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

[DCM]

well, that is mine built... that was a late night....

[ralphee]

Just got mine, along with a slipper, one way and a few sets of rims!
Sadly i cant play till Xmas lol. I will crawl around the missus though to let me open her up and send the shell for painting
Then ill be bugging you guys for electrics tips as ive never raced off road, in all my years!

lee

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by drinternat

So do I have to use both the small servo saver rings marked BM16 AND the large one BM17? how did you get the silver ones on top of each other?

These are the metal rings, yes? In which case a little lubrication, and some long nose pliers to open them out gently from the inside helps.

DON'T bend the rings to make them fit otherwise you will make the saver soft and sloppy, you need it to be firm otherwise the steering will feel rubbish.

[drinternat]

Originally Posted by sosidge

These are the metal rings, yes? In which case a little lubrication, and some long nose pliers to open them out gently from the inside helps.

DON'T bend the rings to make them fit otherwise you will make the saver soft and sloppy, you need it to be firm otherwise the steering will feel rubbish.

I built it just using one of the silver rings and the black one and it seems to be ok. If I have the servo out the car again ill try to fit the second silver ring.

Did you have trouble getting the front drive pins through the drive shafts. Ive spent the best part of 2 hours trying to get them in and have given up for now

[jimmy]

There shouldnt be any problem getting the pins in - are you sure you have the hex the right way around? You have pressed the bearings in properly so you can see the hole on the outside?
There's a chance the hex could be badly machined, maybe some matierial is left over which is stopping the pin but I wouldn't have thought it could happen on both.

Put the pin in the hex and push the pin whilst rotating the hex until you find the hole... they are actually so loose that you need to use the anti-wear grease to stop them falling out.

[94eg!]

Originally Posted by drinternat

I built it just using one of the silver rings and the black one and it seems to be ok. If I have the servo out the car again ill try to fit the second silver ring.

Did you have trouble getting the front drive pins through the drive shafts. Ive spent the best part of 2 hours trying to get them in and have given up for now

If your talking about the drive pins that go in the front wheel hexes, then here's the scoop:

The drawing in the book is misleading. You must slide the hex onto the driveshaft with the pin notch facing inwards toward the hub. This is what the manual fails to detail. Then once the notch in the hex lines up with the hole in the axle, slide the pin into the side of the hex and push it through. The fit is loose and it goes in very easy (and falls out easy as well).

I also found that fitting the front wheels on is the real trick. You must make absolutely sure the pin stays inside the hex, otherwise it will put a big gash in the wheel when you tighten down the flange-nut. I did this on my first try. You will know if this happens to you because the wheel will be spin completely crooked.

Plus the tight precision fit of the front hex makes it nearly impossible to tell when the wheel is lined up with the hex. You have to kinda turn the wheel back & forth until it catches the hex and starts to turn the axle. Then you will have to press the wheel onto the hex by tightening the flange-nut. The fit is so tight that you cannot push the wheel onto the hex by hand (at least I couldn't)...

For the servo saver, you can run it without the second silver ring, but it won't be as tight. I always fit the first ring to the servo horn, and then just press the heck out of the second one with my fingers while making sure it's as centered as I can get it. It helps to start from one open end, and work your way around. It's usually the last tiny bit of the other open end that's hardest to get on.

[Toonz]

maybe this might help?

http://www.tamiya.com/english/info/0...heel/index.htm

[mrbiccies]

I now have a DB01 on its way, along with a slipper, front one way and few spares, struggling with finding dampers though, so might need to fit my aluminiumm DF03 dampers for now.......

[DCM]

actualy, I built mine up with the kit shocks, and for now, they feel good till I get the TRF shocks.

[drinternat]

Thanks again 94eg. Thats the second time you've bailed me out. I actually had tried to put the black hex washer on the hub with the slot facing the wheel then put the pin through the slot which I thought was a good idea at the time for keeping the pins in place. I was just about to strip the hubs and see if I had made a mistake in assembly. Now that its finished, other than the esc and painting I look at the parts left and think "Oh shi.**. what have I forgotten?. Its like when you take something apart and have parts left when you are finished. Your mind plays tricks.

[DCM]

run the belts one notch looser than the manual says, otherwis it is very tight...

[jimmy]

mines built as kit and I could imagine some people wanting to make the belts slightly tighter! I built it wrong the first time and they were a little too loose because I put the arrows down (I didn't read the manual properly) but built as kit I think it was bang on in my case- not tight at all.

[bender]

Originally Posted by jimmy

mines built as kit and I could imagine some people wanting to make the belts slightly tighter! I built it wrong the first time and they were a little too loose because I put the arrows down (I didn't read the manual properly) but built as kit I think it was bang on in my case- not tight at all.

Yeah mine was the same. I ended up tightening the rear belt one notch as it felt very loose. I have put the tensioners from my 501 on mine now. Drivetrain is very smooth - better than my 501 which only has the original size pulleys on it.

And for those that don't have a 501 I can tell you that the arms are not made of the same material, hence the "std" and "Hard" options on the set-up sheet. I assume the kit arms are very slightly softer than the 501 arms and more forgiving.

[jimmy]

grab the hub and you can just about flex these bad boys - so they definitely have a little more flex (more than none!) but I did break one. The 501X arms are the same weight but stiffer

looks like they might be bringing out a carbon composite version of the chassis and other bits at some point.

[94eg!]

For the belts, ours ended up being 2 notches tighter for the front, and per-instructions for the rear. I also noticed the front belt had an odd twist to it in a certain spot. Oh well. The car runs great...

Originally Posted by drinternat

Thanks again 94eg. Thats the second time you've bailed me out. I actually had tried to put the black hex washer on the hub with the slot facing the wheel then put the pin through the slot which I thought was a good idea at the time for keeping the pins in place. I was just about to strip the hubs and see if I had made a mistake in assembly. Now that its finished, other than the esc and painting I look at the parts left and think "Oh shi.**. what have I forgotten?. Its like when you take something apart and have parts left when you are finished. Your mind plays tricks.

I did the exact same thing with the hubs. Then I put the pin in the axle and attempted to slip the hex over top. That didn't work either. Took about 10 minutes for me to figure out that the groove in the hex was actually a hole drilled from the side. The hex simply cannot slide over the pin (like standard 12mm hexes)... PS:, a dab of anti-wear grease works great to hold the pin in the hex.

I too noticed the excessive extras that are leftover from the build. I immediately commented on how nice it was they gave us spares. My friend, however, shared your less optimistic outlook. Rest assured, all is well.

[Toonz]

how do you tighten the front or the rear belt? do you have to take the gearboxes apart or you can just adjust it externally?

[DCM]

yes you do

[Toonz]

then how am i suppose to know that the tension is just right? does that mean opening the gearbox multiple times?

sorry i don't have any belt driven car so i've no idea how this adjustment will work......

[Metla]

Would anyone say that its a better car (on the track) then the RTR Lazer from Kyosho?

Very similar price wise for me, and I like the look of both of them.

[jimmy]

I think the Tamiya would be better on a race track and has proven suspension. The Kyosho RTR doesn't have the latest 'SP' suspension so you're instantly at odds to anyone running the latest car and unable to directly nick setups etc.
The Kyosho bits are likely to be a lot easier to get in the UK and even track side at race meetings.