High Horsepower Holiday

[OSRC]

Since I've dabbled in no prep drag racing a bit this winter, I've rediscovered the joys of running fast! I've been crawling and on the trail so long, I forgot how fun speed could be. During my frenzy of ordering parts, I ordered some DE racing "mini" drag slicks... They ended up being far too small for my DR10, and have been sitting in my parts pile waiting for a home.

So like any RC addict, I was wondering what to do with them. Basically, I'm building a car around a set of tires. They are on staggered rims - 1.7/1.9, so they are perfect for a 1/10 build. I was looking at Associated buggies thinking an old B4 or B5 would be a good match - kind of a smaller DR10 so to speak... then a Holiday Buggy kit popped up for $109. Perfect!!

Absolutely love the body and a 2WD platform was what I was looking for - and it was 1/3 the price of the Associated buggies. So a few clicks later, it arrived. Can a DT02 chassis handle more power and grip? Much more? I'm betting it can, but it should be fun to find out!

Ordered a DT03 swaybar set(!) and dug around for some other goodies. Once everything arrived, it was time to get to work. Always a good day opening up a new Tamiya box...

A slipper would be nice, but not in the cards with this chassis. Gears are nice and beefy though. Stuffed them with bearings and built the diff with a tub of AW grease inside.

At the rear, I added some modified TRX turnbuckles since the DT02/3 kits are in short supply here in the states. Also added the rear swaybar (hard) and metal diff outputs and some steel CVD's left over from my TL01B.

DT03 swaybar set?**Well,*since I couldn't find an '02 set,*I had to improvise a bit. Figured that they were pretty similar for the most part. Our back was fine, but up front the '02 kit comes with a metal retainer for the front swaybar and the '03 kit does not. I sandwiched some black styrene together and made a holder... decal and all! I was so proud....However, I had to clearance the center a bit for the locking collar and lost the "M" in Tamiya which brought me back down to earth. But it works, and that's all that matters. I will say the swaybar in front is very sloppy... not sure if it's the same from '03 to '02 or not, but it'll need some tweaking.

I'm using an old JR servo for steering - should have plenty of power for this buggy, but fitment might be an issue. It's way taller than recommended. Not sure how this is going to work out, I had to stop for the night but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Nice, I ordered a set of de racing sprint tires and a package of wheels too. Screwed up thinking the "small tire" slicks were the same size and I was wrong. :ror: the small tires use a 1.7 x 2.2 and sprint tires use a 1.7 x 2.5. apparently the locals use a sprint sized slick so the local shop had them on the rack.

I think I'm going to build a solid axle car around the 1.7 x 2.2s so I'll be watching to see what you come up with.

 

[OSRC]

Solid axle car is in the works also. Another project for another thread.

Moving right along... Front suspension is sorted out and installed on the chassis pan. I replaced the upper arms with some old Traxxas turnbuckles and some random Tamiya ball ends. Maybe not very elegant, but gives me the ability to adjust camber which is all I wanted.

Servo JUST fits, it's much taller than suggested by the manual, but the steering rods just clear everything, so it's good to go!

Mounted up the rear and inching closer to a roller! I added the body mounts to get an idea of where the body sits so I can set the suspension appropriately. Such a cool body, it's a shame it can't be painted.

 

[BJoe]

That looks like it’s going to be fun, I wonder how that plastic would take to acrylic lexan or craft paints?!

 

[alexleblanc]

I've built and beat on my DT02 holiday buggy for years now and the only thing I've broken is the front body mount. It's been through like 5 sets of tires from all the burnouts it does.
Must do upgrades are really on the oil filled dampers and ball bearings. I've run a traxxas XL5 and 12T 550 can since day one and its not let me down yet.

It handles extremely well and can be a great burnout machine with the right tires.

when 100% stock and new

now:

 

[OSRC]

^^ Great looking buggy!

Got the shocks sorted last night. I was shooting for 70mm front and 90mm rear to get the chassis a bit lower than stock. Worked out pretty good!

Out back, I stuffed in some Gmade XD's - maybe a bit overkill, but they were laying around and the right size. I had to put the reservoirs inboard as they interfered with the fenders. They look and feel great!

In front, I used some integy 65mm shocks with some longer rod ends to get close to 70mm. They are pretty good shocks, I've used them on a few builds. The springs are Tamiya white touring springs, they feel a bit stiff but I won't know for sure until I get it larded up with battery and electronics.

View from the back... definitely sitting nice and low

and a few poser shots with the body. Pretty much the exact stance I was looking for! Front Astrals are just there for mockup, I'm waiting for 12mm to bearing adapters which are en-route.

Only thing that bothers me is the rear wheels not being centered. Really limits uptravel. I have a plan in mind though to re-center them....hopefully.

 

[alexleblanc]

With those sway bars and the stiff front springs, I think it might have a tendency to under steer quite a bit. I’m sure you’ve got a ton of springs to try out and I’m curious to see what you think.

 

[nmoleiro]

With those sway bars and the stiff front springs, I think it might have a tendency to under steer quite a bit. I’m sure you’ve got a ton of springs to try out and I’m curious to see what you think.

True, but if his goal is drag racing, the understeer should not be a problem as long as it is stable and easy to put power on the ground.

 

[OSRC]

It's going to be understeer city for sure. The skinny tires going up front have no chance with those big meats out back. Plan to rip up some parking lots over the summer, and we'll see about winter drags.

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Now we're getting to the good stuff. Since the HHH is sitting low, the rear wheels being off center in the fenders really bothered me, as well as rubbed pretty bad on compression.*

So, after digging in my stash, I found a set of TL01 rear hubs. The lower part where the hinge pin goes through is much narrower than the DT02 part (DT02 on the left) and should allow me to shift the axle slightly forward...

Well, that was easy. I used a CR01 "3 notch" spacer and a shim and it fits in there perfectly. It's as far forward as possible trimming the wheelbase a few mm. I relocated the upper links as well to a more parallel position....looked much cleaner to my eyes.

Both sides swapped and the new layout out back.

Better, but still a bit off just a bit....

After scratching my head a bit, I realized the front hole in the body is elongated and the mount is in back with plenty of room to slide around. If I could just figure out how to shift the body back slightly I should be good. Looking at the rear body mount, it attched to the shock tower at some molded in standoffs. Grinding off the standoffs should give me a few more mm... so out came the Dremel and off they came!

Boom...wheel is now centered perfectly in the rear fender. Under full suspension compression it hits the fender right in the center. No more rubbing!

Now that that is sorted, time for some power. Not wanting to shred the drivetrain....at least, not yet, I started with a 3000kv motor, mounted up with a steel 17t pinion. I've got 5400kv and 7000kv on standby, but I'd like to see how it handled this motor before going too crazy.

My typical wiring mess...It's all in there and about as clean as it gets for me. I tend to move electronics around a lot, so I just usually zip tie everything out of the way and call it good.

Time to get cracking on the body... I got as far as adding some light buckets front and rear for some 5mm LED's. I'm not sure if I want to do the lights on the roof yet or not.

 

[alexleblanc]

looking great.