I have had this kit for many years now, as well as all of the hop parts that are being installed. Finally have some spare time to build this buggy. Yes, BUILD it.
First of all, I realize that the Tamiya Astute was an over/under engineered buggy that they hoped would be competitive. It has it's fair share of issues that hinders its performance. But I don't really care. I just want to build a fully optioned out Astute...
I'm doing a step build on this post. As I completed the steps, I got a pic.
Notes: Yes, ball bearings replace the bushings used in the pivot points in the suspension. Overkill? You bet.
Titanium turnbuckles where feasible.
Bearings throughout the rolling part of the buggy as well.
Notes: The rear hubs are a nightmare of linkage.
Had to skip ahead a little on the rear bulkhead, the trans got left at home in another box.
Universals in the rear drive.
Notes: Couldn't help myself, had to put the wheels on and check it out.
Ordinary Astute transmission? Nope.
Anybody who has ever run this car (or the Nissan Kingcab/Hilux Racer) knows the stock ball diff is crap. The TTC tranny uses a planetary gear diff instead, finer pitch teeth, and a slipper clutch. Bearings throughout the tranny.
The original transmission is the only part of the car that Tamiya supplied ball bearings. None in the front wheels or rear hubs.
Notes: Dynatech Modified Motor, Tamiya 1400 SCR racing pack.
The Hi cap shocks are butter smooth. I played hell just getting the caps unscrewed off of the front bodies right out of the package. Way tight.
I will get some better body off shots when the weather clears up. Natural light does wonders.
I can see one of the main problems with this car is weight. It's heavy. With no body, wing, or under tray, it's at 3lb, 7oz. or 1565g.
Lots of chassis flex too.
Having a dilemma with color choice. It will definitely be red, but not sure on what red. The boxart bright red always looks good. Tamiya has a metallic wine red that is very nice well. And there is always candy red. I have gotten that down and adds depth to the paint job. What do you guys think?
Brandon G wrote:Notes: Yes, ball bearings replace the bushings used in the pivot points in the suspension. Overkill? You bet.
Titanium turnbuckles where feasible.
Bearings throughout the rolling part of the buggy as well.
I must say I'm impressed by your overkill; bearings for suspension hinge pins?? Nice. You won't see that every day of the week, folks!
I have had this kit for awhile now . I finally took the time to look at the manual. My god there must be a least 35 to 40 bearings in this car. What was tamiya thinking about on this one. I love the looks of this buggy but it seems they over...
I sold a nib kit and never opened it. Now I have another one nib and opened it up to build and going over the manual what was tamiya thinking will all the bearings?
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the way i think about it is the astute was the super astute's predecessor which was the predecessor to the dyna storm. each time they refined the chassis, (long front shock setup in the dyna storm and simpler hubs/arms arrangements in the super...
Hi all!
I am new to the forum and need some help with my Astute. I have been out of the rc hobby for years and recently got a new machine but I also found my old Astute in storage from when I was younger and need to get the knuckles for both front...
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Pictures not showing up? I never paid too much attention back in the day but the Astute was always one I loved the looks of if nothing else. I think those ads on the back of RC Car Action with the smoke billowing around it left an impression....
I'm looking to have a Tamiya Astute chassis set done out of carbon fiber. I usually get my stuff from Fibre Lyte which is respected in the RC community and does a great job. However, they of course are based in the UK which I have to send the parts...
Kicking around the idea of picking up an Astute. As I like to drive (and crash) my cars I was wondering about the part availability with this car. Complete cars come up fairly regularly. As always any info is greatly appreciated.
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I wouldn't buy an Astute as a runner the rear susspension set up is way too fragile to the point that I have seen never run new builts with broken hubs. If you want an Astute to run buy a Super Astute they are much more resilient and have a better...
I got a good deal on a built Super Astute rere.
Thought about how to go about this build/mod and figured I'll do a all black and gray version starting with the hardware.
I've never used Birchwood Casey Aluminum black and Super Blue (not yet...
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I think this will be an interesting build - can't wait to see what you do with it.
I was completely unfamiliar with Tamiya Astute buggy until you started this post but I've been doing a little research - this is a very neat RC and it appears to have...