Hey guys - here we are again with the mighty Tamiya TT-02. So just to update you, we got a rather uninspiring 26mph from our first run on the stock TT-02 gearing (22t pinion and 70t spur). Changing to a 25t spur and adding the optional extra Tamiya speed gear set and the 64t spur added a whopping 5mph and got us up to 31mph.
I could still easily see that the motor was topping out pretty much instantly so there was clearly more speed on tap with the right gearing. So the next step was to gear it to the maximum level without having to make custom modifications like cutting out the pinion gear cover.
The Tamiya gearing chart that came with the speed gear set says that the maximum you can do on a stock chassis is 64t spur with a 29t pinion. I did however find that this was touching the gear cover. So I have decided the next speed test will be with the maximum the stock chassis parts allow - 64t spur and 28t pinion.
I also have a few nice aluminium upgrades to go on the car.
Pictured are the chassis as it stands at the moment and the aluminium prop shaft along with a 28t corally pinion (must be 0.6 module for Tamiya spur gears), along with a Yeah Racing TT-02 motor mount.
OK so let's take the car apart again…
Old pinion off and into spares tub…
It is VERY important to re-apply plenty of grease at this stage. I also did the driveshafts and the front differential even though it isn’t necessary to open it to fit these new parts. This car will soon be running on a 3 cell battery so it is essential to keep everything as free as possible. Remember this car is designed for a Tamiya Sport Tuned 540 ;)
Pictured is the pinion that was too big - I also tried it on the stock motor mount just in case the aluminium one was slightly different but with the same result. A bit of grease on the spur and pinion and it is ready to all be put back together!
A quick word about the aluminium motor mount - this is the only part I could not source from Wheelspin Models. It is a Yeah Racing mount from the USA (available in the UK on Ebay). Being aluminium should mean it draws heat away from the motor.
We do a Fastrax aluminium mount which is also a great upgrade from stock, but I have gone for this one as the Fastrax one has fixed holes in the same way as the stock mount - meaning I am still limited to a 28/64 pinion/spur gear ratio.
I do not want to be limited to this and I will need better ratios in the future. The Yeah Racing mount has a sliding upper screw meaning bigger pinions can eventually be fitted (will require chassis modification).
So after putting the car back together I did a speed test on the car park (fairly short run). I had a 4000Mah 2s and a 3600mah 3s just for fun (which bizarrely fits better than the 2 cell battery with no modifications needed). For the speed tests I used one of our Sky RC performance analyzers (great piece of kit) part ref: SCH-SK-500024.
Sky RC GPS Meter
I used cable ties to DIY tie it around the rear bumper, but I will try to find a random part that will screw on top of the rear shock tower to properly hold it down firmly.
Before the speed results - just a quick list of the setup and mods on the car so far:
So now for the results. On the 2s it is a great basher, and achieved…
35mph (speedo set to kph reading). Fairly respectable. Definitely a bit more available with a bigger pinion. The motor was still geared too low - it still seemed to be topping out early and I hammered the car around doing drifts and speed runs for nearly half an hour and the motor was still stone cold after that. More to come from 2s.
Now for 3s:
The speed meter is now set to mph…When we tell you guys in store that the difference between 2s and 3s is considerable we are telling the truth! During the fraction of a second I managed to pin the throttle the tyres expanded making the car snake all over the place. We did about 12 passes and the motor was just warm.
I feel that a bit more speed is achievable on this when I get more suitable tyres and the oil filled suspension upgrade to hopefully make the car more stable so I can really open it up. For now though it's pretty cool to have a 50mph TT-02.
