Ok you guy's win. Green slime is specifically designed for the shock O rings. I thought Jimmy was using it in his reviews because he realized it worked well as an alternative to to a different type of lube he may have used in the past. All is good though as i was able to squeeze just enough ball diff grease from my last tube. Im looking into getting silicone based grease for my diffs and possibly purchasing upgraded bearings and Diff balls.:thumbsup:

Not exactly, depends on ones definition of "CHEAP"- not confusing is it? Look at it from a different perspective..

I always use Tamiya silicone diff grease in my cars - you can buy big tubes of it. The green slime is defintely very different not for diffs. It's important to degrease your diff before assembling (from new), to get rid of any rogue lubes that might make things slip.

What components do you guys use the Tamiya ceramic grease and the AW grease on? Wow I'm actually starting to feel like one of the boobs from RC universe with these basic questions. The only difference is that i don't own a Traxxas like the thousands of teenie boppers on there and i dont ask things like "how fast does this go" or "What is better" Sorry for my venting, but im starting to hate that site more and more each day. I also pray that this site doesn't end up slowly morphing into RCU one of these days. :mad:

I'm of "The Hornet" generation, but I missed the hobby and so after a bit of research I decided to buy the Durga.

I bought a Durga today and started building about 2pm. I am calling it a day at 1 am as I have work tomorrow and I'm knackered! I haven't build a car since the Sonic Fighter but it went quite well (I have age on my side now :lol: ). The only setback was that I made the diffs back to front so when it came to fitting the driveshafts, there was too much space one side and not enough on the other, but it wasn't too hard to back track and correct my mistake. I had simply missed a small "turn it over" arrow in the manual!

Any way all that's left to do is cut and paint the shell, fix the on/off switch properly and adjust the steering. here's a pic of my work today :D

Good fun, I think I really needed to build something.

Dont feel bad about the Diff mistake. I cant tell you the number of people that did what you did including myself. You will enjoy the buggy out of the box, but with some choice hop ups you can turn it into a competitive racer or a very nice basher which is what i use mine as since i dont live close to any tracks. If you have any questions along your build, you are in the right place. Good luck with the rest of it. Do you plan on going brushless and Lipo? I highly recommend that you do since both are top notch technology as far as Rc is concerned.

Thanks for the comments, A.J.

I'm sure I will be upgrading this car extensively- I bought it to tinker with as much as drive, and I've already began reading up on the tech that you have mentioned. I will probably order the slipper clutch asap so that when I upgrade the motor I'll be ready to go.

One or two questions, I opted for the Viper Eco20 ESc. That means that it can take any motor of 20 turns or above, right? Would I ever want/need a motor of fewer turns if I'm not going to be competing?

The Viper Esc i don't recall ever hearing about, but that really doesn't mean much since there are many different brands of ESC's on the market. Im sure it will suit you quite well, although it's capabilities of of handling motors below 20 turns won't happen. Considering you are just getting back into the hobby it wasn't the worst choice you could have made. Everyone in the R/C world is different. I personally prefer a balls to the wall setup, and it also helps to run a motor with a lower motor turn than you would have in a 2wd vehicle. Are you from the states? If so i have 2 Futaba ESC's, one which is brand new and the other slightly used. I have no use for these anymore since i now run brushless so if you would like to look into buying one of them i can throw it your way for short money. One thing to keep in mind about RC is that in this hobby you pay for what you get. It always pays off to spend the extra money for any piece of equipment, whether it's electronics, motors, and even hop up parts.;)

if you are going to buy an Eco20..... opt for no more than a 27t motor or the silver can that comes with most tamiya kits, otherwise it will be going back home smelling real bad.

Thanks for the offer AJ, but I'm over in the uk!

I guess if my ESC blows up when running a motor it's rated for, then I'll buy a newer/better one. As ever thanks for both of your replies.

So I took the Durga out for a couple of spins for the first time today at my local parks. No jumps or even any real slopes but lots of dusty dirt paths and loose stuff to burn through and do donuts in :wub
I was really impressed by how well behaved this car was. Without hardly even trying I was sliding it this way and that and it always did as I asked.

I'm glad I've ordered a better motor than the ol' silver can that came in the kit- the car handles beautifully but was lacking in power. I can see myself upgrading the heck out of it this summer :thumbsup:

Lots of debris got swept up into the car through the gaps in the front under the shell. I suppose they are there for cooling purposes but it showed that the belts are sealed for a good reason.

Sorry if all this sounds obvious but I'm effectively a total newcomer to RC cars (it's been about 15 years since my last tamiya)

Im glad to hear that you enjoyed your first run with her. We can all agree that it's a well mannered car and very capable of keeping up with the best provided you have the right equipment and skill. And yes i would recomend upgrading from the silver can. I cant stand when my kits come with that motor. I have no use for them at all. i recomend that if your gonna upgrade this summer that you go for a brushless setup and possibly Lipo.

I expect I probably will :lol: already thinking about alternative shell colours too.

What motor did you get? I got an LRP GT3 12x2 for mine, and it keeps unsoldering the wires on the motor, even with decent solder, and it seems quite sluggish. My mate Ninj has lent me his Yokomo 17T stock motor, so will see how that behaves this weekend.

Cheers!

I ordered a Tamiya super stock BZ in the end from ebay. I'm sure i'll be told i shouldn't have gone for that one but i didn't want to go too nuts on the brushed motors yet in case i feel like getting brushless gear in a few months. I'll let you know how it performs in a couple of weeks

The super stock BZ wasn't a bad choice, as it will allow you to get a good feel for the car until your ready to go brushless. The only problem you may experience is a lack of torque considering the motor needs to deliver power to all 4 wheels instead of 2. If i were you i would make that my last brushed motor and just go BL(brushless) It is a no brainer considering the performance you get from BL and the maintenance is almost non existant. The price difference between both types of motors really isn't a huge margin. I have on order at the moment the new Team Orion 2008 Vortex Brushless Race motor 5.5 T. The price for the motor is about $90.00 and i have a feeling that once they come out in the next week or so that they will be the best quality and performing BL motor on the market. Just my thoughts. Team Orion never dissapoints and always brings their best to the table.:thumbsup:

guys im getting a new buggy an am considerinr the db01
so how do you like urs? anything i should look out for?
any pros and cons?

I'm just building a new DB01 at the moment to take to Italy for the Euros. I think if you keep it fairly simple then it's a great car. Of course, you have the option to stick tons of hopups on it, some like the CVD's are a good idea, others like Alloy Hubs and alloy steering are more looks than anything as I've never broken a plastic item and the alloy make the car feel different (worse) I think.
My new car has the rc Champ screw set, which I've used because I had it kicking around for ages - but if I was buying a set now I'd get the ones from Tonys screws.

My new car has:

front one way diff
slipper
501X shocks
alloy/titanium screws
501X (worlds?) ball studs
501X rear diff (all metal)
Kanzen ceramic diff balls

On the way:
TA05 carbon battery strap (to stiffen the car a little)
carbon front rear middle top covers (to stiffen the car a little)


pros and cons?

Pros: with minimal hopups (TRF shocks) the car is awesome.
Strong, somewhat sealed from the environment, reliable
easy to drive

cons: motor and diff access is a little poor - you have to undo 10000 screws.
kit screws are rubbish and almost impossible to build the car with!
the chassis and other parts are best to be pre-tapped to make it easier to build - I used a screw on a drill to do this.
The car is easier to drive on slippery tracks - when it gets high grip the slightly flexible chassis probably makes it a little less consistent and predictable than my 501X.

Mine is still proving a pain in the arse, if some of you kind folks could take a look at my last post in this thread:

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10698

I bought the thing so I could get in to actually racing it, and I've no chance as it stands, and I can't see what the problem is :-/

Cheers!

Brushless is fine if money is no object, but the cost of a brushless setup is still pretty excessive IMO. Hopefully they'll creep down in price.

AJ,

That's pretty much what I was thinking. I ordered the BZ for £20 delivered and will use it until I feel the need for more speed which may well be BL. As I said I'm just making tentative steps into the hobby so don't want to go all-out too soon.

It's funny you should say this Jimmy, I actually find the opposite is true - I find the car is a lot faster (comparitive to other racers of a similar standard to me) when the grip is up than when it is slippy. I don't have a 501X of my own to compare with but I have tried other peoples 501s on a slippy floor and they seem a lot more planted than my Durga! My assumption was that the rearward weight bias of the 501 generates more traction.

I'm pretty sure you must be pretty happy with your setup (judging by the excellent results you are getting) but I found that the one thing to make the biggest difference in the consistency of the Durga was to fit the TRF shocks on the outer hole of the rear wishbones with the kit spring. It stops the rear end rolling about excessively.

However, it could be my driving skills that are the problem... I always seem to run better when there is ample grip, not so good when things are slippy.

I might try that mate, I've not played around with the shock position on the rear arms much but I will try it out, if it helps out on high traction then that might be the cure - it was the body roll on high traction I didn't like, but as for how the car goes I'm super happy with it. I'm gonna take both my 501X cars to Italy but I thought the Durga might be better on the bumpy low traction surface, I'll have a day of testing to see which car is better tho and I'm looking forward to seeing.

I've never driven a durga but my 501 is absolutely planted on the slippery floor compared to other cars i've driven.

Hey man i am sorry to hear that your problem with the Durga is still happening. Just as jimmy has stated, it is hard to diagnose the problem without having the car in flesh. Quite obviously the problem has something to do with your electronics. Did you buy your gear new or used? The best suggestion for the problem was that your motor timing might be set too high. Did you look into this possible problem?
From my understanding you are quite new to this hobby. I feel your pain and know just how frustrating things can be when things aren't working properly, especially with the amount of money you have probably spent. Luckily for me i learned how to diagnose certain things and how to fix them by starting off with simple kits and electronics. All of my kits have been Tamiya and started with the hornet, then a stadium blitzer, to the midnight pumpkin, a Manta ray and a couple of other simple kits. All of the kits just mentioned are ones that i would not purchase at this point in time due to performance purposes, but all were very fun to drive and to work on but most of all taught me everything i know in this hobby.
I understand that none of my rambling is going to help you, but i encourage you to stick with it as things will be rewarding when you have a better understanding of the hobby and how things work. I hope that it doesn't sound like i'm belittleing your knowledge for the hobby. My best suggestion to fix your current problem is to bring your car to a meeting so that you can have someone look at it for you. I myself don't race, but understand that the best place for you to have your car looked at for no cost would be at the race track. I hope i have been a little helpful for you and wish you the best of luck to get things sorted out.;)

I run the rear shocks mounted on the most outward hole on the rear arms too on high traction surfaces. Jimmy, when are you going to Italy and why?

European Championships are on the collegno track in Italy - the same one used at the World Championships in 2005. Its some time in July I think. I'll take all my Tamiyas but if theres no real difference between the 501X's and Durga, I'd prefer to race the plastic machine just because it's more satisfying to beat someone with a Durga :lol:

CA, definitely get down to a club and ask around and someone will surely have a look for you

my god this thread is long.

A

So isn't my D!@%:woot:. Sorry guy's i just had to say that. Just let me know if this is too inappropriate for your site Jimmy. That kind of talk will get you kicked out of certain RC forums. I just won't mention which ones.:cry:

Sweet! I look forward to the pre- and post-game reports! :wub:woot:

my TAC4 is coming up next sunday and i haven't touched the durga for a month :D

hey jimmy thanks for the advice and you got pm

Thanks for the reply, I'm a returning owner really, as I owned a Hornet, and then a Samurai twenty years ago, so things are a lot different now then they were then. The only real issue it can be realistically is gearing. Everything rolls free, and based on someone recommendation on pinions, I have pinions that pitch either side of what would be best suited for a 17T (incidentally, the motor doesn't have adjustable timing).

I'm somewhat cash strapped at the moment, but I'll quite likely be at Batley with my mate sometime soon.

Jimmy, just out of interest, what would be your brushed motor/pinion of choice for the Durga if it is run with an LRP Quantum2 Competition?

Cheers!

I've been running a peak vantage 12x1 on 20t pinion outdoors, that's with a Keyence zero-V Extreme speedcontroller. I've just built the new car and put a 12x2 reedy Ti on the same gearing in it.

Logic dictates it can only be the gearing. I did at least get to see the car running for a quater of an hour or so at a pretty decent pace, which in itself was good, because with the LRP GT3 12x2 it was really slow. Needless I won't be buying a budget motor again when I can get a new one. I'll be looking at those that you mentioned.

Cheers!

a peak / orion vantage / v2 is what you want as they last ages. I am using the reedy because I have a few new ones

hahaha went crazy just now and go get my self a db01
during my lunch, right now i have manage to assamble
the diff, front and rear shock tower
anyway the plastic used on this kit is great
its somewhat better than my df02 and dt02
plus the kit screw sux :lol:

When I built up the new durga at the weekend, I spent a few minutes with a hex-head screw in a drill just pre-threading all the holes. The screw got hot enough to smoke and even burn my finger - but it made installing the screws a lot easier.. needless to say I didn't use the kit screws though.

I must admit I have noticed how rubbish the kit screws are, need to order a screw kit when I get a new motor I think.

Cheers!

Okee dokee, nice one.