Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

The place for all things Tamiya.

Moderators: scr8p, klavy69

Sixtysixdeuce
Approved Member
Posts: 494
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:07 am
Location: Elbert County, CO
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Sixtysixdeuce »

Ah, just found NitroRCX has some pretty cheap. Should work for driving around the neighborhood.
If there's one thing I've learned in my 20-odd years playing with these things, it's that going cheap on tires only results in disappointment/aggravation. Buying a compound that's a little too hard because it was on sale while the softer one wasn't only meant that I bought the softer ones at full price later and the others are collecting dust in a box. Likewise with tread patterns. Figure out what you need and bite the bullet, do it right the first time. Yes, 1/8 truggy tires are spendy. Just the nature of the beast. Decent 1/8 truggy skins will set you back $60-$80/set after wheels and foams.
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead; It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid."

WhoKnowsWho
Approved Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by WhoKnowsWho »

Sixtysixdeuce wrote:
Ah, just found NitroRCX has some pretty cheap. Should work for driving around the neighborhood.
If there's one thing I've learned in my 20-odd years playing with these things, it's that going cheap on tires only results in disappointment/aggravation. Buying a compound that's a little too hard because it was on sale while the softer one wasn't only meant that I bought the softer ones at full price later and the others are collecting dust in a box. Likewise with tread patterns. Figure out what you need and bite the bullet, do it right the first time. Yes, 1/8 truggy tires are spendy. Just the nature of the beast. Decent 1/8 truggy skins will set you back $60-$80/set after wheels and foams.
I'm still driving around with Traxxas Stampede tires that are 14 years old and hard as a rock...

User avatar
Lonestar
Approved Member
Posts: 4270
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:17 am
Location: Switzerland, yannow, in Europe (or almost)
Has thanked: 620 times
Been thanked: 165 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Lonestar »

WhoKnowsWho wrote:I'm still driving around with Traxxas Stampede tires that are 14 years old and hard as a rock...
And the car has probably been handling like crap for the past 14 years :lol:
AE RC10 - Made In The Eighties, Loved By The Ladies.
Blue Was Better - now, Blue Is Bankrupt.
Facebook affiliate program manager: "They go out and find the morons for me".
Life is short. Waste it wisely.

User avatar
BMKTW2
Approved Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:00 pm
Location: FL USA

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by BMKTW2 »

Lonestar wrote:
WhoKnowsWho wrote:I'm still driving around with Traxxas Stampede tires that are 14 years old and hard as a rock...
And the car has probably been handling like crap for the past 14 years :lol:
:lol:

WhoKnowsWho
Approved Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by WhoKnowsWho »

Lonestar wrote:
WhoKnowsWho wrote:I'm still driving around with Traxxas Stampede tires that are 14 years old and hard as a rock...
And the car has probably been handling like crap for the past 14 years :lol:
It wasn't bad until the brushless system was installed. :lol:

Sixtysixdeuce
Approved Member
Posts: 494
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:07 am
Location: Elbert County, CO
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Sixtysixdeuce »

An update on these truggies, for anyone who's interested.

I've been running the two of mine almost 4 months now, have a couple of gallons through the nitro kit and roughly 60 packs on the e-truggy after yesterday. These things still amaze me every time I drive them, just incredibly graceful & controllable. They also awe people at the track; show up with one of these and start lofting it 12' high and 30+ feet long, it makes all the SCTs and monster trucks look like toys!

Anyway, in my personal experience, the durability of these trucks has actually been quite good, save for front arms. The size of these things, combined with the length of the arms, one bad landing on the nose is curtains for the inner hinge joint. I was having more issues nosing the nitro, but I did break a few on the e-truggy as well, probably 10 or 11 front arms between them. Even though the arms are dirt cheap ($5.35/pair of 1 ft & one rr.), I was getting tired of replacing them, so I solved that issue once and for all:

Image

Milled from 7075 T-6, as is the bulk head brace. The ones on the nitro are a little thicker, starting with a piece of 1/2" stock and milling down to .420" with a slight taper from hinge joints to center. I decided that much meat wasn't necessary, so started with .375" stock for the next pair, which saved quite a bit of time.

The arms proved durable in the extreme. Unfortunately, as we all know, such strength improvements in one area will expose the next weak link or links. Ran a heck of a lot longer between breakages with the alloy arms, but did eventually nose the nitro hard enough to snap the aluminum brace that spans the front bulk head and captures the arm pins (the stock one blue anno piece, not the one I milled that incorporates the shock tower), which did damage the bulk head/clamshell pieces fore and aft. On the e-truggy, I managed to crack the left side caster block-a hit that was also hard enough to fracture an 8x16mm wheel bearing. Having said that, this damage was the result of some very hard landings on a very rough track. The truggies had many hard hits and cartwheels before these breakages finally occurred.

All in all, I'd say these truggies are about as durable as any other decent 1/8 scale, superior to most in handling, and definitely the best deal going right now, still at $99 shipped.
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead; It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid."

WhoKnowsWho
Approved Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by WhoKnowsWho »

Nice solution for the arms.

I plan on boiling mine as suggested in several build threads. Hopefully it will keep them in one piece. Are the arms still on Tamiya's Web site, or are you getting spares elsewhere?

Sixtysixdeuce
Approved Member
Posts: 494
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:07 am
Location: Elbert County, CO
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Sixtysixdeuce »

I plan on boiling mine as suggested in several build threads.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes them incredibly weak. I followed that "advise"; 7 of the 11 arms I broke had been boiled, and there was far less time between them than with the as-manufactured arms. Anyone who says it helps on the 801 is either going off experience with other arms that have a different composition, or is totally deluded.

Tamiya still has standard arms in stock, #9004237
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead; It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid."

WhoKnowsWho
Approved Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by WhoKnowsWho »

Dang, that sucks. I'll order some spares then.

Sixtysixdeuce
Approved Member
Posts: 494
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:07 am
Location: Elbert County, CO
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Sixtysixdeuce »

I'll order some spares then.
Unless you have the capacity to manufacture, that's the best option.

Unfortunately, with nearly unbreakable arms, I did find the next weak link (or links, as it were):

Image

So tonight I milled up another solution:

Image

It's more than just a bumper; this piece captures the heads of the hinge pin and bulk head screws. It's a tight fit over the cap screw heads, had to tap it on with a small ball peen. So now, for the same carnage seen above to happen, this piece will first have to break. Given that it's 7075-T6, .270" thick across the front, I'm betting on not. I also chose to wrap it under the chassis to prevent the screws from simply being ripped out of the bottom of the bulkhead clam shell. And yes, I did mill the little flange that slides between the chassis and clam shell; that was a pain.

Sadly, I didn't think to snap any photos before installing it. All the fancy mill work is on the back. lol. The exposed portions I just beveled, then rounded with a die grinder and scuffed with a scotch brite disc.
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead; It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid."

WhoKnowsWho
Approved Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by WhoKnowsWho »

Wow. I wish I could bulletproof spare parts at home.

User avatar
BMKTW2
Approved Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:00 pm
Location: FL USA

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by BMKTW2 »

Sixtysixdeuce wrote:
I'll order some spares then.
Unless you have the capacity to manufacture, that's the best option.

Unfortunately, with nearly unbreakable arms, I did find the next weak link (or links, as it were):

Image


Wow. That front suspension brace is 7075 aluminum and you ripped it apart.

Sixtysixdeuce
Approved Member
Posts: 494
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:07 am
Location: Elbert County, CO
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by Sixtysixdeuce »

Wow. That front suspension brace is 7075 aluminum and you ripped it apart.
I'm not easy on my kits. lol.

That's why I say the durability of these things has actually been pretty amazing. Even the front arms aren't especially weak; they're just really long, and these truggies are fast (and a little heavy). ~10 lbs at 30-45 mph impact speed is a lot of force.

I'll get video of these things running some time. Both of them fly around the track like jet fighters, and are easily soaring 10-12' high & 30+ feet long off of relatively small jumps (~30*, 3' high).
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead; It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid."

User avatar
spydur23
Approved Member
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:58 pm
Location: Littleton, Colorado

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by spydur23 »

i love my brushless 801xt! Nick's right... these things take a beating. It's inevitable the something is gonna break. That's the good thing, the kits are dirt cheap! I still need to order and extra (or two). I'm only afraid that having the kits will inspire me to build one a nitro. I'm not gonna lie, hearing the nitro truggy as it flew around the track made me a little envious! LOL So far there's like, what? 4 or 5 of us with 801xt's at the outdoor track. Should make for some fun running this summer. And NO! we don't have to treat them like a newborn unicorn, unlike the guys who are into there losi's and associateds for $1500!

User avatar
BMKTW2
Approved Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:00 pm
Location: FL USA

Re: Tamiya 801XT build plus electric conversion

Post by BMKTW2 »

spydur23 wrote:i love my brushless 801xt! Nick's right... these things take a beating. It's inevitable the something is gonna break. That's the good thing, the kits are dirt cheap! I still need to order and extra (or two). I'm only afraid that having the kits will inspire me to build one a nitro. I'm not gonna lie, hearing the nitro truggy as it flew around the track made me a little envious! LOL So far there's like, what? 4 or 5 of us with 801xt's at the outdoor track. Should make for some fun running this summer. And NO! we don't have to treat them like a newborn unicorn, unlike the guys who are into there losi's and associateds for $1500!

I got 2 spare NIB kits under my bed. I'm not tempted to build another of the same thing, one assembled kit is enough for me. I love good parts support and with extra kits, nothing beats that.
The E801XT is an animal with 6S battery! ... and just like you said, "we don't have to treat them like a newborn unicorn"


... That being said, I never was a fan of aluminum arms... they seem to cause more problems when the issue is usually driver error. No offence

Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • New build! Tamiya 801XT 1/8 Nitro Truggy!
    by Sixtysixdeuce » » in Off-Topic / Chit-Chat
    5 Replies
    911 Views
    Last post by Sixtysixdeuce
  • RC10GT Electric conversion build. DONE!
    by sschering » » in RC10 Truck Forum
    63 Replies
    11905 Views
    Last post by sschering
  • RC10GT electric conversion
    by wunjee » » in RC10 Truck Forum
    7 Replies
    413 Views
    Last post by wunjee
  • RC8RS Conversion to Electric Help
    by Beatnik » » in Modern Electronics
    12 Replies
    2066 Views
    Last post by Beatnik
  • Nitro DS conversion to electric. Update
    by WillyThickfoot » » in Associated On-Road Forum
    4 Replies
    829 Views
    Last post by mine721
  • Mugen MBX5 Electric conversion
    by Momo5 » » in 21st Century Modern
    1 Replies
    1087 Views
    Last post by howsyouraspen
  • Electric conversion Kyosho MP5
    by big_brian » » in 21st Century Modern
    13 Replies
    2767 Views
    Last post by MikeP5
  • nTC3 electric/brushless rally conversion- DONE!
    by mk-Zero » » in Associated On-Road Forum
    54 Replies
    9283 Views
    Last post by mk-Zero

Return to “Tamiya Forum”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No User AvatarTbot [Bot] and 21 guests