Tamiya Super Astute Build in Full Carbon

[@davezorc]

Even if I buy hop-up or aftermarket parts before a build, I always like to build 100% stock (except add ball bearings if not included) first and run it for a while totally stock. Disassembling and adding parts later is just adds to the fun!

[@nsaxfile]

Just come across your great channel after getting back into Tamiya after a long time away. Now going through all my Tamiya sets and spares in long term storage. Good times ahead!

[@DibsOnIt]

HI, Glenn. The original Astute (and Super Astute) do have those 3 rear holes in the chassis as well as the two in the sub chassis countersunk. I wonder why fiberlite did not. My first Tamiya kit was an original Astute from back in 1989. I still have it and several others including an original Super Astute and re-re. These two wheel drive buggies are great fun to drive. All of the Carbon Fiber bits look awesome! Can't wait to see it completely finished. I really enjoy your channel and was so happy to hear you will able to keep it going. Thanks!

[@DibsOnIt]

I just finished watching the end of the video. The is nothing different between the original Astute/Super or the re-re that would make those fiber parts fit differently on an original. I'm now kind of curious and would like to build a fiber version of one. I'm interested to hear what you come up with from others who have used these carbon fiber bits.

[@Andrew-vd2ko]

@@DibsOnIt When you make a copy with too close details you can be sued, a copied part MUST have a difference to stop the law sues.... I used to work in panel beaters after school and they explained the differences any WHY they had to be there, hence NO counter sink and wrong sized servo slider hole(s). I am now looking at buying the 2024 RE-re-release kit for a runner and my off road car, have Bolink Pan cars for the on road runners....

[@davidkline4372]

Take a drink for every use of "absolutely". Take a shot for every "superb". Ha! Just ribbing ya. I love your videos. Keep it up!

[@adrianharrison5208]

Can't wait to build this kit, looks like an amazing piece of kit

[@robertpinkney4778]

Brings back memories. I had an original one back when they came out. Raced it for a bit in the UK, but found it to be quite fragile, remember the front plastic part that connects to the chassis (bulkhead?) breaking, even though it was reinforced from the standard Astute. Also upgraded the chassis to Fibre Lyte, also fitted Schumacher shocks (criminal) and then sold it all in the end to go 4wd with a Lazer ZX-R that I still have to this day.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent I love the ZXR, one of my favourites 😊👊🏻

[@robertpinkney4778]

@@TAMIYALegends get one on the channel!

[@markscotchford4159]

Shame Glenn. If you've fallen out of love with it I'll happily help out a friend and take it off your hands. :-) Sure you'll get it sorted soon. I'm not sure you and your viewers would agree but problems aside, I wish all Tamiya kits were like this. Looks a cut above and superior in design, detail, and quality to most of their stuff. The diameter of that gearbox plate. Wowzers!!

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah I totally agree Mark, it felt very high end to put together 😊😊😊

[@hellion1770]

I have sold Manu super astute back then but IT is the first i see fitted with bearing in the suspension, awesome.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent thanks for watching my friend 😎👊🏻

[@Ratty_Rex]

Hope you get everything sorted...... Bit of an awkward thing when you start with so many hopes and they get whittled away by oddities. Great video, informative and amazing bodyshell. :)

[@bidibulle6795]

Super Astute just fantastic. This is a great car Tamiya knows how to make the best kits for me.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent thanks for watching and commenting my friend 😊👊🏻

[@oldmanbluntz]

Oh Fedex. When they bugger up, they bugger up in spectacular fashion, eh? Great build, as always.

[@nathanjenkyn3127]

Hey, nothing worth doing is easy. I've found in a weird way, I've "bonded" more with the kits that have had the harder 'births' as it were than the more straight forward ones. That shell combo looks AWESOME! Don't over do the decals and cover up too much of its magnificance. Great stuff as always, thanks.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent Nathan thanks for watching and commenting buddy 😎👊🏻

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

Glenn i luv this car! it's beautiful!! There's another Tamiya car i luv and would luv to see on your channel some day, and that's the Tamiya Dyna Storm! in box art Blue! impo it's stunning mate! Finally, luv the body shell and carbon fibre hop up! Brilliant Glenn! Wes, Liverpool, UK

[@RCRetro]

Xtra Speed on RCmart's site sells a full Carbon set specific for the Super Astute. Although, having built both the Astute and Super Astute I can't say for sure if they are the exact dimensions but are pretty damn close. They do have different front bulkheads which might explain why the front shock tower was sitting too high. From what I can remember, the Super Astute came with full bearings except for 4 metal bushing for the front tires. I was shocked at that. Finally, the body of the astute and super astute is super annoying to put on and take off. I don't like the way it wraps around the rear and front shock tower. Never sits right especially when I'm running a brushless combo in mine. So there are 3 wires with a heavier gauge that has to pass through the rear which means I had to trim more of the rear body off. As always great video and no worries, I'm sure that your super astute will still look awesome.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks Ari for the great information my friend 🤩👊🏻

[@carlomac]

Looks great so far Glenn, I’m sure someone will have the answer regarding the chassis, it is annoying when these things happen. Loving the old school intro and outro!

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent I’m glad you liked it my friend 😊👊🏻

[@johnnyutah6056]

"She's a thing of beauty"

[@TAMIYALegends]

She certainly is my friend 😊😊😊

[@scottyhehehe5367]

I love it when he says that LOL

[@martinworthington6942]

Hi Glen , was looking forward to seeing it completed have to agree with everyone else that front shock tower looks too much like a Dyna Storm I’ve built a couple of astutes the tower was,nt shaped like, Also I like too say that Craig did a top paint job on the body excellent 👍👌

[@catcancrunch7260]

You will make it work mate ! Some quality components in that build so far and loving the paint job 👍

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks buddy 😊👊🏻

[@catcancrunch7260]

Forgot to say first time I’ve seen that type of front tyres? They are really cool 😎

[@BrazerLens]

When I built mine a few months back RCMart had a carbon parts set branded "Xtraspeed" that was identical to the kit frp parts. I opted for a set of Hi-cap dampers to go with it. IIRC that fiberlyte set was for a mod job that predates the rerelease and used some other hop-up shocks that were available at the time, saw the build thread but don't recall where exactly. Hope it works out for you, Cheers.

[@philmoffett366]

I looked at the fibre lite products for the super astute but didn't bother because the original parts looked ok but I did use the vqs hi-caps but left out the spacers in the shock cylinder that it tell you to put in and it give more shock travel I've used them trf decals on my super astute! They are very blingy!

[@Theharwellgardener]

Great vid! Might just be me, but the fact the build is giving you a few issues makes it all the more enjoyable to watch 🤣 eagerly awaiting episode 2! 👍

[@darrengrimmer8541]

You are on to something there Glen.. I know it’s gonna look great.. I really like this kit.. so keep going get it done!!!!!!!!!!

[@ptaylor5014]

Oh no its CARBON FIBRE again lol, looks very nice 👍

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks Paul 😎👊🏻

[@BlackTeaChannel]

A Super Astute featured on a super channel! Nice one.

[@TAMIYALegends]

That’s very kind of you my friend 😊😊😊

[@gazr4967]

It's going to look Super!!

[@nickpeat]

Beautiful build Glenn, shame about the issues though. Im sure you will get to the bottom of it. Cant wait to see the finished result!

[@Warwick3511]

I think there were slightly different cut lines on the original body in 1988. I had to take a bit off the back for my one and slightly angle the front section around the front shock tower to meet the tower angle instead of straight up and down.

[@sitmark]

full carbon super astute, that is like a trf201 v0.5 ? awesome Glenn! Im not a big fan of the front shocktower though. its too big for the car. this is almost an instruction video for the guys at fybre lite :)

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah at the time of making this video I thought the tower wasn’t going to be used on the finished car! But it was actually perfect for the TRF small bore shocks 😅. Looks a little meaty now 🤩

[@tiamatsmirnov938]

Hi, You seem to be a fan of Tamiya's products. I have a Super Astute, bought in the 90s. I built it and never used it. Really never. I have the box in excellent condition as well as all the rest. Would it something that has any good value in a collector's point of view? Good video... watching it brought me to my childhood :)

[@Luis-Volt]

I love the Super Astute .. I have mine from 1992. And i am repairing and upgrade electronics. ...enjoying each moment of the process. ..and 2 questions : in 1992 version the chasis was carbón fiber made. .. not in 2018 version???.... and where do yo find upgrades as shocks or the New trany??...

[@leemollison7508]

Hi Glenn, This will be confirmed by others I'm sure:- even built in stock form, the body on the super astute is a real squeeze to fit. Also, Do you have a low profile servo to fit? I managed to get away with a standard servo by spacing it forwards until the servo saver nearly contacts the front brace, but it's a snug fit and there isn't a lot of room for the battery wire to exit at the front when using NiMH, I also found that only certain standard servos even had any hope of fitting, some are just too tall. All in all though its a very nice car, and a quality drive.

[@tm5123]

The astutes are such a pretty line of cars. Good one mate.

[@Leonsrchobbys]

great job Glenn mate very nice🇬🇧😎😊👍🤟👊

[@bobavince]

Another great project … I love Astute, super Astute was not really important for me but… with fibrelyte parts it will become an interesting buggy 👍

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent thanks for watching and leaving a comment my friend 😎👊🏻

[@michaelstewart3042]

Super Glenn super astute respect

[@duncanmcgregor7946]

👊👊💥 it’s gonna look stunning!

[@TAMIYALegends]

It’s one of my favourites now Duncan 😊😊😊

[@kentb3175]

A lot of the fibre lyte parts are/were designed either by customers or for customers so you won't always get exact replicas of factory parts. The shock tower looks to be for the use of the longer rear shocks on the front which was a trend at the time in 2wd competition.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Hmmm very interesting 🤔 Think it would be very beneficial for them to have this in the item description 🤷🏼‍♂️ Thanks for watching and leaving your comment Kent 😊👊🏻

[@kentb3175]

@@TAMIYALegends For the shocks I think it would look good with the longer ones, can you just get the shock bodies and shafts rather than a whole new kit if you intend to keep the tower.

[@TAMIYALegends]

@@kentb3175 Yeah it’s was actually perfect for the TRF small bore shocks I used 😅😅😅. It now looks meaty on the front 👊🏻

[@johnwindsor9069]

I have learned that not all after market parts work, especially carbon chassis. I purchased one for a Top Force build, and had to stop half way though. I was so disappointed that I went back to the stock frp chassis Luckily Tamiya released the proper carbon chassis a few months later.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Oh dear that’s not good ☹️

[@The_Absurdistt]

CAAAAARRRBON 41... love it.

[@hendrahendra]

Gees Glenn, you really hopped up this Super Astute and apparently you are 'not a big fan of them'. Cant wait for the next vid!

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks my friend 😊 This one has certainly grown on me now 🤩🤩🤩

[@stumpycatvm7115]

could not get motivated to build my copy of this, until I saw how happy you were with the suspension, happy I did not sell this, I think you can salvage your project with the carbon, the tall shock towers will allow- large rear big bore on front?

[@mad-beerc3818]

Sweet as a nut Glenn one of my favourite 2wd buggies 👍

[@TAMIYALegends]

And one of mine now 😊😊😊

[@leehurst6922]

Yeah I agree with Kent B. This could of been made for use with the longer dynastorm front shocks. Fibrelyte are not a bespoke RC company so you are sometimes relying on templates that have been built for. other people. Not a fault of the company however. They make fantastic parts at great prices.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Hmmm interesting take on it Lee 🤔. Fully understand your point, but don’t you think we should expect better when spend £100 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@firemustang6678]

Super Astute... love it...

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks for watching 😊👊🏻

[@coryn1980]

Looking good Glenn I would rebuild it with the frp chassis and other bits to see how much difference there is from the carbon buts that's just me lol 👊

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah would be cool to do that and run them both to see if you can see any noticeable differences 🤔👊🏻

[@coryn1980]

@@TAMIYALegends it wos just a idear🤔 mate happy rc Glenn 👊

[@duffduff4948]

Hey Glenn, stick with it mate it will be worth it in the end :) in other news only 12 'carbon's' and 1 'carbony' so those RC anonymous sessions are really starting to pay off :) take care mate.

[@ericwood2790]

That front tower definitely looks like the Dyna Storm, almost makes me wonder if it is a Dyna Storm because of the fit on the rear shock tower . They do have a lot in common.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah I actually have the DS tower and it’s way bigger than this one tbh 😅👊🏻

[@ericwood2790]

I’m sure you’ll figure it out , kinda weird though

[@DustyFingersRC]

I know this will end up sweet already 👍🏼

[@TAMIYALegends]

Haha it did my friend, P2 coming soon 😎👊🏻

[@ryansmith8782]

I have ordered the 2024 rere. And all electrics except the battery and controller for 400.

[@kaiwe0622]

Hi Glenn, do you have some suggestion for the selection of the brushless system for the Super Astute? I'm now considering Castle 1406 or 1410 with their Mamba X ESC. Not sure if the vintage can withstand these output or that will be not enough since it's significant heavier than the modern buggy.

[@MrSteveESQ]

It's a SUPER Super Astute!

[@TAMIYALegends]

Haha love it 😍 Yeah wait until you see it finished 🤩🤩🤩

[@stumpycatvm7115]

If I could get some Hi-Cap- Evolution dampers- I think it would look nice, or those Big Bore front and back but the rears are always sold out

[@bradkalman2353]

I wish you would have done it in box art.

[@wadeskelton7585]

It’s gonna work out Glenn have a pint 👍

[@tamiyafrog3220]

That's nice 👍😎

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thank you 😊

[@Martin27Scott]

From memory the shell is a funny/tight fit even stock for the Super Astute. Have to put the back on first

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah spot on my friend, I had no idea it was that tight tbh 😬🤷🏼‍♂️

[@markbruton-young9228]

Thats very odd with the servo fixing hole, looks like there should be more parts to the fixing of it. Perhaps an old super astute manual will shed some light on all these errors in the chassis? Perhaps you could use a 2mm x 6mm washer in the hole and then a countersink screw & counter sink washer on top of that.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah I’ve got it fixed with two washers now, it’s actually pretty secure now 😅👊🏻

[@KT_One]

Nice to see bearings instead of bushings for the suspension although I’m surprised anything from Tamiya with the “Super” name isn’t fully ball raced out of the box. What’s your take on aeration dampers?

[@TAMIYALegends]

I’ve got these shocks on 3-4 cars, I really like them 😎👊🏻

[@johnnycoolness]

Long front tower looks like DynaStorm or taller for longer shocks?

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah apparently according to the comments it’s made for larger front shocks 🤷🏼‍♂️. Luckily it’s perfect for the TRF Aeration I used 😅👊🏻

[@onlineaccount]

I love mine and was an amazing build but I know what you mean as mine took a lot of work to get right and now with 50w oil front and 37.5 rear it seems about there. Please fit a suitable servo saver as I broke the steering arm doing a figure of 8 and it flipped at about jogging speed, my own error as I had an alloy horn on, sounds dodgy sorry. The other thing was the body allowing the 3 motor wires so in the end went brushed with an 11 12 and 13 double motors track depending and is factory spec apart from lundsford titanium turnbuckles. Front shocks are best mounted on the inner arm hole and the rear in the middle and the kit tower positions. Lovely to drive so stay on in there its worth it mate

[@TAMIYALegends]

Fantastic information thank you 😊

[@onlineaccount]

@rubber triangle hi, it was 42mm x2 46mm x2 38mm x2 and 32mm x1. You could get 18mm x 1 for the servo to steering arm too if you really wanted to. Hope that helps, these lengths are slightly different to the kit sizes but only the 46mm x2 in place of 50mm x2. The reason was to give a bit of give in the steering so not to break it. D parts are very costly much to my expense after breaking one, £60 for two trees with tax and shipping don't want to be doing that again lol

[@onlineaccount]

@@TAMIYALegends no worries mate, you've solved one issue already with the shocks, I swapped to some ae rc10 xrings, it stopped the shocks sticking and now feels nice and plush.

[@onlineaccount]

@@TAMIYALegends one correction, I said inner hole, I meant outer hole on front arms, I was looking at it and got confused lol 😆

[@wolfganglumetzberger7265]

First ⚡

[@TAMIYALegends]

Boom 💥 Thanks for watching my friend 😎👊🏻

[@wolfganglumetzberger7265]

@@TAMIYALegends Thanks Glenn. I view all your videos herei n in Austria! Cheers 😀

[@philipgreensmith1694]

That's my unicorn.... looking for 1! Wanted 1 wen I was 11 want 1 now BAD! Just back in to the scene after 30ish years away n got the bug! Up2 cars since November. Xray xb2. Gt1 street. Associated mt10. Team c buggy. Evo on order. Need super astute kit nib

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent you’ve been busy Philip 🤩🤩🤩

[@alfredyost7972]

You can still buy this car from Tamiya USA. However, it is very expensive. Also, Xtra Speed does make a carbon kit for this car too. This kit looks like it might fit correctly. Thoughts?

[@GTMatukka]

Great rc and very nice handling! Too bad it's fragile as f..

[@gaz1967]

Bit late to this, I'd build it on the kit chassis with kit towers and check the body fit... I'd be reluctant to cut it down.

[@bradkalman2353]

What are you going to do with the original chassis that came with?

[@TAMIYALegends]

I sold the set to get some cash back on the build 😅

[@scannaunderscore1]

Please get a clod buster they are in stock at time tunnel models

[@TAMIYALegends]

I have an original to restore my friend 🤩👊🏻

[@ernier1777]

Any links to the painter of the body please? Cheers 😉

[@philipgreensmith1694]

Glen do u know where i can get 1 from?? No bull. Seen 1 on ebay but in Japan. Please let me know

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah eBay is your best bet buddy. I got mine from Japan too 😅👊🏻

[@philipgreensmith1694]

@@TAMIYALegends 400+ quid tho is that about right

[@philipgreensmith1694]

Got 1 cumin!!! Can't wait

[@alfredyost7972]

@@philipgreensmith1694 Tamiya USA does have the car, but it is expensive.

[@astolk8783]

She gonna look gorgeous when she finished. Glenn what is the item number for the big bore shocks? Thx

[@TAMIYALegends]

These are actually the small bore I used ⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.ebay.ca/itm/353300761596

[@astolk8783]

@@TAMIYALegends thx Glenn 👍

[@neontetra1000]

That looks more like a dyna storm tower!?

[@mattallica0]

another great video my friend, i have an off topic question for you about the bigwig( i asked on that video but i guess you didnt see it), do you know what color of tamiya ps paint would match the blue of the shock towers? thanks

[@alanngkwanyein]

Should have use all titanium turn buckle

[@TAMIYALegends]

Yeah I’ve been looking at maybe fitting the TRF ones to add some more bling 😊👊🏻

[@bradkalman2353]

What are all bearings for in that area?

[@bakko9302]

Hi Brad :) They are placed there to have as freemoving front and rear lower arms as possible. But I see he needs to "massage" his ballcups on the ballends a bit on his upper arm links, as it looks to me as if they are binding making the rear arms not move as freely as they should..

[@scottyhehehe5367]

I can't see the need for bearings on suspension. There just not enough movement taking place for that to be anything other than "bling". Yet, it is more of a pain to clean bearings on a suspension bit than bushings.

[@kingchakazulu7762]

There is not really a need for them, but sealed bearings are so cheap now that you might as well put them in. The kit also comes with steering bushings, i replaced them too, wicked smooth.

[@alanpassmore2275]

Just started watching this video. I know it gets cold over there but to make your nuts blue. 🤣🤣

[@danielbaker3145]

Great video as always - but PLEASE please stop the TRF paint jobs. At least on KZbin.

[@TheRCScotsman]

What's the word? Oh, yeah... "HNNNG!"

[@bradkalman2353]

I wish they rereed the astute.

[@TAMIYALegends]

I think we’ll see it at some point 😊😊😊

[@bradkalman2353]

@@TAMIYALegends people don't seem not to realize that the chassis were different.

[@leehurst6922]

Have they been officially discontinued?

[@TAMIYALegends]

Not sure but they’ve certainly dried up now 😤

[@leighsmith3867]

Will be stunning 👌 Do you a have an email to contact you? I have something you mite be interested in

[@briana2137]

Those fibre-lyte parts are trash. I have an Xtra Speed full carbon kit and it's perfect. That front tower is to use rear shocks in the front like the Dyna Storm. The build procedure isn't odd at all. Most competition 2wd buggies are built in that order. Super Astute is a really nice kit. I think those fibre-lyte parts are really dragging it down.

[@TAMIYALegends]

Thanks for watching and leaving your comment Brian.

[@topforce5298]

TRF color is boring.