I think the problem is the BJ9 O-ring...

Have mailed a couple of people in HK for help, thought about mailing the UK importers but they are next to useless.

Cheers for the help Jimmy.

ahhh.. There should still be ones you can use in its place I would have thought - it would probably involve a trip to the model shop shop for a look though. A lot of shocks use similar Orings.

Is that definately where it is leaking then ? if so, have a look at the metal / threads in the shock body where the cartridge goes in. See if where the large oring butts up against the inside lip of the shock body has any grooves or burrs that might cause a leak or cause a damaged oring..

Sorry for chuntering on, you probably have checked a lot of stuff already.. Still, for the oring have a look at Kyosho and Yokomo shock parts if you have a local hobby shop stocking these, as there are similar seals used on those.

Had the body finally finished, it was done by a guy going by the name Wolf on rcracer.com.au, I am extremely happy with the end result

Ok ran the car for the first time on the green stuff today and it went like a dream, once I had switched my pred driving style off!!! Few pointers ran the setup that Jimmy prescribed, and this is on a bumpy grass mud track, the front seemd to dig in so tougher springs on the front other than AE blues, jacked the ride height right up, and used some Losi wheels, which worked a treat. Other than that follow Jimmy's setup and just tweek from there.

Oh and the new paint arrived yesterday from Mr Dragon Paint and it looks sweet!!!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3..._as_a/501X.jpg

I raced mine again today -
Standard car apart from springs and oil in practice and it was "good" like last weekend. Put in the one-way for the first round and it was unbelievably better - the car was just dialled. I got 13th in round I think.
I had a mare in round 2, but another good run in rd 3 - again a nightmare in round 4. Qualified 6th in the B final - out of 60 drivers in 4WD, so very happy with that. Finished 5th in the B.

The shocks were left unchanged from Batley setup, but moved to the next to outside hole on the towers. That and the one way were all I changed. I've never driven a car that was so dialled to the track. Stripped another screw though.. hehe

Now that we've all got them built, BRING ON THE HOP UPS....

Nuremburg Toy Fair 2007 New Releases:
53961 TRF501X Aluminum Caster Block
53962 TRF501X Aluminum Rear Upright
53963 TRF501X Stabilizer Set
53964 48P Pinion Gear (16T, 17T)
53965 48P Pinion Gear (18T, 19T)
53966 48P Pinion Gear (20T, 21T)
53967 TRF501X Eccentric Belt Tensioner
53968 5x5mm Hex Head Ball Connector
53969 5x8mm Hex Head Ball Connector
53970 Dust Protector Seal for Differential Gear
53971 TRF501X Aluminum Steering Arm
53972 TRF501X Aluminum Steering Bridge
53973 TRF501X Aluminum Steering Base
53974 TRF501X Front Spring Set
53975 TRF501X Rear Spring Set
53976 TRF501X Low Friction Piston (1.2cm dia.)
53977 TRF501X Low Friction Piston (1.3cm dia.)
53978 TRF501X Low Friciton Piston (1.4cm dia.)
53979 TRF501X Low Friction Rod Guide
53980 Dust Cover for Adjuster

Just enquired with RC-Champ as to release dates and prices, as and when I get an answer I will let you all know.

That would be good TRF_Tastic; I'm always partial to a few hop-ups. :)

I'm particularly interested in the sway bar, spring sets and hex head ball connectors. The rest seem to be more 'bling' orientated, but when has that ever stopped me! :D

Car was good first time out, I have a few tweaks to try for this weekend. Promising so far, certainly not regretting the purchase.

Bling it on baby!!!!!

I'll be getting all the dust seals, springs and the aluminium steering parts - those plastic parts just have a little bit too much play in them for my liking ;) By the way chaps, I tried a Corally long boss pinion gear on my 501 on wednesday, bad news, the collar at the inboard end of the pinion which the grub screw winds into rubs on the belt and the edge of the grub screw also sticks out slightly and has taken out the top of all my belt's teeth. I'll try dremelling the grubs down a bit and see if it makes any difference, luckily I have plenty of spare belts :rolleyes:
-Steve

Spoken to RC CHamp in Japan and they reckon on availablity early Aprilish for the new hopups

Oooh, so long?! :( :D

I was wondering whether the aluminium front castor blocks and rear uprights will have provision for vertical ball studs or whether they'll just be direct copies? There seems to be a trend these days for vertical over horizontal, maybe it's just me...... Neither am I sure why one would be preferable over the other.

Either way, bring on the bling!!

I will be trying to get hold of someone from Tamiya USA to verify the release dates for the parts.

Hope that this helps

With vertical ball stud mounts you can alter the roll center by adding washers under the ball stud. It's a nice tuning option....

you can already get alloy caster blocks with vertical ball studs - they are from the BJ4 and are a (almost) direct fit. You'll have to drill the wishbones for the larger imperial hinge pin and use a associated / losi rod end with the imperial ball stud for the hub. I fitted them just to see if it was possible and its a good fit.

Thanks, this did dawn on me when thinking about it afterwards :rolleyes: :)

Have you had a chance to try these in a race, Jimmy? If so, what are your thoughts?


I've just come back from my second meeting with the car and I'm happier still! I'm not knocking the Predator (horses for courses and all that), but I never really got on with mine and, for me at least, the Tamiya is a huge improvement: it's more forgiving, consistent, just downright quicker! :)

Hopefully a matching 2wd will follow soon.......

NAh, I fitted it to one side - even drilling the wishbone (I have a few spare, so its ok!) and it worked a treat. I didn't run it though since I had no real reason to after reading that alloy blocks will be coming (possibly with vertical studs?). I know it is possible at least, but wanted to keep my BJ4we in one piece.

Eccentric Belt Tensioner
 

What's 53967 TRF501X Eccentric Belt Tensioner?:confused:

Sorry Guys bad news about the hopups, reply from Tamiya USA

Dear Tamiya Customer,
The front one-way diff is available now:
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=53951 We're expecting the rest to be available around April.
Tamiya America
Customer Service

April's not so bad, is it? Especially considering how well the car goes straight from the box.