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

[Spoolio]

Did Worksop yesterday. Car finished the day looking the same as it started which was a bonus. Drove like someone who'd never seen an RC car before let alone driven one (taking a wheel off my RC10 3 seconds after the start of the very first round must be a record and knocked my confidence a lot). This version of my Durga (there are about 12 parts off the original car) had never turned a wheel before the first 4WD qualifier so every lap on the main straight was at granny speed while I tweaked the steering trim and then it was a case of babying it round in case the diff started slipping.

Changed the motor twice (from 5.5 to 7.5 then to a 6.5L) and lost count of the number of pinion changes. On the plus side, finally having the guts to totally ignore the LRP gearing recommendations paid off as I ended up with a motor I could touch at the end of each heat instead of something that could set off a fire alarm .

Needed to tighten up both diffs and swapped springs but finished my final one place up from where I started and my laps got better each time albeit I was still slooooowww (first lap 37.5 secs down to a best of 31).

I ran the centre one way and I think it transformed the car, made it feel a bit more chuckable - now I just need to find out what I should do with it after I've lobbed it into the corner as I only got it right a few times .

Respect to Ian Clamp (hope I got that right) who ran his Durga in the 2wd class minus its front driveshafts as the 4wd class was full up, and he still beat me (anyone wanna buy a B4?).

I ran the rear shocks with 2 thin black o-rings and 2 red ones so I could revert back to CVD's but I think that was a bit (OK a lot) too much so I'll take them all out and go back to the dog bones for the next round. Also, the centre belt rollers are causing me "issues" so they are coming out too.

Nice to see some other Durgas out for a change, Ian Robertson's was going very well (shame you went home, you missed a raffle prize fella).

[jimmy]

good stuff, my Durga was under the table but it wasn't playing yesterday. I've had my car going very well round worksop so the car is more than capable.
I've not run the centre one way but the front one way definitely livens things up. What were the problems with the diffs? just not tight enough or....?

[DCM]

if you are running some power, and you got the plastic outputs, the glue can dislodge and melt your rear diff

[Spoolio]

Originally Posted by jimmy

What were the problems with the diffs? just not tight enough or....?

No problems at all thankfully, I was just being ultra cautious as when I built the car first time round the diff needed major bedding in. This version which I built up over the summer lay-off (I don't do outside racing - too many other things to do) has 501X diff halves front and rear and kanzen balls so I'm happy it'll take the power but as you'll appreciate I didn't want to risk it on the first run. Once I'd got the first round out of the way I was a bit more exuberant on the throttle, but I still fell off on the slow bits (feckin carpet ) far too much. I only started racing in October 07 and I think I've done about a dozen meetings so far so I've got a way to go yet.

I took my camera hoping to get some nice shots but as the fastest lens I currently have is an f4.0 it was perhaps predictably...crap.

[fabolousRC]

Originally Posted by SidewaysLS4

LOL. Amazing how that happens, eh? Similar experience here this week with going to a Futaba 9452 servo from a Futaba 3004.

Well, I was running the same servo except the Radio has a slightly faster co-processor I think. I can't imagine driving it with the 2123FET I have on my touring car . I'm taking some racing timeoff so I should have enough time to thinker with the setting. The problem is, the car is fine on pavement but super sketchy on dirt. I'm going to pop in some 3Racing shocks to see if I can find a right balance whilst I can find a better shock for the time being. I am eyeing on the Kyosho ZX-5 RTR plastic shocks because at least they are adjustable while Tamiya plastic isn't plus they are of a better materials than the CVA shocks anyway (thermoplastic, I think). I'm currently cutting down on R/C spending as I am trying to buy a new car (2009 Honda Jazz, no less) so the parts is on hold until next week.

Jimmy, the Rulux picture may take a little while to take so I will put it up as soon as I can. Also, I will try to put it on the Baldre I just pick up this weekend to see if I was just...uhm...lucky?

[A.J. Gee]

Can somebody please tell me where the kingpins are located on the Durga? Thanks.

[jimmy]

they are what the front hubs pivot on - one from below, one from above.

[A.J. Gee]

Thanks Jimmy. Your the RC man.

[dimblum]

I was hoping someone might shed some light on this subject... I am currently running my Durga for off-road club racing. I'm starting with the Rookie class since I am new to RC racing.

I have spend a couple weeks gathering the math to calculate gear ratio's, rollout, estimated MPH etc. All these numbers help to determine possible pinion choices and expected changes to your car when you swap out a motor, tires, etc - which is all great!

The one thing I have had trouble finding is the expected temperature tolerances for brushed and brushless motors.

Most have said that you want to keep your motor below 160F after a 5min run and never exceed 175F (both brushed and brushless).

I ran a new Trinity 27Turn with a 19T pinion last night... After 5min the motor temperature was pretty spot on at 155F (ESC was at 140F). I let it cool and put it through a longer 12min run and tested again - The motor was 178F and the ESC was 156F...

I also tried running a higher tooth pinion and as predicted it ramped up the temps after 5min runs so I backed down to the 19T since it appears to be safer overall.

Can anyone confirm if these temps are normal for a brushed motor? I cut the vents in the body (protected it with fly screen) for added airflow, but have not made the 'hot weather' cut in the rear since I am still running slow motors. Thanks.

Dan

[fabolousRC]

Hi Jimmy,

here are the pics you requested.

I'm not sure if they are clear enough or of the ones you were looking for but I was having a hard time trying to get a picture of the actual gap between the rims itself and the knuckle.

here goes nothing:

[jimmy]

Can you get a pic of the hub without the wheel on there? These wheels don't fit my cars (any of them) without the B44 hex on there - they just rub on the hubs and barely move.

[ben]

Originally Posted by jimmy

Can you get a pic of the hub without the wheel on there? These wheels don't fit my cars (any of them) without the B44 hex on there - they just rub on the hubs and barely move.

Jimmy have you tried adding a spacer inbetween the hex and the wheel? That is what james helliwell was doing with his B44 wheels on the cat because the hexes are the standard losi size.

[craigosh]

Yeah Jim, Like Ben said, stick a washer in there and they are fine. When i looked at it the bearing side of the hex was flush with the face of the fitting on the wheel so i just stuck a 1mm thick nylon washer in there for extra clearance, had zero rubbing issues.

PM me and i'll tell ya where i get em. They fit nice and snug in the hex and dont bugger off when i take the wheel off!!!

[fabolousRC]

Originally Posted by jimmy

Can you get a pic of the hub without the wheel on there? These wheels don't fit my cars (any of them) without the B44 hex on there - they just rub on the hubs and barely move.

Jimmy, did you put the A13 small washer before putting the bearings on the front hub carriers?

*UPDATE* pictures posted.

[antnee]

Im trying to sell my durga currently and not really had any interest.

its got
front CVD's
Slipper clutch
Tonys screw kit
rear alu suspension mounts

Ive been asking £120 posted, does this seem to high to you bearing in mind the amount the hop ups cost?

[Lonestar]

Originally Posted by antnee

Im trying to sell my durga currently and not really had any interest.

its got
front CVD's
Slipper clutch
Tonys screw kit
rear alu suspension mounts

Ive been asking £120 posted, does this seem to high to you bearing in mind the amount the hop ups cost?

Hi there - I saw your car ad before and decided , you're asking for FB so here's my take on it, don't take it personnally and remember it only involves my opinion

A new Durga is less than $150. The hop ups on there are worth about $60/70 at most if I'm not mistaken. Add $30 shipping... that makes $250, for new gear, which I would build by *my* standards (no offense intended but I know I've been disappointed by EVERY second-hand car I've bought in the last 10 years).

My best advice to you is to put it on ebay and see how much it fetches. On a "specialized" off-road rc site like this I think you'd need to be very lucky to get your asking price for it.

My 2 cents... keep in mind you asked for them

Paul

(PS - additionally, anyone boasting "bluebird" in his sig looks dangerous to me )

[Spoolio]

Hi Antnee,

Like Lonestar says the price you are asking is quite high. One of the downsides of Tamiya gear from a sellers perspective is that (particularly on sites like this) you are trying to sell to people who may not be averse to using the import market. This will always put you at a price disadvantage if you are going on UK prices. I know the UK retail for a Durga alone is about £125 - £135 but to give you an idea, mine cost £74. A lot of people will conveniently forget about shipping costs when they are deciding what a car is worth. For example if I do that, my car with all the bits yours had came to $210 which at the time cost me about £110. Shipping added £40 to that but I factored that out.

When I have sold a car in the past I've always worked on the basis that if it is still current when I sell it (as your Durga is) it will be worth 50% of its new kit price, same for all the hop-ups. I'm not saying you should put it up for that but if you take that as a realistic bottom price then anything above that is a bonus.

The last Durga I saw on ebay - admittedly bog standard - went for £67 a couple of months ago. I'm sure there have been more since then but I haven't been watching.

Hope you do sell it for a fair price anyway mate.

[antnee]

bugger, paid £120 for the kit only back in May I think it was, then paid about £50ish (including p+p) for the hop-ups

[Lonestar]

Hey at least you have a great sense of humour - your sig file is awesome



good luck with the sale

Paul

[A.J. Gee]

Do the Associated B4 slipper pads work correctly with the Durga's spur gear?