Tamiya DB-01 Baldre
26 April 2008.
This buggy was built for the Tamiya Asia Cup qualifiers (and hopefully the finals) in 2008.
At Mod RC, cars don't stay stock for long, but in this case, we really didn't waste time.
The goodies that are going straight in are:
54024 DB01 Titanium screw set,
54018 DB01 slipper clutch set,
54028 Buggy Aeration Damper set,
53124 Tungsten Carbide ball set (X3),
51286 TRF501X diff joint set (X2),
53709 Flourine Coated suspension balls,
and also not shown is a set of front universal assembly shafts (54015).
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The DB-01 runs identical diffs on the front and rears. The diff halves consists of metal outdrives that slot into plastic disks
(similar to those on the DF-03). There has been complaints about the strength of this
setup, especially in brushless motor applications.
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On the left are the kit diff halves assembled. On the right are the solid metal diff halves from the TRF501X buggy (51286).
They are direct replacements. I ran them in both the front and rear.
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The slipper layshaft and centre pulleys. I added a 5mm X 0.1mm shim here to remove some play.
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The spur and slipper. The spring actually pushes against a blue spacer that pushes against the inner ring of the ball bearing which in turn
pushes against the slipper plates. I had my doubts about the reliability of this setup but it seems to work fine. The slipper instructions
say to screw the nut in until there are 3mm left of threads on the layshaft. For indoor racing, I went for about 5mm.
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The chassis and drivetrain.
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The rear arms and axles. Around this stage of the build, I began to realise how many small parts go into the suspension and axles.
To keep from losing them all in one mishap, I "glued" everything together with the supplied Tamiya Anti-Wear grease.
(Update: For mounting TRF shocks, I recommend drilling the shock mounting holes on the arms deeper and using a longer screw to
prevent stripping out the threads in the soft plastic. Use a 2.5mm drill bit).
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I'm running the Universal joint shafts (54015) on the front end of the buggy.
I added an 3mm X 0.1mm shim between each steering knuckle and castor block to keep things from getting too wiggly.
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I didn't have time to take any more pictures of the build and only finished the buggy on the night before the race.
The Baldre body shell hugs the DB-01 chassis better than the Durga as it only has the side bulge on the motor side.
This picture was actually taken as I was packing up after the race. As you can see, I qualified seventh. I also finished 7th overall.
You can read about the race here.
I was very happy with the performance of the buggy. It took jumps very flat and predictable, so it was easy to control its attitude in the air.
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After seeing how well the Baldre jumped, I had to compare its weight distribution and geometry with that of the DF-03.
In this pic, I have the rear wheels lined up and the DB-01 is about 1cm longer. The one thing you can tell from this picture is that
battery weight changes affect the DB-01 weight distribution left to right while it mostly affects the DF-03 front to back.
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The only things that broke on the first race were the front wheel hexes.
When I first built the car, I thought they were plastic pieces, so I just put the pins on the axle and snapped the hexes on.
The hexes are actually metal, so they were obviously not meant to bend back and forth like that. You're supposed
to mount the hexes first and then carefully align the hex holes with the axle holes and push the pin through. Since I started
putting them on the proper way, I've not had trouble with them.
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At the next race, I broke a front suspension shaft and bent one of the top shock mounting screws.
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The replacement shaft (54042, on the right) was visibly different from the one that came with the TRF buggy damper set.
Hopefully it is tougher as well. Many people have reported that Yokomo's 40.7mm titanium nitride coated shock shafts
(Yokomo YS-5S-2T) are smoother and tougher. (Update: The updated Tamiya shaft has seen two years of abused and held up admirably).
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This part by Tobee Craft is called "Tamiya Foil Conversion Alum 6 angle (hub Enter four piece)" (Tobee #43860). It's just a set of hex hubs that
let you run rims with 12mm (touring car size) hexes. Highly recommended if you also have wheels from Kyosho or Academy or an older
Tamiya buggy (DF-02 or DF-03).
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The width of the hex hubs don't allow the nylock wheel nuts to tighten all the way to the nylock bits.
I kept the nuts on with blue threadlock and have not lost a wheel yet, touch wood.
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Outdoor track test -
I took the Baldre out to a big track meant for 1/8th scale buggies for a nice bash. The kit tires were a little too hard to get a
good grip in the dry dusty conditions but the buggy itself was very composed, drifting round the more slippery turns and speeding
through the high speed areas easily. Jumping the buggy took some getting used to. You need to stay on the throttle a little longer than you
would with other buggies to keep the buggy flat. The buggy itself has a slight tendency to nose dive - not so much that it's undrivable
but just takes some getting used to if you've been driving a more conventional buggy.
How to bulletproof your DB01
1. Replace all the suspension balls with the flourine-coated ones (Tamiya 53709)
2. Replace all suspension mounts with aluminium units (Tamiya 54037, 54038 and two sets of 54039)
3. Install either the slipper clutch set (Tamiya 54018) OR double slipper clutch (Tamiya 54061)
4. Avoid the carbon-reinforced shock towers as they have been reported to snap off
5. If you run the TRF buggy shocks, avoid running the rear universals as they are short and come dangerously close to popping off at full droop.
Other recommended upgrades
1. Titanium screw set (Tamiya 54024)
2. TRF Buggy Damper set (Tamiya 54028)
3. Diff protector seals (Tamiya 53970)
4. Front universal shafts (Tamiya 54019)
5. TRF501X Stabiliser set (Tamiya 53963)
6. TRF501X Damper HTC Piston Rod (Front) (54042)
7. 5mm Reinforced Ball Adjuster (grey) (54257)
And if you still have money left
1. Front one-way set (Tamiya 54017)
2. TRF501X diff joint (Tamiya 51286)
3. JAAD 3mm Black Ceramic Differential Ball Set - 12 pcs (JDRDB301) - (need 2 sets for front and rear diffs)
4. HB Cyclone D4 One way cup joint (Hotbodies 61452) (For front one-way, obviously)
Comprehensive list of Tamiya upgrades:
51090 4 pack of 950 bearings for use with 53967
51275 TRF501x Lower Front Arm
51279 TRF501x Lower Rear Arm
51286 TRF501X diff joint set (need 2 sets if upgrading both front and rear)
51287 TRF501x Diff Plate
53539 5.5 Aluminum Spacer Set
53709 Flourine Coated suspension balls
53907 5x8mm Aluminum Ball Connector
53961 TRF501x Aluminum Caster Block
53962 TRF501x Aluminum Rear Upright
53963 TRF501x Stabilizer Set
53967 TRF501x Eccentric Belt Tensioner
53970 Dust Protector Seal for Differential Gear
53972 TRF501x Aluminum Steering Bridge
53974 TRF501x Front Spring Set
53975 TRF501x Rear Spring Set
54015 DB01 Front Assembly Universal Shafts (choose between this and 54118)
54016 DB01 Rear Assembly Universal Shafts (choose between this and 54119)
(not recommended if running TRF Buggy Aeration Dampers)
54017 DB01 Front One-Way Set
54018 DB01 slipper clutch set (Choose between this and 54061)
54023 Front one way spare pulley
54024 DB01 Titanium screw set
54028 TRF Buggy Aeration Damper set
54033 Carbon reinforced A parts - gearbox covers etc
54034 Carbon reinforced D parts - caster blocks
54035 Carbon reinforced L parts - steering arms
54036 Carbon reinforced M parts - shock towers and hinge pin blocks
54037 DB01 Front Aluminum Suspension Mount
54038 DB01 Rear Aluminum Suspension Mount
54039 DB01 Aluminum Suspension Block (2 Pcs.) (need 2 sets if doing the whole buggy)
54040 Aluminium motor heat sink plate (only for use with 54041)
54041 Carbon reinforced chassis (with cell cutouts and heat sink hole)
54051 DB01 Aluminum Center One-Way Pulley (18T)
54061 DB01 Double Slipper Clutch Set (Choose between this and 54018)
54079 Aluminium motor mount
54118 DB01 Assembly WO Univ Shaft (Front) (choose between this and 54015)
54119 DB01 Assembly WO Univ Shaft (Rear) (choose between this and 54016)
54134 Lowered Buggy Racing Wing Set
54141 High Traction Lower Arms - Front
54142 High Traction Lower Arms - Rear
54148 Aluminum Steering post
54149 Aluminum Racing Steering Set
84089 2.6x8mm Titanium Screws
For an on-going review of the DB-01 platform, check out our review of the DB-01R
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