SpecRC

Well the time has come to ask some questions to clever people here!
Ive been racing a TT-01 for a few years about 4 years ago and it never did it for me. My brother has a TA-05 v2 which smashed me at the local outdoor track.
For a few years ive been reading here and learning ready for my next purchase.

I have to say my sights were on the TA-06 pro.. Though to be fair the funky rather complicated design had me wondering, yet was about to make my purchase....until I started reading about the spec R1... This seems like a game changer.... Always loved the CF top kits but at the price and for my needs seemed a bit much.
So for 50 USD more than the pro I can get the R1 which in my mind is a car which is as good as a top Xray or TRF? For the price of a R1 if damage occurs im not so bothered unlike a TRF. Am I right thinking this?

My thoughts the R1 is FAR superior to a TA-06pro and i cant see a TA-06 ever being in its league... What do you guys see here?

Does this chassis inhale small stones? My brothers ta-05 does and its a pain.
Why does the kit have holes in the chassis where the gears are? Perhaps some race tape to cover them over while racing is in order.

The pinion gear... Now with the kits ive been using its usually a 19T or 18T so when i see the words 48P Im lost? Is it a new way of naming the pinions?
Do all of you guys prepare your CF chassis before your builds? I generally like to keep things clean and simple and hate messing up parts...especially with CA around me
Do tamiya shells fit this chassis? As in holes lining up?
Im very close to pulling the trigger on one...VERY close.

Thanks to all who will help me sorry if its a long post. Ive been saving up

SteveM

iTrader: (165)

I'll try to help with your questions.

The TT-01 and TA-05 V2 from Tamiya are nice sedans and I've run both myself. The TT-01 is a good beginners sedan and the TA-05 V2 is a much more capable car. The TA-06 Pro is nice and can be made to go fast but like you the querky design and bottom load battery system had me giving it a pass.

The Spec-R R1 and it's entry level S1 are, in my opinion, much better than the three Tamiya kits you've mentioned. Any sedan without a cover on the pinion and spur can have issues with rocks getting into the teeth. You need to be careful where you run is all.

Gears and their pitch are a topic all their own. The most commonly used gears are 48P and 64P. I use 64P which use finer teeth than 48P. Tamiya make their own proprietary 48P metric and 64P metric spur and pinion gears and they are not interchangeable with standard 48P and 64P gears.

I like to round off the edges of my fiberglass or graphite chassis and top deck plates and I also seal the edges with thin CA. I use a Q-tip that I soak with CA to swab the sanded edges of my chassis. This makes life easier and it's easy to do a good job.

Any 190mm body shell should fit the Spec-R chassis. The dimples that Tamiya puts into their shells will likely not line up, but that's not a problem. I like to fit the untrimmed body to the chassis and mark the body post locations with a blach Sharpie before painting. I use a reamer to cut the holes and I ensure the shell fits properly before painting.

I'm currently running the S1 Sport version and I'm beating others running expensive chassis such as the TC6.1, Xray T4, TRF417, etc... The car is great and I imagine the R1 with the alloy parts and graphite chassis is even better.

Fuzzi0n

May bring up some of the same points as SteveM here, so I apologise in advance - good advice in his post.

I had a TT-01 way back in the day, wasn't a bad car for a bit of fun driving in the street but it felt incredibly bad compared to my TRF415 that I used to race around that time. You could add any upgrade you wanted, it still wouldn't come close. I haven't driven any of the TA series of cars since the TA04 so I cant really comment on those, they seem to be decent cars from what I've read though.

The Spec-R is an interesting car, they took all the elements that worked well from other cars, combined them and then they happen to sell it at a great price. It does lack some of the fit an finish of other cars straight out of the box - there are minor things that need fixing such as the ballcups and the layshaft - but otherwise its a really high end car without the price. They're not the only people to have done that though, for a bit more money you could end up with something like the Arc R10 which combines bits of cars that work with some nice engineering to produce a top end car for less.

As for damage, the parts may be a little harder to get than other cars, although saying that even in the UK I can just order from Spec-R, Reflex Racing or TQ. Durability wise the car is very good, again a few issues here and there but on the whole it has proved itself to be a robust car. It will still cost you if you break things regularly though, although parts are cheaper than they are for other cars from what I've seen. If you're really worried about stones and other objects getting into the drivetrain then you are probably better off looking at a shaft drive car. If you are driving the car in a pretty clean area you've got nothing to worry about, because the car is so open its hard to things to get trapped and damage the drivetrain.

SteveM covered the gearing in his post, all I'll add is that 64dp is usually a little smoother and will allow you to get different FDR's than you would get with 48dp. 48dp can be a little more robust, although with good quality spurs it doesn't make a huge difference. Also, refer to SteveM's post for the CF prep.

If you found a body with Xray T3 holes it would line up with the Spec-R I think. Tamiya probably wont, although its easy to mark and ream your own holes.

Final word:

If you're planning on racing the car properly its worth going for the R1, grab a few spares, some good electronics and watch it fly. If you're more likely to be having some fun, racing the car on occasions it might be worth going for the S1 - you'll save a decent chunk of money which you can spend on a few upgrades, spares and whatever else you need. The S1 performs really well despite being a 'budget' car, although I'd expect the R1 to out perform it pretty easily, especially if the S1 was bone stock.

big al

iTrader: (10)

Hey Steve, are you still running your car relatively box stock? I'm mulling over shock oil and spring combos. Thanks in advance!--Al

That's how I roll==>

SteveM

iTrader: (165)

I took TQ and won the A-main in 17.5 blinky at my club a few weeks back with my S1 built per the manual. I used the oils, shocks, springs, etc. that came in the kit...nothing else. The only exception was a Tamiya HD servo saver and a set of Tamiya clamping wheel hexes.

I have since purchased and installed the Spec-R red wheel hexes, the red alloy fan mount and the red alloy steering servo mount. I've still spent less than half the price of the R1 and I'm loving that. Even my battery packs are the $13.81 Hobbyking ZIPPY Flightmax 4000mah type.

big al

iTrader: (10)

Nice!

ozace

iTrader: (2)

SteveM, you my friend will cause lots of anguish with honest posts like above.
There are way too many around here that cannot accept using a reasonabley priced kit and packs to be up front

SpecRC

Thanks Steve!
Yes the spec R does give that impression. I will search to find your post on CF prep.
What shells are you running on your Spec?
I did some reading and the 48P appears to be the pitch and comes with options of different teeth, eg 19T . A 19T is what i was using in the tt-01 not that i would use that pinion its just so i can get the ratios right. With a sliver can it worked well. Can you use a silver can on the spec R?

SpecRC

Thanks fuzzion!
I did read about the layshaft in this thread. Is it something which needs to be done or dependent on your kit? I think i read someone just made his kit and it wasnt bad?

The ARC looks nice but with the price of the spec R im not bothered if it gets banged up a bit
I also like the fact that the spec R follows tamiya and xray alot which means alot of spares/interchangeable parts
Does ARC follow the same?
I may end up doing more racing and for 50 bucks more than the pro seems a no brainer

SpecRC

Are the R1 shocks as good as TRF shocks? Say on par performance wise?

If the R1 is based on the T3 drivetrain isnt that about to be obsolete as the T4 is taking its place or does the T4 run the same diffs/drivetrain?

jeff jenkins

iTrader: (84)

Yes the shocks are on par but I'm not a fan of the kit o rings or the bladders. I feel the orings are onconsistant in size and the bladders are too hard. I use the rsd soft bladders and am really liking the tamiya grooved orings, there silky smooth.


The t3 and t4 share the same drivetrian.

Fuzzi0n

Most of us have used 5x8x2.5mm flanged bearings on the layshaft to remove some of the play. I found I didn't need the kit shims after using those, some people do.

Not sure what parts on the ARC would be interchangeable, the Spec-R has a bit of an advantage in that most of the option parts for other kits already fit completely fine.

Just another point on gearing, the easiest way to know what to buy is to look at what FDR you need to be running for that given motor. Say you were running 17.5 boosted and needed an FDR around 6.5 - you would want to run a 25t pinion with the stock spur. If you changed the spur or switched to 64dp you could get closer to the FDR you wanted. Obviously the FDR will change depending on motor/ESC combinations and how big the track is, but it can give you a ballpark figure - then just buy a few pinions either side of it.

The shocks are pretty much TRF shocks but coloured red. The parts are completely interchangeable although the Tamiya parts are a bit higher quality. Nothing wrong with the shocks though, even on the stock bladders/o rings they build up nicely.

SteveM

iTrader: (165)

I have just painted a Protoform Mazda 6 shell for my S1 sedan as this model handles well and is fairly neutral.

The pinion you used on your TT-01 is a 48P metric and will not mesh properly with standard 48P spur gears. You cannot mix them.

I recommend you change to 64P pinions and spurs. I've not tried to install a silver can motor in my S1 and you may find that they don't fit as those motors have a raised area on the front that might interfere with the motor mount.

SpecRC

Thanks guys,
Very informative

So has anyone tried a sliver can on a S1/R1 here? Anyone feel like testing to see if it would fit?

Fuzzi0n

Let me go and have a look in a cupboard, I may have one lying around.

Edit: Couldn't find one, so he's a pic of the motor mount instead.