It is now summer and the days are longer, which means Fun in the Sun with Tamiya! This past weekend, we did 4 races of mostly TT-02s, but there were other chassis also in the mix (including an M-07R). Since this is a casual organized meet (1-2x / month), as long as the speed is comparable to the spec'ed TT-02s (Torque Tuned Motor, similar FDRs depending on the spur/pinion combo that is allowed in the ruleset), then really any chassis can be run. Any upgrades from any manufacturer are allowed.

The track was drawn out using chalk and there are some markers/bumps/circle dots to outline the corners. We use the EZ Lap timing system that plugs into the receiver and outdoor tires of course. Racing was intense with a lot of back and forth. To me, with all the door to door banging and close battles, this is what racing TT-02s is all about!

I hope you can see how much fun it is and if you are not already doing so, get a group of friends to do some outdoor RC driving and racing...

Race 1: Race 2: Race 3: Race 4
(Apologies if anime music is not your thing)

Lastly, I was stoked to see another 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK AMG join in Race 3!

My local track is starting a TT-02 class using mostly "box stock" rules, so I need to run the stock diff. I want to stiffen the front but the Tamiya 42247 diff putty looks to be out of stock or on backorder everywhere. Does anyone know of an alternative? I saw silly putty and even silicone earplugs mentioned elsewhere but couldn't tell if it was a joke or a viable alternative.

Gravity RC, 1up, there's plenty of other folks that make diff putty too.

What is your experience with tires for parking lot racing in the summer?

Glad to read your track is getting started with this class, it's a lot of fun! What minimal upgrades are allowed?

For the front diff., I use the Tamiya 1 million grease. Kyosho also makes the same 1M and both companies have different lower viscosity greases or oil. The grease is thick and unlikely to leak out of even the stock diff.

For outdoor tires, I am currently using the Team Powers 34 Shore tires, but also have 32 and 36 available depending on the weather/temperature. Some people use Rush tires as well. I will add that a few months ago when the weather was overcast and the temperature was not as warm, the 34s took about a lap to warm up and get grip on the track. Initially the car would slide around like it's on ice so I don't recommend gunning the throttle when you first put the car down with cold tires. Doing a practice/formation lap or two helps a lot to warm up the tires just prior to our casual races. During the summer with warmer temperatures, 34s worked well and so do 36s.

You can also find my car setup in the video descriptions, hope this helps!

For upgrades we're allowed the front output shafts (u-joint), bearing kits, and motor heat sinks. Have to run stock friction shocks and diffs, but can mess with grease in diffs. There's some push to allow for oil shock upgrades but not allowed as of now... but we just had the first race this week so that might change depending on majority sentiment.

Thanks for the tips!

Yeah no problem! I personally think oil shocks are better for "quality of life" when it comes to racing. The CVA shock set is affordable and works well. If your group can also campaign for the spring set (hard/medium/soft) to be used, it will open up tuning abilities to let racers balance out their cars according to their preferred driving style.

I dont like the silicone ear plugs because there will be some movement of internals but won't be symmetrical. The putty is not bad but will also eventually lead to movement of diff.

I recommend either:
1. 1 million silicon oil.. this will give you some diff action
2. Epoxy the gears and turn it into a spool

For our Production TT02s with friction shocks we turned ours upside-down and filled with Dielectric grease to slow down the pogo-stick effect those shocks had.