Ran My New TFR511

[djmcnz]

So, I took the plunge and have taken the pristine chassis out for a bit of a shakedown and run-in. First impressions: top shelf!

It is a real beauty to run, and very fluid too even with the out-of-the-box setup.

Shakedown and basic tuning were done on an astro-turf soccer field with cones and a basic ramp. Very little needed changing actually to achieve a neutral setup. I had to wet down a corner of the field with a hose to rid myself of lateral grip to expose and then dial out the oversteer but once that was done and I'd added a bit of toe-in I feel like I've got a reasonably neutral setup. I will need to add heavier weight shock oil, the Tamiya box stuff is too soft IMHO. Interestingly, where I was unhappy with the standard 501X springs, the kit ones seemed okay for the 511 - I suspect this is more to do with the battery change to LiPo's than anything else.

Talking about LiPo's, damn they're light... had the rear end skipping (hopping) all over the place in high speed turns because the rear end wasn't planted enough. A little bit of weight and some preload adjustment fixed this but it's not a particularly flexible setup so I will probably play with springs some more.

Two packs and a diff tear-down revealed no problems, not too tight, not too loose... I might even be getting better at this lol.

Second day, two more packs but this time on undulating dust, fine sand, low grip. Rocket ship. Plain and simple. All I did was swap out all four springs to compensate for the reduction in grip and smoothness and I was instantly back to neutral again... I love this chassis.

Halfway through pack two I lost steering, a bridge to arm screw had come loose. I found the screw in the undercowl but alas the 4.5x3.5mm flanged tube was gone... no spares. Have ordered 4 replacement TRF416 equivalents.

All in all I'm happy, and with the electrics too (LRP)... the 8.5t X12 is way fast for my needs at the moment. I can recommend the 511 to anybody although of course, only those with some experience will appreciate the finer points of the chassis and its handling.

Altough the body has more space than the 511X it's still not really enough. The rear body post could usefully be about 5mm higher. Battery leads rub on the underside of the body too. I will need to get some 90 degree laydown 4mm leads.

Yet to install my new LiPo cradle and diff cover from Fredrik (didn't arrive in time for the weekend run) but will do so after I've moved house this weekend and before I'm back out.

Over two days:

Run time = ~80mins
Setup time = ~8mins

Now that's a good ratio!