I have had a handful of really fast drivers drive my car and I always here the same thing, "your car pushes!". I had the opportunity to test drive the new zero degree weighted suspension block for the 201; it is just what the doctor ordered! First and foremost the quality and fitment is classic top notch Tamiya. A cool feature is the plastic inserts for the hinge pin. When the insert gets some slop in them, you can replace the hinge pin insert without purchasing the whole block assembly. I don't see a replacement part number for the plastic inserts on website yet, but hopefully soon.
Performance wise, the weighted block, on average, shaved a good 0.5 second per lap. The front of my 201 feels more planted going around the track, turns in better, and has better on-power steering. I didn't get a chance to weigh the 0* block, but the 5* block weighed in at 31 grams; I can't imagine the 0* being to far off. Overall, I am really happy with this new product from Tamiya. It's definitely a hop-up that is going to be put to use.

Pres Ilog

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Recently Pres Ilog and I have received the new weighted bulkheads for the 201. Just simply installing these has made a huge improvement in lap times and driving consistency and here's why.

Originally when I started to get more familiar with my 201 a couple of years ago I felt that the rear of the car had too much rear traction right out of the box. A lot of us went about trying to get the rear to loosen up to get the car to rotate better. After hours and hours of testing we accomplished our goal of getting the rear end to rotate and yet stay stable. What we found however was that it made the new comer or the new 201 customer shy away from this set up because it was hard to drive right away. We had become use to the way it handled and could drive it. We combated this by adding more weight to the 201. All over the chassis and in the end we ended up with a car that weighed nearly 1700 grams! (????)

This is not where we wanted to go but the 201 was decently fast and easy for all to drive. If you read between the lines of that last sentence it means we settled. We settled on a mediocre buggy. At this point other drivers gave up on the 201 thinking it was as good as it was going to be. Not true!

Pres and I decided to start with a clean slate. I went completely the opposite direction and built my 201 as light as I could get it. The Titanium screw set (84126) was #1 on the list. Taking the aluminum Hop Ups off was #2 to really see what we needed. What I ended up with was a 201 that weighed 1468g. That's 31g lighter than the world regulations allowed but it was start to place the weight where we needed it.

Saving you (the reader) from all of the boring details of what we went through testing this platform, this is what our 201's are currently running:

Track Star +6 chassis

#84126 Ti screw set

#1825661 DN01 body

#54291 XA suspension block

#54276 Motor plate

#54243 3.0 Suspension block

and of course the #54439 or 54440 bulkheads.

The chassis for stability and more front grip. The Zahhak body for even more stability and front grip. The XA block for durability and better off power rotation. The motor plate for more strength, lighter weight and better cooling. The 3.0 suspension block for durability and tuning for rear rotation especially on throttle and the weighted bulkhead for more steering everywhere. On and Off throttle.

But there is more with the weighted bulkhead. As is, it's a great tuning tool to get more steering on high bite tracks. The insert for the hinge pin can be installed from the front allowing you to move the front suspension arms forward 2.5mm. For the past year I have been running my 201 with a cut bulkhead to allow the arms to do exactly this. It has given me more agile steering especially through chicanes. Moving the arms forward lengthens the wheelbase, gives agile steering through a different Ackerman rate and allows the car to articulate over turn/jumps with greater stability. And now with the added weight that these parts give, we have the perfect balance.


I will comment later on the +5 degree block and how it affects the 201. With the -5 degree (25 degree) outer hubs I will explain what to use, when you should look to use them and why.

Jimmy Wright

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Ever wish on a shooting star? I've never been lucky enough to see any shooting stars. But the engineers at Tamiya have come up with the next best thing! The new weighted bulkheads 54440 and 54439 have been on the top of my wish list for a long time and should be on the list as a "required" part for every TRF201 owner! The fit and finish is 100% Tamiya quality. The bulkheads look amazing, fit perfectly and (like most things Tamiya) are almost to pretty to use on a dirty track. Right now, here in the Midwest, we are running inside. With temps in the 30's its way too cold to race outside. My local track, Leisure Hours Raceway, has had some major changes for this indoor season. The track no longer offers indoor nitro racing. This means the track surface stays damp and consistent. Most of the "fast guys" have to run full slicks in order to compete. This holds true for every class on the track....even my TRF502x runs on full slicks. As both Jimmy and Pres have eluded to these weighted bulkheads are not needed, they are required to run an any high bite surface. They make the car corner so much flatter, keep the nose down over the rough stuff and make the front end enter a corner.

Since I'm running indoor I have yet to test the 5* weighted block. But I have provided pics below for reference. The 5* block is shown on the left. As you can see the front hinge pin holder is angled up where the hinge pins go through. This "kickup" keeps the buggy from transferring too much weight to the front end, which aids in adding rear traction. If you run on a low bite surface and suffer from lack of rear traction, you OWE it to yourself to add the 5* block to your tool box. As I've stated I'm running indoors, I know that Jimmy, Prez, Brad and Mac all run on outdoor tracks. Make sure you take a look at these drivers blogs to catch up on their reaction and testing of the weighted bulkheads.

Ray Kindstrom