04 so unless it is stock or mod your poor son might take a few lumps against the 04's. Good luck if you do run GT3 as I would like to know how you fair against the 04's as they are also a ton lighter.
I had My 03 competing against and beating Corallys, Pro 2s, 0B4 Worlds etc.... the Robinson spur adapter really helps in a 540/silver can class but an 03 can still be geared pretty well using the standard 06 gears... and with the new 04 pinions maybe even with them (if they fit)

the BIG killer is keeping that motor cool... in an F thats almost impossible but I still managed... an R is much simpler because of there being more space around the motor for heat sinks, airflow etc

and now that I have My new TA04-R I can tell you EXACTLY how much weight difference there is... TA03F-TRF - 1557grams... TA04-R - 1523grams.... both cars ready to race, battery etc
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Old 12-18-2002, 02:56 PM
  #728  
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Mike F that is cool. The 04R is a really nice kit. It is fast and against other TCS style Tamiya cars it is hard to beat. The track I run at actually does a ton of stuff with Tamiya and actually helped to start the new GT3 class. We get 5 to 15 a week of this class with a average af about 10 guys. Great class for cheap competitive racing. Only bad thing is it really makes you run a 04 or EVO shaft type car. Too bad as I think the 03 is killer.

I have found I have been able to keep up fairly well in GT2 or even GT1 at our track. Nowdays the 03 is fairly stuck I think in GT2 as in mod it don't handle like you can make a 04R. If I would just put in some better batteries my 03 in GT2 it is a top 5 car at our TCS race. Last year with had 164 entries at RCO hobbies and have the only indoor asphalt TCS race in the country. Very nice event and Tamiya really does take care of RCO and get them stuff that most places can not get from Tamiya otherwise. We get alot of stuff from overseas from Tamiya. It takes a little longer but they are great for our local shop. I think they sell over 200 plus TL01 kits a year.

With some work and a great setup the 03 can still compete but it does take a great setup and good driving to keep up. If you want a challenge like I do then it is still a great car. It is fairly forgiving to drive as well. I like the 03R version as it steers alot better for me than the 3 David Jun cars I have had over the years.
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Old 12-18-2002, 03:12 PM
  #729  
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I have to agree with you on the steering on the 03R, I find it very easy to drive,especially with the 540 motor. I did make the change to Robinson Racing Spur gear, seems to add a little speed.

This car has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year, I replaced the tub chassis and started re-working it 2 days ago. I've always like the 03R but never raced it at our track.

I've been to a few TCS races over the years, the last one was in Oklamoha. I had a blast. I ran my Tb01 at the last race and had some glitching problems in the 2 heats, I started in the 8 position out of 8 in the Main and took 3rd behind my friend.

Do you find or think there's an advantage of using the Armid Belt as oppose to the one that comes in the kit? And what TCS legal tires are you using, as well as the inserts
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Old 12-18-2002, 04:59 PM
  #730  
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The arimid belt is a little thinner and softer. I have found it tobe smoother over the stock wider belt. I also use the smallest bearings I can find for the tension by the motor. I think the 850 is the smallest one that works and takes a tad bit of tension out of the belt.

As for tires I almost always run the Tamiya Type A with the medium Tamiya insert. I like the smaller version A tires that Tamiya has. The new B's Tamiya has have been good but I just have not run my Tamiya since last years TCS race so I have not tested these at all.

I also like the Bigger Type A tires as the inserts fit these tires perfect and no space between the tire and insert like the smaller A's have. The bigger tires work well but I think they work better on big open tracks. The small A's work on all tracks but even better on smaller technical tracks.

Now you got me wanting to work on my 03. I have good stuff for it now. I have the 9550 Futaba digital servo, new Futaba 8000 pro speedo, and new Futaba small FM receiver. I will cut a ton of weight off from what I ran last year. I really didn't do my car justice last year at TCS as I was super lazy and didn't give the car great stuff to work with. Totally my fault and with all my years of racing (17 total) I should be embarrassed some. I did finish 6th out of 40 plus but I used a 3 year old P2K and old batteries. This year I will try harder. I want some nice blue Tamiya shocks for my car instead of the red ones I have now.

I also have a pretty nice TB01 with the plastic tub and long arm conversion. It is pretty fast but I had to modify the plastic tub to gear it for GT2 and it might not pass tech. I did dremel the chassis so I could get to the motor screws so they might or might not let it pass.
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Old 12-19-2002, 11:44 AM
  #731  
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Originally posted by wyd
I did dremel the chassis so I could get to the motor screws so they might or might not let it pass.
Funny, I did the same thing to mine. I actually just sold it to someone in San Fran, CA.

Thanks for the info on the tires and belt. I usually run the 26mm B compounds, they seem to work really well all year round. The race here in Memphis is in July, can you say HOT, so I think the B will be the ticket. Not sure if I'm going to go with the 24mm or the 26mm B tires
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Old 12-19-2002, 04:29 PM
  #732  
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Mike F

There is also a Type B2 tire now for hotter temps. That's what the guys in SoCal are running at Tamiya's track during the summer. Any insert is legal at TCS, so you can use your favorites. I like Yokomo medium, HPI green and Echo red, personally.
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Old 12-19-2002, 06:51 PM
  #733  
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I always thought it was funny that Tamiya would let you run any insert in your tire but won't let you do any chassis mods in GT2 class. It would be nice if Tamiya would revamp the rules just a little to help some of the older model cars out a little. I'm not talking milling a tub to nothing but like dremeling the chassis a little to get pinions to fit (TB01 with the plastic tub) and stuff like that. It is fun to run some of the older stuff instead of just running the 04 like 95% of the guys do. I know the TCS is for fun but getting totally killed is not. My car is very ggod and I don't get killed but just going over some things that could be changed a little and still keep TCS racing for what it is.
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Old 12-20-2002, 09:32 AM
  #734  
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Originally posted by psycho
Mike F

There is also a Type B2 tire now for hotter temps. That's what the guys in SoCal are running at Tamiya's track during the summer. Any insert is legal at TCS, so you can use your favorites. I like Yokomo medium, HPI green and Echo red, personally.
Are those the 24mm tires?
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Old 12-20-2002, 10:18 AM
  #735  
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MikeF

Yes. It's a fairly new compound so it may not even be in the catalog yet. It's not in my 2001 catalog.
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