DB01 upgrades for brushless?
 

I'm helping a friend hop-up his DB01 Durga so it can handle brushless and I need advice on the upgrades. I've looked through a lot of threads and there seems to be a bewildering array of bits on eBay.

Are these the essentials?

slipper
3Racing diff outdrives
ceramic diff balls
front universal shafts
hex screw kit
suspension mounts and blocks 54037/8/9
possibly 501x dampers, fast servo and alloy steering

Are the reinforced belts neccessary?

Any advice welcome. Thanks.

I would recommend the car be upgraided to the DB01R spec. I have raced both an upgraided Durga and now race a DB01R.

It is much cheaper just to buy an R kit. Messing around trying to spend only the minimum ends up spending more as by replacing one part with and alloy upgraide only to find the next standard kit part become the weak point and break.

Honastly just buy an R, save all the hastle, bother, heart ache and money.

plus the the Durga can be used as spares.

The only must have for the transmission is the the slipper and 501/3 racing diff halves in the rear only.
The suspension blocks are available from 3 racing for less than the tamiya equivalents too.

the rest is just personal preference in my opinion and can be done as the originals wear out.

Better dampers will make a big difference too, TRF or Associated/Losi are better than the standard ones and will all fit straight on (although all may need limiters in the rear to stop too much droop)

No Ceramic diff balls, not essentially needed and expensive. Also the alloy steering is not important. A friend races his DB01R with normal steering and since 120 Lipo charges it is still fine.
Get the slipper, outdrives, alloy suspension bits and the belts, or do it like super gripper proposed: buy a DB01R and take the Durga for spares, it will be much cheaper plus you will have this car for a very long time!:thumbsup:

That's great, thanks :thumbsup:

I see what you mean about the DB01R super gripper. I'm a bit p***** the shop didn't tell us about that one to begin with. Are the following included in the DB01R and, if not, what are the part numbers?

hex screws
heavy duty diff outdrives

Cheers

No both are not included. You can buy the titanium screw (54024) set but this is again not needed. Just get a Hex screw set like this one for example:

http://cgi.ebay.at/Schraubenset-HOCH...item2eaa50b9f9

As for the Outdrives it will be wise to buy them!

Diff halves
 

Thanks for the link, Muratti. Hex screws are the way to go... I hate the phillips screws!

So do I need TWO of these diff sets...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3Racing-Alum-D...item2ea67ea4d5

Otherwise is this a full kit i.e. wheels and shell?

No problem, Yes you will need 2 sets of the 3 Racing Outdrives. I haven´t had any experience with them, i had the original Tamiya ones which seem to las forever. I don´t think you will go wrong with the 3 Racing ones though.
Do you mean if the DB01R has a body and wheels included? No, there aren´t any body or wheels included, but you can use your Durg wheels and body on the DB01R, it´s all the same!

3 Racing out-drives are great, but if you're short on cash 1 set for the back should be OK and as for ceramic diff balls... Click Here. Even with postage, they are dirt cheap.

The alu suspension mounts are a must (unless you're not ever going to have a crash :p) and the slipper, it should be pretty tough after those.

The trf shocks are nice, but not absolutely essential.

The next thing I'm gonna buy to make my Durga bullet-proof is some Hard Hex Head Ball Head Connectors, as they seem to be the weak link now :/

Did someone mention ceramic diff balls?

I use these and they're excellent and most importantly cheap.

www.rcLazy.com

Available in all sizes even for the thrust race, quicker delivery than waiting from HK too.

:thumbsup:

Thanks for the link!

Personally, I feel better if I use ceramic balls :eh?:

Does the DB01 have 12 x 3mm balls in each diff?

Also are the thrust race balls 1/16 and how many are there?

Yes the diffs are 12 x 3mm balls in each diff, I run a front oneway in mine so I have a spare built diff to hand all the time.

The thrust race balls are captured so you cannot change them. The Tamiya thrust races are good enough, no need to worry about them.

Good to know, thanks again.

3racing diff outdrives are aluminium and will wear a lot faster than steel ones. So I would just buy the steel ones made for TRF501/511, the price difference is not really that big.

Thanks. What's the part number for those and do they take the standard washers?

mine aren't aluminium, they're steel,
you must have got a dodgy batch :confused::confused::confused:

51286 and yes everythign fits straight in.
More part numbers for hopups are here:
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17021

Mmm, I can't find 51286 TRF501X diff joint on eBay.

I found the 3racing ones from stellamodels but it says they're aluminium in the description (?)

3Racing Alum Diff Joint Heavy Duty - Tamiya DB01 DURGA

Are these ones OK or is it worth it for the steel ones?

A link would be great for TRF diff halves (cheers!)

That's strange, I checked and yes 3racing diff outdrives are advertised as ALUM. BUT I just checked mine with a magnet and there is certainly steel in there, maybe they are an alloy but they are tough, I've run mine for a year and there is no wear, I reccomend them if money's tight

If you put tamiya 51286 into google it'll give you a nice selection of shops. You may have to check their stock levels before ordering though!

I have the 3 racing ones in the front of mine, will check them this evening as they didn't feel light enough to be alloy when I fitted them!

Well, if yours aren't aluminium, yours are the dodgy ones (in a good way) :woot:

As already said (and as you noticed too), they are advertised to be aluminium:

http://os.3racing.hk/products.php?products_key=2844

And no, I haven't got a dodgy batch since I skipped them as they said they are aluminium which wouldn't last as long as steel ones. So I never tried them.

On order!
 

Just ordered a DB01-R from eModels...

http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kit...0-p-22117.html

Getting the R kit is a no-brainer considering the basic Durga is £200

If your going to spend £200 you might as well go the whole hog and get a 511 or a second hand 501

you wont regret it,
get some hex screws, Tonys screws are top quality
enjoy the build

Thanks. Yep, ordered the screws and diff outdrives off eBay.

Finally, completed my mate's DB-01R complete with sweet shell by RCS Graphic Worx (left)

The Baldre shell is definitely better than the Durga. It seals everything in well.

I'm not liking the slop in the steering though and the diffs came loose last time we ran it.

The front Rulux wheels are a pain too. We've put 0.4mm worth of washers behind the pin to see if that helps.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...l/IMG_0487.jpg

The Rulux wheels are designed for the thicker BJ4/B44 hex which is why they bind on Tamiya's.
Have a quick search on here as I'm sure someone gave details of how they fitted B44 hexes to their 501/511 and it'll be the same as the DB01.

Thanks, I'll do that.

Here's a photo with the top off. Hop-ups include 3-Racing alloy diff halves, ceramic balls, rubber sealed bearings and belt tensioners.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...l/IMG_0490.jpg

I've never raced the DB01 or Rulux wheels, but I believe flipping the hex around will give enough clearance for Rulux wheels to work. Dont hold me up if it dosent work, but I've seen the tip in use before, I just cant remember which car it was on...definately a Tamiya though.

diff plates
 

Would anyone happen to know if there is any difference in the diff plates supplied with the DB01R kit and the 501x ones (51287) e.g. harder?

Diff plates are the same, although Tamiya sells a hop-upped diff plate that has a bigger radius.

Racing the DB01 is great but I've broken two rear towers already, on what I consider light crashes, one broke on a simple rollover. The rear tower is week, and I would highly recommend the Atomic carbon tower, or aluminum towers found on ebay.

I never had a problem with the standart front or rear towers breaking but I highly recommend the Atomic carbon towers espacially with the TRF shocks as the rear tower offers more setup options. Also I just cant imagine how somebody could brake these useing them for regular racing.

I've been racing a DB-01 with Rulux wheels for years now.. The wheels have always fit for me with no rubbing or binding.. It could be a combination of parts I am using that make this possible.. The hop-up parts I run for the front arm assembly are:

Tamiya Wide Operating Front CVD's

Tamiya 12deg Front Castor Blocks

BOCA Yellow Seal ceramic bearings (this should not matter since bearing dimensions are consistent)

Tobee Craft direct replacement front hexes (blue anodized)

Tobee Craft used to make a 'direct replacement' front hex for the DB-01 (not the 12mm hex). It appears to me that they are perfect copies, but it is possible they could be a hair thicker than the stock Tamiya hex. I am not sure if these make any difference over the stock hex.

Sadly, I have not seen the direct replacement hexes for sale for quite some time now.. It appears that Tobee Craft discontinued them??

Hope this helps.

DB01R kit comes stock with the metal outdrives but plastic diff ring holder. On the 501X this is one strong metal piece that seems to last forever also in comparison to the 3 racing one piece outdrives.
I highly recommend the 501X outdrives if you drive brushless.
Diff plates are the same as 501X. There are no harder ones.