The experience gained through the development of the TRF501X is now readily more available to fans around the world, with the introduction of the much anticipated RC off road buggy called the Durga by Tamiya... Essentially a plastic version of the TRF501X... The Durga uses a reduced number of parts for ease of maintenance and comes supplied with the wheels, tyres and 540 type motor... The all new DB01 chassis locates heavy components such as battery and motor near the center for optimum weight distribution... Following the layout of TRF501X, the Durga also uses the race proven and reliable 2 belt driven 4WD system which is enclosed with ABS resin covers to prevent dirt and debris from interfering with drivetrain operations... Besides that, the chassis features integrated bulkheads which reduced the number of parts and simplifies maintenance...

TRF501X is Tamiya high end electric off road buggy... Since its release in 2006, this chassis has enjoyed many competition successes worldwide... The main reason Tamiya designed this car is very clear in the very beginning... To win the World Championship title which it did... The design of this chassis is not very ground breaking as it looked a bit like Yokomo BX... What Tamiya designers did was look at the best designs around, borrowed some ideas here and there and introduced their own magic... The downside of this chassis are the main chassis itself... The reason for this is because it is made from carbon fiber... You can't really use this car for bashing if you treasure your carbon chassis... So if you are loaded with money, this chassis is one of the best money can buy... But too bad as it is very hard to find one nowadays as all TRF products are produce in limited quantity...

The main chassis...

The mid range 4WD off road platform DF03 that I posted in earlier post have receive full race spec treatment from Tamiya... The new chassis is call DF03MS... DF03MS is design by Tamiya TRF driver Satoshi Maezumi... This limited edition buggy features a chassis that is loaded with performance enhancing parts and a Dark Impact bodyshell as found in the normal DF03 chassis... But the bodyshell comes with special marking designed by Satoshi himself...

The additional parts that are included in DF03MS over normal DF03 are as follow...
53791 DF02 - Assembly Universal Shaft
53924 DF03 - Heat Sink Bar Set
53925 DF03 - Slipper Clutch Set
53926 DF03 - TRF Aluminum Damper Set
53931 DF03 - Center One Way
53940 DF03 - Hard Turnbuckle Shaft Set
53941 DF03 - Aluminum Turnbuckle Steering Rod
53948 DF03 - Aluminum One Piece Propeller Cup Joint
53949 DF03 - Lightweight Battery Stopper Pin
53984 - Buggy Racing Wing
5100 - Hi Torque Servo Saver (Black)

If you already got the normal DF03, you can actually convert it to DF03MS spec... Just buy all the hop up listed above and you got yourself a DF03MS... But the downside of this is the price will definitely be much higher comparing to buying DF03MS itself...

The completed chassis...

Inserting the battery is as easy as ABC...

This is Tamiya mid range buggy chassis... This 1/10 scale 4WD electric buggy is specially designed to excel in off road buggy racing... It features a mid rear mounted motor and longitudinally mounted battery for optimum balance for jumping... Battery is inserted through the bottom of the chassis eliminating the need to remove the bodyshell which makes routine maintenance easy and quick... High performance shaft drive 4WD combines with suspension system that feature extra long suspension arms for improved stability and off road handling... The reason for such long suspension travel is because off road racing normally will have lots of jumps... Besides that, by using shaft drive, you don't have to worry about sand or small pebbles because all the diff and gearing are seal... No more snapping belt...

My previous post, I posted a chassis called DF03RA... Actually the chassis is exactly the same as this chassis... Albeit there are some modification done to the suspension, suspension arm and damper stay...

Enjoy the video...

RC rallying... Nowadays is quite hard to find a chassis that is specific for rallying... Fear no more... This is one of the latest car that is going to be release by Tamiya... This car uses modify DF03 chassis and is call DF03RA... With this new chassis, it enable the car to sit higher and uses longer stroke suspension... The reason for this is because rallying is mostly off road and longer suspension travel is a must... And obviously it uses 4WD and shaft drive... All the drive train gear are enclose so you don't have to worry about dust or pebble when you take it out for a spin...

This chassis comes with 2 types of rear suspension arms which wheelbase adjustment, enabling fitting of short wheelbase (251mm) bodyshell... Besides that, this chassis comes with 3 different gear ratio... 8.22:1, 7.90:1 and 7.16:1... It also includes two spur gears (78T and 75T) as well as two pinion gears (29T and 32T)... So there are plenty of gear ratio for you to choose... This chassis is a must for those die hard rally fans... Look no further...

TB03D... Conventional suspension...

TB03... With inboard front suspension (IFS)...

Tamiya is going to release this chassis soon... This chassis is from the TB family which uses shaft drive instead of belt... The "D" in TB03D denotes for drift... The difference between TB03D and TB03 lies in the front suspension... TB03D uses conventional suspension setup while TB03 uses inboard front suspension (IFS) setup... This chassis comes with 18 spoke metal plated wheels with Tamiya Super Driftech tyres... Besides that, the body is ready to be customize with a rich assortment of Hop Up and drift specific parts such as new side mirror, intercooler, exhaust and brake disc shape wheel hub...

I always like XRAY products... Their quality and design is just spectacular... To me, XRAY cars are just like Aston Martin in the automotive world... Sleek and sexy... This is the latest incarnation of the famous T2 platform... This chassis is call T2 009... The most significant difference between T2 009 and all the other models before it lies in the colour of the anodized aluminum parts... All previous XRAY products uses silver aluminum whereas for T2 009, XRAY opted for striking orange...

TRF801XT truggy is Tamiya first competitive truggy... The TRF801XT is a 1/8 scale competition level assembly race truck kit designed and tested in Southern California... The highly efficient drive system comes from the optimised position of the front and rear propeller shafts... The drive line is virtually straight which offers the most efficient drive line possible in its class... The chassis has plenty of adjustability to fine tune it for the most demanding of race tracks across the globe...

The main chassis...


Aluminum motor mount...


Aluminum motor mount in place...


Spur gear in place...


Close up look of spur gear fitted between the motor mount...


Front one way...


Front bulkhead...


One way fitted in bulkhead together with belt...


Front suspension arm fitted to the chassis...


Front bulkhead fitted to the chassis...


Another angle...


Rear ball diff...


Rear damper stay...


Rear bulkhead with damper stay...


Rear suspension arm holder...


Rear suspension arm holder fitted to the chassis...


Rear suspension arm fitted to the chassis...


Rear bulkhead fitted...


Front and rear bulkhead fitted...


Steering link...


Rear chassis stiffener...


Rear chassis stiffener on... The purpose of this is to reduce flex to the chassis...


Bumper's on...


Spur gear holder...


Spur gear holder fitted on the motor mount...


TRF damper...

Front chassis stiffener... Besides being a chassis stiffener, it is also a suspension holder... You need to use this for IFS application...

TRF damper fitted to the chassis stiffener...


Front chassis stiffener fitted...


TRF damper fitted to the rear damper stay...


Top deck... The purpose of this top deck is to further reduce flex in the chassis...


Top deck fitted...


Another angle...


Electronics fitted...




The completed chassis...

My current rim and tyres... The tyres are the latest offering from Tamiya call Super Driftech...


My other rims...

Rim fitted to chassis...

The completed car...





The completed car together with my current bodyshell which is a Japan Super GT Lexus SC430...



Front chassis stiffener for conventional suspension setup...


Front damper stay...



Conventional suspension fitted...




Now I will be using this setup cause I find it to drift better... There are more things you can adjust using this setup especially for the front suspension...



My other rims fitted...