Tamiya Durga DB01 EP Buggy (A cheaper 501X?)

[dirtrider]

Hmmm true didn't look at it that way yet...

Ok I'll start calculating lol what motor you running?

[Spoolio]

As others have stated IT's TOUGH. That counts for a hell of a lot at club level. Take me for instance, I can be very cack-handed when I want to be and so far my Durga has survived 4 meetings with NO actual breakages. I had a couple of DNFs after clipping obstacles and popping an arm off due to the "too-flexible" nature of the stock hinge pin mounts. Since I replaced these with alloy ones no problems. I accept that I've spent money on my car but I calculate it owes me no more than £160 incl all postage so comparing like for like I am still £35 less than it'd cost me to pull in a B44 from HK or the US. Yes the chassis is one piece but for chrissakes look at it, the only way you'd break it (touching wood here folks) is by turning it upside down and dropping a sledgehammer on it deliberately and if you do, you can buy 2 for the price of 1 B44 shock tower. I don't want to gloat but I've been to meetings where I've seen B44 drivers spend out as much on spares as I paid for my car eg, 2 front shock towers, 2 front shock shafts, front arms, top deck, rear arm. At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice but much as I like my RC10B4, I love my Durga . So there. Climbing down off my soapbox now .

[stefka]

Originally Posted by CAClark

I think the thing with the Durga is that sure, the combined total of bits could push the overall price up to that of other cars, but the initial outlay is low for a car that cam be pretty competitive out of the box pretty well, and you can invest the extra dough over a period of time as you go, which suits the likes of me perfectly. I think I will race at some point, but not right away, so I can hop-up as I go, and if I end up not racing for any reason, I haven't forked out for a top comp car.

Cheers!

I agree ! I´m not ready for racing yet, but as I prepare my driving and setup skills, I choose the hop up parts for whichever plastic standard stuff breaks along the way (none so far ). If parts continue to last, I will use whatever money is found lying around at the end of the month and buy me some shiny stuff then.
I did not buy the durga because this method is the cheapest way of getting a race car, but because the car´s real good from the beginning and can get even better.
And I´m able to swap some parts or two with my TA05 tourer which I found just as bullet/fool proof...
cheers !

[sim]

For a lot of people, a big part of the fun in RC is hopping up their cars. No manufacturer understands this more than Tamiya. But on the other hand, some cars are such lousy platforms to start with that no amount of hop-ups are going to get them very far. The DB-01 buggies seem to be a very good balance - decent out of the box and gets better as you add to it.

[A.J. Gee]

I was wondering if any of you guys have heard of or maybe tried Tungsten Carbide Differential Balls? There is a site called Acer Racing that carries an assortment of high grade bearings and Diff balls. The ceramic nitride balls that they have are a bit expensive, so i was looking at the Tungsten ones instead.

[bender]

Originally Posted by Tamiya Slave

I was wondering if any of you guys have heard of or maybe tried Tungsten Carbide Differential Balls? There is a site called Acer Racing that carries an assortment of high grade bearings and Diff balls. The ceramic nitride balls that they have are a bit expensive, so i was looking at the Tungsten ones instead.

Carbide isn't as good as Ceramic but they are still a lot better than steel balls. Quite a few competition cars do come with Carbide diff balls as standard.

IMO Carbide diff balls are a good upgrade for any car which only comes with steel as standard.

Acer stuff is top notch - you wont have any problems with quality.

I personally use Jet racing ceramic diff balls in my durga - mainly becasue they are only around US$12 from the HK shops.

[jimmy]

the Durga with the worlds sized 12 ball diffs is a lot better than the original 501X in terms of diff life - so it's not as important and I've been fine with the kit balls so far. I think if you're wanting to upgrade the diffs then the half-plastic diff halves might be just as important an upgrade (get the 501X diff halves)

[DCM]

agree there Jimmy, as less pressure is needed then to attain the same diff action, and the metal halves would be far more reliable!

[A.J. Gee]

I haven't had any problems with the kit Diffs so far, but we all know the sound they make when you manually spin the wheels. It sounds like sand paper grinding together. Thats why im looking to upgrade them. The kit ones do work just fine though.

[simalive]

Took my Durga out to run on the loose stuff for the first time. Very fun. I think I need to do something about the silver can motor I'm running....hehee..not a lot of speed going on there. Here're a few pics.

[A.J. Gee]

Tamiya has an expo show coming up on the 19th of April to the 20th. I have a gut feeling that they may release some information on the mysterious 2WD that they have in the making. I have good reason to believe that there is something in the making, due to the fact that in one of the RC magazines that i read each month mentioned Tamiya having a competition 2wd in the making. I'm not trying to get everyone's hopes up, but im just telling you what i have heard. Hey Jimmy, if and when they do release the new buggy are you gonna do a review on it?

[DCM]

Hobby Co don't help out in this country, so Jimbo would need to either buy it or be given it....

Anybody know where I can get a body for the db-01, my daughter is very particular about having her own desing.

[A.J. Gee]

The only place i know of right now is directly from Tamiya America.

[Metla]

Has anyone done much messing around in regards to gearing when using a silver can?

Any recommendations?, I've mounted mine with what I think is a 28 tooth.

[Zipper]

Originally Posted by budgio

Received mine today from jr-rc & worked out at £36.86 delivered in 10 days from Japan.

Hopefully be testing sunday at Coventry.

I've just got these for my Durga, but I'm a bit confused with the instructions... it makes reference to a upper & lower rod guide... with out sounding stupid, what are these?

Also, how many shims should I put in front & rear when using the 3 racing towers?

Many thanks!

[DCM]

rod guides are the white parts.

you want about 5mm max in the rear, front is fine, spacer wise under the piston.

[drinternat]

Are these the 501's version. I thought the springs in them were too long?

[Zipper]

Originally Posted by DCM

rod guides are the white parts.

All is clear now! Many thanks.

[Metla]

Originally Posted by Metla

Has anyone done much messing around in regards to gearing when using a silver can?

Any recommendations?, I've mounted mine with what I think is a 28 tooth.

Judging by the smell from the motor, the heat, and how it sucked the life out of my batteries, I'm guessing she was a tad high, Time to try a 25 tooth.

Pace was all right for the tight track I was on, and she was capable of clearing the big jump while the battery was still strong.

[jimmy]

540 mabuchi's don't last that long really if you actually want to go fast, even when I was racing with the mardaves (12th scale pan car) the 540 was taking a heck of a beating as you had to gear it as high as possible to get a decent ammount of speed from it.
maybe there is a happy medium where you can get decent speed and not cook the motor