Tamiya TT-01E MAN TGS European Racing Semi Truck

[JatoTheRipper]

Who has one?

These on-road trucks caught my eye the second they were announced. I have been fascinated with these racing semis since the first time I saw them racing on the odd VHS tapes that my dad used to bring home when I was a kid. Part of the reason is because my dad and his brother are/were truck drivers and I loved riding in the trucks and just being around them. I thought I was going to grow up to be a truck driver until I learned that I hate traffic. :lmao:

These semis are new bodies, tires, and wheels on the older TT-01E chassis.
I thought it was odd they didn't release them on the new TT-02 chassis, but I think this was done to keep costs low and to keep things simple since the target is box stock, low budget racing. They are currently offered in 2 flavors - Team Hahn Racing and Team Reinert Racing.

Show us yours!

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I got the Team Reinert version for Christmas. It came from RPP looking like it was roughed up a little bit, but the contents inside were fine.



The only upgrade I added, at least to start, is a bearing kit from Team Fast Eddy. The kit is supplied with brass and plastic bushings. The hardware is JIS/Phillips head screws. I decided to keep those stock.



The shocks are of the friction damper type. No oil in these boingers. I might add Tamiya CVAs later. I'm not racing these competitively so I have the leisure to upgrade as I see fit.



The chassis is as simple as it gets so the build is a quick one. The chassis is a plastic tub with half of the differential housings and supsension mounts molded in.



We have a roller. The wheels and tires are so awesome. I wish the rears were wider than the front, but unfortunately they aren't.



The body, unlike the chassis, is going to be a bit of work. It comes in 4 pieces of lexan and there is a ton of detail. Here's the start of my hand painting. I think the rest will be spray.



Here's the body test fit onto the chassis. I'm starting to get excited. I am using liquid masking on the body. It's not my favorite and I'm not the best at using it, but I think it will be easier than masking tape. Now I just have to heat my garage so I can have some painting sessions.

 

[kgb424]

There was a set of these for sale on the Taniya Club site the guy had both the White and the Blue like the one posted above

Don't know if they are still for sale they were still there after Christmas, they were unassembled kits

 

[Shinchu]

Heck yes! TT army is growing! Haha love these litte guys.
I gave my original tt01r to my son.
I might have to trade him for a spankin new tt02 and get my old ride back hahaha

I would probably set it up for grip with a wrx body or something.

Anyway yeah those MAN rigs are sweet.
Forgot where i saw recently, they did a rig break down of some pro racer who does really well in a series where these specific rgs are raced.
If i find it, i will post the link. Some neat tricks in there...

*ok as i suspected, its in the last few pages of my current issue of rc car action! Feb 18, the scale and trail special. I tried going on thier site but its hard to find anything, site is meh.

 

[EZCompany]

Holy cow! Seeing that chassis and silver can motor sure brings back memories. We used to buy a case of those motors and test them with a tachometer to see which one was fastest for racing in stock class. It was amazing how much difference there would be in some of them.

Another good upgrade is the aluminum center shaft. I broke way too many of the plastic ones. And they are one of the few upgrades you were allowed to have in spec class. We were allowed oil shocks, adjustable steering links, aluminum driveshaft and bearings. And it all had to be Tamiya brand too. Other than that, it had to be box stock. I even had to use a Tamiya ESC when I raced in Tamiya's own events.

Another good upgrade is the sway bars and the carbon fiber chassis brace. It really brings the cars handling up. Especially when I had a Novak gtb with a 4.5 turn brushless... We clocked it with a radar at just shy of 70mph.

 

[soze]

I've wanted one since they came out, but could never pull the trigger. Went to the Tamiya track down here and saw a few people racing them. Pretty sweet. I'll get one soon enough. I've already got a TT01E VW GTI though.

 

[Shinchu]

TT01 R is the way to go!!!
love mine. came stock with aluminum drive shaft, bearings, "GT Tuned" 27T motor, annnnnd... cant remember what else (cva dampers? they have oil for sure) but its a good start! oh i bought front and rear ball diffs, and it needs steering upgrades OH! and it came with adjustable camber upper turnbuckles. all for like $120!
*here is my 01R

that old ESC was part of my budget project to build a drifter for under $200. its got no reverse! revising/modernizing this baby soon with a hobbywing ESC, 2s lipo power, and a modern 2.4gh radio lol its still AM crystals!
the motor is an old orion... 17T or 19T, eagle racing fan shroud, took the fan off cuz it buzzed real bad.

oh so back to the MAN, one of the cool tricks i was talking about for the MAN trucks is the guy put CA glue on the sidewalls of the tires to resist traction rolling. otherwise he races stock class too.

and soze you are lucky to live that close to the Tamiya track! i forgot how many cool companies are based out of OC. you got Tamiya, and Bandai! others too but those are the big ones i can remember right now.

TT01! (ok and the TT02 is neat also)

 

[JatoTheRipper]

TT01 R is the way to go!!!
love mine. came stock with aluminum drive shaft, bearings, "GT Tuned" 27T motor, annnnnd... cant remember what else (cva dampers? they have oil for sure) but its a good start! oh i bought front and rear ball diffs, and it needs steering upgrades OH! and it came with adjustable camber upper turnbuckles. all for like $120!
*here is my 01R

that old ESC was part of my budget project to build a drifter for under $200. its got no reverse! revising/modernizing this baby soon with a hobbywing ESC, 2s lipo power, and a modern 2.4gh radio lol its still AM crystals!
the motor is an old orion... 17T or 19T, eagle racing fan shroud, took the fan off cuz it buzzed real bad.

oh so back to the MAN, one of the cool tricks i was talking about for the MAN trucks is the guy put CA glue on the sidewalls of the tires to resist traction rolling. otherwise he races stock class too.

and soze you are lucky to live that close to the Tamiya track! i forgot how many cool companies are based out of OC. you got Tamiya, and Bandai! others too but those are the big ones i can remember right now.

TT01! (ok and the TT02 is neat also)

Yours is not a semi. Put a semi body, tires, and wheels on it! "thumbsup"

If I was building another Tamiya TT, which I'm planning on doing, it will be the TT-02R.

The glue on the sidewall trick has been around for ages. People use it anytime traction roll is an issue.

 

[Shinchu]

well, i learned today lol
i never knew about glue on the sidewalls.

and if i put a semi body on my TT, its going to get 80's optimus prime paint lol that's so awesome i just might consider it hahaha

and i was just shopping around, i think the best darned TT ever was the TT-02D Type S! better suspension arms, all the upgrades... all in one box! hard to find now, i saw just the type S without the upgrades in the Drift spec for a hefty $200, nearly defeating the purpose of a TT chassis. i'll keep my eyes peeled on ebay... yup TT-02S for $130 but still cant find the drift spec type S.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

well, i learned today lol
i never knew about glue on the sidewalls.

and if i put a semi body on my TT, its going to get 80's optimus prime paint lol that's so awesome i just might consider it hahaha

and i was just shopping around, i think the best darned TT ever was the TT-02D Type S! better suspension arms, all the upgrades... all in one box! hard to find now, i saw just the type S without the upgrades in the Drift spec for a hefty $200, nearly defeating the purpose of a TT chassis. i'll keep my eyes peeled on ebay... yup TT-02S for $130 but still cant find the drift spec type S.

I've never tried the glue, but I've known about it. I should try it. Maybe one day. :lmao:

The thing I don't like about the S is it's a completely different suspension. I forget which car it comes from. Too complicated for a fun parking lot runner IMO. I have my Sakura XI Sport for setup tinkering. The TT-02R is just an upgraded TT-02. It's also a lot cheaper than the S.

 

[Shinchu]

i like the type S for the suspension upgrades. i know the simple TT suspension is great and keeps it simple, that's the appeal of TT for beginner and simplicity. but i think that strength is also a weakness. with the Type S arms you can make some adjustment to fine tune wheelbase, and LOADS more camber than the stock TT series. i even have adjustable Tamiya upper arms, and can only get about 1.5 deg of camber. why would you need more? ehhh its a drifter thing lol but still, i would like the peace of mind that i could add more, even if i don't need it.

but... yes, i agree: simple TT is best! (i just like simple + adjustable lol)

 

[JatoTheRipper]

i like the type S for the suspension upgrades. i know the simple TT suspension is great and keeps it simple, that's the appeal of TT for beginner and simplicity. but i think that strength is also a weakness. with the Type S arms you can make some adjustment to fine tune wheelbase, and LOADS more camber than the stock TT series. i even have adjustable Tamiya upper arms, and can only get about 1.5 deg of camber. why would you need more? ehhh its a drifter thing lol but still, i would like the peace of mind that i could add more, even if i don't need it.

but... yes, i agree: simple TT is best! (i just like simple + adjustable lol)

Drifter? Can you made the TT series into a CS or RWD drifter? 50/50 drifting bores me. There's no challenge.

 

[Shinchu]

i agree on 50/50. that's why i am... loaning? my TT01 to my son? lol i gave it to him, but all this talk of the TT got me hyped and i want my old ride back, even if i have to buy him a new TT02 lol

so i think there was CS gearsets available, but another weakness of TT is the steering, not enough angle (and slop depending what variant you have).
there is a kit that kgb24 and i have been talking about from eagle racing, the GRT or FRD it basically uses just a few TT parts but its a complete chassis, front engine, rear drive.

another option is i have found on ebay revised steering parts to give your stock TT(01 or 02) more angle, so much that you really cant use the front driveshafts. i was tempted for about $45 to give it a shot.
maybe i will, and i'll give my TC3 to my son instead of the TT01 lol dad of the year!

anyway, short answer? YES lol

can we get, like i dunno, a TT01/TT02 sub-section in the non crawler section? LMAO