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By Steve Bortolotti
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Some would say Tamiya hit a homerun when they released the 501x 1/10th scale
electric 4wd buggy 3 years ago. If that is the case then they definitely hit
a grand slam with the new TRF 511. Everything, and I truly mean everything,
that caused a problem on the old 501x has been addressed, redesigned, and
improved to optimize the potential for a pleasant off-road experience. While
my off-road adventures only started this past winter racing on carpet, I
have had a steep learning curve since this summer began when I hit the dirt
and would like to share some tips, tricks, and advice to help those making
the switch to off-road a little easier. |
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Carbon Fibre
Like most high-end Tamiya electric vehicles, the TRF 511 utilizes a lot of
carbon fibre so protecting that should be your first priority. Before
beginning to build your new Tamiya kit, take out all carbon fibre pieces
from each bag. Be careful not to lose the labels on the bags or you may run
into some confusion as to which screws and parts belong with each step!
After gathering all the carbon fibre pieces, grab some 400 or 600 grit WET
sandpaper and begin to go around the edges of the chassis, shock towers,
etc. And take the sharp edge off the carbon fibre. Don’t forget to use lots
of water and remember: DO NOT USE A DREMEL! If you don’t mind the sharpness
of these bits then you can go ahead and skip to this next step: Run a bead
of CA glue (or crazy glue as it is more commonly known) along the edges of
all the carbon fibre pieces to further prevent them from chipping, and/or
delaminating during prolonged use. Remember: this may not be as important in
on-road, but it is definitely a must in off-road! |
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Differential Building
Tamiya
differentials are the best in the business, so building these is pretty
straight forward, and just following the steps in the instruction manual
should be sufficient. However, for the slightest advantage, be sure to pack
the thrust bearing with lots of the supplied black grease. The black grease
provided in the kit is truthfully the best stuff to be using, so there is no
need to bother trying to use anything else. |
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Bulkheads
If you ran
the old 501x you have probably had nightmares about how difficult it is to
move, remove, or change a pinion gear on the motor. With the new TRF 511
those days are long gone. A three-piece motor mount design makes work
involving the motor a breeze, and you won’t have to leave a gap between the
receiver and servo to fit a screwdriver through to the motor. The slipper
clutch has also been slightly modified on the TRF 511, and now includes a
heavier spring to allow for more precision and tune-ability when setting the
slipper clutch.
The front
and rear bulkheads have been redesigned as well to cut the time it takes to
remove the differentials considerably and taking the entire end of the car
off in order to do it is no longer required. The differentials are now
removed through the top of the bulkheads, similar to the design of Tamiya’s
current on-road vehicles. The upper arm design has been changed on the TRF
511 to what looks to be a more sturdy design. Although the only way to test
these will have be to be on track, the design looks to be an improvement
over the 501x because the upper arm is now two separate, smaller pieces,
rather than one large piece that had a tendency to bend.
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CVD Building
When building your CVD’s keep in mind that you will be racing in the dirt.
If you use grease in your CVD’s, the dirt will stick to them and cause them
to wear out faster. The simple fix: don’t use grease! Head to Canadian Tire
and pickup a can of Dry Graphite. This stuff is inexpensive, and should last
you a very long time. Once your CVD’s have been built, and you have used
loctite on the set-screw that holds the pin in place, generously spray the
dry graphite into the CVD and work it around so it lubricates all the parts.
Some things to remember when working with Dry Graphite:
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Spray over a garbage can or piece of cardboard – IT WILL STAIN!
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Wear protective eye gear, and gloves may not be a bad idea either!
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Dry Graphite will dry, it does not stay wet...hence the name! |
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Shocks
Stay tuned into Tamiya.ca’s setup section for more fine tuned setups as we
run the car a little more, however for a starting point on the 511 I would
recommend trying the following:
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Front:
40wt shock oil, #2 piston, yellow spring, no sway bar, 1 o-ring as
limiter
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Rear:
30wt shock oil, #4 piston, yellow spring, no sway bar, 1 o-ring as
limiter
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Battery &
Motor
The 511 still utilizes the excellent balance of the
saddle-pack battery design, so the list of LiPo batteries that fit the car
may be somewhat limited. The Reedy 4200 LiPo battery is a perfect fit for
the car, while some modification will be required in order to use the Reedy
5100 LiPo battery. I will mainly be running this car at Fastcats so my motor
choice will be a Reedy 7.5 x12 motor.
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Option Parts to Consider
The rear uprights that come in the TRF 511 kit are carbon plastic, which for
some may not be durable enough. I chose to keep the plastic ones in my car
to keep the unsprung weight to a minimum, but again it may not be a bad idea
to swap them to the aluminum ones if need be. The stock Tamiya servo saver
that comes in the kit has been known to cause some issues, so upgrading it
to the option aluminum part (#54159) would be beneficial. |
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Thread Lock
If there is one thing that I would stress to anyone getting into off-road,
it would be to make thread lock your friend. Any screw, set screw, or ball
that goes into aluminum or steel MUST be thread locked. It will come loose,
I promise you it will. |
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Happy Racing,
Steve Bortolotti
  
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