Tamiya Gravel Hound DF-02 Forum

[TRF Drive Hard]

This is an interesting off road rc... i might have to pick one up... :D
DF-02 (http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58328gravel/index.htm)

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58328gravel/chassis_thmb.jpg

[fabolousRC]

me too...I'll take two please!! One RTR and One Kit!!

[TRF Drive Hard]

Why rtr?

[cheechthechi]

I WANT ONE NOW!!!! I hope this will be as good as the manta ray back in the day

[tamiya4x4dryver]

Put me down for 1 kit version... OMG they gave us oil shocks in the kit, that was probably a mistake at the plant LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL!

[Dongskie Pinoy]

The symetrical chassis design present a great potential for this kit, a few more hop-ups added and I'm sure this will be an off-road track candidate.

[cheechthechi]

Put me down for 1 kit version... OMG they gave us oil shocks in the kit, that was probably a mistake at the plant LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL!

AND 8 BALL BEARINGS! Is this a great day or what?

[BdB390]

Looks interesting...this may just be the WRX ive always wanted.....Ill need more room in the garage to put it next to the twin detonator-now thats an awesome off road truck

[fabolousRC]

Why rtr?

RTR for bashing :D

Kit for Racing

besides...those plastic shocks don't belong on the kit form...so it might as well go to the RTR :D :D :D

[fabolousRC]

Looks interesting...this may just be the WRX ive always wanted.....Ill need more room in the garage to put it next to the twin detonator-now thats an awesome off road truck

WR-who???? I think you got the wrong forum bro :D

[TRF Drive Hard]

WR-who???? I think you got the wrong forum bro :D

^^^I agree :D :p

The only dirt around my area are baseball diamond fields... i wish there was one i know of with jumps... :(

[hanafuda]

Sweet. Is it already available?

My interest in R/C has just been revived.

[TRF Drive Hard]

I see it on eBay already... from 95-128 dollars...

[SteveK]

That does look pretty sweet. I might have to snag one as well, slip some Dirt Hawgs onto the wheels and have an awesome all-terrain basher.

[Hellbilly242]

Someone hurry up and get one, i'm dying to see how it is! :D

[TRF Drive Hard]

Well it wont be anytime soon for me to get one... :p

[hanafuda]

Any word on the hop up option availability yet?

[cheechthechi]

So far theres aluminum shocks, ball bearings, and sport tuned 540 motor.

I think that some of the tt 01 hop ups will fit such as the ball differentials.

[BdB390]

WRX- ya know the 375 HP from the factory 4wd 0-60 in 3.some seconds (375 is the STi version, by the way) 4 door car. Well ive always wanted a rally car...and since i dont have the $$$ to buy a real one ill go rc style. Might be a little ruff on it though with the "soil" thats around here..aka huge rocks. looks like ground clearance would be an issue for me....better stick with the Twin D....

[hanafuda]

Slightly off topic here, but does anyone know if you can fit those rear oil shocks on the stock Wild Dagger mounts? Looks like they may be too long..

As for the car itself, I am now very tempted to pick one up as a stable mate to my Baha King. The bathtub chassis looks like it should solve a few issue I have with the King. Mainly junk getting where it shouldn't - particularly between the battery and chassis, making it very difficult to remove the battery.

[Doomed]

WRX- ya know the 375 HP from the factory 4wd 0-60 in 3.some seconds (375 is the STi version, by the way) 4 door car. Well ive always wanted a rally car...and since i dont have the $$$ to buy a real one ill go rc style. Might be a little ruff on it though with the "soil" thats around here..aka huge rocks. looks like ground clearance would be an issue for me....better stick with the Twin D....

Sorry for the OT but the USM WRX STi is 300hp and 0-60 around 4.8-5.2 (depending on driver). :)

Now to the GH, Tower is listing it for $184.99 (no stock yet) must be the RTR. Should be a fun car.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Here goes 3 hop-ups i found...
Item 53701 DF-02 Aluminum Damper Set
Item 53702 DF-02 Spring Set
Item 53703 DF-02 Spur Gear (67T)

[cheechthechi]

I wonder when they're going to release the kit version in the US

[TRF Drive Hard]

I'm tempted to get one off ebay... but ima see what tower has it priced at when in stock... shipping can be and arm and a leg from overseas...

[dave56bug]

I just nabbed one on Ebay, from Stellamodels, should be here in a week or so.

Dave.

[mjohnston39]

Next time try Stellamodels.net, generally stuff there is a little cheaper than when they put it on EPay.

Mike.

[dave56bug]

Yup, $7 cheaper at stellamodels.net. Dang

Dave.

[mjohnston39]

Give us a review when you get it built Dave, I'm looking for another car and righ now it's a toss up between the Gravel Hound and the new XC Touareg. Any imput would be appreciated.

Mike.

[dave56bug]

Sure, no prob, i'll get lots of pictures too.

Dave.

[surfer]

im stuck between the g-hound and a baja king :-/

[cheechthechi]

im stuck between the g-hound and a baja king :-/

well if it helps the df 02 gravel hound is a better off road racer. It has a lower cg and more suspension travel whereas the baja king has limited travel and limited gearing which is slightly undesireable for off road.

[hanafuda]

I have a Baha King and will be getting a Gravel Hound later in the year.

The King is an excellent buggy. Loads of hop up options, and great fun to use. I have had mine for over a year now, and have had no issues. The front tires are fairly bald now, so I am just about to replace them. In fact, I picked up a complete second King kit for spares, although nothing has broken on the functional King. Currently working on the new body.

The only minor complaint I have with the King is the open chassis design (Gravel Hound comes with a bathtub style chassis). It simply means that a lot of junk can get to the parts that matter, and you always get stones in between the battery and battery housing, which makes taking the battery out a real chore. Other than that though, excellent.

As the other poster mentioned though, the Gravel Hound does look like a step up from the King for the reasons mentioned.

Still, I don't think there is much difference in price, so it may well be worth your while to go for the Hound. If nothing else, maintenance should be a bit easier.

Have fun.

[Doomed]

If you were to keep both the King and the GH stock (yeah right) the GH should be the better choice. (I don't have one yet, just going by stats).

[dave56bug]

:)

I don't think i'll be keeping my Gravel Hound stock very long! Those aluminum upgrade shocks look toooo nice!\

Plus i've got a tt-01 here with a zillion upgrades on it, so i'll let you know if anything is compatible.

Dave.

[cheechthechi]

How is the Gravel Hound over all in performance?

[dave56bug]

Its a great kit, a really nice basher, not really designed for racing, but the TT-01 Ball diff, and One-ways should fit, as well as the aluminum driveshaft... i've got the tt-01 aluminum motor mount on currently.

I havent had a chance to drive it yet....

I like how it comes with oil shocks, and and ESC though.

Also the instructions say to use the 2 hole pistons, but they were way too soft, i'd suggest either using the one hole piston, or using a 40 to 45 weight oil.

Dave.

[yeti73]

I think I need one of these. What's the stats on the ESC?

[Hellbilly242]

I think I need one of these. What's the stats on the ESC?

I think it's only rated for silvercan 540's and lowest it takes is the 23turn Tamiya Sport Tuned.

[fabolousRC]

So that means a 27T US Stock motor will fit and run on this ESC no problem...right? But the last time I ran a hot motor on bullet and standard battery Tamiya connectors, everything melted.

[cheechthechi]

27 turn motor should work fine. Try deans connectors instead of bullet connectors, i've heard they work better.

[microrcdude]

yes, the stock bullet connectors reduce the curency going into the motor.

[KoE]

any advice on parts susceptible to normal wear n tear? can anyone with scanned GH manual shoot me a pm pls :-)

[BloodClod]

I picked mine up from the LHS last night and built it in a couple of hours.

My thoughts on the Gravel Hound:

- simple layout, should be efficient enough for a entry level buggy though.
- center plastic rod... hmmm... I wonder how much abuse this would take.
- driveshafts are metal although the axle cups are plastic like the TT-01.
- I said like, but not entirely identical. Although the two look similar, the cars are actually quite different.
- Shared parts between TT-01 and Gravel Hound (that I can remember): center shaft, diffs, bevels, front knuckles, motor mount... and that's about it.
- Although the diffs are identical, the Gravel hound has the ring and bevel pinion in metal whereas the TT-01 is plastic. Should make for a more durable ride... heavy though.
- Shocks are decent oil-units, although it's wierd that the rear shock is not only longer than the front, it's a different diameter altogether. As such, they don't really share any parts.
- Haven't run the car as the electronics still need to be put in, but off hand the 40wt oil seems a little soft all around.
- Testing will tell if the wierd front shock laydown design works.
- The suspension arms look beefy and they have a little flex, should last a long time.
- gone are the goofy TT-01 suspension arms that have the "hingepins" molded. This car uses real hingepins, albeit the Tamiya screw on type.
- Only 3 stock gearing options.
- Stock chassis is the cheapo shiney black Tamiya plastic... it's fine, but I was cheezed to see a few (just a few) of the screw holds showing small white stressmarks when I put the self-tapping screws in.
- transmission seems smooth. It comes with 8 bearings! So you only need 8 bearings for the wheels to finish off the car.
- I wish Tamiya would throw away all it's 3x14mm step screws though... Those suck bigtime!

All in all I think pretty reasonable for the money lah. 8 bearings, oil shocks, some metal gears, very little parts count and easy assembly (after all, it's a TAMIYA!)

Shell is iffy - doesn't look bad, but not fully my style... better than the Baja series shells IMO though.

If you have questions go ahead and shoot and I'll try to answer when I drop in.

[microrcdude]

have you driven it yet? If so, what are your thaughts on the car?

[BloodClod]

Took my GH for a spin tonight!

It's running a Tamiya SuperStock-T motor which is supposed to be quite torquey. Stock gearing is high so it should be a good match.

Impressions:

The buggy tracked straight and launched off confidently. I was pleasantly surprised at the acceleration which was smooth and quite zippy.

Top speed wasn't ballistic but it is just a stock motor. Kept me happy though. I'm terrible with speed estimations so I won't even try.

The buggy ran quiet and the beauty of shaft driven 4WD vehicles is how the drivetrain just glides when the throttle is released. It tracks straight with no hint of torque steer.

Handling is better than I expected. In stock trim it's really great for starters because it understeers on power. Release the throttle and the rear gets around controllably. I only ran the car on road so far but it actually seems pretty much at home there. To see any real off-road action, the shocks are definitely gonna need some tuning... stiffer oil for starts, especially on the rear.

After a couple of runs I heard a clicking sound coming from the front gearbox... I took the front tranny apart and simply couldn't find the problem. It mysteriously disappeared after re-assembly... go figure.

I run side-by-side packs which have been shrink-wrapped together and they don't sit well in the stock chassis because of some bracing. Either the bracing has to go or I have to lose the wrap. Oh well... I have some stick packs lying around somewhere.

All in all I'm quite happy with this. For it's price it's a very decent basher and should be pretty durable too. It's not gonna win any championships, but I doubt it's designers ever had those intentions. In fact, it handles better than my expensive Dyna Blaster truck which was loaded with so many more features. Goes to show that there are times when keeping it simple pays off.

[rtypec]

Here's a cool webpage with a pretty trick Gravel Hound: DF-02 Gravel Hound (http://www.tam.ne.jp/nic/gravelhound/gravelhound-e.html)

[BloodClod]

hmmm something that needs work is actually the shocks on the car. I suspect it has to do with the tolerances of the pistons and the shock bodies. The shocks are very hard to tune because they hardly respond to oil changes at all. I've changed to a 1-hole piston and upped the oil from 40wt to 70wt and only noticed a small change in damping.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Here's a cool webpage with a pretty trick Gravel Hound: DF-02 Gravel Hound (http://www.tam.ne.jp/nic/gravelhound/gravelhound-e.html)

Nice "tut" there... ;)

[BloodClod]

late night racing with Gravel Hounds. :)
pic 1 (http://www.******.net/view_single.php?medid=36901) pic 2 (http://www.******.net/view_single.php?medid=36896) pic 3 (http://www.******.net/view_single.php?medid=36903)

oops... I had no idea that site was blocked out from rczone. Sorry guys. I'll post the pics to my website later today.

[BloodClod]

Here are the pics uploaded to my website. :)

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_05.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_03.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_01.jpg

[BloodClod]

My favourite pics from today's bashing session with my friends.

Full performance review on my site (http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/).

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_13.jpg

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_15.jpg

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_16.jpg

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_19.jpg

[4wdmt]

airtime! how did the gravel hound hold up with the bashing session?

[BloodClod]

Finished the gruelling bash with a pinion that needs replacing... happened to another friend too but we were using non-stock aluminum pinions. The stock pinions appear to be hardened and held up.

My buggy was otherwise fine but we had one GH that suffered a bent dogbone.

Great budget basher!

[BloodClod]

Further update on the Gravel Hound.

The buggy has been performing very well so far and has been very enjoyable to bash. Just 2 things that I think need some kind of improvement:

1) Suspension - Like the sound of plastic slapping on another hard surface? If so then the GH will be right up your alley. I'm going to see if I can do anything to tweak the suspension but in stock trim (and even with some really heavy oil tuning) the chassis still bottoms out easily even on the smallest jump.

2) Pinion Gear selection - the GH allows up to 4 gear ratios which is fine, but the pinions used to achieve these have to be metric 0.6 pitch pinions or what Tamiya calls AV pinions. Problem is that other than the stock 19T pinion which appears to be hardened, Tamiya currently does not appear to sell any hardened versions of the smaller pinions (16-18T). The replacement aluminum pinions that Tamiya sells simply are not up to the task of running this buggy. My friend destroyed his pinion and spur with one of these aluminum pinions and I've destroyed 2 pinions... my plastic spur is still okay though - which actually goes to show how weak these pinions are. And this isn't even after several hours of bashing. My new 17T pinion was worn after just 2 packs.

Hopefully Tamiya offers hardened versions of the smaller pinions soon.

[dave56bug]

So far i've got aluminum shocks, rear ball diff, and Academy SB Sport rims and tires on it, no electrics inside yet, that'll get installed tonight.

http://www.fototime.com/467C67068FEA2D6/standard.jpg

[dave56bug]

http://www.fototime.com/962A89152B0D860/standard.jpg

[TRF Drive Hard]

Seems like you guys are really enjoying the GH :D

[dave56bug]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEX40&P=7

Robinson Racing metric pinion gear, made of steel.

Dave

[BloodClod]

Pics from a late night buggy bash we just had...

The line-up!
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/10.jpg

Gravel Hound Jump Fest!
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/18.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/08.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/16.jpg

Here's mine with some new suspension mods to improve jump capability!
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/05.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/04.jpg

And here's one where we went for a LONG JUMP!
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/06.jpg

But it wasn't just all about jumping. We set up night track, stuck cylum sticks on our shells and went racing!!!
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/07.jpg

Here's a look at the GHs that night and what everyone was running
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/14.jpg
http://www.cool.per.sg/external_links/bash20040902/15.jpg


BTW, thanks for the link to the pinion! It's just what I needed!

[dave56bug]

Cool! Looks like a lot of fun, maybe i can convince my buddies to get GH's!

Dave.

[BloodClod]

The best part is that they aren't too pricey so they make perfect cars to bash without being too concerned about wrecking an expensive competition car. Sure, they don't perform at the same level, but parts are cheap and you can really go crazy with them.

Noticed that after my friend drove my car hard into a park bench I bent a shock tower. Took the opportunity to work on some mods to the suspension to reduce/resolve the bottoming-out issues of the GH...

New lower arm mounts for the rear arms and a new shock tower for the front.

Rear
http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_21.jpg

Front
http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_22.jpg

[dave56bug]

Hey right on, those parts are sweet, the rear suspension definitely needs stiffer springs, i've got that option set coming in the mail, i've also put some fuel tubing over the shaft, to help with bottoming out.

I really like this kit, it handles great, and is totally fun to drive!

Dave.

[ShinHed]

Are there any chassis upgrades down the pipeline?

[BloodClod]

dave56bug - nice Gravel Hound! Those SB Sport wheels look really good there. Too bad they are not easily available where I'm at.

Chassis upgrades? No one knows for sure but the chassis is such an integrated part of the entire car (half of the gearboxes, the supports for the spur assembly, etc) that it'd be a lot of work to do any significant chassis alternatives. It'd be cool to have a graphite tub chassis that's lightened but I wonder if Tamiya has ever done something like that.

Here's a nice shot a friend took of my Brushless GH in action.

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_29.jpg

[rtypec]

Hey BC, how is the Gravel Hound's transmission holding up to the tourque of your brushless setup? I am curious as to the wear rate that you may be experiencing as I am contemplating the use of a very fast "mild" mod in my little GH project. TIA.

[dave56bug]

The bevel gears inside are all metal, but its that pot metal stuff, probably not all that strong. I upgraded my rear diff to a Ball Diff, and i think that would be the best idea for a modified motor, as it can slip a little bit vs. no slip at all with a gear diff.


BloodClod where are you located? You can order parts from their website, or by phoning them. I'm in Canada. http://www.modelrectifier.com

Also, these rims from Kyosho should fit fine, and allow you to use 2.2 tires. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXU382&P=7

Dave.

[ShinHed]

Chassis upgrades? No one knows for sure but the chassis is such an integrated part of the entire car (half of the gearboxes, the supports for the spur assembly, etc) that it'd be a lot of work to do any significant chassis alternatives...

http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/images/soapbox/gh/gh_29.jpg
I guess I know what's my next buggy, won't be. Atleast until it goes TRF :confused: I doubt it though.

[dave56bug]

There are plenty of other upgrades available and soon to be available, i just picked up a set of CVD's.... tt-01 ball diffs and one-ways fit.... aluminum shocks, etc.

Dave.

[BloodClod]

dave56bug - those wheels are just the ticket. I'm neither from the States nor Canada (in fact, I literally live on the other side of the globe). Thanks for the info, I'll pop by my local Kyosho distributor to see if I can find those.

BTW, where'd you get CVDs?

As for the tranny holding up to the BL setup, I've seen no problems yet. I did change out the stock center shaft to an aluminum one because I heard of flexing issues in TT-01s (same shaft & tranny setup) when running BL setups.

I also tried gearing down using Tamiya 16 & 17 tooth AV pinions but these aluminum pinions never lasted more than 2 packs each. I've got some Robinson pinions that Dave suggested on the way from Tower that should solve that problem though.

Other than that I'm glad to report that I've had no issues with the BL setup at all. Gears, drive cups, and other tranny components don't show any sign of excessive wear. And from the pics of our bashing you can see that the car has been put through its paces. :)

I have bent the plastic shocktowers though... the front one was then modified as shown above and the rear simply bent back into place.

[cheechthechi]

I found this set of universals on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=44022&item=5919339257&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

[dave56bug]

Cool, yeah i am tinking of ordering a set of those wheels, seeing as my Academy SB Sport no longer has wheels :)

Dave.

[EvadedTrucker]

anybody raced there gravel hound competively? like at a local track? after my project underdog rustler gets done this might be my next project. I like taking cheaper cars and making them run with the big boys at the local track. And with the options already out for this car it could make a nice cadidate for the local 4wd stock class.

[Ideal]

http://rs1.risingnet.net/~ideal/gravelhound_3.jpg

My Gravelhound.

Nice buggy. Working on a universal shaft conversion and ball diffs.

The stock shafts are a real problem with the molded outdrives, because they are not perfectly round and will cause vibrations.

[Aluma]

yeah...how does it compare to the SB sport or theXXX-4 at the track?
not only handling/performance wise, but durability wise as well.

[dave56bug]

I ordered a set of four CVD's from jr-rc on ebay, check out his store it rocks.

and TT-01 ball diffs fit perfectly, i've got one in the rear of mine.


Dave.

[Ironeater]

i just ordered a gravel hound, i hope it makes for a good basher

[microrcdude]

its supposed to be real durable. Have fun ! LMK what you think of it.

[Ironeater]

hey guys my gravel hound came in and im having a little problem assembling it. Ok on step 2 in the instructions, how do you guys assemble the spur gear assembly thing? I can't get the MA10 pin to stay stuck in the E3 shaft. please help, thanks.

[Ironeater]

n/m i figured it out!

[Ironeater]

well after a few runs with the gravel hound I'm pretty impressed with it. The tamiya ESC it comes with is very nice too. its really responsive and brakes damn good. I assembled mine with bearings in the wheels so it has full bearings and with the stock motor its pretty quick. I think I'm going to purchase the speed tuned motor and some stiffer springs for the back. other than that im happy with it

[dave56bug]

Yup i love my Gravel Hound, it handles great, I beat the heck out of it on the weekend with my buddy,the only damage was the front shock tower, but since i've got an aftermarket tower coming in the mail i'm not too upset.



Dave.

[Aluma]

just ordered mine! :D

[Ryan Lane]

Hey guys. I have been out of rc for about 3 years now. I sold off all my stuff when I got out. Well the wife told me that she wants to get me a new ride but doesnt know where to start. She told me to head to the LHS this weekend and get started. I was wondering how the GH pans out for the price. I really dont want to do the racing thing this time around, it will be used mostly for bashing. I have heard that the stock esc has been run with some 19 turn spec motors with no problems, is this true? Let me know. I am a very experienced RCer dating back to the JRxPro, but is just want to have fun with something strong this time.

Thanks,
Ryan

[dave56bug]

I'd say the Gravel Hound would be a good r/c to start with again, i'm not sure the stock ESC's limits, i didnt use mine in my gravel hound, because i went with a 16t motor.

As for radio, the Futaba 2pl is a great deal. $69 digital am its nice.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXENN3**&P=ML


Dave.

[Ryan Lane]

Thanks for the help Dave. Got a question already. What size turnbuckles and rod ends are needed for the camber links? I dont think I will be able to handle those solid plastic peices.

[Ryan Lane]

Hey guys, any one there? I am not sure that the LHS will have one in stock which will make picking up the proper turnbuckles difficult. If any one knows the proper length or even if a set such as b3 or b4 turnbuckles will fit that would be great. Also, is the aluminum center shaft a good piece to have? Seems that long plastic stock one could twist pretty easy.

Thanks,
Ryan

[dave56bug]

Hey, yep the aluminum driveshaft is a good idea, i did use the plastic one with a 16t motor, but i doubt it would have lasted forever, i've since changed to aluminum.

The links are around 55mm front and 60mm rear eye to eye.

Dave.



Hey guys, any one there? I am not sure that the LHS will have one in stock which will make picking up the proper turnbuckles difficult. If any one knows the proper length or even if a set such as b3 or b4 turnbuckles will fit that would be great. Also, is the aluminum center shaft a good piece to have? Seems that long plastic stock one could twist pretty easy.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Ryan Lane]

Thanks Dave. I am heading out to the LHS tomorrow(Sat). Maybe he will have one in stock. If so I am sure I will have plenty of questions on Monday. Only bad thing is that we just bought a new house and I will be in the middle of moving, so I wont get to even start assembly for about 2 weeks or so.

[tdkclass]

Hi,
what do you think about the front batter-holder post?
I have a hard time fitting 6 cell batteries into the car, especially the part of the cable which is soldered to the battery-pack. At the moment the best possibility seems to be to put one cable on the left and the other around the right side of the post.

I'm thinking about dremeling the post to get more room (for a pack with 8 4/5 cells) and fix the pack with some sort of velcro straps.

[dave56bug]

Ya i find that sidexside batts dont fit but that there are a couple places a dremel could be used to help. i have had a problem with the front batt mounting post though.

Dave.



Hi,
what do you think about the front batter-holder post?
I have a hard time fitting 6 cell batteries into the car, especially the part of the cable which is soldered to the battery-pack. At the moment the best possibility seems to be to put one cable on the left and the other around the right side of the post.

I'm thinking about dremeling the post to get more room (for a pack with 8 4/5 cells) and fix the pack with some sort of velcro straps.

[fabolousRC]

I'd say the Gravel Hound would be a good r/c to start with again, i'm not sure the stock ESC's limits, i didnt use mine in my gravel hound, because i went with a 16t motor.

As for radio, the Futaba 2pl is a great deal. $69 digital am its nice.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXENN3**&P=ML


Dave.

The stock ESC is rated up to sport tuned motor (which is about 23T but weaker magnet) but just to be safe, the ROAR Stock would be the most absolute motor use on stock ESC

[4wdmt]

wow. tamiya is having another one released with a new body:
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58334

[boroef]

To anyone considering this car:

i just picked one up 2 days ago and started building it last night. it took me about 4 hours to complete the entire task.

a few comments on the car from my initial build impressions:

-very good transmission layout; it's a very efficient design that rides on sealed ball bearings. the layout of the gears and driveshaft is exactly like that of the Xray M18...and we all know how efficient that drivetrain is!!

-it has handy rubber skid plates!! i'm impressed, tamiya skid plates used to be part of the gearbox and made of plastic rather than rubber(like the TA-02). this is a big step up.

-it's very easy to build...anyone who is new to the hobby will not get frustrated with assembling this kit. there's only one "hard" part(take the term hard loosely here): putting on the freakin tires!! the tires are SO stiff and so hard to put over the rims...my hands hurt from it :p

-poor suspension oil. it came with soft suspension oil.....i dont know the specific weight, but it sucks. buy at least some 50wt oil before u assemble this kit! stock doesnt cut it! i even used the 1 hole valving for my shock pistons and even then the car seems to be under dampened.

-dont jump too crazy with this car. first of all, it doesnt have a slipper. second of all, the parts that hold onto the a-arms are integrated parts of the gearbox/chassis. if u break those plastic parts, be prepared to buy a new chassis.

-cheap shock tower design. it looks flimsy and even attatches flimsy. i dont know what tamiya is thinking here.

other than that, i like the kit. i'm going to have fun with this car :D it's the best budget basher buggy from tamiya IMO. i will write a full performance review after i run it a few times :D

[boroef]

doh! i like the body better on the rising storm!!! i guess i will get that as an extra :D

BTW: BloodClod- how much runtime are u getting on that brushless of yours on the Df-02? i'm curious because i want to go brushless as well, but am concerned about short ass runtimes :p

[boroef]

GH review:

setup: bone stock. 2000mah nicd batts and 1 hole valves for the shock pistons.

impressions: the car is super slow...even for a stock buggy it is slow. i think it's due to the gearing. i've ran a silver can in all of my other cars for winter use(in the snow hehe) and this has got to be one of the slowest.

luckily, the speed is due to the gearing...this thing is torquey! i ran it through regular length grass and it drove right over it as if it was driving on flat cement!!

i ran it through some dirt in a construction area and this thing threw some major major roost! 4 wheels spinning while turning made huuuuuge clouds of dirt fly everywhere. it's a pretty kool sight :D it's probably the tires that are throwing the dirt everywhere...

the stock rubbers offer superb grip in the grass and in the rough stuff. it's impossible to spin things thing out.

i ran it through some jumps and it actually took them okay. so long as u set up yourself properly for the jump, the car wont bottom out! (mind u, i wasnt jumping anything large). even if u were not lined up properly for the jump, the car will land on 1 wheel and straighten itself out.

stock suspension is perfectly supple. it absorbs everything and keeps all 4 wheels planted even in the roughest of stuff. no bouncing...pure fluid motion!

i suggest that you just preload the front shocks with the 2nd largest spacer. for the rear shocks, preload them with the largest combined with the 2nd largest and u will be fine :)

during the entire duration of the run, i was making this thing go WOT(because it's terribly slow)...and even driving it through grass and dirt and flying it through jumps, the 2000mah cells lasted a solid 15minutes! that's good runtime guys!

the only bad thing i can say about it for now is the stock esc...but that's a given. once the battery's start dumping, the esc becomes jerky and doesnt deliver power to the motor properly...the car would stop and go, stop and go.

other than that, this thing is a great cheap little buggy to bash around. it isnt any rc10b4 or anything, but it handles the slippery stuff much better for obvious reasons and u can beat the heck out of it without caring b/c parts are cheap :D

[4wdmt]

very nice review boroef, it make me think of getting one. if not for this mini quake, i had bought already one on the local hobby shop.

[nick350z]

hi guys,

i have a tt-01 but i don't really like on-road too much.
thinking of getting a gravel hound. could you please give me some info on starting up?

also, i'm coming to orlando in december. could you please tell me if you know about any hobby shops in the disney world area?

thanks :)
Nick

[Ideal]

-poor suspension oil. it came with soft suspension oil.....i dont know the specific weight, but it sucks. buy at least some 50wt oil before u assemble this kit! stock doesnt cut it! i even used the 1 hole valving for my shock pistons and even then the car seems to be under dampened.


You are wrong. This issue has been adressed by many. It has to do with suspension geometry.
Move the lower susp arm shock mounting to the outer hole, and you get a bit of a better angle on the rear shocks.
If you run 50wt oil and only one-hole piston, then that's probably fine for you, but I think it's just stupid.
I run 3/front, 2/rear, holes in the pistons and 25wt...

[losiXXXman]

Want one of these really bad. I'm with boroef though, the rising storm body is cooler. Anyone had any success racing competitively with this chassis ?

[boroef]

You are wrong. This issue has been adressed by many. It has to do with suspension geometry.
Move the lower susp arm shock mounting to the outer hole, and you get a bit of a better angle on the rear shocks.
If you run 50wt oil and only one-hole piston, then that's probably fine for you, but I think it's just stupid.
I run 3/front, 2/rear, holes in the pistons and 25wt...

okay there buddy, no need to get so angry about such a simple statement :p

if what u say works, great!! i will try it out. thanks for the tip.

the thing is that if i put it to the outerhole though, the suspension is uber plush...and it tends to bottom out quite a bit. i actually have it setup on the inner most holes for front and rear...with the 1 hole pistons and stock oil!! and guess what? it works great for me :D so it's all good. i wont be trying out other shock oils unless i change my springs.

oh and for the record Ideal, my comments about the df02 being under dampened was only my "initial impressions" after building the kit if you read my posts clearly. my actual performance review states otherwise; the df02 stock oil weight is fine with the stock springs.

[BloodClod]

Hey guys, how's it going?

I've never timed my runs with a BL but I've got a couple of friends who run the same setup and we all agree it's like running a mod motor with runtimes of an aftermarket stock motor so it's pretty good! :)

As for the shock damping debate - I guess it's all about what you set up the buggy for... In our little track layout we've set up some 1.5 foot high jumps and all of us agree that the stock shocks just bottom out hard regardless of oil and piston changes. What we've discovered is that compared to other shocks we've used (Losi, associated, etc.) oil/piston changes have relatively less significant effect on the Tamiya shock's damping. Personally I just thought the plastic shock tolerances were not tight enough. In any case, we're really glad the GH came with oil dampers in the first place! lol!

I go agree that suspension geometry has a part to play too and I've felt that the GH's suspension geometry needs work for handling rougher terrains. Over here we like how it handles on smoother tracks but to handle rougher terrain the shocks need to "stand up" more.

No intention to fuel any heated debates here, just sharing what me and the guys locally have discussed about the GH suspension. :)

[Aluma]

Actually, you're partly right. The plastic tamiya shocks have a huge gap all around the piston...now, check out the TRF shocks...without oil in them, the piston literally scrapes the inner walls...very tight. The piston itself is also two to three times thicker in the TRF's. I used a set of those TRF's in the front with two hole pistons and replaced the shaft with the DF02's longer shaft filled them with 40wt. what a difference! Its really well damped up front now...compared to the stock rear end with 50wt that bounces up and down still....gotta get those alumn. rear shocks!!! I went all tribal on it... :D

what gearing do you guys use for stock motors? I'm using the pinion it came with at 9.82 gearing on a P2K2 motor I had lying around. It got kinda hot.

[Aluma]

Finally got a chance to run a fully charge 3300 on it yesterday. Wow. its fast even with a nice stock motor. it does push on power a bunch, but thats fine for offroad. it was semi stable through the bumps, but the rear end bounce really high...damping issues i suppose...guess I'll try 80wt back there for now... :P gotta really get the rear alumn. shocks! took parking lot speed bumps really nice. except that one time the rear end pogo'd up over the front and landed upside down, sliding for about 8ft.

[boroef]

Actually, you're partly right. The plastic tamiya shocks have a huge gap all around the piston...now, check out the TRF shocks...without oil in them, the piston literally scrapes the inner walls...very tight. The piston itself is also two to three times thicker in the TRF's. I used a set of those TRF's in the front with two hole pistons and replaced the shaft with the DF02's longer shaft filled them with 40wt. what a difference! Its really well damped up front now...compared to the stock rear end with 50wt that bounces up and down still....gotta get those alumn. rear shocks!!! I went all tribal on it... :D

what gearing do you guys use for stock motors? I'm using the pinion it came with at 9.82 gearing on a P2K2 motor I had lying around. It got kinda hot.

i actually fixed the bouncing rear shock problem! :D i wish i had a camera handy so i could upload a pic. i used 3 sets of touring car springs per shock...yes, u heard me, THREE touring car springs per shock to make a progressive spring effect. i used 1 set of kyosho stock soft springs(black), one set of soft(but stiffer than stock) tamiya springs, and one set of hard hpi springs per shock.

now when i drop the entire buggy, the front and rear do not bounce...they absorb everything-using up a good amount of suspension stroke. i'll take a pic when i can! it works great :D

as for gearing, i'm using the stock 19t pinion with the silvercan...and yes, it does get quite hot; heck, i even run more than 1 pack through it at once(i could care less for the silver can :p). i cant wait for my brushless to arrive...then the df02 will -really- be awakened :eek:

[dave56bug]

Cool, progressive springs :)

I switched to the Tamiya aluminum shocks, running the white pistons with 30wt. their great. I added sections of fuel tubing to the shock shafts to help with bottoming out.

I just added some carbon shock towers i found on ebay. should be nice seeing as i broke a stock front tower.

Dave.

[boroef]

Cool, progressive springs :)

I switched to the Tamiya aluminum shocks, running the white pistons with 30wt. their great. I added sections of fuel tubing to the shock shafts to help with bottoming out.

I just added some carbon shock towers i found on ebay. should be nice seeing as i broke a stock front tower.

Dave.

carbon shock towers? that sounds very interesting, who makes them?

oh and by the way, are any of u running any type of shock boot to shield the poor o rings from dirt and grime?

[dave56bug]

http://stores.ebay.com/Jasons-Store

just search for df-02 or df02, he's got tons of stuff. i've got CVD's, shock towers, aluminum driveshaft, metal motor mount, shocks, springs, two ball diffs. not all from this store, but he has all the hard to get in N America.

I currently am not using anything, but i bought a bag of those balloons for making um, balloon animals.... they work great, I think i'll put some on my shocks tonight! :)

Dave.

[boroef]

i wonder why everybody acclaims the academy SB to be so good since it's a simple shaft drive design when the df-02 is very similar in that regard--if not better. at least the df-02 has fully sealed drivetrain!!!

i'm sure if tamiya released the df02 with ball diffs, better shocks, cvds and a real drive shaft, it'd be a decent contender out there...anybody agree? :D

tamiya better come out with a TRF model! i'd get that :p

BTW: thankey for the ebay link, dave.

[Aluma]

actually, the df-02 feels just as fast as the xxx-4 I used to have...but costs WAY less, is more durable, and seems to take a heck of a beating. The steering has a bunch of slop though....all the plastic. :P Plus I haven't broken the shock tower yet like on my XXX-4. I jumped that losi ONCE and landed upside down...CRAKCK! Well, there went THAT race. Cant wait to take the DF02 out to the track to see what it can do.

[boroef]

actually, the df-02 feels just as fast as the xxx-4 I used to have...but costs WAY less, is more durable, and seems to take a heck of a beating. The steering has a bunch of slop though....all the plastic. :P Plus I haven't broken the shock tower yet like on my XXX-4. I jumped that losi ONCE and landed upside down...CRAKCK! Well, there went THAT race. Cant wait to take the DF02 out to the track to see what it can do.

same. i'm quite certain that it can hold it's own against those losi and academy boys. tamiya made a great buggy this time around! when i first saw the df02 on the "coming soon" section of the tamiya website, i was excited but expected the car to be quite expensive... and yet it turns out to be cheaper than the tl01b! woot. talk about bang for your buck :D

[boroef]

alrighty...i finally got some pics of my df-02.

i ran it in some mud and soil...and it was damp; so that's why it's so darn dirty! any tips on how to clean it? :D

[boroef]

my progressive springs that i spoke about earlier

[boroef]

and a top view of how dirty it is :D

[Aluma]

went to the track yesterday.... :eek: Had bugs to work out before racing... the servo saver stripped at the first jump, replaced it with the touring car white one from my evolution. works perfect. Switched to 90wt rear with Losi orange spring at innermost mount plus that fuel tubing on the shaft...what a difference. I ran 7 packs almost back to back on our track... we have HUGE jumps, tabletops, banks.... it was keeping up with a fellow racers modified motored T3 and a gas buggy. I'm really excited about this buggy. I'm not really into mods, but can anyone recommend a good mod above 16T(speed control limit) for this buggy with the 77/19 gearing it comes with?
I'm guessing a 19T would be good, but dont really know how to gear for a car like this.

Oh yeah, my tires are almost gone. What would y'all recommend for dusty, bumpy, packed track? Losi tires, proline bowties, HPI rally tires? I know they all offer 2.2" sizes...but SOOO many types, compounds.

[Aluma]

UUU, I wish I coulda taken a pic of it about 6ft in the air from one of the jumps....:D
Its at the end of the front straigth into a left 90 turn and the table top has been worn down to throw cars straight up if you go too fast into it.

[littlebuddha]

hey guys, i just got my gravel hound up and running, and wow, love the acceleration, though top speed is nothing to write home about. is 19t the lowest wind the esc can do? what would you guys reccomend.

for suspension right now i'm using the stock settings with the 2 largest spacers and the back, and two second largest spacers in the front. you think thats a good setup for just bashing around my street and curb hopping? i'm thinking of laying the rear shocks to the outermost hole, might help stiffen the back up a bit.

also I have no front toe in, u guys reccomend any toe in? or maybe toe out to help out steering? Its a great buggy and its got one of the smoothest drivetrains ever! and since this is tamiya, i'm sure its parts are going to be around forever! and i'm going to keep it for a loooong time.

I also have a MRC sb, and finding parts for it is a pain!

[boroef]

went to the track yesterday.... :eek: Had bugs to work out before racing... the servo saver stripped at the first jump, replaced it with the touring car white one from my evolution. works perfect. Switched to 90wt rear with Losi orange spring at innermost mount plus that fuel tubing on the shaft...what a difference. I ran 7 packs almost back to back on our track... we have HUGE jumps, tabletops, banks.... it was keeping up with a fellow racers modified motored T3 and a gas buggy. I'm really excited about this buggy. I'm not really into mods, but can anyone recommend a good mod above 16T(speed control limit) for this buggy with the 77/19 gearing it comes with?
I'm guessing a 19T would be good, but dont really know how to gear for a car like this.

Oh yeah, my tires are almost gone. What would y'all recommend for dusty, bumpy, packed track? Losi tires, proline bowties, HPI rally tires? I know they all offer 2.2" sizes...but SOOO many types, compounds.

thanks for the track results, aluma! sounds like u had fun :D i wish i had some local offroad tracks around here :mad:

anyway as for motors above 16t, i say go for anything triple or quad wound...quad would be optimal. the higher the wounds, the more torque the motor delivers. i think reedy makes a 19t quad if u are looking into 19t's. those are dyno'd at roughly 19,500rpm at 5V. so u can do the math in terms of performance boost over the stock silver can :D
BTW: proline bowties in M3 compound are good tires for dusty packed surface!! i picked up a set and they grip so well...but imo, they seem to wear out quickly

BTW...has anyone fixed the understeer issue? i guess the only solution is to go to a stiffer rear suspension setup, huh? :)

[boroef]

hey guys, i just got my gravel hound up and running, and wow, love the acceleration, though top speed is nothing to write home about. is 19t the lowest wind the esc can do? what would you guys reccomend.

for suspension right now i'm using the stock settings with the 2 largest spacers and the back, and two second largest spacers in the front. you think thats a good setup for just bashing around my street and curb hopping? i'm thinking of laying the rear shocks to the outermost hole, might help stiffen the back up a bit.

also I have no front toe in, u guys reccomend any toe in? or maybe toe out to help out steering? Its a great buggy and its got one of the smoothest drivetrains ever! and since this is tamiya, i'm sure its parts are going to be around forever! and i'm going to keep it for a loooong time.

I also have a MRC sb, and finding parts for it is a pain!

heeey! just out of curiosity, how does the DF02 compare to the academy sb??

anyhow...i found that a good bash setup is having the rear shocks put in the inner most positions on the lower a arms(that upped ground clearance). that way u can run less spacers, have a little bit of sag and make up for the lack of dampening that the stock shocks provide. i dont recommend stiffening up the rear at all unless u find something to fix the dampening issue.

what i've done is made some progressive springs :D maybe that will work for u.

[littlebuddha]

hi, thanks for the input, i just bashed around with my buggy, and have to say out of all the vehicles i have owned, this one is one of the funnest so far! (the list includes, mini t, e maxx, mr-4 rally, stampede, xxxt francis, xxx bk2, tamiya f201, hpi micro, HPI super nitro rally and even zipzap se!). I think i'll be upgrading my motor though, how does the tamiy sport tuned motor sound?

the SB i just bought is busted its front ball diff so i havent gotten to drive it, (tamiya has indestructable gear diffs! yay!) but in comparison it has a much better suspension, and higher ground clearance. i tried roll testing it without motors, and judging from the test, the tamiya's drivetrain seems way efficent, although the sb doesnt have axle bearings ( i upgraded mines to full blue sealed on the hound). The sb is much lighter though due to its fiberglass chassis, and the aluminum shaft drive and lighter ball diffs should mean it has higher speed and acceleration.

I love the fact that the SB body and underbody are pretty much water-tight for the SB, which should make it aweson for bashing around in the snow. the lexan undercover is great as you dont have to worry about the chassis getting scratched up as lexan is very durable ( although electronics will get hot). also the velcro method of mounting the body kinda sux as it will get pulled out sooner than later. the two clip body mounting of the gravel hound is great for quick battery changes and maintenance.

i'll give you a better comparison once i get the parts from MRC, whenever that is, the MRC seems to be a awesome basher as well as being quite capable on the track. BOth seem as durable, apart from the ball diffs, but i'll reserve judgement till i drive them both, but till then, i'm having fun with da hound!

(thanks for the setup, i'll give it a go.)

[boroef]

hi, thanks for the input, i just bashed around with my buggy, and have to say out of all the vehicles i have owned, this one is one of the funnest so far! (the list includes, mini t, e maxx, mr-4 rally, stampede, xxxt francis, xxx bk2, tamiya f201, hpi micro, HPI super nitro rally and even zipzap se!). I think i'll be upgrading my motor though, how does the tamiy sport tuned motor sound?

the SB i just bought is busted its front ball diff so i havent gotten to drive it, (tamiya has indestructable gear diffs! yay!) but in comparison it has a much better suspension, and higher ground clearance. i tried roll testing it without motors, and judging from the test, the tamiya's drivetrain seems way efficent, although the sb doesnt have axle bearings ( i upgraded mines to full blue sealed on the hound). The sb is much lighter though due to its fiberglass chassis, and the aluminum shaft drive and lighter ball diffs should mean it has higher speed and acceleration.

I love the fact that the SB body and underbody are pretty much water-tight for the SB, which should make it aweson for bashing around in the snow. the lexan undercover is great as you dont have to worry about the chassis getting scratched up as lexan is very durable ( although electronics will get hot). also the velcro method of mounting the body kinda sux as it will get pulled out sooner than later. the two clip body mounting of the gravel hound is great for quick battery changes and maintenance.

i'll give you a better comparison once i get the parts from MRC, whenever that is, the MRC seems to be a awesome basher as well as being quite capable on the track. BOth seem as durable, apart from the ball diffs, but i'll reserve judgement till i drive them both, but till then, i'm having fun with da hound!

(thanks for the setup, i'll give it a go.)

haha thanks for the input on the SB. :) i think i will do up my own lexan undercover for the df02...i'll post up a how to once i complete it.

the tamiya sport tuned motor is a decent unit and should last a while...but in terms of performance it's similar to that of a 27turn prostock motor...and the 27turn would be better in the long run because it has replaceable brushes!

in any case why not go down to a 19t? i think that's the best compromise b/w speed and run time in a brushed motor. u should be happy with one of those...df02 shuold go a good speed :)

[littlebuddha]

thanks, but will the stock esc be able to handle 19 turns? as it is i can finish a whole pack 10-15 mins and the stock esc has barely warmed up (its a great unit), the motor gets a little hot though, so i've added a metal heat sink from my sb to it.

wow, thats a pretty cool idea, lexan underbody? let me know how that goes, the df02 chassis are pretty cheap and tough though though. i'll post a pic of my car soon!

[boroef]

thanks, but will the stock esc be able to handle 19 turns? as it is i can finish a whole pack 10-15 mins and the stock esc has barely warmed up (its a great unit), the motor gets a little hot though, so i've added a metal heat sink from my sb to it.

wow, thats a pretty cool idea, lexan underbody? let me know how that goes, the df02 chassis are pretty cheap and tough though though. i'll post a pic of my car soon!


oh shoot, ur using stock esc? i say buy a good esc before u even get another motor! u see, the stock esc doesnt use the battery completely. notice that once the battery starts dumping, the car becomes jerky? like u'd give it gas and it will move forward, then stop and then start moving again?

a good esc will handle it to the very last drop in a smooth movement! u will see more runtimes and have more steps in proportional speed.

...but if u must keep the stocker, i say go for a 21 the lowest...i dont really trust that thing, it doesnt have heat sinks or anything!!!

[dave56bug]

I've got an SB Sport as well, its great, but no slipper clutch.

Here are a couple pics of my Gravel Hound.

http://www.fototime.com/3B24C580736D307/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/FEC9161C824EBDA/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/6D0C0DF9297719B/standard.jpg


Dave

[boroef]

dave, those shocktowers, shocks and heatsink are PIIIMP! :D

[littlebuddha]

wow, that buggy sure looks slick, recognize the sb wheels on there, how do they handle? i think they are wider in diameter and seems to have raised the ride height a bit, or is that because of the new shock towers? how does it handle? I just might give it a try tommorow, seems it may decrease the acceleration a bit, but should increase top speed.

boeroef- ya, i remember the rccaraction review, they used a chameleon 2, seems as if the esc got pretty hot with that. i think the new BRCA legal stock motor from trinity, or a 21-22 turn might be the hot ticket with the stock esc.

[Tamiya4ever]

Does anyone just run the buggy on the street? :)

[Aluma]

of course, its great on the street! The spikes grab the road like you wouldn't believe. The only time I could get it to slide is when I hit a patch of gravel on the edges next to the curb. It jumps speed bumps really well...just make sure you power through it, otherwise the rear end will jump over the front...:P

Oh yeah, make sure you get a new set of tires soon, the spikes dont last very long on the street.

[Tamiya4ever]

Hey that sounds cool. Cause I like something simple and nice. And this seems like its it. U can take it pretty much all over. :p

[dave56bug]

I've got the ride height somewhat high, seeing as i bash this buggy pretty hard.

The SB wheels are standard 2.2, which means you would have more selection of tires.

Dave.

[boroef]

how are your tires holding up guys?

my tires are pretty much dead. i lost about 70% of the height of the spikes...pure dead. and the thing is, i dont run it on the street! it has probably only seen about 10mins of street use period!

always grass, gravel and dirt. i'm gonna get something that lasts longer in a 2.2 size...any suggestions?

[dave56bug]

I'd suggest getting the Kyosho 4wd rims from Towerhobbies, their yellow, and some Holeshot LP,s front and rear, they look just like my Academy tires, and they are wearing great, i never run on the street either.

Proline Bowties are nice. finding front 4wd tires isnt that easy either....

Dave.

[littlebuddha]

hi guys, i think i found a perfect motor to use with the stock esc, and its cheap! its a venom fireball 21 turns, let me know what do you guys think? heres a link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34063&item=5927882398&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

After my tires run out, think i'm going to get the dirt hawg tires, they seem awesome!

[dave56bug]

The Venom fireball is a decent cheap motor, I had a 16turn one in my Gravel hound, it ate brushes like nobodies business, but maybe thats because it was overgeared...

Dave.

[boroef]

^yea, the fireball 21turn motor should be good for the stock esc :D

[Aluma]

I'm guessing R3 compound would be better in the holeshots... says its longer lasting and better gripping. Anyway, speaking of overgearing.... how DO you gear this thing?
what would be considered overgeared in a stock motor, 19T motor 16T motor?

[boroef]

^ i'm guessing over gearing means going to a too large of a pinion gear ;)

but i think the stock setup(19t) is perfectly fine...i'm running that in my car using the novak brushless and it has enough torque to go through anything :D

[fabolousRC]

I'd suggest getting the Kyosho 4wd rims from Towerhobbies, their yellow, and some Holeshot LP,s front and rear, they look just like my Academy tires, and they are wearing great, i never run on the street either.

Proline Bowties are nice. finding front 4wd tires isnt that easy either....

Dave.

there is always road rage 2.2s for 4wds front and matching rears...I have two sets and the sidewall are so tall compared to stock tires sidewall that I think it might just another quick fix to the ride height problem.

[microrcdude]

are the wing mounts really as weak as they appear? they look like they will just break right off.

[littlebuddha]

hey guys, just got back from thrashing the hound, i changed the tires to sb tires, what a difference, the grip was supurb, and i think steering was a little better too. It doesnt accelerate as fast, the tires are hevier than the stock as well as larger in diameter, but i did notice top speed was a little faster.

I also tried the innermost shock position that you guys reccomended, the real ride height is much better (though not by much). i'm usning the largest and second largest spacers at the rear and second largest at the front. It was soaking up bumps much better and shredded through the grass too, its suspension seems more active. I think the softer tires also account for it better handling the bumps.

anyways guys, once i get the 21t havok, things should get more intresting! till next time.

[Janvitos]

I'm offering 10$ USD (PayPal) to the person who will send me readable good quality scans of their Gravel Hound DF-02 instructions manual. They misplaced mine at the manufacture and am not able to find the manual in any hobby shop near me. I have already done all the necessary procedures to try and obtain this manual but have failed to succeed.

I am very serious about this.

Contact me via email: janvitos@hotmail.com

Thanks!!!

Janvitos

[boroef]

does anybody know of any aftermarket replacements for those stupid plastic outdrives? i tried replacing them with the metal ones from my ta02 and tl01...and feck, i even tried my tg10. but none of them fit, they are all too small to fit the dogbone =(

my plastic ones have gotten out of round and my wheels wobble!!!

[Aluma]

I think square makes metal ones...I saw them on eb a y the other day along with universals and bunch of other stuff.

[dave56bug]

One way to replace the plastic outdrives with metal would be to upgrade to TT-01 Ball diffs, but thats not the most cost effective way... I did... Ball diffs make a world of difference.

I ripped my rear shock tower off on the weekend, pulled the two mounting screws right out, so i used a 3.5mm drillbit and drilled out the holes on the tower and the chassis, and used some longer cap screws with nuts on the end to hold the tower on a little more securely.

I forgot to take a pic. But i'm doing some more mods and will get some pics tomorrow.

Gearing with this car hasnt really been an issue, with my 15t titanite, on stock gearing the car goes bloody fast, and has all kinds of torque, it'll spin its tires and bust donuts at will.

Dave.

[boroef]

guys, how have your tires been holding up?

i think that by now, i've had the df02 for 3 weeks...and i have 0 tread left. yes, the once studded offroad buggy tires have become nothing but slicks :p

i guess those hard compound rubber tires dont hold up very well when under the power of a brushless motor XD

my wheels have a wobbling problem that i dont know if any of you have: they wobble when they are tightened too much. it seems as if there is play between the plastic outdrive and the bushing in the knuckle that is causing this. my remedy is to get ball bearings and CVD's. does anybody else have this issue? both my front and rear do this...so as a temporary solution i just dont tighten the wheels on very much...but because of their looseness, there is major camber change when i am cornering =(

and with regards to gearing, i think the stock setup is perfect for most any motor!! it's got ample torque. unless u are going to run a 12 or lower turn motor on it, i think the stock gearing is well suited for most conditions.

[Aluma]

there's a lot of play in the bearing department.... even with the plastic bushings, it would wobble. I think its the tolerance of the hubs. The bearings just fall out if you turn it over.

[dave56bug]

Your running brushless on plastic bushings? lol. I can imagine there would be some play in those bushings now, seeing as they wear out pretty quick on the stock silver can.

Get ball bearings.

Dave

[boroef]

LOL! i was hoping that bearings would be the solution :p

guess what? i dont only run on plastic bushings, i also run on the plastic driveshaft with the brushless...and it holds up man!!!! haha who needs aluminum!! lolllllll
i need new tires too, but they are expensive. sheesh.

[boroef]

^my tires are so slick now that i can spin out in everything...and if i give it WOT on flat road, it will do donuts :p

brushless is powerfulllll hehe. too bad i'm only getting 10min max on my crappy old 1700cells.

[dave56bug]

Lol, yeah i never had any problems with the plastic shaft, but figured the aluminum one is the way to go.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXU382&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXV019&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDX84&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDX75&P=7

$33.46
I guess that is kinda expensive.

Dave.

[boroef]

ouch 33 dollars for a shaft? no thanks, i'll jerry rig one of those tl01 carbon shafts instead :D

soo...has anyone brought this to the track yet?> i wonder how it will do? imo, it wont do all too well. suspension geometry is kinda sucky. i'm gonna get me a more competitive buggy for track use

[boroef]

btw has anybody experienced mud/dirt/sand getting between the chassis and the servo saver? i have, and when it happens, i have very little steering! it's very annoying. is there anyway to cure this problem? or do i have to take a dremel to the chassis...

[dave56bug]

Thats $33 for the tires and wheels, that i linked.

Dave.

[boroef]

^oh thanks dave...i didnt even realise :D i'm gonna order a set of those from my LHS then! thanks for the links :p

so...no one has experienced that servo problem that i desribed above? aww man, i'm all alone in this

EDIT: nvm, i fixed the problem. i installed taller servo mounting blocks from my TG10. it raised the servo high above the chassis so no debris would get stuck there.

[microrcdude]

what i wold do is use some scrap lexan and make a little shield that keeps rocks out.

[oOple]

what pinions does this thing use ? is it 48dp or .6 ???

[littlebuddha]

hey guys, still wiating for my mod motor, i was thinking of buying an aluminum prop shaft but then it occured to me, do any of you guys have an aluminum one, how does it compare in weight to the stock plastic one, hevier? lighter? it seems that if plastic is lighter, it may not need much of a hopping up at all.

[oOple]

i would think the plastic shaft would twist, hence the need for a "hop up" .. weight would be a side point..
i quite fancy a gh to race but not if it uses .6 / .7 module gears..

[boroef]

hey guys, still wiating for my mod motor, i was thinking of buying an aluminum prop shaft but then it occured to me, do any of you guys have an aluminum one, how does it compare in weight to the stock plastic one, hevier? lighter? it seems that if plastic is lighter, it may not need much of a hopping up at all.

the aluminum should only be slightly heavier... i will only upgrade to aluminum if the plastic one breaks on me...and it has yet to break on me :D who would have thought, the plastic shaft is pretty goood!! it can hold up against BL power :p

[boroef]

i would think the plastic shaft would twist, hence the need for a "hop up" .. weight would be a side point..
i quite fancy a gh to race but not if it uses .6 / .7 module gears..

i dont think the GH is 48 pitch...(48 pitch is like hpi pro2 right??).. it's chunkier than that

[Aluma]

tamiya has METRIC 48 pitch.
nothing else will work unless you figure out something with normal 48 pitch.

[oOple]

tamiya has METRIC 48 pitch.
nothing else will work unless you figure out something with normal 48 pitch.

"metric 48pitch" ??? never heard of it... is this some way of describing .6 module ??

[dave56bug]

Yes, lots of people say metric 48 pitch, .6 mod is what the gears are, why wouldnt you race a buggy that has .6 mod gears? Its not like your lacking selection:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=metric+pinion&FVPROFIL=++

Dave.

[boroef]

^sorry, i have no idea what i'm talking about XD

uhhhhh the DF02 gears are like TA02 gears :p or ta03, or tl01....... haha.

[TRF Drive Hard]

There is standard and metric pitch... tamiya in this case uses metric... the mesh is slightly different than that of the standard...

[Aluma]

oh just buy the thing... you'll love it!

[TRF Drive Hard]

Have u guys seen the hop-up parts made by Square? those are sweet and im sooooo tempted to get a GH just for those parts... :D

[boroef]

lol all of square's parts are super nice :)

man, get the df02!! it's a good buggy for the money! i dont know how losi can charge like 2.5x more for their xxx-4 graphite when the df02 for less money can keep up (with upgrades of course!!) :)

[littlebuddha]

hey guys, i just got back from what is probably my last day before it snows tommorow, i heard...
anyways, i tried the new venom 21x2 motor. wow, its definetely a little faster and accelerates harder, and a lot more fun. i'm running it with the stock pinion, and the battery seems to be warming up and the motor warms up too. when running the stock motor, everything was much cooler i thought. no noticable run time differences i dont think. i love the stock esc though, it stays really cool compared to some other ones i've run in the past, even though its pretty cheap! think i'm gonna get that cast motor mount next!

[boroef]

how much faster is the 21x2? i'm thinking of getting it as i have just retired my BL from the df02 and put it in my touring car :)

[boroef]

err where did all the df02 ppl go? did they all die? :(

[BloodClod]

err where did all the df02 ppl go? did they all die? :(

lol! I've not posted for a long time but I've been following the posts.

My GH is still going strong with the Novak BL. It's a blast to drive but still bottoms out hard off the jumps we have here.

The front shock towers seem to be a weak spot since 3 of the guys here have broken theirs. The rear tower is stronger but I've bent mine as well.

Worse damage so far happened last week when a hard collision cracked the rear gearbox where the lower wishbone attaches. This meant replacing the chassis which took a while... but all in all not too time consuming.

Must admit I don't like the way the outdrives hang somewhat loosely off the diffs... even in the ball diffs that I'm running in the rear.

All in all a very hardy buggy and a nice basher.

[Aluma]

I have to agree, I just haven't had time to go use mine since I got it. :P
Its just sitting there calling to me..."come play with me, please :( "

I was looking over it though, It looks like the rear dogbone are bent a little. :O

[littlebuddha]

how much faster is the 21x2? i'm thinking of getting it as i have just retired my BL from the df02 and put it in my touring car :)

hey, ya its been a very busy week for me, i'm sure it has been for quite a few people too. anyways, ya the 21 turn motor is great, its not a mindblowing increase in speed and acceleration, but i think its the best for the gh's suspension and stock gearing. if you're using the stock esc like me, go for 21 turn if not sure 19 to 14 turns would be great.

I also finally got the diff parts of the sb buggy, so i'll let you know how that goes too sometime soon, right now i'm working on by tamiya touareg, seems like another great kit from tamiya!

[JPinTO]

If you are looking for something different than the solid wheels---

HPI 5-spoke Super star wheels (57mmx35mm) fit the Gravel Hound.

Part#'s:
HPI3030 - White
HPI3031 - Black
HPI3032 - Chrome
HPI3033 - Grey

http://www.hobbyetc.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?part_id=1937
http://www.hobbyetc.com/jpeg/H/HPI3030.jpg

[JPinTO]

Gravel Hound with Chrome HPI wheels... a little blingy, but it looks ok. Black or white would be better, IMO.

Tires are Proline Dirt Hawg's. Overall tire height is 1/2" higher than the original GH pin tires. Traction in dirt and gravel is poorer than the pin tires.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH1.JPG

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH2.JPG

[microrcdude]

Nice! What are those wheels for? RC10?

[SteveK]

I'm offering 10$ USD (PayPal) to the person who will send me readable good quality scans of their Gravel Hound DF-02 instructions manual. They misplaced mine at the manufacture and am not able to find the manual in any hobby shop near me. I have already done all the necessary procedures to try and obtain this manual but have failed to succeed.

I am very serious about this.

Contact me via email: janvitos@hotmail.com

Thanks!!!

Janvitos

Was anybody able to hook this guy up?

Has anybody checked to see if the narrow Pro-Line Dirt Hawgs are the same diameter as the wide rear ones?

[JPinTO]

Nice! What are those wheels for? RC10?

hobbyetc.com claims they are for the:

» HPI Nitro RS4 Super Nitro
» HPI Nitro RS4 Rally (Super Nitro)

[fabolousRC]

Gravel Hound with Chrome HPI wheels... a little blingy, but it looks ok. Black or white would be better, IMO.

Tires are Proline Dirt Hawg's. Overall tire height is 1/2" higher than the original GH pin tires. Traction in dirt and gravel is poorer than the pin tires.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH1.JPG

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH2.JPG

You can also use Kyosho Super Ten wheels which also availabe in chrome, black and white. As far as tires, I don't know. Super Nitro rally tires looks attractive but yet to know how it will perform with GH. Other than that you guys are relegated to Proline tires.

[SteveK]

Those are regular buggy tires, and they fit HPI and Kyosho wheels (I have a set on some HPI wheels for my Pajero), then buggy tires should fit those wheels just fine.

[Aluma]

gee, they look nice, but doesn't that big of a tire change the gear ratio? Wont that overheat the motor. The look much heavier than the originals too.

[dave56bug]

Those tires are actually fairly lightweight, i've got a set on my Ta02 truck... they look sweet on a GH!

Dave.

[Jay-r]

You can also use Kyosho Super Ten wheels which also availabe in chrome, black and white. As far as tires, I don't know. Super Nitro rally tires looks attractive but yet to know how it will perform with GH. Other than that you guys are relegated to Proline tires.

They look awesomme! I'm just wondering how much ground clearance has it increased compared to the regular tires it had and have you tried making jumps with this mod? Does it still bottoum out or smack the ground like most reviews says? I'm a newbie with RC's and I'm thinking of following the mod you made for your GH :) Thanks and Good Day.

Sorry I thought you're the one who had the Chrome HPI wheeled GH :)

[Jay-r]

Gravel Hound with Chrome HPI wheels... a little blingy, but it looks ok. Black or white would be better, IMO.

Tires are Proline Dirt Hawg's. Overall tire height is 1/2" higher than the original GH pin tires. Traction in dirt and gravel is poorer than the pin tires.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH1.JPG

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/50GH2.JPG

They look awesomme! I'm just wondering how much ground clearance has it increased compared to the regular tires it had and have you tried making jumps with this mod? Does it still bottoum out or smack the ground like most reviews says? I'm a newbie with RC's and I'm thinking of following the mod you made for your GH Thanks and Good Day.

[Cain]

if you ever do indoor carpet running, those tires when sauced actually hook up pretty well. I ran these tires on my B3 and on my Academy SB and they do help in not bottoming out so much. Alittle more cushion for your vehicle.

[Jay-r]

if you ever do indoor carpet running, those tires when sauced actually hook up pretty well. I ran these tires on my B3 and on my Academy SB and they do help in not bottoming out so much. Alittle more cushion for your vehicle.

Will it affect speed in any way? Make it slower or faster?

[JPinTO]

They look awesomme! I'm just wondering how much ground clearance has it increased compared to the regular tires it had and have you tried making jumps with this mod? Does it still bottoum out or smack the ground like most reviews says? I'm a newbie with RC's and I'm thinking of following the mod you made for your GH Thanks and Good Day.

The tires are 1/2" higher overall...so clearance has increased 1/4". I haven't jumped it much, but I don't think it's changed a whole lot.

[Jay-r]

The tires are 1/2" higher overall...so clearance has increased 1/4". I haven't jumped it much, but I don't think it's changed a whole lot.

Thanks

[littlebuddha]

hey guys, just tried out the academy buggy, wow what a car, its suspension is amazingly active, and handles lighyears ahead of the gravel hound. its suspension arms are much longer, and a higher ground clearance. its steering system/servo saver seems much more durable, plus less slop all around.

the drivetrain of the gh seems as smooth if not smoother though?? however, i still think the gh is cooler, not to mention more fun to play around with. hehe.

i just wanted to see how the sb would compare, and its great for bashing that much i can say. in anycase i've decided too many 4wd buggies so i've decided to sell the sb on ebay if any of you guys are interested, (the tamiya wheels will fit).

I've been tempted to swipe the ti-turnbuckles off the sb for my gh though...

[jijohans]

Hi...
I have been away from the rc hobby for a few years...When I first saw this car I knew that it would be my next.
My early cars was: SuperShot,BigWig,Egress,Avante and TopForce Evo..
After surfing around the net I have found some things that I was thinking of puting in th GH...:
Novak SS5800.
Sanyo or Gp 3300/3600 cells
Tamiya Hop up: dampers/springs,balldiff and carbon centershaft,turbuckle shafts,alu king pins,alu heat sink,alu drive washer.
Tobee Craft Gear box joints,center box joints,cvd's, carbon dampertower front/rear.
Yeah racing Ballbearing sett.

Any othe mods? Any sugdjestions...?

Best regards
Jim
Norway

[Aluma]

hey guys, just tried out the academy buggy, wow what a car, its suspension is amazingly active, and handles lighyears ahead of the gravel hound. its suspension arms are much longer, and a higher ground clearance. its steering system/servo saver seems much more durable, plus less slop all around.

the drivetrain of the gh seems as smooth if not smoother though?? however, i still think the gh is cooler, not to mention more fun to play around with. hehe.

i just wanted to see how the sb would compare, and its great for bashing that much i can say. in anycase i've decided too many 4wd buggies so i've decided to sell the sb on ebay if any of you guys are interested, (the tamiya wheels will fit).

I've been tempted to swipe the ti-turnbuckles off the sb for my gh though...


Well, maybe it IS better than the Gravel hound....but seriously, which one would you have more fun with and take more risks, HIGH jumps, Stupit tricks and what not? :D

[Combatcm]

How do those plastic U joints hold up? I can't belieive that tamiya scrapped the "old" diffs for this one. I want to run it with a novak and race it. I raced a TL01B with the novak and it held up fine, except for the chassis that cracket at the joint.

[boroef]

the plastic U joints are surprisingly strong. i run BL on mine and they are still in good condition, no signs of wear...i'm very surprised. heck, i'm even using the stock driveshaft and it is surviving too! and i run my car quite often and jump stuff etc. the only thing that broke is one of my front hub carriers

[littlebuddha]

Hey guys, ran into a big problem today. i finally got my metal motor mount, its a blue aluminuium peace by GPM. however when i installed it the motor mount is slightly loose! it wobbles! i though that tt01 metal motor mounts were supposed to fit in the chassis!?!?! any suggestions or comments?

[boroef]

Hey guys, ran into a big problem today. i finally got my metal motor mount, its a blue aluminuium peace by GPM. however when i installed it the motor mount is slightly loose! it wobbles! i though that tt01 metal motor mounts were supposed to fit in the chassis!?!?! any suggestions or comments?

it's a gpm, man. they have fit and finish problems...they always did! :p

should have gotten a tamiya! har har har

or try sanding it down so it sits properly??

[_Future_]

wow. tamiya is having another one released with a new body:
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58334


I just pre-ordered the Rising Storm and it will be shipping from Tamiya California on Jan 5! I can't wait. I am a total Noob and this will be my 1st car. I hope it I am not disappointed. By the way you guys talk about the GH, sounds good! I hope the rear shock setup is better for jumping without bottoming out, though.

[boroef]

in stock configuration, the rising storm will jump and bottom out just like the GH.
they have no differences.

[EGRESSor]

my Gravel Hound :D
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getuserimage.asp?t=n&id=img2511_24082004100151_6.jpg
with steering mod
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getuserimage.asp?t=n&id=img2511_24082004100151_3.jpg
and 74tu spur gear for the right gearing of the really fast BL motor , like 8t brushed :cool:
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getuserimage.asp?t=n&id=img2511_05112004171754_4.jpg

[Alex8027]

I would try and determine where the gap is occurring and then try either a strip (or two) of electrical tape or cut and glue some teflon shims to the area where the gap is occurring. Is it wobbling from front to back or from side to side (left to right)? Front to back will require add the tape or shims to both sides of the mount and side to side means the bottom notch is too big (in the GPM piece). Let us know how it turns out.

[Alex8027]

EGRESSor-
Saw the GH on TamiyaClub a while back and was going to send you an email/post a message about the steering mod - what parts did you use to make the steering mod? I was thinking of doing something very similar and was going to ask you about it. Same goes for the spur gear/adapter too - what parts did you use? Very nice looking car.

[bakabaka]

Hi All,

I picked up a Gravel Hound a few weeks ago, like others on this forum I've been quite happy with the buggy. Since I'm just getting into the hobby though, I'm a bit fuzzy on what replacement parts I should use. I'm looking particularly at the tires, since they exhibited obvious wear even after the first run.

Which pin-type tires are recommended as replacements for the stock ones? Is it better to get the Tamiya originals or something else, like Pro-Line? Which street-type tires are recommend as well? The tires on JPinTO's vehicle look nice, but I'd like to keep the original wheels for now if possible. If you've got an opinion, I'm interested to hear it. :-)

One last thing, is it possible to pick up replacement bodies (the top shell, not the frame) for the DF-02 chassis? I bought an XB RTR rather than a kit since this is my first car - I'm not the most patient sort. Still, I'd like to give painting/decaling it a try without changing the included body.

[cheechthechi]

Yes, you should be able to order replacement bodies off of Tamiya America, or put an order through your lhs.

[littlebuddha]

I would try and determine where the gap is occurring and then try either a strip (or two) of electrical tape or cut and glue some teflon shims to the area where the gap is occurring. Is it wobbling from front to back or from side to side (left to right)? Front to back will require add the tape or shims to both sides of the mount and side to side means the bottom notch is too big (in the GPM piece). Let us know how it turns out.

ya thanks, the GPM is a beautiful peice, the finishing is excellent, it even has finned heatsinks, and seemed much better than the tamiya cast metal mont. unfortunately the fit is where it falls short :mad: . i'm probably goin to get the tamiya one unless any of you guys know another make. i got a motor heat sink so its holding up fine as its winter and really cold , but i'll definetely need that metal mount in the summer lol. anyways i'll let u guys know how it goes. have fun!

[Combatcm]

These tires

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDU13&P=ML

And these rims

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMX91&P=7


They are excellent for 4wd tamiya buggies. Good grip on and off road and they are taller. But the stock tires are great for the track,

[bakabaka]

These tires

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDU13&P=ML

And these rims

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMX91&P=7


They are excellent for 4wd tamiya buggies. Good grip on and off road and they are taller. But the stock tires are great for the track,

Thanks for the reply! They do look nice. Incidentally, are any adapters required to use these wheels? There seem to be a number of different methods to attach the wheels to the axles. I looked into the HPI Super Star wheels that were posted earlier, but also found the following adapter kit and wasn't sure if it was required for use with the GH:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXN057&P=7

I wonder if it's best to pick up a couple types of adapters just in case...

[bakabaka]

Yes, you should be able to order replacement bodies off of Tamiya America, or put an order through your lhs.

Thanks! I was a bit confused by Tamiya's website, it appeared as if the bodies were only available as part of a kit or RTR package. I wasn't able to find DF-02 bodies (either Gravel Hound or Rising Storm) from any online vendors either. I'll give Tamiya's parts number a call.

[_Future_]

Anyone have any recommendations and/or experience running a brushless in the df-02? My DF02 Rising Storm is on the way. I am considering going brushless when the stock motor is done. I hear a lot about the Novak SS5800,(Good & Bad). Any other reliable brands without breaking the bank? I am new to this and would apreciate the input.

[EGRESSor]

@Alex8027
Very nice looking car Thanks :D
the original GH steering was to floppy and the servo saver touchs the bodie
http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00452678f00000012.jpg
the new was "homemade" ;) , welded from some stainless steel tubes and plates
http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00452678f00000013.jpg
its stiffer , with ball bearings and the bodie can be lowered 10mm

the new spur was needed to gear the BL motor right (rpm like an 8turn brushed) , i´ve used a Ta04 spur gear adapter and a Ta01 spur gear 74t ,
booth needs some work on a lathe to fit for GH

[Alex8027]

Thanks for the input.

I was thinking of doing something similar with some spare parts that I have lying around; a little less work than welding some steel tubes and plates ;) . I noticed the same problem with the body too, and may try a smaller Kimbrough servo saver, and redoing the linkage system to see if I can lower the body some more as well.

I just got my GH a little while ago, and I've got quite a few little projects that I'd like to do. So I'm trying to determine what I want to tackle first - redoing the rear shock mounts (similar to Blood Clod), redoing the front shock tower for "normal" length shocks, or redoing the steering linkage. I'm thinking I'll start small with the rear shock mounts and work my way up to the steering linkage.

One more project, if anyone has looked into this let me know, would be to see if I can find some rear hub carriers that would let me use Losi-style rear axles so I can use Losi or B4 rear rims. I haven't looked into it yet, but B4 rear hub carriers might give me the proper length. Losi rear hub carriers do not extend very far past the hinge pin, so I need to find something that spaces out past the hinge pin by at least 10 mm. Right now, as long as the carrier uses 5 x 11 or standard bearings (3/16 x 3/8), I can use Losi axles. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress as I'd like to get this done by mid-late January. I'll post some pics and stuff as I get farther along.

On a side note, I just got the GPM TT01 main shaft that I ordered, and it's too long by about 2-3 mm. So, I've got to cut it, and rejoin it with some aluminum tubing. I should have known better than going with a GPM part; but I was hoping it would be just a matter of a little grinding. Oh well... :D

[bakabaka]

I was looking at Tamiya's exploded view PDF for the Gravel Hound while rebuilding it, and noticed a few small but very interesting differences between its diagram and the one that comes with the RTR I bought. The steering linkage tie rod and the front turnbuckle shafts were replaced with plastic versions. It appears that they're going to release a "hop-up" (part number 53788) that puts these parts back in, along with a few extras that weren't listed in the PDF. Oddly enough, the steering turnbuckle shafts included with EGRESSor's Gravel Hound are not of the plastic variety that were included in my kit. The linkage tie rod OTOH is.

Somewhat more disappointingly, the "oil dampers" included in (at least) the RTR have a screw in lieu of a piston rod. The piston itself was simply not included, which makes the oil-filled dampers rather useless. I'm curious if others are in the same boat. Perhaps it's a difference between the kit and the RTR? I thought it was a mistake until I pulled out the included manual and noticed that it did in fact reflect these differences. Cost cutting at its finest...

[cheechthechi]

Doesnt the rtr have friction shocks instead of oil shocks?

[bakabaka]

Doesnt the rtr have friction shocks instead of oil shocks?

D'oh. I just looked Tamiya's website, and you're right :-) I bought the RTR at a hobby shop based on looking at the kit's specs. This definitely is turning out to be a learning experience, though not quite in the way I hoped.

OTOH, the only parts missing on the dampers are the pistons, the two o-rings around them, and the top oil seal. The shaft is also replaced with a partially threaded phillips head screw. Given that, the differences may be non-issues with the kit. Perhaps I can find those parts, or at least put together reasonable replacements.

[Alex8027]

If you are looking to replace the shocks with oil damped units I would recommend the shocks used on the Duratrax Evader BX series as a low cost metal-bodied shock. I believe they are about $16 from Tower Hobbies and you can use Losi springs on them. Good luck.

[UK Hound Basher]

Got my GH a week ago as my 1st car not bad considering I'm 30 :rolleyes:

Looks like I made a good uneducated choice...

Any way I ordered these shocks of ebay ...you guys think they'll be any good 4 the GH ? Would I need to modify anything?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5946967145&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

I ordered as I was gonna buy a rtr B4 but decided against joining a club and just bashing.

[bakabaka]

If you are looking to replace the shocks with oil damped units I would recommend the shocks used on the Duratrax Evader BX series as a low cost metal-bodied shock. I believe they are about $16 from Tower Hobbies and you can use Losi springs on them. Good luck.

Thanks for the info! The total price seems to be fairly close to Tamiya's aluminum set after buying everything. Is there an advantage to the Duratrax shocks?


Any way I ordered these shocks of ebay ...you guys think they'll be any good 4 the GH ? Would I need to modify anything?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....me=STRK:MEWN:IT

I ordered as I was gonna buy a rtr B4 but decided against joining a club and just bashing.

I'm mostly in the same boat, I'd be interested to hear how these shocks work out for you. I'm thinking longer shocks might be the way to go based on my admittedly limited driving experience.

BTW, does anyone have any experience trying to use shims to tighten up the steering on a GH? I've read into it a bit, but am curious if anyone here had tried it on the DF-02 chassis. Hope I'm not swamping you guys with too many questions, I appreciate the responses.

[bakabaka]

I ended up buying the wheels and tires Combatcm recommended (thanks again!). In case anyone's interested, here's a snapshot I took of my GH with the new wheels. (Well, new except for a slight bashing session.) Everything is still stock other than a set of wheel bearings, I will of course be changing that over time :-)

http://xyzzy.dyn.dhs.org/files/gravelhound-hpiwheels.jpg

[UK Hound Basher]

Got these wheels from Schumacher racing with there RT3 tires.
The hex didnt fit but I moded them a bit runs ok now..

http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/41af05a9zba92803f/7ac1/__sr_/cd4a.jpg?phpmr3BBky52wUpY http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/41af05a9zba92803f/7ac1/__sr_/caa0.jpg?phpmr3BBioWiDr_c

Tire and wheel

http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/41af05a9zba92803f/7ac1/__sr_/89cd.jpg?phAns3BBh2ff9dWi http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/41af05a9zba92803f/7ac1/__sr_/b691.jpg?phAns3BB_FtnPrYX

Took the pics with my phone so there a bit small ..

[UK Hound Basher]

Thanks! I was a bit confused by Tamiya's website, it appeared as if the bodies were only available as part of a kit or RTR package. I wasn't able to find DF-02 bodies (either Gravel Hound or Rising Storm) from any online vendors either. I'll give Tamiya's parts number a call.

Look here..At the bottom of the page they have Chassis Tub - Gravel Hound DF02 and other spare for the GH.

http://www.tamiyaparts.co.uk/tamiyaparts/tpx/tamiya-parts-50000-pictured.htm?PHPSESSID=b22a9fc200542255eb1fb03edda be47e

[UK Hound Basher]

ps any news on where I can buy a hound bodyshell (clear) ?

[littlebuddha]

for wheels i reccomend the academy sb pro buggy wheels. they look great in dish white, and fit the gh buggy perfectly. ultimate hobbies sells then but u have to give them a call.

[Aluma]

I was hoping to try out some truck bodies for it but haven't had time... :P

Cant seem to find the shell anywhere either.

[bakabaka]

Look here..At the bottom of the page they have Chassis Tub - Gravel Hound DF02 and other spare for the GH.

http://www.tamiyaparts.co.uk/tamiyaparts/tpx/tamiya-parts-50000-pictured.htm?PHPSESSID=b22a9fc200542255eb1fb03edda be47e

Sorry, I meant to say the body shell. It's about the only part I can't find at this point. I've been meaning to give Tamiya a call, but their call center is only open when I'm distracted with my job. :-)

[Alex8027]

UK Hound Basher - Those shocks should work just fine. You may need to put a spacer in the front shocks, but the parts that came with the GH shocks should work. You shouldn't need to modify anything, but I would recommend some fuel tubing on the rear shocks to help with it bottoming out over big bumps. I'm not sure what size spring those shocks use, but more than likely either Associated or Losi/Traxxas springs should be able to fit it. Let us know how it goes.

Good to hear you were able to get the Schumacher rims to work; I wasn't able to get your pics to load up from the link, but I'm assuming that you used some of their buggy rims, which are nice, but use a larger hex than Tamiya/Kyosho/Academy for some odd reason. How did you get them to work (I've got a couple sets of Schumacher rims)?

bakabaka - Couple of things, first on the shocks, the main reason why I recommend the Duratrax shocks is that they are about ~$20 less for a full set vs the Tamiya set, at least in the US, and you can use Losi springs and pistons, which again, are a little easier to come by in the states. I bought a set of these for a Schumacher Storm 2000 restoration and they worked pretty well. I have an old set of Traxxas shocks from a TRX-1 (which dates me) on mine.

I would recommend trying "slightly" longer shocks in the front; as the GH's stock kit shocks seem pretty short to me, when comparing them to other off-road buggies. You could try longer rear shocks too, however, you will need to do some "small" modifications with a dremel to the drive cups to get the suspension to extend farther (see Blood Clod's post for greater detail). Also, I would recommend if you have access to either aluminum/fiberglass/graphite plate to make a new lower shock mount, similar to that constructed by Blood Clod (I'll post a pic of my GH as well). This helps to reduce how much the suspension bottoms out; but I would still recommend fuel tubing on the shock as it does not completely eliminate it.

As far as shimming the suspension/steering, I would recommend it. My kit had a fair amount of play at almost all the hinge pins, so I added washers and this reduced the play quite a bit. You need about eight 3 mm washers and 4 bearing shims (5 mm shims). There is some play at all four wheels between the roll pin and the bearing/bushing, and this helps to reduce the wobble.

Hope this helps.

Alex

[Alex8027]

One more thing, a little update -

I bought some B4 rear hubs and they space the rear wheel out to the correct location, so it looks as though with some small modifications, B4 CVD's could be used in the rear of the car, and let the GH use Losi rear rims and AE B4 rear rims. :D

Also, I finished the lower rear suspension mount. They look a little rough, but work well. A definite improvement as far as how quickly the suspension bottoms out. However, I still think fuel tubing on the rear shock will be needed. Also, while testing this, I noticed that the shock tower flexes when the suspension is compressing, so I'm thinking a small piece of fiberglass could stiffen that up. I've attached an image of the rear lower shock mount.

I'll try and get some of my GH images posted to my website some time in the future.

Alex

[UK Hound Basher]

Good to hear you were able to get the Schumacher rims to work; I wasn't able to get your pics to load up from the link, but I'm assuming that you used some of their buggy rims, which are nice, but use a larger hex than Tamiya/Kyosho/Academy for some odd reason. How did you get them to work (I've got a couple sets of Schumacher rims)?

I made the hex smaller by cutting a cable tie into bits small enuff to fit one side of the hex and glued 1 to each 6 sides of the hex on the wheel ..I made sure the hub would fit in 1st. I will post some pics soon show you wat I mean ...Thanx for the tips on the shocks..I got some 70wt shock oil ready for when they arive..? What did you make your suspension mounts out of ?

[UK Hound Basher]

I also added an LRP AI super reverse ESC to my GH ...Seems to be more responsive and maybe a little faster acceleration than the stock ESC..Also got a Reedy spec 19 turn quad..yoou guys think it will be any good ?..Havnt put it in yet will update you all wen its in !

A wee pic of the schumi wheels !

[UK Hound Basher]

The RT3 schumi tires

[bakabaka]

I also added an LRP AI super reverse ESC to my GH ...Seems to be more responsive and maybe a little faster acceleration than the stock ESC..Also got a Reedy spec 19 turn quad..yoou guys think it will be any good ?..Havnt put it in yet will update you all wen its in !

A wee pic of the schumi wheels !

Hi!

Are those front wheels slightly smaller in diameter than the rear? It looks like they are from the picture, but I suppose it could be the angle.

[UK Hound Basher]

no there both 2.2 4wd for the cat 3000 the front wheels are turned. could be the lighting

[UK Hound Basher]

This shows where I glued the peices of yellow cable tie.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/cypry/DSCF0342.gif

[Alex8027]

Thanks for the pics. I'll try it on a hex adapter rather than the rim and let you know my results. I believe I have some extra hex adapters some where.

[UK Hound Basher]

[QUOTE=bakabaka]I was looking at Tamiya's exploded view PDF for the Gravel Hound while rebuilding it, and noticed a few small but very interesting differences between its diagram and the one that comes with the RTR I bought. The steering linkage tie rod and the front turnbuckle shafts were replaced with plastic versions. It appears that they're going to release a "hop-up" (part number 53788) that puts these parts back in, along with a few extras that weren't listed in the PDF. Oddly enough, the steering turnbuckle shafts included with EGRESSor's Gravel Hound are not of the plastic variety that were included in my kit. The linkage tie rod OTOH is.[QUOTE]


You can buy them here now
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=44022&item=5938379840&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

[woodymaxx]

Hey Dudes, does anybody know if somebody makes aluminum uprights or anything stronger than the stock plastic for the Gravel Hound? I'm new to this buggy and I was wondering if anybody's had any breakage problems with any parts (especially uprights!!!) and good ways to avoid this. If anybody knows of any awesome mods that'd be cool to.

[Aluma]

oh man oh man it was great tonight! Just got back from racing...wooohooo! I burnt out my p2k2 couple of weeks ago and replaced it with a sport tuned black motor I had lying around...I beat a revo, an LST, a stadium truck of some sort, and a whole bunch of 1/8th scales...HAHAHAHA its got to be the funniest thing I've ever seen. Oh yeah, did I mention my tires were bald(kit tires too) and that one of my shocks blew up sometime during the race, but didn't know it till I finished and got home! Race tip...NEVER use aluminum pinions on this car! geesh... I tried a 16T pinion and it was SLOWWWWW...not to mention that it wore out and left shavings ALL over the place...cant wait until my TRF df02 shocks/springs come in...plus maybe some holeshots in R3 compound..maybe even a 19T to 15T motor! :D

[Aluma]

oh yeah...you guys think the buggy needs the alum. steering arms? or the universals for a 15T motor or so? Dont want to spend more than I have to. ;)

[UK Hound Basher]

oh yeah...you guys think the buggy needs the alum. steering arms? or the universals for a 15T motor or so? Dont want to spend more than I have to. ;) I broke one of my steering arms the other day when the front wheel clipped a kerb ...cracked the ball connector right out ...I managed to fix it with ca glue and a cable tie for now and theres a shortage of uprights in the uk at the moment. Its the 1st thing I broke and I guess the lack of parts available means maybe theres a weak point???? Gonna see how it goes but might get the Alu arms soon.

[Aluma]

ebay...jason's store and walawala have a BUNCH of df02 parts...plastic and upgrades too...just no bodies. :P

[UK Hound Basher]

I emailed jason about shells ..I want one badly even considering stripping my pre painted one :D

One more thing I'm thinking about getting another buggy to bash about...The duratax evader bx looks good...what other buggys should I consider ?

[woodymaxx]

ebay...jason's store and walawala have a BUNCH of df02 parts...plastic and upgrades too...just no bodies. :P

What is jason's store and walawala? I guess I'm not the only one haveing the trouble breaking the uprights!

[UK Hound Basher]

There stores on eBay ..I can vouch for jasons store ordered from him before.
Go to eBay search for DF 02 or DF02 you should see a list of parts :-)

[deanjamesholly]

nothing much to add just a couple of picshttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/deanjamesholly/IMGP1311.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/deanjamesholly/IMGP1314.jpg

[Aluma]

actually, i was looking at the shock towers...on the opposite side of the ball mounts, there's enough space to put in a screw for body mounts, plus it looks like If i had a set of extra tbevo mounts i could have 4posts sticking up from the mounts for a truck body or car body...I'm going to give it a shot when i have time off from work. let y'all know later.

[Alex8027]

Tested out the zip tie hex adapters. Looks like they should work fine. Will test them out at the track the next time I race.

Aluma-
I'd suggest using Robinson Racing metric pitch pinions, as the Tamiya ones are aluminum and not hardened steel like the RR's. As far as universals go, I'd recommend front universals, simply because these will be the most suspect to wear out when compared to the rear drive shafts and the extra power. It's not absolutely necessary though.

If by uprights you mean the shock towers, I would highly suggest looking into purchasing a piece of fiberglass, graphite, or aluminum and making your own replacement front shock tower. With a Dremel, a little time, and a little patience you can usually make something that will work. I can draw some up one using some CAD software if anyone is interested. May take me a little while to get it to output to scale, but I don't forsee this taking that long. I've already designed and started cutting a shock tower for mine that mounts up in front of the stock shock tower, like a circa '95 YZ10 or BJ4. Isn't completely finished yet (I'm a little busy with some other stuff at the moment), but I can post pics somewhere down the line.

Alex

[Aluma]

yes, I know about the pinions...just waiting for my 67 spur to get to here so I can see what ratios I can do with whatever pinions I have...then order the steel one.
Anyway, I cut up one of my old mazda 6 touring bodies and it fits really nice onto the GH! just need to go to the hobby shop to get some type of posts that I can screw into the uprights.

[Eotz]

Hi!.

I am interested in acquiring a DF-02 but before buy it, I would like to know if the mechanics of this chassis might support a modified engine, a LRP FUSION PHASE 4.1" Mr. TC 12X2 to be exact. Ofcourse changing the original stock ESC into a LRP V7.

Thank very much.

Bye :rolleyes:

[bakabaka]

Hi all!

I just got the DF-02 aluminum dampers and hop-up springs installed today. That makes quite a difference :-) I set them up to use 3 holes in the rear and 2 holes in the front, with the yellow springs in the front and the blue (stiff) springs in the rear as others have done. Thanks to everyone for the many bits of advice they've posted in this thread. Does anyone have any particular tuning tips? I put the stock oil in for the moment, but haven't had a chance to drive it since putting in the dampers.

Hi!.

I am interested in acquiring a DF-02 but before buy it, I would like to know if the mechanics of this chassis might support a modified engine, a LRP FUSION PHASE 4.1" Mr. TC 12X2 to be exact. Ofcourse changing the original stock ESC into a LRP V7.

Thank very much.

Bye :rolleyes:

Apparently others have used the DF-02 chassis successfully with the Novak Super Sport brushless setup. From what I've read, the Novak kit has quite a powerful motor. Assuming the Fusion Phase 4.1 motor isn't significantly more powerful it should be fine, though it's probably worth investing in a few hop-ups to increase durability. Some people here have mentioned that the aluminum hop-up pinions are less than durable... Anyway, I'd be curious as to how it works out if you end up getting the car.

[Eotz]

Hi again.

I have not even decided if it will buy the car. By a side the local distributor of tamiya has assured to me that the mechanics can support without problem a modified motor on the other hand but a friend mine, who won the Tamiya Cup in Europe some years ago, comments to me, that he doesn't think that the spur held that motor because is made of plastic. Do you know about any supplier who make the spur in another material and the pinion in steel, not in alumminiun like the original?.

Thanks!!! :confused:

[Aluma]

I did it! Buuahhhahahaha! Its ALIVE!! Kinda appropriate livery aint it! ;)

[Aluma]

rear towers are TBevo3 short extra front body posts with a screw through the bottom hole.

[Aluma]

the fronts are a mess... I gotta get TB01 rear mounts or something! :mad:
I used extra shock eyelets for mounts and reused the stock DF02 body mounts screwed onto the eyelets. I hope I have time today to take it for a spin... :D