TRF Worlds Rumors

[MITamiya]

With the Worlds coming up later this year I wondered if anyone had heard of any new TRF releases aimed at winning the IFMAR World Championships. I realize the 201 is still a great car, and the 502/511 upgrade packs are nice, but will Tamiya counter the RB6, B4.2, TRL22, B44.2, K1, Xray 4wd, etc that are all newer or newly upgraded? With all these new vehicles out there, it should be a great year for the Worlds.
It also would be nice for Tamiya to get Lee Martin some help! A few top caliber teammates sure would be great.
Any rumors or thoughts out there?

[James]

It certainly would! The upgrade pack on the 511 has probably added a little pace to the car especially on dirt but I think Lee prefers the 502 on dirt? Not sure. What other Tamiya drivers are capable of an A final? I doubt there'll be a new kit as it not really how TRF do things is it? Maybe more upgrades.. Might even be a mid car as an upgrade pack too?

[Aussie Top Force]

I think the TRF needs to release an updated 201 - longer chassis as that's what LM is running on dirt al of the time these days. The 511 and 502 with their upgraded chassis sets and other tweeks are capable cars! However, it would be good to see them 'keep up with the Jones's' and introduce some more tweaks, namely HL Big Bore Shocks!

[Chris]

Yokomo shocks?

[tyreman]

Originally Posted by Chris

Yokomo shocks?

Look like associated bigbores to me.

[spud31]

defo ae big bores as he ran them on the 201 at maritime

[steve-thebabystore]

Call me thick - no not really - but when I left the sport everyone had larger bore shocks, on return smaller shocks and now big bores are the way forward, what's the reasoning?

[HeavyD99]

Y'thick.

Shocks have never been bigger than they are now - 12mm.

LM is running the AE 12mm big bores on his 201 & 4WD until the Tamiya units are ready (apparently in April).

I'm running TLR BB on my 511 - love'm!

[Origineelreclamebord]

I'm curious how they'll fit big bores on the TRF201 without the springs interfering on the rear turnbuckles I run the standard TRF shocks and find that even they nearly hit the springs somewhere in the suspension travel.

That said, TRF BB's coming up? That's very nice, as it seems shocks from some other brands are considerably longer (Durango ones for example are 10mm longer, front and rear, and I believe the AE ones were 4-5mm longer front and rear) - it kept me from trying out new shocks on my 201.

Anyway, as for the TRFs at the Worlds... I think Lee (and other TRF drivers who may join him at the Worlds) will run the upgrade packs and a big bunch of mods and upgrades on their cars - some of them yet to be released (like BB shocks apparently)... And based on those results I think they'll release a Worlds Edition/updated car. If Tamiya score any wins or podiums then that's even more so the right moment to put a new car on the shelves - and surely you'll find their TRF offroad achievements on the box

[wyd]

Originally Posted by HeavyD99

Y'thick.

Shocks have never been bigger than they are now - 12mm.

LM is running the AE 12mm big bores on his 201 & 4WD until the Tamiya units are ready (apparently in April).

I'm running TLR BB on my 511 - love'm!

As soon as I see a part number for new BB shocks I will be putting them on order. Love my 201 and honestly it is easily competitive will all the new buggies. Big Bore shocks from Tamiya would be really the only thing I really want for the car but other than that my 201 is by far the easiest buggy I have ever driven.

[djmcnz]

Big bores for TRF buggy shocks right now - click here & scroll down.

Originally Posted by Origineelreclamebord

I'm curious how they'll fit big bores on the TRF201 without the springs interfering on the rear turnbuckles I run the standard TRF shocks and find that even they nearly hit the springs somewhere in the suspension travel.

Exactly the same problem with the 511.

[HeavyD99]

I'm not sure what problems you guys are having, fellas in my club have been runnning Kyosho BB on their 201's & 511's for years now, and as mentioned I run TLR BB's on my 511 - no rubbing, no issues. They fit nicely, just make sure you use the right amount of internal limiters and realize that you will need to run shorter rear springs, like the Kyosho ones or cut down TLR springs 2 coils to get the proper ride height - hopefully with the soon to be released Tamiya units they will make springs of the proper length and the cutting of coils will be a thing of the past! The Kyosho units are $22US a pair! Ouch!

Oh, and you'll need the mounting hardware bits and you may have to space the shocks out a wee bit to keep them from rubbing if that is what you were refering to.

[steve-thebabystore]

Team C/ansmann big bores go straight on with no rubbing on any parts - at least on my 501. Fronts are a perfect fit, rears need a 4mm internal spacer for ride height.

[xfactor]

What i have found is if you run the TLR front truck BB springs these are a perfect fit for the rear,these are two coils shorter than standard rears you can gain ride height and no worries of cutting the spring and you get a perfect fit top and bottom against the collars.

[HeavyD99]

Originally Posted by xfactor

What i have found is if you run the TLR front truck BB springs these are a perfect fit for the rear,these are two coils shorter than standard rears you can gain ride height and no worries of cutting the spring and you get a perfect fit top and bottom against the collars.

Very true! Unfortunately the "lightest" front truck spring is pink (2.3lbs), and there are some times a need for lighter (yellow 2.0 or white 1.8). They do fit nicely however!

[djmcnz]

Originally Posted by HeavyD99

I'm not sure what problems you guys are having...

I wouldn't call it a problem, perhaps more of a limitation. I have very little space (<2mm) between my rear spring and upper link turnbuckle, under compression if the spring deforms as it's prone to that can be reduced to <1mm.

My concern is rubbing in this area with wider diameter springs? Perhaps it won't be a problem after all? Or do people just space out their dampers?

[DCM]

There are prosand cons for running big bores, so unless you are getting some big air, i would stick with the stock units. I find big bores harder to tune than small bores.

[Origineelreclamebord]

Just something about fitting big bores, I am going to try BB springs on TRF shocks on my TRF201. With Durango springs (and custom adjusters) it will fit on the front it seems, on the rear I will have to make some clearance for it (the rear turnbuckle is very close even to the SB springs).

The solution could be XV-01 rear uprights (the one with the many holes on top). First though I'll move to short ball studs again: the blue ones fitted on the rear hubs in the kit are alu and wear away just looking at them so I switched to others - that I recently found out have a larger offset. That's why I had my doubts about the possibility of running BB springs/shocks on a 201. I'll test if this is sufficient If that doesn't work I may shave a tiny bit of material off the hubs and the rear tower (both parts that haven't broken so far in my ownership) and use a shim/spacer where the damper mounts on the suspension arm.