22 3.0 Laydow transmission conversion is here
 

It's announced :

http://www.redrc.net/2016/03/tlr-22-...on-conversion/

On the TLR websit the RRP is 180$ !!! :cry:

Considering the contents of the package I'd say it is not cheap but fair: Transmission case and motor plate, chassis plate, aluminium hubs, body, brass weight, cf battery strap.

Manual is already online:
http://www.tlracing.com/ProdInfo/Fil...nual-Multi.pdf

It's not exactly going to be a quick trackside swap over.

Yes I would say that is about fair considering what you get. I guess $180 will end up being close to £150-180.

Definitely not a trackside conversion so would be nice to see a kit as well.

Suppose I ought to get my standard 3.0 going before I start thinking about one of these!

Rob

The standard car is quick so it'll be good to see if it's even better in that guise.

Can't understand why the alloy hubs are in the kit? Why would you need them?

The rear hubs might have different pick up points compared to the standard hubs

With the current trend for multiple 2wd's from most manufacturers I think TLR would have got away with releasing it as a kit without much fuss, as it stands I can see people cherry picking the gearbox parts and drilling the standard chassis to suit.

...and from looking at the holes you can't mount the standard gearbox on the new chassis either, no quick swap over then.

I bet it is to increase value for money. The gearbox is machined from delrin and won't be cheap to produce, whereas TLR sells the new hubs as low as USD32.-

For a conversion, it is a good package, but I am not sure if I'll buy it as I've got my YZ-2 for really high-grip. I'd probably have bought a full kit without flinching, but having half a car lying around after doing the conversion, I don't know...

Where did you find the info that the gear casing is machined? I find it an odd choice for the final product, unless they're considering to sell only a few lowrider gearboxes at all or before releasing something else...

I was struck by the rated price of approx USD 80.- and decided to ask Frank Root. I am not sure what to think of it. Either they have something planned for the future or they just want to do the astro community a favour. Steel moulds are quite expensive...

I just hope they bring out an "astro kit" or "TLR 22 3.1". Otherwise the XB2 is way more interesting to replace my 22 2.0

I'm a bit disappointed they haven't just released an Astro version full kit. They may as well have done. I'd rather have the second buggy for high grip stuff as I'm slowly starting to grips with my 3.0. It works pretty well on low-mid grip but it really isn't working for me on anything high grip.

Your comments have made me think... TLR's focus seems to be on the US racing community, where as far as my knowledge goes the 'regular' 3- and 4-gear layout is the way to go on the vast majority of the tracks. Their team drivers need a competitive low-rider car though, and if that exists they can't deny their customers one. Being a niche for the US market and my guess that having a low-rider kit is more of a necessity than a unique feature to have over the competition, I guess they didn't see an affordable low-rider conversion or seperate kit as the way to go.

That's all very speculative of course :) It's an expensive kit, but they're quicker to offer such an option to the public than their main (US) rival (Associated).

The 22.3 is a great value for money kit.
Comes ad standard with titanium turnbuckles, a pre cut body shell, full alloy bleeder shocks, and 2 sets of wheels.
And as many have said is fully competitive out the box with kit setup.
That conversion kit looks like it provides a lot for the price compared to say the kyosho conversion.
And losi have jumped on the lay down 3 gear wagon ahead of associated who won the world's with a 3 gear lay down and still haven't produced their own. The champs ed of the b5m still has the standard gearbox

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking TLR at all. I just wished they'd bought out another complete 2wd buggy for high grip. I'd have just happily bought that and run either as per track conditions.

I'll second that !

I third that! If you have to replace the chassis your not upgrading your car your building a new car. Just offer the car as 2 kits as per xb2. I would buy this car, for high bite carpet, but as it is now having to buy a gear diff and now a chassis and gearbox. Its almost double the cost of an xb2.

Whats the diffrence between the two chassis? The 22 3.0 chassis and the laydown chassis?

The pickup holes for the gearbox are different and also its milled different around the battery compartment and gearbox area

+1 to everything but the kit turnbuckles, they are not titanium. The only things I do not like about the kit is the look of the body and the steering due to the plastic, but as TLR has announced the aluminum steering set. thi s is a temporary issue. :)

The hubs are made to work with the new trans which has the out drive placed higher up. Supposed to correct the roll center when running at the lower ride heights required on carpet.

Much better value if you buy it for DMS Racing
http://www.dms-racing.com/index.php?...ategory_id=412

Even better value :

http://www.exotekracing.com/22-3-0-l...ox-conversion/

RRP 89.95$

IDK if it is better value as it does not include a chassis, weight, body and aluminium rear hubs, but it considerably cheaper. Not an easy decision for sure...

The only thing the TLR kit has on this are the alu hubs. I have no need for a new TLR body or a new chassis.
Therefore i think the exotek kit has better value

Purely on the amount you get in the box, the TLR version looks better value to me plus you are getting a factory upgrade without the need to drill holes in the chassis yourself.

However the Exotek version seems to suggest "easy" gearbox changes so theoretically you could switch between std and laydown relatively quickly based on track conditions - if you had two gearboxes ready to go, say the std with a ball diff and laydown with a gear diff, it might be possible to switch between the two set ups at bigger race meetings if you had time. Pretty much impossible to do that with the TLR version as it is a different chassis so a lot more to swap over so if you want both options you need to run two cars.

Guess I ought to run the standard car first before I worry about either of these - hopefully this Sunday.

The new shell in the TLR upgrade kit is designed to cover the spur gear.
When in the lay down config the spur gear cover wont fit.
No other shell on the market as far as I'm aware will cover the spur gear in the laydown config.
As far as I can tell the exotek kit does not include a way to protect your spur gear

seems to me you get more bang for your buck from the losi kit.
you also have the added advantage of setups for that kit being put out by both US and UK team drivers

The Exotek conversion will include a black delrin gear cover...

Full details can be found here - http://www.exotekracing.com/22-3-0-l...ox-conversion/

The alloy gearbox casing coupled with the alloy motor plate will also act as an efficient heatsink to keep on top of high motor temps on mega grippy tracks too

UK RRP on the Exotek is expected to be approx £84.95 (incidentally the US RRP is $109.99, the $89.99 price quoted above is the discounted price before tax etc) It is also due Mid to End of April

We have a prototype here in the UK from Exotek that is being tested and should potentially be in use at the first national at Kidderminster next weekend too.

With the launch of the laydown conversion for the 3.0, with geometry changes that make sense for carpet and astro tracks (lower center of gravity, higher roll center, better weight distribution...) I'm curious about the opinions on a rear sway bar. For me this is the only thing that I'm missing in the conversion, as other brands are using it already (KF2, TM2, XB2, Tebo at 2105 worlds...).

In our local club, having a very bumpy and high traction astro track, I've found that a homemade rear sway bar in the TLR 2.0 makes the rear more stable and allows to use a very soft suspension to swallow bumps but being stable enough in the fast turns to avoid traction rolling.

Also, in the 2.0 the rear arms have holes for the sway bar, but in the 3.0 they are gone. What do you think about?

How did it perform? Or were conditions not ideal for it.

I saw John Spencer use this car all day. Even in the wet. Looked ace. Think he put it in the B??

Had a look at it during the day.

Very nice.

Yep, as above Jon ran the car like it all day in both wet and dry conditions and was the 2nd highest TLR behind Ellis. Car was really good throughout

In what way do you mean?

Do we know when the TLR kit will be available in the UK?

Hi Darren

Not sure if this was the question originally being asked but given we would all expect the new laydown gearbox to be better in the dry, was the wet weather performance compromised as a result compared to the original kit 4 gear set up or was it better in wet and dry conditions?

Going on the current weather forecast :bored: I think I may get to see its wet weather performance this Sunday at Stotfold if John is going.

Any guesses on when we might see the conversion kits in the UK?

Rob

Hi Rob. From what Jon told me the car was very good in the wet still and he had some good scores in the early rounds. If I recall he said he was 1 sec behind Ellis who was running a 3 gear conventional mid car early on, so pace was good. As the track did dry it got even better.

Don't forget the kit is 3 gear (not 4) and the Exotek gearbox uses the 3 kit gears.

The TLR kits have now been pushed back a month I understand and should have originally been here next week. The Exotek version should be here sooner...

Thanks, Darren, look forward to seeing a pre-order option on your site soon:)

Rob