Tamiya's wheel axles
 

Does anyone know what the difference is between all the wheel axles Tamiya make for the universal joint driveshafts on the market at the moment? All these come dedicated for one chassis or another and have different part # but I can not find what the difference is. I am looking at length for instance. Are they all the same length between the wheel hex pin hole and the bearing shoulder?

There are different axle lengths for all the different length suspension arms basically.

The original arms that came with cars like the TA-04, TB-02 and standard TA-05 kits

The lightweight reversible arms which come in the R versions and the TRF cars

The SHORT lightweight reversible arms which come with the EVO V, 416WE, TB-03 and TA-05 Ver.II

The difference is in the length between the pin and the bearing shoulder.

Thank you. So which one is the longest and how long is that? I am trying to find something that will fit another car and I need something a bit longer than the wheel axle on a DF02 (53791 uni shafts kit).

Just to make sure we understand each other, this axle needs to accomodate a slightly larger distance between the hub bearings (i.e. the axle stub needs to be a bit longer).

The TB-03 axle is the longest of the Tamiya touring car axles, can only get you a measurement later though. What about another buggy axle like the DF-03 or DB-01

The DF 02 I have is the same as the DF03 (I actually use it on a DF03 chassis, so I am not 100% sure but it fits. I mean maybe the DF03 designated axle would be longer, but I have not seen it, so I bought these and they fit). This DF02 axle is about .5mm shorter than what I need.

Just checked, and it turns out Tamiya themselves use the 53791 hopup for the upmarket DF03MS kit.

Actually, that's not correct, the TB03 axles(which are the same as those for the 416 & the TA05ver.2 for example) are a bit shorter than the ones for the original TA05(I mean the non-reversible suspension, like the TA04 & other older cars). I noticed it when I was building my ver.2(& upgrading what I could with the parts I had on hand), tried the axles from my old TA05 but they were a bit too long(maybe 1 or 2mm, but I'm not sure as I didn't try to measure it, just pulled out some spare axles for my 416 instead), they would cause the wheel hex to wiggle in & out a significant amount....:cool:

Would you care to give me a measure (between the bearing shoulder and the hex pin hole conter) and part number for these axles you talk about, please?

Just to make sure again, I am talking about the axles for the universal joint shafts.

As best as I can tell(measuring the flat part of the axles, where the bearings sit & the outer pin that mates to the wheel hexes goes) the TB03/416 axles are 13mm, while the old TA05 ones are either 13.75 or 14mm(difficult to be 100% sure, as the old axles are not polished like that part of the TB03's are), but there's no doubt that it's longer....:cool:

Thank you. Now all I need is to find a number.

I believe it's 53499.....:cool:

I think the extra length of the TA05 axles is 1.9mm which is why these spacers are used when switching to short reversible suspension:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/ite...oduct-id=53891

I am not sure however that there is a longer universal drievshaft axle. The spacers likedaove may be for use of the kit (non-UJ) axles only.

The manual lists the TB03 part (UJ axle) as upgrade. This makes it even more confusing since if the TB03 is indeed shorter, then it won't fit the TA05 unless the reversible suspension is used.

We'll soon find out however because I have ordered the 53499. I will report back when it arrives.

good luck with that niznai - I went through the same exercise trying to fit tamiya axles in my kawada. The 53499 was what fit my car, but was even just a bit too long from shoulder to hole. When I got my Photon, I compared those axles, and they are just a tad shorter shoulder to hole than the Tamiya 53499

Are you still racing that SV10? I am still very competitive in my Sigma 2. It is such a sweet little car, I just can't get over it. I had to customize it a little bit, but it is still 90% a Sigma 2. I switched to front aluminium steering knuckles from SV10 which required a different driveshaft. I use now (only on the front) a combination of swing shafts from SV10 and axles from Xray 007. Steering is a Yokomo MR4 TC (used in various cars in fact) combo affair for it's huge holding power combined with the ever reliable saver mechanism.

Sadly I am not. I got the Photon on the track a few weeks ago and the Kawada is just sitting around feeling unloved in all its hopped-up goodness... When I was done racing it, it had Yoke shocks, TC5 center bellcrank, 416 front spool & aluminum swingshafts, 416 front belt, plus a bunch of unique Kawada aftermarket parts like the rear adjustable toe bar, aluminum VOLT braces, and some hand drilled droop screw holes :P

The Photon out of the box was still faster...

Are going to use the 9x5mm bearing hubs or 10x5mm bearing hubs?

For 10x5 use axle #54076

For 9x5 use axle #51094