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

[jimmy]

the slipper is the same basic design and same materials as the 501X slipper so in essence it's the same. And yes you need to tighten it down if you want to put lots of power down. but it's nice to have that large range of adjustment.

You can do a couple of things to change the slipper if you want. First is a BK2 diff spring to replace the kit slipper spring. This is much harder and will sort it for you. This is the spring that Hupo runs on his 50!X.

Another option is to replace the pads with AE yellow pads if you can find them - as these have more friction. the AE white pads which replaced the yellow are probably pretty similar to the tamiya pads, but you can always try them.

I like my slipper to slip so I've not done either of these things on my Durga, but I do have the BK2 spring on one of the 50!X's

[sim]

Thanks. Doesn't sound too bad then. Will try it out myself and see if I have better luck than my friends.

[jimmy]

I ran the Durga at the first UK National today (National debut for the Durga? lol) , in the first round it was very wet and I went 40th in round (120 drivers) which is a bit good for me. the runs after that all had silly little mistakes and I ended up G2 - not amazing but still pretty good. I didn't touch the car really, didn't have time - but even the mighty Dan Greenwood came over and commented how good the car looked on the track

I think on that track I needed to try a diff in the front. when it was wet, the car was dialled, but got a bit harder when things dried up a little. I'd have tried the diff but I didn't really have the time to change it over when I was wanting to take photos and organise some 'stuff'

After shimming up the rear arms properly at the previous meeting I attended - there was no repeat of the arms 'popping' out - alloy suspension blocks? bah, who needs em!

[som3blok3]

Hi all.

Gotta start off by saying thanks Jimmy, it was such a great review that within day's of reading it I went out and bought the Durga from the local model shop (well done to 'Mick Charles Models' for getting it in so quick!).

Build was ok, pre-tapping everything was cool as it made what was a fun build last that little bit longer!?!

Anyhoo, stuck the slipper in, together with my Mamba 5700 BL setup and it's been kinda ok for a few runs, but just recently it has gone very down hill. Just seems to slip the whole time. So I tightened the diffs thinking it might just be them bedding in, no luck there. Ended up driving it with the slipper done all the way up and tightening both diffs, still no joy!!!
Just taken it apart and realised that the diff plates are loose, obviously not enough super glue added during those initial stages.
The problem now is that the 37t pulley has melted holes around the balls (sounds painful eh?), basically the holes are now twice the size and there is melted plastic around the inside of the middle of the diff. Harsh.

So, just wondering if anybody else has encountered this? Also just a heads up to anyone wanting to run even a slightly mental motor in this baby, USE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF GLUE ON THE DIFF PLATES!!

Oh, and just ordered the TRF501X shocks and 3racing towers from 'Stella', seems like great service so far.

Anybody got 2 x 37t pulleys they want to sell!?!?!

[budgio]

Head to stellamodels mate i think they have the 37t pulleys in the 501x parts section.
Not 100% sure but i think its the same part as the pulley in the Durga.

Someone here will know for sure though

[jimmy]

Hey mate - welcome! someone mentioned this the other day I think in this same thread, so you're not alone. I did I think 6 race meetings with the Durga before I had a similar experience. I used superglue on the plates and one 'broke away' so no matter how tight i made the diff, it still slipped.

You can probably totally solve this by either roughing up the plates, or using the proper 'glue' that Tamiya reccomend, which is I think 'rubber cement' ?? I assume that substance (I have none) has a little more 'give' and won't simply allow the plates to break away and spin freely.

Anyway, to solve MY problem since I was at a race meeting and didn't want to re-glue the plate (I didn't melt anything since I noticed right away and stopped running it) I used a 501X diff I already had built up.

So yeah, the 501X worlds 37T pulley is the same, and if you want to make a bullet proof rear diff (the front has less stress so its not so important) then you can get the 501X diff halves (original or worlds edition, I think they are all the same) as these don't require any glue anyway.


EDIT: oops - you say this has happened to both diffs? That's unusual I'd say, did you clean the diff rings properly before assembly?

[Spoolio]

Originally Posted by jimmy

...alloy suspension blocks? bah, who needs em!

ME!!!!

[jimmy]

you animal!!!

[A.J. Gee]

Hey Jimmy, you would really be surprised at how quality and useful the alloy suspension mounts along with the blocks are. Not to mention, they are quite cheap in price (definitley not cheap in quality though) After i put them on i noticed that it made the buggy feel a bit more solid. Just some food for thought in case you were thinking about giving them a go.

[DCM]

there is another plus point for the alloy suspension blocks.... the screws go in a dam site easier (don't forget the threadlock though guys and gals).

Yeah racing driveshafts are........... pants. The drive pins on mine wore half way through, so being the engineering ace of the MOD (skinflint), I knocked the pins out of an old pair of Tamiya Dogbones, knocked out the worn pins on the yeah racing shafts and put the Tamiys pins in.... sorted

[Spoolio]

Originally Posted by A.J. Gee

Hey Jimmy, you would really be surprised at how quality and useful the alloy suspension mounts along with the blocks are. Not to mention, they are quite cheap in price (definitley not cheap in quality though) After i put them on i noticed that it made the buggy feel a bit more solid. Just some food for thought in case you were thinking about giving them a go.

After much deliberation (about 2 seconds) I decided that seeing as the car was already built it was far too much effort to replace the A2 blocks at the inner ends of the pins, so I just used the end brace pieces.

Lazy? Me?

Not had any problems and if I do manage to bust the Tamiya blocks I can then use the spare alloy ones I've "saved" for just such an occasion.

[jimmy]

Originally Posted by A.J. Gee

Hey Jimmy, you would really be surprised at how quality and useful the alloy suspension mounts along with the blocks are. Not to mention, they are quite cheap in price (definitley not cheap in quality though) After i put them on i noticed that it made the buggy feel a bit more solid. Just some food for thought in case you were thinking about giving them a go.

I almost clicked 'buy it now' on a set on ebay today until I realised I spent too much already this month I'm sure they are great I just wouldn't want people thinking they are absolutely needed. I do like racing a car that's so stealthily good, but looks like a lump of plastic - it's quite a shocker for people !

[Zipper]

I lost some of the black suspension balls when my rear arms popped out.

Are these the bits I need to replace them?

[A.J. Gee]

Originally Posted by jimmy

I almost clicked 'buy it now' on a set on ebay today until I realised I spent too much already this month I'm sure they are great I just wouldn't want people thinking they are absolutely needed. I do like racing a car that's so stealthily good, but looks like a lump of plastic - it's quite a shocker for people !

Ha ha. Thats funny. A lump of stealthy plastic. I like that. I have always been a fan of things that are to be considered an "underdog" and the Durga is no exception. Everyone can just drive their Losi and associated vehicles and look around and realize everyone else is driving a clone of their own car. That right their makes me like Tamiya that much more. I have always been a fan of their non competitive cars such as the midnight pumpkin and the blitzer beetle but since it seems Tamiya is now making race worthy vehicles i will have to stick with them for life. My obsession with Tamiya has made me somewhat biased towards other companies, which i dont think is a good thing, but oh well. One of these days i am gonna have to take a shot at another companies car.

[A.J. Gee]

Originally Posted by Zipper

I lost some of the black suspension balls when my rear arms popped out.

Are these the bits I need to replace them?

Yes. Those are the correct suspension balls, but i would highly recommend going with the fluorine coated balls instead. This will save you having to replace the plastic ones if they do happen to go bad again.

[jimmy]

are these not steel? I got the 501X steel items - but to get them (at the time) I had to supply rc champ with the part number from the 501X manual and wait a couple of months (for the rest of my obscure parts list to arrive)

[DCM]

they are the TRF suspension mount balls, they should be easy to get hold of..... I got three packs on the way.... just in case like....

[sim]

9005870 - A parts tree from DB01, including the plastic suspension balls you have to cut out. Avoid these.

50994 - The ones pictured above. They're black but they're steel and a direct replacement for the plastic ones. Also used in TRF501X, TA04, TA05R, TA05MS, 414, 415, 416.

53709 - The latest and greatest. Same as 50994 but flourine coated.

You want either 50994 or 53709.

[jimmy]

Thanks for the info Sim, it's always worth getting some of those in as spares as I managed to lose one from my 501X when rebuilding it and couldn't race the car at all without it

[CAClark]

Does anyone know of where Durga body shell sets can be acquired? I have painted mine and decalled it, but I would like to get a custom painted one done as well, but I can't send one of to Mr Miller till I know where I can get one at all.

Cheers!