Tamiya DT-03 & DT-02 - Upgrading the "Upgrade" Shocks!

[@hollyhillrc]

I am very impressed with your "Disappearing Spring Trick" @3:01 I can not figure out how you do it. I have watched it many times now. It must be magic ! 😄👍🏼👍🏼

[@NordicRC]

Hi Derek! Ha ha, yeah, I found it 10 meters away. Discovered I have teleportation skills. Next mission is to try the same with a car. If I succeed there will be a new video 😅😂

[@hollyhillrc]

@@NordicRC That's a great idea. If you can teleport your Blackfoot III to my house it would make an excellent video 😁👍🏻👍🏻

[@NordicRC]

@@hollyhillrc 😅😅 Dare not try to teleport my BF3. Have you seen The Fly? 😅 I might risk my old Bigwig. Do you need a restoration project? 😉

[@RCBirds]

I got both on my DT-03s. The first are my favorite. But the second are cool for the different colours they are available.

[@NordicRC]

Yeah, but too bad they don’t work from the start with the oil and springs provided. In my opinion they should, as they are sold specifically to the DT-02/03, entry-level kits, and they should be factory tuned to at least function a little.

[@peteuncle2935]

Nice, great video.. Good to see your making some real progress with the aftermarket shocks. You can see how the oil and the springs must be matched, if you have stronger springs, the oil must be thicker to provide sufficient damping effect and the opposite is also true. In my opinion, especially with the lighter 2wd cars, it's important to find a nice spring that is light enough to let the front end dive slightly under deceleration, which transfers weight to the front and provides better steering response and less understeer. Same with the rear, you need a spring that basically allows it to use all of its shock travel for the type of driving you do with your car, not bottoming out all the time, or being so hard it causes the car to pitch up over bumps and not allow it to roll slightly into corners to help with weight transfer. It's then a matter of matching the oil thickness to the spring, to get nice damping, without bouncing or turning the shocks into bricks again.

[@NordicRC]

Hi Pete. Yeah, good tips! This one was a bit harder, as I started out with non-described oil thickness and non-described spring rate. And then without an option for springs that fit, just using what I have. Much easier to tune Tamiya ones, where one knows what oil is used, and you got plenty of options with spring sets and all the leftovers fit too. So this one was just starting from basic, knowing it just had to be softer to just work a little. Good starting point for further tuning in the future ☺️

[@JF-RC]

Hi Mikael, those shocks look much better, and tuning the springs to give the right dampening and return, perfectly demonstrated. Loving the video. Best wishes to you and the family 😊😊😊

[@NordicRC]

Hi bro! Yeah, much better now. But still far from very good 😀Will tune them some more. Thanks a lot! Best wishes to you and yours!

[@carlbudd341]

It's done wow took 2 yrs fellas.1995 tamiya dt o1 chassis madbull.stock crystal reivcever on green.8.4v 3500 nimah battery.ftx vantage 2.o shocks motor 17trn.ftx fast servo.custom built arm no wire.sealed back diff.ballraced all round.back wheel 12/ conversion on sand paddles.dont do brushless.

[@NordicRC]

Hi Carl! Uhh, sounds like it was worth the time!

[@PeteWylieRC]

Hiya Mikael. Ah yes the age old problem of getting the right spring and damping rate for the weight of the car. It's very tricky to know what you are getting when you order stuff online. There are a lot of shocks that are not suitable for these little Tamiya's. I think all my DT-02's and DT-03's have just got Tamiya CVA shocks that are good enough really but not that pretty. Thanks for sharing matey. Hope you are having a good Sunday 🙂

[@NordicRC]

Hi Pete! Yeah, usually I stay away from these cheap shocks, and I love the CVA shocks and Tamiyas own line of hop-up shocks (where they usually are tuned correctly and on top of that there is complete transparency and control of pistons, oil, spring sets). But wanted to have a go at these since I’ve seen so many use them. But yeah, waste of money and time 😅 But now I got ‘em, I can at least try to make the best of it, using my large stock of oil and leftover things/springs from Tamiya. At least they move up and down now 😅😅

[@ccc771]

hello! what springs did you use? the ones that came in the dt-03 kit? best regards!

[@NordicRC]

Yeah, well, that’s the problem with this video. It doesn’t really show what to use. It’s just shows that at least we can make them better. I simply just used leftover Tamiya springs and items. It’s a bit of a puzzle, as the diameter isn’t correct. I think you can use the springs from the rear CVA shocks but the rest I’m not too sure of. But softer springs and softer oil is the general rule.

[@ccc771]

@@NordicRC ok thanks for your reply i can tell everyone whos interested in building better 3 racing shocks for the dt-03 that the front springs that come with the kit fit quite ok and are a better softer spring. I have used tlr 45 wgt oil on my front shocks and 75 wgt on the rear they feel very nice but have no idea what the handling of my dt-03 will be like as i haven't built the rest of the car yet.. ooww yes as for replacing the rear springs i can see no reason why you could not also use the rear kit springs as well i used an old team associated spring tuning kit no point in telling you the part number as they are now obsolete. regards cam...

[@NordicRC]

@@ccc771 Thanks a lot for the tips, my friend!

[@ktu831112]

Aren't CVA dampers the best?

[@NordicRC]

Yeah, of all the ones I have tried they are the best. The Tamiya alloy ones are great too. The GPM and 3Racing are rubbish.

[@bradkalman2353]

So what do you think about the bb01 and the mb01 are you going to get one of each?

[@NordicRC]

No money for it. But looks interesting.

[@bradkalman2353]

@@NordicRC the bb01 in Tower hobbies is being sold for 255.50 USD.

[@bradkalman2353]

What is the kv of the motor?

[@NordicRC]

The TBLE-01? It’s an 18T, so if I remember correctly it’s around 2200-2400 kv. Think the top speed and RPM is something near the stock brushed 25T torque tuned. Got something else in mind for this for this season ☺️

[@danielandrews7028]

Dt02 3 hole pistons all the way around. Stock front springs, red rear springs from dt02 spring set. 40wt oil. This is in the build instructions in the dt02 Ms manual. They don’t make the white spring’s anymore but tamiya support said the springs I mentioned are the same. For dt03 it’s the same except drill front pistons to1.5 mm. The arms should be level. They will fully extend when lifted up.

[@NordicRC]

Thanks for the tips, Daniel! Yeah, love the MS shocks. As far as I remember I got them set up according to the manual. Works sweet. Love those springs ☺️