Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

[BMKTW2]

This is the older kit from Tamiya with the long a-arms. It had a reduced price.



Inside the box is also a monster RC electric conversion kit, aluminum chassis braces and losi shock diaphrams. (sorry, no pix of that stuff yet)
I have ordered AXA wheels and cityblock tires, they havent arrived yet.
Also, someday ill get the narrow a-arms. I have a tight track and the narrow front would be cool.
I plan to power this RC with 6S Lipo and a Tekin system and race it.

[BMKTW2]

So I got started building the 801 kit





Got this far then had to stop because the POS 25mm bolts are just too weak and the heads stripped out even though I oiled the threads.




They made these bolt heads too small for their length. I stripped out all 8 I installed but on the last one i just could not get it to go in all the way. I used my pliers to grab around the head of the bolt and was able to remove it but now I do not have another bolt to replace it with. And all the other bolts like it are also stripped and will not be able to be used again. I have to replace these bolts. What a joke.

[Lonestar]

the POS 25mm bolts are just too weak and the heads stripped out

tamiya will always be tamiya and tamiya screws will always be made of the finest swiss cheese

The 801 miserably bombed on the market, then Lutz went to Durango and this was it with tamiya's 8th scale racing efforts...

Sweet looking car still

Paul

[BMKTW2]

My brother ordered up twelve 3.5mmx25mm bolts for both our kits.
He said these new bolts are stout, unlike the factory ones. I'm going to stop progress until these new bolts arrive so I can replacing all 6 of them.
bummer... ohh well... I have a motorcycle i need to finish putting together.

[naushad]

I think its a nice car...can;t wait to see this build finished

[squirrelnutz]

Great looking kit! I always wanted to get one, but other than ebay or another online source, parts support doesn't exist for them at my LHS

[BMKTW2]

The parts on this kit are so stout. For example, the shock towers are really thick and not the cast junk. They are fully CNC.
Also by looking at the way the whole truck is designed, you prolly wont need to visit the parts store very often. This truck looks bullet-proof!
To get to the diffs you have to take everything apart...the way the bulkhead is designed, *BUT it is really really strong and lightweight, very functional.
I also really like the straight driveline on this truck... its going to run motors cooler and just be really efficient. Once I get the 6 new 3.5x25mm bolts, I'll be back on the build. My brother already has his 801xt built and my best frined bought the D8T truggy. We are going to have some fun!!

[BMKTW2]

Im trying to decide on getting a viper or tekin system for the 801xt.
The viper system is strong and simple. The tekin system seems really overly complecated...
Leaning towards 6S and 1350kv motor
What would you recommend?

[naushad]

Mamba setup

[Lonestar]

not a mamba for sure, too much money for the old-skool performance... the Tekin and Viper are thoroughbred race setups but a bit on the expensive, the tekin is more common but the viper can be programmed without a laptop...

May I suggest you also have a look at the hobbywing products? The Xerun 150A is almost perfect for less than $100, I currently run it in my mbx6 eco (6S, truggy 1350 T8 motor), 99% competitive, only thing it's missing if you're a hardcore racer is the current limitation.

Paul

[madweazl]

I've never been a Mamba fan either. The Gen2 Tekin is very nice but I absolutely love the Viper VTX10r I'm running in the 4wd buggy and if for some absurd reason I decided to go EP with a 1/8 vehicle (gives me shivers just thinking about it ), I would start with the VTX8 . Both offer very good support and offer military discounts (Tekins discount is unreal). The ProGauge is much easier to use trackside than the Hotwire (I do lug my 17" laptop to the track just in case...).

[BMKTW2]

I could not decide which motor combo to get, so I got two of them.
Also bought everything else needed to run... Here's the list of components purchsed for the TRF:

Tekin Gen2 truggy speed controller and Gen2 1350kv motor combo
Hobbywing 150amp ESC with 1550 Tenshock motor and hand held tuner combo.

Tires:
4 AKA wheels w/JConcept double dee tires
4 Proline deperado wheels w/badland tires

6S Turnigy nanotech battery

I also got a new radio and strong servo from hobbyking... dunno what its called. Its a one from hobby king with a LCD screen on it.

And best of all my brother sent me six new 3.5x25mm bolts I need to finish the kit!!!!

[BMKTW2]

So the progress of the build commenced:



Here is the new bolts next to the buttery stock ones.
These new black oxide dubro bolts use a larger 2.5mm head






Here is how they look installed:










Gotten alot of progress done. Will be building the shocks soon.
I put 30,000wt oil in the 3 diffs

[BMKTW2]

Got the kit complete! Also installed the electric conversion. The last part is to cut and paint the body, but I need paint.








I'm amazed with how big the truggy is! Here its next to my 1/10th scale stadium truck and 2.2 tire:

[madweazl]

I sure like building high Tamiyas. Fit and finish is always top notch.