RB5 rear 'T Piece' breakage

[CougarRob]

Hi

Does anyone know if there is a higher strength version (alloy maybe) of the RB5 chassis rear 'T-Piece' (the plate that the gearbox mounts to)? Ended up breaking two of these now and the last time was after a rear end landing from a really small jump. Is this a recognised weak point? Any help much appreciated. Apart from that I am loving my RB5!

[Alex H]

Surely the weakest point of the car. You are not wrong. Cant understand why Kyosho haven't picked up on that yet. Am thinking of making a sort of a skid plate out of brass and put underneath the car. Serve two purposes. Protect the chassis after a harsh landing and strengthen the t-plate. And adding some weight as well.

[CougarRob]

Glad I am not the only one with this problem, Alex! I have toyed with making a carbon plate but the prototype I knocked up meant that the bolts that attach to the rearmost hinge pin block werent long enough (only a couple of threads). Think i will try to find some longer bolts and carry on with the idea (the carbon fibre plate I used was from an old Tamiya Avante chassis - the purests will be rioting!!). Cheers.

[jim76]

i'm wondering if they have changed their plastic slightly, as i ran an RB5 for 18 months or more and never had an issue. I've also never seen another RB5 in that time have a problem with the plate.

[Fabs]

It's been designed to break rather than the chassis. Newer versions of the part are thicker however.

[CougarRob]

Thanks Fabs, as an engineer I definately think that this is a weak point. I am not an expert driver by any means, but the breakages have happened due to to minor rearend impacts. I have plenty of broken parts due to my own driving errors.... I am quite willing to accept that I have to be more careful but B4, XX4 drivers dont seem to have these issues when landing normal size jumps etc.

[Fabs]

My own experience is that it's definately not weak. I damaged one by screwing the rear suspension holder too tight, and broke another one on a very bad landing, but that's all. The reason that all modern 2WD buggies have a T piece is to avoid breaking the chassis and ultimately ona B4 or XXX they'll break this same part at some point. It's also quite a cheap part.

Also, I'd definately avoid making a c/f or aluminium part.

It's very easy to spot the newer part as opposed to the old ones, they're much beefier.

[Alex H]

Obviously Kyosho have picked up on this then because there's no question about it that the part was weak. Ridiculously small hits could break it. The car have earned a bad rap up here because of this but still many drives it. It is superb on low grip high bumpy tracks such as ours.

[RSharpy]

In the two years I have had the car I have gone through two T plates. The first snapped completely after a very bad landing and the second just fractured where the hole is, so I replaced it to be safe.

For me the T plate isn't a concern, one thing for certain its not down to cheap plastic. Kyosho pride themselves on using the best meterials. Unlike most other manufacturers they do not cut costs by having cheap parts made in China. All Kyosho parts are made in Japan.

Are these issues down to it being a weak point or bad driving? Maybe a bit of both! If K have beefed it up slightly like Fabs said then thats good news

[CougarRob]

My lack of skill is definately a contributing factor to the breakages and I am a great fan of Kyosho and the quality of the components (the main reason for buying the RB5 in the first place). The spares are cheap so no complaints there! My post was really a question of whether a stronger part is available to cope with the abuse I am obviously inflicting. As Kyosho say - they make the 'finest radio control models' - I will stay a fan and I am loving the tuneability of the RB5 and learning how small adjustments can make such a big effect on the handling.

[ongbenghui]

I wondering if the old RB T-plat will fit. It looks similar in design and is alu.

[niggs98]

have broken 4 now since the EIR race. 2 of which i should of snapped tho. the other 2 went from silly crashes. have to say tho that since i went to the alloy hingpin brace it does take a hell of a lot more abuse and in my final today i snapped a hub after a major off rather than the T-piece that i was expecting to break. perhaps someone can make a alloy or carbon one ???

[caneye]

i've had my rb5 for 2 yrs now.
broke a t-plate after 8 mths landing on a big jump (with a nasty peak that's very hard on the car chassis, especially if u land on it). thought i was the unlucky one but judging from the feedback here, i guess i wasn't!
anyway .. since then, it's all hunky dory. (knocking on wood)
i love the rb5. it's built like a tank and i feel very confident driving it in mod. unlike my b4, which i personally feel is a lot more "fragile".

(i still drive both cars, mind you .. )

[niggs98]

are the people who havent had a problem all using the alloy hingepin holders and the people who use the plastic ones having probs. i know that since i fitted the alloy hingpin brace, the whole rear end has felt a lot more solid and a simlar crash didnt even make the car flinch that had ripped all the plastic out earlier on in the day

[caneye]

funny u should mention that ...

- my first hingepin holder broke (the rear piece) when my car was rear-ended. the impact was probably against the arm/wheel which sheared the hingepin holder around the 3mm hole. this was the very 1st thing on the car that broke.
- then i changed to the carbon hingepin holder .. 8 mths later, the t-piece cracked
- after replacing the t-piece, i then changed to the alloy hingepin holder .. all good for the past 7 mths now


based on the last 7 mths' experience .. yes, the hingepin holder does make a difference.

[niggs98]

cool

having said that. im looking into getting an alloy t piece made. if i do and it all proves good. is there interest for me to get more done ????

[RSharpy]

I did both of mine with the alloy carriers fitted.

Am sure if you had some made Nathan there would interest if the price was right.

If it could eliminate breakages for the smaller impacts then it would be worthwhile but with the more heavy impacts it may be a case of something having to give elsewhere and people may start breaking wishbones instead? But having said that I broke mine after landing verticle rear end first on the motor guard.

[RogerM]

I also can honestly say I've not broken one and I've had my car since Oct 07, still the original part on there.

I only fitted the ali hinge pin mounts about a month ago after breaking a plastic one and not having any spares other than ali ones I'd been meaning to fit for about 8 months!

[phil c]

Originally Posted by niggs98

cool

having said that. im looking into getting an alloy t piece made. if i do and it all proves good. is there interest for me to get more done ????

i would be interested , just depends on price

[mw02veg]

ur not trying driving hard/fast enough then roger