We should have new asphalt this week. Racing nears.
Well now I have made an exhaustive search for TC5 hop ups. All of these have been discussed recently. Manutech kydex bumpers, Diggity design LiPo battery fences or stops, The very fine Tir front spool. Just don't order it directly. I have posted a couple of shops that handle it. The Tir aluminum center shaft is also very nice. So what is left. The car does not really need a lot of hop ups. You can put more aluminum stuff on it, but it won't be better, just shinier.
What is lacking is a really good front drive axle for use with a locked diff. The first touring car company to offer one was Losi with the LCD on the JRXS. I discussed its advantages in the first post on this thread so I shall not do much here.
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...mip-cvd-2.html
The advantage is that it is a true constant velocity drive based on the full size car counterpart called the double cardan joint. Until you double that joint or use a splined ball like on our front wheel drive full size car drive axles, you don't get constant velocity. This means constant vibration and pounding of the front axles and diff outdrives when you install that locked front diff. A front ball diff just dissipates all this vibration to the other side.
The TIR spool absorbs a lot of this vibration and wear, but there is still energy and steering traction wasted as well as increased wear at the CVD cup to drive pin joint. Now, How to put these on the TC5?
Recently the
X-ray T2 offered similar front axles at an outrageous price of course. They are the right length however at 50 mm; they match the axle length of the TC5. They use a different wheel bearing 10 x 5mm instead of 10 x 6.
X-ray also offers some Hex adapters to fit this new constant velocity (ECD) axle that may solve my still unresolved problem with the associated lightened drive hexes; they tend to destroy the wheel with a locked diff and use of some brakes as they rock back and forth in the wheel. Right now I am using Losi hexes that are shimmed to fit the TC5 axle with a .010 thin metal shim wrapped around the axle.
If you have done either of these two mods. The Xray T2 axle mod or the Losi Hex mod, give us a report. If you don't like to mix brands, well then, I'll just have to fly by on the sweeper or at the 5:45 mark.
I bought mighty expensive X-ray T2 2008, c hubs, steering blocks , steering bushings ($15!) just in case, but a simple bearing change to the TC5 may be all that is needed. I'll post a pic later.