- Tamiya TRF201X - Ray Kindstrom - Shorty Lipo Modification -

This weekend I was able to test a mod that I have been curious about for the last few months.

Ever since the release of the TLR22 I have wondered if the TRF201 could benefit from the electronics running down the middle of the chassis as opposed to the conventional method of battery/servo in the middle and receiver/ESC on apposing sides. This can only be considered if you have the ability to use the new shorty lipo and low profile servo. My plan was to modify one chassis and run it back to back against my normal race chassis.
My race chassis has all of the normal Tamiya hop ups which include, 1 deg rear hubs, upgrade chassis, 3.0deg rear alum arm mounts, new HD motor mount, 25deg front blocks, AE brown spings front and AE green springs rear.
My “tester” chassis is mostly box stock except for 25deg front blocks, 3deg rear alum arm mounts. I started by cutting out the brace right behind the servo on the “tester” chassis. By cutting out the brace and running a low profile servo you can position the newer shorty lipo all the way forward and still leave room for most electronics.

When the dust settled I wasn’t able to achieve my goal of everything mounted in line down the center. I didn’t want to stack the receiver and ESC, I wanted to keep everything low on the chassis. By keeping things low the buggy has less chance of traction rolling or being tippy entering or exiting corners. Running my Novak Kinetic ESC and cap doesn’t leave much room for the receiver so I mounted the receiver on the right side of the chassis keeping it as close to the battery slot as possible.

I haven’t yet had time to balance the chassis. That will happen very soon. If you look at the pics you should have a better understanding of the mod. I was able to test both cars back to back yesterday. These tests were performed running the same motor/esc combo. Same gearing, same tires, same body, same shock oil. The difference in weight between the two buggies was noticeable. The upgrade chassis weighs more than the stock one. If you add the weight of the HD motor mount, upgrade chassis and regular lipo the difference is noticeable on the track and in your hands. (I will weigh both cars in the near future and report back.) I started the test with the “tester” car. It’s been 3 months since my last track visit due to the birth of my son, so I was a little rusty.
After shaking the cobwebs off and getting use to the flow of the track I was able to start lapping without having to run off the stand to correct my buggy every other lap. After running for a solid 8 minutes I switched buggies and ran my normal race car for 8 minutes. Since I was already use to the lay out and practice traffic wasn’t terrible I picked up right where I left off. The race buggy was good. I haven’t made any changes to it since I last raced it. I freshened up the shock oil and checked the slipper, but everything else was unchanged for the test. I ran both buggies 3 times without changes to my setup. Wow…what a huge difference between the two! My race buggy is like a tank. Its fast and jumps well but not nimble. The tester car is fast, jumps flat and is very nimble. It changes direction quickly without getting upset and gets up to speed without hesitation. It also responds to inputs better while in the air. Several times I launched my buggy only to find that I was watching my car fly instead of trying to downside jumps….with a quick flick of the trigger of twist of the wheel I was back on track and smiling the whole time. Maybe the best way to describe my test session was the fact that I put my normal car away for the rest of the day and found myself grumbling because I only had one shorty lipo to run. I’m not a big fan of waiting for a lipo to charge so I can run again. But when I was running I was smiling and enjoying myself rather than concentrating on hitting every line correctly. Needless to say having done this mod has inspired me to want to take my testing a little further.

For the next round I’m going to cut my option chassis and add a HD motor mount. I think having a bit more weight down low in the chassis will produce even better results. After that the next step is to lengthen the chassis about 4mm to mimic what Mr. Martin was running. I think this will shore the buggy up and add some stability. The longer chassis, I feel, with help the buggy get on power without the back end stepping out on looser terrain and will keep the front wheels on the ground when nailing the trigger. Besides by adding the 4mm I will be able to mount all the electronics down the center which may produce even better results in lap times. Speaking of lap times, the “tester” chassis had a fast lap that was .3 seconds faster than the old chassis fast lap. I hit more fast laps with the tester car and had more fun doing it. It was almost like cheating!

Source: