Reviews
Sensor vs Sensorless Brushless System
by the wind on Nov.08, 2009, under Reviews
Mainly on low budget side for RC drifting purposes, we will compare these two and see which would be the better choice, if any.
Although we won’t go too detail that will bore you to death, we will dig deep enough at least so that you could decide which option is best for your drift car, or your drift style for that matter.
Also if there is any settings/tune up needed for drifting.
Update coming soon.
Tamiya DF03 Ra Review
by the wind on May.06, 2009, under Reviews
The review will be for drifting purpose and shall not cover any offroad rally aspect of the chassis.
Quality:
As many other Tamiya RC kit built for purpose, this one fit suitably for beginner to intermediate hobbyists.
Consist of mostly plastic parts (ABS) such as the main tub chassis, H profile arms, super mini CVA shocks, it also comes with alloy shaft, steel gears.
Plastic is not the most durable material but it is light and perfect for a standard kit. We foresee that at least some carbon impregnated arms could be available in near future, as well as carbon fiber shock towers.
Precision positioning of bevel gears, dual ball differentials, full ball bearings, Mabuchi motor, TEU101BK ESC making it more decent and almost complete to a ready run. Tamiya has gone extra with adding steel outdrives to DF03 Ra differentials. The layshaft gears is also made in steel. The amount of punishment from harsh offroading has been anticipated with this beefy parts.
Bodyshell complete with light buckets, spoiler, side mirrors, masking and decals, accompanied by Rally block tires and rims are included.
Thanks to demand spurred by drifting aficionados, light buckets has become standard issue when it comes to street style bodyshell. It makes great addition to realism, however only a handful of Tamiya bodyshells equipped with it so far; the Subaru WRC 2007 that comes with the kit is one of them.
Scale and detail wise of Tamiya is currently the best, and this bodyshell is nothing short.
score 76%
Tunability:
One noticeable part that is not tunable is the arm’s block, both front and rear, as the hinges are incorporated with the bulkheads. The front arm is tilted up about 10° while the rear stay at 0°, these are typical off road characteristic and although we wish there is an option towards more ‘on road’ tuning capability that we’re so used to; we honestly think only aftermarket would perhaps provide this in their Carbon Fiber chassis upgrade kits. There is an aftermarket brace for the rear arms but that alone is meant for strengthening and not for tuning purposes.
Other tuning parameters such as front/rear camber, front toe, ride height and some upper linkage mounting positions to alter roll center are available.
score 66%
Value:
The kit costs about US$150, and with all the major goodies such as: dual ball differentials, alloy shaft drive, full ball bearings, motor & ESC, bodyshell and accessories, and lastly tires and rims, we are impressed.
score 85%
Features:
Best feature must be the longitudinal dead centered battery placement. That, coupled with equally centered, midship rear mounted motor resulted a good center of gravity. For off road it would be better to run with light batteries, this will shift the center of gravity towards the back, where the motor is. For drifting however it would be better to run with heavier batteries as it gives more centered weight and thus more natural handling characteristics.
The bottom access battery compartment is also a good feature although user would still have to remove bodyshell to hook the battery connectors up.
There is a potential of modification however, to maximize this bottom access to its full function; but from the design, it appears that it was built for stickpacks or LiPo battery pack with female banana plug configuration. Other pack such as side by side or conventional stick pack may fit in, but either way its cable will have hard time connecting to the corresponding ESC power plug.
Many people have asked whether this kit can go together well with Street style bodyshell and doesn’t have to be mounted so high like Rally cars, the answer is Yes!
score 73%
The Trial Run
First impression …
understeer? a little bit
agile? not really
drift was quite predictable and relatively easy on both steering and throttle control drift.
change of direction was swift if not brilliant, very well balanced under the given features. Servo saver definitely has to be upgraded, it added to the less responsiveness of steering. Before the run, some slops are very difficult went unnoticed, so if you’re very particular about keeping everything tidy and nicely tight, some shimming is definitely required. The kit already comes with Silvercan motor, ESC (TEU101), alloy shaft drive, dual ball differentials and bearings. Other things to note are the necessary hops. I would recommend universals, steering cranks as well as the linkages/turnbuckles. The turnbuckles are all bare type so if you like to play with camber, toe angle and such, these had to be upgraded for better convenience in adjusting. The steering cranks are plastic with metal bushings, they work although flex and won’t last; so might as well change them.
Important Info:
Weight distribution (Rear/Front):
- LiPo 3200mAH and below: 63% / 37% (ratio 1.677)
- with 3300 NiMH or 3700mAH LiPo and above: 61.3% / 38.7% (ratio 1.581)
both fully loaded with electronics
Next test is center oneway..
The center oneway converts any 4WD into a 2WD under deceleration and this made the rear have more tendency to swing on turn.
Milder effect could be achieved via manipulation of transmitter control setting and/or transmission smoothness and type of motor being used.
The use is beneficial on small track (about quarter of basket ball court size) with many twist and turns but less so in larger ones (say full basket ball court size tracks).
The Test drive
Optional Upgrade Parts:
we recommend the following:
- Universal Joints Assembly (Tamiya #53792 or aftermarket)
- Alloy Steering Cranks (aftermarket)
- One Piece Propeller Cup Joint (Tamiya #53948 or aftermarket)
- TRF shocks (Tamiya #53571 or #49355 or #42102 or RC TRF Special Damper – (Hard coat / black) Item #84008)
- RC Clamp Type Alu Wheel Hub – 5mm (Tamiya Item #53823)
Conclusion:
Good decent performer for drifting, with more fine tuning and modification if necessary, it could be even better.
Some limitations comes with this kit such as mentioned above but if you’re looking for both offroad and drift capabilities, this kit offers just exactly that.
Since it is not a kit designed specifically for on road use, to fully convert it into drift spec, one need to spend some drift time with it and further tune it.
Recommended for beginners and intermediates!
Test Bed:
Battery: GP3300/LiPo 3200
Motor: 12T
ESC: EZRun 60
Servo: BlueBird MG706
Radio: KO/Spektrum
Diff (R/F): semi lock/normal
Tires: Drifsenza
Rims: SWP+3
Shell: Subaru GC8
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