Tamiya 511 - Covers
 

On the race that was held @ orebro rc club in Sweden, i was lucky to get those pics on something that i never ever have seen...

This is a cover for the rear end on the new 511 Tamiya.(diff) totaly sealed off from dust, Printed in plastic, i talked to the designer and he showed me those parts and there is onely one word for it´s fit, perfect!

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...9/DSC_0300.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...9/DSC_0301.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...9/DSC_0303.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...9/DSC_0307.jpg

Being the designer of this diff cover I just want tell you about some of the key features. Btw, thanks Thomas for adding the pictures.:)
I´ve added some pics as well:
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_m...89596&id=13377
The pictures shows the first rough prototype.

As Thomas wrote it is sealed. The only holes are the ones where the belt exit and enter.
I have designed the cover so that the holes are moved forward in the car. It also means that the lower hole is moved up from the lower deck. This reduces the risk of any dust and/or small stones to enter the holes.

There are no screws to attach the cover. The bottom part can be secured with the same screws as the stock rear belt cover. It can also be secured with a screw through the hole in the lower deck if you want to.

The upper cover is held in place by the shock mount/tower. So when you remove the shock mount you can remove the upper cover. When the upper cover is removed you can remove the diff. No need to remove the bottom part, unless you need to change the belt. But it is as easy as removing the top deck.

During last weekends racing it worked excellent. I will test it again in a race next weekend.

I will also add an animation showing how it works.

Yes, I also added a little "bump" on this one to hold the lipos in place.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hello dear pal! Our friend double posted this thread here as well!
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25356

I forgot to add that I have a solution if you want to reverse the shock tower. Similiar diff cover will also be available for the 501X.

Sure looks like someone was able to fit the Intellect 4200 lipo saddles into the new 511!

I have yet to start my build, but would be curious about more info on trimming any bulkheads! :wub

P.S. The diff covers look great too!! :D

I might just have the solution for you regarding fitting lipos in the 511 without trimming the bulk heads.
I will let you know soon.:D

You can also shave of some alu om the egde of the bulk head without problem. Replace 2 screws with shorter ones.

Subscribed to thread to hear your solution for lipos in an unmodified 511...

He, he, oops. Sounds like I have to present a solution soon.:D

I will soon post pics of new features on the diff cover. Maybe my lipo solution too...

What's this maybe crap? :P

crap? What do you mean?:confused:

Its humour as in being sarcastic lol.

Not to be taken as offensive :thumbsup:

Col.

I think Fredrik will have agreat solution for the lipo problem.

Some funnier humour next time guys, something that we can laugh about together:)

The diff cover has now been used in ny 511 for approx 20 full battery runs during both dusty and wet conditions.
After one the racing sessions the car looked like this
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/picturefra...09222743_7.jpg

This is how the pulley looks:
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/picturefra...09222743_8.jpg

And on the inside:
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/picturefra...09222743_9.jpg

Note that I also use a protective seal. This of course helps to keep the diff clean on the inside.

I´ve also made the diff cover compatible with a reversed damper setup:
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/picturefra...09222743_1.jpg

You simply flip a part of the upper cover and Vóila!

I´m in the final stage with the 501X cover. I expect to have it ready next week.
Same goes for the lipo solution for the 511.

I totally missed this post from last week! Looking forward to your Intellect lipo info! I start on my 511 build in about one week (I have a week of vacation with not much to do). :)

When can we buy? When? When?

:)

The diff cover is now available on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170378213382

You can also buy it from me. It is $5 cheaper.

I will also put the 501X diff cover, 511 lipo cradle and 501X lipo cradle on ebay this week.

Not cheap... however I respect the design hours involved.

Could you PM me a combined price for the 511 cover and lipo cradles shipped to Amsterdam?

Thanks!

The hours spent have not affected the price. It is quite expensive to make them. :(

Hopefully I will be able to get a better price for them. However, they have saved me a few belts and pulleys this season. Been running the same belts and pulleys all season.

PM sent. Thanks.

I replied to the wrong thread so this one gets a free bump....

"Looking forward to mine arriving"

;)

After using the diff cover in the last weekend, i would like to recommend it to all of you trf501 or trf511 guys.
It must be one of the first purchases of any trf5x1 owner, it protects the diff and belt perfectly.

if you don't want to clean the diff after every few runs, use it. :thumbsup:

Guy R.

I totally agree! Super fit and very easy to install. Amazing how well it works. Took mine to a gravel football field and bashed the living daylights out of it. There was dust and pebbles all over the place but none inside of the car and the diff was totally clean. The front of the car was completely free from dirt so there's no reason to make one for the front pulley as well.

Very impressed with it. Think Tamiya ought to thank Fremi in some way;)

Thanks Alex and Guy.

I´m very happy for all the feedback I have received. Quite a few have purchased the cover for both 501X and 511.

Here is some feedback:

"I'm glad to report that the parts have arrived, very nice thank you! Look well made, can't wait to get them on the beast."
David McClintock, Netherland
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"I´ve just tested the diff cover and it´s working GREAT! I´m so happy that I could drive for 1 1/2 hour without any problems on a track with small stones. Earlier I had to replace pulleys and belts 2 times in 20 minutes when driving on my local track. I also like that you can flip the damper tower and still use the same cover. I´m VERY satisfied!"

Mattias Petersson, Sweden
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He makes ingenious devices which fit PERFECTLY in tamiya TRF511 car.

The diff. cover is excellent - totally a professional design. I was worried before I recieved it that there might be issues with installation because of the complex nature of the trf511 rear end (shock tower, upper deck and diff housing) - but there was not a single issue ! The quality is also great.

I ordered the diff. cover because I ruined the rear belt and pulley with a single rock that also chipped the carbon fiber. I have had no issues whatsoever after running the car with the belt cover. I have yet to check the state of the diff after using the cover, but I am sure it will keep out alot more dirt than before I had it. I think that the cover is ESSENTIAL for this car !
Peter Lee, Canada
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Really nice piece! Fast Shipping! A must have for all TRF5XX owners! A+
Art Antiporda, U.S
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The cover is great. The best thing for me is that I don’t have to worry about the cabling of the saddle pack!
When I’m switching to the TRF511 I will be your customer again;-)
Christopher Schmidtmann Germany (501X diff cover)
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Not sure if i am missing something here but dont those black sticky back plastic stickers stop the dirt getting into the diff...??? I owned a 501 for over a year and the thrust race used to get full of dirt before the diff itself.

I used to pack the out drives with those red spongey spacers and this helped alot but still, the thrust race would always get dirty befor the diff...

Not sure these covers are needed to be honest.

If you read previous posts you will find the answer.;)

So, the biggest problem with the open drivetrain is not dust.
The biggest problem are small stones etc that damage the drive belt and pulleys.
One thing that can happen is that the stone gets stuck and locks the drivetrain. The result will be a damaged belt and the pulley will look like this:
http://www.rsb.se/arena/attachment.p...6&d=1254502518

The second thing than can happen is that the stone gets stuck between the belt/pulley and the rear suspension mount. This will wear out the belt very quickly and it snaps off.

One of these things will happen sooner or later if you run on a track/surface with small stones.

I made this diff/pulley protection for my own needs. It solved my problem and has now also solved a lot of other 511/501X drivers problem.

I haven´t had a single problem with the drive train this summer. In fact, I´ve used the same belt and pulleys all season, racing on tracks with small stones.

But whether you think you need the cover or not is up to you to decide.;)

Know a lot of people that would disagree with you mate:D. Every TRF5XX driver who have this masterpiece installed in their cars.

Guess myself and the other 2 501 drivers at my club must just have been lucky then as we've never had any problems like that. I stripped 2 centre pulleys but that was due to an over tight slipper and juicey thumbs...

Neil...

I run the covers on both my 501 and 511 at our club.... suprised you hadnt seen them. the one time I ran without the plastic covers, a stone went in and wrecked the diff pulley.

By the looks of things it seems you run your cars on grass....
Not many small stones there.
You would not last one lap on one of our tracks without it.

It's taken a while but I've just undertaken a strip down clean of my car after running it with the diff covers.

As a baseline I ran the car from new, without the covers, in the following conditions:

10 packs - fake grass, 30% soaking wet
20 packs - dirt track, dust and fine gravel in parts

After which I cleaned the car and diffs and installed the covers. I was using the protective seals on the diffs and after the use above everything was still free from any large objects (and damage) but there was a lot of fine dust everywhere. There was a small build-up of fine dust on the gears outside of the belts - over time (without maintenance) this could cause damage or cause the belts to slip off.

Now, I run through about 30 more packs, mainly on the dirt track but also recently in mud and snow - all with the covers on. I've stripped it down and can report there is almost no dirt, dust or debris in or near the diff - I conclude these covers are great!

In my experience, it's not that debris was a big problem before but now it's not a problem or apparently even a risk. And that's good enough for me.

I want to run it some more (will now wait until spring) before I give a thumbs up to the durability of the covers but for now they have a thumbs up for usefulness.

Thank you for that report.

I will only sell a few more of these covers for TRF511/501X.
It takes too much time and they are too expensive to make.:(

I sent the idea to a TRF-member at Tamiya, but I think that it is to late. The next 4WD is probably on it´s way...

Thank you for all feedback.

you have a pm

Rumor has it, it's a shaft driven 4wd buggy. And it will probably be a cross between the B44 and the Lazer ZX5 FS kit. It's supposed to be pretty sweet!:thumbsup: But I really like belt drive alot better.

I´ve heard i'ts B-max clone.. ha ha :D that's their usual way isnt it?:woot:

Is it supposed to be the next 4WD TRF buggy after the TRF511? When will it be released? Is there any more information available?

Doesnt the 501x gearbox mold covers fit the 511x? I had one fo the very first batch for the 501 and kept all the dirt out so if they fit then great as they looked superb.

hey welshy, do u have a pic of the covers you're talking about, ive been checking the 501x manual and cant find anything like it, thanks

Sorry, i should have said what Cedric designed and sold (and hope he still sells). They are basically designed to close off the gearbox front and rear using as little as possible and looks superb. I will update with a piccy when I find one.

http://www.team-azarashi.com/page_thumb486.html

http://www.team-azarashi.com/op001fit_tipsfor511.html

Yes thats them. I regret selling my 501 and with those gearboxes which were superb.

And where I can order theese azarashi covers??

Not sure if you can order from Azarashi. Otherwise from Optimized (Cedric).

They can, as shown above, be modified to fit the 511.

It is a great option part. It only costed 19 euros + shipping. Another positive thing is that it is small. I tried it on my 501X.

The downside is that you have to remove both pieces of the diff cover and top deck in order to remove the diff. Thats another 6 screws for the top deck + 2 screws that secures the diff cover, total of 12 screws. If you have stabilizers on the car it´s another 2 screws.

The reason why you have to remove the upper deck is that the front piece of the diff cover is held in place by the top deck.
You can´t remove the diff without removing the front piece of the diff cover.

Normally on the 511 you do not need to remove the top deck, just the shock tower = 4 screws + 1 nut (for the damper).
This is one BIG difference between the 501X and 511.

On the 501 it did´nt really matter. You had to remove the top deck in order to access the diff. 8 screws for the top deck/shock tower and 2 screws for the diff cover. Then you could remove the diff cover pieces and then the diff. puh...
You did´nt exactly laugh when you realised that you had forgotten the front piece of the diff cover and had to remove the top deck again.

Also a small detail, you can´t use a reversed damper tower setting with the optimized diff cover. You can probably modify the cover, but it will leave holes on the top of the cover.

Maybe you understand why I made my own diff cover for the 511.