501X Info
 

Guys,

I'm getting one of these in the near future and need to know..

A) what the best/most common hop-ups are?
B) what parts are most consumable? i.e driveshafts, whishbones etc

So I can order as well..

:)Thanks

Wait a few weeks untill the Worlds Edition is available. It has the more reliable 369mm/37T/18T drivetrain.

Besides that, you'll only need self adhesive diff covers and some good quality 3mm diff balls (can't recommend Kanzen enough).

The only other good hopup would be Yokomo shock shafts

Do not spend your money on spare wishbones. I've never seen one break.

Spares to buy :
- front shocktower
- drive belts
- centre pulley set.

I agree with stefke,

I'm a crash test dummy in the extreme but have yet to injure a shock shaft in the slightest.
Wishbones - the rears can go in a big crash, but I've never heard of a front breaking which is a shame since I have 4 pairs of them that I can't use!

Don't feel bad about it Jimmy, I have them gathering dust too. :D

I agree with Stefke and Jimmy.

You chose an excellent car, very strong and very easy to drive fast. When building it, make sure you use something on the screws that thread into the aluminium to prevent them coming loose. Either use threadlock (liberally as you dont want the screws to be impossible to undo), or hair gel (which is what I use on the screws - it prevents them coming loose, but is easy to unscrew them when you want to).

I Broke a wishbone and Bent a shock shaft!!!!

Admittedly it tok an accident where I was flat out down a straight when someone flat out down the opposite straight crossed over and we had a head on, so lord knows what force that involved!!

Other than that, agree with the others, its as strong as an ox!

Dave

Yeh someone just put a link up re the worlds edition. RC Champ in Tokyo have them on pre-order. Handy as I'm dropping by there in a couple of weeks;)

The best part is that the conversion from Yen to UK pounds is a whopping £208!!!!:o

Back a the net:D

That'll be me. LOL

You don't happen to have some extra room in your luggage ? :D

Jimmy,

you have PM mate regarding wishbones!

i snapped a shock shaft :( but other than that i seem to be like everyone else i have spares sat in my pit box gathering dust which has got to be a good thing ;)

some people have had a problem with the wheel hexes breaking, may be worth getting a packet. Wishbones are strong as stated, i have not broken one yet, but i know a few people who have:rolleyes: they are cheap as chips and considering the 501x construction as a whole, are a little more vulnerable than other parts of the car so still make a worthy purchase.

Parts I have broken are:

Rear hub carrier ball stud snapped. Get some hardened steel replacements - part #: 53968. If you build your kit with these, you won't have to replace the hub carrier when your ball stud snaps... ;)

Front shock tower cracked.

Front shock shaft snapped. Lost the bottom spring retainer at the same time which then had to be replaced.

Snapped a rear arm at the inner hinge pin. Inner hinge pin was also bent.

Looks like I have out-hacked all of you! :D

And for hopups a one-way front diff, sticky diff covers and ceramic diff balls are worthwhile upgrades.

I have the aluminium steering bridge and mount. Don't think they are absolutely necessary although I have yet to experiment with altering the ackermann. This is probably more bling than outright performance.

The front aluminium castor block is not a bad tuning option. I find it works better on a smooth grippy track especially when using the short position. On a rougher track, you can run it long. But again this is not absolutely necessary

I've broken a rear shock tower and rear upper arm mount (replaced with Tamiya option part with 2 braces in it). Apparently, Kyosho RB5 or ZX5 ball cups work well with the Tamiya ball studs. I have some coming and hope to try them soon. I am truly shocked though that more cups have not come off in racing since one can remove them without pliers! :o I have a big race coming up and I will have to grab a spare front shock tower (probably the Tech Racing thicker model from Jason's Store on eBay). Great vendor BTW!

veecee, thanks for the tips on the aluminum castor block! I do race indoor off-road on a sticky surface and sounds like using the inner most ball stud positions is ideal?

Hey Aaron. I've found that the inner ball stud position makes the steering more aggressive. This is good on a smooth track but makes the car a bit snappy when the track roughs up. I like it as it gives me another tuning option. BTW, the Tech Racing shock towers are mega expensive - they are twice the cost of Tamiya towers in HK.