GimpyGolden They are!


To achieve the goals I mentioned above (and to rebuild/update my Gentleman-class chassis) I made five major changes:

1. Chassis: I switched from the standard black plastic tub to the hard fiberglass version (54926).




2. Suspension: The TRF416 suspension parts, even the hard ones are quite soft and flex a lot. The stock TT-02S plastic is a rubber nightmare. I got the TRF420 suspension upgrade set (54886) and am very happy about how strong and hard it is. You also need no extra parts. One downside though is, that you cannot use the rebound stopper (54638).








3. Active toe: We poor TT-02 owners are very limited depending the rear toe angles. A normal TT-02 can have 2 or 3 degrees, a TT-02S only 3. For me this setup opportunity is essential for a fast effective rotation balance. Having the chance to use adaptive settings is also nice. So I sold my Bentley and invested in Tamiyas TRF420 Toe Control tuning set (54887). The inside links are mounted with the old ballcup version, because these are smaller in diameter and there is a very limited space at near the differential housing. I was also a little creative with the use of the parts. The ballstud that should go on the TRF420 chassis is mounted on the cfk arms. Like this you get toe gain under load. Use a shorter ballstud to get reduced toe under load






4. Modern damper: The normal TRF aluminium damper set is nice, but I wanted a newer and shorter damper. Tamiya did a lot upgrades to the SSBB dampers lately with new plastic parts and new 5.8mm ballnuts. Also they come in a nice blue and aluminium retainers. How could you get these short dampers on your TT-02S stays? As you already saw, something looked strange on yesterdays picture. By turning the stays 180 degrees you can bring down all the holes that were out of reach for the short dampers. The window for the right angles and length is very small, but as you can see on the pictures, there are opportunities. By using a longer lower ballcup, you can also expand your range.




5. Horizontal rear bodyposts: I guess earlier or later every TC will get these. With my upside down damper stays and the camberlinks in the way, I couldn't use the normal bodyposts anymore. Well no problem! Lets switch to horizontal ones (51253).




6. Another technology that Tamiya does not want on a TT-02 are anti-roll-bars. I don't know why... You can spent several hundred dollars for blue aluminium for a TT02, but there is no 20 dollar anti-roll-bar set. After everything I explained up to now was plug and play, I now explain how I implemented the TRF418 / TRF419 / TRF420 anti-roll-bars into my TT02:
Get the set 42281 (if you want, the wire ends 54870 for the complete TRF420 look) and the open face reinforced adjusters 5mm (54868). Drill horizontally, right behind the ballmount, through the adjuster with a 1.5mm drill. Now take a M3 grub screw and put in the end. Cut off approximately 1mm of the ballcup that points to the middle axis of the car (otherwise there is a collision with the differential housing). Take the wire and push the adjuster on it. You can use these little rings 53827 (what do you call them ), but they are not really needed. Remove the front screws of the differentialhousing. Take a M3 shim with an outer diameter of 6.5-7mm (the stuff Tamiya adds tons to every TT-02S), insert it onto the screw, insert the adjuster/ballcup with its end pointing to the bumper. While positioning the wire between camber links and axles, put the screw with the assembly back in place. Before tightening it down, position the ballcups straight and check for free movement of the wire. That was the hard part. The rest is to attach the anti-toll-bars to the arms, but that should be no problem I cannot imagine a cheaper anti-roll-bar-mount...