pulley wear
 

How often do you guys replace the centre pulley and belts?
And which motor do you use?

I use a 12x1 (6-cell NIMH) and should replace my center pulleys and rear belt after 20 batteries racing (clay).

Using the 18T center and 37T front & rear pulleys, I replace the rear belt and rear belt 18T pulley at the same time about every 20-25 5-minute runs/qualifiers/races. You are pretty much wasting your time if you do not replace the rear belt 18T pulley with the new rear belt, IMO. Also, I set my rear belt tension ONE NOTCH looser than the supplied sheets show. For some reason, the front belt and front 18T pulley last ALOT longer, probably a 2:1 ratio to the rear belt & center pulley.

EDIT: Novak 6.5 Light, LRP TC Spec (punch level 3 or 4, I can't remember), both indoor, high traction dirt surface (slick or near-slick Losi Pink Taper Pins at Trackside / full tread Pro-Line Holeshots, Pink Taper Pins, Panther Switch 2.0 clay at Dirt Heaven)

Running 5.5 LRP, and got roughly 40 5min runs out of the big belt/pulley set before any problems!

Ive run my TRF for over 200 minutes now, and only replaced one rear belt?? And thats with a 4.5 Brushless in on low and high grip surfaces, at a reasonably competitive level.

What are you guys doing to your pulleys?

Umm, 40x5 is 200 minutes? So I reckon I am doing similar things to you :p

Well I have bought the wrong car. The Kyosho Lazer belts just last and last and only need replacing every 6 or so years (a major event every weekend and four club events at week time). How come these dont last so long?

because we put soooooooooooo much more power through them? tracks now have more jumps, tyres give a lot more grip..... etc... ?

The Tamiya belts are great - just don't run them too tight or loose. I've only broken one belt and that was from running it too tight.

Jimmy,

Up until recently I was still running the Lazer, and at stupid gear ratios as always in my case (Craig Harris can vouch for that), and yet still havent broken more than 2 belts in 18 years. I am going to keep the same belts in and pulleys and if they slip I will tighten, but maybe thats how Tamiya are going to make some more money, being cheap on the running gear.Then again maybe the gear cover will stop this.

Have you tried the same size 35t pulleys on yours yet?

I never broke a belt, but after 20 runs the rear belt starts slipping no matter what belt tension is use.

Actually, last year I could run 40 batteries without slipping. But since I use the 18T/37T pulleys I have the wear problem. Maybe I should switching back to the 16T/36T pulleys?

nah, the big pulleys are better - there's got to be a reason if you're slipping belts. If your belt is slipping then surely the centre pulleys need replacing? a little bit of slipping will rapidly round the teeth on the pulley and cause more slippage?

once it slips... it WILL slip.... I have run my DB-02 (501X WE pulleys) and not had an issue, and can't see it being an issue. The only thing I find with the Tamiya belts (buggy and tourer) is that from new, they need re-tightening after a couple of runs, if you don't, it slips.

James, when you start to run proper gear ratio's where you are running the motor correctly, them lazer belts will be just as fragile..... anyhows, I am sure there is a vintage car thread somewhere :woot:

I'm with Jimmy on this.

In the 90'ies, I've never needed to replace the belt on my CAT2000. Two years ago, I wanted to try the CAT again on a modern track and with a modern day power system (5.5 BL). The car still went great around the track (a testimoy on how great a car the CAT2000 was) but I ripped the rear diff and belt after only 5 or 6 runs. Power levells have increased so much since the day of the 2000mA NiCd. The tracks also feature larger and larger jumps.

The TRF501X belts are actually great. I've been running a TRF501X since it came out and I'm only on my 3rd belt. Not bat after 1,5 very busy season.

About replacing pulleys : I compare it to replacing the chain on my motorcycle : if you replace the chain, you also have to replace the sprockets or it will wear very fast.

They do get looser for sure after a few runs, only a little and I'm not certain you need to tighten them - at least not on the big pulley stuff. I don't remember about the smaller stuff.
I've run the equal pulleys yeah - I actually raced at the Euros last year with 35t black pulleys front and rear. The car is surprisingly more stable and easy to drive on loose surfaces with the un-equal overdrive setup tho. On high grip you might not notice any difference between the two.

My gear ratio on a 10 double in the early 90s was a 23 pinion and a 99 spur (in fact roughly the same now) and I managed to last with 1400 and 1700 cells but only if I didnt crash. No slippage or belt damage, the car is still going strong. This vinatge car can still keep up and pass quite easily, but the Tamiya has now taken my full attention and had better be up to the challenge, but I do admit its much easier to work with and dial which has impressed me a lot. A few more mods still needed to get it up to my standards but so far all I have been is impressed.

Jimmy, thats the setup I am using now and prefer 35t all round. Its easier to drive on high and low grip surfaces.

When you have no motor attached in the car, how far does yours run when you push it? Daft question I know but with all my other cars (all four of them) they ran very very freely whereas this thing feels that there is a brake on. The belts are free and the bearings are fine. Is there any zero angle available for the car ?

thing is now James, that the car has so much more power with NiMh's, let alone LiPo cells, that even on the same ratio, there will be far FAR more rip for you pennies... much more. And to be honest, when your running mod, and racing, you got to expect some wear and tare don't you.

DCM Wear and tear, I agree but Bob was using a 17 or 18 pinion in his lazer, so I had a lot more speed, but just wasnt as good a driver. Still It was quicker in a straight line than anything else and I do admit the speed has now caught up so I am not going any faster than when I was originally racing properly. However I do agree that using Lipos the car will be much much quicker, but I am not interested in them yet as I am quite happy.

Still I hope that the gear cover can stop wear rate, as I intend to use the belts in the car at the moment for the next couple of years. Maybe I do as you say have my sight set too high for this or any other car as the quality is no where near to the last car I raced. Still I do like driving this tamiya, its set up can be done properly in a couple of minutes which is fantastic.

All I need to do is work on getting this to run smoother as its drive train isnt as free as the lazer so have a bit more work to go before I am happy. This is what I enjoy more than racing, making things better.

This might be a stupid question, but, why did you ever stop running the mighty Kyosho? :confused:

Clearly is the best car ever and never needed any replacement parts, maybe combined with some mighty 1200's and a crazy gear ratio you could go back to the good ole days of coming 7th at the indoor nationals :thumbsup:

I think it was Dave Duggan with schumacher who made 7th, I made 5th with a front wheel drive as the belt snapped (I only broke 2 and one was there). I used 1400 scrs for a bet for a season but still gave Mr Harris and Mr Belsten a good run for their money in the indoor series. (I even beat Jon Leonard at one of them which was rather funny considering he was rated 3rd in Europe)

I love the Lazer big time as it can take so much punishment, but I need a change and the Tamiya looks appeal to me. Yes its not perfectly balanced but I am game for a new challenge. Now I have a cupboard full of new Kyosho spares that I no longer need and a couple of new lazer Prototypes as well. Im tempted to swop all for the new Tekin esc and a brushless motor.

I like the fact that now I dont have to worry about the motor ever getting too hot as the motor is surrounded by metal. Also its a much better design if you compare it to the Yokomo. The only let down are the shocks, which have been binned and i am not keen on the one way but am currently working on a 16t one way for the layshaft. I also like the fact that the car still isnt perfect and needs a bit of work to get it to run perfectly. Its not going to be boring, and itll keep me busy.

Didnt the Yokomo MBX-4 come out first? You have to admit they are similar, but I dont think Tamiya copied Yokomo's design do you?

There is nothing wrong with the 501x shocks, they are an even better design compared to B44 shocks which are good.
The design is so good you dont have to rebuild them that often.

At least you admit this is the funnest car to drive on the market.
I have to agree with that last quote.